Page 25 of Defiance
“Yes.” Logan gave him a little shake to try and get him to see this for what it was.
A fucking test.
“Well, it doesn’t. And how can you be so sure he’s not dead like my parents. You didn’t even know he was being questioned!”
Logan took a deep breath. He needed to remain calm in all of this, for both their sakes. “Because there are rules, Cole, and Michael won’t advocate for his pack to break them. As far as I’m aware, Nick hasn’t tried to run, hasn’t refused to join a pack, and doesn’t have any known associations with those who helped you escape. Right?”
Cole shook his head sharply. “Of course not. He was actually looking forward to joining a pack.” He let out a bitter laugh and pointed at the now-black screen. “I bet he’s not anymore.”
“Why don’t we watch the rest of the video and you can see for yourself that he’s okay?”
Cole looked far from convinced that that was a good idea, and Logan hoped to fuck his theory was right. Paul was a wanker, but—and Logan hated to admit this—he could kind of see his point. Logan might well end up having to arrest or interrogate former colleagues, friends, or even family. He wasn’t surprised they wanted to know how he’d react. A little warning would’ve been nice though.
“Fine, but in a second. I want to go get dressed.” He gestured to himself, and for the first time, Logan noticed Cole was still wearing pyjamas. “The other two arrived before I’d got around to it.”
“Yeah, sure.” That actually worked out pretty well. The cameras couldn’t see past the entrance to the hallway. The bathroom and bedroom doors were shielded from view by the wall. “Take your time.”
As soon as Cole left the living room, Aaron blew out a breath, startling Logan. He’d forgotten it wasn’t just him and Cole in the room.
“You handled that about as well as could be expected.” Aaron took a sip of his coffee, though Logan knew him well enough to realise there was a lot more he wanted to say but couldn’t.
“Fancy a beer later?”Want to come round and talk about this?
“Yeah, that’d be good. Thanks.” He shot Logan a relieved smile.
Logan stood and smoothed down his jeans, trying not to look as though he was in a rush. “Just going to nip to the bathroom before we get started.”
Aaron nodded in acknowledgement and reached for one of the books on the coffee table.
Moving quickly, but silently once he was out of sight of the cameras, Logan pushed open the door to Cole’s bedroom and slipped inside. Carefully shutting the door behind him, Logan came to an abrupt stop, totally unprepared for the sight of a very naked Cole standing in the middle of the room, just pulling up his boxer-briefs.
“Oh.” Everything he’d wanted to say momentarily forgotten, Logan swallowed thickly and took two steps forward until they were almost touching.
Cole adjusted the waistband on his underwear, then looked up, the anger from moments before tempered by curiosity. “I wondered if you’d follow me in.”
“I wanted to talk to you,” Logan murmured, so desperate to touch all that exposed skin.
But they couldn’t.
Too risky.
Smith and Rich could return at any moment, and no excuse would explain Logan’s scent all over Cole’s skin. Clothes, yes, up to a point, but not skin. The change in scent would be subtle, but they were HRU, no doubt they’d be able to tell the difference.
“Just talk?” Cole reached for him, but Logan shook his head and took a reluctant step back.
“Can’t.” He put more space between them.
“Didn’t stop you yesterday.”
No, it didn’t. “I know, and I put us both at risk. Look,” he said, crossing his arms to curb any temptation, “you know that video was a test, right? A shit and insensitive way to go about it, granted, but they want to see how you’ll react to that sort of situation.”
Cole’s anger returned with a vengeance and he reached for the clothes on the bed, pulling them on as he spoke. “How the hell did they expect me to react? That’s my best friend they’ve got tied to a fucking chair. Did you see his face?”
“Yeah.”
“He’d been beaten. He’s not a shifter, he won’t heal straightaway.”
“I know,” Logan soothed, but Cole rolled his eyes.
