Chapter 1295

Makiko ended the call with a sharp sigh, her hands shaking with anger.

Cole slid off the bed. Even without the lights on, he could tell from her voice that something was seriously wrong.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

Makiko's words were bitter. "What happened? Everything blew up! Mark and his guys got caught. The authorities took over the whole place. And guess who showed up? Oliver. Again! He just had to be involved."

Whenever Oliver got involved, fixing things became next to impossible.

Cole's voice rose, frustration boiling over. "So we're just going to lose everything in that house? That was some valuable stuff!"

"I know exactly how valuable it was." Makiko slumped into a chair, defeated. "But you know how things are. Getting it back now? Might as well wish for a miracle.”

The moonlight fell across her, making her look even more alone and lost.

Cole sat down next to her, his voice tight. "This is a disaster. Just letting it go—how are we supposed to accept that?"

Makiko snapped, "Don't look at me. If your nephew hadn't got involved, this wouldn't have happened. Oliver's really something, isn't he? Mark hid everything so well, but Oliver still found it. No one tipped him off, so how did he know where Mark's hideout was?"

Cole's face hardened. "Are you accusing me? You think I'd team up with Oliver and screw over our own people?"

"That's not what I meant, Cole."

"Then what did you mean?" Cole shot to his feet, glaring at her. "Don't use that tone with me. If you're not blaming me, who are you blaming? There's no one else here."

Makiko reached out, but Cole jerked away, not wanting her to touch him.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm just... I'm at my limit. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Even if you're stressed, don't turn on me. We're supposed to be in this together. I barely even know Oliver-why would I help him take us down? Makiko, when did you start losing your cool like this?"

How could she not lose her cool?

Everything kept falling apart. Anyone would be at the end of their rope by now. Honestly, the fact she hadn't completely lost it was a miracle.

Ever since coming back to Westwood, nothing had gone right. If she wasn't walking into trouble, she was getting blindsided by it ft was just one mess after another.

Cole felt just as miserable. He hadn't expected everything to spiral out of control this fast.

No matter how hard they tried to

piece things together, neither of

them could figure out how Oliver knew so much.

They were both stuck, lost all over again.

...

Thanks to Finley and Livia working together they managed to find and disarm all the bombs around the house.

Thank God no one had triggered them, and they'd stopped things before they really exploded.

If they hadn't, there wouldn't be much left of anything or anyone.

Finley took off his helmet, his eyes immediately landing on Livia.

She looked incredible when she was focused-seriously, she was stunning.

Finley couldn't help it; his gaze lingered, warm and intense and full of barely hidden affection.

Livia shot him a side-eye, her voice cool and sharp. "Save it, Finley. Spring's over- get a grip."

Finley blinked, caught off guard. Was he being that obvious?

He wasn't trying to be over the top—he just couldn't help how he looked at her.

With a sheepish grin, he said, “Livia, I only act like this for you."

Livia ignored him, walking off with her phone to update Josefina on their situation.

Finley started to follow, but Oliver grabbed his arm.

"What's up?" Finley asked.