by Lane Hart
In my tense drive over to Avalon, I do thankfully have the rational thought that I need to call Barb.
“Davis & Morgan Law Office. How can I help you?” she answers.
“Barb! It’s me. I need you to see if Byron can continue the rest of my court cases for the morning!”
“S-sure,” she responds. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know! One of the DA’s heard that a bomb went off at Avalon or in Avalon! I’m going to drive across the bridge and see for myself.”
“That’s where Cooper works, isn’t it?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Oh, wow. I hope he’s all right.”
“Me too,” I agree. “I’ll check back in soon if you can just have Byron or someone handle my cases.”
“Do you think you’ll be back for your afternoon appointments?” she asks.
“I’ll try my best,” I tell her right before I see the black smoke billowing up from the strip club as soon as I turn onto the bridge.
I’m sure Cooper is okay.
He has to be, right?
He’s strong and smart.
He’s also the hottest man I’ve ever met and the main reason I get out of bed every day.
Why did I tell the man who gets me out of bed in the morning that I wouldn’t have dinner with him?
God, that was stupid and I would take it back if I could. And I will take it back.
As soon as I find Cooper and see that he’s okay, I’ll tell him I changed my mind. I’ll even admit to him that he’s the best thing I have in my life and I don’t want to lose him before we even get started – not to prison and especially not to death.
There are police cars and firetrucks with their lights on blocking the road half a block or so from Avalon. I park in a mostly empty diner lot and then jump out of my car to hoof it in my heels the rest of the way.
In front of the club sit several firetrucks, while men in navy blue jackets with the letters ATF stamped across the back are swarming around on the other side of the yellow police tape. What was once a large building the size of a warehouse is now only a few piles of charred bricks.
“Jesus,” I mutter aloud as I take it all in. I’ve never been inside Avalon, and never had any interest in going, but I know the place is important to Cooper.
Speaking of the sexy biker, I spot a sole Harley in the now crowded lot which I’m betting is Cooper’s. At least, I think it is, but it’s lying on its side and covered in dust and debris. If it’s sitting on the other side of the caution tape, then does that mean he was in the building when…that he was…
“Hey!” I yell at the ATF agents. “Where’s Cooper? Cooper Cummings?” I ask them, but they all ignore me as if I’m invisible.
Across the street is a line of local sheriff deputy cars and several officers standing around with their arms crossed over their chest watching the scene. I recognize a few from my criminal cases, so I march right up to them, hoping for more answers.
“Where’s Cooper?” I ask them. None of them respond or even acknowledge me. “Hello?” I shout. “I know you can see me and hear me, so can someone tell me where the hell to find Cooper Cummings! He was here. That’s his bike over there!” I say while pointing across the street at the burning building.
“This is a crime scene, miss,” one of the male deputies wanders over to tell me. “We’re gonna need you to vacate the premises.”
“I’m not vacating anything until you tell me where he is!” I respond. “Where’s Jade?” I ask as I glance around the group looking for the sheriff. “I want to talk to Jade!”
Cooper
I must have died and gone to hell.
That’s the only explanation as to why I keep seeing the fire, feeling the suffocating heat, all while not being able to move a muscle.
One minute I was sitting in my office, talking to Jenna, one of my dancers, and then the next I landed in a never-ending loop of destruction.
The only time the replay of the fire stops is for a few seconds when I blink my eyes open and find my brothers hovering over me – their mouths moving but nothing coming out.
With all my strength, I make my own mouth work. My throat burns as I ask them about Jenna. Is she still in the fire? Did they get her out too? But no one will answer me before I’m sucked back into the inferno.
The only comforting thought I have is “At least Liz wasn’t here.” Which is idiotic since Liz never stepped foot in Avalon for one of our weekly trysts, and now she never will. Not just because I’m pretty sure the building was burnt to the ground, but because we ended things yesterday. No more trysts in her office. No more of her sweet, honeysuckle scent. No more losing myself inside of her while forgetting the rest of the world exists.
I’d give anything to see her and hold her, but Liz doesn’t belong in this world. Hell, I may not be around in it much longer myself.
Chapter Three
Elizabeth
A cranky-looking Savage King is waiting for me at the Sea Trail intersection, just as he said he would. Torin Fury, the club’s president, has a reputation around town as having the temper of his namesake.
“Did anyone follow you?” are his first words to me when I slip out of my car that I parked in the ditch.
“No,” I reply, not entirely surprised by the question or his anger. Someone blew up two of the Savage Kings’ business establishments, so I’m guessing it was one of their enemies.
The biker leader hasn’t moved an inch or uncrossed his arms when I walk up to him.
“So? Where’s Cooper?” I ask. “H-how is he?”
“Not great,” Torin responds. “How long have you two been…” he trails off.
“Fucking?” I supply, and he blinks in surprise at my bluntness.
“Yeah, how long have you two been fucking? He’s never mentioned you.”
I involuntarily wince at that statement. “For two years actually. And maybe he’s never mentioned me because he probably didn’t think you needed to know about every woman he fucks.”
