Devotion (Club Destiny #7) (8 page)

“Can’t say I blame you.”

Cole’s eyebrows shot skyward. Did Alex expect him to walk out on the asshole? If so, why the hell had he set him up like that? He was trying extremely hard to look at the situation from Alex’s perspective, but the more and more he found himself in situations like this one, he couldn’t help but wonder what was actually going on with Alex. If the man was in his right mind, he wouldn’t be dealing with this type of shit either.

“Getting burned out already, Cole?” Alex asked.

The question took him by surprise, and he wondered whether that was actually the case. Was he getting burned out? He hadn’t thought about it like that, but yeah, he might just be. Seemed rather unexpected since Cole hadn’t worked for Alex for long, but considering he’d been self-employed for most of his life, working for someone else wasn’t doing it for him.

Especially when he seemed to be taking over the role of salesman instead of what he’d originally been hired to do.

Rather than answer the question because he wasn’t sure he wanted Alex to know the truth just yet, Cole opted to redirect back to the original subject. “I don’t appreciate being sent to slaughter. There was no way that asshole was going to be satisfied with our services, no matter how I tried to convince him,” Cole explained, feeling a rare burst of anger penetrate his bloodstream. For some reason, he felt set up.

“Sorry about that,” Alex began, “I don’t disagree. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you ahead of time. Things have been a little crazy lately.”

Cole detected something in his boss’ tone, and from what he heard, Alex wasn’t telling him the whole story.

Instead of questioning Alex, Cole opted to put the conversation on the back burner for a little while. It would give him time to cool off, which he desperately needed. He had no desire to be pissed off when he was looking forward to lunch with Sierra. He’d rather be preparing for the conversation he was hoping to have with her. It seemed as though she were trying to give him and Luke more alone time these days, but he didn’t quite understand why. For the last few nights, when he finally made it to bed, Sierra had been fast asleep. He knew she was tired from the pregnancy, but he couldn’t help but wonder if something else was bothering her. At least he would have the opportunity to ask her.

 “I’d appreciate some warning in the future. It’s done and over with. I won’t try and convince the man, and as far as I’m concerned, our services aren’t right for him anyway.” It felt like déjà vu. Cole was pretty sure he’d said the same thing to Alex about the last dozen sales calls he’d gone on.

“Agree.” Alex paused, and Cole waited patiently for him to continue. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

The abrupt end to the conversation took him by surprise, but Cole disconnected the call and focused on driving. Only five more minutes and he’d be with Sierra. A little alone time with her was just what he needed at the moment.

~~*~~

“Are you all right?”

Sierra’s blunt question surprised Cole a little as he finished eating, having spent the last half hour trying to conjure up enough courage to ask her basically the same question she just spouted.

For the most part, neither of them had talked much, aside from discussing what they’d done that day and how their afternoons were lining up. Based on her question, Cole hadn’t been as effective at hiding his pent up frustration nearly as well as he thought he had. Focusing on her was easy, but his conversation with Alex kept pricking at him, leaving him with more answers than questions.

“Fine, why?” His answer didn’t sound exactly truthful, even to his own ears, but he wasn’t sure what else to say. It wasn’t like he was going to burden Sierra with his problems at work. The goal was to keep her as stress free as possible these days.

“Well, aside from the fact that you’ve been quiet almost the entire time we’ve been here,” Sierra replied, a small smile on her lips as she sipped her water.

“Quiet?” Cole laughed. If anything, he felt as though he’d been talking too much.

Sierra’s smile grew, and Cole’s heart constricted. He loved when she smiled, even if it was one of those small ones that said she was still worried but she wasn’t going to push him to talk. She had learned early on not to push because, between him and Luke, they very rarely shared much emotion.

“How’s work?” she asked after the waiter returned to the table to clear the plates away.

“I’d prefer to talk about anything but work,” he said hastily.

“Ok.”

“Sorry. Things aren’t going that great right now, and I’m not sure what Alex is up to.”

“Ashleigh told me she’s worried about Dylan.”

