Total pages in book: 183
Estimated words: 174715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 874(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 874(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
“How,” I repeat when a thought hits me.
“Houston.”
“What about Houston?”
“I don’t know. It just feels like an answer. It’s where she’s from. It’s where she met her fiancé.” I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Royce, placing him on speaker.
“Nothing new,” he says.
“I assume you’d looked for details on the fiancé in Houston?”
“Yes. His apartment is empty. It’s a dead end.”
“Her friends in Houston might know something,” I suggest.
“What friends?” Royce asks.
“Hell if I know, but I’m in between cases. I need to go down there anyway. I’ll see what I can find out.” I arch a brow at Lori and she nods. “We’ll go to Houston in the morning.”
“I have a man in Houston. He can meet you.” We disconnect.
“We have a plan,” Lori says. “We go to Houston. A plan feels good.”
“Houston it is,” I say, and for the first time, Lori and I will face one of the reasons I left Houston: My dead father and my past, but I welcome this. Tonight, we’ve proven we still have much to learn about each other and embracing every second together means holding nothing back.
Chapter eighty-three
Lori
We wake to no news about Ashley at all.
By ten in the morning, I’m already dressed in a blue suit dress and Cole is in a perfectly fitted blue pinstriped suit, looking good enough to eat. Unfortunately, there is no time for me to show him how much I approve. By eight, we’re seated on a private jet to Houston. Once we’re settled into our seats, I let the magnitude of the words “private plane” hit me. “Are the skills of these pilots regulated?” I ask.
Cole laughs and laces his fingers with mine. “Our pilot is an ex-special ops guy. I’ve flown with him. We really do need to consider flying lessons for you.”
“No,” I say. “I’m fine.”
His cellphone rings, while a flight attendant offers us coffee that I eagerly accept, as does Cole. “Alex,” he says. “Yes. We’re coming to you for unexpected reasons. I still want you to meet Reese and see the offices, but if you can do dinner tonight I can make sure it’s worth everyone’s time for you to come to New York.” He listens a minute. “Yes. We’ll leave Friday morning so you can hitch a ride if you want to. I have a private plane.” I doctor my coffee my way, as he adds, “Yes. Perfect. We’ll see you there.” He disconnects. “Dinner tonight at a spot by the courthouse. He’s in court this afternoon.”
“How do you know Alex?” I ask, sipping my coffee as he does the same.
“We met at a judge’s retirement party, and we both had a challenge with a particular ADA. We ended up exchanging notes and we became friends. Not close friends, but friends. He’s a good guy, and a killer in the courtroom.”
“How old is he?”
“Thirty-six.”
“How long has he been practicing and where?” I ask.
“Since he graduated, and he went with a big firm but left to work on his own two years ago. That’s not always easy going. It takes money to operate, and it can pressure you into taking cases you don’t want to take.”
“And that’s been an issue for him?”
“Yes,” he says, “and why so many questions?”
“You and Reese are perfect together. I just don’t want a third wheel to mess with the mojo.”
He laughs and kisses me. “You and Cat protect our mojos, but thank you, sweetheart. We need Alex and he’ll be in Houston anyway.”
“But partners make decisions.”
“He won’t be a controlling partner. At least not initially.” He sobers. “I don’t want to be in Houston and I might have suggested you be a backup for that office, but I don’t want you in Houston, either. Not if it can be avoided.”
There is something dark and turbulent in his stare. I reach out and touch his cheek. “I’m thankful to get to see this part of your life, Cole.”
“The past. You’re seeing the past, Lori.”
“I know, but it’s still a part of you.”
“It’s the past,” he says again. “You, now, you’re the future.” The engine revs to life and before I can ask anything else, Cole kisses me, and the plane is moving. In a matter of minutes, we’ve lifted off, on our way to Houston. On our way to Cole’s life before me.
Cole
Once we arrive in Houston, we settle into a hired car. “Once we get to the office,” I say, “I’m going to have to deal with the asshole running the place into the ground.”
“I’ll introduce myself around and see who knows what about Ashley,” Lori offers.
“I hate that I don’t know more about who she was friends with.”
“Trials are consuming, Cole,” she reminds me. “You knew about the man in her life. It was a whirlwind romance. I doubt anyone knows him. From what we know, he wasn’t someone that let that happen unless he wanted it to happen.”