by Paige Tyler
Cooper dodged to the side as the gun went off, wincing as the bullet creased a line across the muscles of his right shoulder. Everly jumped, but her eyes stayed tightly closed as the shooter tried to adjust his aim so he could put the next shot through Cooper’s head.
Shit. If he hit him, Cooper would be dead. Even a werewolf couldn’t survive a head shot.
But to do it, the jackass had to step out from behind Everly a little more, which left the right side of his body exposed. Cooper rarely had a problem controlling the raw animal instincts that came with being a werewolf, but at that moment, the urge to let his claws slip out and rake them across the man’s neck was almost irresistible.
But he controlled himself. There’d be no way to explain a wound like that, not in this environment. Instead he balled his right hand into a fist as he leaped, smashing it into the man’s face. It connected with a very satisfying sound. The robber flew backward, releasing Everly. She stumbled, but maintained her balance, keeping to her feet and staying right where she was.
Cooper tucked his left arm under him as he hit the floor in a roll, then quickly jumped to his feet. The bad guy hit a lot harder, his head cracking into the marble floor with an audible thud. He was out cold, but still breathing, despite all the blood running down his face from the broken nose and jaw.
Cooper hurried back to where Everly still stood frozen.
“You can open your eyes now,” he said softly in her ear.
She jumped, opening those big, beautiful eyes. She looked first at him, then at the lobby around them. Now that the last robber was down, the place was eerily silent, like the woods after a big storm.
“Is it over?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes, it’s over.”
Everly threw her arms around him, squeezing so tight he could barely breathe. “Thank you.”
Cooper wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes. Even with everything that had happened, he couldn’t resist her scent. “You don’t need to thank me,” he said when he found his voice. “I was just making sure we’d get a chance to go on that date.”
She stepped back, her eyes momentarily taking in the wound below his ribs and the newer one along his shoulder. He could practically see her fingers twitch as if they ached to reach out and check them, but she resisted the urge to mom him, instead slipping her hands down to interlock with his.
“Well, if a date is the thanks you’re looking for, I can promise you one thing,” she said.
“What’s that?”
She stepped closer, and if they hadn’t been in the middle of a crime scene, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d gone up on her tiptoes to kiss him. And he sure as hell wouldn’t have stopped her.
“That you’re in for the very best date of your life,” she said.
Chapter 2
Any hope of getting things wrapped up fast so he could meet Everly for dinner was crushed the moment Gage and Deputy Chief Hal Mason showed up with Detective Vince Coletti from Internal Affairs. It was normal for IA to do an on-scene investigation in an officer-involved shooting, but the deputy chief usually showed up only if the shit hit the fan. Cooper supposed two dead bank robbers with three more in the hospital counted as shit hitting the fan. No doubt other detectives from IA had already questioned Everly and the witnesses in the bank to get their accounts of what had gone down.
He frowned as he thought of Everly. They’d exchanged phone numbers before Gage and Mason had shown up, and even though she assured him she was fine, he’d been hoping to see her again before she left to make sure she really was okay. She’d gone through a hell of a traumatic experience in that bank. They might have just met, but he was already feeling protective.
Unfortunately, Cooper couldn’t check on her until he finished with Coletti. The detective was going to keep asking his damn questions until he got the answers he wanted. They’d already spent frigging forever going over every one of his actions related to the attempted robbery and the takedown of the suspects, and it didn’t look like they were even close to being done. The dark-haired IA detective was a slow note taker, and repeatedly had Cooper back up and go over certain parts of his story again…and again…and again.
“You shot the first two suspects, then threw the next one through the window?” Coletti’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Explain to me again how that happened.”
Cooper fought the urge to curse. He settled for blowing out a breath as he crossed his arms over his chest instead. They’d been going at this for nearly two hours in the small mobile command tent the team had set up in the parking lot, while more investigators pored over the physical evidence inside the bank. The paramedics and rescue workers had left a long time ago, taking the wounded customers and security guard with them. Last Cooper had heard, the guard wasn’t doing so well and would likely be in surgery all night.
“Like I’ve told you several times already,” Cooper said, “the third suspect took cover behind a teenage girl as I approached him. I couldn’t shoot without risking the hostage, so I grabbed him, and in the act of dragging him away from the girl, he went flying and somehow ended up going through the window.”
Coletti glanced at his notes. “I see. He just happened to end up going through the window. Like the other two suspects just happened to sustain concussions when their heads bounced off the wall or floor, right?”
Cooper caught the warning look Gage threw him. His boss probably thought he was going to tear into the IA detective for being an asshole. But while it was true Coletti seemed to take more pleasure in his job than most detectives in the department’s oversight division, Cooper was smart enough to know the guy was simply trying to piss him off to see what would slip out. Cooper wasn’t falling for it.
“That’s exactly right.” He gave Coletti his most sincere grin. “And here I was thinking you weren’t paying attention the first five times I told you what happened.”
Coletti didn’t return the smile. He didn’t get pissed either. Instead, he regarded Cooper for a long time before referring to his notes again. “What do you think I’m going to see when I watch the video from the bank’s security cameras?”
