Page 36 of Bring Me Back
“Oh, is that what he said? Tell me, did he tell you I left him all alone, and he was so heartbroken over it? Maybe something worse like I ran off with another man?” I ask, and Slade’s eyebrows shoot up. Bingo.
“Shut your mouth, Lily. Our business is our business.” Cooper’s control is slowly slipping as he moves more erratically.
“What do you mean, bring her home? You saidwewere gonna be a family, Coop. You said I was the only one you wanted.” Megan whines, and I choke out a laugh.
Without warning, Cooper pulls a gun from behind his back and points it straight at me. I take the smallest step back, but I refuse to cower to him ever again.
“Did he tell you that the night I left he beat me so severely I have permanent nerve damage in my shoulders from falling on broken glass? That I couldn’t take a fucking deep breath for nearly a year without my ribs aching? Or that it took SIX FUCKING MONTHS for my broken cheekbone to heal?! Did he tell you that, huh? Why the fuck would I ever come back to you? You threatened my child, Cooper. And I love him more than I ever feared you. So yeah, I left. And I’ll be cold and fucking dead before you ever sink your poisonous claws into him.” I shout, seeing the confusion and regret on Dex and Slade’s faces. They had no idea why they were backing him up tonight. This is where blind loyalty gets you.
“I didn’t sign up for this, Cooper. This isn’t what we agreed to.” Dex says, giving me an apologetic look.
“You do whatever the fuck I tell you to do! Your ass belongs to me!” Cooper yells, and Slade flinches. He’s never been the order-taking type, even when we were kids.
“Yeah, I don’t think so, Coop. We all knew you knocked Lily around, and we should’ve spoken up then.And for that, I’m sorry, Lil. But I won’t be a part of this, Cooper. You’re talking kidnapping and murder, and I’m not interested in spending the rest of my life behind bars for your stupid ass,” Slade says, walking out the door. I hear the rumble of his motorcycle outside, and I laugh.
“Fuck him, we don’t need him,” Cooper says, the hand pointing the gun at me shaking with its weight. He’s strung out as usual. Unfortunately, that makes him even more dangerous.
“I’m not sure who thisweis, Cooper. I told you I would help you because I love Lily. Allie and I told her to stay far away from you from day one, but we couldn’t save her. I think you need to just put that gun down and get the fuck out of here. You’re obviously not gonna get what you want here. You definitely don’t deserve to know that boy of yours. Seems like it would be better for everyone, and for the Renegades, if you took your piece of trailer trash here and just disappeared.” Dex says, motioning to Megan. Cooper laughs maniacally, scratching his head with the barrel of the gun.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to, old man?” Cooper shouts, turning around and shooting Dex in the leg.
The man drops to the floor, grabbing his leg as a stream of cuss words falls from his lips. Megan screams, falling to the ground and covering her head. I take the opportunity while his back is turned to shove him as hard as I can. His chest hits the ground, the gunclattering on the concrete and sliding under one of the large pallets. I pull the pistol from my back, aiming straight at Cooper’s chest. For the first time in my life, I’ve got Cooper exactly when he always had me. At his mercy.
“Don’t you dare fucking move, you son of a bitch.” I tell him, my finger hovering over the trigger. He laughs loudly, rolling over and pushing up on his elbows.
“What are you gonna do, Lil? Kill me? You don’t have it in you.” Cooper jabs, and I fire a shot into the pallet of cocaine behind him. He cowers down, never expecting me to even pull the trigger. “Jesus fuck, you crazy bitch!”
The sound of the door opening behind me distracts me for only a moment, but that’s all it takes for all hell to break loose again.
twenty-four
We pullup to the warehouse just in time to see somebody tear out of the driveway on a motorcycle. I park the Mustang next to Rory’s Bronco, making sure I have a round in the chamber.
“I recognize that guy. He rides with Cooper, with Satan’s Renegades.” Jaxon says, and I nod.
“Good. Hopefully, his leaving means we’re evening the playing field.” I step out of the car, scanning our surroundings for anyone else who could be lingering outside. I see no one, advancing to the door with my gun drawn with Jaxon trailing me.
“You need to stay out here. I know you want to help your mom, Jax. But she’s already gonna be pissed that I let you come along. She will literally skin me alive if I let you come in here. The guys are only about twenty minutes away. Seb’s men may be even closer than that.Wait for them.” He nods in understanding. I hand him my backup weapon, knowing he’s spent a good amount of time on the range with his mom and with Breaker.
“Beckett, if something happens…” his voice shakes at the end, and I put a hand on his shoulder.
“I will not let anything happen to her, Jaxon. I promise you I won’t. Stay here and wait for the guys. I mean it.” He nods, and I place a finger against my lips, cracking the door silently. He backs up into the shadows, keeping himself flush with the building.
I can hear muffled voices, shouting occasionally, but the short hallway into the larger part of the warehouse blocks my view of what’s going on. Crouching low, I peek around the edge of the wall, seeing Willow holding Cooper at gunpoint. Another man lies on the floor gripping a bleeding wound in his leg, and a woman cowers against a pallet in the corner of the room. Fuck, is that Megan?
Willow is speaking to the man on the other end of her gun, tears streaming down her face, but she seems to have the situation relatively under control. I’m not surprised, all of her preparation and training has led up to this very moment. As much as I wish she’d never have to be in the position to confront her past this way, I’m proud of her.
The door behind me creaks open loudly, momentarily distracting both me and Willow. The world around us slows, Cooper knocking Willow off her feet andclimbing on top of her. The struggle for her gun ensues as fists and elbows fly. I shoot Jaxon a condemning look before sprinting towards Willow and Cooper. But I’m seconds too late. By the time I come to a stop, he’s got the barrel of the gun against Willow’s head with one hand wrapped around her throat.
“Take another fucking step, and I will kill her. Trust me, I don’t give a shit about her life. I will end it.” He snaps, and I freeze. How the hell did the tables turn so drastically in a matter of seconds? My back up can’t get here soon enough.
“You don’t want to do that.” I tell him, keeping my gun trained on him.
“Oh, I think I really do. I’ve been trying to kill this bitch for years, but she just won’t die.” He tugs her head sideways, burying his face in her hair, and I watch her shrink away. “Awww, don’t be like that, baby. You’re still mywife.”
She whimpers, and that word burns like poison in my veins. She doesn’t belong to him. Truly, she never did. No one can posses such a wild force. I take a small step closer, and he presses the barrel against her head even harder, halting my movements.
“You really think I won’t blow this bitch’s brains across this fucking building? I do not care about her, dumbass. Her death would be on your hands, not mine.” He looks like a maniac, like he’s not all therementally. “Drop your fucking gun before I do something you’ll regret.”
