She needed to concentrate on her feelings and thoughts and leave Drina and Zak on the sidelines. Her sister was a big girl. She could take care of herself.
Besides, given her current predicament? Coco would do well to take care of herself.
* * * *
“I’m in love with her.” Liam washed his hands and watched Kurt’s back stiffen as he finished using the urinal and zipped up his pants.
“You think I haven’t already figured that one out for myself?” Kurt turned on the water and lathered his hands in soap. “I see how you look at her.”
“So where does this put us?”
“I don’t know,” Kurt said, finishing up at the sink. “Where do you want this confession of yours to put us? Surely you know I’m not backing down. I was between her legs this afternoon for a reason. I’ve waited for Coco for what seems like an eternity and took our friendship to the next level without reservations.”
Liam threw up his hand and shook his head. “I…I don’t want to hear about that.”
“You may not want to hear about it but it’s the truth, Liam. I care about her, too.”
“Do you love her?” Liam wasn’t sure if that mattered or not. Kurt had obviously made up his mind. He wanted her and he wasn’t planning to let her go anytime soon.
“Be sure you want the answers to the questions you ask or don’t ask them.”
Liam blew out a hard breath and butted his hips against the sink. Clutching the porcelain behind him, he said, “All right then. So now what? Where does it leave Coco and what about Brandon? Where is he in all this?”
“That little show this afternoon?” Kurt winced as if he were pained by the thought. “My guess is Brandon freed himself, not Coco. He used what happened with me to place some distance between himself and Coco. Do I think he’ll be back for Coco? Oh yeah. She’s his other half even though I’d love to have those same bragging rights.”
“You really believe that?” Liam didn’t want to think of Coco as Brandon’s other half. He knew it was possible. He had read enough literature and adages and dark poetry to know birds of a feather flocked together.
“Her father has mob connections, Liam. If you can’t accept who Coco is then you may want to ask yourself how involved you’re willing to become because she is a dangerous woman with unsavory ties. How tight are those? I don’t know, but I’m willing to bet Brandon could tell you and never forget the most important thing of all. She was at Mother’s bedside when Mom was killed. Mother died trying to save Coco’s life. And there was a reason for it. She thought she was instrumental to our family, but the family business meant more to her than anything else. Never forget that. Our mother liked dangerous games with dangerous men. She loved the power and she thought Coco was right for Brandon because she had high hopes he’d take over the family business.”
“Mom…what she did for Coco, saving her and all? She would’ve done that for anyone,” Liam said. “She was suffering, dying already. She didn’t mind to leave the world in heroic fashion because she didn’t have long to live anyway.”
“You and I had independent opinions of Mom,” Kurt said. “And none of that matters anyway. You followed me in here to find out what I want. I want Coco. Will I share her? I have a feeling I’m not the one who gets to make that decision.” He wadded up the hand towel and shot it in the wastebasket like a basketball. “But I’ll tell you this. I’m not moving aside. When I said she’d be in my bed tonight, I meant it. Now if you’re on one side of her and I’m on the other then so be it. I can’t change her mind about that if she’s already decided she wants us both.”
Chapter Ten
Coco saw everything as if the chaos had unraveled in slow motion. Her sister and Zak were dancing on the dance floor. He’d just spun her around. Her head flung back and her curls tumbled down her back. Her laughter filled the air and resounded like an echo as he dipped her.
To Coco’s slight right, Kurt walked ahead of Liam, releasing the one button on his jacket as he took long strides toward her, those muscular legs and arms pumping naturally at air as he walked. Liam’s tall form stood out, too, but he seemed agitated as he scanned the club. Even the turn of his head and widening eyes seemed to happen at an unusually slow pace.
Then, a gunshot was fired. Liam opened his mouth, screaming to everyone to get down, but he was only looking at her.
At the same time, Coco spotted Brandon at her left, leaping over a table, yelling at Zak and motioning for Kurt, pleading with him. “Save Coco!” Everything was suddenly frenzied and yet Coco sat there for another minute or two, trying to figure out what was going on, remembering the same as her mind tossed her back to a recent memory, the one where Momma Blazier’s room had been left in ruins.
