by KJ Dahlen
Luna felt her heart jump to her throat. “Cooper is looking for me.”
Sam glanced at Molly and then back to Luna. “Yes. He is looking for you and I don’t think he’s going to stop until he finds you.”
“And I don’t think he cares who he has to hurt or kill.”
“I don’t think he’ll stop until we’re all dead, not just you. His protection has been the fact that he leaves no trace of himself behind when he moves on. He can’t afford to let any of us live,” Sam reminded her.
“What should we do now?” Molly asked.
“We stay here,” Luna told her. “No one knows I’m here and as long as it stays that way, we’ll be safe. I’ll have to call Charlie to report Nathan’s call and what we think has happened to him but after that we go off the grid.”
Luna’s phone began to ring. When she answered it, Freddie was on the other end. “What did you find at Nathan’s?” she asked.
“Nathan wasn’t home and there were signs of a struggle.”
“What did you find?”
“There was a chair tipped over and blood on the wall. Nathan’s computer was still on and there was a drink on the floor,” Freddie reported. “Luna, what’s going on here? How did you know Nathan was in trouble?”
“I’ll have to get back to you on that. Can you stay there and wait for the police?”
Freddie hesitated, then replied, “I suppose I could.”
“I’m gonna give Charlie a call.”
Luna closed her phone and looked at Sam. “I think Cooper does have Nathan as a hostage. Freddie found signs of a struggle at his house.”
“Let’s hope Charlie can find Nathan before Cooper kills him.”
A few minutes later after Luna hung up from her call to Charlie, she looked over at Sam and Molly. “You guys were at the Hampton Inn before you came here right?”
Sam glanced at Molly then back at her. “Yeah, why? We were sure that Cooper figured out we were on to him.”
“They just had a drive by shooting followed by a Molotov cocktail explosion about a half hour ago. The explosion took out a room in the front of the building before firefighters got it under control.”
“Would that be room 104?” Molly asked.
Luna nodded.
“That was the room we were staying in earlier today,” Sam told her as he shook his head.
“You said the drive by happened half an hour ago?” Sam questioned.
“Yes, why?”
“How long ago did you get the call from Nathan?”
“Maybe twenty minutes ago,” she told him.
“Damn, Cooper was waiting for us to come out or be lifted out. He knows we’re still alive. I don’t think he’s knows we’re together yet though. I think he expected us to die in that blaze or hit us when we came out of the building. He was trying to take us out then he’s coming after you.”
“Let’s not forget he has a hostage. He won’t hesitate to kill Nathan as soon as Nathan is no longer is useful to him,” Luna reminded them.
“We could be taking a chance right now by being here so long. He could have made Nathan call you to try and triangulate your position,” Sam suggested.
The room went quiet as they all thought about this possibility.
Sam and Molly checked their weapons and ammunition.
Luna looked out the window of the cabin but all she could see out there were late afternoon shadows. The more she searched the woods around her the more nervous she got. She knew Cooper couldn’t be stopped. If he had her location, they were all sitting ducks waiting for the hunter. She almost wished she hadn’t been so brave this afternoon when she insisted on leaving the clubhouse. She sure could use Aries right about now. She turned and looked at the cabin her friend owned.
It was rustic but comfortable. The main living area gave way to a small kitchen. There were three doors leading to other rooms. There was a set of French doors leading to a deck out in the back. The deck overlooked the river. From the double doors, you could see a path leading down to a dock where a pontoon boat was tied up.
Sam hadn’t cared for the openness of the French doors but didn’t think they would be here long enough for it to make a difference.
The silence was shattered by the ringing of Luna’s cell phone. Luna dug the phone out of her purse and checked the caller ID. She glanced up at Sam. “It’s Nathan.”
“Don’t answer it. We have to wait for Charlie to call,” Sam told her.
