Page 75 of Cole

“She walks, and you don’t say her name again.” Fuck, that was dangerously close to caring too much.

A sickly-sweet smile spread across his face. “We don’t know her name.”

“It stays that way.”

A long second stretched out in front of us. Isabelle was breathing rapidly as she remained pressed against the man with the gun. Gage and Maddox were on either side of me, their weapons not drooping an inch from their firing positions. Finn shifted in the gravel behind me, his breathing too loud and too fast, showing every tell in the book. I held up a hand behind me, and Finn stilled.

Axel gave a quick nod and shoved Isabelle forward. She stumbled, scraping her hands and knees in the gravel. She pushed herself off the ground without a wince and brushed her hands off on her blue jeans. I caught her eye and gestured for her to get behind Gage and Maddox. Thankfully, she obeyed, walking with her head held high.

“Do not let her out of your sight,” I said through gritted teeth to Maddox.

I forced my gaze away from her as she tucked herself behind the Hounds as though she belonged there. Axel cocked a brow at that, training his gun on me now, and I held mine pointed toward him, just as steady. He waited a beat and then whistled between his teeth, and the quiet around us erupted into motion. His men moved to the semi, quickly loading the remaining crates. Gage and Maddox stayed put as I stepped forward.

Axel slid his hands into his pockets as the last crate was loaded. “Well, it has been a pleasure doing business with you, Cole.”

“No,” I said bluntly. “It hasn’t.”

Axel and his men hopped back into their blacked-out SUVs, loading in their injured among plenty of groans and curses, and then drove out of the parking lot in a single-file line, followed by the semitruck. The cops’ sirens were too close now. We had to get the hell out of here.

“Can I count on you two to wrap this up?” I asked, directing my question to Maddox and Gage. They were already dragging our injured men onto their bikes.

“Of course, boss,” Gage replied, his serious face breaking for a fraction of a second into a smirk. “You have other things to take care of.”

“Finn, do as you’re told for one damn time in your life!” I shouted at him. “Help them and then head home.”

The Hounds all moved, knowing their jobs were far from over for the night. The guys who’d been injured needed medical attention, but nowhere near Hade Harbor. Gage and Maddox could handle it, but my skin itched at the thought of leaving them after a shoot-out. But Gage was right. I did have other things to take care of. Her.

She had found a dark corner of the parking lot that broke toward the highway. She stood with her arms crossed as if she hadn’t been seconds away from being shot in the head. I walked toward her and noticed the subtle movements of her hands rubbing up and down her arms, trying to warm herself up.

“Let’s go,” I said, taking her arm and steering her toward my bike.

“I can drive myself,” she stated, her voice quiet and unsure.

“No,” I argued. “You’re with me. Now let’s go.”

She opened her mouth, about to argue, but another glance at my face had her shutting it again.

She climbed behind me and hovered her hands by my waist like she didn’t want to touch me, despite the electricity between us saying otherwise. I reached back and took her hands in mine, wrapping them around my torso where they belonged. Her fingers tightened.

“Hold on,” I said, kicking the engine to life.

I felt her suck in her breath, her stomach pressing tighter to my back as I took off out of the parking lot. She didn’t talk on the ride, and her breaths were my only companion. I took the long way, not only because I liked the way she felt pressed up against me, but because I needed to make sure we weren’t being followed. She leaned with me, not fighting the tilt of the bike like most newbies do. Good instincts.

Watson’s Pass appeared out of nowhere in the darkness. A place only me, Gage, and Maddox knew. A small lookout point just off a curving mountain road. I pulled off over the loose gravel of the road and onto the grass. I killed the engine and waited for Isabelle to remove her hands from my waist. She held on for much longer than necessary before finding her bearings and slipping off the back of my bike.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded, striding across the grass of the well-hidden lookout point. The town of Hade Harbor was laid out below us, twinkling in the darkness. Isabelle followed slowly, wrapping her arms around her middle.

She wet her lips, looking for words to explain and not seeming to find any. She was shaking. Shock was setting in.

I couldn’t stop myself from slipping off my leather cut and draping it around her shoulders. Her fingers curled around the black leather. She looked so vulnerable in that second, and it suddenly hit me how close I’d come to losing her. I tugged her into my arms before I could think it through. I needed to feel her close to me. I needed to feel her breath against my skin. I needed proof of life.

“You could have been killed,” I growled softly. “Why the hell did you follow us out there? What were you thinking?”

“I-I saw Finn—he was sneaking around, following you. I was worried he was about to get into trouble,” she babbled. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was being honest, and yet… it wasn’t the whole truth. Not by a long shot.

“And you knew we were riding into trouble, because?”

She stared at me, a muscle working in her jaw. She didn’t know how much to tell me. What to let slip. And I had no idea what my little Goldilocks’ intentions were now that the lines had blurred between us, but one thing was clear… it was time for her little mystery act to end.