Page 65 of Master Cole

Rick held up his hand. “Yes, she was your sister, Cole. But she knew how to wrap not only you and your dad around her baby finger, but me too.”

“Yes, she did.” As much as Cole hated to admit it, Sally had been very good at playing on his emotions, getting him to agree to things he’d never thought he would agree to.

“And that was part of the problem. The other was Sally deciding she could handle things better on her own.”

“The morning.” The words stuck in Cole’s throat. “I saw her the morning she took her life. She was still in bed, and she told me she wasn’t feeling well. I should have made her get up, then I would have seen what that bastard had done and gotten his name.”

“Oh, he was taken care of a long time ago.” Rick’s voice was hard. “I never told you or your father, but Sally called me that day, that’s how I got to the house right after you did.”

“She called you?” His gut clenched. Sally had called Rick instead of her own brother.

“Yes. Not because she didn’t want to talk to you, Cole, because she loved you and didn’t want you to be hurt over her.”

“She was my sister.” Cole clenched his hands.

“I’m not arguing that. But Sally wasn’t stupid, Cole, she knew you would drop everything and run home if she called you. By calling me, she gave herself time, because I couldn’t get there in time. Although I damn well tried.” Rick shook his head.

“Why haven’t you told me this before?”

“You closed down after Sally’s funeral. You went cold. Every Dom in this place noticed it.” Rick rubbed his eyes. “Then Janie’s father died, and there was an almost-eighteen-year-old Janie in your house.”

“I wanted her so much, but I kept my hands off of her. Every time I looked at her, I thought about Sally.”

“And you pushed everything away. Then your father died just after Janie got her bachelor’s degree.”

Cole nodded. The perfect storm—just as he was beginning to cope with one thing, something else happened. “I sent Janie to college. I pushed her out of my life.”

“You started dating Natalie, and I thought everything was going to be okay.”

Cole let out a bitter laugh. “Then Janie walked in on Natalie and me while we were playing.” Damn, he could see it all so clearly now. “I was an ass.”

“You were trying to protect her.”

“Right, which is why I took her on as a sub, to protect her, but somewhere along the line ... ” Cole’s words trailed off. Hell, he was a blind idiot. “I love her.”

“He finally admits it,” Rick said softly.

“How did you know?”

“Come on, Cole. We’ve known each other for a long time. You never collared Natalie.”

“Technically, I didn’t collar Janie, the necklace I gave her was to be put on when she wanted to play. I had her wear it to the club so everyone would know she was taken.” A necklace that now sat in his coat pocket.

“A collar all the same. You brought Natalie to the club but never minded if she experimented.”

“Yes, but ... ” But what? He hadn’t fallen in love with Natalie. Natalie was, as bad as it sounded, just scratching an itch, but Janie. Janie was his. “Oh, damn, how the hell am I going to fix this?”

Rick grinned. “Go to Janie, tell her you love her. Hell, get down on your knees and beg her to take you back.”

“A Dom on his knees?”

“Sometimes even us Doms have to make the ultimate gesture.”

“You’re right.” Cole stood up and then paused. “You said the guy who hurt Sally was taken care of. What did you mean?”

“Let’s just say he got a taste of his own medicine.” Rick’s tone was cold and hard.

Cole nodded and turned. He glanced up at the TV to see the words ‘breaking news’ just as his phone rang. It was Alicia, Janie’s best friend. Why was she calling him?

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