The sight of my little house through the car window was the kick I needed to rouse me from the grogginess of my nap, and I snatched up my things.
“Thank you.”
The driver smiled as he placed my case by my front door. “You take care, Miss Cooper.”
I watched him climb back into the car and, as I walked up my neighbour’s path, he waved to me and pulled away.
“Lily!” Rebecca grinned at me as she flung open her front door before I’d even reached the end of her path.
“Is he here?” I asked, returning the firm hug she greeted me with.
She shook her head, “The stud has been off with the female cats for two days now.”
“I seriously hope you gave him some condoms!”
She scoffed, moving aside to let me into her hallway. “You know the tart won’t use them,” she remarked as I followed her into the kitchen.
Sliding onto one of her high stools at the breakfast bar, I drooled as she made me my usual drink of raspberry and herb tea and placed it in front of me.
“So,” she probed eagerly. “I want all the juicy details! How did it go?”
Swallowing the hot sweet liquid, I grinned. “I have no words. It was crazy, Bec.”
“Everything you thought it would be?”
“And so much more. The adrenaline kick was better than anything I’ve ever experienced.”
“Even sex?”
Tutting, I rolled my eyes. “Trust you!”
She scowled at me. “I did hope you’d let yourself go a little. You know what these rock tours are notorious for. Lots of random sex hookups!”
“With my parents there?” Not that it mattered if they were around or not, sex had not been on my agenda anyway.
She grimaced. “Yeah, that’s a little awkward.”
“Understatement. Anyway, I’m not ready yet. Especially sex with a stranger.”
She sighed, watching me over the rim of her cup as she took a drink of coffee. “I know, babe. Maybe it’s a good thing. You need to allow your thoughts some rest with everything going on right now.”
“The media already found everything out.”
Her eyes widened on me, the worry in her calming hazel eyes making my heart surge with anxiousness. “Already? Jesus, that was quick.”
“I have to be honest. I did expect a little more time.”
“I’m sure Frank will sort it out,” she reassured with a squeeze of my hand. “Anyway. Hayley’s hen night. Have we come to anything yet?”
“Fuck!” I groaned, rubbing my eyes. “I can’t believe I forgot about it. Shit, what kind of friend am I?”
“A busy one! Stop fretting. We still have a few weeks, plenty of time to get something sorted.”
Finishing my tea, I placed my cup in her sink and nodded. “Well make sure you kick my ass if I leave it all to you and Kit.”
She scoffed, filling the sink with hot water, her OCD seeing her washing my mug before it had even cooled from the tea. “You know damn well that I’ll end up doing it all and you’ll just slip me your share of the cash.”
Wincing, I gave her a side hug and rested the side of my face on her shoulder. “I told you, I’m a shit friend.”
“Not shit…”
“Crap,” I rectified for her.
“Yeah, that!”
Closing her front door behind me, I strolled up my path, grateful for the hindsight to hire a gardener while we had been on tour when colourful flowers and plants lined my way home.
My gut twisted when I slid the key into the lock, and I pushed open the door. Something wasn’t right. Something was seriously wrong.
I almost daren’t move when the dark hallway opened up before me. My pulse raced in my ears, and my chest felt so tight that I rubbed it with my knuckles, attempting to ease the discomfort.
“Hello?”
It was stupid but instinctive to call out. The anxiety that always fed on me reared its ugly head and I placed my hand on the wall to steady my wobbly legs.
“Hello?”
Flicking on the light, the scream that left me had Bec rushing out of her front door and vaulting over the small wall that separated our houses.
She pulled me into her secure arms and forcefully turned my face away from where Gerry had been nailed to the wall, his blood spilling over the words written beneath him, ‘Even God can’t save you.’
Just before I passed out, I heard the softness of my mother’s voice through Bec’s phone and the distant thrum of a siren in my ears. My mind, however, was full of the horrific thoughts of what my precious baby had gone through. I hadn’t been there. I had let him down. As was usual with my life.
Three
Lily
I couldn’t get warm. Dad pulled the blanket further around me when he saw the tremble in my body and handed me a tumbler of whisky.
I just wanted them all to go. I wanted to be alone. I needed the few lines of bliss that would help me through this.
“Drink. It will help,” Mum urged as she wrapped her fingers around my cold ones and guided the glass to my lips.
My ears caught the sound of the cleaners as they scrubbed at my hallway. The police had taken hours, sealing off any bit of evidence they could find, and then forensics had taken another good few hours to bag and document anything found. Not that there was much, of course. No one would be stupid enough to leave fingerprints.
I didn’t understand it. I knew I wasn’t an angel, but I had never purposely hurt anyone.
‘Even God can’t save you.’
What the hell did that mean? Save me from what?
