Catching Cole

Chapter Eighteen

SADIE

I was on a zoom call with Jeanette, Josh and Pratt when my phone started flashing Cole’s name, as he tried to call. 

As soon as the call rang through to voicemail, his text came through. 

C: Sweetheart, I need to speak to you.

Something in me knew that it wasn’t a normal, ‘hey I miss you’ chat - this was more. Maybe he was breaking up with me? Even as the thought crossed through my mind, I knew it was irrational, and yet I couldn’t shake the heaviness that lay in the pit of my stomach.

As soon as my meeting with the team wrapped up, I called Cole. 

“Hey sweetheart,” he crooned down the line. I heard a door shut closed in the background and knew that he was making sure we weren’t interrupted in terms of privacy. 

I closed my eyes and reminded myself to breathe. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

He sighed, “Am I that obvious?” 

“Cole,” I warned, “what’s wrong?” 

He groaned, and I could just picture him rubbing his hand over his face. 

“Cole…” I bit out. 

“f**k it,” he said, “we’re having some minor problems at the club, and because you’re with me, I want to put someone on you for protection.” 

“Okaaaay,” I dragged out. I knew the drill. I knew that being with Cole put a target on my back, but being Gunner Priest’s daughter also put a target on my back. 

“I would be there with you myself, but I need to have my eyes on the club,” he explained further. 

“Wait,” I said, “you’re sending someone to Luxembourg? This isn’t just a London thing?” 

I heard him groan, “Yeah, I’m sending someone to Luxembourg.” 

“And where will this random person be staying?” My voice rose an octave. 

“That person will be staying with you,” Cole growled, his dominance rising up to meet me head on. 

“So what?” I half-yelled, “I’m just supposed to let one of your club members in my bed?” 

I heard him slam his fists against the table as he growled threateningly, “Sadie!” 

I knew I was pushing his buttons. But I was in such a rage with him. Surely if the threat was big enough he’d tell me to come and stay at the club - that was protocol. And if it was mild, he could tell me to go home for a bit and kick it with my dad. So when he told me he was sending someone to stay with me, it didn’t match up with anything with how I knew the Club to handle threats. 

“Just stop,” he shouted. I heard him breathing as he spoke again, softer this time, “Just stop okay?” 

I stayed silent. Waiting for him to talk. 

“The situation is a bit unusual, so I’m doing things a bit differently.” 

“Who else is getting a guard dog?” I asked. 

He remained silent.

“Who else Cole?” 

He still didn’t reply. 

“So just me then.” It was a statement not a question. “Should I come to the club?” I asked. 

“No,” he croaked, breaking his silence, “I don’t think it’s necessary. Besides, I don’t want to disrupt your life too much. I mean f**k, you’ve only just accepted that we’re a thing.” 

Fuck. He was actually being considerate and kind of sweet. 

“Fine,” I muttered, “Who’s the guy you’re sending.” 

“He’s not staying in your bed,” Cole stated. 

I rolled my eyes.

“Cole, you’re the only person I want right now.” That was the truth. It had been six days since I last saw him. Six long days. I was getting antsy, and the man still couldn’t tell me when we’d see each other again. 

“I’m sending Ammo,” he stated, like it was the most normal thing in the world. 

“What?” I demanded, “Why?” 

“I’m not f*****g blind,” Cole said, “I can see how he looks at you.” 

“And you think that makes it a good idea to send him to stay with me?” 

“You two need to sort your s**t out, talk it out or whatever, but he’s got eyes for you. I’m not going to be the guy who threatens him. If he’s got feelings for you, you need to address that shit.” 

How was this man so astute. 

I groaned, “I want to hate you right now.” 

He laughed, “You know I’ve been missing you,” he purred seductively. 

My p***y pricked up at the change in his voice. 

“And when, oh mister President, am I seeing you?” 

I didn’t want to be that clingy, needy girl. But, I was missing him something fierce. 

He chuckled, “soon sweetheart.” I heard the door to his office open and someone say something to him in the background. 

