Chapter 60

Cole stood up, a wicked grin spreading across his face, blood staining his teeth. Tension crackled in the air between us, thick and suffocating. This was it. The final showdown that I'd been dreading but knew was inevitable. My fists clenched at my sides as I braced myself for what was to come.

Cole took a step forward, his gaze locked on me with pure malice. The anger coursing through my veins threatened to consume me. Rage built to a boiling point within me.

"What were you thinking, Cole?" I demanded. "Following Mary Ellen like some kind of stalker?"

Cole winced as he clutched his injured nose. I could see the guilt in his eyes, but beyond the guilt, I saw something far more sinister. It made my blood run cold. I didn't know him. The man I thought I knew didn't exist. I had been foolish to think I knew him at all.

"I was just messing around," he muttered. "I didn't mean anything by it. Chill the fuck out."

I scoffed at his feeble excuse. My fists clenched at my sides as I struggled to rein in the overwhelming urge to lash out. "Messing around?" I echoed incredulously. "This isn't some game, Cole. You can't just toy with people's lives like that."

"She freaked out for no reason," he snapped. "She saw me and panicked, driving like a bat out of hell through the city. I know she called to snitch on me for being at your place. Oh, the horror. It's not like I didn't fucking live there for weeks."

"This isn't prison," Archer hissed. "She's not snitching. She's looking out for me. I used to be able to say the same for you."

Cole laughed, a cold, dark sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Looking out for you? You mean controlling you, manipulating you. Is that what you want, Archer? To be her puppet?"

"Would you prefer I was your puppet?" I shot back. "Is that what this is about? Are you jealous? We're on the outside now. It's not just you and me against the cell block."

Cole's laughter echoed in the tense silence. "Jealous? Please, you give yourself too much credit, Archer," he sneered. "I'm just looking out for you, like old times. You don't know her. Women like her are a dime a dozen. She saw a damaged dude with lots of money and she's taking advantage of you. Remember, I was your friend when you were just another fish trying not to get his ass handed to him."

I squared my shoulders. "You never thought of me as a friend. You only cared about what I could do for you. You knew who I was and what I had waiting for me when I got out. That's why you called me. You knew I would extend a helping hand. And the first chance you got, you fucking betrayed me, you psycho fuck."

"I didn't betray you," Cole argued. "What Vinny did was on him. I didn't have anything to do with stealing your shit."

I knew better than to believe him. Cole had always been a master manipulator. I watched him do it all the time when we were locked up. I had been blinded by loyalty, by the memories of our time spent surviving together behind bars. But now, facing him in the harsh light of reality, I saw him for what he truly was—an opportunist willing to throw anyone under the bus to save himself.

"You need to leave," I said. "And don't you ever come around Mary Ellen again."

"Look," Cole said, much calmer. "I went by your house because I wanted to talk. We were good friends. Whether you think of it like that or not, I did. You were the only real friend I had. I'm sorry if I scared your girlfriend. I wasn't going to your house to do anything. I just wanted to talk."

"So then you chased her?" I snapped. "You think a simple apology is going to make everything okay?"

Cole held up his hands in surrender, his expression shifting from defiance to a mask of false contrition. "Archer, I'm telling you the truth. I messed up, but I swear I never meant to cause any harm. Just let me explain, please."

I hesitated, my anger still holding at the memory of Mary Ellen's terrified voice on the phone. I had felt helpless to do anything for her. "Fine, talk," I relented, crossing my arms over my chest as a silent warning for him to choose his words carefully.

"I turned down Vinny's offer," he confessed. "I want to get my life back on track, Archer. I told Vinny I'm not going to steal anymore. That was my old life. I want to do things right. I need your help."

I was torn between fury and compassion. I knew he didn't have the resources I did. He was starting over with nothing. "And why should I help you after you keep fucking me over?" I asked.

"I'm not going to fuck you over," he said. "Come on. Just give me a chance."

"What do you want me to do?" I asked with disgust. "I gave you money for the bullshit job you lied about. You told me you needed tools. That was all bullshit, wasn't it?"

Cole's eyes dropped to the ground, a flicker of shame crossing his face before he met my gaze again. "I messed up, okay? I was desperate. But I swear, this time is different. I've got a plan now, a real one. All I need is a second chance."

I studied him for a long moment, weighing his words against the turmoil in my gut. Could I really trust him again after everything that had happened? "What do you want?" I asked.

"I need some help writing a resume," he said. "I was hoping you could help with it." He reached up and touched his nose. "Although I don't think I'm going to be applying for any respectable jobs until my face doesn't look like I ran into a wall."

I couldn't feel sorry for him. "You were yelling at her after you chased her," I said. "You're lucky I didn't rip your fucking head off. You don't do that to a woman and you sure as hell don't do it to my woman."

"Archer?" Mary Ellen's whispered word behind me reminded me she was still there.

