Time clicked back on track. The recoil from the powerful rifle knocked Hayley against the wall, her ears ringing from the noise of the shot.
Sproule’s shot went wide and hit one of the light fixtures, touching off a shower of sparks. He dropped his gun and crumpled to his knees. His mouth rounding in shock, he stared at the crimson circle blossoming on his chest.
Hayley gagged, bent over and fought to keep her stomach from heaving.
Cooper launched himself in a skidding dive across the floor between the pool tables, came up with a gun and fired toward the doorway.
Hayley glanced behind her just as the coveralled man fell over the threshold, his forehead cracking hard against the edge of a discarded gas can. A small black pistol fell from his hand as he slumped to the floor and didn’t move.
She whipped her gaze back to Cooper. He was leaning heavily against the edge of the pool table as he worked his way around it toward her, his face pale with pain. He pressed the heel of his hand to his shoulder.
Sproule moaned and toppled sideways. His eyes unfocused, he squirmed on the floor as his blood mixed with a puddle of gasoline.
“Hayley!” Cooper’s voice was raw with urgency. It snapped her out of her daze. “We’ve got to get out of here now!”
Hayley slung the strap of the Winchester over her shoulder and ran to Cooper. His condition looked worse the closer she got. “I called the ambulance when I heard the shot,” she said. She touched her fingers to his forehead and found it was clammy. “It might be better if you don’t move.”
He put his arm around her and pushed away from the table. “We don’t have any choice. The whole place is going to go up!”
Only then did she smell the smoke. She looked past Cooper and saw flames racing across a puddle of gas beneath the sparking light fixture that Sproule’s stray bullet had hit. Fire licked up the legs of a table, igniting with a whoosh. It was a sound she would never forget, a noise from another nightmare.
It still wasn’t over.
There was no time to help the two men on the floor. Hayley dropped her rifle and anchored her arms around Cooper’s waist as she fitted herself to his side. Locked together, they wove through the flames that were spreading across the room. Hayley could feel Cooper’s muscles tremble from the effort it took for him to stay upright, but somehow they reached the front door without falling.
They made it to the parking lot just as the first police car pulled in. The police raced for the men who were left inside but were met with a wall of flame. The red-haired arsonist had done his job too well. The interior of the building had become an inferno.
Cooper sat on the hood of the police cruiser as more emergency vehicles arrived, his expression strangely calm while he watched the Long Shot burn.
But Hayley was frantic. This couldn’t be happening. Not now!
Someone draped a blanket around her shoulders. She clutched it tight, despite the heat from the blaze, her body shaking from the force of her sobs. It wasn’t fair, dear God, this wasn’t right. The place that meant so much to Cooper, the symbol of the life he’d so painstakingly built, was disappearing before her eyes and there was nothing she could do to save it.
The paramedics tended to Cooper where he sat, preparing him for the ride to the hospital by packing his wound to stop the bleeding and hooking him up with an IV drip that hung from a wheeled pole. They draped a blanket like Hayley’s around his back and deemed him stable enough to wait while they saw to the burns of the first policemen who had tried to enter the building. As soon as they had moved off, Cooper held out his hand to Hayley.
She clasped his fingers and moved to stand between his knees. The night was filled with sirens and flashing lights as fire trucks continued to converge on the scene, yet Hayley felt a pocket of stillness settle around them. There were so many things she wanted to say, but none of them could get past the lump in her throat. She lifted his hand and pressed her mouth to his knuckles.
“Don’t cry, Hayley.”
She shook her head against a fresh wave of tears. “I’m sorry, Cooper. I’m so sorry. I should have told you about Adam sooner.”
“It’s okay. I understand why you didn’t.”
How could he sound so calm, so…forgiving? She rubbed her cheek against his fingers. “I was wrong. I should have realized how much your promise meant to you.”
“No, Hayley, you were right. I didn’t need the Long Shot.”
He was already talking about it in the past tense. She hiccupped on a sob.
“It’s like what you told me,” he said. “I thought that if I did this one last thing, everything was going to magically change, but I was wrong. What I’ve built here, no one can take away from me.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze. Incredibly, he was smiling.
“I already called Tony and told him I’m quitting Payback. I was going to let Sproule go, just like you wanted.”
She stared. “You what?”
“I wasn’t bluffing when I told Sproule we were giving up.”
It took a moment for what he had said to sink in. “Oh, my God, Cooper. You didn’t have to do that. I wasn’t bluffing, either. I really did call the FBI. I told them about Adam. They’re going to hold off until Dr. Byers and I can break the news to my father, but she said the risk was manageable and she’d get him counseling so—” She broke off as a sudden flare of light bathed the parking lot. She twisted to look behind her.
The roof of the Long Shot collapsed. A fountain of smoke and embers streamed into the sky, filling the night with a glow as red as blood.
