“Are you talking from experience?”
“Actually, I am.” He was matter-of-fact. “When I was overseas, I felt fear. I was trained to tune it out, but sometimes it’s impossible not to let it creep in.”
Hannah’s heart went out to him. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I just want you to know that I understand being afraid. We’re going to get through this, though. I absolutely promise that I won’t let anything happen to you. I need you to believe in me even though you hardly know me.”
Hannah was amused despite herself. “I’ll do my best.”
“We’ll both do our bests.”
BETWEEN TOUR GROUPS, COOPER excused himself to check on Tyler and the other workers. He intended to circle around and reunite with Hannah, but a familiar face caught his attention. Even though the moment was brief, he recognized exactly who he was dealing with.
“Leanne,” he muttered under his breath, checking both ways on the street before crossing to the spot behind the bank. The woman wasn’t allowed on Casper Creek property. As one of Astra’s minions, she’d been barred with the woman in question. Clearly the spell Abigail cast on the grounds was faltering. They would have to fix that … and soon.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” Cooper knew the property better than almost anyone so he took a shortcut between buildings and cut off Leanne as she tried to navigate the alleyway behind the strip. Her eyes flashed when he landed in front of her, but she didn’t look overly surprised.
“And good afternoon to you, too, Cooper,” she drawled. Her muddy brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and she looked amused at being caught. That didn’t sit well with Cooper.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” he reminded her. “You’re included in the restraining order.”
“The restraining order went out the window when Abigail died.”
“I see you’ve been talking to Astra.”
“I often talk to Astra. She’s a great conversationalist.”
Cooper’s expression was halfway between a sneer and grimace. “Yes, that’s what she’s known for, witty repartee and nonstop drops of genius.”
Leanne rolled her eyes. “She’s a wise woman.”
“Who is lying to you,” he shot back. “The restraining order didn’t die with Abigail. It was set up specifically to carry on after her death. That means you’re breaking the law. It also means that I could call Boone right now and have you arrested. How does that sound?”
For the first time, a hint of nervous energy passed through her eyes. “Do whatever you want.” She was overflowing with false bravado, but Cooper was good at reading people. He recognized the fear for what it was.
“Okay. I’ll call Boone.” He dug in his pocket for his phone. “I bet he’ll be here within five minutes.”
“No!” Leanne raised her hand to stop him and took a purposeful step in his direction. “You don’t have to do that.”
While Cooper wasn’t as familiar with Leanne, Theodora, and Garnet as he was with Astra, he was a good judge of character. The women were followers. Astra recruited them because they had minimal magic – enough to bolster the power she already had – and they were easily swayed. The women could be bossed around, and that was exactly what drew Astra to them.
“Then you should be going.” Cooper slid the phone back into his pocket. “If you come back here, Leanne, I’ll have you arrested. I’m not playing around. That goes for Astra, too.”
“Oh, you know she can’t be controlled.”
“I know that she doesn’t want to be controlled,” he corrected. “Anyone can be controlled. I think you’ll find she’s not nearly as omnipotent as she pretends to be.”
Instead of immediately responding with something whiny and obnoxious, Leanne merely rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious.” Cooper didn’t particularly care what happened to Leanne either way, but if he could weaken the web around Astra, that would only benefit the Casper Creek crew. “She’s not all she pretends to be.”
Leanne cast her eyes to a spot behind Cooper, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. “I guess we’re about to find out if that is true, huh? I think she wants a chat with you.”
HANNAH GENUINELY LIKED MADISON … other than the fact that the woman absolutely refused to stop talking. Hannah was the sort of person who enjoyed the occasional silence. Madison apparently thought that was a crime against humanity.
Thankfully for Hannah when she returned from the storage shed with two cases of beer, Madison had turned her attention to a straggler. The young woman leaned against the counter, her elbows resting on it, and giggled as she talked in low tones to a man Hannah hadn’t paid much attention to when he came through with the tour group. It was a different fellow from the one who tried flirting with her earlier. This one looked as if he might actually have a chance.
“Hey.” Hannah lowered the beer cases to the ground and exhaled heavily. “I’m going to have to start working out if I expect to carry those things back and forth between the shed and here all day.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Madison said, her eyes moving from the man to Hannah. “I’ll do it next time.”
“I don’t mind doing it.” Hannah meant it. She wanted to carry some of the load … even if that meant hauling beer. “It will be good for me. I can get in shape.”
“Okay.” Madison turned back to the man and batted her eyelashes. “By the way, this is Kip. I told you about him earlier. He decided to visit so we could make up.”
Hannah straightened, surprised. “What?” She pinned Kip with a curious look. Upon closer inspection, the man appeared haggard, as if he hadn’t slept in days. His hair was a mess, his eyes sunken with dark rings under them, and he was unnaturally pale. “You know the police are looking for you, right?” She blurted out the question without giving it much thought. “The apartment guy is looking for you, too. They think you’re dead or something.”
Kip’s eyes went wild. “Is anyone looking for me beside Milton and Boone?”
