He turned and walked toward a back gate, where she realized someone was standing in the shadows. The gate creaked as the stranger opened it for him. Was Pop getting through without going through the normal security channels? She didn’t know. But if so, then she was complicit with his crimes if she stood here and said nothing. Then again, he could be getting on a private jet for all she knew, and she glanced out into the airfield, where a couple of prop planes sat.
Pop walked with the stranger to the small plane, then got in alone. The man who’d opened the gate kept his distance. Pop ... was the pilot? She hadn’t even known that about him. She assumed the stranger had completed the preflight checklist for Pop. The single-engine plane fired up, then it taxied and accelerated before disappearing into the night. This man here tonight, he wasn’t the one she’d known for three years. The greasy mechanic who owned his own shop. Fixed everyone’s vehicles. Whose fingernails were dirty. And he smelled of oil and grease. This man ...thisman, here tonight, she didn’t know him at all.
She listened to the sound of the prop until she could no longer hear it. Then the sound of other vehicles and air traffic, a helicopter here and there, filled the night.
The wind had died down. The rain too.
Maybe she should follow Pop’s lead. Get on a plane and fly somewhere. Someplace she’d never been and start over. Alaska. No, Hawaii. Or maybe the desert this time. No more rainy season.
Footsteps approached, rushing up at her, and she reached for her weapon and pivoted.
“Jo!”
The words came out breathless as Cole grabbed her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Cole? How did you—”
He hugged her to him and squeezed tight. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Said in desperation and filled with passion, the words cut her to the core. If he’d said them any other way, she would have stood her ground. But Cole had somehow, overnight, turned into her anchor, and she needed to hang on with all she had or else she would be lost, so lost.
He’d followed her. She should be furious. Instead, she pressed into him, knowing she shouldn’t trust anyone else. Those she loved, those she cared about, left. Her stepfather, her mom, and now Pop.
Maybe if she was a stronger person, she could withstand the force that was Cole. But she needed this man for this moment in time.
13
Cole needed to calm his pulsing nerves. Holding her in his arms only ramped up the ache in his body and heart. But at least he’d gotten here and found her safe, though maybe not sound. He wanted to keep her safe and hold her tight, but his better judgment told him he needed to hold on loosely to this one.
I don’t want to let you go.
He slowly dropped his hands and stepped back.
“What happened? Why are you here?” Though, if he had to guess, it had to do with her father.
She swiped her nose. “First, how did you get here so fast?”
“Hawk brought me in his bird.”
“Seriously, Cole, what if Iwantedto disappear? You won’t let me even if I wanted to.”
Disappear. If she left and he couldn’t find her, what then? He’d kept his distance for far too long, and in the back of his mind, he had counted on finding her again—when he decided he wanted to find her. What a jerk. He was no goodat this relationship business, though maybe that had all started with his family life, and his brother. But he should only blame himself.
“Jo, please, we can talk about this in the Yukon. You know,myrental vehicle that you took off with.” He injected a teasing tone.
Hanging her head, she jammed her hands in her pockets and trudged forward, looking more than dejected.
“It’s your father, isn’t it?” he asked. “You met him here.”
“I don’t like that you seem to know everything. It’s almost like you’re a spy or something.” She glared at him, accusation in her eyes.
“I deserve that, but honestly, it was just a good guess. What else could it be?Whoelse?”
Did he need to remind her that her life had been threatened not once but three times already? It took everything in him to hold back what he really wanted to say, but he had no right to berate her. That would only put more distance between them, a distance he was trying to close. He opened the door to his vehicle for her, and she climbed into the passenger seat with the demeanor of someone who might be giving up.
Before he got in, he sent Hawk a text and let him know he could go.
Thank you,God,for my brother’s help.
