Page 22 of Montana Rain

“Rayne.”

Turning, I went to the kitchen. I still hadn’t had anything to eat today, and I was cranky. The least I was going to do was make myself a cup of tea before I called the rest of my clients and told them I needed to reschedule.

“I know you’ll be pissed at me,” Cole said. “But I saw Chicago on Jude’s computer. I called the FBI, and they wouldn’t tell me shit. But they wanted to know everything I knew, which tells me it’s not nothing. I saw the stories about the murder. Are you mixed up in this? Because this is serious if you are.”

“This isn’t your business, Cole. I am not your business. Jude and the rest of them are just checking on things to make sure. It was probably nothing.”

He still looked like he was about to start running or fighting, body tensed up, eyes alert. “And when I went to your office to see if you were free, and there was police tape on the door? That’s nothing?”

I shook my head and took a mug out of the cupboard. Cole wasn’t wrong, but neither was I. This wasn’t his business. “Nothing was taken, nothing was broken. The most likely scenario is someone was looking for valuables and chose poorly since my office is a refurbished house.”

I felt Cole close the distance to me, but I didn’t turn around, pulling down my favorite box of tea bags and retrieving one. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Do you have a computer in your office, Rayne?”

“Of course I do.”

“If someone was randomly looking for something valuable, why didn’t they take the computer?”

Finally, I sighed and turned around. He was so close, and everything in my body rejoiced. I didn’t look up at him—that was a dangerous game. “I don’t know, Cole. Maybe they were looking for jewelry. Who knows? But I’m fine. You didn’t have to come all the way over here.”

The silence between us lasted so long, I thought he’d turned to stone. When I finally looked up, his gaze was raw. “Are you okay?” His words were soft and fervent.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Anger sparked in his eyes, but not at me. If there was one thing I knew about Cole Phillips, it was that he wouldn’t hurt me. “Because I might not be from Chicago, but I’ve been there for the last year. And when I was younger, I did some stints there. I know exactly how ruthless Chicago can be. The mafia is no joke. You have no fucking idea the lengths these people will go to tie up loose ends. So please, Rayne, tell me what happened. You might be fine now, but it could change in a fraction of a second.”

I blew out a long, slow breath. “If you promise not to relay anything to the FBI, because I’m not ready to do that.”

“The Bureau and I aren’t exactly on good terms right now.”

“That’s not a promise and you know it. Don’t play word games with me, Agent Phillips. It won’t work.”

Cole turned away and ran a hand through his hair. “I promise. Fuck, Rayne. I’m not here for the Bureau. I’m here for you.”

“Right after I left you at the bar, that woman ran into me. She nearly knocked me over. I helped the hotel staff get the men who were chasing her out of the hotel by pointing them out, and when I went looking for her, she was nowhere. I can’t stop thinking about her and if she’s okay. That’s all that happened. It’s nothing, and I’m being paranoid even asking them to look into things for me.”

“You and I both know that’s not true.” Cole invaded my space again. I pressed myself up against the counter in a failed attempt not to feel the heat coming off him. Everything was mixed up in my mind. The terror of possibly being involved with a crime that could follow me here. The fear of Cole getting hurt—even through this situation—by letting him too close. The desire to grab his shirt, haul his body against mine, and let him finish what he started the other night. All of it was a vortex inside me, and I couldn’t breathe.

“You need to leave,” I said.

“Rayne, this is serious.”

I glared at him. “You think I don’t fucking know? This is my office and my life. I know it’s serious.”

“Then act like it.”

Cole’s face was a mask of fury, but even anger couldn’t hide the desire there too. It would be so easy to lean forward and kiss him. And give in. But I couldn’t.

I gripped the edge of the counter so hard, I was shaking in an attempt not to move.

Neither of us spoke, and in the silence, my determination was crumbling. I needed to open my mouth and tell him to leave. He couldn’t be near me, especially now.

Come on, Rayne. Get it together.

A knock on the door broke us apart, and I was relieved I wasn’t the only one who seemed unsettled. The knock came again, but it wasn’t the insistent, blazing knock Cole had used when he’d arrived.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I needed to be firm, even if it hurt him. Otherwise, he would keep trying, and I would give in. That couldn’t happen, because I’d rather push him away now than weather whatever the universe would throw at us once I did. “I appreciate your concern, Cole. But as I said, I’m not yours to take care of, and you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. So please go.”

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