Darkness Before Dawn Part 11

I'd forgotten how much I absolutely hate shopping with Cole. I've been standing around playing hanger rack for him and following him around the entire department store as he looks at all the sports jackets.

"I've never met anybody that needed this many freaking sports jackets!" I exclaim when he places the fifth one on my aching forearm.

"I'm not getting all of them, don't worry," he says with a wink.

I let out a huff and take a seat on a couch while he continues to walk around and I see a pretty sales girl walk up to him and take out her measuring tape. Cole shakes his head and smiles at her, politely declining, but she continues to follow him around while I just watch as an amused spectator. Cole keeps looking over his shoulder and smiling stiffly at her, but she's clearly not getting the picture. She just keeps following him and checking out his a.s.s while I laugh from my seat. Cole snaps his head to me and pleads for me to help him but I decline, still laughing. He narrows his eyes at me and laughs a little, shaking his head in disbelief before making his way over to me. The girl, who is still following him, looks at me with wide eyes when she spots me and realizes that he's not alone. I smile at her for a moment before Cole covers me with his body, making me squeal as I lay back completely on the flat surface of the couch. He bites my bottom lip lightly before sucking it into his mouth.

"You like that? Watching other girls flirt with me knowing I only have eyes for you?" he murmurs against my lips. I gasp in surprise as his body leaves mine with a push up. His green eyes sparkle with mischief as he runs his tongue between his teeth ever so slowly, calling my attention to his mouth. The clearing of somebody's throat causes us both to snap our heads in that direction. Watching us with dropped jaws are two blond curly haired kids, no older than ten and their p.i.s.sed off mother. I look at Cole, who is smiling sheepishly as stands, pulling me up with him. We stand awkwardly in front of the family, apologizing with our eyes and facial expressions as the mother continues to scold us with hers.

"That was pretty hot." Our heads turn in unison to a teenager standing by with a pair of jeans in his hand and a Slurpie in the other. He sips on his drink and shrugs at the woman who is glaring at him.

"Jonathan, you do not make comments of approval about those things in front of your brother and sister!" she says before turning to us. "And you two should be ashamed of yourselves! This is a public store!"

"Honey, what's going on?" A deep male voice chimes in from behind, making us turn around. "Oh hey, Murphy! Are you back on the night show?" the man asks cheerfully when he sees Cole.

Cole recovers his composure and chuckles, extending his hand to the stranger. "I'm actually filming a new segment for the channel. It'll air on Sunday nights. It's called "Inside the Locker Room." Check it out, I just did an interview with Jack Carter." The man's eyebrows raise in approval as he nods his head.

"Nice. I'll be sure to tune in! I miss hearing your take on games-you and I have similar views on things. Well, it was great to meet you, sorry I can't stick around to talk longer but we're back to school shopping, you know," he says with a bored expression before signaling toward his family. "Oh, I'm so glad you're safe! Martha, this is the girl that was kidnapped by those people." Martha's glare eases on me before she says that she's glad I'm safe. We awkwardly wave goodbye to the teenager and little kids before turning to pay.

"That. Was so freaking weird," I mutter under my breath. Once we pay, we both go to separate dressing rooms and change into our new clothes, at Cole's insistence. I think it's strange that he wants us to wear something nicer so much that he's not willing to go back home, but it's Cole, his appearance is everything. He was probably embarra.s.sed to be spotted looking like "a b.u.m" to begin with. No wonder he dated so many models.

As soon as we get in the cab my phone starts to ring. I pick it up while Cole informs the driver where to take us, but the line is silent. For the first time since we got to New York, I start to feel panicky. Cole questions the call and I tell him it was n.o.body. When the cab starts to slow down and asks us to pay, I get a text message from the same number.

We need to talk. Call me when he's not around. D.

My eyes widen at his message. Why would Dean call me and not talk?

"We're here," Cole says as he hands the cabbie the money. I shake the thoughts out of my head and slide out of the cab, careful not to flash anyone.

"What about our bags?" I ask.

"Spencer can carry them," Cole says with a shrug that I have to laugh at.

"He's our bodyguard, not our butler."

