Page 75 of Iron Willed Warrior

My gorge rose with fury. And with a sense of powerlessness, because the FBI fought against these kinds of evils all the time and none of it ever stopped.

“I was too late,” Cole said. “Her daughter was gone. But you know what I did find? One of those gold Stillwater medallions. Proof that the traffickers used Stillwater’s services. Guess they hadn’t gotten the memo that the coins were out of fashion,” he added bitterly.

I edged closer, wanting to feel Cole’s warmth and hopinghe could feel mine. Still no sign of the security patrol on the dirt road.

A rustling noise came from nearby, startling us. In a split second, Cole had his weapon out, pointed into the dark. Two glowing eyes looked back. Then loped away.

It was another minute before my pulse started to slow, and Cole returned to his narrative. “I passed on the tip to a friend in the Mexican police. They raided the warehouse, seized computers and documents, but it was the same old song-and-dance that you and I have seen too many times before. Where it gets hushed up by corrupt officials. Wrapped in red bureaucratic tape. I tried rattling a few cages. Even contacted the Protectors, but River couldn’t pull up any new leads for me. Eventually I concluded it was hopeless. The trail had gone cold. But Luciana wouldn’t give up.”

“What happened to her?” I asked, even though the resignation and frustration in his tone told me there was no happy ending.

“Luciana’s body washed up on a beach.”

I cursed. My eyes stung. “I’m so sorry.”

“Her sister found my number among her things and that’s how I heard.”

“It sounds like Luciana meant a lot to you.” I was ashamed at the jealousy that pricked my insides, imagining how close this woman had gotten to Cole. That shouldn’t have mattered.

“She did mean a lot, but not the way you’re thinking. It’s because she was a good person who needed my help, needed protection, and I failed her. I’m convinced that either the traffickers or Stillwater killed her. Either way, every single person in the chain, from the scum who snatched Luciana’s daughter all the way on up to Garon Westwick, are responsible. They all deserve to burn.”

Everything about his body language, his voice, his eyes told me he meant that literally. Cole wanted blood.

“When you suggested we drive Westwick into the desert, you weren’t kidding.”

“No,” he said with that flat, unwavering look in his eyes. “I wasn’t. I’ve never intended to let Westwick walk away from this and trust that the FBI would eventually put him behind bars. That’s the reason I initially accepted this mission. Not out of some vague sense of duty or the fact that the guys in the Protectors are my friends.”

I exhaled, shaking my head. “And that’s why you didn’t quit when you found out I was an FBI agent.” He had almost walked away. Now I knew why he’d changed his mind. Yet I wasn’t sure how I felt about these revelations. Back in Silver Ridge, Cole had insisted up and down that he was worried about me going into this alone. Had that just been a convenient excuse? “Everything you said about us being equals…”

“I meant it. Even if I didn’t necessarily agree about the endgame here, I knew I would needyouto make it happen. As much as you need me.” Cole shifted onto his side, gloved fingers reaching out to turn my chin so I would look at him. “I had a lot of reasons for sticking with this. What happened to Luciana was a big part of it, yeah. But from the moment I met you, I wanted to protect you, even if you didn’t really need protecting. And now B, you mean so much more to me.”

You mean a lot to me too, I wanted to say. But the words wouldn’t come.

I hadn’t told him about my communications with Stanford, either. I couldn’t be too mad that Cole had come into this with his own agenda from the start.

But what now? Where did this partnership go from here?

“I understand why you didn’t tell me about Lucianabefore. You didn’t trust me. I didn’t trust you. It’s different now, but?—”

“Itisdifferent,” he said emphatically. “That’s why I’m telling you all this. I want you to?—”

The faint rumble of an engine interrupted whatever he was about to say. We watched the same jeep slowly make its way along the fence line before turning out of sight again.

I checked my watch. “Twenty minutes between patrols.” There hadn’t been any other signs of human activity. The guard in the gatehouse hadn’t budged.

“You were saying something before,” I prompted. Cole hadn’t finished his sentence.

But he shook his head. “Never mind. We should go and see what we can find out.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Cole

We crossedthe open desert and stopped when we reached the fence. It was designed to keep out animals more than people, so it didn’t take much for me to boost Brynn over the side and then climb over myself. We made our way past row after row of reflective panels. Brynn snapped photos as we went.

If anything, this place was too still and quiet. Eerily so. It made my thoughts even louder in my head.

I’d finally told Brynn about Luciana’s murder and my personal stake in this mission. The moment had called for honesty. It would’ve been a lie of omission if I’d held it back, and I didn’t want to do that with Brynn anymore.

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