Page 109 of Cole

“With appropriate security measures in place,” her father clarified.

Annie processed this, cautious hope blooming in her heart. “What about your concerns regarding media attention? About people discovering who I am?”

“Those concerns haven’t vanished,” he admitted. “But perhaps… perhaps there are ways to manage them that don’t require complete isolation.” He hesitated. “Julian and Elizabeth made some compelling arguments last night.”

Annie couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her brother and stepmother tag-teaming her father. “They did?”

“They did.”

When Annie left her dad’s office a short time later, her step was light and her heart was full of hope.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Eager to get going, but also not wanting to arrive stinking of sweat, Cole took a quick but thorough shower before getting dressed in the outfit he’d chosen for the trip, aware that he might not have time to change once he got to Serenity.

“Have a happy new year, bro,” Marcus said as Cole packed his things into his duffle bag. “Enjoy time with your girl.”

Cole glanced over at him with a grin. “I intend to.”

It was the time he had to spend with her dad that concerned him. However, the man had offered his jet to come pick Cole up after his game on New Year’s Eve afternoon and to fly him back before his next game. Cole hoped that meant Duncan had decided to be more accepting of his role in Annie’s life.

“See you when you get back,” Marcus said as they bumped fists.

“Give my love to your wonderful wife.”

Cole was the first to leave the locker room. As he walked down the hallway, he heard someone call his name.

Turning, he tried to keep his impatience from showing. “Hey, Eve. What’s up?”

The office manager for the team management hurried toward him. He didn’t often see the office staff unless he went to talk to someone in management, but he knew that a few of them attended the games.

“Listen, I know you all get some weird calls, but there’s been a persistent one for you lately.”

“Okay?” Cole hitched his bag onto his shoulder. “Why is this one different from the others?”

“The caller said she thinks that she’s the twin sister of the woman you took to that gala in November.”

Cole’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“Yeah. I know it’s weird,” Eve said. “But she’s called a few times, so I thought I should pass on the information.”

Was it possible that was who she really was? “Do you have her contact info?”

“Yep. Here you go.” Eve held out a piece of paper that had the info written on it. “Just be sure to take precautions when you contact her, okay?”

“Oh, I will.”

“Good. Now, have a happy New Year.”

“You too.” Cole gave her a quick smile, then turned to continue his walk toward the exit.

His thoughts had shifted from seeing Annie, to wondering if it was at all possible that the woman calling the team management office really was Annie’s missing sister.

Or was it possible that whoever had been sending threats to Annie and her father was behind this attempt to contact Annie through him?

Uncertain if he should call the woman or not, Cole decided to wait until he was on the plane before he made a call. Not to the woman, but to Duncan. The man had more resources than Cole did, and he could probably track down the caller.

After putting his duffle bag in the back seat of his vehicle, Cole slid behind the wheel and guided the SUV out of the parking lot. There were still some lingering traffic issues causedby the fans leaving the arena, but he was able to exit the area without too much delay.

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