Torin stares at me for several long, silent seconds, like he’s trying to intimidate me.
“Can I see him or not? I have shit to do other than stand around and have a stare down with you all day,” I tell him.
“Fine,” he grits out through his teeth. When he turns and starts walking in long strides, I’m pretty sure I hear him mutter under his breath, “Where the fuck do they find these women?”
“I’m a criminal defense attorney at Davis and Morgan,” I tell him even though I don’t think he was asking me. “The Kings have us on retainer. We were on Ian’s case,” I remind him. “Cooper came to me a few years ago with a speeding ticket.”
“Whatever,” Torin huffs as we walk through a quiet neighborhood. “Don’t tell anyone where this house is located. Not even if you’re being tortured to death.”
“I won’t,” I promise him. I want to ask more, like who the hell did this, but I keep my mouth shut since I seriously doubt he would tell me the truth.
Torin opens the back door of a normal-looking ranch house, and gestures for me to go inside. I try not to flinch when I step into the living room and the group of big guys in leather all stop speaking to stare at me.
“He’s in the first bedroom down that hallway,” the one I recognize as Miles says, his finger pointing the way.
“Thanks,” I tell him with a nod before I start in that direction.
It doesn’t take me long to find him.
“Jesus, Cooper,” I whisper, freezing in the bedroom doorway.
This is what Torin thinks is not great? God, Cooper’s a fucking mess with blood and dirt covering his skin, looking like he’s been through war. He’s hard to even recognize.
Tears blur my vision as I rush to his side and with a shaking hand, brush his wavy, brown hair back from his face. As my eyes begin scanning over all of the various bandages on his arms and chest, I finally notice the woman with blue hair standing at the foot of the bed.
“
Is he…is he in a lot of pain?” I ask her, assuming she must be a doctor or a nurse since the Kings allowed her inside their safehouse.
“I don’t think so,” she responds. “He’s just sleeping. I gave him some morphine to take the edge off and make him more comfortable so he could rest.”
“So he’s going to be okay?” I ask because he looks terrible.
“Yeah, I think so. Most of the cuts are superficial. The biggest concern is his hearing.”
“His hearing?” I repeat as my body slumps in understanding. I thought I was looking at the worst of his injuries and didn’t even consider there could be worse ones that are out of sight.
“It looks like both of his eardrums were blown in the explosion,” the woman says. “He couldn’t seem to hear what we were saying to him and kept asking the same questions over and over.”
“Oh no,” I gasp as I sink down to my knees beside the bed and clasp his limp hand in both of mine. He doesn’t even make a twitch of awareness. And he can’t hear me…
“The hearing loss could be temporary,” she says softly, and I nod silently hoping that she’s right as the first tear overflows and slips down my cheek.
“I’ll leave and give you some time alone,” I think she says. And after I hear her footsteps disappear, a choked sob escapes from my throat.
Why? Why did this have to happen to someone so nice and sweet? Cooper didn’t deserve this no matter the reason someone would want to hurt the Savage Kings. It’s not fair to see a man so strong and good to be hurt. It’s not fair that he asked me for more than I could give him yesterday and then to have this happen after I rejected him!
I don’t like being right – right about the two ways Cooper’s life would go as long as he’s a member of an outlaw MC. I told myself that I shouldn’t get close to him because he would eventually end up in prison or…dead. I just had no idea how much I don’t want to lose him to either option. Despite telling myself that it was only sex, just a physical release for both of us, Cooper is more to me. I care about him and don’t want to see him hurt like this.
“J-jen…jen…na…” Cooper suddenly moans as if he’s trying to say something.
Still gripping his hand tightly in one of mine, I get to my feet and place my other palm on his cheek. “Do you need something? What can I do?” I blurt out before I belatedly remember that he can’t hear me.
But for a second, I think maybe he can because his eyelids flutter open and he looks around the room.
“Jenna?” he moans, and I realize he’s saying a name, that he must think I’m someone else, another woman. “Where…Jenna?”
“I-I’m sorry, Cooper, I don’t know,” I tell him with a shake of my head.
His gaze finally meets mine and his eyes are glazed over. “Liz?” he asks, and I’m relieved that he at least knows who I am. Then, he shakes his head back and forth while moaning, “Noooo, Liz. Shouldn’t be…shouldn’t be here.”
“I shouldn’t be here?” I repeat to myself softly as his words sink in. Not only does he know who I am, but he wants me to leave. I give his hand another squeeze before I let go to swipe away the tears from my face.
This is exactly what I deserve.
It may have only been a day since we had our argument in my office, but Cooper’s already moved on. I shouldn’t have pushed him away and maybe he would be asking me to stay.
“Gooo,” Cooper says. “Not…now…not…” His words trail off and then his eyes shut as he falls back to sleep before finishing his statement. I heard enough to understand, though. He wants me to leave.
I take a few minutes to pull myself together and mop up my face before I finally walk out of the room and quickly go right out the back door of the house to avoid any further conversations with Torin or the other men.
They’re obviously worried about their friend, and I know the feeling.
