I wanted him, but I was also frustrated at him. It was for something that wasn’t entirely his fault, either. I was frustrated that Macey wanted him to be with his ex again and that he didn’t want to be with me because of that. It was silly and childish, but I wanted him to want me more than he wanted to solve all of the problems in his life. My feelings were hurt that he didn’t.
I didn’t even know what I wanted, though. All I knew was that my body reacted like nothing else when he touched me. I didn’t know if I just wanted to do the horizontal tango with him or if I wanted him to take me to dinner and tell me his secrets in that deep voice of his while feeding me cheesecake.
Mmm. Cheesecake. I looked over at Vince and pulled my mouth to one side, wondering if I could get him to stop.
“What?”
“What do you mean, what?”
“What do you want? You’re looking at me funny.”
I grinned. “Do you think we can get cheesecake from somewhere?”
“No. We’re getting you back home.” He rolled his eyes. “You can make a cheesecake.”
“And you assume I know how to make a cheesecake?”
“My mom can make it.”
“So I must know how?”
“Not what I said.”
“Just buy me a cheesecake from somewhere.” I sighed. “I need it.”
“Need is a strong word.”
“Vince, you’re always so difficult. I really need a cheesecake. I need it to work through some stuff.”
“Like that kiss with Cooper?”
My face flamed and I gasped. “You saw that?”
He laughed. “Lauren did. She told Mercer. Mercer told no one, as per usual, but Tucker overheard. He told everyone. As per usual.”
“That’s mortifying.”
Vince went silent and motioned me down in the seat. “Motherfucker.”
I looked around, ignoring his directions, and spotted the word bitch painted across my garage door. My heart sank, my worries of cheesecake and Cooper slipping away. “Oh, my God.”
“Get down, Sonnie. Now.” Vince pulled out his phone, while grabbing my shoulder and pulling me down. He drove past my house and kept going straight. “Motherfucker.”
“You said that.”
He held me down, his hand on my head so unlike Cooper’s. “Yeah, I need a scan of the house and neighborhood. Call and see if the system was tampered with at all. I’ll circle through town until you know for sure no one’s in the house. Call me as soon as you know.”
I blew out a breath and blinked back tears. My life wasn’t my own anymore. There was an ex-navy man barking orders above me while I wasn’t allowed to go back to my own home or even get the food I was craving.
“Fuck. I’ll make you the cheesecake myself after all of this.”
I started crying and I didn’t think I’d be able to stop anytime soon. I pulled my sweater up over my face to save some of my pride and let it go. My heart was pounding in my chest and my nose filled up with snot as my crying got out of hand. Before I could help it, I was full-out sobbing, the sound of it echoing through the truck.
“Oh, fuck, don’t do that. Don’t cry, Sonnie.” Vince groaned and patted my head awkwardly. “Please, don’t fucking cry.”
It was too late for that. I was a goner. There was no stopping the crying train. “I’m sorry.”
Vince grunted. “Shit. I can’t even understand you anymore. What do you need? Do you need Cooper? Would Cooper help?”
I shook my head and cried even more.
“Okay, I’ll get Cooper. He’ll probably be on his way, anyway.”
“No, don’t.”
“Just try to stop crying. I’ll take care of the rest.”
I didn’t know how long we were driving around, but when Vince pulled back up to my house, the garage door was already open so I didn’t have to look at the word scrawled across it. Vince helped me out of the truck and stood back as I stumbled my way up the few steps into the house, drunk on crying. I hurried up the stairs to my bedroom and closed myself in. Throwing myself across the bed, I pulled one of my pillows over my head and let myself continue my crying binge.
I felt horrified that my whole neighborhood was going to see the word scrawled across the front of my house. I also felt horrified because it was another visual of just how far Jake and I had gone down the rabbit hole. He hated me and I didn’t fully understand it. The idea that it could all be about money was outlandish to me. Jake had never been the type to obsess about money. It seemed crazy that he’d suddenly snapped and wanted it enough to hit me and harass me for it.
Was it really about the money or had it become something to do with his pride? I just wanted out of it. I wanted to go back to my boring life where I wasn’t surrounded by huge men who guarded me and worked around me like I was the queen’s jewels. I wanted to wake up on Saturday mornings and have my biggest concern be whether to have cereal or eggs.
I eventually got out of bed and took a shower to relieve some of the pain that crying had brought on. My head throbbed, but the hot water helped some. Still sniffling and crying some, I dressed in an oversized T-shirt that’d seen better days and a pair of shorts. I crawled back into bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Tears leaked from my eyes and ran down into my ears, tickling me. I groaned and rolled to my side. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I needed Kellie. Or my mom. I just couldn’t imagine calling either of them in that moment, because I knew all I would do was cry as soon as they answered. The urge to allow myself to be held in my mom’s arms was there, though. I knew I was too old for that, but I also knew it would really help.
A knock sounded at my door and I sat up in bed, pulling a pillow onto my lap. “Come in.”
To my surprise, Cooper walked in. He had a full cheesecake in his hands and a sheepish smile on his face. “I come bearing gifts.”
More tears leaked out, but I knew there was no stopping them. “Did you bring a fork?”