She remembered it like it was yesterday. The sheer curtains blowing in the wind, the distant pellets ricocheting off the swimming pool, and every Blazier on property screaming to save Coco and their mother, all the while the bullets pounded the walls of her bedroom. Momma Blazier had told her to hide in the compartment behind the closet and even as she’d been tortured, she’d sworn she was the only one in the room.
Jolting forward then, Coco was now fully aware of the gunfire as she toppled the table over, using it for protection and limited coverage against the spray of bullets. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, the acid reflux bubbling in her stomach, the unnerving familiarity of danger, trouble that seemingly existed wherever she went.
“Coco!” Brandon’s voice ricocheted off the walls. She could hear him, but couldn’t see him.
Then Zak appeared, pushing through the crowd, dragging her sister alongside him. Zak screamed out her name and Drina’s as the music died. The club patrons’ terrified shrills filled the air.
She was then aware of Kurt at her side, conscious of those big, muscular arms folded over her head. “Stay down, baby.”
Another warm body wrapped around her. Liam. It was Liam.
“Fuckin’ A, man! What’s happenin’?” Some cool fellow—Dom wannabe is what most women dubbed his type in places like Paddles and Picnics—ducked behind their table, too.
“Shut up,” Kurt told him, holding Coco down.
“Brandon’s here,” Liam said.
“Who’s Brandon, dude?” Their new friend slammed his hand against the table when a spray of bullets hit the booth behind them. “Fuckin’ A, man. I didn’t come here to die tonight!”
Kurt dragged Coco’s shaking form closer to his body. Ignoring their unwanted guest, Kurt said, “Did you see anything?”
“Brandon.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. She’d seen a shooter, but now she wasn’t sure if she’d really seen him or imagined him, if the past had a way of painting illusions in front of her eyes when trouble was nearby.
The automatic weaponry in use made it difficult to see. The room was a screen of fog covered in a low, heavy mist. Folks were still squealing. An occasional gunshot was fired.
Zak and Drina were behind them now. She was aware of her sister clinging to her. “Coco. Oh my God, Coco. We’re gonna die!”
“Shh,” Coco whispered, realizing how crucial it was for them to remain quiet.
“We gotta get out of here.” Kurt stated the obvious.
“It’s not happening, man, but we’ve got an escape plan we can use. Just hang on!” Zak snapped out a few orders to Kurt and Liam, speaking their mother’s native tongue and rapidly giving their orders in Spanish, perhaps untrusting of the man who’d chosen to seek refuge at their table. While Zak, Kurt, and Liam discussed their apparent bleak options, Kurt drew her closer to his manly form, making sure he provided a complete shield, protecting her from stray bullets or direct fire.
Coco noticed then that Zak was doing the same for her sister, keeping Drina’s head close to his chest, wrapping his arms around her whole body and holding her close. Drina peered over his forearms and locked gazes with Coco. Tears pooled in her terrified eyes.
Tremendous guilt washed through her. C
oco was the eldest of five girls. She was the big sister and what had she done? Aligned herself with a family that was far more dangerous than her own?
“It’s all right, Drina.” She forced reassurance past her lips. “Trust him.” She mouthed the last part, vaguely aware of quick movement then. Gunmen were searching behind the tables.
“Liam, Kurt, stay close. Don’t lose sight of me. Once we hit the stairs, we have to keep moving.” Zak’s voice was hard, stern. “I’ve got Drina. Don’t lose Coco. Let’s go!”
Minutes later they were downstairs in a dimly lit area, one familiar to Coco. Lined by carpet-covered walls and dark tile floors, the area looked like a seedy waiting room outside of a rundown brothel.
“What is this place?” Drina glanced over her shoulder, but snuggled closer to Zak apparently comforted by the fact that they’d made it this far. No one else was on the hall which gave a false sense of security.