Luna let the call go to voice mail, but kept her phone in her hand. She felt sick. H Nathan was sitting there at the wrong end of a gun. A killer sat with him, making him call her. She just knew it. She felt so awful about not answering. Her hands shook so badly she even dropped her phone.
In the next few minutes, the phone rang three more times and each time it was Nathan calling. “Sam?” she called to him.
He stared at her. “You can’t answer, Luna. You can’t.”
He’d already explained that if she did answer, it would not only put her life in danger but Nathan’s as well. Once Cooper had no need for him anymore, Luna knew he would murder Nathan.
Thirty minutes later, Sam’s phone rang. It was Charlie. He told Sam there was no sign of Nathan but he put out an APB on his car. Sam listened for a few more minutes before he hung up the call. “Call Nathan and tell him where we are.”
“Are you sure?” Luna asked. “This is pretty isolated.”
“We can’t live with this pressure anymore. Charlie said he was on his way over with his deputies. They’ll watch over us tonight. He agrees with us about Cooper looking for us.” Sam shook his head. “This has to end before Cooper disappears again.”
Molly nodded. “Ok, I agree but just in case he does manage to get through our defenses, I’m sending everything we’ve got to a friend of mine. I’m not letting this bastard get away, not this time.” She studied at Luna’s face and asked, “Are you changing your mind about this?”
Luna sighed. “No, I’m not changing my mind. I just don’t want this to go wrong. Cooper has my boss hostage and I’d rather not lose him.” She looked out the window again and thought about the man she left behind. There was a possibility she might never see him again and she didn’t know if she could live with that.
Before anyone could move, the French doors opened up as Aries, Lucifer and five other brothers walked in. Aries took one look at Luna and growled, “Don’t you ever walk away from me again woman. Or I’ll paddle your ass till you can’t sit down. You got that?”
Luna stood there for a moment in shock.
“You got that?” He snarled.
Luna nodded then whispered, “You came for me? Why?”
Aries’s frown disappeared. “Because you’re my woman. You belong to me and only me. Why else do you think woman?”
Luna took a step toward him then quickened her pace until she got close to him then she leaped into his arms and crushed her lips to his.
The kiss was fiery and breathless.
Aries pulled back as he smiled a real smile and his face softened. “I can’t live without you girl. After tasting you, I can’t give you up either. No one is going to hurt you ever again. I’d die for you girl, don’t you know that?”
“God, I hope it doesn’t come to that, I really don’t want to lose you now that I found you,” she whispered to him.
“As much as I love the reunion scene, we really don’t have time for this sort of thing,” Sam reminded them all though he looked surprised at this event. “We have a killer looking for us.”
Luna turned to scowl at him. She slid to stand on her feet from Aries’ hold and stood there. She tried to step away from Aries but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Does he know where you are yet?” Lucifer asked.
“We aren’t sure, but he took a hostage earlier her boss and he has access to programs that would tell him where her phone is,” Sam informed them. “He could be on his way here as we speak.”
“Ok then.” Lucifer nodded.
“The boys and I will spread out in the woods and wait for him.”
Charlie is coming with deputies,” Sam informed him.
The guy called Demon smiled. “I already spoke to him. No worries about that.”
“Be careful, he won’t hesitate to kill you if he sees you,” Luna reminded Lucifer.
Lucifer smiled slightly. “Honey, he won’t see us I promise. All my brothers are military trained.”
Luna reached out and laid her hand on his arm. Lucifer flinched but didn’t move. “Be careful anyway. No one but Cooper needs to die tonight.”
“Maybe you should call Nathan and let him know where you are,” Sam told her. “If he’s with Cooper he’ll come before long. Cooper will want to get this over with so he can escape the area.”
Luna reached for her cell phone and dialed Nathan’s number. When she heard his voice she said, “I’m sorry I missed your earlier calls. Was there something you needed?”
“I just wanted to check and see if you discovered anything else about your mystery man.”
“As a matter of fact I have.”
“You have? That’s great. Would you mind if I came over and checked it out for myself? I’d like to see what you discovered.”