“I’m thinking that might be it. He’s been sending me out on these ridiculous sales calls, when in reality he should be the one handling them.”

“Well, it makes sense if Dylan’s not pulling his weight at the office. Have you talked to him about it yet?”

Sierra was always the sensible one. Talking to her, even briefly, often had Cole rethinking his reactions to certain situations. This was one of them.

“No. Not yet.”
Shit.
He really needed to talk to Alex. Hell, he probably should make a pit stop and have a conversation with Dylan while he was at it. “Luke mentioned that Dylan’s drinking again.”

“Yeah. It seems he’s gone a little overboard this time. Ashleigh mentioned that he broke up with Sarah a couple of weeks ago. Something about needing some space.”

Cole didn’t know Sarah personally, but he’d met her at Nate’s graduation party. He was also familiar with her because she was Jake’s aunt, and it was because of her that Dylan actually hired the kid to come work for CISS.

Cole knew that Alex had previously had a conversation with Dylan back when he first came on at CISS. Dylan’s grief over losing his wife eight years prior was still very much alive and churning inside of him. They all thought he was progressing, moving forward, but it appears he was suddenly back tracking.

“What if Dylan can’t cut it at work? Are you going to be satisfied handling the commercial sales?” Sierra’s question was the same one he’d been asking himself for the better part of the last month, and one he really didn’t have an answer for. He’d always been loyal to his friends. Often sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of others. For some reason, he had difficulty doing that these days.

“Is there something else you’d rather be doing?” Sierra asked, apparently thinking he didn’t intend to answer her.

Cole cocked his head slightly, staring into the crystal blue eyes that captivated him to the point of distraction. She was absolutely, beyond doubt, the most beautiful woman in the world. Inside and out. He grinned at her, and when she blushed, he realized she recognized her double entendre as much as he did.

He lowered his voice and responded to the unintended question so that only she would hear. “You, baby. I’d much prefer to be doing you. Always you.”

Sierra’s sexy laugh sent a blast of heat straight to his groin, and he fought the urge to fidget. When her hand moved down to her belly, as though the baby was moving and she was trying to cuddle her, he grinned even more. Cole could’ve watched her all day, the way her face softened when the baby kicked made him smile.

It was a reminder of how fortunate he was these days. To have Sierra and Luke, not to mention a precious gift on the way, Cole had to remind himself not to let the small things get to him. In just a few short weeks, the three of them were going to be parents. The idea of it all still took his breath away.

Not to mention sent his nerves rioting.

“What happened to you the other night?”

The night they had come home from the tour at the club, Sierra chose not to join them, and at the time he figured she was tired, but as he sat here with her now, he wondered if it was something else. It wasn’t like she was dodging his questions, but she did seem as though she had something on her mind.

“I was tired, and I knew that you and Luke needed some time together.”

“And you didn’t feel like watching?” Just the thought made his cock swell behind the restrictive confines of his jeans.

Cole couldn’t deny how fucking hot it was when Sierra watched the two of them. It was the best of both worlds for Cole. It was even better when she joined them, but that had happened less and less over the last few weeks. She claimed it was the pregnancy, but Cole couldn’t help but wonder.

Sierra smiled again, this time her face brightening. “I love watching the two of you. I sometimes think that the two of you might want to be alone, though.”

Cole reached over and took Sierra’s hand in his, twining their fingers as he stared back into those brilliant blue eyes. “Honey, you know it has never been like that. It’s always been the three of us. The way it should be.”

He was a little surprised they were having this conversation in such a public place, but he realized they hadn’t had much time just to sit and talk recently. With all that was going on with the club, entertaining the Walker brothers, Sierra’s new prospective clients, and Alex sending Cole on sales calls while Dylan was out, at least one, if not all three of them, was usually working late. Luke was even more wrapped up in trying to figure out the future of Club Destiny, which resulted in exceptionally little time at home.

“I don’t want you and Luke to drift apart,” Sierra stated, and Cole’s stomach churned. Did she know something he didn’t? Was Luke unhappy? He hadn’t noticed anything different about their relationship.

