Page 8 of In Too Deep

She pours black coffee in the mug, asking, “Cream and sugar?”

Shaking my head, I bring the mug to my lips, take a sip, and then say, “No, thanks. I like it this way.”

“If you need anything else, please let me know. Her eyes promise that anything else, indeed, does meananything.

I reply with a smile, and she walks away.

“I see you still have your magic charm,” Theresa teases.

I tilt my head to the side, asking, “What does that mean?”

She giggles. “You know exactly what I mean. I was married to Keith, remember?”

Her face changes at the mention of his name, and she inhales. Her eyes turn glassy with unshed tears. Placing my hand over hers, I state, “It’s okay.”

She nods, then looks at Ben, embarrassed, whose gaze is at our hands. Quickly removing mine, I change the subject.

“So, what have you got for me?”

Ben, who’s wearing a casual white shirt with a black leather jacket, sits back against his chair. His brown eyes focus on me.What’s with this guy?He has black hair slicked back with a gold stud earring in one ear. His nose is pointy, and a dark brown beard covers his face.

“Do we have a problem?” I ask Ben, not liking the way he’s eyeing me, as if he’s judging me.

He sits forward, his hands clasped in front of him on the table. His eyebrows raise.

“Problem? No. But I do think this is a big mistake.”

Frowning, I also sit forward. “Can I ask why that is exactly?” My voice sounds pissed.

“Stop it!” Theresa interrupts. She turns to her left, staring at Ben.

“Ben, we discussed this. I’ve explained why Cole would be the right person for the job based on his experience in Joint Task Force 2. Don’t do this again.”

My eyes flick over to him. His eyes are glaring into mine. He chews on the inside of his cheek, his focus moving from Theresa to me, then back to Theresa.

“How do we know we can trust him?”

That’s it! I've had about enough of this. I don’t need this shit.

Standing, my chair scrapes against the floor, giving out a screeching sound, and all eyes in the diner turn to me. My mind is telling me to get the fuck out of here. I don’t need to prove myself to this asshole that I can be trusted. They’ve come to me for help. Not the other way around.

Theresa stands and pleads, “Please, Cole, sit back down. Ben’s just being a little cautious.”

“Pft, cautious? He doesn’t even know me,” I state, grinding my teeth as I glare at him.

“Look…” Theresa begs, “… let’s all just calm down and sit back down.” She looks back at Ben. “Ben, give Cole a chance. I vouch for him.”

He stares at me for a minute before he nods. “Okay,” he agrees.

Slowly taking a seat, I lean back in my chair and focus on Ben. “Let me remind you, I’m doing you a favor, not the other way around,” I growl, vocalizing my previous thoughts, then take a sip of my coffee.

Ben doesn’t say a word. He just sits there staring back at me. I turn to Theresa.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Theresa leans toward the floor, grabs a large yellow envelope out of her bag, and opens it. She pulls out a folder and slides it on the table to me.

“Just warning you, there might be some disturbing photos in there,” she adds.

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