“I think I’m ready to show you. But I’m not at home right now. I’m over at a friend’s house.”
“Just give me the address.” Nathan said.
“Okay. It’s a cabin just above Whiskey Bend. You need to catch the county road west of there and turn on the second marker. It’s a dirt road in the woods.”
“Okay. I will be there as soon as I can.”
Swallowing hard, Luna replied, “Okay, Nathan.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Sam, Aries and Molly stared at her.
She hung up and almost collapsed.
Aries caught her. “Easy sweetness, easy there.” He held her close.
Luna cried into his shirt. “Oh, god...”
Chapter Fifteen
Nathan looked over at Cooper and found him smiling. “Ok, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Then he closed his cell phone and stared straight ahead.
“Well it seems we won’t even need the tracker,” Cooper stated.
Nathan swallowed hard. When his usefulness was gone, Cooper wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. His heart pounded in his chest hard. He tried to breathe. He may not take another breath soon. He thought of his newspaper and how he’d always just wanted the public informed and never cared about the damage it might cause. Now, he thought about it. He thought about the victim’s families on stories he sailed through the paper about the deaths of their kids, son’s daughters, fathers and mothers. It had been selfish. He was now about to die and he should face whatever he did in the past.
Cooper leaned closer. “You’ve done well so far, we’re almost to the end of this nightmare. I need you to do one more thing for me.”
“What is that?” Nathan asked.
“I have a little present for Luna and I want you to deliver it.” Cooper smiled but the genuine merriment didn’t reach his cold dark eyes.
Nathan hated the way this sounded. He glanced in the backseat where he saw a package Cooper had put there earlier. They had stopped about an hour ago and Cooper had forced Nathan into the trunk. He was gone a while and Nathan had no idea what Cooper had done in the time he was gone. Whatever was in the package Nathan doubted it was a good thing.
When they were about a block away from the address Luna had given him earlier Cooper had him pull over to the curb. He reached over and shut the car off. He took the keys out and slipped them into his jacket pocket. He began looking around the area very carefully.
“What are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure but I haven’t got to this point in my life by not being careful.” Cooper turned his gaze to Nathan. “If I hope to get out of this mess, I can’t afford to make any more mistakes.” When he was satisfied, he reached in the backseat, grabbed the package and handed it to Nathan. “Tell Luna this will complete her research.”
Nathan stopped breathing for a moment. When he was able to inhale again he asked, “And if I don’t?”
Cooper reached for his gun. He brought it up and pointed it directly at Nathan. “Then I kill you right here, right now.”
Nathan shrugged. “I figure I’m a dead man anyway.”
“Just take the damn package to Luna.” Cooper motioned for Nathan to go.
Nathan got out of the car and walked toward the house. When he got up to the front door, he could feel beads of sweat roll down his face. He was shaking and the hairs on his arms were tingling. He didn’t know what was in the package but he doubted it was anything good.
He reached out his hand and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door was opened and Nathan found himself facing an irate Sam. “Who the hell are you?”
Cooper watched from his hiding place. He had moved closer to the house to see how the scene would unfold. He watched as Sam grabbed Nathan’s arm and pulled him into the house. Cooper looked around the area surrounding the house but found nothing out of place.
He looked back at the house and saw shadows moving around inside. He moved out of hiding and reached inside his pocket for a small remote control. He waited another few minutes, then just as he was about to push the button a shot rang out close to where he was standing.
Cooper ducked behind the tree and reaching for his gun, he swept the area. He didn’t see anything but now he knew they were there. He pointed the remote at the house and pushed the button.
The package Nathan had carried inside the house should have blown up instantly. When it didn’t Cooper swore and turned to run. He wasn’t sure how Nathan had done it but he knew he’d been betrayed. He wasn’t expecting Sam Reed to be with Luna tonight. But if his bomb had gone off he would have got everyone in one fell swoop. He stopped in the darkness and looked around the area. He saw a shadow move slightly and he knew there were other’s out there waiting for him to reveal himself.
