Both were deadly. Both knew it, and both gazed at Mahler like he was their next meal.

Mahler was finally struck speechless. He could only stare at Cole, as could I. Cole narrowed his eyes at Mahler, then Jake, then swung his gaze to me. He lingered a moment before returning to Mahler.

Complete silence settled over the group. What was going on? They couldn’t have known about us. Reed was staring at me now, and I froze for a beat. Curiosity mingled faintly with an amused look in his eyes before he shifted backward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cole.

“You were full of drunken stupidity when you saw me, Mahler,” Reed spoke. “Now you can’t say a word?” He glanced to Cole. “Or maybe you weren’t aware that Cole was in town?”

Mahler sputtered out some words, but none made sense.

My ex in-laws didn’t seem surprised to see him, or maybe they’d gotten over it faster. Both had their eyes trained on the floor, their shoulders slightly hunched forward. They were the vision of demure and timid.

I tilted my head to the side. This didn’t make sense. Nothing was making sense. I turned to Jake, but he couldn’t look away from Cole. His jaw clenched, and his Adam’s apple swiftly jerked up and down.

What…?

“Well, I mean—” Mahler had found his ability to speak. Unfortunately. He coughed once, a deep burst of air that cleaned out his pipes. “I don’t think anyone was aware that Cole Mauricio was back in town.”

Mauricio—I felt another kick to my stomach. The Mauricio. Cole Mauricio. He was the building’s owner. He had to be, and he’d been quiet about it the whole time. I stared at him, accusing. His eyes flicked to mine, and I caught a brief flash of amusement mixed with an apology before it disappeared and his face shifted back to an unreadable mask.

I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t share the sentiment. I felt the opposite, and I still had to clamp down on the emotions twisting around me, like an angry tornado.

Reed studied Hank and Carol. “I think your companions did.”

Mahler glanced to them, then at Jake and me. “Oh. Well...” He shrugged. “Maybe they saw Cole earlier.”

“We just arrived.”

All eyes turned to Cole. His eyes darted to mine once before returning to Mahler. They narrowed, then swept over Carol and Hank, too. “Maybe they were aware for another reason.”

I frowned. What was he talking about?

Both Carol and Hank turned bright red, and my ex mother-in-law reached for her husband’s arm. “It’s been a wonderful event, but I’ve grown tired all the sudden.”

Mahler snorted.

She paused, shooting him a dark look. “It’s been lovely, Alfred. And it was a pleasure to have met you, Mr. Reed. Mr. Mauricio.” She stopped, realizing who else she needed to address. She looked up, barely meeting my eyes. “And nice seeing you as well, Addison.”

Liam’s mother was just as fake as she’d always been. I couldn’t muster up anything polite to say in return. So I said nothing. I just wanted them to go away.

They turned to go just as Cole said, “Bea Bertal.”

They stopped. But they didn’t look back, not at first. Two seconds passed before Carol turned back to Cole. She swallowed visibly. Her hand clutched Hank’s arm. “You knew my mother?”

“Cole.” Mahler started forward, but Reed blocked him.

I glanced to Jake, and found him captivated. Unaware of my gaze, he inched forward, as if to hear better.

“I’ve been hearing rumors about your father,” Cole said evenly. “Tell me, Carol.” He leaned closer to her. “Are they only rumors?”

Her bottom lip started to tremble. “I don’t know. Bea is dead, you know. My husband and I, along with our children, don’t speak to my father anymore.”

“Was that a recent change?”

“No.” She seemed to wilt under his gaze. “We haven’t spoken to my father for years, since my eldest was born, in fact.” As she mentioned Liam, she looked at me before turning back to Cole. “As I mentioned before, I’ve grown quite tired. We’ll wish you all a good evening.”

Hank hurried off, with Carol right behind him. Their exit seemed eerily similar to an escape.

I looked at Cole. Who was he to Liam’s parents? Who was he at all? The need to find out now burned in me. If I didn’t find out…I couldn’t finish. I didn’t know what I’d do. I didn’t want to think about it because then all rational thought might actually shut down. I couldn’t go there.

Jake’s hand came back to my elbow. “I think the Sailers had the right idea. I think we’ll be going as well—”

Jake was going to say more, but Mahler burst out, “You can’t come around here and threaten my clients. I won’t have it!”

Reed and Cole moved as one to close ranks around Mahler. It was startling to watch; they were so fast. Reed reached for Mahler, but Cole beat him to it. He turned his back to us, and Reed adjusted his back toward the rest of the room. They’d closed everyone out.

I surged forward, shoving into Jake. I wanted to see what was going on. I got a glimpse of Cole reaching forward. I couldn’t see the rest, but Mahler suddenly stopped talking. His eyes bulged, and his cheeks rounded. Either he couldn’t get oxygen, or he was keeping himself from crying out. And Cole spoke softly to him.

Mahler scrunched up his face and jerked his head up and down repeatedly. “Okay. Okay!”