Escaping the Blackness (A Cooper Brothers Novel Book 1)

by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

  A quick, relatively painless end, this motherfucker doesn’t deserve.

  I hate waiting. I’m not programmed to sit around and wait for things to happen. I suppose that’s because I spent the majority of my life waiting. I was waiting to be adopted when I was a little girl. Sitting in a black market orphanage waiting for someone to come and take me home. That never happened.

  I spent months living in a cage after that. I was waiting for a savior back then. I didn’t know not to hope for that. I still believed somewhere in the world someone wanted me and would rescue me. So I waited for my savior. They never came.

  John Smith came.

  He bought me and took me to his home. I was his slave. One of his many slaves. He trained me to clean and serve him. His training was violent and brutal. I discovered something about myself back then. I’m a quick learner. I wasn’t punished often because I learned how to avoid making mistakes. I paid attention to everything he did and said. I was only eight, but I was smart. I still took my fair share of beatings and torture. I wasn’t immune to his abuse. I just tried to avoid it.

  Avoiding his abuse meant I also avoided him. When I look back, that was probably a mistake. He isn’t a pedophile. He never sexually abused any of his slaves. But he had favorites. I wasn’t one of his favorites. I didn’t seek him out to make an impression. I stayed out of his line of sight and remained silent most of the time. Maybe if I had sought out something more, he wouldn’t have sold me.

  I was bought by Trish Booker. The leader of a human trafficking ring in Connecticut. She’d been running the ring for over a decade before she bought me. I was a special order. A man had requested a red-haired, green-eyed, thin, eighteen-year-old, virgin sex slave. I fit the bill. I was only fifteen when I was bought, but I needed to be trained. I would be living as a master’s sex slave which would require me to be out in public with him. Trish had to insure I would be completely broken and trained to be an obedient slave by the time I turned eighteen.

  Two years of training, and I was broken. I was trained. I was simply the letter they had given me when they took away my name. I was nothing. A shadow had more presence than I did.

  After years of enduring sadistic shit, I found myself alone in my dungeon. I didn’t know one of Trish’s partners who was holding me in the basement of his garage had been run out of town. I just knew I had been left on my own for a few days and that was strange. I also knew it was my only chance to get away. It took me a little time, but I broke the lock on my dungeon and ran.

  It was cold and snowy. I hadn’t been outside in two years. Running in the dark with no idea where I was or where I was running was the most terrifying and exhilarating experience of my life up to that point.

  I didn’t make it far before I was caught. I wasn’t going back to that dungeon. I was prepared to die that night. I wasn’t really alive anyway. Death was taking his time, and I was ready to force his hand.

  Death didn’t find me that night though. My family did. Jake did. He saw me that night, really saw me. I was Cara again when his big brown eyes locked with mine. He found me behind the anguish and destruction. And I found the one place I feel the safest in the world.

  Jake.

  I was a shell of a human being, and he gave me a damn hoodie. That one act of kindness almost brought me to my knees. I still wear it every day. I can’t let it go. I’ve had to let Jake go. But the memory of him holding me, reassuring me, tending to me, healing me without words…that, I’ll never let go of.

  I climb out of the SUV, keeping to the shadows as I move. I’ll have to take my shot from the dark. I’m okay with that. I don’t need John Smith to see me before he dies. I simply need to remove him from the world.

  As I set up my rifle, I notice one man in the park. He’s an undercover DCA agent waiting for Smith. He’s the reason I know Smith will be here. I hope the agent doesn’t get in my way. If I have to shoot a government operative to get to Smith, I will. But I know that will end up with huge consequences for me and my family. I don’t want that to happen. So I’m hoping the agent will stay clear. I only need one look. One moment and I can take Smith out.

  My sister has taught me everything she knows. She’s a surgeon with a gun. Her fighting skills are deadly. Her mind is quick and calculating. She’s a killing machine. Without her, I wouldn’t be here tonight. I don’t know if I’d be alive at all.

