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“Bennett said you still haven’t broken up with her.”
I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped me as I turned the bacon-wrapped asparagus on the grill pan. I shouldn’t have been surprised he talked to Olivia about it — Olivia hated Lorelei as much as Bennett did. Or, nearly, at any rate.
“He’s the one who told me he wanted me to do it in person,” I said in my defense. If it made him happy I would have called her that very minute, or driven to Stratford immediately. But no. That’s not what he wanted.
Part of me thought it was his form of punishing her. She knew I was alive, that I was home, but I remained a distant figure in her life, much like he had been in mine those heart-wrenching months. Or maybe it was a test, to see if I would make a liar out of myself and break my vow to him.
Olivia didn’t sound convinced. “And when is that going to be?”
“Whenever she brings Annabel back. By the way, how could you let her take my cat?”
“I didn’tlether do jack shit,” Olivia snapped. “She just did. Like reporting you as missing. That was all her brainchild, not ours.”
“Other than giving me more grief about Lorelei, was there another reason you called?”
“Yeah, the trust lawyer has been poking around. I tried to put him off as long as possible, but I think he knows you were out of town. So I’d expect a meeting in the near future.”
“Shit…” A jolt of tension shot through my brain. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes and tried to exhale a slow breath.
“It’s probably just a coincidence.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. And neither do you.” The other line beeped and I stole a quick glance at the screen. “I have another call.”
“Talk to you tomorrow.”
I cleared my throat and clicked over, praying for better news. “And?”
“I got it all set up,” Cole said. “Going up there next week during visiting hours.”
“Make sure you don’t use your real name.”
“You have to sign in with something — they check everyone who comes in for warrants.”
“Then use Jake’s alias from Parkview. You know it’s clean.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll see if he’s still got his ID. My guy can probably swap the pictures real quick.”
The way he said it, the flatness of his tone, made me stop and take notice. I turned the burners off and removed the asparagus from the grill before giving him my full attention. “What is the matter?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell the others?”
“Absolutely not. The less people who know, the better.”
“What happens if they get you, like they got Bennett? What am I supposed to tell them? What am I supposed to tellhim?”
I sighed again, rubbing my forehead. The tension in my head had gone from a sudden pang to a steady throbbing. “They won’t. That’s why we’re striking first. Our Russian friends already have them on the run. This is the final death knell.”
“Whatever the fuck that is.”
“Endgame.”
“Ah, ok. Oh, shit! Olivia just walked in.” The phone rustled and disconnected quickly.
Shaking my head, I tossed my phone on the counter and stooped down to check on the steaks in the oven.
As soon as I straightened, the cast-iron skillet in hand, Bennett pulled me against him. I had just enough time to set it on the stove before I accidentally sloshed melted butter all over the place. And he accused me of being cat-like.
“You almost made me spill,” I chided, leaning back against him.
