Page 108 of Cole

“You’re right, I don’t want this. None of this is my dream,” I told him bluntly.

He frowned at me. “Then that only pisses me off more.”

“Did you kill Grant?”

“Not personally. Teddy did it.”

“Teddy?” I scrambled to figure out Errol’s angle. “You want to join the Iron Vultures?”

“Not join. Coexist. With Grant gone, the Hounds can be the key suppliers of the area. We have all The Lion’s contacts. We can make those deals ourselves. The Iron Vultures will be our best clients.”

“And Teddy and his father will happily just go along with that.”

“They won’t have a choice. Right now, no one wants to work with them.”

“Because Teddy is an unhinged psycho.”

“Everyone has their faults. Like you… you’re so self-righteous and uptight. It’s like you’re not even a Hound. You don’t act like your old man at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t even his.”

“Now, now, Errol, save the compliments for later,” I said dryly.

Errol chuckled and pulled his phone from his pocket. I adjusted my grip on the gun. In my pocket, on the burner phone, was Agent Sánchez, my contact at the FBI.

“Funny. You’ve always been funny, Cole. I’m sad to have to take power this way. I’d always thought maybe you’d get bored of this life and go off traveling, like you always wanted to, but that hasn’t happened. Now, there’s no alternative.”

“If you think I’m going to let you shoot me down like a dog somewhere, you’re mistaken,” I said coolly, and cocked the gun under the table.

Errol clearly heard the threat of the gun but only nodded.

“I knew you wouldn’t. You don’t have it in you to go down without a fight. But you see, your little girlfriend—Isabelle, isn’t it? She’s with Teddy, and I’m worried what might happen to her if you make a fuss and don’t come with me.” He held up his phone, and I could make out the photo well enough to know that I couldn’t end Errol right here and now. The back of my truck, the truck my Goldilocks was driving. Someone was following her, if they didn’t already have her. Errol could be bluffing but that was a risk I couldn’t take.

I stared at Errol, emotions I hadn’t known I was capable of feeling coursing through me.

“Put your phone on the desk,” Errol continued, confident he had my attention now. I complied, setting my regular cell down on the table, while the burner phone felt like a heavy weight in my pocket. Was he going to search me, or just trust that I only had one phone?

“What do you say, Cole? I think you’ll come with me,” Errol said smugly. A heavy feeling of finality settled over me.

I released the gun and hoped the burner phone was picking everything up.

“Let’s go. Take me to her.”

thirty-eight

ISABELLE

I managed to bag nearly a hundred copies of the loathsome issue of the paper featuring my fake article. I dumped them at the campus recycling center and checked my phone. Maddox had promised to let me know when Cole’s release was processed.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw his message.

Maddox: On our way to pick him up now.

I told Derek—who I’d since learned had been watching over me on Cole’s orders—where we were going, and then I was running to my car. I drove toward The Clutch, taking the scenic route that avoided town, hoping to bypass the afternoon traffic.

I was only five minutes away when the whine of motorcycles filled the car. Behind me, ten motorcycles, maybe more, were gaining quickly. I watched them get closer. Was it Cole? Was this some kind of Hounds outing I didn’t know about?

But as they got closer, half remaining behind and the other half pulling in front to block me in, I could see their cuts.

Iron Vultures.