Page 45 of Target Acquired
Because he was falling for her. And had been for a while now.
Put the brakes on, man, that’s not happening.
She snapped her fingers at him. “Hello? Cole? You in there?”
He blinked and cleared his throat, thankful she couldn’t read his thoughts. “Yes, I’m here. I was just thinking.”
“Obviously.”
“I asked Esther to see if she could round up some security footage from the market. Maybe we can piece together the events, see who set off the smoke bomb—and who stabbed you.”
She pressed a hand to her side and winced. “I’d like to know that too.”
“I’ll let you know when she gets back to me. How many stitches?”
“Just a couple and some glue. The wound isn’t that deep.”
“I’m glad. Could have been a lot worse.”
“Yeah.” She chewed her lip for a second, then waved him to the chair. He pulled it up to the bed, then settled on the edge of the cushion while she narrowed her gaze at him. “What’s going on, Cole? Are we all being targeted, or is it just me, and the others are collateral damage?”
“Good question, one that—”
A knock on the door interrupted him. She frowned, but called, “Come in.”
The door opened and her father rolled in. Cole stiffened, knowing the relationship between the man and Kenzie wasn’t the best, but pasted a benign expression on his face and nodded. “Hello, sir.”
“Dad?” Cole didn’t miss the shock in her voice. A younger man followed. “Paul?” The door swung open again and a third man about Cole’s size stepped in. “Kash? What in the world are you three doing here?”
Kash raised a brow at her. “Really? We get word that you’ve been injured and are in the hospital, and you think we’re not going to show up?” His eyes flicked with hurt that Cole wasn’t sure Kenzie caught.
“Well, I—” She snapped her lips together and cleared her throat. “Well, thanks, but it wasn’t necessary. I’m fine.”
“Sure you are.” Paul stepped closer and took her hand. “What can we do for you?”
Kenzie gaped and shot a look at Cole that he could only describe as a plea for help. Unfortunately, he was blanking at what to do. “Thank you, Paul, for offering,” she finally said, “but I should be out of here before long. I really don’t need anything.”
“Of course not,” he murmured. “You never do.”
She blinked at her brother. “What?”
“Nothing.” He turned to the others. “She’s fine. I’ll let Logan know he doesn’t need to bother coming, then I’m going back to work.” He ruffled Kenzie’s hair. “Glad you’re okay, kid.” And then slipped out the door.
Kenzie sucked in a breath like she’d been sucker punched and looked at Kash, then her father. “What was that all about?”
Kash shrugged and caught Cole’s eye. “Guess we’ll get out of your hair.” He gripped the handles of their father’s wheelchair and had the man out of the room before Cole could do more than offer a small protest.
Once the door shut behind them, he turned to find Kenzie sitting up, hand pressed to her wound, eyes wide with massive amounts of confusion. She looked at him, her deep frown creasing her forehead. “What just happened?”
ELEVEN
Cole’s mouth opened, then snapped shut.
“No,” she said. “Tell me. What did I do?”
He shrugged. “You shut them out. Said you didn’t need them. I think it hurt their feelings.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I didn’t say that.”