Cooper had no idea what Coletti or anyone else would see on the video. Besides letting his eyes turn gold, Cooper hadn’t shifted far enough for someone to figure out he was a werewolf. But they’d almost certainly see some things that would make them sit up and take notice. Like him tossing that guy through the window. Or lifting another guy off his feet and bouncing his head off the wall. Or how fast he’d moved. Cooper prayed people would dismiss those things as some kind of video glitch because there was really no good way to explain them.
He sure as hell wasn’t going to say that to Coletti though. “I have no idea what you’ll see, but if you find a cop to look at them with you, I’m sure he’s going to point out five men trying to rob a bank. He’ll likely mention that those five men had absolutely no regard for human lives. The cop you’re watching with might even remark on how I kept a woman from being taken hostage and almost certainly ending up dead.”
Coletti didn’t say anything in reply to the jab, but just kept taking notes. After a few minutes, he looked up. Cooper expected him to start in with another round of questions. Instead he closed his notebook and looked at the deputy chief.
“I’ll be recommending standard leave with pay until we complete the officer-involved shooting portion of the investigation. At least three days, perhaps a week.”
No way in hell. Coletti couldn’t be serious. Cooper opened his mouth to argue, but one glare from Gage halted his words.
“I’m also going to recommend that Officer Cooper undergo a complete psychological assessment as part of his formal fitness-for-duty evaluation,” Coletti added. “I believe there are some additional stressors involved here beyond those that typically occur in an officer-involved shooting situation. I think Officer Cooper would be well served talking to one of the department’s contracted psychologists.”
This time C
ooper ignored Gage. “That’s bullshit, Coletti. I was fully justified shooting those suspects in there, and I’m not going to see a shrink so I can lie down on a couch and talk about my mother when I have a job to do.”
Coletti leveled his gaze at Cooper, his jaw tight. “Officer Cooper, this investigation will run its course, and that includes a thorough review of the bank’s security footage. Based on what you’ve told me so far, I’m leaning toward calling this a clean shoot. However, I have to admit I’m troubled about how you physically subdued the other three suspects. My bigger concern is the trauma you went through in that bank. Not only did you see a security guard and several civilians get shot, but you were forced to give up your weapon or risk seeing another civilian shot in the head right in front of you. I’m aware of your military background and how that ended. I’m worried about what effects these recent events could have on you. I think talking to a mental health professional would be good for you.”
Cooper bit back a growl. The fact that this guy had dug around in his military record was bad enough. But the idea that Coletti actually thought he would appreciate being forced to see a shrink was even worse. He saw stuff like what had gone down inside that bank every day on the job.
Cooper expected Gage, or even Mason, to help him out, but both were infuriatingly silent.
“And if I don’t want to see a mental health professional?” he ground out.
Coletti’s gray eyes hardened to steel. “Then I doubt you’ll be returning to duty anytime soon.”
* * *
Everly hadn’t had a chance to do more than exchange phone numbers with Landry before he disappeared inside the fancy tent thingy the cops had set up. She’d let a paramedic take a look at her while she waited for him to come out, then met with a detective who took her statement about what had happened in the bank. Reliving the whole experience hadn’t been fun. She’d rather forget some guy had grabbed her and put a gun to her head, but the detective was only doing his job, and if her statement put the bank robber in prison, she would help any way she could. It would have been nice to have Landry there with her while she talked to the detective. It was silly, but he made her feel safe.
While she wanted to see Landry before she left, she felt completely out of place at the crime scene. It didn’t help that the other police officers kept eyeing her curiously. If she hung around much longer, they were going to think she was up to something.
She turned to leave when she saw a group of cops dressed in all kinds of dangerous-looking military gear standing over by an equally big RV. Underneath all that tactical gear, they wore the same dark blue T-shirts and cargo pants as Landry. If the clothing and relaxed, confident way they stood hadn’t given them away, the word SWAT in big letters across the back of their vests definitely told her they were part of the city’s special weapons and tactics team.
Thinking they might know Landry, Everly walked over to them. They turned at her approach, as if sensing her. She hadn’t realized that one was a woman because two men had been blocking her view, but the female cop looked just as intimidating as the guys under all the tactical gear she was wearing. As for the men, Everly couldn’t help noticing that all five were not only tall and well built, they were incredibly attractive to boot. Not as hot as Landry, of course, but definitely not hard to look at. Her roommate Mia would just about melt around so many big studs, even if they were a little unapproachable.
“Can we help you?” the female cop asked.
“I was wondering if any of you know Landry Cooper?”
One of the men gave her a big smile. Almost as tall as Landry, he had dark blond hair and blue eyes. “Sure we know Cooper. You a friend of his?”
Everly was hoping she and Landry would be more than friends at some point, but right now, friends worked. Especially if it meant she could hang around with the rest of the SWAT team and wait for him.
“Yes. I was in the bank when the robbery happened,” she said. “We exchanged numbers, but I was hoping to talk to him before I left. Unfortunately, I think those guys would rather I leave.” She jerked her thumb at the uniformed police officers keeping reporters and curious onlookers outside the yellow crime scene tape. “Could you let him know that I waited for him but had to go? I wouldn’t want him to think I just bailed on him.”