“Sadie sweetheart, I have to go. I’ll call you tonight,” his voice held a hint of promise as he added, “Oh and Ammo will be by you in the morning.” 

This was going to be interesting. 

The next morning I woke up to loud knocking. It took me a minute to figure out where it was coming from as I stumbled to my front door and opened it. On my entrance rug, stood Axel, with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. 

“What time is it?” I grumbled 

“6.30am'' he answered. I caught the red eye.” 

I squinted at him, “why?” I asked. 

“President’s orders,” he shrugged. 

I stepped back and let him in, and watched him look around my apartment, and then he looked at me and laughed, “That’s what you sleep in?” 

I looked down and realised that I was wearing a bright pink shirt that just hit my thighs. It read ‘Unicorns can be killers too’ with a sparkly, dancing Unicorn printed in the middle. I grimaced. This is not how I envisioned starting my day. 

“You go get settled and make yourself a cup of coffee while I get changed,” I said waving him into the living room. 

I grabbed my phone and sent through a barrage of texts to Cole. 

S: Why is he here so f*****g early? 

No reply. 

S: Seriously, you could have given a girl a heads up. 

No reply 

S: I mean, I was half asleep when I opened my front door - what if I was NAKED? 

His reply was instantaneous. 

C: Then he would have been a dead man. 

I honestly wasn’t sure if he was joking. 

My phone rang as I slid my guns and roses t-shirt over my head. 

“Hey,” I answered breathily.  

“Hey.” We sat in silence before he said, “f**k, I miss you.” 

“You could solve that by coming here yourself,” I muttered. 

He growled, “Don’t start sweetheart, otherwise the next time I do see you those ass cheeks of yours are going to be sporting red marks.” 

“Is that a promise?” I purred. 

He laughed, “Okay Sadie, you need to go be a good host, just not too good, you get me?” 

Was that a hint of jealousy I detected? If I didn’t know better I’d say that he was worried about Ammo being here, but that didn’t make sense because he was the one who sent him. Urgh, the man was confusing. 

“Cole,” I giggled, deciding to be a cocktease, I said, “Your c**k is the only one I want inside of me, pushing me to come. Don’t think for one minute that it’s not you I’m thinking about as I work myself with my detachable showerhead in the shower.” 

I heard him groan, trying to control his breathing.

“Bye Cole,” I sang down the line. As I put down the phone I smiled, knowing that I had left him hanging. 

Now, I had to go and address Ammo. 

You don’t play fair. His message came through. 

I smirked down at my phone and typed, Then come here and make me. 

“I know that look,” Ammo stated, holding a mug of piping hot coffee in his hands. 

“What?” I defended. 

“Relax,” he said, “Cole has the same look on his face half the time.” 

Well this was awkward. I ignored my feeling of guilt as we both sat down at my little kitchen table and asked, “You seem to be fitting in well there.” 

“Really Sadie? That’s the opening you’re going with.” He looked at me like he knew I was full of s**t. 

“Yeah,” he continued, “For a long time I didn’t think I would join the Club. I mean, this was never how I thought it was going to happen, but in the end, I belong there. It’s like it’s in my bones. I mean I could say it’s in my blood, but Layla couldn’t care less if she was part of the club or not, so I don’t think that’s true.” 

“But are you happy?” I asked. His eyes met mine, flashing through an array of emotions that just left me feeling guilty. 

“Am I happy Sadie? I don’t know. But I’m better than I was a few years ago.” 

That one line was why I had been dreading having him here, alone with me. We hadn’t been alone - truly alone in over two years.

Because two years on a rainy night in London, Axel and I were club hopping. Our last stop was some cringe worthy karaoke bar, and we loved it. As we stood at the bar, I felt his hand lightly slide around my waist. I remember thinking, ‘Oh God, I hope he doesn’t try to make a move’. The evening had been spent reminiscing about the ‘good’ times, our childhoods, our dreams and ambitions and where we were now. 

