Cole

 

When I get closer to Z’s, I see the police lights flashing. I guess Darren is here. I hate that I’m letting her put me in this position. He should know what is going on. J thinks she can do this alone. Damn it.

 

I open the truck door as Darren and Todd come walking out the bay door.

 

“What’s going on?” I raise my voice as I walk over.

 

“Someone trashed the place. Not sure if anything is missing yet,” Todd says, shaking his head.

 

“Why won’t she answer the fucking phone?” Darren yells, hitting a button on his cell phone.

 

“Who?”

 

“J. She said she was going back to sleep, but I know her house phone is right beside the bed. She said she feels like shit, but she needs to come check through her stuff to see if anything was taken.” He starts dialing again.

 

I run my hand over my head. Shit. I hope this doesn’t backfire in my face. I reach out and grab his arm. “Stop dialing. I know why she won’t answer.”

 

“What do you mean you know why? Where the fuck is she?”

 

Running my hand over my head again, I look him in the eye. “She’s not at her place. She’s at mine.”

 

“Oh fuck,” I hear Todd mumble as he walks away.

 

“The fuck you say?” Darren steps up into my face. “What is my fucking daughter doing at your place? What about all that shit she told me this morning? What the fuck did you do to my girl?”

 

“I didn’t do anything to her. It wasn’t a lie. She got into a fight last night. I happened to be there and didn’t think she should be by herself. That’s all.”

 

He narrowed his eyes. “That’s all?”

 

“Yeah. When I left, she was going to sleep. I swear, nothing happened.”

 

“Where?”

 

“Where what?” I ask, already knowing.

 

“Where the fuck is she sleeping, Cole?”

Shit. He isn’t going to like this at all. “In my bed, but we were never in the bed at the same time.”

 

Darren starts pacing back in forth. I look over at Todd, who had walked far enough away to not be in the middle of the conversation, but not far enough that he can’t hear what I am saying. He shakes his head at me. I shrug. What the hell else was I supposed to do? Darren starts toward me again, his nostrils flaring, his face red.

 

“You fucking my daughter?”

 

“No. I told you—”

 

He shoves his finger into my chest. “Get her on the phone…now.”

 

I pull my phone out and dial my home number. I don’t know if she will answer, but other than going to get her, this is my only option. When the machine picks up, I pray J hears it. “J, it’s me. Pick up. Your dad needs to talk to you. J?” Just as I am about to hang up, she answers.

 

“Cole?” she says in a sexy, sleep-filled voice.

 

I turn my back to Darren. “J, your dad knows where you are. Let’s just say he’s not happy. I told him I was at the bar when you got into the fight and didn’t think you should be home alone.”

 

“Fuck, Cole. Why the fuck did you need to tell him anything? Never mind. Put him on.”

 

I walk over to Darren and hand him my phone. He gives me a look. From this moment forward, I never want to be on the receiving end of that look again.

 

“Are you fucking Cole?” is all I hear as I head over to Todd.

 

“Man, you fucked up. What were you thinking? J is off limits. You know that.”

 

“I didn’t do anything wrong. She needed help and I gave it. That’s it. End of story.”

 

“That’s not how Darren is going to see it.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” We stand there, watching Darren pace back and forth, phone to his ear. I turn to Todd. “So… Was this some random shit, or did someone not like how we fixed their car?”

 

“Not sure, but the entire place is tossed. They were either looking for something or just wanted to make one hell of a mess.”

 

“Cole!” Darren yells from across the parking lot. When I jog in his direction, he holds the phone out to me. “We’re good.” He slaps me on the back, then walks away.

 

Amazed, I put the phone up to my ear. “What the hell did you tell him?”

 

“I just made sure he knew you were just being a friend and clarified that we are not sleeping together.”

 

“What are you going to do about coming here?”

 

“I told him just to have Todd check my stuff. He can’t see me like this.”

 

“All right. Let me finish up here. I’ll be there soon.”

 

“When you get back, just take me to my place. I’ll call Jules.”

 

“J, we need to—”

 

“Cole, please!”

 

“Fuck, you are the most stubborn woman I have ever met. I’ll be there soon.” Hanging up, I jam the phone into my pocket, seeing Todd standing next to me, smiling.

 

“Be careful, Cole.”

 

“What the hell does that mean?”

 

“Just be careful. J is the best woman I know. Don’t disrespect her or Darren by doing what you are thinking about doing.”

 

I shake my head and leave him standing there as I walk into the bay doors. I look around for any clue that someone who works here is responsible for this. Everyone’s walking around and picking up tools, seeing what belongs where. I now have to look at everyone just a little bit differently. Other than J, it looks like everyone else is helping clean up, so whoever is fucking Darren over, they had the balls to show up today.

 

For obvious reasons, Darren tells us he’s going to close the shop for a few days, which is probably for the best. When I head to the maintenance closet, I pass the office. I hear Darren and Nan arguing yet again. He says something about this being too coincidental. I grab onto the door frame to stop myself from going in there and telling him what I know.

 

Goddammit, J.

 

*

 

“Ash, I need your help. You got time for lunch?”

