He wanted to be known for what he did now, not for what he had survived.
But Raymond Price had looked at him as if he had seen something buried beneath the years.
Cole’s phone rang.
Claire.
He answered.
“Why did you go to Derek’s gym?”
“To see the gym.”
“Cole, please don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Make me watch you get hurt.”
He closed his eyes.
“You asked for a divorce. You chose Derek. What happens Friday is not your responsibility.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“No. You’re trying to control how this ends.”
She went silent.
For the first time, Cole heard something beneath her anger.
Fear.
“Cole,” she whispered, “what aren’t you telling me?”
He looked through the windshield at the traffic passing by.
“That’s a question you should have asked fourteen years ago.”
He ended the call.
And for the first time, he wondered whether Friday’s biggest revelation would have anything to do with Derek at all.