Cooper’s lips tightened in rage. They were here to take him out. He ducked behind a tree and waited for them to make their move before he made his. He reached for the weapon tucked in the back of his jeans. Sliding it out silently, he brought it to rest on his forehead as he willed himself to calm down. When he reached his calm, he opened his eyes and looked around.
Nothing moved and that gave him pause. He didn’t know who was out there, but they were good. He didn’t think it was the sheriff or his men, as they weren’t that good. For the first time since he started this quest, he began to sweat and Cooper never sweated before.
Silently, he made his way back to the cabin. It was dark now and no shadows moved within the structure. Looking around carefully, he didn’t see any sign of shadows moving. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and as he looked around, he couldn’t see anyone moving.
He stepped up on the porch of the cabin and carefully twisted the doorknob open. Stepping inside, he swept his weapon around the room. Nothing moved. Moving silently through the house he got to the kitchen and noticed the back door was wide open. Cursing in the darkness, Cooper knew his prey had escaped.
He should leave and get as far away from here as he could. Go somewhere else and start a new life, but he would be leaving too many loose ends behind. He would never have a moment’s peace if he did that.
No, he had to finish this tonight. Come hell or high water this ended before the sun came up. Luna, Sam and that other bitch Molly along with Nathan would die tonight. Only when they were dead would he be free to move on, only then could he finish his quest and find the man whose blood ran through his veins.
The only thing now that made any sense to him was finding his father and making him pay for the misery of his childhood.
He made his way back through the small cabin and stepped outside. As soon as he did, he saw a small flash then he felt the zing of great pain as the bullet entered his chest. What he didn’t hear was the retort of the gun the bullet came from.
Coo
per was stunned by the events happening. He slid to his knees. The gun in his hand dropped to the dirt and he looked down at the red stain on his shirt. He watched as the stain grew and his head felt light.
When he looked up again, he saw the shadows move. A few seconds later, the shadows turned into men and they surrounded him. Then a light snapped on behind him.
Luna, Sam, Molly, Nathan and a man Cooper had never seen before all came out of the cabin.
The light illuminated the men’s faces and he stared at them in confusion. “Who the hell are you guys?” he asked.
“Your worst fucking nightmare,” a tall, very large man growled. We’re the Hell’s Guardian Warriors. You messed with the wrong woman here. Luna belongs to us and nobody messes with what belongs to us.”
Charlie Boone and his deputies rushed into the cabin’s dooryard. With their guns drawn, they took in the scene without words. Charlie put his gun away and reaching for his handcuffs, he approached the man bleeding to death. With his hands secured behind his back, Charlie backed off and kept an eye on him.
One of the deputies called for an ambulance and while they waited, they all watched Cooper. No one moved to help him and he knelt there in the dirt.
A few minutes later, the EMT’s showed up and laid him on the ground. They looked up to ask if Charlie could remove the cuffs but didn’t even bother when they saw the look on his face.
They did the best they could with what they had. A few minutes later, they carried the wounded man off. One of Charlie’s deputies accompanied him and that left Charlie to ask questions. He looked at Lucifer and the rest of the brothers. Then he looked at Sam and Luna.
“Do I even want to know who shot the bastard?” Charlie finally asked.
Everyone looked around and no one admitting firing the bullet. All the MC Brothers were stone faced not willing to admit to anything.
Charlie shook his head. “I didn’t think so.” He paused then said, “This is the end for him. If he lives, he’ll face a multitude of charges. He’s going to die in prison if he makes it that far.”
“Sheriff,” Molly called out. “We connected Cooper to some but all the murders. We found he was hired by Lester Kratz for Sheila’s murder and the other two here but we haven’t connected him to the Judge and the DA’s murders. We may have to dig deeper for the man who hired him for those murders.” She shrugged. “It could have been Lester Kratz but we don’t know that yet for sure.”