  After she took me in, I struggled. Going from a dungeon to the real world was hard. Shannon made that transition workable for me. She loved me from the moment she saw me. There was no question. She put a gun in my hand not long after that. I didn’t know it at the time, but she was breathing life back into me.

  Now I have a sister, nine brothers, three dads, two moms, Kieran and his family and the Coopers. I have a life. I have my freedom. I have skills.

  Now I need to kill John Smith so I can have peace.

  “Something’s off,” I mutter from the passenger seat where we’re waiting on the street with a clear view of Reed in a leafy suburban park. Smith’s nowhere to be seen.

  “He’ll be here,” Mitch tries to assure me, but he sounds about as confident as I feel.

  It’s dark, but the street lights and the park lights give us a clear view of the meeting area. I’m not a fan of the shadows lurking around the perimeter though. Reed’s starting to pace while he glances at his watch. It’s fifteen minutes past ten. Fifteen minutes past the meeting time.

  “The team on his tail said he left and the slaves are inside the apartment. Should we check in with them again?” Mitch asks.

  I shake my head no. If there was an issue, they’d contact Reed. We have to sit tight. Reed’s team is following Smith so Reed can sell the story we concocted. If he’s spooked and running, we’ll have no chance to make this right before he blows the slaves to bits.

  “Reed,” I grunt into my headset.

  “I know,” he grunts back. “I can’t get in contact with my team. Shit’s fucked. Two minutes and we abort.”

  “Roger that.”

  Ninety seconds later headlights come our way. “Twelve o’clock,” Mitch whispers, putting the SUV in drive.

  We loop the park and pull up in the same spot we just vacated, in time to see Smith striding toward Reed as two more of our SUVs slip around the park out of sight.

  “I had to shake a tail,” Smith’s snake-like voice comes through the speakers on our comms. “What can you tell me about that?”

  “Why don’t you tell me why there’re eyes on us right now across the fuckin’ street after you show up late. They followed you here. You a fuckin’ cop?” Reed plays his part well.

  “I…” Smith trails off as he spots us, his nerves racing. “We need to remain calm. Sit on the bench with me.”

  “Fuck that man. You’re just settin’ me up,” Reed scoffs, turning to walk away.

  “I’m in control of this situation,” Smith snarls, clamping down on Reed’s shoulder. “I will deal with whoever that is. You need to deliver my products.”

  “I’m not talkin’ about this shit here. They’re probably listening right now. You’re not worth the fuckin’ risk, man. Find someone else.” Reed shakes Smith off and plods away.

  When Smith doesn’t follow, I think we’ve lost him. Then Smith’s mouth spreads into a slimy smile as he walks quickly to Reed. Then he whispers, “My place is secure. I’ve just collected some insurance to guarantee that. Come tomorrow at eight in the morning. We’ll discuss my requirements then.”

  Insurance?

  “Shooter,” Mitch announces and I’m immediately out of the SUV, training my rifle in the direction of the laser.

  Reed throws his hands in the air at the sight of me while Smith runs toward his car. I fire a shot at his feet to stop him. A mistake.

  My crosshairs zero in on the shooter and for the first time in my life, I hesitate.

  A shot rings out and Smith’s head explodes. Then her aim’s trained on me. I can’t shoot her. I can barely stop my hands from t
rembling. We watch each other for a moment, the commotion of the street a quiet hum in the background. Her auburn hair is tied in a bun on top of her head. I can’t see her emerald eyes, but I know they’re burning brightly. I can feel her gaze searing straight through me.

  She takes her shot.

  The round hits the engine, forcing me to back up. When I press my eye to my scope again, she’s gone.

  “Cara!”

  I haul ass, moving around the SUVs loading up Smith’s lifeless corpse, in the direction Cara took off. Frozen grass crunches beneath my boots while the wind slices across my face. I can hear her light steps in front of me, but she’s keeping to the shadows.

  I turn up my pace a notch when the moonlight glints off her alabaster skin, catching my eye like a fish to a lure.

  Mitch is matching my pace, silently moving in my wake. When a large row of shrubs comes into view, he slips to the left as I go right. We’ll have her boxed in by the time she hits the clearing at the end of the park.

