But Cole couldn’t make himself believe that. He didn’t get it. He didn’t like it. But his gut told him Will really was on his side, at least for now.
And he spent the rest of the drive to Bar Harbor, Maine, wondering why he couldn’t make himself believe otherwise.
To his credit, Will didn’t question when Cole headed east instead of south. He didn’t say a word when they crossed through New Hampshire and then into Maine.
In fact, the first comment he made about their route was when Bar Harbor Road took them onto Mount Desert Island.
“Is, um…” He shifted in the passenger seat. “Is this the only road into Bar Harbor?”
“It’s an island,” Cole said. “A small one. Not a lot of roads in or out.”
“Uh-huh. Right. And, um…” Will cleared his throat. “How will that work if we need to get out in a hurry? Like if Alders’s goons show up?”
Cole gestured at the oncoming lane. “Well, you see, there’s this cool invention called a ‘two-way street,’ and?—”
“Fuck off. I meant if they managed to block the road somehow. Or, I don’t know, blow up a bridge or something.”
As much as Cole wanted to tease him just because that was what he liked to do, the uneasy edge to Will’s words gave him pause. Will annoyed the fuck out of him, yes, but this was a dangerous situation, and Will was justifiably nervous. And smart enough to have multiple escape routes.
“Yes, there’s only onelandroute off the island. But if we need to bug out, we’re not restricted to the land route.”
Silence hung for a moment. “Sooo… your safehouse includes a boat?”
“Something like that.”
More silence. Then, “Fuck’s sake. You just love being cryptic about this shit, don’t you?”
Cole shrugged unrepentantly. Though he didn’t look at Will, he swore he heard the eyeroll. He just chuckled to himself. He’d assured Will they had an escape route besides the one and only road going on and off Mount Desert Island; didn’t mean he couldn’t troll him alittlebit.
Not long after that, Cole turned off the main road, followed another into the hills, and then pulled up to a massive black gate. He stopped outside the gate, entered a code into the keypad, and then waited for the gate to open.
“What the hell is this?” Will asked. “Do you have a Bond villain hideout or something?”
Cole laughed. “Guess you’ll find out, won’t you?”
The narrow road beyond the gate took them deeper into the forest, and then when the trees ended and the scenery opened up…
“Holy shit!” Will leaned forward, gaping through the windshield. “This… Thisisa Bond villain hideout!”
“Not really.” Cole grinned as he followed the driveway up to the six-car garage beside the massive brick house. “This is my parents’ summer home. Well, one of them.”
Will turned the shocked expression on him. “Their summer—how many houses do they have?”
“Uh… I don’t know.” Cole put the car in park. “I think they sold the one in Singapore.” Then he left the engine idling and his passenger staring, and he got out to enter another code into another keypad. Once the garage was open, he parked inside, pulling the rental in between Mother’s Bentley and the Range Rover his parents only drove when it snowed.
By the time he shut off the car as the garage door rumbled shut behind them, Will was no less gobsmacked.
“What?” Cole asked. “It’s safe and secure.”
“It’s also huge. Like… Holy shit.” Will smirked. “I mean, it’s probably the size of Alders’s broom closet, but…”
Cole snorted. “You’re probably not wrong. Come on—let’s go inside.”
They got out of the car, and Cole used yet another keypad to gain access to the house. Inside, a fourth code deactivated the alarm.
“Won’t your parents know something is up?” Will asked uneasily. “From you entering the codes and turning off the alarm and stuff?”
“Nope.” Cole shrugged off his jacket. “I used the caretaker’s code. If anyone notices, they’ll just think he’s coming to check on things.”
