The words could never make up for the agent’s pain. Nothingcould.
“I came out here to warn you…to tell you we have to move now, before they connect. Right now, Luis is still recovering from the poisoning and the Frenchman is looking for her on his own. He’s pissed that you got away,” Stahl saidquietly.
“Stahl’s car is gone.” Carter rushed into the room. Cole had been so distracted he hadn’t even realized his other brother wasn’t withthem.
Cole’s adrenaline started to surge, fueling hismuscles.
Stahl cursed. “What kind of woman is she,Cole?”
Cole sat up straight, fully alert once more. “What do you mean?” he askedcarefully.
“The goddam case files are in the front seat of my car. Herstoo.”
Cole didn’t move, he couldn’t. If Tomi read that file, her compassion would force her to do something reckless to save the missing women. She wouldn’t be able to help it. It was in her nature. Helplessly, he looked at his brothers, his dread turning to outrightterror.
Carter’s lean body tensed, his clean-shaven jaw locked down tight. “She’s not the kind of woman to sit by and let someone elsesuffer.”
Cole was on his feet in an instant. “Your car got a GPS init?”
“Hell, yes it does.” Stahl stood withdetermination.
Cole shook off his fear. Letting his emotions rule his thoughts and actions would only get her killed. She needed his skills and his training. She needed awarrior.
26
Tomi’s fingerswere numb as she gripped the steering wheel and sped down the road, not even seeing the pavement fly by. She couldn’t see anything but her hurt and pain. Cole had done all of this to punish her. He must hateher.
She’d fallen for it like a complete idiot, letting her misguided love cloud her judgment. The betrayal seared her heart, made her chest ache so severely she couldn’t breathe. How could she have been sostupid?
He’d been using her all along. Had he known she’d be at the auction? Had he shown up deliberately for thispurpose?
Her stomach rolled and bile rushed up her throat like acid. She slammed on the brakes, jerked the car to the shoulder and shoved open the door just in time to retch up the contents in herstomach.
His betrayal cut so deep, beyond any physical pain she’d everfelt.
Her brain was on overload. Snippets of the past couple of days flashed across her mind, each image more damaging than the last. Every moment she’d thought Cole had gifted her had been a deliberate act to tear down her walls, strip her of restraint, and allow him to consume her whole. She could see that now. Each time she’d started to pull back he’d stepped in, pushed harder, demanded she give herself to him. She’d been a complete fool. And the sickest part of it all was that she couldn’t really blamehim.
When she’d written the letter ten years ago, she’d known it would destroy him as much as writing it had destroyedher.
She’d been teased and tormented by him ever since she was old enough to draw his attention in the way that a woman could. And Cole, honorable man that he was, had steadfastly denied her until they were both old enough to embark on a realrelationship.
Then she’d let grief poison something beautiful. Fear had grabbed ahold of her after her father’s death…and it seemed every headline was full of dead soldiers. Dead SEALs. Didn’t help that Cole’s commissioner’s wife had come to her father’s funeral. As president of the family readiness group, she was in charge of taking care of all the soldier’s women and families while they were gone. Mrs. Smith’s words that day had been seared into her soul forever. I’m so sorry for your loss, there’s nothing anyone can do to make it better, but at least you’re learning young. You will be prepared for when it happensagain.
There were some things a person could never prepare for. Tomi had known that at the tender age of eighteen. Better to pull away. To rely entirely on no one butherself.
Except that had left her so horriblyalone.
Hand shaking, she swiped her mouth, knowing she couldn’t erase the burn. She shut the door and gripped the wheel, seeking anything solid that could anchorher.
Tears leaked from her eyes and she scrubbed the heel of her palm over her cheeks, attempting to stem the flow unsuccessfully. She’d shut the door improperly, and the interior light was still on. As she reached up to switch it off, she caught a glimpse of the papers in the passenger seat. Searching for a distraction, she grabbed the file folder off the top and opened it, staring in shock at the photo that lay on top. It was a headshot of her. To the right was a neat, orderly column listing every single significant event in herlife.
Her heart jumped up and gave a giant whack against her ribs. Carefully, the paper shaking in her weak hands, Tomi flipped to the next page, skimming across every single line. A summary of her relationship with Cole was followed by a rundown of the sporadic jobs she’d had for the next number ofyears.
The last paragraph made her mouth godry.
Tomi Tomlin seems to be impetuous, short-sighted but rational. Her inability to hold down a long-term job is noted as well as the traumatic death of her father at a young age, which seemed to trigger her hectic lifestyle. She won’t trust easily, and will run at the first hint of trouble. Ms. Tomlin will only be comfortable opening up to someone she knows andtrusts.
The papers drifted from Tomi’s fingers and landed with a soft rasp on the pile in the passenger seat. Her personal profile workup was so accurate it made her teeth hurt. Cole had been in on this from the beginning. Every single word, every single act had been a deliberatelie.