“Please come and stay with us?” Mum tried again, but I shook my head. I’d lost months of alone time and it was beginning to suffocate me. I couldn’t cope with any more. I just wanted isolation from everyone.
“I’m okay. I promise.” I smiled, hoping to ease her worry. “I just need a hot bath and my own bed.”
“Fuck that, babe,” Dad grumbled, his brows sewn together with worry.
“I have Bec next door. You’re both a phone call away…”
He held up his hand, halting me, and narrowed his eyes at me. “Ain’t good enough. I’ll sort it.”
I frowned, puzzled at his statement when he pulled out his phone and disappeared into the next room.
“I’ll stay with her tonight, E,” Knight offered, turning to Mum, and giving her an encouraging nod.
Giving him a thankful smile, he winked at me. He understood me; he was maybe the only one that did. And with Knight staying over, I knew I could have the high I needed and alleviate my parents’ concern at the same time.
The flames from the fire lulled me into a deep sense of calm. Exhaustion pulled at my heavy eyelids, and the whisky Dad had given me earlier warmed the chill in my bones. I fought to stay awake, but the weariness that had consumed me since stepping off the plane finally won, and I curled up against the firmness of Knight’s chest and allowed sleep to find me.
***
Knight narrowed his eyes into a glare when I stepped into the kitchen the next morning and took the cup of steaming tea from him. “I won’t ask if you had a good sleep. Bloody hell, Lily, it needs to stop now.”
Heat flamed my cheeks, and choosing to ignore his scolding, I grabbed the newspaper from the side and settled at the table.
“Don’t look at page four,” he advised.
Sighing, I flicked him a glance. “That bad?”
“Depends on how you look at it. It’s sympathetic to the break-in, not so much about your past. How the fuck they can blame your parents for what happened is beyond me.”
“What the hell!” I muttered as I disregarded his warning and turned to page four.
Anger bubbled in my gut and I bit my lip at the bullshit written. “How the fuck can they print this shit?”
“Because it’s indicated to be ‘hearsay’ not ‘fact’,” Knight specified. “That way you can’t sue them.”
Unable to read more, I closed the paper and slung i
t towards the bin. “Remind me not to read any form of news from now on.”
“Might be a good idea,” he agreed with a nod. “Have you thought about who could have broken in?”
“Don’t think I’ve thought of much else. Seriously, I can’t think of anyone. Maybe it was just a random break-in.”
He shrugged, sliding some toast onto a plate, and placed it in the centre of the table between us. “Perhaps, yet nothing has been taken. It wasn’t just a simple burglary.”
“So, they just broke in to hurt Gerry? Who would do that?” A thought occurred to me, and I looked at Knight. “You don’t think Ben across the road would do it, do you?” Ben was in his early eighties, and a cantankerous prick at the best of times. He was always trying to shoot Gerry with his stupid pellet gun whenever Gerry decided to use the gravel in his garden as a toilet. Yes, it was wrong of Gerry, and I’d tried everything to stop him. But he hadn’t deserved that.
“He’s a cranky bastard, but he isn’t sick. Whoever did that to Gerry is fucking evil and severely disturbed.”
“Mmm.”
We both looked up when my dad walked in through the back door. My eyes grew wide when they fixed on the man that followed behind him. His face was sombre, his cold blue eyes calculating as they slid over me. A shiver raced up my spine and I tensed at the sensation. The way he held himself, his body unyielding and rigid in a strict black suit, almost had me cowering. His imposing stare on me formed a lump in my throat, and I struggled to look away.
“Lil, this is Harrison Cole,” Dad finally announced, his voice, at last, pulling me from my stunned gawp.
Shaking my head, I frowned when the words stuck in my throat.
“He’s your new security.”
“Security?” I winced at the sound of my own voice, the severe squeak almost painful to my ears.
“Your new security,” he repeated. “He will shadow you until the police catch this bastard.”
“But… Dad…” I stuttered. “It’s more than likely just a random thing.”
“Fuck that, babe.”
“Dad!”
“No. He’s on you. Ain’t nothing you can do about it. This is mine and your mother’s call.”
“I’m not fourteen!” I growled, my chair scraping on the floor when I shot upright and slammed my palms on the table.
“No, you’re not, but ain’t no way am I risking that, or you, again. It’s done, kid.”
I glared at Harrison like it was his fault. “You can go now.”
“No can do, Miss Cooper.” The small smirk on his face made my fists clench. Arrogant fuck.
Knight sniggered at the authority in Harrison’s tone, and I turned my glare on him, but he just grinned at me, amused.
“Dad!”
“Kid.” He tenderly lay his arm around my shoulder and kissed my forehead. “Life is different now you’re in the limelight. Security is a priority and necessary.”
“Then I’m sure Frank will sort something.”