She gave a strangled cry. “No!”
Cooper squeezed her hand and pulled her to face him. “Hayley, it’s okay. It’s only a place.”
“But—”
“We’ll be fine. We can rebuild.” His smile grew. “I was right about you.”
“What?”
“You can’t lie worth a damn.”
She used her free hand to wipe her cheeks. “Cooper—”
“I knew what you told Sproule was the truth, just like I knew you were telling the truth when you said that you loved me.” He used his thumb to blot a tear that she’d missed. “You never needed to prove anything to me, but you did.”
“I meant everything I said, Cooper. I do love you. I never want to leave you.”
“Good, because I’m not planning on letting you go.” He leaned toward her, pure emotion sparkling in his gaze. “I love you, Hayley Tavistock.”
Another fire truck rolled over the curb. Shouts went up as hoses were unrolled to add more streams of water to the billowing flames. The crackle of the police radio came through the open window of the cruiser where Cooper sat.
Yet Hayley heard nothing but the sound of walls crumbling as Cooper laid bare his heart.
She grasped his cheeks in her hands. “And I love you, Cooper Webb.”
Neither of them knew who moved first. All Hayley remembered afterward was that even with a bullet in his shoulder and an IV drip in his arm, his business in flames and the entire Latchford fire department milling around them, oh, this man could kiss.
Epilogue
“Rise and shine, you two! You have a visitor.”
Hayley folded her arms on Cooper’s chest and glanced at the bedroom door. “Maybe if we’re really quiet she’ll go away,” she whispered.
Cooper stretched his arm over the edge of the mattress, picked up one of his boots and heaved it at the door. It hit the panels with a resounding thud. “Go away, Theresa,” he shouted.
Hayley pressed her mouth against Cooper’s good shoulder to muffle her giggle.
Theresa laughed and knocked at the door again. “Ten minutes, then I’m sending him up.”
“You do and you’re fired!” Cooper said.
“You’d have to hire me first,” Theresa retorted.
Hayley rolled off Cooper and got to her feet. She reached for the silk kimono their current landlady had lent her. They had been staying in the Martinez’s spar
e bedroom since the fire. “Thanks, Theresa. We’ll be right down.”
Cooper caught the end of the sash before she could tie it and tugged her back to the bed. “What’s your hurry? We’ve got ten minutes.”
“It’s probably Detective Ford or one of those FBI agents again. I need a shower before I get dressed.”
Cooper sat up against the headboard and patted the spot beside him. He smiled. “Okay, five minutes. I’ll work fast.”
She couldn’t resist him when he smiled like that. Actually, she was coming to realize that he was impossible to resist no matter what he did. There was just something about the way his hair fell across his forehead and those lines framed his mouth and that bad boy sparkle lit his eyes…
She sighed and got back into bed. She snuggled against his side, laid her head on his chest and opened her robe so she could slide her leg over his.
She cherished these quiet times with Cooper. The past three days had been some of the busiest of her life. As soon as Cooper had been released from the hospital, they’d been swept into what seemed like endless rounds of questioning by every law-enforcement agency that wanted a piece of the Sproule organization, even though Sproule himself had already paid the ultimate price for his crimes.
Ironically, Izzy Pressman was turning out to be the star witness. Against all odds, he’d survived Sproule’s attempt on his life and had started talking the minute he’d come out of surgery. Sproule’s accomplices were falling like dominoes.
As Hayley had predicted, the warrants that had arisen from the information she had revealed about Adam had uncovered the full extent of the police corruption. At the top was Jim Johnson, the man who had replaced Hayley’s father as the Latchford police commissioner. Ernie had told him about Hayley’s plan to investigate Sproule’s smuggling, and he’d been the one to alert Sproule.
Ernie hadn’t taken the news of his friend’s betrayal any better than the news about Adam. He’d suffered a major setback, but the doctors were optimistic that he would eventually regain the ground he’d lost and continue his recovery, especially now that the nursing home had brought in a specialist in geriatric psychology.
Cooper picked up a lock of her hair and stroked it along her wrist. “I’ve got a lead on an apartment. It’s not fancy, but we can move in by the end of the week.”
“That’s great.”
“We won’t have much to move in.”
She turned her head to brush her lips over his nipple. “We don’t need much, Cooper. We already have the most important thing.”
“A bed?”
“Love.”
“Well, yeah. That kind of goes along with the whole bed theme, doesn’t it?”
“Mmm. We don’t do so bad on the floor, either.”
He gave her a one-armed hug. Although his wound was healing with amazing swiftness, his left shoulder would be tender for a while yet. “Have you heard back from that banker?”
“Yes.” She lifted her head to look at him. “Sorry, Cooper. He won’t give us the amount we’ll need. But it’s still early. I’ve got feelers out everywhere. We’ll find an investor somewhere to rebuild the Long Shot.”
