Cole's Mistake (Haven, Texas 8)

Fury rode him. Normally, he was good at keeping control over his emotions. He’d learned to do that from a young age. Showing emotion around his father was a sure way to get the sharp edge of his anger.

But, right now, his control was shot. First, it had taken a beating by finding out they were at his brother’s fucking sex club. Where anything could happen to them. Where anyone could have hurt them, stolen them from him.

Not yours, asshole. Remember? You’re here to let them down gently.

But right now, he wasn’t thinking about rejection. He was too busy working out how the hell he was going to get them out of this place. He opened his car door then slammed it shut.

“What the fuck is this?” he snapped as he strode towards their vehicle.

Keira let out a gasp. Julian had her door open and was helping her out. Cole should have done that and he cursed himself for a moment at the missed opportunity to touch his sweet little PA. That thought only fed the beast roaring inside him. Demanding that he claim them. Protect them. Own them.

Fuck. Was he starting to think like his father now? Rein it in, fucker.

“Jesus, keep your voice down.” Julian scowled at him as he glanced around. “This is not the sort of neighborhood where you want to draw attention to yourself.”

Well, at least they had some sense of protection. Not much. But a little.

“Oh, no? Is that so?” he asked in a low voice. He stepped closer. A light had flashed on as they’d driven up, at least someone had the sense to put in a security light on the outside of the house.

“And what sort of neighborhood is this?” He looked from one to the other. “No answer? I’ll tell you then. It’s the sort of neighborhood that the two of you should never fucking step foot in, let alone live in! What the fuck were you thinking renting a place here?”

“We’re not renting,” Keira told him, her voice shaking slightly. He should probably feel bad about scaring her, but he was too angry at their lack of self-preservation.

They put themselves at risk. They should be punished.

Fuck. Was he starting to think like his brother now? What the hell was wrong with him? He needed to calm down and remember who he was. This wasn’t him. He prided himself on his control. On his ability to keep his emotions tamped down. Then her words penetrated.

“Wait. You mean you bought this shack?”

Both of them stiffened, it should have been a warning, but he was too far in his own head to read their body language. Understanding others’ motivations and emotions wasn’t something he was good at outside of business. When it came to his job, to making money, he was a shark. When it came to relationships, he sank like a rock.

“Why the fuck would you do that? What kind of an idiot would think this was a good investment?”

“I suppose that idiot would be me,” Keira said in a small voice.

His thoughtless words slammed into him. Fuck. He was messing this all up.

“You need to go,” Julian demanded. He pushed Keira behind him so she was sandwiched between his large body and that ridiculous car. How did Julian even get his big frame inside it?

Then Cole realized he was shielding her. From him. Did he think that he would harm Keira? Never. He’d never hurt her. She was the first PA he’d ever had who could actually do her job and deal with him. She didn’t buckle. She didn’t overreact. She was efficient, reliable, always on time . . . and why was he listing Keira’s attributes? He needed to focus.

“You don’t need to shield her from me. I’d never hurt her.”

“You just did,” Julian struck back at him.

He rounded his shoulders, as though he’d been struck. He felt that jab in his gut, it twisted, going deep.

“Words can hurt too, asshole,” Julian added.

Like he didn’t fucking know that? Hadn’t he lived with an abusive asshole all through his childhood? He’d never do that to someone else . . . only, had his thoughtless words hurt Keira?

“Julian, it’s okay. You know Cole is just speaking the truth. This place is a dump, and I was an idiot for talking you into buying it because I thought it was charming. Now I’ve gotten us in way over our heads, the roof needs replacing, the air conditioning doesn’t work, it needs rewiring, and we can’t even afford to buy a proper fridge.”

Keira’s voice held more than a hint of despair, and Cole’s hands curled into fists with the need to reassure her, to tell her not to stress, that he’d take away each of her worries. He’d throw a fucking bucketload of money at this dump if that’s what she desired. Or, better yet, tear it down and build them something he knew without a doubt was a hundred percent safe, because he really didn’t like the sound of the rewiring and that the roof needed replacing. Then he’d have to build a huge fence around the place to keep them safe from their neighbors and buy a fucking bullet-proof hummer for them to drive because that heap of junk car was no longer a possibility.

Be easier to move them into my place.

He shook off the ridiculous thought. That wasn’t happening.