“I need to hear her.”
“No.”
The word is immediate. Sloane looks over. Cole does not soften it.
“No,” he says again. “Not unless it serves a purpose.”
“It does.”
“For you emotionally, maybe. Not operationally.”
My anger flashes hot. It feels good for half a second like a hot knife cutting through hard butter.
“You do not get to decide which parts of my life I’m allowed to face.”
His jaw flexes.
Sloane steps in before he answers. “Kara.”
I turn to him and I know he sees my pain.
“If we call her, it is controlled. We record and keep her talking. Rafi works location while she’s on the line. You do not give her information. You do not tell her where you are. You do not agree to meet her alone. If she tries to pull you emotionally, you let one of us end the call.”
My laugh comes out thin. “That sounds easy.”
“It won’t be, Kara.”
At least he doesn’t lie.
Cole’s voice drops. “She knows where to hurt you.”
I look back at him.
“She already has,” I whisper.
His expression changes, and for a second, we are back in the bedroom. His hand on my face. His mouth on mine. The devastating tenderness of being wanted instead of watched. Then the laptop chimes.
Rafi says, “I have the recording setup ready.”
Sloane nods. “Use my phone. Unknown number blocked. We’ll call Vanessa’s cell.”
My stomach turns. Vanessa’s cell. I know that number by memory. I have called it from grocery store aisles, airport bathrooms, production sets, hotel rooms, parking lots after long events when my smile hurt and I needed someone who knew what the smile cost. I have called it crying and laughing. Now Sloane dials it like evidence.
The phone rings once. Twice. Three times. Then Vanessa answers.
“Kara?”
Her voice breaks over my name. For one brutal second, I almost break with it.
Honey-warm. Tearful. Relieved. So perfectly Vanessa that my body reaches for the old version of her before my mind can stop it.
I close my eyes and feel Cole shift closer. I open them again.
“It’s me,” I say.
“Oh, thank God.” Vanessa exhales shakily. “Honey, I have been losing my mind. Where are you? Are you safe? Who is with you?”
Sloane holds the phone on speaker between us. His other hand lifts slightly, motioning to be careful.