He held one out from behind his back. “Want some company?”
I stared up at him, thinking of how nice it would be to be in his arms. I scooted over in the bed, leaving a space for him against the headboard. I also kicked the covers down and pulled them over my legs to hide how bare they were. I felt naked enough with my tears on display.
Cooper sat next to me, his body pressed against mine from shoulder to thigh, and put the cheesecake on his lap. He took off the lid and handed me the fork. “I took Macey to the city to drop her off with my mom and Vince said you were craving cheesecake and that I should find you one. I just so happen to know a fucking amazing cheesecake place. Best cheesecake you’ll ever put in your mouth.”
Never too stubborn to try out cheesecake, I slipped a bite into my mouth and closed my eyes to savor it. Immediately more tears started falling. “It’s really good.”
“Don’t cry, Sonnie.” He draped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me even farther into his side. “Shit, you’re heartbreaking to look at when you cry.”
I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t want to ask too many questions, either. Instead, I ate and cried. Sometimes I cried and ate. The whole time, though, Cooper sat beside me and let it happen. He even ate cheesecake with me when I offered him bites.
“We’ll stop him. He can’t keep this shit up forever.”
I rested my head on his arm and sighed. “I just don’t know how it came to this. I keep saying that, but it’s true. I know things weren’t great, but I thought we were just in a slump. This, though… It’s like I didn’t even know him. I was so young when I met Jake. He was sweet and kind to me, even though I was the chunky girl.
“He asked me what my dream proposal would be when I was sixteen. Just randomly. In the middle of class, he passed me a note and asked. I was reading some sappy book at the time so I wrote in my journal about him asking. And then, a few years later, he asked in that exact way. He’d remembered. He wasn’t always this guy and I hate it. I missed the change. I don�
��t know how I did. He was under the same roof as me. How did I not see it?”
Cooper blew out a sharp breath. “People hide things. And we don’t always see the things we don’t want to see. It’s easier to not notice.”
“He hates me. When he was here last time and he hit me… I could see it in his eyes. I thought he was going to kill me. Even with the alarm blaring and knowing that you guys were on the way, I thought he’d kill me before you came. Somehow, he went from the sweet guy who wanted to spoil me with affection to the guy who literally wants me dead. Did I inspire that?”
“No fucking way. Something in him changed. I don’t know why people snap, but they do. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but this isn’t your fault. I know that much.”
“I don’t.” I took another bite of cheesecake and then handed the spoon to him. “I’m stuffed.”
“It doesn’t always make sense, Sonnie. When I left for my first training session, Lilah was happy and sweet. She loved me. After so many missions and only being home a small percentage of the year, things changed, though. She grew bitter and resentful. Eventually, that turned to hate. I think having Macey made it worse for her. She was practically a single mom, with none of the freedom to do things she considered fun. By the end, she just wanted me to suffer. She still does.
“Anger changes people. Time changes people. Sometimes, it’s for the best. Sometimes, it turns them into Lilah and Jake. Not that Lilah’s ever tried to assault me. Jake has taken the lead on that one.”
I shook my head and turned to look up at him. “How did it end with Lilah?”
“A letter. She sent me a letter while I was on a mission and said that she couldn’t deal with it anymore. It’d gotten too stressful. A few years before, me and the guys were all beat up pretty bad in an attack. It’s the one that cost Mercer his leg and gave Branson that scar down his face. We were all pretty bad and none of us were ever quite the same… Lilah hated it.”
“Bitch.” I surprised myself with how much I meant that sentiment. Lilah was terrible. Even with my mixed feelings regarding Cooper, I knew he’d never deserve to be treated so shitty.
Cooper laughed. “Truth be told… I was glad it was over. She was too much to come home to.”
“I think I felt some of that, too. I mean, I was so shocked, it was hard to feel anything, but I think there was some relief. Even with the walking in on my husband having sex with three skinny blondes, I think a part of me was glad to be able to leave. I felt like I couldn’t before. When I even allowed myself to think about a life without Jake, I’d feel horrible. He relied on me. He depended on me completely. I was the only one making any money. I worried about what kind of person it would make me if I just left him with nothing. I felt horrible.”
“And now?”
I met Cooper’s eyes. “And now I don’t care if he can’t afford to get cheese on his burgers. You don’t get rewarded for bad behavior. He doesn’t get money from me. He doesn’t get anything.”
Chapter 17
Cooper
It didn’t take Sonnie long to pass out. From what Vince had said, she’d been crying for hours. Her eyes had been bright red and swollen when I came in. She was obviously having a hard time accepting what was happening. I wanted to make it all better, but she had to work through it.
I’d rushed Macey to Mom’s hotel as soon as I heard about the cute graffiti on her garage door. It wasn’t like I could do anything that the others couldn’t do, but I needed to make sure she was okay. I hated the way we’d left things and I wanted to make it right somehow. Hence the cheesecake. I’d never dropped a hundred dollars on cheesecake before, but it paid off.
I looked down at where her head was resting on my arm and blew out a shaky breath. I didn’t have a fucking clue what I was doing. My dad would’ve said I either needed to shit or get off the pot. I couldn’t keep going back and forth with her.
