Page 78 of Provoke You

“Come on. Walk with me.” Tyler surveyed my face. We’ve always been close. He knew me better than anyone else in this house.

The Cole estate sat on twenty-two acres with a woods trail that snaked from the gardens all the way to the neighbor’s estate. The warm Atlanta breeze breathed a bit of serenity into me, but I couldn’t chase the memory of Ela at the hospital no matter how hard I tried.

“You look like you could use a drink.”

“Fuck.” I covered my face. Dead branches crushed under my feet as I sat on my haunches. “You might be right. How ironic is that?”

“Okay, spill it. What did Ela do? I thought for sure you’d bring her this week.”

I pressed the palms of my hands on my eyes to make the tears go away. Did I make a mistake leaving her? No, I couldn’t let her drag me down with her. It was too much for me to handle. “Alcohol poisoning.”

“What the fuck? Is she all right?”

“No. I mean, yeah. For now. She’s in rehab. I couldn’t stay.”

“I never would’ve guessed that. I mean, she had a few drinks on the plane, but nothing to set off an alarm.”

“She was trying to kick the habit. But you know how that goes.” I met his gaze. As soon as the meaning of my words sunk in, he raised both eyebrows.

He crouched next to me and hugged me. After several minutes, he loosened his hold on me and made me face him. “That must’ve been hard for you. You did the right thing. You gotta take care of yourself.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I know it’s kind of hypocritical at this point, but I think we should have a drink. Come on. The twins are about to ambush you anyway.”

We stood at the edge of the garden, near the picket fence that went along the property line. The only divide between the Coles and the Copenhavers. “What’s Wesley doing in the neighbor’s yard?”

“He manages the estate now. He’s really taking the civilian life serious.” He stepped aside just in time for Wesley to catch me in a hug.

“Good to see you, man. How’ve you been?”

“Civilian life isn’t as easy as I thought it’d be. But I’m hanging in there.”

“No shit. Have you seen Mom yet?”

“Yeah, she was at the door waiting for me.”

“I bet she was.” He hooked his arm around my neck, and we strolled back to the house. “Dad’s been grilling all day. You’re in for good grub.”

“I miss Dad’s grilling.” I let both Tyler and Wesley drag me up the stone steps at the end of the gardens to the patio deck, where Dad hugged me almost with teary eyes. The twinkling lights hanging from the wooden frame of the pergola reminded me of Ela, and I didn’t even know why. How long before this incessant need to see her let up? I switched to auto mode when Tyler pushed me into a chair and Derek shoved a bourbon into my hand.

“There he is.” Zack, Wesley’s twin and the youngest of the Cole brothers, pulled me into a hug. “Oh hey, look who I found lurking in the gardens.” He cupped my face and regarded me quickly. Zack was a doctor. No doubt Mom asked him to give me a quick glance over to make sure I wasn’t starving myself to death.

“Don’t be a jerk. I wasn’t lurking. I was looking for my phone.”

Our neighbor Ana kissed my cheek and gave me a tight squeeze. “How long has it been? Since last Christmas. No, since the Christmas before that. Your poor mother.” She rubbed my arm. “I’m glad you’re finally here. Lilly’s been worried sick for you. Mother’s intuition is no joke. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m peachy.” I cheered the air with my bourbon.

“You’re not peachy yet.” Tyler took my empty glass from me, and Derek handed me a fresh one. I sipped from the glass, hoping the smooth liquid could make me forget. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

As the night progressed, I got drunker and relaxed enough to join the conversation, though everything anyone said managed to send my mind back to Ela.

I finished my drink and waited five seconds for one of my brothers to shove one more into my hand. But they were all too wasted to care whether or not I was getting drunk along with them. I pushed myself off the Adirondack chair and headed for the bar in the living room on the main floor. I tossed a few ice cubes in my glass and poured off a bottle sitting on the counter.

Instead of going back outside, I sat in the living room by myself. Since I left Ela in the hospital, I hadn’t had a moment to process what’d happened. All the events from earlier seemed like far away and blurry. Come to think of it, everything was blurry right now.

To my right, Derek and Valentina made their way down the hallway, toward the grand staircase. They were in their own little world. Derek spoke something in Valentina’s ear, and she giggled, blushing as she’d done when I met her. She nodded, and they both darted up the steps.

I rubbed my face, and placed my arms on my thighs. Ela and I almost had that. Last night, all she’d wanted was to have a normal day with me. And we almost did until she got the worst news she could possibly get.

Was all that a coincidence? The deal on the hotel going through the minute Ela decided she wanted to take over the family’s fortune? Or what about the safe house being ransacked, and those guys keeping us busy with their stupid cat-and-mouse game? They weren’t even trying to kill us, just keep us in the house.

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