COLE ENTERED THE LIVING ROOM to find Jase pacing furiously back and forth across the room. The boy cast a dark, furious look at his brother. Maia looked up and met Cole’s gaze, lifting her hands palm up in inquiry. Jase stopped pacing abruptly and stood breathing heavily, his hands on his hips.
“You could have killed me! Maybe you want to kill me just like everyone says,” Jase burst out. He glared at Cole. “Maybe you tried to kill the doc just so she wouldn’t find out about you.”
“Jase!” Maia said firmly. “That’s enough. You’re afraid and angry, but don’t say things you can’t take back.”
“He didn’t put a gun in your face. He’s been in jail. Everyone knows he’s been there,” Jase continued, breathing hard, his young face twisted with fear and hurt.
“Come sit down over here,” Maia patted the couch beside her. “I can tell you whatever Cole may have done or not done in his life, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Someone is trying to drive a wedge between the two of you.” She didn’t look at Cole. She couldn’t bear to see the hurt in his eyes she knew would be there. He stood motionless, a man apart, isolated, hurt beyond reason and unwilling to risk himself further.
Jase flung himself onto the couch beside Maia, tears glittering in his eyes. “I hate this. I hate my life.” He included Maia in his glare. “I hate that you stick up for him. You don’t even know him. You don’t know whether he killed our father, or whether he hurt Wally and tried to hurt me. You don’t even know whether or not he covered that walkway with ice in order to hurt you. Everyone says he’s after my share of the money, and maybe he is.” A sob escaped, and his chest heaved as he tried to hold the emotion in.
“That’s enough,” Cole’s tone was low, but it was a whiplash.
“That doesn’t even make sense, Jase,” Maia said softly. “I knew about the gun. If you went into the stable and startled Cole, of course he pulled the gun. Someone hurt your horse. Naturally Cole would be worried about all of our safety.”
Jase rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles, looking four instead of fourteen. Cole let out his breath slowly as his younger brother’s expression became somewhat mollified.
“Cole, you need to talk to Jase. I can leave the room if you want me to, but he needs you to share your life with him. You’re helping whoever is persisting in these rumors about you trying to kill Jase. You’re enabling whoever is attempting to keep you from trusting one another by remaining silent about your past. If you want this to work between you, you have to trust one another, and the only way to do that is to get to know each other.” Maia held her breath, waiting for Cole to tell her to go to hell.
There was a long silence. She stole a quick glance at his face. His rugged features were very still, expressionless. He stared over her head at the wall behind them. A muscle jerked in his jaw, the only sign that he’d heard her. She could feel Jase trembling, could feel the tension in his body winding tighter and tighter. With a small sigh, she twisted her fingers together. What could she say to convince them?
“I saw the shadow of a man holding a pitchfork and thought someone was stalking me. I didn’t know it was you. I yelled at you because I was afraid I could have hurt you accidentally. I didn’t hurt the horse, and I sure don’t want your money.”
Jase looked a little embarrassed. “Maybe I didn’t mean everything I said. It just reminded me of . . . things.”
“I know what you mean,” Cole said. “He shoved a gun in my face more than once too. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“That’s all right.” Some of the tension began to drain from the boy’s body.
“I was in jail, Jase.” Cole took a deep breath, let it out. His fingers curled involuntarily into a fist. “I work for the DEA. I went into prison undercover to stop a very large drug ring involving guards, inmates, and the supply trucks. I’ve worked undercover most of my life. It’s an isolating job and makes you very distrustful of everything and everyone around you.” He made the confession in a rush, wanting to get it over with, half-horrified that he was letting them both into his life. “I don’t tell people what I do. It’s habit, and it’s kept me alive over the years.”
Maia kept her lips firmly pressed together, astonished, not by what he’d said, but that he’d admitted it. Cole Steele was not a man who’d easily reveal the details of his life. She wanted to console him, put her arms around him and hold him close, but neither Jase nor Cole could allow a show of compassion. Beside her, Jase was trembling, uncertain how to react to his brother’s revelation. Tension coiled around Cole, his face a mask without expression. Only his eyes were alive, turbulent and raw with pain.