Page 14 of Cole: Bloodlines
Gabe shrugged. “Guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Did he think he wouldn’t be coming back? Angel looked at Dane, Cole, and Devlin. “Do you have a plan?” He looked around. “Where are Clint and Cochise? Do they know about this?”
“They know,” Dane said.
“They… They have to have a plan, right?” Angel asked with a note of desperation. “I mean…” He looked at Gabe. “… you’re like their brother… they wouldn’t just let you go without a plan to get you back, right?”
“They’ll figure something out,” Gabe assured him. “Don’t doubt it for a minute.”
“You’re going to do thisbeforethey figure something out? What if—”
“Angel.” Gabe cupped his neck and drew him close, touching heads with the boy. “We have to get Maddy, Abel, and Savannah home—now.We can’t wait. Not even for aplan.This man is dangerous; we need to get them away from him as soon as possible.” He straightened, releasing Angel and glancing at the other men, his gaze coming to rest on Cole. “I can take care of myself. I’ll survive until the cavalry comes.” He moved to Cole and kissed him, then hugged him. “I promise, baby—I’ll come home safe.”
Cole clung to him, breaking down in his arms.
Angel covered his mouth, sobbing quietly. He’d never seen Cole so fragile and broken. It scared him.
Byrne sauntered over, leaning heavily against his car with a grin that barely concealed the simmering malice beneath. As the cool breeze whispered past him, he reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone, dialing with steady fingers. “Are you ready? Because this powder keg is about to explode.” His gaze shifted, becoming distant and unblinking as he focused on the imposing hospital entrance, its automatic doors sliding open and shut in a rhythmic dance. “Let’s see how manybirdswe can kill with one stone… or rather,twostones,” he mused, a hint of mischief edging his tone.
When he spotted figures approaching the entrance doors from inside the hospital, he muttered – “It’s terror time.” – and ended the call, stuffing the phone into his jacket pocket. Byrne tugged his hat low, shadowing his face. Gabe didn’t remember the attack, but coming face to face with his attacker might jog his memory. It was fine if it jogged loose down the road, but nothere.
Dane emerged from the hospital with Gabe, who was dressed in doctor’s scrubs. No one else was with them. Dane came forward threateningly and jabbed a finger in Byrne’s face.
“Why thefuckdid you tell Angel about Maddy?” he snapped. “That wasn’t your fucking place.”
Byrne held up his hands. “I apologize,” he murmured, keeping his voice low. “By the time I realized you hadn’t told him yet, he knew I knew something about his brother, and demanded to know what it was.” He shrugged. “It is his brother, and he was right—he had a right to know.”
“I was going to tell him,” Dane growled between clenched teeth. “A complete stranger shouldn’t have told him.”
“I apologize,again,”Byrne replied calmly, itching to gut the fucker. His eyes completed a quick sweep down the man’s body.After I fuck that perfect ass raw.He looked at Gabe. “We probably shouldn’t keep the psycho waiting, huh?” he mumbled.
Dane stood between Byrne and Gabe. “Maybe I should take him.”
This again. The mandidn’ttrust him. Smart. But too little, too late.
“No,” Gabe cut in before Byrne could reply. Gabe gripped Dane’s shoulder with brotherly affection. “Stay with Cole. He needs you. Take care of him for me.” Emotion swelled his voice, and the two men hugged, the embrace deep, warm, and lasting.
Byrne suppressed the smirk that almost crawled across his face; when it was all over and the dust—and blood—cleared… there would be nothing left of these men but broken, empty shells. AndHenry…?
Fuck…there would benothingleft of Henry.
CHAPTER 6: THE CABIN
Watch your back. I don’t trust this guy.
Dane’s last words to Gabe as he hugged him before Gabe got into the car with the deputy. He sat in the passenger seat, his senses sharpened as the deputy drove them through the city. The man’s face was mostly in shadow, his eyes fixed straight ahead, his hands lightly gripping the steering wheel.
“This is honorable of you,” the deputy said softly, breaking the heavy silence. “Trading yourself for your friends.”
“It’s not honorable,” Gabe mumbled. “It’s what anyone would do for the people they love.”
“Anyone?” Deputy Roland chuffed low, eyes on the street before them.
“What?”
“It just seems, as much as Henry… Cole… claims to love you; he would have been the one to trade himself.”
“He tried,” Gabe replied defensively. “But the psychopath wantedme, knowing it would hurt Cole more than taking him.” Gabe frowned. “You know this. Why are you casting shadows on Cole? I thought you were his friend?”
