I was quick to snap, “That’s not my name.”

“Ali,” she corrected softly.

Deep breath in...out. “Why did you help Anima kill Cole’s mom? By that time, you knew how corrupt they were and planned to leave.”

She whipped around, giving me her back. “I had a choice. I made it.”

When she said no more, I asked, “What choice?”

“After I gave you to your dad, I went a little crazy. Anima assumed I was in mourning over your death and gave me time. I could have left. I should have left. But I opted to stay for two reasons. I thought I could destroy them, and if that proved futile, I wanted to know if any suspicions about you arose. Because I stayed, I had to obey orders or come under suspicion myself. It was as simple as that.”

Something Veronica said niggled at the back of my mind. “What about Veronica’s mom? Did you wipe her memory?”

“Yes.”

No remorse. Only cold, hard facts.

Was it bad that I thought, At least she didn’t kill the woman?

The door swung open, and Cole strode inside. Panic instantly chilled me. He would see her; he would know what I’d been doing.

But he stopped and casually said, “Just heard from my dad. He did a little digging into the life of the mysterious Ms. Smith and discovered that outside the boardroom, she is most well-known for her interrogation techniques. Anyone who ends up strapped to her table dies. If they tell her what she wants to know, they die quickly. If not, slowly.”

I looked to Helen—gone. The panic eased, leaving room for frustration. I wanted so badly to tell Cole what I’d learned, what I’d been given.

I couldn’t.

“Tell me about the safe houses,” I said.

“We now have one right by River’s place.”

“That’s good.” But my frustration wasn’t going away. “You and I haven’t gone head-to-head in a while,” I said and punched him in the shoulder. The one that had taken the bullet. When we sparred, we sparred. There were no rules. No holding back or going easy.

“In need of practice, Ali-gator?” He liked to be on the receiving end of our scuffles and didn’t flinch, didn’t miss a beat...just grabbed my arm when I made to punch him again, twisted me around and pushed me to my knees.

Actually, I needed an outlet.

I kicked back and out, knocking his feet together. His hold loosened and I swung around, punching with my other arm. But he knew me and expected the sucker move; he managed to block.

“You can do better than this, love,” he said with a grin.

Yeah. I could. I latched on to his arm to spin him away from me, but he held on tight, taking me with him. We ended up turning in circles before he purposely tripped me. Down we fell. On impact, we rolled. When we stopped, he was on top of me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and lifted my hips, rubbing against him. Instantly improving my mood.

He hissed in a breath. “You’re fighting dirty now.”

“That’s the only way to fight, Coleslaw.”

He positioned his knees outside my hips, straddling me. Meaning to take control and turn the wrestling into a make-out session? I cupped the side of his neck and shoved, sending him to his back. Then I straddled him.

“I must say, I adore seeing you like this,” I said. “Totally at my mercy.”

His eyes softened. “I’m at your mercy no matter what position I’m in.”

My sense of triumph vanished, replaced by guilt and need...always need. How could I keep a secret from him?

I jumped off him.

“Where are you going?” he asked, grabbing my ankle and sending me crashing face-first. Rat! He moved on top of me. “We’re not done. There are things I want to tell you...do to you.”

“Uh, am I interrupting something?” Jaclyn stood at the open door, blinking at us.

I thought, Yes. No. Gah! Calm, steady.

Cole climbed off me, helped me to my feet and scowled at the girl with murderous intent.

“Your parents let you come back?” I asked.

She shook her head, saying, “Nope. They think I’m resting in my room.”

“Your timing is... Yeah. We’re headed out to search for Justin.” Cole drew in a heavy breath, met my gaze. What was going on inside that gorgeous head of his? “By the way, Kat’s coming.”

“What!” No way Frosty would allow it.

“Apparently she’s got some live-life-to-the-fullest list and Frosty can either go along with it or lose her. He’s decided to go along, and it’s making him crazy, so try not to even make eye contact with him. You’ll regret it. Trust me.”

Well, okay, then.

As our big group was about to pile inside two different SUVs, Juliana came marching outside, draped in more weapons than Cole and I combined.

Veronica jerked her finger to the front door. “Back inside.”

“Kidney girl is a freaking civilian and she gets to go,” the younger teen snapped. “I can actually help.”

One donkey-punch, coming up.

Cole held me back. “I’ll talk to her.” He closed the distance, whispered something in her ear.

She softened, muttering, “Fine,” and trudged back into the mansion.

“What’d you say to her?” I asked as I settled into the backseat of our SUV.

He took the seat next to me, clasped my hand in his. “She’ll get to spend a few hours every day training with Mackenzie.”