  There’s a beachy scent in her wake as she sprints. Fuck, she smells like fresh air and something crisp from a spring morning. As good as the fragrance is, my anger is fueling my steps. Cara just fucked up, and she has no clue how badly.

  She glances over her slender shoulder, her rifle strapped across her back. I catch her hypnotic green eyes and narrow my gaze at her before ordering, “Stop.”

  Does she listen?

  No.

  I can hear Mitch moving ahead of her. I don’t want him to get to her before I do. He won’t be gentle…I may not be either. But I’m the better option.

  I reach my long arm in her direction and snag the barrel of her rifle. Cara’s quick though. She wiggles free of the strap, leaving me with her weapon in my hand and her running a clip faster.

  I drop the rifle along with my concern. She’s running from me after she killed my target and fucked this op. No fucking way is she out running me.

  I take two sweeping steps before launching myself at her lean frame, wrapping my arms around her to soften our fall. I roll at the last minute so I take the brunt of the impact as she flails and kicks. Cara doesn’t scream as she fights, but she’s struggling mightily.

  I flip our position so that I’m on top of her, pinning her to the frosty ground with my massive body. I use my legs to trap her knees, my hips to flatten her bucking pelvis and my strong hands to force her wrists above her head, pressing them firmly to the prickly grass.

  With panting breaths, Cara stops fighting. Her eyes are shut as her chest heaves. Mitch is at our side with his 1911 aimed at her. He doesn’t know who she is.

  “This is Cara, Mitch. Take it easy,” I order.

  He hisses, “Fuck,” before holstering his weapon, waiting for further instructions.

  “Cara, what the fuck did you just do?” I demand.

  She snorts, popping her eyes open. The emerald color is laced with fury and indignation as she seethes, “Not very good at your job if I have to explain that shit to you.”

  A humorless laugh barks from my chest as I lean closer to her stunning face.

  “You just fucked up. That’s what you did,” I say quietly in a menacing tone.

  “I took out a demon you didn’t have the balls to,” she retorts sharply.

  “How did you find Smith?” I ask, not willing to play this game.

  She looks away from me, rolling her plump lips between her teeth.

  “No smartass remark to that?” I goad her. “I guess we can haul your ass back to headquarters and wait for answers.”

  “No,” she gasps.

  That’s what I thought. Our family doesn’t know she’s here. If they did, she’d be in deep shit with everyone. Especially my brothers.

  “I used Uncle Nick’s computer,” she mumbles.

  “Shit,” Mitch groans.

  She used my dad’s DCA computer and his high level access to get sensitive information about a covert op. This is a cluster fuck.

  “Well, you must not have had enough time or read closely enough. You just put all Smith’s slaves into an early fuckin’ grave,” I seethe, hopping up off her.

  “What?” she snaps, lifting onto her elbows and then rolling to her feet.

  “Coop, we’ve gotta move. Are we takin’ her?” Mitch asks.

  Cara quickly flicks her eyes between Mitch and me, assessing her easiest way out of this. She won’t make it two steps before we plant her on the ground again. She recognizes that and relents.

  “What are you—”

  A burner phone ringing in Mitch’s pocket cuts off Cara’s question.

  “Mitchell,” he barks. “Yeah.”

  He hands the phone to me. I already know who it is before I hear his voice.

  “This is Cooper.”

  “What the fuck is goin’ on there?” he growls into the phone.

  “Roman, I’ve got a problem.”

  “No shit?”

  “Cara just took out Smith,” I explain.

  “Cara just took out Smith,” he repeats slowly.

  “I need you to clean this up. Reed’s team is tryin’ to get to Smith’s place to save the slaves. No time to go through this with you. Roman, I need you to do this for me,” I plead, hating the emotion in my voice as I eye Cara. Her brows are up as she tries to figure out the damage she caused. Having to ask my dickhead boss for help should be an indication for her.

  “Maybe I should teach her a lesson,” he grunts.

  “Roman,” I snarl, warning him to tread lightly before I make good on my constant promises to end his life.

