He nods slightly, his shoulders dropping a quarter of an inch. “Sure. I understand.”
I step back, heading to the kitchen, wanting to get away from the bedrooms and the impending reality of us sleeping mere feet from each other.
I pull out a stool stowed under the ledge of his large marble island, sitting in the center of his kitchen. Cole remainsstanding, leaning against the counter opposite me like he’s waiting for his next set of orders.
“I need your help getting to the bottom of this. The more you can give me, hopefully, the quicker you’ll be free of this mess. We need to understand who could be targeting you, how close they are, and what they really want. They might truly be trying to get under your skin or shake you up, but there’s always a level of powerplay involved. I need to know how deep that desire for power runs.”
He braces his hands on the edge of the counter. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I keep my life pretty simple.” His eyes remain on me, but seriousness has invaded them.
Finally, he seems to be settling into this thing with me.
“You want your life back?” I ask, needing confirmation and commitment. “Someone is irritated. They’re spending a lot of time planning, following you, and risking being caught to get your attention. They’ve got it. They’re out there. Waiting. We need to outsmart them at their own game.”
This is how I roll. If some jackass attempts to hurt someone else, I’m coming for them, and I need Cole Matthews to get on board.
He may play football, but I hunt evil.
I lift my chin, meaning business. “You ready to get to work?”
One side of his mouth tips up, but uncertainty prevents it from creeping too high. “Were you in the military?”
His self-assured demeanor makes me want to puke. I have no idea what is amusing about this, and I don’t care. I have work to do, so I can go home.
I stare straight into his confident eyes. “Something like that.”
His eyes flick between mine, all joking slowly falling to the wayside.
Now, he’s getting the idea.
“You need to explain what tomorrow looks like. We’ll begin creating a map to identify potential suspects. Then, we’ll go over the rules.”
He leans, resting his elbows on the island as I pull my phone out.
“All right. Let’s start with your schedule.”
Chapter 7
COLE
I need sleep. I have a game in a few days, and my mind and body require rest. But instead of sleeping, I’m lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling and sorting through every detail Ryder laid out.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but when she arrived this afternoon, it only took her two seconds to get to work. I watched her inspect every possible entry point, wearing the same stony expression as the day before. It’s clear this will be all business.
She was impassive and blunt and didn’t let her protective guard down for a second. It all made me wonder if Ryder Jones has a personality. If so, she seems hell-bent on making sure I don’t see it.
When I tested the waters with a joke, she was quick to jab right back, but there was no humor in it. That’s when I realized this might not be as easygoing as I thought. These next weeks, or however long, will be exhausting and stale if this woman is unable to emote or crack a smile.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
For the past hour, I’ve listened to the faint rhythmic beat of her feet against the belt on the treadmill. I wondered if it would eventually lull me to sleep, but nope. An hour later, here I am.
When she listed her expectations, I couldn’t help but think this woman spent time in the military. She stands tall, in a commanding way, but not over the top in arrogance. Herresponse to my teasing question has my curiosity climbing higher.
Thethump, thump, thumpabove me slows.
Ryder and I spent the entire evening reviewing my schedule and the details of my daily life. It sounds like she and I will be attached at the hip, which, unfortunately for her, will prove to be monotonous and boring.
She questioned me, weaving through all possibilities of where these threats could be coming from, and for the first time, the idea of someone wanting to hurt me felt real.
