Cole glanced at the browser, then at Amanda. Like it would be that simple. Still—not wanting to slow her down—he opened a few shadowy forums, clicked through a couple of archived pages, and pretended those were the scandalous leads she wanted.Five minutes later they’d drafted an email and sent it to an address Cole half-knew wasn’t the founder’s — but it looked official enough for Amanda. She read it over once, nodded, and smiled like they’d just detonated a bomb.“Let’s wait two hours,” Amanda said confidently. “If I don’t get a reply, I’ll go see him at his house. I think he’s in Dubai or something.”Cole nodded. Reasonable enough… right?Then came the distant thrum of blades outside.A chopper.Amanda froze mid-sentence, then shot to the window like lightning. “They’re here!” she screamed. “It worked!”She spun around, her hair wild, eyes blazing. “How do I look? My hair—okay? Makeup fine?”Cole blinked. “Uh… yea

“In life, you have to be smart. You have to be courageous. If not, you’re damned. People will trample all over you,” Amanda was saying — again.Cole wasn’t sure when the lecture started. Maybe ten minutes ago? They’d been cooking together since then.Even though he used to be a full-time house husband before prison, Amanda insisted they cook together. And somehow, she got mad whenever he made meals alone.Why? He didn’t know. But logic and Amanda never lived in the same universe.She covered the pot, turned, and faced him with that fire in her eyes.“The other time — did you see how Tyler was pretending to be a gentleman? Giving me those stupid tasks? If I had cowered and let him have his way, what do you think would’ve happened?”Cole nodded slowly, pretending to be deep in thought. (There was no right answer here.)“He would’ve won without me even fighting,” Amanda declared.“Yeah… yeah!” Cole nodded faster now, ag

His eyes swept the room. Two men.One slumped on the bed, half-awake, with a rolled joint dangling from his fingers. The other leaned against the window, exhaling smoke like he owned the place.That one flicked his cigarette toward the ashtray — missed. The burning stick landed on the carpet instead.Cole’s gaze snapped to him, cold and sharp.“It won’t burn,” the cigarette man said, flicking ash carelessly. “Fire alarms are working fine.”“You’re… Cole Bennett?” the man by the window asked, sauntering toward the small table. He moved like he owned the room—then, oddly, rifled through a stack of papers before coming back to Cole.“Let’s see…” He flipped through them with exaggerated interest, shrugged, and handed the top sheet to Cole. “We already prepared everything.”Cole frowned and took the pages. He flipped through them. Blank—every single sheet. “What is this?” he asked, looking from the papers to the two men.

Blake’s uncle sat in the front of the jeep, flanked by the five men who’d stayed loyal after yesterday’s bloodbath. The rest had either died or fled—cowards who weren’t worth the mention.He watched the gate like a hawk. His eyes kept darting to the driveway, waiting for the signal from Eleanor’s caretaker. She was supposed to open the gate, distract the guards—whatever the plan called for—and give them access.All he needed was the herb Edward had acquired. Everything else would be negotiable with death. He’d danced with death before; tonight he intended to lead.Voices drifted from the gate.“Let’s move,” he whispered, already throwing the door open.The men jumped down—clad in black, faces mostly covered. Gloves on their hands, suppressed pistols at their hips, eyes hard and alert. No one spoke. He’d ordered them not to—if they saw anyone who might slow them, they were to shoot and keep going.They melted into the night, a sin

“Hey,” Amanda whispered after Cole, “I know I said you should be courageous, but if you walk away in front of a fleet of men like this again, you might really be cooked. They’re not doing anything to you because of me,” she muttered.The security men they passed kept bowing. Amanda smiled politely each time, telling them to raise their heads, but maybe it was the shock of seeing her in person—none of them could seem to meet her eyes.They had barely made it halfway to the front door when Mr. Edward himself walked out.Amanda took a deep breath. Okay, you’ve got this.Cole stopped walking.Shit. This guy was taking her earlier pep talk the wrong way. She halted too.“Cole,” she said through a fixed smile, barely moving her lips, “never behave like this when I’m not with you.”Mr. Edward approached, flanked by a wall of security. He stopped right in front of them and stretched out his hand.Amanda blinked. That ha