“Only a little. He doesn’t say much. I just know he’s desperate to destroy Chadwick Goodyear.”
Everything inside me froze. “Goodyear killed Cole’s friends?”
Georgie froze. “You didn’t know.”
My pulse fluttered in my neck. “He didn’t mention it.”
Georgie flicked a glance at Cole and lowered her voice. “He only found out recently. Goodyear didn’t pull the trigger but he gave the order.”
“Oh, God.” I set my glass down, feeling a little sick.
“Cole searched for a long time to find out who was responsible,” Lark added, her face serious. “He’s biding his time, but Goodyear is going down. When Cole was an assassin, he was called Darkwolf.”
I met her gaze head on.
“He took his time, hunted his prey down until they were terrified, then took them out when he was ready.”
And that’s what he was doing with Goodyear. Toying with him, until it was time.
Was I just another way for him to hurt Goodyear?
I pushed my chair back. “I think I need the restroom.”
“Lili?” Georgie grabbed my arm. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “It’s…a lot.”
“It is, but Cole is a good man. A good man who needs a good woman.”
“I don’t think that’s me. He’s really set on me driving off to start a new life.”
Lark rolled her eyes. “Because he’s a man, who thinks he knows what’s best for you. You get to decide that, not him.”
“I just need a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“What’s going on?”
Cole’s voice made me jump. I didn’t meet his gaze. “Nothing. I just need the ladies room.”
I hurried away. I spotted the sign for the restrooms and aimed that way. They were down a short corridor of more glossy marble. When I stepped into the ladies’, two women in short dresses were just leaving.
Standing at the sink, I looked into the mirror.
Cole had demons. I knew that. And maybe winning me in the fight was just another way for him to dig the knife into Goodyear, but he’d gone above and beyond for me. Lark and Georgie were right. Cole deserved to be happy. Revenge might help, but it wouldn’t give him happiness.
I deserved to be happy, too, and I was the one who decided what was best for me. I might not get to keep a man as magnificent as Cole Black, but I wanted him, at least for a little while.
I wanted wild, no-holds-barred sex with him. I lifted my chin and nodded.
Filled with determination, I spun.
A man opened the door and stepped inside. He looked about forty, and was wearing dark trousers and button-down shirt in a dark blue.
“Oh, you’re in the wrong place,” I said. “The men’s room is the next door down.”
His plain face was expressionless. He started toward me.
My radar went off. As he advanced, I knew in an instant he was one of Goodyear’s men.
