Page 101 of Marked

“How long will it take?” Cole demanded.

“Gimme some space and I’ll do it as fast as I can.”

Cole bit his tongue and let go of Dare to pace away from the desk. Dallas pressed his fingers between Cole’s shoulder blades, urging him out of the room.

“You need a drink or something.” His twin led the way to Dare’s kitchen.

“Hell no. Where’s everyone else?”

Dare unscrewed the bottle of whiskey he’d pulled down from the cabinet and poured two shots. Nudging one glass forward, he put the bottle down. “Case you change your mind.”

Even the thought of putting the corrosive liquor in his gut was enough to make Cole shudder. Not now. He needed to be cognizant. Though he was far from a lightweight, he couldn’t risk anything messing with his system at a time like this.

“I called Nash and Lexi before you got here,” Dallas continued. “They were out for dinner with Brooks and Camryn.”

Cole nodded. He hadn’t seen Brooks in a while. They seemed to always miss each other. Lexi’s brother had been through hell—far worse than what Cole had experienced in his life, even though Brooks’s torment had gone on less than a year. He’d been held against his will and pumped with experimental drugs that wiped his memory, and his setting had been locked on kill. But somehow, he’d crawled out of the dark recesses of hell that had clung to him.

“And Tess and Gemma? Where’re they?” Christ, he sounded pitiful. What was wrong with him? He didn’t need every family member around just because he was in crisis.

Or maybe he did.

Gemma was quick to jump into action. Lexi was always one step ahead of an investigation. Tess kept everyone organized. And his brothers were useful when it came to attacks. Annoying as fuck otherwise.

“They’ll be here soon,” Dare said.

He’d never been a family guy. When his brothers were young, he’d been protective. Kind of had to be. But as an adult? Shit no. Leave him out of the dinners and celebrations. He was most happy alone.

Only now... now things had changed.

All because of Sophia.

The people who’d always tried to draw him into their circle, the people he’d successfully avoided, were practically on speed dial now. Dammit, had he become one of them? All his sappy brothers had changed after falling for a woman.

God almighty.

I’ve fallen for Sophia.

He shoved the thought away. Going there—wherever there was—was counterproductive. The only thing he should be focusing on right now was reuniting Bella with her mom again.

The rest was moot. A waste of fucking time. He could never be with Sophia. In a new life? Perhaps. But sure as fuck not this one.

He swung his gaze to the office door and stormed across the open-concept room, his muscles bunching. “I hope you’ve got something, Dare, ’cause I’m losing my shit.”

His brother rolled back a few inches from the desk. “I think I found the warehouse.”

Stalking around the chair, Cole stared at the GPS location on the screen. “That’s it? You’re sure?”

“Well, I don’t know if that’s where they are. But this is where the photo was taken. I accessed the blueprints from the city. Looks like this place was built only a couple years ago. I’m going to bet strictly for Lionsgate’s nefarious purposes. It appears to be owned by a shell company, but we don’t have time to dive into that.”

“Nah. Lexi will though. Then she can give her findings to Sophia, if it helps with the trafficking ring.” His gut clenched on Sophia’s name. Christ, he couldn’t even be sure she was alive, let alone assume she could continue her takedown of Lionsgate. “How big is the place?”

“Huge. Three stories, almost eight thousand square feet. We’re going to need everyone on foot to canvass the area thoroughly.”

Cole straightened. “Let’s go then.”

Slowly, Dare turned in his chair to face him. He crossed his arms, his expression dark and his eyes wary. “You realize if she’s not there we’ve got nothing. There’s nothing else I can track. Unless by some stroke of luck we find someone in the building and make them talk or contact Kenneth, we’re totally—”

Cole waved him off. “Do you think I don’t fucking realize that?”

---