Page 7 of Twisted Enemy
“Not anymore.”
Snip.
Rip.
Tear.
He severs their relationship as completely as Nilsson cut our zipties.
Megan ducks out the nearest French doors as a police car pulls through the iron gate at the front of the house.
I shouldn’t care. I saw the woman for exactly five minutes the day of my wedding. She brought the Bad Man here. She’s the reason my brain is overflowing with memories—onions and the ice of Larissa’s body and trying to protect Breagha and all the years of the Dogfight, after.
But if Cole can cut off his own flesh and blood so completely, what can he do to me? Whatwillhe do, once he thinks things through? Once he remembers I’m the one who let Megan and Tarasov through the gate?
I clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering.
Nilsson has the good sense to stash his rifle and bulletproof vest in the dining room on his way to the front door. Even so, the police come in with weapons drawn, shouting orders as they invade the house.
The last of the fog leaves my head as Cole tells what happened, or at least some version of that story. He opened the gate to collect a wallet someone had dropped on the pavement. A man stepped up behind him, pressing a gun into the hollow beneath his ear. Cole had no choice but to hand over the wallet—obvious bait, in hindsight—and his very valuable watch. Theassailant fled. Cole came inside and hit the panic button to get the fastest possible response.
The police make him repeat his story. A lieutenant arrives, and Cole goes over it all again, looking straight into the man’s eyes before he tells his lies.
I’m not as polished a storyteller. I start by giving my name as Kate Wolf, figuring the longer I can put off bringing the Lynch name and the Canton Crew into this, the better. I’m distracted by the sudden flare in Cole’s eyes, by his tiny satisfied smile as I claim his name in public for the very first time.
I tell the police I was upstairs when everything happened. I was just coming down to get a cuppa when Cole came in, shouting for Nilsson and heading for the panic button in the parlor.
I’m shaking by the time I get through my story a second time. Cole sets one hand on my shoulder as the police demand a third retelling. “Lieutenant,” he says. “My wife is clearly upset.”
I take his cue. “It’s just… When I think of what could have happened… That tosser had a gun!” My voice trembles as my body gives in to the adrenaline aftermath of what actually happened.
Cole makes a soothing sound before he catches the lieutenant’s eye. “Can we continue this later?”
“Of course, Mr. Wolf,” the policeman says because Cole and I are the victims here. We haven’t done anything wrong. We have no reason to be detained.
The police ask for security footage from the cameras installed on the gate, and Cole promises to send it over directly. I have no doubt that whatever video he provides will be doctored.
The police ask about documentation for the watch. Cole promises to produce that as well.
The police ask about our plans for the upcoming weekend. Cole promises to be available to answer any additional questions.
Finally, the police leave.
“With your permission, sir,” Nilsson says. “I’ll go across the street and tell Anna and Mrs. Lynch that all is well.”
Granny!Did she see Nilsson outfitted like a commando? What did she think when the sirens stopped at Cole’s house?
“Go,” Cole says.
I need to see my grandmother for myself. “I should?—”
“You should eat something before you collapse,” Cole says.
I start to protest, but my chattering teeth give me away. Cole’s lips twist into a frown as he slips one hand beneath my elbow. “Come on,” he says, walking me toward the kitchen.
My first instinct is to fight. I don’t want food. I want to visit my grandmother.
But I feel hollow inside. Even when I concentrate, I can’t still the tremors that shudder down my arms. I can’t stop the clacking of my teeth.