Zak felt around for a panel, located the hidden entrance access, typed in his code, flipped the wall panel back over the keypad and stepped aside when the wall parted. He rushed everyone inside. The sliding door closed behind them, sealing them off from the hallway, the club upstairs and any potential dangers.
“Thank God!” Brandon rushed Kurt and Liam and delivered high-fives and slaps on the back.
Brandon, normally composed, grabbed her then. He embraced her with a hug she wouldn’t soon forget. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she replied, locking her arms around his waist and sighing in relief. Over his broad shoulder, she shifted her focus from Liam to Kurt. They looked on with weary expressions.
She and Brandon parted ways and she went to her sister. Zak and Brandon slapped backs and gave one another those manly half hugs. “Dude, I was worried about you for a minute. You were right next to the shooter.”
“And I got a good look at him, too,” Brandon said, scanning his phone.
“What is this place?” Drina asked, repeating the question she’d asked in the hallway and turning around to take in the surroundings.
Decked out in contemporary furnishings, the living room was at least a thousand square feet with marble floors, four large three-cushioned black leather sofas, oversized chairs, two big screens, a wet bar with full service appliances, an air hockey table, and more. Beyond the living room, there was a spacious master suite with two king-size beds, a few nice appointments like a spanking bench and other fetish furnishings, a large master bath with steam shower, and a spacious deck with an eight-person hot tub and an oversized lounger in the corner.
All these things, these furnishings had been part of who Coco had been with Brandon—the sub, the entertainer, the girlfriend, and even the hostess. For a split second, Coco saw the Brandon she knew better than anyone—the Dom, the man who had introduced her to his mother and brothers and taken her into his family as if she’d always belonged there.
Perhaps catching on to the meaning behind their temporary gaze groping, Drina muttered something along the lines of “never mind” and walked across the room to stand at the floor-to-ceiling window. “Wow. Wherever we are, I bet in the daytime this is God’s view of the North Carolina Mountains.”
The elevated and extended porch was boxed in and apparently constructed after the original club had been built. The design featured patio “drops” which were clever and uniquely designed at an angle stemming from the main club. The contemporary design offered suite occupants additional privacy due to the rock formations between each suite. And Drina was right. They had a pretty awesome view.
“We’ll have to make sure you see it for yourself sometime,” Zak said. He glanced up from Brandon’s phone long enough to shoot her a smile. Then, the four brothers went through Brandon’s images again.
Kurt said, “I don’t recognize any of them.”
“Me either,” said Liam.
“Makes three of us, man.” Zak took a step back.
Brandon turned to Coco. “Come here su—Coco.” Catching himself in what he probably deemed the nick of time, Brandon thrust his arm forward and handed her the phone.
Coco reluctantly took it. “What are we looking for?” She realized then how much she sounded like them, how much their lifestyle had rubbed off on her, how her response could possibly alarm her sister.
“Anyone familiar? I kept the video rolling upstairs, but the still images before and after the video may be helpful.”
Coco shook her head as she scanned the photographs and recent footage. Drina peered over her shoulder. “Mind if I take a look?”
Zak said, “Go ahead.”
Brandon wasn’t as eager to grant permission, but he was sure quick to say, “I don’t know why you would recognize someone if Coco doesn’t see anyone familiar.”
“There.” Drina tapped the phone facing. “Coco, look.”
Coco turned her full attention to the image. She used her thumb and forefinger to bring one of the gunmen’s faces into focus. “Oh my God.”
“Somebody you know?” Liam asked, stepping closer as if to offer her support.
Coco felt as if she’d taken a dagger through the heart. She searched Drina’s eyes. “That can’t be.” Her stomach ached. She wanted to scream out now in true pain.
“What is it? Damn it, sub! I need to know now!”
Wheeling around on her heel, Coco said, “I am not your sub. You dismissed me and lost several privileges when you did. Now this doesn’t concern you.” She tapped the man’s still photograph. “This is family business.”
