by Janzen, Tara
* * *
After she’d gone, Cooper reached over to the desk and picked up the phone. He punched in a call to London without bothering to check the time. George Leeds would talk to him no matter what time it was.
Jessica Langston wouldn’t last ten days. She wouldn’t last the five on her round-trip ticket to
London. Cooper figured she would last exactly as long as it took her to study the green folder, deplane at Heathrow, take one look at George Leeds, and get back on a plane to the States with her resignation in hand. He was sure the finer points of negotiating bounty on maritime pirates with men like Leeds hadn’t been covered in the curriculum at Stanford.
“Leeds,” he said when a man answered the phone. After receiving confirmation, he continued. “I’m sending someone in my place. Her name is Jessica Langston. Any offer you wanted to take up with me, you can discuss with her, if she sticks around long enough to hear it. And, Leeds—” He paused until the man responded again. “Spread the word that she’s under my protection. No interference will be tolerated. She’s a business associate and I want her back looking as fresh and wide-eyed as she did when she walked out of here. When she leaves, I’ll come and we’ll finish.”
He hung up and stretched again under the soothing magic of Sharon’s hands. She was working on his left leg, his bad leg.
“You’re healing nicely,” she said.
“It hurts like hell.”
“Would you like me to prescribe something?” she asked, her fingers gently probing the scar tissue that ran the length of his thigh.
In answer, Cooper gave a short, sardonic laugh. Sharon knew as well as he that there was nothing in her magical bag of herbs and acupuncture needles to stop his pain. There was only retaliation against the woman who’d had him maimed and left him to die. There was only revenge against the woman who had killed his brother.
He lowered his head and closed his eyes. He’d relived the scene a thousand times, and every time Jackson fell, Cooper found himself turning too slowly to protect his brother, or to protect himself from his brother’s murderer. An explosion of gunfire sounded and a cutlass slashed him open from hip to knee before the dragon lady’s henchman fell under his knife. All of it too damn late to save Jackson.
Jessica Langston didn’t belong in his world. George Leeds was a peach compared with most of the people Cooper dealt with. He only hoped Leeds was enough of his usual self to offend her lovely sensibilities. Cooper didn’t have time for a lawsuit, and he didn’t have time for her, and he was surprised that he wished he did.
Damn surprised.
* * * * * * * * *
Thank you for reading Outlaw Carson. Please visit my website, www.tarajanzen.com, and follow me on Facebook http://on.fb.me/tcBKCq; and Twitter @tara_janzen http://twitter.com/#!/tara_janzen so you won’t miss the release of my upcoming eBooks.