As soon as I step outside, I see the woman from the bedroom sitting on the steps and can’t help it. My legs are shaking as I slump down next to her. In a few minutes, I’ll make my way back to my car. I just need a little time to recover from the emotional blow of seeing Cooper hurt and still strong enough to reject me.
Thankfully, the woman doesn’t start up a conversation and gives me time to take a few deep breaths until most of my sniffles have disappeared.
“Do they know who did this?” I finally whisper.
“Not yet I don’t think,” she responds.
“I hope they make them pay when they figure it out,” I murmur, surprising myself. I’m a strict rule follower! I know the difference between right and wrong. I studied the law for three years and have been practicing for five years. Staying on the right side of the law is how I make a living, and never once have I been tempted to cross it, not even for Owen. Until now, that is, after seeing Cooper laid up in bed, hurt so badly. “Wow, I can’t believe I said that,” I say aloud, slapping my palm over my mouth as I let those dark thoughts sink in. She must think I’m nuts. I’m starting to wonder myself since I’ve never been the type to condone violence, especially revenge. I guess I never understood the motivation for it before now.
“You must think I’m a horrible person,” I tell her. “I guess I’ve just been sleeping with an outlaw for so long he’s rubbing off on me in all sorts of ways.” It’s a weak excuse, and I know that deep down it’s caring for Cooper and not the sex that makes me feel this way.
“I’m sorry he was hurt,” she replies.
“Me too. He’s a good man,” I say with a sigh. Clearing my throat, I add, “And I wish I knew who Jenna was. After you left the room, Cooper sort of, um, moaned her name.”
“I overheard the guys say that she was one of the dancers at Avalon,” she informs me, which lands like a hard slap to my face.
“Oh,” I mutter, since no other response comes to mind. Eventually, though, I can’t help but ask aloud the question I, for some reason, need to know the answer to. “Do you think, I mean, it seems obvious that he was probably sleeping with her, right?”
“That I have no clue,” she says. “All I know is that she was in the building when it exploded. And she didn’t make it out.”
“Oh god,” I gasp and bury my face in my hands while mumbling, “Now I feel like such a bitch for automatically disliking her.”
I automatically hated a woman I’ve never met just because Cooper cares about her, which is unfair to her, especially since she’s gone. Did Cooper love her? Was he sleeping with her the entire time he was seeing me? He must have felt something for her since she’s the one he asked about while telling me to leave.
“So you and Cooper are…seeing each other?” my companion eventually asks.
“Only casually, you know?” I reply while scrubbing my hands over my face. “Nothing serious,” I add and then want to kick myself in the ass. “How can you be serious with a man who manages a strip club and is around perfect, naked women all day?” I ask. “And I mean, why else would Jenna have been at the club alone with Cooper before noon when they don’t even open until four?”
“Ah, no clue,” she says, and is obviously uncomfortable with the current topic. Then she tells me, “Just because one possibility is that he was sleeping with her, that doesn’t mean he was. There are plenty of other reasons why she was with him.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“Um, well, maybe she was practicing her routine.”
The side-eye look I give her conveys just how doubtful that idea is.
“Could it have been payday?” she asks. “Or maybe she left her phone there the night before and went to pick it up. Who knows? Don’t drive yourself crazy thinking the worst until you know for sure.”
“Thanks for talking me off the cliff,” I tell her honestly with a pat to her forearm. “The messed-up thing is that it doesn’t even matter if Cooper was sleeping with her or all of the girls. He could’ve died today, and I can’t imagine never seeing him again.” That’s why, if he'll give me the chance, I’ll tell him I want more too.
“He’s going to have a tough recovery ahead of him, especially when he realizes his hearing has been compromised for however long and hears about Jenna,” she explains. “I’m sure he would appreciate having you around to be there with him through it.”
“Thanks,” I say a heavy sigh. “I just realized I don’t even know your name. I’m Elizabeth, by the way.” I offer her my palm to shake.
“I’m Isobel, Sax’s…friend,” she replies with a small smile. “And in another lifetime, I was a nurse, so that’s what brought me here.”
“The Savage Kings didn’t want Cooper in a hospital where cops would want to ask him questions,” I mutter with a nod of understanding.
“That and they’re all vulnerable until they catch the person responsible. If someone wanted them dead, it wouldn’t be hard to hit the hospital. So I don’t think they’re just looking out for themselves.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “That makes sense in a horrible way I guess.”
The two of us sit in a companionable silence for several more minutes until a van pulls up. When Torin comes out the back door, he instructs one of the other members to walk me to my car.
He didn’t need to dismiss me. I was going to leave, like Cooper wanted. I just needed a few more minutes to get my feet on board with the plan.
Chapter Four
Cooper
My body spasms involuntarily as consciousness slams into me with the same force as the bomb that ripped apart the club. I’m in so much pain it takes me a few seconds to slow my breathing and gather my thoughts. My head is pounding with every beat of my heart, and my ears and throat burn like hellfire. It takes every ounce of will I can muster to force myself into a sitting position. Then, I have to wait for a wave of dizziness to subside before I can take stock of my surroundings.
