Page 16 of The Final Temptation (Men of Honor 3.5)
“Kayla! Stop, it’s me!” I look up through my blurry vision and realize it’s Cooper.
“Oh thank god,” I sob in relief.
He grasps my chin and his eyes widen in alarm when he sees my face. “What the fuck happened to you?”
Before I can explain Jaxson and Julia come running up. “Oh my god, Kayla, are you okay?” Julia asks.
I nod through my tears, my chest still heaving for breath. Cooper’s gaze trains on something behind me, his eyes turning wild with rage.
I spin around to see Mark come to an abrupt stop, not looking much better than me. “You have got to be shitting me,” he says in disbelief.
Cooper quickly puts the pieces together and starts toward him. “You’re fucking dead!” He grabs Mark by the shirt and throws him up against the closest tree.
Jaxson moves fast and pulls him back before he can do any real damage. “Easy, man, find your control, there is a lot at stake here.” Cooper pushes away from him but Jaxson makes sure to stay close.
“What are you going to do?” Mark asks with a cocky smirk, spreading his arms out at his sides. “You gonna hit me, pig? Do it. I fucking dare you.”
Even from here I can see Cooper’s body vibrating with fury. I start over as he takes another step toward Mark and put my hand on his chest. “Don’t, he’s only trying to bait you. Let’s just get out of here. Please.”
Mark chuckles. “Listen to the bitch and leave, because we both know you can’t do shit.”
In one heart-stopping second I see Cooper wind back and I know he’s going to hit him. Panic has my protest lodging in my throat, but thankfully, Jaxson is quicker than Cooper. “He can’t, but I can.” A split second later you hear fist connecting with flesh and Mark falls to the ground from Jaxson’s blow, blood pouring from his nose.
“Fuck! You broke my nose, you asshole! I’m pressing charges.”
Cooper drops down to look him in the face. “You’re not going to do anything because there are no witnesses to back up your story, but I wonder what your daddy will say when he has to try and dismiss an attempted rape charge from your record.” He grabs Mark’s jaw now, and by the whimper that escapes him I can tell it’s hard. “Listen up, you little fuck. If you ever come near her again I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life. There is only so far I will be pushed, and believe me when I say this is not over.” Cooper shoves his head down in the ground as he stands then looks over at me, his eyes flat and void of any emotion. “Let’s go.”
“Cooper…” I start with a whisper, but he doesn’t give me a chance to speak.
“No! We aren’t talking about this right now. Go!”
I swallow past the urge to argue, but know now is not the time. Julia links arms with me as we start to walk off with Cooper and Jaxson following close behind. I hear them talking in hushed tones, and although I can’t hear what they’re saying, there is no denying the quiet fury in Cooper’s voice.
As soon as we make it to the party I ignore everyone and beeline for my car, making Julia jog to have to keep up.
“Jules! You come with me.” I glance over at Jaxson to see him wave her over to Cooper’s truck that is parked in front of mine.
“Do you want me to stay with you? I will and I’ll tell Jax no. He’s pissed at me anyway.”
I look over at Cooper to see him on his phone, and vaguely hear him reporting the party. He shakes his head at me, as if he knows what I’m thinking, then makes his way over to us. “Yeah, and find Stevens as soon as you get here and search him. I’ll meet up with you in a bit.”
I tune him out then look back at Julia. “No, it’s okay, go ahead. I’m sorry I got you into shit for the second time this week,” I whisper, feeling guilty.
She pulls me into a hug. “You didn’t. We did nothing wrong coming here, Kayla. Call me when you get home and we will talk about what happened with Mark, okay?”
I nod and hug her tighter, not wanting to let her go because I’m not ready to deal with Cooper quite yet. She kisses my cheek before stepping back, but hesitates to walk away when she sees my face. “Kayla, are you sure? I’ll drive you home and we can talk. The guys will get over it.”
I attempt to give her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure. Really, it’s fine. I need to talk to him anyway.”
“Okay, make sure you call me as soon as you get home.”
“I will.”
She starts off toward Jaxson and I get in the passenger side of my car since Cooper is in the driver’s seat. I hand him my keys and he takes them in silence, then pulls away and stares straight ahead. The confined space is thick with tension but it’s a different tension than what it was a few days ago, after Brittany’s car incident. I glance at him and my stomach twists at his stoic expression. I’ve seen him mad before, but nothing like this. I swipe at my subsiding tears, flinching as I pass over my sore cheek.
When we are over halfway home, and he still hasn’t said anything, I decide to break the silence. “So what, Cooper, you came all this way and you’re not even going to say anything to me?”
“It’s best if we don’t talk right now.” His response has my irritation reaching a whole new level.
“For who? You?”
“No! For you!” I flinch at his angry bellow. There is a moment of silence before he slams his fist down on the steering wheel. “FUCK!” He runs his hand through his hair in frustration, his breathing fast and heavy. “You fucking promised me you wouldn’t go!”
