Molly

The last thing I expect to see Monday morning is Cody walking into the office with a black eye and busted lip. Certainly not the way to start a week.

“What the...Cody, what happened?” I push back from my desk and walk around to get a better look.

Cole comes barreling in the door right behind him and growls, “He deserved it.”

“Cole Anthony Davenport, you did not!” I instinctively scold the arrogant asshole as he stomps past us and into his office, slamming the door behind him. “Cody,” my voice softens as I turn my attention back to my friend and co-worker.

“I’m fine, Mols. Not the first time he’s tried to kick my ass,” he defends.

He’s right. It’s not the first time he and Cole have come to blows. In fact, back when I first started, I used to find their impromptu wrestling matches entertaining to watch. Those were usually always in fun in nature though. And those were never because of me.

“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” I already know the answer, but a quick nod from Cody confirms it.

“He’ll get over it. He knows this was the best option,” Cody reassures me.

“He still had no right to do this to you!” I yell loud enough that I know Cole can hear me behind his closed door.

“Let it go, Molly. Let’s get to work and forget about it.” Cody gives me a side hug then heads down the hall to his space as I circle back behind the receptionist desk and take a seat.

What I really want to do is march into Cole’s office and give him a piece of my mind, again. Except, that didn’t work out so well the last time. Never mind the fact that I’ve slept like shit since he stormed out of my condo in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Brushing off the reminder of how incredibly wrong things went, I try to focus on the work in front of me. Keeping my mind off the fact that I’ll be heading over to The Landing Strip to ’work’ for the first time tonight. No. I have better things to do than dwell on the nerves in the pit of my stomach. There are phone calls to be made. Appointments to book and clients to call back.

I am able to bury myself in my work until lunchtime finally rolls around. Then, the two brooding men that have avoided me all morning emerge from their offices and grace me with their presence.

“You’re not going to The Landing Strip tonight,” Cole grumbles demandingly.

Cody leans against the wall behind my desk. “She has to. You need to get over it. If she doesn’t show up, he’ll come looking for her, and you run the risk of blowing our cover.”

Cole lunges forward, but I quickly jump between them.

“Knock it the fuck off.” I push against Cole’s chest, forcing him back only an inch or two. “Grown the hell up. Put your head on straight and help me do this the way it should go down.”

He looks down at me for a brief moment, long enough that I can see his eyes soften. “You being involved was not part of the plan.”

“Yes, so you’ve said. Too late now. You’ve lost this round so give in already. We should be hashing out what the plan is once I’m inside, instead of you acting like a hot head, beating up your brother and effectively ignoring me all morning.”

“She has a point,” Cody quips from behind me.

Cole bucks at him again, earning himself a punch right in the solar plexus from me. “Enough, Cole. Get your shit together, or I’ll quit.”

I take great pleasure in the pained look on his face as he gasps for air from my hit.

Six hours later...

I’m standing in front of the mirror at home and wondering why I ever decided it would be a good idea to go against Cole’s wishes and sign up for this.

He was right. I am in over my head, but it’s too fucking late now, and I’m not about to let any of these guys down. I made the decision to do this for them. All of them. And Zoey. To get back at the group behind everything bad that has happened to Smitty, Zoey, Rhys, and Cole – they’ve all been caught up in bullshit because of this little group of assholes for far too long.

What Cole doesn’t know, is that Cody’s been backing up this idea of mine for a few weeks now. Unlike his big brother, Cody realized I wasn’t going to back down and figured it was much better to prepare me for what might happen next. Yet, I still don’t feel confident about this.

“You’re going to be late,” Cole sneers from the doorway. I didn’t even hear him come in. Though can’t say I’m surprised he’s here. “If you’re going to do this, you have to play by the rules, and that means you cannot draw any unwanted attention to yourself. You’re there to do a job. Keep your eyes and ears open. Being late on your first day is only going to piss Dallas off.”

“Jesus Christ. Can you stop?” The irritation in my voice is clear.

I’ve been listening to Cole’s lectures since we finished lunch earlier. He disappeared for two hours, likely to fuck out some of his aggression with Jade – his friend with benefits, came back and decided that maybe we should be coming up with a solid game plan. It was easy enough for me to keep up with his little crash course thanks to Cody, though my head was still spinning by the time we finished up.

I thought when I left the office, I’d have some breathing room. Clearly, I was wrong.

“You don’t have to do this.” Cole changes tactics with me.

“Yeah, so you’ve said.” I grab my small backpack with clothes in it and head for the front door. “Let me guess, you’re my bodyguard for the night?”

“Molly. Please. Stop testing my patience.”

He can beg all he wants. My sheer existence seems to test him, something I cannot change.

“Cole,” I say in a sweet voice as I bat my eyes at him. “Stop being an asshole. Please.”

“I swear to God if you were mine,” he mumbles under his breath, but I hear every word.

Spinning around, I face him one more time. “But I’m not. You’ve made sure of that. And even if I was, you still wouldn’t tell me what to do. Just so we’re clear.”

Before my resolve can fade any further. I slip out the door and hurry down the steps. Cole stops me in the lobby, just before I fade out into the parking lot.

“Run through it one last time.”

I roll my eyes but give him what he wants. “You’re following me. You’ll wait outside until they open, then you’ll take a seat at the bar. I do what’s asked of me tonight. Nothing more. If I see you, I’m to pretend we don’t know each other.”

“Thank you,” Cole says, his mouth forming a thin line. “And you know what to do if something goes wrong?”

“Yes. Have a little bit of trust in me, Cole.”