And as he slid his hand around my waist, I knew that tonight he was going to try. He turned me, cupping my jaw, and in the middle of the bar, he leaned forward to kiss me. And, if I’m being honest with myself - the type of honest it takes to look within the depths of your soul - I wanted him to kiss me. Not because I wanted him perse, but because I wanted to know if there was a slim chance that I was wrong. That I did in fact feel something for him and had simply been suppressing it the whole time. And when he pulled back, his expression burst with joy, speaking of wishes fulfilled, while mine? Mine spoke of friendship and only friendship. In that moment, I realised I had made a mistake. 

I made up a flimsy excuse and left, sort of avoiding him since. How was I supposed to tell one of my best friends that the feelings simply weren’t reciprocated? I didn’t know, and I knew that that made me a coward. Axel was an utter gentleman, being friendly and cordial at family functions and gatherings. I don’t even think Layla knew. And here he was, in my kitchen, alluding to the fact that I’d hurt him and he was doing much better. 

I did the only thing I knew how to do. I clutched my mug, gave him a bland smile and said, “that’s great Axel.” 

I rattled off a list of what I needed to do that day - mostly online meetings from home. We made plans to hit a bar downtown later tonight, and I promised an introduction with Vee at the coffee shop tomorrow morning. 

My stomach churned at the awkwardness, but Ammo was actually a gentleman at heart, and simply pulled out his laptop and did some of his own work while I fielded meetings. 

As evening drew near I got ready to show Ammo the best of Luxembourg. One of the local bars down the road was hosting a blues band evening. I'd been a couple of times and it was actually pretty good. 

Aware that I didn't want to give the impression of it being a date, or be misleading in any way, I wore jeans and a clean white button up shirt. 

The bar was a nice level of full, where it didn't feel empty, but the occasional table was still available. Ammo and I slid into a booth at the back, which had a great view of the small stage up ahead. As a man with a guitar started crooning about missing Bobby Mc Gee, and the evening rolled into night, Ammo and I actually started having a good time. I realised that I had missed his company. 

Cole had been texting me throughout the day, and now I found myself taking photos of Ammo in the bar and sending them to Cole. I was sharing more and more snippets of my life with him. 

Axel dutifully fetched our drinks from the bar, and keeping up with him meant I was teetering between tipsy and drunk. 

As the music became softer, and I began relaxing into the conversation, Ammo finally said. "So you and Cole huh?" 

I shrugged, "If you had told me two months ago that I would be having something with a biker, I would have called you crazy." 

Ammo nodded, "Cole's a good guy." 

And I decided then that I couldn't just leave it. That I owed him some sort of explanation. 

"Look Axel, you're a good guy as well. And I get that I'm an i***t for not pursuing this, but I just can't." 

He took a swig of his beer, and lifted his chin so that his eyes met mine. "Sadie, you could have talked to me. I mean growing up the bets were always about who you would end up with - Billie or me. So I get that after everything you wouldn't want me. Maybe I remind you of the s**t that went down. But for a long time I believed we were destined or some shit." 

"Axel, how could you think that? Even if it was somehow implied that I was going to end up with you, I was twelve when I left the club." 

"Because Sadie, we all walked away from that Charter with harboured dreams. I get it okay? After seeing you with Cole, I get it. He makes you happy in a way I haven't seen in a long time. Maybe you needed to end up with someone who wasn't there when everything went down. Maybe you needed a fresh start. And maybe if Billie hadn't been such  piece of s**t, and you grew up fully in the club, it would have been different. But that's a lot of f*****g maybes. I look at you and Cole and I've realised that I want that. I want someone to look at me in that way, like they're drowning and I'm their damn oxygen. So I get it, I get that we're more siblings than anything else, and that's cool, because in all the time I've known you, you've never looked at me that way - not once." 

"s**t," I said, the word just falling from my lips. 

Ammo chuckled, "Yeah, I guess that was a lot." 

"You think?" 

He shrugged and said, "If Cole hurts you though we're going to have problems". 

I laughed, and just like that, the tension had eased. 

We got back to my apartment, two drunk skunks. Ammo took the couch, and I was alseep before my head hit the pillow.