Strength (Mark of Nexus #1) (17 page)

I smiled, cradling the phone to my shoulder. “I’m happy to help, Cole. So, where should I meet you?”

“There’s a cafe down the street from where I work. Would that be okay?”

“Sure.”

“Great.” He sounded like he was smiling, too. “Just let me find the address.”

I sat there in a daze, even after I hung up. Was I really going to hear the whole Cole story tomorrow? And was I willing to sneak around to do it? No one could find out about our little rendezvous until it was over, not even Wallace.

Especially not Wallace…

But it was for his own good. Once I sorted out Cole’s side of the story, I’d know how to approach the problem. Only real friends were willing to get their hands dirty. What better way to show I care than to brave his defenses?

The door knob twisted, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Gabby barged inside and called over her shoulder, “I told you she wasn’t dead.”

My shoulders sagged with relief. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” Gabby collapsed onto her bed, pulling Maverick down with her. “Where were you? Aiden texted a few times.”

As if on cue, Aiden wandered in from the doorway and took a seat on my bed. “I thought it was weird that you missed without telling anyone.”

“Sorry.” I rubbed my forehead. “I wasn’t feeling up to it. What’re you guys doing?”

Maverick stretched out and fluffed a pillow behind him. “It’s movie time. Isn’t that right, Glasses Dude?”

“You know he hates that,” Gabby whispered, jabbing him with her elbow before she turned back to me. “Anyway, we were all gonna chill here for a while, but if you’re sick or whatever, we can go to Aiden’s room. It’s not eight thirty yet. Your man could come, too.”

I ignored the man comment. “You guys can stay here. I’m feeling better.”

She shot me a weird look and grabbed her zip-up disk case. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” I motioned for her to proceed, unconcerned about our guests, my homework, or any other trivial matter threatening to distract me. I had bigger things to worry about now, like secret reconciliation missions.

Gabby started rattling off titles, and I zoned out. If I could just get through the next twenty-one hours without freaking out, they wouldn’t suspect a thing. I loved them and all, but the last thing I needed right now was their input.

My bravery only came in short bursts of momentum, and if I stopped to over-think the situation, I’d bail on the whole thing.

Chapter Eighteen

Rain pelted the windshield, blurring the lights of oncoming traffic. The temperature had finally stabilized, so the rain-slicked highway wasn’t in any danger of freezing. That was the only thing I had going for me.

Once I got within about twenty minutes of Columbus, everything hit me at once. I cranked the heater full blast, but unlike Wallace, didn’t bother cracking a window. The chilled air would sting my face, and I didn’t need another reason to tremble.
Ugh. I can’t believe I’m really doing this.

I’d worn a black thermal with my favorite pair of jeans tucked into boots. It was my go-to outfit for confidence. The boots made me feel empowered, and the thermal made me feel like I was some kind of secret agent—kind of fitting, given the circumstances.

If everything went according to plan, Gabby wouldn’t find my note until after dinner. She’d realize I cut out of town after class and would hopefully take it in stride. After all, it was Friday. People had plans on Fridays.

I mentioned that I had a few errands to run in Columbus and that I’d probably be back late. Even if she did make the connection, she’d be too late to stop me. I’d made sure of that.

My mind drifted into a guilt-laden fog. What would Wallace think of this? Would he be upset that I’d gotten involved? He should be grateful that he has a friend willing to step in. Well, maybe not grateful, per se. More like—

BOOM!

Ripped from my reverie, I drew a sharp breath as my car jerked left toward the median. “Shit!” I gripped the wheel, struggling to correct myself in the lane as something started thumping.

It pulsed all around me, vibrating in my seat. My heart joined the building rhythm as I veered to the right, forcing The Beast into the next lane. A car horn blasted behind me.

“Gimme a break,” I yelled, throwing my hazard lights on. With a hasty glance behind me, I slowed down and maneuvered onto the shoulder.
Ugh.

I turned the car off and pocketed the keys, fighting to hold back panicked tears. “Not good, not good…” It didn’t take me long to retrieve my phone and speed-dial Drew’s number. As my big brother, this definitely fell under his jurisdiction.

“Spaz,” he answered. “What’s up?”

“The car’s freaking out,” I said, wincing as someone rocketed past, splashing water against the window. “What should I do?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Drew?”

“What did you do?” he asked, his tone dripping with accusation.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Then, what happened? Where are you?”

Ah, hell.
“Columbus,” I admitted, sinking down in my seat. “I was going to meet a friend.”

“What
happened
?” he repeated with more emphasis.

“It just went
boom
and jerked to the left. Then it started making a thumping noise, so I pulled over.” More cars motored past and I felt stupid sitting there, talking on my cell phone.

“You blew a tire,” he said matter-of-factly. “You blew a tire on my car.”

“My
car,” I corrected, unwilling to accept the blame for something that wasn’t even my fault. “So, what do I do?”

“Do you know how to change a tire?” he asked in a tired voice.

Rain splattered against the windshield, and I looked down. “No.”

He let out another breath. “Well, I wish I could help ya, kiddo, but I’m down in Athens. Can you call AAA or something?”

A lump formed in my throat as I nodded, feeling pitiful and deserted. “Yeah.”

“Don’t get out of the car until they get there, okay?”

“Okay,” I repeated, laying my head down on the wheel. “I better go ahead and call, then.”

“You’ll be fine,” he reassured me, and I could almost hear the laughter in his voice. “Don’t freak out.”

“I’m not freaking out,” I groaned. “I just hate this stuff.”

“Yeah, I know. So, be careful.”