“Why would you say that?” When Sierra looked away, Cole released her hand and tilted her chin until she looked him in the eye, moving his chair closer to hers.

He knew he wasn’t able to hide his own insecurities exceedingly well, but he hadn’t expected Sierra to be worried about anything. The one constant in their relationship was her. Both he and Luke made it a point to ensure she was always taken care of. And yes, there were times Cole wanted more. More from Luke, more from Sierra, but he wasn’t about to disclose as much.

“The two of you are always doting on me. I don’t think an hour goes by without one or both of you calling to check up on me. And yes, maybe it’s because of the pregnancy, but I sometimes feel as though the two of you don’t get enough time alone.”

Alone? Cole wasn’t under the impression they were looking for alone time together. They weren’t separate couples. They were in this together, the three of them as a whole. Sure, Cole wouldn’t mind stealing a few minutes with either of them separately, but it was the times they were all three together that he felt most complete.

“Luke and I are close, baby. I’m not looking for anything more than what we already have.” But now that Sierra had planted the seed of doubt in his mind, Cole wasn’t sure that Luke might not be looking for something different.

He and Luke were getting closer, both on a personal as well as a professional level. They had finally developed a level of trust that was critical to the success of their relationship. And maybe Luke wasn’t always shouting his love, but that was what Cole had come to expect from him. Sure, he’d like a little reassurance from time to time, but he accepted Luke for who he was. Changing him wasn’t in the cards, nor did Cole want it to be. He wouldn’t have stuck around if he truly thought Luke didn’t love him.

Maybe this could be chalked up to hormones. Cole knew they were all a little antsy these days, both fear and anxiety from becoming new parents were intensifying as the weeks progressed. They had yet to have a full conversation about some of the logistics, such as the baby’s last name, which Cole knew was inevitable. Biologically, and on record, there could only be one father. The subject alone had presented some conflict in their relationship early on.

Thanks to his conversation with his stepbrother, Tag, Cole had attempted to address the issue with Luke. He was told not to be ridiculous in so many words; however, he could see some concern in Luke’s eyes. Not that the man ever would admit as much.

“I love him, Sierra, just as I love you. I don’t expect things to be easy between us. This isn’t a traditional relationship. We have to expect a few bumps along the way.”

“Yes, there will be bumps, I know that,” she argued. “That doesn’t mean that you and Luke have to drift apart.”

“Did you lie about being tired the other night just to push us together?”

Sierra looked away again, and Cole knew the truth. She was trying to get them closer.

He wanted to tell her that the alone time wasn’t going to be what brought him and Luke closer. He couldn’t bring himself to admit that there was a connection they’d yet to make and in Cole’s eyes, it was a piece that would likely change them both forever.

“So, you’re telling me I shouldn’t worry?” Sierra asked, sounding both distraught and a little relieved.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” Cole smiled. “This isn’t temporary. We’re in this for the long haul. Right now, we all need to be focused on the baby. I’m pretty sure the rest will work itself out.”

At least Cole hoped it would.

Chapter Seven

One week later…

Cole couldn’t pinpoint what the issue was, but over the last few days, he’d come to one conclusion: he had to talk to Alex. He needed to confront the man and try to get them on the same page because at the moment, he feared they were reading from different books.

Ever since Alex set him up on that debacle of a meeting with Carson Throckmorton, the man hadn’t been acting like himself. He was vague in his direction, and even somewhat standoffish. As much as Cole wanted to believe that Dylan was the only reason for all of the changes taking place, something told him that wasn’t the case.

Walking into the office of CISS, Cole peered in the small section that Jake and Nate had commandeered as an office that they both shared during the few times they weren’t out in the field. Neither of them were in. Not surprising.

Cole continued, stopping to peek in Dylan’s office. He wasn’t in either, but that was to be expected. He hadn’t seen or heard from Dylan in at least a few weeks, even though Cole had left him a couple of messages in the last few days, suggesting they get together to talk. Based on what everyone was telling him, he shouldn’t have been surprised at Dylan’s avoidance.