Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
He felt a grin split his face. He had her now. This time was forever.
He wasn’t even worried that she’d gotten out of bed. She’d likely gone to get a drink or take a shower or…talk to Devi, who was probably here by now. The clock read a bit past seven.
They’d talked about her cousin in between bouts of extremely athletic sex. She was worried about Devi and what Zach might do if she kept up her recklessness.
He pulled on his jeans. He kind of wanted to see what his brother would do since if Zach showed up, he could catch the fucker and have the talk they so obviously needed to have.
Shit. He’d thought of Zach as his brother. He wasn’t. Not the way Hunter was. Zach had kept secrets, but if Kala was willing to forgive him and thought he had his reasons, he was going to listen. He’d had a great relationship with Zach before. Zach had sought him out. If he’d done it because he wanted to know him, then maybe he should talk to his mom and figure out if this was a relationship he should explore. His mother always gave sound advice, likely because she was a psychologist.
His biological mom was an infamous bombmaker. He had to let that sit a little while longer.
He opened the door to the privacy room and listened for a moment. The privacy rooms were soundproofed, for obvious reasons, so he wouldn’t have heard Devi and the bodyguard coming in. He listened to see if he could hear the dulcet tones of his soon-to-be bride giving her cousin the business.
He heard nothing.
They were probably in the locker room. He should go down and hang out with Landon so he wasn’t bored while Kala argued with her stubbornest cousin. He grabbed two beers out of the lounge and then made for the stairs.
And dropped both when he looked down. For a split second he couldn’t process what he was seeing.
His mom. She lay on her back on the floor of the lobby, her chest covered in blood.
The world sped up again and he took the stairs two at a time, desperate to get to her. He hit his knees. Phone. He left his phone somewhere down here. He reached for her hand.
Her eyes opened suddenly, and she struggled to breathe. “Kala. Lena Gallagher took Kala and Devi. You have to find them. Kala…they knocked her out, but Devi was still conscious.”
What the hell? Who would take Kala? He shook his head. That was naïve. Any number of assholes she’d pissed off would love to kill her, but there wasn’t a body. Nausea rolled through him. Huisman. Huisman wanted her once. Phone. He had to call 911.
His mom squeezed his hand. “You have to find her.”
He did, but first he had to call an ambulance. And then Big Tag.
The door slammed open and Cooper stood, trying to protect his mom.
“Devi Taggart, you are in so much fucking trouble,” a deep voice called out from the front hall. “The alarm isn’t even on. I’m talking to your moth…” Landon stopped, his eyes going wide. “Coop?”
“Call 911.” Thank god, he wasn’t alone. “And then call Tag. He’s probably at Sanctum, so he’s not far. Tell him to turn on Kala’s tracker.” He leaned back over, taking his mother’s hand again. She’d been shot but she was holding on. He heard Landon call. “Mom, I need you to stay with me.”
“I’m fine,” she said, her eyes tightening and proving her words wrong. “Kala and Devi aren’t. That terrible woman. Tell Ian she’s Eli Nelson’s daughter and she’s working with Huisman.”
Fuck. If she was working with Huisman, then she probably had access to his tech, including whatever he did last time to overload the tracker. His gut tightened. “Did she say anything? Give you any indication about where she was taking them?”
His mom’s head shook slightly, and it seemed to cause her pain. “No. I don’t know. I’m just…”
“Shhhh,” he said. “Save your strength.” This couldn’t be the end. He couldn’t lose her. Couldn’t lose Kala now that they were finally on solid ground.
He held his mother’s hand while Landon called in the troops. His father made it mere seconds before the ambulance got there, and Cooper would never forget the look on his face. His father had been the one to hop in the ambulance after the EMTs stabilized her.
The sirens were still wailing as Big Tag and Charlotte ran in.
“What the fuck happened, Cooper?” Tag stared down at the pool of blood. “Eve?”
“The EMTs said she needs surgery, but she is in good shape.” A weird numbness settled over him. If he let himself feel the horror of the last thirty minutes, he wouldn’t be able to move, and he had to. Kala didn’t need emotional reactions right now. She needed him focused on one thing. Getting her back. “What does the tracker say?”