Hot SEAL, April's Fool by Becca Jameson (smart books to read .txt) 📗

spoken in passing as if she had been imparting idle gossip. Now that he realized April had never said any such thing about not wanting to marry him, Cole wanted to punch a hole in the nearest wall.

If he ever saw Violet again, there was no telling how he might react. It wouldn’t be pretty, that’s for sure. On the flip side, he could only blame himself for taking her words to heart and leaving April high and dry without confronting her.

On top of that, even if every word vomited out of Violet’s mouth had been true, Cole shouldn’t have reacted the way he had. He should have given April time and space if that’s what she needed. He’d been hurt and immature, and he’d punished her. And himself.

“I have to go to the shop,” he told her the next morning as he sat on the edge of her bed and held out a latte.

She inhaled deeply as she smiled at him. “It’s early.” She shoved herself toward the headboard, pulling the covers with her, not giving him a glimpse of her naked breasts. Finally, she reached for the steaming coffee. “Thank you.”

“I know, but I need to get a handle on what’s going on with the business. I hope my brother isn’t going to be a dick about it. I want to see the books and assess the value and make sure it’s in the black.”

“What are you going to do about Chamberlain?” She shuddered.

He couldn’t blame her. “I’m not sure yet.” It boggled the mind to think that the town mayor was extorting money from his family. And even worse, it might not be illegal. That was the part that rubbed Cole. If his dad really owed Chamberlain legitimate money, there was a good chance Cole’s hands would be tied.

If, however, the money owed was dirty and illegal, that would change things. At least in Cole’s mind. He wouldn’t put it past the smarmy bastard to have set Cole’s father up to lose the business, but that didn’t mean it was illegal.

Plus, Cole had another problem if what Rodney said was true. If most of the police force was dirty and possibly in Chamberlain’s pocket, it was going to be difficult to get out of this mess.

Half of Cole wanted to say fuck it and leave town. Why should he care if his stepmother and half-brother were left high and dry? Amanda had never treated Cole with anything but disdain and Jacob followed her lead like a fucking puppy.

The problem with that plan was twofold. For one, Cole didn’t have it in him to be that vengeful even if they deserved everything they got. Also, he had little doubt Amanda and Jacob would haunt him every chance they got if he didn’t get them out of this mess. He didn’t want to deal with that shit. He’d rather clean up the problem, sever ties entirely, and leave town without fear of backlash.

“Do you want me to go with you?” April asked as she took another sip.

He shook his head. “No. I don’t want you mixed up in this.” He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. “I’ll text you if I think I’ll be gone more than a few hours.” He rose from her bed but kept a hand on her thigh.

He hated the idea of leaving her apartment as if everything they’d shared in the last two days might not be real if he walked out the door.

As he let his fingers slide off her thigh, she spoke. “Be careful. I don’t like this at all.”

“Me neither, but don’t worry about me. I’ve faced bad guys a whole lot worse than Chamberlain.” He winked at her as he backed out of the room, praying he was telling the truth.

He felt heavy as he left her apartment, and it didn’t improve on the drive to the shop. It also didn’t help that the first person he saw when he arrived was Jacob. His brother was standing in the doorway, feet planted wide, arms crossed, scowling.

Cole groaned as he approached. Did his brother think he could keep Cole out? For one thing, Cole was twice as big as Jacob. For another thing, he had training, skills, and strength Jacob would only ever read about.

“Jacob…” he said leerily as he approached. “Told you I was coming this morning.”

“Yeah, well, Mom and I talked. We don’t think it’s necessary for you to dig around in Dad’s affairs.”

Cole stopped two feet from Jacob, hands on his hips. “So, let me get this straight. You two do think I should clean up Dad’s mess for you, but you don’t want me to have all the facts.”

Jacob narrowed his gaze. “It’s your fault we’re in the mess in the first place, asshole. And you have no business seeing the books after being gone ten years.”

Cole chuckled. “You know it’s a load of crap that I’m responsible for a damn thing. I hadn’t even spoken to Dad in a decade, and I’m sure you’re fully aware that he didn’t want anything to do with me, so don’t feed me some bullshit lies about how sad he was that I left.”

“You don’t know shit,” Jacob spat out.

“I know enough. I also know that you not wanting me to see the books means there’s something to hide.”

“There ain’t nothin’ to hide, Cole. It’s just not your business. It’s mine.”

“If the books are on the up and up, then you have nothing to worry about.” Cole wasn’t sure how long he intended to stand here arguing with this pipsqueak. Jacob was soft. He was also young. Twenty-two. He’d already married a local girl and they had one kid born and one on the way. Cole had no doubt that Jacob needed this business to succeed, and Cole had no idea if his brother was capable of it.

Cole seriously doubted that his father had ever turned over much of the business to Jacob, nor did he believe