Page 32 of Iron Willed Warrior

Cole glowered, his expression turning downright scary. “Reallynot a fan of this. YousureI can’t grab Westwick and drive him out to the desert? So much easier.”

I gave Cole a stern look. We’d already gone over this last night. But I assumed he was just venting. Hearing about this stuff made me furious too. “That reminds me. I got a message this morning about some new info. Something that’s relevant to Westwick’s profile.”

“New info from who? The FBI task force? I thought they weren’t involved anymore.”

“It’s just an update they sent me through secure channels. Relax.” Never mind that I’d been texting with SAC Stanford that morning.

On my laptop, I accessed my secure drop box. There was a new document. I opened it, edging closer to Cole so we could read the screen together.

“Looks like the task force just discovered a former nanny of the Westwicks,” I said. “One of the few people who’s directly reported anything negative about him.” Since the man kept his reputation squeaky-clean, this was significant.

The nanny, a young woman named Petra, had come to theUnited States through an agency after being matched with Garon and his wife. She was hired to care for the Westwicks’ daughters while the girls were in middle school. But quickly, the ideal job she had been promised turned into something far darker.

As we read, Cole muttered curses, and I clenched my teeth.

Westwick and his wife had docked Petra’s pay for the slightest infraction. Eventually stopped paying her at all. Even forbade her from leaving the home. But far worse, Garon had been relentless about making advances. He’d made it clear that if Petra didn’t submit to him, she would be punished. He also used his head of security, Donovan Ryker, to threaten and intimidate her, making her terrified for her life.

“She ran,” Cole read aloud. “Reported the Westwicks to the police. Then Westwick used his connections to hush it all up. She got deported back to Finland.”

When the whole ordeal had begun, she’d only been nineteen years old.

Westwick pretended to be an upstanding family man on the outside. But inside, he was exactly the type of scum who’d start an organization like Stillwater.

“I’m telling you, we can just abandon him with no phone and no water a hundred miles from civilization,” Cole said. “The elements and vultures will take care of the rest.”

“I’m tempted. Believe me. I already suspected Westwick had done this kind of thing. This is the most detailed account we’ve found because Petra was brave enough to try speaking out about it.” And Westwick had pulled strings to silence her.

Cole pushed up to standing and walked over to the fireplace. Turned around and faced me, his large hands on hiships. “You plan to draw this asshole’s attention. It’s pretty clear what he’ll try to do to you once you’re alone.”

I huffed. “You think I’m not aware of that? Please. That’s the entire plan. To use his predatory tendencies against him. Don’t even think about telling me we need a new approach, because it’s not going to happen.”

“And I’ll be—what? Chilling by the pool while this is going on?”

“You’ll be running interference. Giving me room to work. I’ll have a way to contact you, some means to send a signal if things truly get dire. But they won’t. I’m more than capable of handling this.”

“But I’m not capable of sitting and twiddling my thumbs the way you’re asking. You’re using yourself as bait. And it’s beyond obvious that you’ll resist asking for help even if you need it. You’ll take foolish risks just because you want to prove you can do it.”

I stood and marched over to him. “Careful. I will not let you talk down to me like I’m some junior agent who’s never run an op before.”

“And I won’t let you relegate me to a support role when I’m supposed to be your partner.”

He took a step toward me, and I reacted, pressing my palm flat against his chest. Then Cole used my arm to spin me around, putting my back to the fireplace. He planted his hands on the mantle to either side of me. He’d caged me in, his bulky frame leaving only a centimeter of space between us.

“Is this your new technique every time we have an argument? Pinning me? I might have to resort to defensive measures. Like kneeing you in the balls.”

“Save that for Westwick.”

“I’m trying, but you keep testing me.”

Cole leaned even closer. Lowered his voice. “Brynn.There’s a better way to get this done. You’d be safer if I can stay close.” Cole’s heat surrounded me, his determination rolling off of him in waves like a heady scent. Not to mention hisactualscent, warm spices with hints of cigarette smoke, which had no right to be such a perfect combination.

“You want to play my boyfriend.”

“It could make you even more enticing to Westwick if you’re already taken. A man like him has everything. A wife, family, career. Yet he wants to lie and steal and cheat to get more. He craves power and secrecy. He’ll love the idea of stealing you from me.”

Huh. I wished I’d thought of that myself. “For a guy who claimed I’m not your type, you keep trying to get your hands on me, Bailey,” I joked.

“I’ll be playing a role. Nothing more than that.”

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