He picked up her hair again and twined it around his fingers. “I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe we should call it something else.”
“Such as?”
“What would you say to the Sure Thing?”
“I like the sound of that.”
He looked at her in silence for a while, his gaze brimming with the love he didn’t even think to hide. “Hayley, what would you say if we made us a sure thing, too?”
“I thought we already were.”
“I mean legally. I know I’m a long way from being able to offer you the kind of home I wish I could, but like you said, we’ve already got the most important thing.”
She smiled. “Oh, we’ve got plenty of that.”
He took her hand. “The love I feel for you isn’t going to change. Today, tomorrow, until I draw my last breath, I’ll be loving you. So…” He pressed her hand over his heart. “Hayley, will you marry me?”
Her gaze misted. Despite all the obstacles they’d had to overcome, and despite all the problems that awaited them, this part really was simple, wasn’t it?
She rose to her knees and cradled his face in her palms. “Cooper, I would be honored to have you for my husband.”
Their kiss started out as solemn as the pledge they had just made, yet it didn’t take long for the passion to spark again. Cooper slipped his hands into her robe, then grasped her waist and guided her to straddle his lap.
It was a good hour, a very good hour, before they finally went downstairs.
The person waiting for them in the Martinez’s kitchen wasn’t a cop. No, Nathan Beliveau wouldn’t be mistaken for the law any more than Cooper would. He was wearing his riding leathers, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles as he drummed his fingers against a large white envelope that lay on the kitchen table beside his helmet.
He rose to his feet when they entered. “I heard about your trouble,” he said. “How are you doing?”
Cooper slipped his right arm around Hayley’s waist and pulled her back against his chest. “Never been better,” he replied. “Sorry about Volski. I heard he went underground when the business with Sproule hit the fan.”
Nathan nodded. “Like a rat to his hole. I’ll smoke him out.”
Hayley pressed into Cooper’s embrace. There was a hint of ruthlessness in Nathan’s tone that chilled. “I wish you luck.”
“Thanks.” Nathan glanced at the way they stood together before his amber gaze met hers. “I don’t suppose you’ll be taking me up on that job offer.”
She shook her head and covered Cooper’s hand with hers. “No. I’m sticking with a sure thing.”
Cooper chuckled. “Hayley’s one hell of a bookkeeper. She’s got a job with me for life.”
“That’s what Tony figured.” Nathan reached for the white envelope and held it out to Cooper. “He sends his regards.”
Cooper’s expression sobered. He let go of Hayley and took the envelope. “Tony? What does he want?”
“Seems there was a problem with the transfer of the Long Shot when you terminated your deal. Tony never received his property.”
Hayley frowned. “Sproule was the one who burned it down, not us. Tony isn’t holding Cooper liable for that, is he?”
“I’m afraid so,” Nathan replied. “Tony had given him twenty-four hours to clear out. The place burned down on his watch, so Tony wants recompense.”
“But that’s not fair,” Hayley said.
“Take that up with Tony,” Nathan said. “I don’t know the details, I only delivered the package.” He picked up his helmet and walked to the door. “But as far as I’m concerned, you still owe me a favor, too.”
Cooper waited until Nathan was gone, then swore under his breath and ripped open the envelope. He withdrew a sheaf of papers and scowled at them for a few minutes before handing the papers to Hayley. “Here. They’ve got numbers. You’ll be able to make more sense of them than I can.”
Hayley skimmed them quickly. She gasped, then went back over them more carefully to make sure she hadn’t missed something. When she was done, she held them out to Cooper, her pulse racing. “This has nothing to do with Payback. It’s a legitimate partnership agreement.”
“What?”
“Tony wants to be a silent partner in your next bar. He’ll provide the start-up capital in exchange for a fixed share of the profits.”
Cooper retrieved the papers from her, his big hands suddenly unsteady. He went through them again, then swallowed hard and looked at Hayley. His frown was gone. In its place was a dawning sense of wonder. “He was wrong.”
“No, it’s a smart idea, and it’s a fair deal for both of you. Your new place will be even better than the last one.”
“Our new place, Hayley. Not mine. Ours.” He laid the papers on the table and caught her hands in his. “I meant Ton
y was wrong about Payback.”
“How?”
“He had told me I would leave with no more than I brought in.” His voice roughened. He inhaled deeply and curled her hands to his chest. “But he was wrong. My life is richer than I dared to dream it could be.”
“You earned it, Cooper. You earned every bit of it.”
He drew her closer, his smile as warm as his touch. “I’m not talking about the money, Hayley.”
“I know, my love. Neither am I.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7106-1
THE ANGEL AND THE OUTLAW
Copyright © 2005 by Ingrid Caris
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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*Eagle Squadron
*Eagle Squadron
*Eagle Squadron
†Payback
The Angel and the Outlaw Page 21
