by A. L Long
“What’s the news?” he said as he approached us.
“No news, bro,” Peter said, pulling his eyes from the magazine.
“Well, if I know Cop, he’ll pull through,” Ash asserted.
“How can you guys be so calm? Don’t you get it, he could die?” I screamed, walking away from them.
“Brie, stop!” Peter yelled from behind me. “Cop has been through a lot worse, believe me. He will pull through this with flying colors.”
~****~
Every minute that passed seemed like hours. I was becoming antsy not knowing what was going on. It was taking too long. When we hit the sixth hour, I was just about to protest by going up to the volunteer and demanding some news when a man in scrubs walked through the restricted doors. As he approached Peter, Hawk, and Ash, I hurried and took my place right beside them.
“The surgery went well. Mr. Coppoletti lost a lot of blood, but he is stable for now. We were able to remove the bullet and the small fragments from his abdomen. He isn’t out of the woods, but we expect a full recovery. He was fighting for his life in there,” the surgeon informed us.
“Can we see him?’ I asked.
“Mr. Coppoletti is highly sedated. He won’t be alert for a couple of days. Give him time to heal. You can see him one at a time. I will let you know when he has been moved to ICU,” he stated.
Looking over at me, Peter nodded as I stepped forward. “I would like to see him, if I could,” I acknowledged.
“I will send a nurse when he is settled. He will pull through this, I assure you.”
With those last words, the tension in my body began to subside. It was like a weight had been lifted. Even though Cop was sedated, I needed to let him know everything. I loved this man with my whole heart and he deserved the truth.
It wasn’t long that until the nurse came and led me to Cop’s room. He was hooked up to so many machines. I was thankful that the majority of them were to monitor his vital signs. As I walked to his bed, I could see that his face had more color to it than when he was in the helicopter. He was naked from the waist up, covered with a bandage that wrapped around his defined abs. I could see his chest rise and fall, which gave me comfort. Pulling a chair beside the bed, I took hold of his hand and began my confession.
“I don’t even know where to begin. I hope that you can somehow hear me. I love you so much, Cop, that my heart hurts seeing you like this. I love you so much that I need to share with you something that I have not shared with anyone since I was fifteen years old. My childhood had been less than perfect. Down right pathetic is more like it. My mother was not a very good person. She did things that were unfathomable. For two years, she let men do what they wanted to me. I only wanted my mom’s love. That was until, the last man got the best of me. I had had enough, only he didn’t see it that way. He was psychotic and he took everything from me. He got so angry that he pulled a knife on me and sliced me from my navel to my side. He thought that he left me for dead. I wish I died that day, Because even though he didn’t kill me, he took one thing: I will never be able to have children. I lost my mom that day too. They took her from me and placed me in the custody of the state, where I lived in foster home after foster home until I turned eighteen. Since then, I have never spoken to her or seen her. I never want to go back to that, but it seems that I could never get away from that type of abuse. Until I met you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Cop
I must have died and gone to heaven because the voice I was hearing was that of an angel. I could hear her, but I couldn’t see her. It didn’t matter how hard I tried, her beautiful face wouldn’t come into view. Maybe I had died and it was a voice from below sounding in my head. I wish I could reach out to her. I could feel so much pain in her words. I could feel the pain she was feeling. The torment of not being able to forget something that happened so long ago. And then when she said she loved me, I knew it had to be an angel from above. Why can’t I reach for her? All I want to do was pull her in and hold her. Comfort her. Why can’t I see her face?
It is silent now. All I can hear is the faint sound of a continual beep, beep, beep. Is it the bell calling me to heaven’s gate? Letting me know it’s time to enter? I’m not ready to go. I need to see the angel first. Why is it so hard to open my eyes? I can see clearly, but I can’t see her. Wait, what is that? I hear her voice now. She sounds scared.
“What’s wrong with him? God, someone please help him!” she is shouting frantically as I listen.
“Miss, you need to back away so we can help him,” another voice said. “Bring in the crash cart stat.”
“What is going on? Why can’t I move? Jesus Christ, that hurt. What the hell was that?” I shouted, hoping someone would hear. God, there’s that pain again. It feels like a lightning rod going through me. Holy Mother of God, am I being punished? There’s those voices again.
“He’s back. Good work, team.”
As annoying as it was, it was also somehow comforting to hear it, beep, beep, beep. I wonder what just happened. I feel different. I feel relaxed and very tired. Maybe I can rest for a bit. Close my eyes for just a minute.
My angel was back. I could hear her beautiful voice. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Cop. You fight for us, do you hear me?” she said.
“I will fight for us. Even though I can’t see, somehow I love you too,” I shout with no sound coming out.
It’s silent again. I hate the silence.
