Cole just sighed like it was all very annoying. “Alders is acutely aware of how he’s perceived by our social circle,” he said. “The fact that his humiliation is out there for the world to see is probably driving him up the wall.” He paused, then added, “You were with us for a little bit. Are you all right?”
Huh. That was… friendly of him.
“Me?” Reed asked. “Oh, yeah. I’m as good as invisible.”
“Better stay that way, Reed,” Will said. “I’m serious, don’t put yourself out there for our sake.”
“I’ll be fine.You’rethe one who won’t be able to show his face anywhere there’s decent surveillance unless you’ve got the Puffin in hand, ready to return to Mr. Alders. They’ve even been watching your apartment, Mr. Dalton. They almost scared yourdogwalker half to death when she showed up yesterday, from what I could gather.”
Cole frowned. “I don’t have a dog, much less a dogwalker.” No, he was pure cat person.
“Oh. Um…” There was a momentary tapping. “She was able to get into the building pretty easy, it looks like. She had two other dogs with her at the time. Um, she’s wearing a hat, so I can’t really see her face, but the hat says Monty’s Pet Parade.”
Cole chuckled. “Ah, okay. Never mind, I know who she is. I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh… kay.”
“Thanks, Reed,” Will said, itchy with curiosity but knowing Cole wouldn’t share while the line was open. He might not even after they hung up, but maybe… “We’ll talk soon.” He ended the call and stared expectantly at Cole, who defied his expectations by actually answering.
“It’s someone else who was there the night of the theft,” Cole said. “Desiree Montgomery.” That was someone Will only knew by reputation, but she was a smooth operator from what he understood. “If she’s coming to my door, it means she thinks she’s got something of very high value on the hook. Desiree is a better thief than a fence—she gets in over her head sometimes.”
“What do you think she might have this time?” Will asked.
Cole reached for the phone. “I guess we’ll find out.”
CHAPTER 16
Had it been anyone else—like literallyanyoneelse on the face of the earth, exceptmaybeLilith—Cole would have been beyond annoyed.
Desiree Montgomery, though, got a fair bit of leeway from him. She certainly could annoy him, and she had, but no one had ever taken Marcus down more pegs than she had, never mind in one fell swoop. That alone earned her some serious respect and leeway from Cole.
And that aside, they’d been… Well, “friends” might be a generous way to put it. Part of that respect he had for her was the understanding that she wouldn’t hesitate for a second to epically screw him over if he ever had the audacity to cross her. He respected her the way he respected a lion or a tiger—something to be admired from a safe distance while not making any sudden moves, especially if it started growling.
That she’d gone to his penthouse to make contact with him left Cole equal parts amused and alarmed. She was either being characteristically brazen, or she was freaking out, needing to make contact with him ASAP by any means necessary.
Only one way to find out.
“My God,” she said when she answered his call. “Where the hellareyou?”
“Actually I think the more pressing question is whether those dogs you brought into my building were properly housebroken and had flea and tick treatments. Because if I have to fumigate for fleas, I will?—”
“Don’t fuck around, Cole,” she snapped, and there was an edge of worry that tipped him from amused to alarmed. That was the point of his ostensibly irreverent question—to gauge her state of mind. Mission accomplished.
He sat up on the rental’s sofa, making the aging furniture squeal in protest. “What’s going on?”
A harsh breath hissed down the line. “Marcus is furious, and he’s in full panic mode. He’s coming after everyone who was at Alders’s party.”
Cole swallowed. “Is he, now? I thought Alders was the one freaking out and coming after us.”
“Well, see…” Desiree sighed. “That’s the thing—it’s both of them.”
Somehow that was both a gut punch and not in the least bit surprising. As if it just made perfect sense for two of the biggest, dumbest assholes on the planet to join forces and make everyone’s lives miserable because they were butthurt and humiliated. God help him if one of them ever became President.
Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, Cole asked, “How did they manage that? Doesn’t Alders know Marcus was involved in trying to steal the Puffin?”
She laughed dryly. “Have youmetMarcus?”
“A time or two, yes,” he muttered, rolling his eyes for no one’s benefit but his own. “What’s your point?”
