Chapter 11: old wounds

Cole didn't move for a full thirty seconds."Harlan is dead," Cole said."No. He's not.""I watched him die. Prague. The ambush that killed my team." His voice was completely flat. The flatness that came after something hit too hard for a normal reaction. "I pulled him out of a burning vehicle. He didn't make it to the hospital.""He didn't make it to the hospital you were taken to," Sixteen said. "Different vehicle. Different hospital. Different name on the intake form." She slid her phone across the table. A photo on the screen. "He's been Victor Crane for four years. Private security consulting. Offices in Geneva and Washington."Cole looked at the photo for a long time.I looked at Cole."He set up the ambush," Cole said."He sold the operation to the same network that owns your senator's case. Has been running money through defense contracts for eleven years." Sixteen took her phone back. "Your team died because they were getting close to the financial trail. Harlan decided it

Face to face

Cole was dressed in four minutes.I was dressed in three.He turned from the window and looked at me with an expression that said he already knew arguing was pointless and was deciding whether to try anyway."You're not coming," he said."You're not going alone.""The text said—""The text is from a man who buried your team and ran a network that tried to kill me twice." I pulled on my jacket. "You think I'm sitting here while you walk into that?""Ashton—""Cole. He wants you isolated. That's the whole point. Alone you're just one man he already has a playbook for." I looked at him. "With me you're unpredictable. He doesn't have a file on us together."Cole stared at me. The muscle in his jaw worked."You stay behind me," he said. "You do exactly what I say. The second I tell you to run—""I run. Yes. I know.""I mean it this time.""I know that too."He crossed the room and gripped my face in both hands and kissed me once. Hard and fast. Then he pulled back and looked at me like he

All Chapters of Fucked raw under his care: Chapter 11 - Chapter 12

Chapter 11: old wounds

Face to face