Betrayal Codes

Chapter 18: Cole

I'm standing in front of our room, hyping myself up for what waits on the other side. I think Peter is gone, but Aiden hasn't had a chance to go at me yet. When I told Libby that Aiden hurt me, I was lying through my teeth. Aiden hasn't laid a finger on me yet. Only Peter.

I'm so thankful no one actually died today. And that Cleo was able to get the girls to safety. I wouldn't put it past Peter to kill me or Libby. He lashed out at me, but since I wasn't the real problem, I know he was going to hurt Libby or drive her away — or worse, kill her — if she had been in her room. He thinks if she's not there to distract me, I'll be able to focus. Which is wrong. If he hurt Libby, I would abandon all orders to hunt him down and kill him.

I'm startled at the criminal coming out of me. I don't usually have these thoughts. I absolutely hate being assigned to murder crimes, so I'm not sure why I willingly thought like that.

I break out of my head and enter the room. Aiden and Tucker are sitting in the armchairs, working on their laptops. "Ah, Cole," Aiden looks up from his screen. He sounds eerily like Peter. "Let's chat. Sit." I'm directed to the corner of the bed closest to him. I obey.

"I know Peter talked some sense into you, but I thought I'd mention a few things." He rises from his seat, depositing the laptop and coming to hover over me. "First, you look terrible. You should ask your dear girlfriend for some concealer or something."

"I'll go to the pharmacy to pick some up, but I'll make sure they charge Peter's card. He is the one who did it, after all." That earns me a sharp slap to the face. Right where the mark on my jaw is.

I hiss "Don't touch me."

"I take orders from Peter, not you. Which brings me to my next point. Who do you answer to?" He gets all up in my face. I feel his hot breath on my cheek.

"You."

"That's right. So when I say you stay here, you stay here," he growls, clutching my shirt collar to make his point. "I don't care if Libby tells you to come with her. I don't care if staying means the end of your relationship. You. Stay. Here. Understand?"

"Yes." I glance over at Tucker, hoping he'll help me. To my disappointment, he hasn't taken his eyes off the screen and is sitting there with a straight face. Oh, that's right. He's also mad at me.

"Good. Now I want to know your intentions with Libby Monroe. Are you with her for the benefit of the mission?" Aiden drops his hold and begins to pace in front of me.

"I'm not sure."

"Really? Why not?"

Because I don't want to use her as a ploy, I want to say. I don't want you to have control of our relationship. I want to enjoy my time with her before this assignment is over and we'll never see each other again. "Because I decided to have this relationship. Not you."

"And that's the issue. I'll tell you who to date. I will tell you how far to go. I feed you lines and scenes and all the things to keep up the cover. Not you. You don't get to decide." His finger is flying all over the place as he points from himself to me and back again. "How deep is this thing?"

"What thing?"

"You and Monroe."

"Define 'deep'."

He throws his hands in the air. "Oh, for heaven's sake. How far have you gone? How deep do your feelings for each other run?" He says "feelings" like an unforgivable word.

I glance down at my hands. "Just kissing. And deep enough."

"Just kissing even when you slept with her?"