The female cop smiled and held out her hand. Taller than Everly, she had dark hair pulled back into a bun and brown eyes. “I’m Khaki Blake. If Cooper wanted you to hang around, you’re welcome to stay here with us. We’ll make sure no one bugs you until he comes out.”
That had been almost two hours ago. She couldn’t understand now why she’d thought the guys were intimidating. Tall, dark-haired Xander Riggs; the equally tall Alex Trevino, whose nearly black hair looked like it was perpetually tousled; wiry Remy Boudreaux with his unmistakable Cajun accent; mocha-skinned, gray-eyed Jayden Brooks; and the blond-haired Eric Becker were some of the nicest people she’d ever met. Becker, one of Landry’s closest friends, was especially sweet to her. And hanging out with them helped her push aside the horrible memories of what had happened in the bank. She’d have to deal with them later she was sure, but right now, it was good simply to laugh and be thankful she was alive.
Everly sighed with relief when she saw Landry finally come out of the tent. As far as she knew, he hadn’t seen a paramedic about his injuries yet, and she’d been worried. But he looked fine. Instead of coming over to join his team, he stood talking with another big man dressed in SWAT gear and an older man dressed in a traditional police uniform. She had no idea what they were discussing, but whatever it was, Landry looked angry.
“Do you think everything’s okay?” she asked no one in particular. “Landry doesn’t look too happy.”
Beside her, Becker snorted. “The only time Cooper’s happy is when he’s blowing something up.”
Everyone laughed at that. Everly laughed too, even though she didn’t understand why anyone would enjoy working with explosives. They seemed dangerous. But the other SWAT officers she’d been chatting with for the past two hours had told her Landry worked with explosives a lot, so apparently, he didn’t mind being around them.
While they’d waited, Becker entertained her with stories about Landry and some of the crazy things he’d done. If half the things Becker told her were true, Landry might be the most insane person she’d ever hung out with. But rather than dissuade her from wanting to spend time with him, the stories made Everly want to get to know him even better.
“Hey, you’re still here!” a familiar voice said from behind her.
Everly turned around to see Landry walking over to join them, the corners of his sexy lips edging into a smile.
“I thought you’d already left,” he said.
She smiled. “I ran into your teammates, and they let me hang out with them until you got done. I wanted to make sure you really were okay before I left.”
As Landry came to a stop in front of her, she was suddenly reminded how big and muscular he was. He loomed over her by nearly a foot. She almost laughed as she had a vision of climbing up his body to kiss him. Not that she minded. Something told her it would be worth it.
He grinned. “The wound was just a scratch. The paramedics didn’t even bother with it.”
She found that hard to believe considering the amount of blood on his shirt. She opened her mouth to say so, but suddenly, she found herself tongue-tied as a delicious scent filled her nose. At first, she thought he was wearing a nice cologne. But she immediately dismissed that idea. She had four brothers she’d bought a lot of cologne for over the years, and Landry didn’t smell like any of those. No, this scent was all his, and it was more intoxicating than any cologne, that was for sure. She didn’t realize how good until she leaned in closer to get a whiff. If she could figure out how to put it in a bottle and sell it, she’d be rich.
Landry lifted a brow. He was probably wondering why she was standing there breathing him in like some kind of weirdo.
“Um,�
�� she managed, trying to gather her thoughts. What had she been going to say? For the life of her, she couldn’t remember. So she said the first thing that came to mind.
“You never told me where you were taking me for dinner. I wanted to know what I should wear for our date.”
Landry gazed down at her for a long moment, a slight smile at his lips, as if he knew how off kilter he had her—and that he enjoyed the fact.
“To tell the truth, I hadn’t really picked a place yet,” he said. “I thought I’d ask if you had a favorite restaurant, or a favorite food, then go from there.”
She wasn’t fooled for a second. Landry knew she was seriously attracted to him, but she appreciated the fact that he didn’t let the knowledge go to his head. A lot of other men would have assumed that she’d go wherever they wanted. It was nice to know Landry was ready to make their date all about her. Still, she had to wonder how far he would be willing to go with that.
“You sure you’re okay with me picking the restaurant?” she asked. “You strike me as the basic meat-and-potato type. Aren’t you worried I’ll pick some kind of girlie place with fondue pots and bean sprouts?”
He chuckled, a rich, warm sound that rumbled from his big, broad chest. “Are you saying you’re the fondue and bean sprout kind of girl?”
She gave him a coy smile. What was it about him that made her want to flirt so outrageously? “Maybe.”
Landry stepped closer, and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her right here in the middle of a crime scene with all his SWAT teammates standing around them. She went up on her tiptoes, more than ready, but he stopped just short, leaving her hanging.
“Then it’s settled,” he said. “I think there’s a Melting Pot over on Five Point in Arlington. Would that work?”
She laughed softly and dropped back down off her toes. She might as well stop testing him. It was clear he’d take her anywhere she wanted to go. “I’m sure it’s a nice place, but I was just kidding about that stuff. I don’t like fondue or bean sprouts. But if you know a place that serves authentic French food, that would be perfect.”
