Page 74 of You Can Make Me
“Help me up. It’s a long story, and I’d prefer to not explain it on your floor.”
Walter pulled me up and Cooper continued to fuss over me.
“I’m okay,” I murmured, taking his hands in mine. “Are you?”
He bit down on his lip, his scar pulling, and he shrugged.
I put my arm around him and led him over to the couch. Or he led me. I was a little fuzzy still.
“So what do we know?” Walter hovered behind where Dane sat on the couch, ready to act if anyone else collapsed, I guessed? Jesus, that scared me, mostly because of the look on Cooper’sface. I couldn’t let him down, especially not after witnessing him as a vulnerable teen.
My heart hurt worse thinking about his expression when he was told no. “Coop, I saw your acrobat friends.”
He cocked his head. “The Galliers? What about them?”
Dane leaned close to Cooper and put a hand on his knee. “Tell us what you remember about meeting them.”
Cooper licked his lips and his gaze darted to mine. “It was at work, Circus Circus. I know, weird choice, but Dad insisted I get some work experience and I thought, what better way to observe the best and worst of humanity than a job on the Strip? It turned out to be a lot of children behaving badly while their parents abandoned them in hopes of winning riches. There were some good families, but by the middle of that summer before I started at UNLV, I was over it…until the Galliers showed up.
“I worked the arcade, so I had a clear view of the circus performers. Some of them were ridiculous, and some of them were sweet, but I looked forward to the variety, you know? And the Galliers did not disappoint. They were a family of acrobats and trapeze artists, but they performed routines that defied gravity and the bounds of human possibility.”
Dane made a sound of agreement. “I never did go see them perform, but I caught them practicing a few times when I walked to and from my booth. You’re right. They did things without a safety net that blew my mind.”
It was as if the memory had sent Cooper back in time in more ways than one. His eyes were full of wonder, but his tone…it was reverent, like a kid meeting their sports hero.
“I kind of fanboyed all over them after their first full day of performing. They were gracious about it, they smiled, flirted with me. Two of the men, they…I don’t know, they didn’t really say anything, just kind of invited me to leave with them.” His cheeks flushed and he laughed, placing his hands over them. “Ican’t believe I’m telling you this. I haven’t thought about that night in years.”
I ran my hand over his knee. “Go on. What else do you remember?”
He laughed and took my hand, not making eye contact with me. “Well, like a little perv, I went into their dressing room after my shift, and they offered me champagne. They were all talking to each other about heading back, having a celebration, and one of them kind of gave me the nod like I should follow. So I did.” One more flick of his gaze to mine. “I grabbed my stuff out of my locker and went out to the employee lot…and they were nowhere to be seen. I heard their laughter, but they were just gone. The next day, I showed up and my manager was like, ‘They moved on. Get back to work.’”
After what I’d seen during my little walk on the wild side, I knew there was more to his encounter with these acrobats. He just didn’t remember. Whatever that powder was, it had not only knocked him out, it had wiped that whole experience from his memory. Fuck, how would he take it? I hated to hurt him, but if he wanted to know the truth, I’d tell him.
“Oh, Cooper…I’m sorry. Do you want to know what really happened?” Dane gave him such an understanding gaze. “When the carnival is involved, usually things aren’t what they seem.”
Cooper turned to me with his eyebrows up. “What did you see?”
“Youdidgo with them. Baby, they took you to the carnival, but the director…he wouldn’t let you in.”
“But why?” The tremor in his voice broke me. How could I protect him from this damn carnival when I didn’t understand any of this shit?
“Mr. Ame is charged with keeping all who dwell in the carnival from harm. He must have believed that allowing you inside would cause harm in some way?”
I sat forward, ready to cut Dane off before he did any more damage, but he held up a hand.
“Harm doesn’t necessarily mean that you would hurt someone intentionally. It could simply mean that by stepping into the carnival, a chain of events could be set off that would inevitably hurt someone. It’s hard to explain, Cooper. I know you’re a good person.” He smiled warmly. “I could feel it when I first met you. You made it easy to talk about a situation I didn’t fully understand at the time. You were so kind. I will always appreciate you for that. And I’ll always regret that you were pulled into this nightmare.”
“Sounds like I was already a part of it.”
He blinked those big blues at me, and my heart hurt all over again. I opened my arms and he came to me, burying his face in my neck. I held him tight while I noted Walter’s and Dane’s concerned expressions.
“I think we’ve all had enough for one day,” Walter said. “And unfortunately, I gotta head up to Bakersfield in the morning.”
“We’ll stay,” I said, smoothing Cooper’s hair down. “And I’ll be here ’til you get back, brother.”
Walter let out a breath and nodded. “Thank you. Kal and Ryan should arrive sometime tomorrow. I really appreciate this.”
“Hey, I’m unemployed. Feel free to take advantage of me.”
