Page 84 of Marked

Her prickly question made him drop his hand. “No, just wondering why you thought it was a good idea to call the informant who got Bella kidnapped in the first place.”

“I don’t think Markie was behind the kidnapping.”

“Maybe not, but the whole reason they took Bella was to find out who the rat was, and to get back at you for coming after them.”

“Regardless of whether I called him or not, they’d still want to find out.”

He heaved a sigh. Maybe he was more pissed off about the fact that she’d made the move without consulting him, and if that was the case, he needed to check his ego at the door. But Jesus. Ever since she’d shown up at his apartment door, gun drawn and temper blazing in search of Bella, a fierce protectiveness had taken hold of him.

Sure, it was probably just general concern for a mother and her child... or so he’d thought. Now that Bella was back, he was still on edge.

Worrying about anyone other than himself was a foreign concept.

She rested her cool palm on his forearm. “I need you to understand that this is my career and my daughter we’re talking about. My life means very little in the balance when it comes to her. Getting her back to normalcy is my main priority, and I can’t do that without taking risks.”

A wave of calm settled over him. Christ, he was being selfish. Catching her wrist, he tugged her off the chair. She stood and let him draw her to his lap. Circling his arm around her waist and snuggling her to his abdomen, he tilted his head back an inch to stare at her. “Sorry.” The grumble came out with reluctance—not because he felt he didn’t owe her an apology, but because it was so damn alien to be close enough to a woman to utter the word.

Her fingernails swept over the shaved part of his scalp, awakening goosebumps on his flesh. He closed his eyes as her gentleness soothed his nerves.

“Don’t be. Just try to understand.”

He cracked open his eyelids and studied her face. The once-tense, sunken skin around her eyes was now smooth and even. Color had returned to her cheeks and lips, making her appear even more vibrant, even sexier, than before.

He had no doubt that if they hadn’t found Bella, Sophia wouldn’t have survived.

A tentative smile worked her mouth, undoing everything inside him. Reaching up, he threaded his fingers into her hair and pulled her mouth to his. Her lips were plump and soft, making his dick ache. Her tongue touched his teeth, and he stood with her in his arms.

“Wait.” Sophia’s laugh halted him. “We need to get this done.”

He let out a deep, raspy growl. “I won’t be able to do a fucking thing until I have you again.”

She patted his chest. “And you will. But progress first.”

He huffed a breath and dropped back in the chair. “I’ll just go on a shooting spree. That’ll solve this faster.”

If she caught his strife, she ignored it. Wriggling on his knee, she turned his laptop to face her. “Did you hear from Nash yet?”

“Nope.”

She clicked on his mouse pad, bringing up his email. “Well, there’s something from Dare that came in two minutes ago.”

He lurched forward, nearly spilling Sophia to the floor. He caught her hip and anchored her in place then eyed the email at the top of his inbox. Sophia moved her hand away from the mouse and he opened the message.

Check this out.

Cole clicked on the first grainy image.

A man holding a cigarette to his lips walked down a dark street outside what appeared to be a hotel. Cole frowned. How was this any help? He went to the next image. The same person was spotted driving a shiny black sedan, the photo taken from a street camera.

“I don’t understand,” Sophia said, voicing the confusion in his head.

Cole reached for his phone, which was next to his computer, but before he could dial, a call came through.

“It’s Dare.” He swiped to answer then hit the speaker button. “Yeah?”

“Did you get my email?”

“We’re looking at it. Who’s this?”

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