“Aston!” With a shriek, she launched at her brother. Hugged him. Bawled. Then turned to Stone, who stood back, hands clasped respectfully. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Seemed the perfect ending to the past, the start of a new beginning.”
New York City, New York
“I honestly didn’t think you’d agree to dinner.”
Brooke Holloway slid into the seat across from Cord in all her dark-hair-and-icy-eyes glory. There was, of course, just as much ice in her heart, but he was determined to help that thaw. “Since, unlike Stone, I don’t cook, I had to eat somewhere.”
He grinned, impressed with himself for several reasons: one, he’d gotten her to come; two, she’d legit showed up; and three, he’d remembered to change out of his tac gear into jeans and a blazer. He was looking mighty fine, if he said so himself. And he did.
She casually laid the black linen napkin across her lap. “You are, however, underdressed for Giuseppe’s.” With an air of indifference, she motioned to the waiter.
“You kidding me?” Cord laughed. “This is my best t-shirt, and I brought my best girl.”
Lasers had nothing on that glare, and he was glad the waiter showed up to distract her. “Whatever sweet red you have tonight,” she ordered. “And rye bread to start.”
“Right away, Ms. Holloway.”
Cord faltered. The guy knew her name? “So, you come here a lot.”
Finally?—a smile but it was dripping with condescension. “One of our partners is Giuseppe’s brother-in-law.”
Huh.
“Look, let’s just set the record straight.” She was poised and in control. “I’m not here to be romanced or wined and dined. This is where I eat with regularity, and coming is something I felt was owed to you after what you did for Brighton?—who is apparently about to become my sister-in-law. This is merely a gesture of appreciation.”
“Right.”
“I … agreed to meet you because??—” She fell silent when the waiter delivered the wine and bread to the table, then started talking with him about the evening’s specials.
What would it take to impress her? How could he win her over? Because he would. Somehow. Some way.
He’d worked with two of her brothers and her sister was an integral part of Mission: Liberate Everyone?—MiLE. They were good people, hard-hitters. Heroes. But Brooke … Brooke was very different. And she had completely ensnared him. Trying to win her, though, was probably a lot like trying to catch an electric eel with bare hands during a lightning storm. No way to avoid getting that bolt through the heart.
Why her, God? Why make her the one I can’t walk away from? And he should. She was cold, abrasive, rude, blunt … passionate, beautiful.
As the waiter left, she sipped wine and met his gaze over the rim. Vulnerability flickered through her expression as she set down the glass.
Couldn’t fool him???—she wouldn’t have agreed if she didn’t have a reason. This wasn’t just a we’re both humans who need to consume carbs thing. This was … What was this, really?
“How’d you get into this?”
“Into the restaurant? You mean looking like this?”
She sniffed. “Trafficking.”
“Ah.” He took a chug of water. “That’s a long story.”
“Give me the brief on it.” She wasn’t going to take no for an answer, was she?
“Okay,” he yielded. “I’d been in the Navy and saw a lot of bad things in combat?—friends blown up, missing limbs, loyalties betrayed.” He jutted his jaw. “But it paled to what I encountered when I got out and did border patrol for a few years. I know there are some powerful feelings about the wall, but?—”
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you support it. America was built on immigrants.”
He wasn’t going to be baited. “Politics aside,” he said evenly, “the wall would go a long way in making the sex-trade business more difficult for those who profit off it.” He pointed out the window. “There are thousands of girls in this city right now who are being abused thirty, sixty times per day. And they were brought across the southern border. A wall forces traffickers to enter through ports, walk through security where the agents are trained to spot victims.”
She eyed him warily. Took a long sip of wine. Held the glass close, as if she needed it for reinforcement. “Is that true …?” Her eyes met his. “They’re abused that … much?”