"Yeah, well, where we're going, we don't need security. He can wait outside with our bag. It's only one, I'd do him the favor if he needed to pee," he replies with another shrug.

I look around Fifth Avenue and wonder where we're going next. I look down at the short coral peplum dress and nude heels I'm wearing and look at Cole who looks edible in his dark jeans, dress shoes, s.h.i.+rt and jacket. His short hair is getting long enough for me to run my hands through it and grab it. I realize I'm biting down on my lips at where my thoughts are taking me when I see him look at them and smirk.

"I'd rather do that to you for real...at home, now let's go," he says with a laugh as he grabs my hand and pulls me to him.

"Do what?" I ask, confused, as I try to figure out what to do with my oversized handbag.

"f.u.c.k you," he replies nonchalantly.

I gape at the sidewalk, which I'm concentrating on as I walk in my new shoes, before looking around to make sure n.o.body heard him.

"Cole," I warn in a hush whisper.

"What? You're looking at me like you want to f.u.c.k me and I'd rather not do that in public," he adds with a shrug.

I laugh loudly, throwing my head back, causing myself to stumble before I take a breath and go back to paying attention to my walk.

"You suck at walking in heels."

"And you suck at trying not to f.u.c.k me in public," I retort.

He groans and stops walking before he tugs my arm and dips his head to suck my lip into his mouth. He loves doing that. h.e.l.l, I love him doing that. I moan when his tongue slides into my mouth. He pulls back quickly and takes a deep breath. "You drive me crazy. You need to stop talking about f.u.c.king you in public unless you're okay with me walking around with a hard on."

I laugh lightly and we step back into walking. "Nah, although I don't think the cameras will mind if they zone in on it," I say with a sly smile.

I'm so lost in our conversation that I completely forget trying to figure out where we're going. When we stop in front of very familiar large iron doors, I'm completely frozen in shock. My mouth is still hanging open when Cole opens the door for me so I can walk inside of Tiffany & Co. We greet the sales people, and realization dawns on me as to why Cole needed us to be dressed up. I almost laugh, but am offered a gla.s.s of champagne, which I gladly accept, before I can comment on anything.

My mind is running a mile a minute because from the second we walked in the door I already knew we were here to look at engagement rings. I mean, why else would he bring me here? I don't even want to look at prices in here. I kind of want to call Becky and scream into the phone as I jump up and down and she tells me that I should have worn a black dress and pearls. I groan loudly and shake my head. I so should have worn a black dress and pearls. d.a.m.n it.

"See anything you like?" Cole murmurs against my ear, making me s.h.i.+ver. I turn around and face him with a smile.

"Umm...everything?" I reply with a quiet laugh.

"I brought you here so you can pick one of these out," he explains, grabbing my hand and walking me to the other side of the store. My heart is pounding so wildly, my chest is beginning to cramp. He stops in front of a gla.s.s case and gives me a knowing smile, which I return until I look at the case. There are about fifty skeleton keys looking back at me. Not what I was expecting. Bubbled laughter escapes my lips before I can stop it and I look up to meet Cole's laughing eyes as he purses his lips.

"What's so funny?" he asks.

"Nothing," I reply between laughter as I shake my head slowly. "Nothing at all."

He furrows his eyebrows, but I know him enough to know he's anything but confused. "The key to my heart," he says by way of explanation. "You lost it, so I figured I would get you a new and improved version. Even though, you are my heart." The sales lady behind the counter sighs dreamily along with me.

"Mr. Murphy," she says in a chirpy voice. "Nice to see you again. Is there anything you'd like to see from here?" I frown at the way she says his name, as if she's seen him here dozens of times. She's probably a little older than us, but not by much, maybe thirty. She's tall and has dark auburn hair and pretty hazel colored eyes. She's dressed impeccably and has blinding diamond earrings on. He did live in New York for a long time, so it is a possibility that he bought something for his past girlfriends here. The thought doesn't even bother me. We've been through enough together and apart for something that petty to get to me, but still, I am curious. Cole turns to me expectantly and I realize they're waiting for me to pick out a pendant.

