Page 120 of Silent Threat
“Oh my God.” Annie collapsed into a chair next to Kelly.
“Are you OK?” Kelly sat with her and took her hand. “Is it the baby?”
“It’s a hundred grand.”
“The what now?”
“You know my website for the animal rescue? I have a tip jar on it. People can donate a dollar or two. When I started putting up regular pictures and stories, people started asking me if they could help. Anyway, I had a hundred-thousand-dollar donation this morning from Moon Productions. I figured someone got a couple of zeros wrong. Or a kid signed in with her parents’ account or something. I was going to contact them tonight to figure out how I could send the money back.”
Kelly’s eyes were comically wide. “You think it’s Xane?”
“He said he’d pay me back when he made it big.”
Kelly squeezed Annie’s hand. “If I wasn’t such a lady, I’d sayholy shit.”
Cole called over, “What is it?”
Annie told him.
He frowned. “I don’t like another guy giving my wife money.”
“It’s for the animals.”
“We’re doing fine by the animals. If Mr.Rock Star thinks he’s going to come around—”
“Are those ribs almost done?” Annie pushed to her feet. She was keeping the money. Cole needed distracting. “I think I’ll go and see if I can find more of mysecret saucein the pantry.”
Cole’s gaze heated. He put the spatula down. “I’d better come with you, sweetheart. I think it’s on the top shelf.”
His look promised he’d kiss her senseless.
She lost her breath.
“Are you sure you’re OK?” Kelly asked behind her.
“I just need a cold glass of water.”
Then Cole was next to her, his arm around her waist as he steered her toward the sliding glass doors. “No worries. I’ll make sure she gets what she needs.”
When Annie glanced back, Kelly was fanning herself with her hand and grinning her full endorsement.
Cole took Annie into his arms and twirled her into the pantry. She laughed.
He couldn’t hear the sound, but he could see the way her eyes crinkled, the way her lush mouth turned up at the corners, the way everything about her softened.When I’m in your arms, I’m home,her body said.
If he could hear, he might never have noticed all that. He was beginning to learn the advantages of always keeping his eyes open.
Some things might have been taken away from him, but he’d definitely received a tremendous number of blessings.
He didn’t feel deaf. Or crippled. He just was. Was a pine tree better than an oak? Who could tell? Who cared?
Ambrose was in prison. He’d confessed to the stalking, the dead animals, even Trevor’s and Mitch’s murders, as well as the transfer of military information. The other end of his operation in Yemen had been rolled up.
He’d gone to grad school in England. Some Yemeni bigwig’s son had been his roommate. They’d been friends. And when the guy had turned radical and reached out, offering a fortune, Ambrose hadn’t resisted. He wanted enough money to never have to work again. He wanted to stay home to take care of his mother.
Lilly Ambrose had passed on the day after her son’s arrest. According to Murph, Ambrose was inconsolable. The psychiatrist wasn’t going to see the outside of a prison cell ever again.
Hope Hill had survived the scandal—better than survived it. The media attention focused not just on Ambrose but also on the amazing results Hope Hill was producing with alternative therapies. They gained a couple of new donors, along with a growing reputation for helping vets.
