While Zane politely drilled him, Asher headed over to the register to put in their orders.
“Honestly, the meeting was impromptu, but I think it went well.”
“Old business?” Zane asked, settling in as he seemed to realize Cole wasn’t going to try to hide anything.
“Thought I’d closed the books on it, but some people just can’t take a hint.”
“Antoine. Here you go.” The barista winked as he passed over the americano. Cole popped off the lid and blew away the steam, his hand roasting at the proximity to the hot beverage.
Zane glanced over at his hand, the red splotches where he’d gotten splashed and snorted a laugh. “Desperate, huh?”
Cole laughed and risked a sip. Toasty but not painful. He tipped a shrug.
“Business concluded?” Zane asked, tense and ready to pounce the moment he had the opportunity. “Or are you expecting a follow up?”
Asher strolled over, stuffing his wallet back in his pocket as he joined them.
“I am hopeful that my message will be delivered and taken seriously, but I’m afraid today’s meeting will only result in a deferral rather than an acquittal.”
“And what message might that be?”
“That I am no longer a threat, that I don’t give a fuck about their problems, and that there is nothing anyone could possibly want from me anymore.”
“Is it true?” Asher asked, worry tight in his typically easy posture.
“One hundred percent.” He glanced around, checking again that Guillaume had come alone, but he knew he had. Guillaume had been a warning, the man he’d traded some barely sub-fatal blows with, who could easily kill him if he was just a little cleverer. “I’ll call my former employer and report in, see if they can take care of this. See about some security until this is settled.”
“What’d you do to get so popular that someone would follow you here?” Asher grabbed Freya and Zane’s coffees from the counter and passed them to Zane, then grabbed his and Sophie’s.
Shit, he probably should have seen if Trace wanted any. He’d been a little distracted and hadn’t thought of it. He was still new at this relationship thing. He’d have to start taking notes so he didn’t mess it up because he wasn’t any good at this stuff.
Cole nodded toward the door and they wandered out. If Guillaume was still lurking, at least he’d see that Cole had friends who could fight back, but he sure as hell didn’t want to involve them. “I should tell you the standard, fluffy story that I told Jeremy and Ellen. But, in case he comes back, you should probably get the, uh, pertinent details.”
The wind rushed over them as they walked down the steps to the street. Sophie and Freya were at the corner waiting while Trace and Haley were heading into another shop. Sophie waved and was about to dash over, but Asher shook his head. Zane’s look was dark, letting Freya know something was up.
They seemed to get the idea and turned into the shop.
“Jeremy and Ellen got the fluffy version, but I hope Trace knows the rest of it?” Asher asked as he plucked the lid off his cup and inhaled the steam as it wafted over the rim of the cup.
“Of course. Even if I wanted to keep secrets from Trace, she’d see right through me.” At the corner, Cole checked that no one might wander by or overhear. “Either of you ever been captured? Interrogated?”
“Fuck no,” Asher said, as if it were impossible. “I mean, Zane and I are lucky motherfuckers, too much so.”
“Ah,” Cole said, hissing a breath.
“I mean, we had plenty of training on it.”
“Well, information extraction was one of my specialties,” Cole admitted. Stalling, he took a long sip, never losing sight of town. “By any means necessary.”
“Shit. That’s special,” Asher said, while Zane’s looked darkened with questions he knew better than to ask.
“Yeah. Well, sometimes, that means deep cover, but even the best of us get captured. Six months in, and I had enough evidence to take down the operation.”
“They caught you trying to get out,” Zane said softly, rumbling low.
“Sure did.” Cole had been pissed as hell, and he knew he was on his own. Infiltrating the compound had been top level, and he knew without being told that it was a government that had hired the job done, too sensitive to risk their own getting caught, and they’d want to keep their hands clean if something went wrong. “One way to stay alive is to keepthemtalking. Gain a little intel while I’m at it. Be patient, and break out after I’m broken.”
“Hence why I hear you looked like you’d been beat to shit, run over, and got into a fight with a rabid lion when you got home?”
