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Eva listened to the men talking amongst themselves, catching a few things here and there that made her flinch: “I’ll guarantee she’s with West’s brother. She likes those Slade men.”
“She’s never been smart.”
“Good thing I’m not after her because of her brains. Eva?” The man raised his voice. “You can hear me, right? Don’t you think I’m right? Come out and play.”
Cole leaned over her ear. “Lacy Lynch?” he whispered.
No, no. Lynch just wasn’t the type to chase her through a swamp—the corrupt investor was a white collar criminal, one who sat comfortably behind a desk and made others do his dirty work. Besides that, he was a coward.
“He wouldn’t come near me. My daddy would have his head…”
“What does he have to lose?” Cole asked. “You ruined him.”
She swallowed. Was there a lecture behind Cole’s voice? Maybe she’d taken things a step further than she should’ve? “It’s not possible,” she said. “Lynch’s… got his own problems to deal with.”
And yet terrorizing her would be the perfect revenge, even if he never caught her.
Her daddy would never let her out of the house if he ever heard about this, or he’d send a bodyguard to watch her every move.
If she got out of this in one piece, would she ever have a normal life? Studying Cole’s set face, she prayed that she could.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cole clenched his teeth. Eva’s hand squeezed his, harder and harder as she waited out these jerks. Mud rimmed her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her face was smudged in that black sludge too. Their mud wrestling had coated her knees and legs with it, even her dress was the exact shade of this swamp.
Getting so dirty had made for a good time before, but now it was essential for camouflaging themselves from these stalkers. They hunted them with no mercy.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” the man called out. “Sorry, we’re out of turkey. We’ll have to put you on the menu. Is your friend with you? We’ll invite him to the feast too.”
A shiver ran through her.
Anger burned through him as he tried to sooth her shaking body. He’d had a strong impression to keep down, but it was going against everything in him. He was made for fighting. Maybe that would still happen.
How could he leave his guns behind? He cursed his carelessness. He should have been on high alert after hearing about that stalker, not so intent on kissing her that he forgot everything else.
He’d taken nothing that his brother had told him seriously until it stared him in the face. And still her soft gaze on him drew him to her as she turned to him. Cole kissed her muddy cheek. He wasn’t sure how to get around these guys without killing them. He’d faced down bears and moose, even an occasional cougar, but hisfistswere generally reserved for humans, not a knife. A savage way to go, and against guns?
And yet, for Eva? He’d do what it took to keep her alive.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. He’d protect her no matter the cost.
She nodded, not looking so sure that everything was going to be okay. He wished he knew how to make her feel better. He felt helpless in the face of her fear
“Eva! Not so brave now, are you?” the man shouted.
Cole’s hands clenched. He wanted to tear her stalker apart for terrorizing her for so long. She might be spunky, but she was more sensitive than she let on.
“You don’t have some smart aleck comment for me, huh?” the guy asked. “C’mon, let’s hear it!”
The more this man talked, the more Cole was convinced this was Lacy Lynch, no matter what she said. He had too much anger against her to be some run-of-the-mill stalker. This was personal.
The reeds ahead of them crunched down as the man charged through. Cole dragged Eva back with him to get away, inching closer to the edge of the lagoon. He was about to push her in to give her a head start while he fought the guy back when he was flooded with the craziest idea of his life.
Her phone!
Prying her fingers loose from her lifeline, he opened the screen with her facial recognition. She met his eyes, not daring to say anything.
West hadn’t texted back. Cole had no choice but to go through with this. He scrolled through Eva’s phone and texted her stalker back: “Where are you, handsome?”