~****~
God, my body hurts, I feel like I have just been run over by a truck. Finally, I feel like I can open my eyes. God, they hurt too. Opening my eyes slowly, I tried to gain focus on my surroundings. Finally able to open them, I can see that I am in the hospital. There are all kinds of wires hooked up to me. My side hurts like hell, but I get to see what was going on with it. Something has me pinned down. Turning my head to the side, I see Brie’s beautiful face laying across my arm. God, she looks so beautiful. She also looks like she’s hurting. It was then that I remember hearing her voice. I thought it may have been an angel, but it was her. She was the one who lived through so much pain.
With my other hand, I gently move the hair from her face, rubbing my finger softly across her cheek. Her head rose as her beautiful brown eyes meet mine.
“Cop, oh my God, you’re awake,” she said with excitement, pressing her lips to mine.
“So, I guess it is really true. You do love me,” I whispered between breaths.
“You heard what I said?” she asked.
“Every word. At least I think I did.”
“So you know about my past. My mom, the men.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
My heart just about died when the tears began falling down her beautiful face. I wasn’t sure if they were tears of happiness or sadness. All I knew was that I loved this woman more than life itself. I think she was the main reason I fought so hard. With my free hand, I began stroking her hair, hoping that I would be able to comfort her.
“I thought I lost you, Cop. Your heart stopped beating. The doctors had to bring you back. I was so scared,” she confessed.
“I heard your voice, Brie. The sweet angelic voice brought me back. I didn’t want to be without you.” I replied, true to my own confession.
Once her head lifted, her eyes focused on mine. Sweeping her cheek with the back of my hand, I leaned closer and kissed her soft, tender lips. Her whimpers of her love rang through and my body began to come alive. If I wasn’t in this hospital with all eyes peeled to us, I would have taken her right then and there. Not only was my body coming to life, so was my cock as our kiss deepened.
“We better stop, baby, otherwise I won’t be able to contain myself, and you wouldn’t want me to show you how much with all those eyes upon us.”
Brie let out a small giggle as her face lit up with joy, probably contemplating doing just that. Her thoughts were put on hold, as a nurse walked in.
“Mr. Coppoletti, it's so nice to see you
awake. You gave us quite a scare,” she said sympathetically.
“Never a dull moment,” I replied, shedding a little light on a difficult situation.
“Never is, Mr. Coppoletti,” the nurse replied.
When the nurse left, satisfied with my vital signs, she informed me that I would be moved out of ICU into a private room. That was the best news yet. I knew that soon I would be on my feet and ready to travel back to the States. Everything that happened on that miserable island was the cause of one man. Well, technically two, if you include Sean Bishop. Just thinking about it made me remember that there were some things that Brie didn’t know about her mom. Like the fact that she was dead. I needed to tell her the truth. She had shared so much with me about her past, the last thing that I wanted to do was to keep things from her.
Eight hours later, I was wheeled into a private room. It was no better than the room in ICU, but at least it was private and nobody would be watching my every move from a monitor. A nurse came in every thirty minutes to check my vitals. There was a lot that could be done in thirty minutes with Brie, especially since I was doing everything I could to contain myself.
Brie knew how much I hated hospital food, just by the way I pushed it away when the orderly delivered it. Feeling sorry for me and wanting to make sure I kept up my strength, she went to a local cafe to see what she could find. While I waited for her to return, Peter, Hawk, and Ash showed up. It was so nice seeing the guys. I couldn’t remember a whole lot after Lee had Brie at gunpoint. I needed to know that he was either dead or in custody.
“Hey, guys,” I began as I pushed to a sitting position. “Fill me in on what happened. It’s a total blur after Lee managed to get his hands on Brie.”
“We got him, Cop. We turned him over to the Cayman police. He is going to be extradited back to the States, where he is going to be facing multiple federal charges. He’s going to be given a permanent home behind bars,” Peter confirmed.
“How about the other scumbag? Any word on Sean?” I asked.
“Not yet. You leave finding him to us. All you need to worry about is getting better. You’ve got a beautiful woman that has never left your side, waiting to share a life with you,” Hawk chimed in.
“Did I hear someone say beautiful woman?” I heard as Brie walked into the room carrying a bag full of food.
As I ate, Brie, Peter, Hawk, and Ash continued talking, letting me know what actually happened on that small island. I could only imagine how scared Brie must have been. To be held, not knowing if you would ever be set free or able to escape. I knew one thing for certain, when I got out of here, I was never going to let my beautiful Brie out of my sight.
~****~
The day finally came. The doctors finally agreed that I was strong enough to travel. Three days in the hospital was long enough. There was still no word on Sean Bishop, and that in itself made me want to get back to the States as soon as possible so that I could begin working on finding him. With him still walking the streets, Brie was in more danger than ever. I had no idea what Sean’s agenda was with Brie, but one thing for sure: I was not going to wait to find out.
