It was too dark to tell who it was or what they were doing, but what could they be doing other than trying to break in? Which would be stupid, because there wasn’t much of value in here. The workshop in back contained thousands of dollars of tools and equipment, but the priciest thing in here was probably the copy machine, and who wanted to steal one of those? She didn’t have a safe, didn’t deal in cash—

“Sierra!”

She let the blinds slip back together as she identified the male voice that sounded all too familiar. Or was she imagining it? Surely Cole wouldn’t—

“Sierra, it’s me. Let me in!” he yelled, still talking to the window in her office.

What the hell?

Apparently he would.

She didn’t know whether she wanted to kick him for scaring the crap out of her, yell at him for being an idiot in general, or calmly, quietly let him in and hear what the hell he wanted, as a tiny kernel of hope took root in her heart.

Instead of heading straight for the back door, she went to the window in the main room, on the opposite side of the building, and stole a glance out at the driveway. The sight of Cole’s familiar blue truck had her heart rate picking up yet again, no longer in fear. She hurried into the kitchen, dimly lit by the fixture over the sink, and to the side door. When she opened it, no one was there, and she vaguely heard him tapping on the window in the other room again.

Idiot.

“Cole!” she yelled into the brisk evening air, her breath clouding into vapor and the wind making her shiver. “Hello?”

Though she couldn’t see the back side of the building from the doorway, she could hear his footsteps crunching across the snow toward her.

“Hey,” he said as he came around the corner. “Finally.”

“What’s going on?” she asked, suddenly wondering if something bad had happened, if his mom—

“Can I come in?” He opened the storm door wider, his breath also coming out in visible puffs.

Sierra backed up to let him in, then walked farther into the kitchen to put space between them. Cole shut both doors and locked the heavy inside door, then leaned against it, shuddering from the cold.

“What are you doing here?” Sierra asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to decipher his intentions.