“Right now, I’m not throwing drama, I’m in the middle of a drama,” I educated him.

Cole chuckled and nodded a few times before he said, “Ah, okay, I see the difference.”

He didn’t. But in the interest of saving time and not proving his point by continuing the conversation, I hotly announced, “I’m going to go change.”

I turned on my heels and flounced through the living room only to stop at the mouth of the hall when I heard Wilson.

“Not sure what I’m more impressed by, her holding her own in that club or that exit. I’d say you’re fucked, brother, but you already know you are. So instead I’ll tell you—let her walk, you’re a damn fool.”

I’d impressed Wilson. He thought Asher would be a fool if he let me go.

Holy shit.

Holy. Shit.

It took me a moment to catch my breath and get my wits about me before I finished walking down the hall into Asher’s room. I made the trek with a smile on my face, maybe Wilson liked me after all.

19

By the time we landed in Idaho, it was nearing on four in the morning. One of the many benefits of flying on a private jet was scheduling—the plane left when you got there and not before. The other benefit was we didn’t need to fly to Spokane International and make the drive to Coeur d’Alene. There was a small municipal airport in the heart of Kootenai County. In recent years it had seen its fair share of traffic with all the celebrities flying in and out. CDA was no longer Idaho’s best-kept secret; it was becoming the premier vacation spot both in the summer and winter. Something I’d heard the locals complain about, not that I blamed them. We were all outsiders invading their home.

Though I had to admit, while I understood the locals I didn’t feel an ounce of remorse about moving to Idaho. There was something about being surrounded by the lakes and mountains that fed the soul. Being tucked away and surrounded by the beauty of the forest brought me a peace I never found in the city. I was happy to leave Arizona when Wilson relocated our headquarters. I was more than happy to leave the heat and the fast pace of life. Until I moved to Idaho, I hadn’t known I needed the calm and quiet. I’d been nearing burnout after so many years in law enforcement. All the shit I’d seen and investigated had caught up with me in the form of night terrors and borderline paranoia. After I’d gotten to Idaho it had taken less than a month for the nightmares to go away.

“See you later?” Cole asked as the steward opened the door of the jet for debarkation.

Sloane stirred next to me and lifted her head off my shoulder. She’d fallen asleep on the drive to Santa Barbara, woken up briefly to board the plane, looked around the cabin, then took a seat and was back asleep before we were airborne.