Page 140 of Cole

More concerning—though he’d been told to keep it to himself—was that Jim and another adopted child, a son, had disappeared. He was glad that Duncan wasn’t taking any risks with any of his family, as he’d upped security at the estate even further.

A short time later, Cole watched as the ground fell away from the wheels of the plane and the lights of the city below shrunk to pinpricks. The trip would take a little longer on this plane than it had on Duncan’s, but he hadn’t felt comfortable asking the man for the use of his plane again.

Jay would probably croak when he saw the charge go through Cole’s account. But he likely would understand why Cole had done it and wouldn’t lecture him too much about how he’d spent his money. When Cole had signed his first contract, he’d asked his brother, Jay, to help him keep track of his finances. Jay was definitely better with numbers than Cole.

When they landed in Serenity, he found the car he’d rented waiting for him. He’d wanted to have wheels for himself while there.

No one knew he was coming, but he didn’t think that would be a problem. Or at least he hoped it wouldn’t be.

The guard at the gate to the estate recognized him as an approved person and opened the gate without hesitation. As he pulled his vehicle around to the front door, he spotted Jude, Duncan’s head of security, standing by the front door.

“This is unexpected,” the man said as Cole climbed the stairs to where he waited.

“I had a couple of days between games, and I wanted to see Annie.”

Jude nodded. “I’m sure she’ll be glad you’re here.”

Cole hoped she would be. “How are things here?”

“Good, for the most part,” Jude said as he opened the front door. “It’s an adjustment for everyone.”

“And Annie?”

Jude cast him a quick glance as they walked across the large foyer to the living room. “I think it’s good you’re here.”

Cole wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but they’d reached the large room, which was occupied by a handful of people. His gaze swept the room, and while it momentarily snagged on one person in particular, he kept searching for the face he really wanted to see.

“Cole!” Benji jumped up and came to give him a hug. “We didn’t know you were coming.”

“Nope. I wanted to surprise Annie.”

“Oh, nice! I’ll go get her.” Benji disappeared before Cole could say anything more to him.

“It’s good to see you again,” Duncan said as he approached him with his hand out.

Cole gave it a firm shake. “I hope it’s okay that I showed up unannounced.”

“It’s perfectly fine,” Duncan assured him. “Though you should have let me know to send the plane.”

“I appreciate that,” Cole said. “But I don’t want to take advantage.”

Duncan gave him a nod, then turned to the rest of the room. “Come meet Angela and her sister.”

Cole followed the man further into the room to where the other occupants now stood. Julian was present, as was Elizabeth. He gave them both a smile, then turned to the two other women in the room.

“Cole, this is Angela and Kiara,” Duncan said. “Ladies, this is Cole Halverson.”

For a moment, he was taken aback at how much the woman looked like Annie. However, he was certain that even if Angela’s hair was long like Annie’s, he’d know it wasn’t her.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, holding his hand out first to Kiara, who stood closer to him, then to Angela.

“This is amazing,” Kiara said. “We are both basketball fans. I would have loved to play on a high school team if we’d gone to school in town.”

Before Cole could respond, he heard a gasp behind him. “Cole?”

Turning, he spotted Annie in the doorway with Benji and Nyla on either side of her. He waited for a smile, but all he saw was the expression in her eyes as her gaze slipped from him to Angela. Fear.

It hit him like a sledgehammer then what she’d been struggling with. In a few quick strides, he was in front of her. Without hesitation, he took her into his arms and held her tight.

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