One thing I was thankful for was that we were actually flying in a commercial plane, verses the cargo plane we came in. First class was everything and more. Even though I wasn’t able to have the beer that I so wanted, the service was beyond impeccable. It was a long trip back, so it didn’t surprise me that Brie fell asleep resting her head on my shoulder. Everything about this moment was perfect. It didn’t even matter that my side was killing me. Peter must have seen my discomfort, because he stood and reached inside the overhead compartment. Pulling down my small duffel bag, he unzipped it and found the prescription the doctor left me back in Grand Cayman. Popping the lid, he shook two of the white pills in his hand and handed them to me.
The flight was so smooth that our four-hour flight went by faster than I thought. When the pilot announced our final descent, I touched Brie’s cheek, letting her know that we were going to be landing soon. Her eyes were sleepy, but beautiful. More beautiful than ever only because I knew the love she had for me. One day I was going to make her mine permanently.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sabrina
My heart was filled with joy the moment Cop opened his eyes. When the doctors came into the room after the monitor started to flat line, I thought for sure that I had lost him. He really did have the will to fight. It was the scariest thing that I had ever gone through.
As we were heading home, all I could think about was how life would be spending it with Cop. I wondered if he would ever consider leaving Jagged Edge Security and leading a more simple life. Maybe he could be a contractor. I knew how talented he was with a hammer and nail. This was something that I really wished he would do. Him being in danger all the time was beginning to take a toll on me. I don’t think my heart could take another blow like it had over the past few days.
I could hear the pilot's voice come over the intercom saying that we were making our final descent. I didn’t want to move. I felt so comfortable and secure leaning against Cop that I never wanted to leave this position, but when his soft hand touched my cheek, I couldn’t help but smile.
Pushing away from him. I looked out the little porthole window to see that the lights of New York were below me. It was comforting to see the brilliant lights of my home gleaming in the night.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are about ten minutes away from JFK. Please make sure your trays are in their upright position and your seat belts are fastened securely,” a flight attendant announced over the intercom.
I had never been so happy to be home. As I heard the landing gear engage, my heart began to flutter with excitement. It was only after we landed that I knew everything from this point on was going to be different. This was going to be a new beginning for both of us.
~****~
Now I knew why I hated to fly. It wasn’t the flying part I hated, it was getting off the plane and dealing with the swarm of frequent flyers and their restless children that was less than desirable. I thought we were never going to get out of the airport as we waited for what seemed like eternity for our luggage.
When we stepped outside the airport, I was glad to see that Sly was leaning up against a black Excursion. Helping with the little luggage we had, Peter got in the front, while the rest of us climbed in the passenger seats. When the coast was clear, Ash pulled away from the curb and proceeded to take us home.
I was so glad to see the large cabin come into view. Peter helped with the two bags we had and said his goodbye. He confirmed that he would be back in the morning to check in on Cop. I was so glad that Cop had so many good friends. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of bond these guys had, but I knew they all had served together. To have friends like that was very rare. Growing up, I never had that.
As we entered Cop’s home, we walked up the steps where I assisted him in removing his clothing and getting into bed. The large bandage on his side was a reminder how he almost lost his life. Once he was settled, I covered him with just a sheet and turned to get ready for bed.
“Where are you going, Brie?” he asked with confusion.
“To the other room,” I said.
“Oh, no you’re not. After everything we've been through, I am not letting you out of my sight. Now get over here,” he demanded.
“Cop, you need your rest. If I get into bed with you, I know you won’t be doing much of that.”
“I don’t care. Brie, this is not up for discussion.”
How could I refuse him looking the way he did? Removing my jeans, I slipped in beside him and nuzzled up to his side. God, it felt so good to have him holding me in his arms again. “Tell me if I’m hurting you, Cop,” I whispered, cuddling even closer to him.
“You could never hurt me, Brie. Matter of fact….”
There was no way I was prepared for what he did next. Before I could protest, my body was under his. “Cop, your side,” I said concerned.
“Fuck my side, Brie. All I want is you,” he announced.
His lips were on mine before I could say another word. With the way they felt, I couldn’t say anything even if I wanted to. Pulling me closer, he began working the t-shirt I had on over my head. Breaking for a moment, he slid it over my head and resumed his position above me, kissing and twirling his tongue with mine. This was the heaven that I wanted more than anything. He was my heaven. Cop’s hands caressed my body, releasing the front clasp of my bra. My arms fell as he lowered the straps, leaving my breasts fully exposed. “God, do you know how much I’ve wanted these babies?” he commented, taking my hard nipple into his mouth, teasing and sucking it, bringing the wetness between my legs to an overflowing pool of ecstasy.