Brandon snatched his phone. “Oh yeah? Well until you decide to tell me why your family business has a machete and an automatic weapon, you won’t have access to my phone!”
“Oh God, here we go,” Zak drawled, flipping on the closed circuit television.
“You’re really watching television now?” Liam asked.
“Club member or not, you still have a lot to learn,” Kurt said, apparently sore because Liam now had a private membership to a club he had yet to join. “Even I have this figured out. Casinos use the trick, too. They want their players gambling so their television channels showcase clips from the gaming floor. Here, they probably don’t want their patrons in their suites when they could be upstairs buying drinks so they give you live action to lure you back to the club.”
“It’s the only way we’ll know what’s going on upstairs,” Zak explained. “It takes the locals fifteen minutes from either side of the state line to reach the club. By the time they get here, everyone upstairs could be dead.”
Realization struck a little close to home. Coco studied the door, trying to remember the code and coming up blank.
“Don’t.” Drina grabbed her by the arms, apparently reading her mind. “Don’t even think about it. They will kill you on sight and you know it.”
“If the men upstairs were looking for us, they’ll leave everyone else alive and you know it.”
“What the…” Zak turned around to observe the interaction between sisters.
“Somebody better start talking and I mean now,” Brandon said, handing the phone to Zak. “Contact Dallas. Tell him to get our place locked down, in case this isn’t what I think it is.”
Coco dropped her head. Unfortunately, this was precisely what Brandon thought.
Normally, Brandon would’ve lacked patience then. Instead, he gripped her shoulders and quietly said, “You know we’re not leaving you. Hell, woman, if every last gunman up there wanted you dead, don’t you know me well enough by now to know I would go down with you before I’d hand you over?”
“We all would,” Liam said.
“I wouldn’t go down,” Kurt teased. “I’d take ’em all out in your honor.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zak said, typing out the text message and winking at Drina every now and again.
“It’s the outfit that’s been after Dad,” Coco finally said. “The guy Drina recognized must be Handsome’s twin brother.”
“Handsome?” Kurt frowned, apparently remembering the name. Wit
h a name like Handsome, he was hard to forget and with the demise he met, it was even harder.
The year before, Kane Cartwell’s best friend, Josh McKay had killed him at Jax Jackson’s place. Handsome had gone there for Brianna and left in a body bag.
“This isn’t good,” Kurt said, digging in his pockets for his phone.
“You’re tellin’ me.” Zak kept sending messages.
“No. You don’t understand.” Kurt sent a text out, too. “Gemma was drunk when I went by your house, Coco. I contacted Chad McDowell and suggested he check in on her, but if your dad’s enemies are in town, we already know how quickly they can saturate Erwin. The McDowells need to take her to their place.”
“She won’t go.” Coco paced, chewing on her thumbnail.
Drina stepped forward. “Why would you contact Chad?”
“Because she seemed upset with Chad and his brothers.”
“For good reason. They cheated on her with some floozy from the racetrack.” Drina turned blood red.
“Floozy?” Zak snickered. “I like that.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’ll like about anything she has to say?”
Drina blushed, but focused on Coco, pretending she hadn’t heard Liam or noticed the fact Zak was ogling her like he couldn’t wait until they were somewhere alone.
“Cheating or not, Chad cares about your sister.” Kurt pointed at Coco. “And don’t give me one of those disapproving looks. I’m not condoning what they did. I don’t know what they did. What I know is they can protect your sister. And whether they’re cheaters or not isn’t the question. The question is do they love her or at least care about her enough to offer her solid protection?”
Drina and Coco stared at one another blankly.
“Do they love her enough to protect her or do I need to call someone from the house to go pick her up?”
“They love her in their own way,” Coco said, glancing at Brandon and realizing he would take that as a dig. Still, she was telling the truth. The McDowells were crazy about Gemma, but for a number of reasons, they’d never tell her or if they did, they’d rescind that love whenever it suited them, particularly when money was on the table and illegal transactions were in play.
Sexual Expression [Contemporary Cowboys 2] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge) Page 8