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)
Still, he looked her way as the drugs started to course through his system. She ran toward him, getting her arms under him, though his weight immediately dragged her down.
She was the last thing he saw as the world went dark.
* * * *
Well, that had gone about as poorly as it could.
Kala eased Cooper’s unconscious body into what seemed like a comfortable position, gently maneuvering his head onto a pillow she fashioned from her jacket.
Her heart ached. It felt like it had broken utterly, but she kept her expression calm. There would be time later to cry. Alone. She wouldn’t call Lou or her sisters. She wouldn’t contact her mom.
She would deal with this alone because that was how she was going to be for the rest of her life.
“Are you okay?” Zach asked like he hadn’t betrayed his team and walked out and oh, never mentioned he had ties that they couldn’t imagine. Also, he was a dumbass because he offered her a hand up. “He didn’t mean any of that, you know. He was overwhelmed.”
She calmly took the proffered hand and allowed Zach to haul her up. Then the minute she was on her feet, she used her other hand to punch him right in his nose. Hard.
He groaned and winced. “Damn. I should have seen that coming.”
“Zach?” Joyce asked, pointing the tranquilizer gun toward Kala.
That was not happening. “I will fucking end you if you tranq me.”
He waved a hand his aunt’s way. “Don’t. She’s the reasonable one. And honestly, I deserved that punch and more.” He stared down at Cooper. “I know you won’t believe me, but I never meant for him to find out. Certainly not that way. I guess somewhere in the back of my head it would come out one day and he would be happy about it. That’s never going to happen.”
She wasn’t so sure. “Cooper can be very forgiving. I think once he calms down and you explain the situation to him, he’ll want to talk. He’ll certainly be curious.”
“Yeah, but I think he’ll be talking to you,” Zach returned. “He didn’t mean a word of that, Kala. He loves you. I’ve always known that.”
But he didn’t. He was pretending she was something she wasn’t. Or maybe there was a softer part of herself that he brought out, but she couldn’t shove the rest of her soul away and become some chick who hid behind him during a fight.
The sad part was she couldn’t even argue with Cooper. He knew her. He was right about most of it. She was ruthless. She did put the op first. If he’d been carried out of that house in Toronto and she’d thought he was dead, she would have broken inside, but no one would have seen it. Not until her whole team was safe. She owed it to the op and her team to keep her personal feelings hidden away. And for Cooper that meant she didn’t have any.
He was so lovely, and she’d been right all these years. They couldn’t work. He was holding on to someone who never existed.
He thought she was capable of betraying him. It was the most ridiculous accusation, and if he thought about it for two minutes, it wouldn’t have come out of his mouth. But it had. When he didn’t think, didn’t plan his words, he told her what he truly thought of her.
Her whole soul felt heavy. The tears were right there, waiting to come out in a torrent.
And then she could be done with them. This would be the last time she would cry for Cooper McKay. He made the decision for her, and there was a piece of her grateful to him for doing it.
She took a long breath and looked up to Zach, who was still holding his nose. “Did I break it?”
His head shook. “Nah. You pulled your punch. Or you were too impatient and didn’t wait until you were solidly on the ground. Want to go again?”
No one ever said Zach wasn’t fair. She actually believed the man would stand there and take the punch. And not because she was a girl and it wouldn’t hurt. This was precisely why she thought Cooper was being too emotional. If he hadn’t been, he would have seen how calm Zach was. “I’ll pass. You going to give me hell? I meant what I said. If you use one of those darts on me, there won’t be a place on earth you can hide.”
He holstered his Glock, slipping it under his arm. “Auntie, stand down. She’s not going to freak out on us.”
Joyce was crying as she looked down at Cooper. “He looks like my granddad. I saw it the minute he walked into camp. Does your momma know he’s here? Zach, something’s happening. Something you’re not telling me.”