She soothed something in me. It made it hard to think about giving her up completely. There weren’t many people who made me feel normal, but she was one of them. And more than just how she made me feel; she was stunning. I’d never been more attracted to a woman. From her soft curves to her wide eyes, I wanted to lose myself in her while taking her. If I wasn’t an ex-SEAL, I might’ve admitted that she scared me in how easy it seemed to want her. I might’ve admitted that I was afraid of becoming addicted to her. Or falling for her and messing up everything. In one fell swoop, I could mess shit up with work, her, even Macey. I didn’t trust myself.
I just kept going back and forth. It was easy to sway in the direction of starting something with her, though, when she was resting against me, her soft body nestled into mine, her breast pressed against my elbow. Her lips had slightly parted as she slept and I wanted to take her plump bottom lip into my mouth. Fuck, she was intoxicating and I was just trying to stay sober.
There was a light knock at the door and I swore under my breath. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and then maneuvered her body under the covers farther, so her head could rest on the pillows. I kept my eyes off of the expanse of bare thighs that stole out from under her tiny shorts and the softness of her belly that showed from her shirt rolling up.
Casting her one last longing look, I went to the door and stepped out. Vince was staring at me, his frown pronounced. I furrowed my brows. “What?”
“Lauren found something. Come on down to the office. We’ve got to talk.”
My stomach rolled and I followed him down the stairs and into Sonnie’s office with my pulse skyrocketing. The training I’d received to stay calm flew out the window and I wanted to shake Vince to get the information out of him faster. “What?”
“Lauren did some digging. She had a hunch and she was spot on. Jake took a life insurance policy out on Sonnie. A large one. He’d come into a couple million if she died.” Vince shook his head. “I don’t know, man. This might not be as simple as it seemed. It feels like more than just protecting someone from an abusive ex.”
My mouth went dry and I felt like hitting something. “Motherfucker.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t look good. She’s got the restraining order out on him, but that doesn’t seem to matter. They haven’t been able to pin him down to give it to him. The woman he’d been staying with said he left for vacation and was in Florida with some friends.” Vince grunted. “There’s also a policy out on him, for the same amount. Lauren pulled the documents and she said the signature on the policy doesn’t exactly match the signature on the checks Sonnie’s been giving us.”
“He forged her signature on a life insurance policy on himself?”
“Yeah. It would seem that way. He has the cops believing he’s out of town, there are his-and-hers life insurance policies, so it’s not suspicious that he just took one out on her. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Sonnie’s ex is gearing up to end her.”
I growled. “He’ll have to come through me first.”
“And the rest of us. We won’t drop the ball on this, Coop. She’s safe. We’ve taken ridiculous measures to make sure she’s safe and we won’t stop now. I’ll talk to the cops in the morning. See if they can’t find Jake and bring him in for questioning.”
“I’ll break his fucking neck.” My fingers itched with the urge to wrap them around said neck. The idea of someone hurting Sonnie made me crazy. “No one touches her.”
“You like more than her ass, it seems.”
I shoved his shoulder. “Shut up. Fuck. This isn’t good.”
“You going to tell her all the fun new information?”
I shook my head. “Not now. At least not tonight. She just fell asleep and she needs the rest. I’ll talk to her in the morning.”
“I don’t think she’s going to take this well.” Vince shook his head. “I don’t think anyone would take it well to hear that their ex possibly wants to kill them.”
I gritted my teeth. My anger was threatening to boil over. “I’m going to look around outside. I need to let some of this energy o
ut.”
Vince patted me on the shoulder and nodded. “Keep your eyes open.”
“I always do.”
***
By the time Sonnie came out of her room the next day, I’d already dropped Macey off with Lilah and gone through four cups of coffee. I was nervous. It wasn’t an emotion I felt often. It was there, though. I was nervous to tell her about Jake. I was afraid of how much it would upset her.
When she finally did move into the kitchen, I felt even worse. Her eyes were swollen and red still. She was still in the loose shirt and short shorts. Her hair was a nest of stuff happening at the top of her head, but when she walked past me, she smelled like warmth. I wanted to wrap her in my arms.
“You look grim.” She flicked her eyes to me and back away, working at making herself a cup of coffee. “Is something wrong?”
“You want the bad news or the really bad news?”
Her eyes widened and her cheeks went pink. “Did I drool on you last night? I know I fell asleep on you. I’m sorry.”
“No; that was fine. Good, even. And I got to tuck you into bed, which gave me the chance to appreciate your legs when I was covering you up.”
Her cheeks went darker. “Cooper!”
I smiled and shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself. You’re a looker.”
She laughed finally and sat next to me. “What’s the bad news, then?”
“It’s really bad, Sonnie.”
She put her mug down and turned to face me. I scooted forward on my stool and rested my hands on her knees. I could see her pulse at the base of her throat and felt like shit for how I was about to destroy her day.
“The bad news is that it seems Jake forged your signature on a life insurance policy for himself.”
She crinkled her nose in confusion. “What? Why?”
“That’s where we get to the really bad news.” I sighed. “He took one out on you, too. Two million dollars.”
Black Dog Security- Complete 5-Part Series Page 11