I lifted my head and grumbled. “I will.”

“All right. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.” I hit the red button and let out a deep breath.
Great.
Now what was I supposed to do? It was getting late. Should I call Cole?

I scrolled through my contacts list, grateful that I’d put his number in after our last conversation.
Better get it over with.
I put the phone to my ear and connected before I had a chance to rethink it.

“What’s up, Rena?” he answered.

His casual greeting threw me off. “Uh, hey…I’m going to be a little late.”

“Ah, that’s cool. Everything okay?”

“My tire blew out,” I explained.
Bleh.
I felt like an idiot. “I’m on the side of the road.”

“You want me to come get you?” he asked.

I blinked. “N-No, I’m okay. I’m about to call AAA. I should be there in, I don’t know, maybe a half hour.”

“Rena…” The way he said my name made me relax despite my anxiety. It was like we were old friends or something. “There’s no sense in that. I’ll just come change your tire, and you can follow me.”

“Uh…” Was that one of those polite responses, or was he really offering?

He chuckled at my hesitation. “It’s fine, really. Where are you?”

Relief eased through my tense muscles, and I melted against the seat. “I-71 South—pretty close to the Gemini exit.”

“All right, give me a little bit. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Stay put, okay?”

Butterflies flitted about in my stomach, and I tried to keep from smiling.
Talk about a gentleman.
“Okay.”

Nineteen minutes later, dusk had settled in, blanketing the already heavy cloud cover. A Jeep Grand Cherokee angled in behind me, and Cole stepped out.

I hurried out of the car and was about to call out a greeting, when our eyes met. My mouth fell open and whatever I was going to say disappeared. I just stood there, entranced, as the rain fell between us.

His hardened gaze held the slightest glint of gunmetal as he approached me, his lips tilted in a cocky grin. Was he this hot the last time I saw him?

I backed up until I could brace myself on the car. “H-Hey…”

“Hey, yourself.” His grin pulled at the corners of his eyes as he reached out to shake my hand.

Of course, by then, we were both soaked. My hand glided a little too easily into his grasp, and I forced a smile. “It’s nice to see you again,” I said. “Though, I wish it were under different circumstances.”

He nodded, still holding my hand. “Same here.”

About that time, a car sped past, and he tugged me close. Muddied water, reeking of city grime, sprayed his back, and he grimaced. “Why don’t you go wait in my car?” He let me go and wrung the bottom of his shirt. “It’s still warm, and this’ll only take a minute.”

“Like I’m going to let you get wet out here by yourself.”

He barely stifled a laugh as he guided me back, away from the road.

That did sound bad, didn’t it?

“Well, you’re already wet, so…” He motioned for me to stay put and jogged back to his SUV. After a few seconds of digging around in the backseat, he waved something over the top. “You better use this.” He bumped the door shut and popped open a black umbrella. “We can’t have the damsel in distress getting sick, now can we?”

I’d never considered myself a damsel in distress before. Hell, I’d never even considered myself a
damsel
, but whatever. “Thanks,” I muttered as he handed it over, and rain started pattering against the top. “But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me.” He flashed another one of those cocky grins and headed toward my car, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

Of course.

Cole radiated that cool, bad boy sort of confidence—the kind that left most women flustered and ready. I’d never been one for blatant ogling, but the rain had left his shirt transparent. When he reached inside to pop the trunk, I saw every one of the muscles shift in his back. How was I supposed to look away?

He walked around to get the jack from my trunk, and I sucked in a deep breath. Man, Gabby would’ve loved this.

I
should’ve
loved it. At least, more than I did.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t ignore the ill-founded guilt that’d begun to ache in my chest. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. If anything, I was going out of my way to help a friend. Yet, whenever I looked at Cole, it came in waves.

I stared at the battered strip of grass alongside the highway. It was too late to second guess my decision now. I’d just have to figure out whatever had come between the brothers and go from there. This was for Wallace—for his second chance.

And while I was out playing therapist, he and Rachel were probably having dinner together.

My stomach gave a weird little flip. What if they
were
dating and I’d ignored the signs? Not only would that be an embarrassment like no other, but I’d be obligated to leave him alone. I mean, that was the code, wasn’t it? Single girls and taken guys weren’t allowed to be friends. The leash always got in the way.

Was that talk yesterday her way of telling me to back off?

“Okay, you can just follow me,” Cole said.

I jumped. “What?”

He was right beside me, wiping his hands. “We’ll get off a little ways up here.” He pointed down the road. “Then take the ramp for I-270 West, okay?”

“You’re fast,” I mused, hoping to distract him from the fact that I’d completely spaced out. “Thank you.”

“No problem. You ready?”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

He nodded. “I’m going to swing past a friend’s garage on the way. He’ll either repair that tire or hook you up with a new one. You’re not driving that donut all the way back to Wilcox. You can just ride with me for a while.”

These Blake boys were going to be the death of my inner-cynic.

The ride there was uneventful, and after we left the garage, I felt pretty good about the situation. Cole’s friend had given me a healthy discount on a new tire and said he’d get to it after his next work order. The rain had even let up, leaving nothing but the vacant chill of a winter evening.

Cole and I walked back to his Jeep in companionable silence, leaving the garage’s noises and glow behind. The scent of motor oil still hung in the air after we rounded the corner, but I didn’t mind. It was like inhaling testosterone in its richest form.

He’d parked in a small gravel lot just beyond the streetlight’s reach. If it were any darker, we would’ve had to feel our way there, but he seemed to know where he was going. He trotted ahead to open the passenger door, and I struggled to catch up.