“Cooper.”
“I don’t care about them.” Kip made a dismissive motion with his hand. “Has anyone else been asking about me?”
Hannah didn’t know how to answer the question. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”
“Yeah, it matters.” He edged toward the door, a wild look filling his eyes. “I have to get out of here.”
“Wait.” Madison sounded petulant. “I thought you were going to spend the night with me. Isn’t that why you apologized?”
“I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind?” Anger rippled off Madison in waves. “Well, that’s just great. I can’t believe you came all the way out here just to mess with me. I mean … what’s wrong with you?”
“A lot is going to be wrong with me if I don’t get out of here,” he replied, stumbling as he hurried through the door. “This was a mistake. I never should’ve risked coming back.”
With those words he was gone and only Hannah and Madison were left to dissect his reaction.
“Well, that was weird,” Madison groused. “I mean … it was even weirder than normal.”
“It was definitely weird,” Hannah agreed. “It was so weird I think I should find Cooper. He’s going to want to know about this.”
STUPID. THAT’S ALL COOPER COULD think as he slowly swiveled and faced the woman he once thought he had genuine feelings for. Time had made him see that she was more of a distraction than anything else – he wasn’t ready for a relationship at the time and she wasn’t the sort to demand constant attention – but that didn’t stop him from feeling nauseated by her mere presence.
“I thought I told you that you weren’t welcome here,” he snarled, glaring.
“And I thought I told you that the rules of your world don’t bind me in my world.”
“Oh, geez.” Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose. She always knew the exact thing to say to drive him crazy. “
That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all day … and I was hanging out with Milton at the apartment complex, so that’s saying something.”
“What were you doing with Milton?”
He knit his eyebrows, surprised by the question. Astra wasn’t one to ask about others unless she had an agenda. He decided to feel her out. “He had some interesting information regarding two tenants. Hey, I don’t suppose you know anything about them, do you? Kip Bunting and Jordan Flynn. We’re trying to track down their friends.”
Astra’s expression was withering. “I believe you’ve already asked me about this particular subject. I don’t know anything to help you. I’m sorry.” She said it in a sweet manner but there was venom behind the words.
“Yeah, you’re good at denying things,” Cooper agreed. “Including the fact that you’re banned from this property. You’re not allowed to be here.”
“I go where I like.”
“Not here.” He was firm. “You’re not supposed to be here, Astra. I think you should leave.”
She took on a coquettish look. “I think you don’t really want me to leave.”
“You would be wrong.”
“You cared about me at one time,” she pressed. “Those feelings didn’t just go away.”
“No, those feelings were manipulated by you,” he argued. “They weren’t real. Why do you think it was so easy to let you go?”
She reacted this time by making a dour face. “You only pretended to let me go.”
“No, I really let you go.” He was unmoved. “It was a lot easier than it should’ve been given the fact that we were together for six months. I realize now that I was going through the motions. I told myself that if I pretended to be normal, I would eventually be normal. It didn’t work, but it ultimately doesn’t matter. I wasn’t right for you and you definitely weren’t right for me.”
“I don’t believe that.” She was adamant, her eyes filling with fire. “We were always meant to be together. The wind still whispers it.”
“Yeah, you’re the only one who can hear that.” He was determined as he planted his hands on his hips. “You need to leave. We have another tour group coming through any minute. If you stay, I’ll call Boone. It won’t be the best thing for business but given the sort of tourists we have, they’ll probably enjoy the show.”
“Boone can’t hold me.”
“He will if it becomes necessary.”
“He doesn’t have the power.”
“That’s a theory I would love to test.” Cooper’s eyes narrowed until they were nothing but glittery slits. “Leave, Astra. Take your flying monkey with you. You don’t belong here.”
“This place should be mine,” she shot back, irate. “Abigail and I talked about it at length. This was my home.”
“No, it was Abigail’s home. You tried to take it over, take it from her. It was never meant to be yours. We’re beyond that, though. This place belongs to Hannah now. She’s Casper Creek’s queen and she won’t be usurped.”
“Is that what this is all about? Hannah? Is that who you’re focused on now? Is she the reason you deny me?”
“I want nothing to do with you. Hannah isn’t the reason. I felt that way long before she arrived.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“And I don’t care. You need to go.”
“I’ll leave when I wish. In fact … .” She trailed off when the sound of feet pounding on the hard-packed earth became apparent. In unison, Cooper and Astra turned to the south just in time to see Hannah appearing through the buildings.
She was red-faced and breathless as she pressed a hand into her side and fought to catch her breath. “That guy you’re looking for is here. That Kip guy.” Her eyes went wide when she realized who Cooper was with. “I just thought you should know.”
15
Fifteen
Cooper felt caught. He worked his jaw as he glanced between Astra and Hannah, stoically silent. Focusing on Hannah was a no-brainer. Still, Astra’s presence made him nervous and he didn’t want to completely discount her.
“What did you say?”
