Page 8 of Silk and Steel

All my coolness and dispassion evaporates like morning dew under a desert sun. I remember Emory all too well. Even from all the way across Easton’s backyard–and that’s one Hell of a backyard–she grabbed something primal in me and didn’t let go.

I hadn’t spoken to her that night, though. I doubted she would even remember it.

When the gentle knock comes at Jax’s door, my pulse jumps up.

Jax stands up almost as fast. He swiftly goes to the door and opens it.

“Hello, Ms. Thorne,” he says in as professional a tone as he can muster. He shakes hands with Emory, but I can’t really see anything of her other than the top of her golden blonde mane. A former spook named Grayson Shaw stands beside her.

“Hello,” she says. “And please, call me Emory. We’re hardly strangers.”

“Of course. Emory. Thanks for bringing her in, Grayson.”

Jax steps back and I get the first look at her I’ve had in months. Emory’s sky blue eyes hold a veneer of misery and fear that instantly makes me angry. Not at her, but at whatever is scaring her. Her once lively posture is stooped, her shoulders hunched.

“No problem, boss,” says Grayson. He turns to Emory.

“I’m going to head back to Charlotte. You’re in good hands now, Emory.”

“Thanks Grayson. Tell Charlotte I’ll catch up with her later.”

Grayson nods and then turns towards me.

“Don’t mess this up, Cole. Who knows, you might even get the chance to practice your dance moves.” He winks at me and then shuts the door behind him.

I shake my head. That’s what I get for confiding in Grayson. He was there the first time I saw Emory at the party a few months ago.

“Please, have a seat, Emory.” Jax indicates the chair beside me. “Would you like something to drink? I have bottled water, spritzers, sodas, and Gatorade, but it’s the peach flavor no one likes.”

“Some water would be great, thank you.”

“How come you didn’t offer me a drink?” I ask.

Jax gives me a dirty look, but he withdraws two bottles from the mini fridge behind his desk. He gestures toward me after handing off the waters.

“Emory, the smartass next to you is Cole Drake. I’m assigning him to your case.”

She turns to me and smiles. Some of her warmth comes through, more than enough to get my blood pumping. God, she’s gorgeous. Like if a sunset became a person.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Drake,” she says, shaking my hand.

“You can call me Cole,” I reply. Her skin is so soft, it’s almost like heaven. I try to keep my cool, but I just can’t. I do manage to keep the excitement off my face.

Jax sits back down and then takes us both in with his gaze before focusing it squarely on Emory.

“Emory, I know some of what’s going on, but would you please go over it again? I know this is painful for you, but the more Cole knows, the better he can protect you.”

Emory bunches her hands up on top of her knees. She purses her lips and puts on a brave face. I can almost see her feeding her own flame, reducing the barriers to speech into ash.

“I, um, well…my ex-boyfriend has escaped from prison, and I’m afraid he might come after me.”

I keep my expression neutral. I’m a little underwhelmed about the prospect of guarding against an ex-boyfriend, to be honest. I had expected something meatier for my first solo assignment. I mean, Gray got to take down a cult.

I couldn’t bag my deer, so maybe I’d like to bag another kind of prey.

“Who’s your ex-boyfriend?” I ask, carefully neutral in tone as well.

Her gaze flashes over to me. The pain, the reluctance to recall trauma, is a look I know all too well. It’s the look I have in my own eyes.

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