  “Your girl’s a pain in my ass,” he responds with a hint of appreciation in his voice.

  Roman’s had to deal with Cara before. She was involved in his last undercover op four years ago. None of us knew that at the time, but Cara made Roman’s life hell. That op is the reason I have bad blood with the man. He was doing his job taking down a massive drug outfit, but that meant he was involved in kidnapping a woman who is now a part of my extended family. Cara helped her escape and left quite a few bodies in her wake.

  “I’ll deal with this, but you’ve gotta get to Cara and get this shit under control. She can’t keep fuckin’ with DCA ops,” Roman agrees. If he only knew she was standing right in front of me.

  “Thank you,” I breathe out in relief.

  “You and I are done with our shit,” he directs. “I’ve apologized. I’m done takin’ it up the ass from you.”

  “I thought you liked it like that,” I snark as Cara tries to hide a smirk my bantering tone.

  “Only on Sundays,” he snarks back. “Keep me informed.”

  I move to hang up the phone when Roman’s voice filters through again. “Cooper…”

  “What?” I ask in a panic, my heart racing from the pained sound in Roman’s always calm voice. “Roman! What the fuck is going on?!”

  “Gage is dead. Just came across my desk.”

  “NO!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

  Mitch lunges at me to keep me on my feet as my knees buckle while Cara’s eyes turn from amused to freaked.

  “Is she dead?” I whisper, closing my eyes to shield myself for the impending agony of his words. Roman doesn’t respond, but I can hear him mumbling and typing.

  “Is my daughter dead?!” I roar.

  “She’s gone, Cooper. No sign of her in the apartment. I need to get off here so I can figure this shit out. Get your ass back to the safe house.”

  He hangs up and I turn, sprinting toward the other side of the park and our SUV. I leave Cara where she stands, yet again abandoning her. I have to find my daughter. Nothing and no one matters in this moment beyond that.

  Mitch paces me easily, questioning at my side, “Coop?”

  “She’s gone,” I breathe out raggedly.

  “We’ll find her,” he says decidedly, motoring faster.

  I nod and will myself not to cry. I have to keep my head on so I can find her. I will not fail her. I’m not a fucking failure when it comes to
her. She’s my only success in life, and I refuse to lose that.

  I can hear Cara behind us, jogging to keep up with our long, powerful strides. She doesn’t know about my girl. No one in my family does and this isn’t the moment to fill anyone in.

  “Jake,” she calls out. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

  I shake my head and keep running. It’s all I can do in this moment. I have to keep moving.

  Just before we reach the street, the burner rings in my hand.

  “Cooper,” I answer curtly, with a tiny amount of hope that it’s good news.

  “Get to Smith’s now,” Reed snarls.

  “No fuckin’ way—”

  “There’s a little girl here who says you’re her dad. She’s in a fuckin’ vest, Cooper. Get your ass here now!”

  “Go to Smith’s,” I snarl at Mitch, hanging up on Reed. “Riley’s there in a fuckin’ vest.”

  “No,” Mitch whispers, his breath stuttering.

  I’m standing in the middle of the abandoned street. I can’t make my feet move to close the distance to the SUV. This is the moment where I lose the only thing I’ve tried to do right. I knew I’d be punished in my life. You can’t be a monster without paying the consequences. It doesn’t matter that I’ve tried to be better. Now I’ll lose the best thing I’ve ever accomplished because I don’t deserve the peace she’s brought my life. I can feel myself falling into the blackness of my past until Cara’s long fingers reach out to my shoulder and break through my fog.

  I spin and lunge at her, grasping her thin wrist with force.

  “If my daughter dies because of you…” I trail off, unable to consider what I’m capable of. “I will never forgive you.” My voice is so low I wouldn’t know if she heard me other than the agony ripping across her face.

  “Don’t breathe a word about this to anyone. Not your family. Not my family. Not my brothers. You didn’t see me. You didn’t kill Smith. You came to Chicago and you went home. Don’t fuck with me on this. You’ve done enough of that already. Go back to your family, Cara,” I seethe, dropping her wrist.