 

“Sure. Give me twenty minutes? Firehouse Subs?”

 

“Yeah. I’ll meet you there. Thanks.”

 

I have no idea if telling Asher what is going on is the right thing to do, but of everyone I know, I trust him with my life.

 

Waiting for him to show up, I bounce my leg nervously under the table. When he walks in, he heads right for me. “What’s up, man?” he shakes my hand and sits.

 

“I need some information.”

 

“What kind of information?”

 

“The DiMarco brothers.”

 

Asher’s eyes widen. “What the hell do you need information on them for? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

 

I rub my hand over the back of my neck. “Ash, they beat up J last night. She was in the shop alone. They walked in and trashed the place, roughed her up a bit, and told her they needed either the drugs or the money. I have no idea what is going on, but I need to find out.”

 

“Cole, the DiMarcos are bad fucking news. They have been on our radar lately because they’re into some heavy shit. I don’t recommend you getting involved. What do the cops say?”

 

“That’s the fucking thing, Ash. She won’t go to them. She thinks she can handle this shit on her own. They threatened her, telling her if she went to the cops, Darren would pay. She is so protective over her dad and that shop, she won’t go.”

 

We pause in our conversation to give the waitress our orders. When she walks away, Ash leans toward me. “Cole, you should stay out of this. If shit goes down and you are involved, your ass could go back to prison.”

 

“You think I don’t know this? Fuck, Ash. I don’t want to go back to prison, but I can’t walk away. Why do you think I came to you and not some of my other friends? I am trying to be legit about this. She needs help or she is going to get herself killed.”

 

My group of friends can be put into just two groups. Ash, and the guys I was in prison with. I can’t really call them friends, but if I make just one or two calls, I will have all the information I need. I can’t risk getting involved with them again.

 

“What does Darren say?”

 

I look down at the table. “He doesn’t know. She won’t tell him.”

 

Ash blows out a breath. “This doesn’t sound good, Cole.”

 

“What the hell am I supposed to do? Let her deal with this alone? You know me. I can’t do that.”

 

The waitress brings over our subs, asking if we need anything else. I nod. “Yeah. Can I put in a to-go order?”

 

“Sure. What’ll it be?”

 

“Give me an order of fries and whatever soup you have today. Thanks.”

 

“I’ll bring it out as soon as it’s up.”

 

I turn back to Asher. He’s sitting there, eating his fries, giving me a look. Before he can even ask, I say, “It’s for J. She’s at my place.”

 

Ash shakes his head. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

 

I bite into my burger and shrug. “I have no fucking idea.”

 

We finish eating, talking about other things. After we pay and walk to the door, Asher says, “I’m going to follow you over to your house. I need some information. If she’s not willing to talk to the police, maybe she’ll talk to me.”

 

“I don’t know, Ash. She was adamant about not involving the police. I’ve talked about you, so she knows you’re a cop. I don’t know if she’ll open up to you.”

 

“That’s fine. I’ll follow you over to your house anyway. Maybe she’ll listen to what I have to say.”

 

Once I get to my house, I wait for Asher on the front patio. J is going to be pissed, but what the hell else am I supposed to do? She’s so worried about Darren and his shop, she’s paying no attention to what can happen to her. These are the big boys. This is the big leagues. There is no way either one of us can handle this shit on our own.

 

I watch Ash park behind my truck, then walk up to the porch. I unlock the door and open it, immediately disarming the alarm. As soon as we walk in and close the door, I set it again. I’m not taking any chances with the DiMarcos. I have no idea if they know she is here, but I’m not going to risk it.

 

Asher walks into the living room and sits on the couch as I put her lunch on the table and head for the stairs. When I get to the bedroom door, I stop and look at J asleep in my bed, her brown hair fanned out on my pillow. I have a moment where I wish this were a permanent thing. Hell, I’d settle for one night, but I know it’s a fleeting feeling. The only reason she is here is because I gave her no other choice. She doesn’t want to be here, be around me.

 

Taking a deep breath, I walk into the room. I touch her shoulder, giving it a little shake. “J, wake up. We need to talk.” No response. I shove her shoulder a little harder. “J, come on. Get up.” She moans, causing my dick to twitch in my jeans. Jesus, I need to get her out of this bed. “J, wake the fuck up!”

 

She jumps into a sitting position. “What the fuck, asshole? Why are you yelling at me?”

 

“You need to get up. I have lunch downstairs. We need to talk.”

 

“We don’t need to talk. I got this, Cole.”

 

Clenching my jaw, I narrow my eyes. “Understand me. You got five minutes to get your ass downstairs.”

 

I turn and walk out of the room. Maybe I didn’t have to be so mean, but fuck. This girl does something to me. Something I’m not so sure I am ready to explore. As I jog down the stairs, I hear her yell.

 

“Fuck you!”

 

I walk into the living room and take a seat on the other couch across from Asher. I never understood the purpose of a love seat. It’s too fucking small to lay on comfortably, too big to be used like a chair. Therefore, I opted for two matching couches. It works for me. I look over at Ash, who has an eyebrow raised.

 

“She doesn’t sound happy.”

 

“You think that’s unhappy, wait until she sees you.”