"Oh...well, can I see that one right there," I ask, pointing at an oval key pendant. It looks the most like a normal skeleton key does.

"You sure?" Cole asks with a raised eyebrow. "You don't like that one better?" he asks pointing at a different one.

"Oh, that's our Blossom key pendant, that one is marvelous," the sales lady, Sarah chimes in. I take a deep breath and look up at Cole.

"Why don't you decide?" I say to him. "You bought it for me in the first place."

He gives me a thoughtful look before a grin spreads over his face. "Okay, go look around while I pick something out." My mouth drops, but I nod dumbly before walking away and looking around.

By the time Cole finishes picking the pendant, I've made my way over to the engagement and wedding bands. Walt, who has told me exactly how many diamonds and how expensive everything in the store is, is now pointing out a beautiful three carat oval engagement ring. I feel my cell phone vibrate in my purse, but am too worried about looking weird fis.h.i.+ng it out, so I decide to let it ring.

"See anything you like?" Cole asks with a smirk.

"You got eighteen-thousand dollars to waste?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckles lightly as he threads our fingers together and kisses the palm of my hand. "For you, nothing is a waste, baby," he whispers against it before placing my hand at his side. The b.u.t.terflies in my stomach swirl and I give him a small smile before thanking and waving at my new friend Walt.

When we step outside I notice that Cole has no bag in his hand.

"You didn't end up liking anything?" I ask.

"Huh?" he asks distractedly as he scrolls through his phone.

"The skeleton keys. You didn't like any of them?"

"Oh, yeah, I liked one but they didn't have it here so I ordered it. They'll FedEx it to us."

"Hmmm," I reply thoughtfully before I remember to get my phone out to check it. Four missed calls. Three text messages. The calls are from Aubry, Aimee, Becky, and two from Connor. Odd. I scroll to open the text messages.

Connor: You wanna come over for dinner on Friday with my pops and stuff?

Unknown Number: Chick, call me. We need to talk.

Unknown Number: Just making sure you're all right, chick. Just hit me back.

I reply to Connor's text message saying that I'll think about it. I'm not sure I have the courage or will to meet those people yet. I make a quick reply to Dean while Cole is still typing away on his own phone.

Me: I'm fine. I'll call you this week. Out of town.

Unknown Number: Thanks for the reply. Let me know when you get back.

I have to figure out how to tell Cole that I'm in touch with Dean, but I'm not going to ruin our trip over that. I'll tell him when we get home.

"Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" Connor asks as he sorts through everything inside my fridge.

"I don't know, Con. This whole thing still has me kind of on edge."

"Still?" he asks incredulously.

Connor has been pretty much a fixture in our home ever since I got home from the hospital, but since we got back from New York a few weeks ago, he seems to have practically moved in here. He leaves at night because that's when he works, not that he has a legitimate job, but that's neither here nor there since we don't discuss it. At first I was hesitant to have him around, knowing what I know about him and the people in his family-our family, I guess. But he's a good guy, that much is obvious. And Cole trusts him.

After the New York a.s.signment, Cole has been called on five different ones. I accompanied him to two of them before deciding that I couldn't just trail him every time he went away to work. His absence is starting to bother me, even though I know it shouldn't. It never bothered me before and I understand that work is work. I just wish his job didn't demand him getting on an airplane every other day! It seems like we haven't had time to be together and work on our relations.h.i.+p now that we're together again.

I know that's entirely my fault because I act like everything is fine when he's around, even when I don't feel like it is. We haven't spoken about the time we were apart other than his questions on whether or not they fed me, if they touched me, where they kept me. I'm half scared to ask what he was up to, even though he's made it pretty clear that he was going through h.e.l.l. Connor has been hanging around our apartment every day, and Aubry usually comes over later on after work. Aimee comes over sometimes when she takes a break from studying for the Bar, but even when she does that she brings her book along and studies here. I still have no clue what I'm going to do with myself or whether or not I want to take the test or do something else. The more time that pa.s.ses, the less I want to practice law, though. I started on that path because I thought I could help people. I thought I could keep monsters behind bars, but after what happened to me, I'm not so sure anybody can.

