“Jake and Sia said Carter was your family’s hit man?”

He nodded. “Yeah, for a while. He rose up in the ranks, killed everything in sight. He was a fucking badass. I worshiped him; then I worshiped him even more after he saved my life. I learned later that he kind of ran the family until I came back. He’s a good guy. I owe him everything.”

I put my fork aside and leaned back in my chair, mirroring Cole. His legs stretched out under my seat, and I lifted mine, tucking them alongside his. It calmed me.

“There’s a lot on the internet about your friend.”

“The media loves him.” He winked at me. “He’s gorgeous, you know.”

I laughed softly. “So are you.”

Cole’s eyes darkened, and he leaned forward. He picked up my hand and laced our fingers together before looking back at me. “He wants to meet you.”

“Huh?” I tried to pull my hand away, but Cole only tightened his hold.

He flashed that killer smile again, rubbing his thumb over mine. He’d grabbed my hand on purpose. “Yep. He wants to meet you all official like.”

“Just him?” A dark room flashed in my head. Men in dark business suits lined up against the far wall as I was led to my death. “Or will others be there?”

Cole’s eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head before shaking it. “Nope. I love the guy. He’s family, but I know he’s scary. I thought maybe if it was over dinner, that’d be less intense. And Emma will come, too.”

“Who’s Emma?” As I asked, I remembered. “Emma Nathans.”

Cole nodded. “She’s nice. I think you’ll like her. She’s the one who tamed the Carter beast.” He smiled, and I heard the fondness in his voice.

He liked Emma. He cared for her—or maybe it was something else. He respected her, just like he respected Carter Reed. I knew it, but I still asked. “You really care about them, don’t you?”

He nodded. “I do. I owe my life to both of them, actually. Last year—” His voice dropped. “I know there’s a lot of scary shit on the internet about Carter, and I don’t know what they say about Emma, but it’s not all true. Carter’s dangerous, and he’s killed, but he’s not a bad guy. He’s like me.”

Cole let go of my hand and leaned back in his chair again. His arms spread wide, and the carefree Cole returned. “Only I’m younger, funnier, and way better looking.”

I remembered how they’d looked, Cole and Carter, at the banquet. How they’d moved as one. Cole might be younger, but he was just as deadly. He’d showed me how dangerous he could be, and thinking about that night again, a shiver went through me, cooling my blood.

“You in?”

“Huh?”

Cole watched me.

“Oh yeah. Dinner with Carter and Emma.” I nodded. “I’m in.”

“Nothing big. Just a get-together among friends.”

That didn’t appease my nerves.

Cole held my hand the next night, leading me into the restaurant he and I had gone to once before. I knew this wasn’t going to be anything like “nothing big.” The hostess led us past crowded tables, and conversations stopped. I remembered the feeling of being watched from the last time, but I’d been overwhelmed just being at dinner with a guy who wasn’t Liam. I couldn’t imagine how it was worse this time than then, but it was. My nerves were shot.

I kept my eyes forward, and halfway through the restaurant, Cole squeezed my hand. That helped. He was calm, and I tried to take on some of that. By the time we got to the back and started up to the second floor, I could breathe a little bit easier, though I still had a death grip on Cole’s hand. When we got to the second floor, he maneuvered us so I was first. He now walked behind me, and a second later, I realized why. His hand came to the small of my back, and he began rubbing small circles, comforting me.

The floor was empty except for a table set up beside a stone fireplace. Two people sat there. I recognized the man as Carter. He rose to shake Cole’s hand, his ice blue eyes resting on me the whole time.

Cole spoke to him, joking about something, and then he stepped away from my side to converse with the woman, who’d stood as well. She didn’t come around the table. She waited by her seat, smiling and laughing at whatever Cole said to her.

Meanwhile, there was me, feeling like an idiot.

“I’m Carter. It’s nice to meet you.” He held his hand out.

The rebellious kid I used to be wanted to cut tail and run. I didn’t know where she’d come from, but I shoved her down and shook his hand. It was strong and authoritative. Okay. I got it. He was protective of his family. I was having a hard time making eye contact. Cole’s eyes were dark. Pain mixed with playfulness in them, but they were always warm when they looked back at me.

Carter was different.

I saw death when I looked at him. He was guarded, cautious, serious, and when I turned to Emma, I wondered briefly if this was a joke. Were these two actually together? She had none of those qualities. She was beautiful, with dark hair that fell to her shoulders, and her smile lit up her face. She was more slender than me, but when she shook my hand, she wasn’t weak. Not at all. She was strong as hell.

She waved a hand to the chair beside Cole. “Please, have a seat, Addison. It’s so nice to meet you.” She sat back down, her eyes flicking to my right for a moment. “Cole’s spoken highly of you.”