Hannah didn’t look at him. She was completely focused on Astra. “Seriously? What are you doing here?”
Astra shot Hannah a pitying look. “I’m visiting my boyfriend.”
“I’m not her boyfriend,” Cooper said firmly, sliding closer to Hannah. “You just said something about Kip Bunting.” He was trying to prod her into focusing on him. It worked. Kind of.
Hannah’s tone turned icy as she folded her arms over her chest. “He was in the saloon talking to Madison. Apparently he was going to try and stay the night with her. When I started talking to him, he freaked out and took off. I’m not sure where he went.”
“Huh.” Cooper dragged a hand through his hair as he thought over the situation. The opening in the conversation allowed Hannah to focus on Astra.
“I can’t believe you had the balls to show up here.” The way Hannah held her arms only enhanced the low-cut top. “In case there’s some confusion, you’re not allowed here. I want you to go.”
Astra turned haughty. “I go where I want.”
“Well, I think you should go ... elsewhere.” Hannah made a shooing motion with her hands. “You don’t belong here.”
Astra’s eyes shifted dark. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“Oh, shut up, Astra,” Cooper announced, grabbing Hannah’s arm as he made his decision. “No one wants to talk to you. Hannah is right. You don’t belong here. If you don’t leave, I’ll call Boone and he’ll make sure you have no choice but to leave. Is that what you want?”
Astra’s frown only grew more pronounced. “I’m not done talking to you, Cooper. We have a lot left to say.”
“We actually don’t.” Cooper prodded Hannah to move with him. She was reticent, but he was insistent. “We’ve said all we need to say. You’re to leave. If you don’t, well ... I won’t feel guilty for what’s to come next.”
“And what is that?” Astra’s lips curved into something akin to a snarl. “What is it you think you can do to me? You can’t touch me.”
“I can.” Hannah’s voice was small and Cooper whipped his head in her direction when he heard the challenge shimmering beneath her words. “I touched you the other night, didn’t I?”
Astra clearly wasn’t used to being challenged because she almost came unglued. “You listen here ... .” She started to surge in Hannah’s direction, but Cooper held out a hand to keep her at bay.
“Don’t.” His eyes flashed with menace. “You won’t like what happens if you go after her,” he warned.
“Oh, are you going to do something to me?”
“Maybe. I would be more worried that she’s going to do something to you. There were witnesses to what happened last night. People are saying you got your butt kicked. Do you really want that to happen again?”
“It was a fluke.” Astra sounded more sure than she appeared. In fact, there was legitimate fear in her eyes for several seconds before she wisely shuttered it. “There’s no way she can do it again.”
“I don’t happen to believe that,” Cooper countered calmly. “It doesn’t matter, though.” He slipped his arm around Hannah’s back to prod her toward Main Street. It was an intimate move, something individuals usually shared if they were in a relationship. That wasn’t lost on Hannah, although she thought better about commenting on it. Astra was another story.
“I see why you’re suddenly talking like such a big man,” she said after a long beat. “You’re pretending to be over me because this one has turned your head.”
Cooper’s cheeks flooded with color, but he managed to keep his voice from sounding strangled. “What happens at Casper Creek — with me ... or Tyler ... or the workers ... or Hannah, for that matter — no longer concerns you. This place is never going to be your home again. You ruined that. You need to go.”
Fury, fast and hot as lightning, illuminated Astra’s odd eyes. “This is my home. It’
s meant to be my home. I will rightfully take it back at some point.”
“You won’t.” Cooper was firm as he shoved Hannah in front of him. “This is Abigail’s home. This is Hannah’s home. You never belonged here. You only pretended to.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m not. It doesn’t matter, though. I’m off to call Boone right now. If you’re not gone when he gets here, I’ll have absolutely no sympathy for you. This isn’t your home, Astra. You need to move on and focus on ... well, anywhere else would be better.”
“This place might not have been left to me, but I will take it,” Astra warned. “I will get what I deserve.” She tilted her head to the side, considering. “That’s everything I deserve.”
The weighted meaning of her words hung heavy.
“You are going to get what you deserve,” Cooper agreed. “I simply don’t think you realize what that is.” He moved to keep close to Hannah as they disappeared between buildings. “I’m calling Boone right now. I kind of hope you hang around so he can take you in.”
“I’ll never be beholden to the laws of men,” she called out.
“I’m sure that will go over well for you.” Cooper kept pressure on Hannah’s back until they landed in the middle of town. Then he pinned her with a hard look. “Which direction did Kip go in?”
Hannah had almost completely forgotten about the frazzled man. She was too annoyed to think about him when she wanted to go off on the security guru. “What was she doing here?”
“She lured me outside with Leanne. I realize that now. I thought Leanne was here for another reason, to spy or something. That’s not why, though. Astra simply wanted to talk to me.”
“Oh, well, she just wanted to talk.” Hannah threw up her hands, annoyance practically rolling off her in waves. “I don’t like her. I mean ... not at all. She’s crazy, and not in a fun way.”
The Dirty Coven Page 14