I moved to the side and opened her car door so she could get out. She stood beside me, facing off against Cole. "Did you mean it?" Mary Ellen asked.

"Mean what?" Cole asked in a gruff voice I didn't appreciate.

"Did you mean you've changed and you really want Archer's help to help you get on your feet?"

"I did." Cole nodded. "I want a shot at an honest living. Guys like me don't usually get a real chance."

"Understandable," she said.

"Look, I'm sorry I freaked you out," Cole said. "I was only trying to ask you if you knew where Archer was. When you ran off, it pissed me off. It was insulting. I looked out for that man right there for eighteen months. I got my ass handed to me more than once trying to keep his pretty face from getting beat up. Inside, Archer was my one and only friend. He was the guy I could count on and he knew he could count on me. We were tight. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to you being his number one. I get it."

"Yes, you are," I said. "You can't go around yelling at her."

"I know, I know," Cole said. "We had a good thing going and then she started coming around and you changed. I didn't want her poisoning you against me. I know what people think."

"I didn't say anything," Mary Ellen said.

"I know how crazy it sounds, but it is what it is. When I say it out loud, I know I sound like a jealous boyfriend. I'm not. I just want to make sure you're cool with me because Archer is my friend."

"Does Archer really know who his friend is?" Mary Ellen asked.

"We spent twenty-three hours a day together for a year and a half." Cole laughed. "I think he knows me."

"Really?" she said.

I could sense the shift in her tone and knew something was coming. "What's going on?" I asked.

"I did a quick search into Cole," she replied. "Did you know how violent he was? He's got countless assault charges, two against women. He put one woman in the hospital after he got a little carried away. He's also got a real thing for harassing people he doesn't like. So when you say I panicked for no reason and try to make me sound like I'm the paranoid one, maybe you can understand why I have some reservations about this leaf you've turned over. How many restraining orders do you have against you?"

Cole looked away. I saw the shame and regret. I understood what it was like to have your past pushed back in your face. When he looked at me again, I saw the anger. "See, she's trying to turn you against me. I knew it. I knew you were one of those righteous people that can't look beyond a man's past and allow him to change for the better."

I shook my head, dismissing his accusations with a sense of weary resignation. "Mary Ellen isn't the problem, Cole," I said. "We both know that."

"She looked into me," Cole argued. "Who does that?"

"Someone with an internet connection," Mary Ellen shot back.

"She cares about me, about us," I said. "She's trying to protect what we have."

"We all have baggage, Cole," Mary Ellen said. "Some more than others. The question now is what you're going to do with yours."

"You're not my mommy," Cole sneered. "I don't answer to you. If you wanted to know my rap sheet, all you had to do was ask. You didn't need to go snooping behind my back."

"Like I'm going to trust the guy that robs his so-called best friend," she hissed. "And who just chased me through the city. That's not in the past. That was literally a few minutes ago. Can you blame me for being skeptical?"

"Mary Ellen," I said calmly. "Why don't you go inside and wait for me? The butler will let you in."

"I don't think I should leave you alone with him," she argued.

"I'm fine," I stated. "Please, just go inside. I'll be there in a minute."

"I printed off the record," Mary Ellen said. "I had a feeling you might not believe me. I'm telling the truth and you saw it with your own eyes just now."

"I heard you. Please, go inside."

She frowned and walked away. I looked back at Cole. "I'm going to guess all of that was true."

"I didn't know you needed me to list every crime." He scoffed. "I fucked up. The one chick made up a big story because I caught her cheating and she was scared. Half the shit on there is bullshit. It was all trumped-up charges."

"And yet, you didn't deny any of it."

Cole clenched his jaw and looked away. His eyes were burning with anger. "It's not like that," he tried to explain. "A lot of that stuff happened when I was younger. I was stupid and angry and just lost."

"You're not that old," I reminded him. "And chasing a scared woman through town? That happened right now. It doesn't matter. I can't put Mary Ellen in danger."

"Half those charges all came from the same stupid incident," he muttered. "Like you, my girl turned on me. She stole a bunch of shit and I took the fall. She claimed I threatened her. When I tried to get her to tell the truth, she said I was harassing her. Women will fuck you over every time. You know that."

"Don't be ridiculous," I said. "Your past actions aren't the fault of women—or anyone else for that matter."

"I was angry," he insisted. "I was hurt and I didn't know what to do with my feelings. I've changed. You know I've changed."

"You still looked pretty angry just a few moments ago, Cole," I said. "You say you've changed, but your actions show you haven't changed all that much."

He turned away, his face contorted in a bitter grimace. "So, that's it? You're going to take her side?"

"It isn't about sides, Cole."

"Things were so much better before that woman came into the picture," Cole hissed.

"No, they weren't," I replied. "Mary Ellen has done nothing to you. If you knew her, you would know she doesn't have a malicious bone in her body. This is on you. Not me and certainly not her."