Page 128 of Cole

Julian’s jaw dropped as he stared at his dad. “What? You’ve found her.”

“It is more that she found us,” her dad said. “Or rather, she found Annalisa.”

Julian shot Annie a look before focusing back on his dad. “Explain.”

Normally, her dad would have taken umbrage at the command, but it appeared he was willing to cut Julian some slack that day. He took a few minutes to explain what had unfolded over the previous twenty-four hours, then slid the folder toward Julian.

Annie could see her brother’s hand was shaking as he picked it up. Julian uttered an expletive as he opened it and saw the picture of Angelica.

As they waited for Julian’s reaction, Annie reached for Cole’s hand. He didn’t just take her hand, he moved his chair closer to hers and put his arm around her.

“Does Mom know?” Julian asked.

No one at the table assumed he was talking about Elizabeth. She’d never been Mom to him.

“Not as of yet.”

“Why not?” Julian demanded.

“I wanted to make certain.”

“Ifsheknows,” Julian said, jerking his head in Elizabeth’s direction. “Mom should know.”

“I know, and I will tell her once we’ve made contact with Angelica and have been able to parse out her intentions.”

“What if I decide to tell her?” Julian asked.

“You’re potentially setting her up for heartache. If you’re okay doing that to her, then by all means, call her.”

Annie could see the indecision on Julian’s face. He was very protective of his mom—their mom—and if there was one person he would probably not want to hurt, it was her.

“I’ll wait,” he said finally. “For now.”

His dad gave a nod as Elizabeth set a plate of food and a mug of coffee in front of him. “Thank you.”

“So, what’s the next step?” Julian asked.

“I have made the decision to have Jude fly out to meet with her,” he said.

“Jude? Why him? Why not one of us?”

“Julian, until we have more information on who she is and who all is part of her life, we need to keep some anonymity.”

“And you trust Jude to do this?”

“I trust Jude with all our lives,” her dad replied as he picked up his mug. “Why wouldn’t I trust him with this?”

Jude’s father had been head of security for her dad before he’d passed away unexpectedly. Jude had been part of the security team at that time and over the years since, he’d worked his way up to assume the role his father had once held.

“You don’t think one of us should go along?” Julian asked. “Maybe Annie, since Angelica’s already seen her?”

Her dad was already shaking his head before Julian finished speaking. “That won’t be happening.”

“Still protecting her, I see,” Julian said. “How do you feel about all this, sis?”

Cole’s hand rubbed her shoulder as Annie tried to formulate a response. “I’m… excited, but a little worried, I suppose.”

“Worried why?”

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