"I don't know, I just don't think I'd feel comfortable in your grandfather's house, you know?"

He turns around, his blond brows crinkling in confusion. "Your grandfather too, you know. And I think you'd feel safe around them."

"Safe around them?" I ask in disbelief. "Safe around a bunch of men that go around killing people?"

"They don't go around killing people." He laughs before his face grows serious and he purses his lips as if to contemplate it. "I mean, I guess...whatever, it doesn't matter. n.o.body's gonna die in front of you. It's not like we walk around the house flas.h.i.+ng our guns around."

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't," I say with an eye roll before nodding pointedly to his hip where I know he has his gun.

"I carry it on my back," he replies casually as he turns around and lifts up his loose T-s.h.i.+rt revealing his toned back and the tip of the cross tattoo he has splayed on it. The handgun is tucked into his jeans. "But not when we're at home. Ma would kill me if she saw one on me."

"Hmm. Tell me about her," I say, making my way to the couch so he can follow me. Connor has practically become my free personal therapist, but better because he doesn't ask me stupid questions like "how did that make you feel?" He just sits there and laughs or comments once in a while. It feels good being able to rant to someone. Normally that someone would be Becky, but I still have some healing to do before I can get back to normal with her. I let her ramble on about how much her back hurts, but I'd rather not say too much because I don't want to say the wrong thing and make her feel bad that I'm not pregnant and she is. She doesn't deserve to not enjoy this time in her life.

"She's cool, you'd like her. Real quiet, cooks a mean meal, over protective. I don't know, just a regular mom, I guess," he replies with a shrug.

"What's her name?"

"Cindy," he replies as he dips his nacho in the cheese sauce he heated up.

"And your dad is Michael...my Uncle Michael." I state half-heartedly.

He laughs as he crunches on the nacho. "Yeah, hopefully you'll see him again soon. He's always out of town though, spends more time in Boston than he does here these days. Anyway, you know my mom's Cindy, my dad's Michael and my son is Elijah, are gonna go over this again?"

I smile at him, he talks more about his three-year-old son than he does anything else. It's cute, and makes me laugh when he says the things he does. It's hard to believe he rarely sees him since he lives a couple of hours away.

"Didn't you say he's staying with you this weekend?" I ask.

"He is, my ex is bringing him over on Friday. Should be fun," he says, the scar on his top lip expanding as he smiles widely.

"So she brings him over and goes back home? How does that work?" I ask curiously.

"Sometimes she stays, sometimes she goes back. Depends, I guess," he says with a small shrug as he flips through channels.

"How come you've never shown me any pictures of him?"

A smile plays on his face as he turns his attention to me. "You've never asked."

He s.h.i.+fts on the couch and takes his cell phone out of his pocket and starts to sort through it, his blond brows furrowed in concentration until he reaches the photo he wants and smiles at the screen.

"This is him last month at Navy Pier." He extends the phone to me and I take it in my hand, fumbling when I see the photograph.

A loud gasp escapes me as my jaw unhinges on its own accord. "Oh my G.o.d. What the h.e.l.l?" I ask looking at him wide-eyed.

Connor chuckles and shakes his head. "Dean showed you a picture before, huh? I swear he shows him off any chance he gets"

I uncurl my legs from under me and stand up waving the phone dramatically in front of him. "How could you not tell me?"

His eyes widen before he begins to laugh. "Was I supposed to? What difference does it make?"

I narrow my eyes at him, pursing my lips before realizing that it doesn't make a difference to me that my cousin is an ex brother-in-law with Dean. It's still a little weird though, and I can't help but to play out different family function scenarios in my head. Will he be there? Will his sister be there? How awkward will it be with Cole and Dean in the same room all the time? Is Dean even allowed to step foot in a Benson house?

"What does your grandfather think of all that?" I ask curiously.

"What's he supposed to think? Nothing," Connor says with a shrug. "He loves his great grand-kid, what's there to think about?"

"Why aren't you with your ex then?"

Connor lets out a breath. "How much time you got?" he asks with a laugh.

"Loads," I reply with a raised eyebrow.

"Sit your a.s.s back down then!"