Page 81 of Stolen Summer

Cole said nothing, his jaw tightening.

Tendrils of worry skittered through my blood. It might be wise to stop writing Gianna off as a crazy ex-girlfriend. “What kind of fucking world do you live in?”

“People are killed every day, Killer.”

This was a ridiculous conversation to be having in towels. “Yeah, in drive-bys, robberies, and on TV. This is a small town that prides itself on safety.”

“Death happens everywhere. Even in Fallen Oaks,” he said, handing the bat to me.

What the fuck did he want me to do with this? Hit him in the head? Because I was seriously considering it. “You should call the cops. And probably warn your brother,” I said reasonably because that was what rational people did. They informed the authorities. It was always the people who remained silent who ended up in a pool of their own blood on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

I refused to make my debut on TV as a dead girl.

“I’ll make a few calls, and in the meantime, it’s probably best you don’t stay here.”

My chin firmed. “I’m not scared of her. Haven’t you learned anything about me yet?”

“If it’s about the money?—”

A flash of hurt speared into my chest. Did he still believe I was that shallow? “It started about the money. I won’t deny it, but it’s become personal. I’ve never quit anything in my life. I’m not going to quit on you, Cole.”

“I’m not giving you a choice.” He turned from the broken glass and jogged upstairs, leaving me staring after him.

Propping the bat in the corner, I pinched my towel in front of me and took off up the stairs. “Is she trying to scare me or you?” I shot back, staring at the twin snakes tatted on his shoulder blades.

He moved faster than me, taking more than one stair at a time. I’d barely made it up a few treads, and he was already stalking down the hall. “I don’t think it matters as long as she gets what she wants.”

By the time I reached the second floor, my lungs burned. I stopped at Cole’s doorway, finding him inside pulling on a clean pair of shorts. “Is she behind the break-in last week?” The night I got choked. I shuddered at the memory of his fingers squeezing my neck.

He looked at me, hard flecks of gold in his eyes. “I don’t have proof.”

“But you suspect her,” I added, voicing what he wasn’t.

Again, his silence was deafening.

“Cole—”

He plucked a shirt off his unmade bed. “Leave.”

“What?” I blinked, confused by the sudden harshness of his tone, of the detached attitude lining his body.

His eyes clashed with mine. “Get the fuck out of here.”

I flinched at the cruelty darkening his eyes. Did he mean his room? The house? His life?

I needed specifics.

The way he was acting would have sent grown men running from the room, but my feet were rooted to the floor as if I’d forgotten how to walk. Or I was glutton for punishment. Perhaps a bit of both. “Why are you being like this?” I shot back, giving him a fraction of the anger he sent to me. It was my impulse to respond with the same level of intensity someone showed me.

He yanked the shirt over his head before he replied. “How many ways do you need me to say it? I no longer need you. You served your purpose. I don’t want you here. I got what I wanted. Take your pick.”

My back bristled, and my fingers clasping the towel together loosened. “You’re a fucking asshole. How could I think for even a second you were different?”

“What? Let me guess…you thought I could have feelings for someone like you?” An ugly nastiness moved into not just his tone but his features as well. Like the idea of caring for me made him dirty or gave him the ick.

Regardless, it was a reaction I knew well. I’d deluded myself into thinking Cole wouldn’t treat me like every other prestigious asshole. I hated that he made me doubt my character-assessing abilities.

“I know what you’re doing. This isn’t you,” I said but with less conviction, trying one last time for Cole to show I hadn’t been wrong about him. I wanted to believe he pushed me away for my safety. Only minutes ago, we’d been in the shower together as vulnerable as two people could get. He made me trust him, and if it had all been a lie, I knew my heart would freeze over. Doubt and old insecurities crept in.