I glanced sideways at Harrison, trying to inform my dad that I was uncomfortable with the choice he had made, but his scowl told me I wasn’t going to win this argument. “He’s the best. It’s that simple. I won’t put you at risk again, sugar nut.”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname. Since I was four and had taken a liking to sugared almonds, Dad had always called me Sugar Nut, even if it did aggravate me now, eighteen years later.
The door flung open and Boss quickly hurried into the kitchen with my mother. “Baby,” he cooed, scuttling me into his arms. “You’re safe now Uncle Boss is here!”
My dad snorted, and Mum rolled her eyes.
“I’m fine! I wish people would stop bloody fussing. I miss Gerry, but I’m okay. It was just a random burglary.”
My brows shot high when Harrison shook his head firmly at me. “I’m afraid not, Miss Cooper. Killing someone’s pet isn’t just a random act. It’s usually, if not always, a personal attack.”
My jaw dropped. “Thanks for that niggle of doubt, Mr Cole.”
Quirking an eyebrow at my tone, the previous smirk that held his lips taut grew into a smug grin.
“Seriously, Dad?” I complained like a four-year-old. “You’re really dumping me with Mr Cheerful? As if my life can get any worse?”
“Stop being a martyr, Lil. I thought you said you weren’t fourteen,” Knight declared with an amused expression.
“Fuck you!” I mouthed back.
Harrison just stood firm, regarding my tantrum with a bored look.
“Well, I don’t have any appointments until Thursday, so feel free to leave now.” I addressed Harrison with the same contempt as he treated me to.
“`Fraid not. I’ve been posted by your side permanently.”
“Umm.” I pointed a finger at him. I’m not entirely sure why. “Umm. What?”
His expression was one of amusement. Mine was one of a thoroughly pissed off woman.
“From now on, Miss Cooper, I will eat with you, shop with you, chill with you, and even breathe with you.”
“And sleep with me?” It was out before I could stop it. Knight keeled over in hysterics, and my dad gasped in shock. Mum just shook her head, exasperated, accustomed to my runaway mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that!” I flustered, giving Knight a hard nudge of my elbow, and glowering at him.
“If it would make you feel safer,” Harrison stated nonchalantly.
“Over my dead body!” Dad thundered, narrowing his eyes at Boss when he chuckled.
I was sure my mother’s eyes would soon disappear entirely into the back of her head with the amount of eye rolling she was doing. “Jax, Boss. Home.”
Dad glared at Harrison. It made me feel better – slightly. “Look after my baby.”
“Of course,” Harrison replied with a stiff nod of his head.
Knight followed them out after a quick kiss on my forehead.
An awkward silence hung in the air when Harrison and I stood awkwardly in the kitchen. I was sure he was sucking all the oxygen out of the room. He was so imposing that his massive body made my kitchen appear small, and his arrogance made me feel tiny.
“Please, just pretend I’m not here,” he announced suddenly, making me jump.
“Right.”
Like that could ever happen.
And, so, pretending there wasn’t a huge mass of a bloke in my kitchen making tea and toast, I stuck my headphones on my head, and I vacuumed around him.
Four
Harrison
She was pissed. And I was pissed off.
She was doing her best to screen herself from me in the throng of dancers. The strobe lights made it difficult to see, and the music was bloody dire, the loud, thumping beat giving my headache a headache of its own.
Working my way through the crowd, I positioned myself better. The view of Lily’s swaying arse and the flow of her long, auburn hair were only just visible.
I’d been glued to her for six days – a whole one hundred and forty-four hours of pure hell. She was stubborn, feisty, and a nightmare to shadow, always vanishing right from under me. But it was her funny quirks, her humour and, I’ll admit, the fact that she was easy on the eye that had made those hours almost bearable.
I’d intercepted a few nasty notes and it was now a certainty that someone had taken a real dislike to Lily Cooper. Most of the letters had been religious babble, condemning her to hell, but one had sent a cold shiver up my spine with the vehemence behind the words. I’d sent them off for examination, but I didn’t hold out much hope of any forensics. This person wasn’t an amateur, far from it. The first letter had been sterile, and I knew the others would be the same.
“Can I get you a drink, handsome?”
Shaking my head and glancing at the blonde fluttering her eyelashes at me like it would make me rip her clothes off and give her the hard fuck she was after, I turned my gaze back to Lily. “Nope.”
I felt her tense beside me, my sharp tone offending her. Nevertheless, it worked; s
he got the message and teetered off on her ridiculously high heels towards another poor bloke.
Lily smirked and danced her way towards me, her legs intertwining as she swayed across the dancefloor. I was surprised she could see me; her heavy-lidded eyes weren’t actually in focus. “You smooth talker, Harrison.” She giggled and supported herself with a hand to my chest when she wobbled sideways. “You have such a way with women. Although, don’t get me wrong, her tongue was licking the tips of your shoes, she was so hot for you. You’re more than welcome to take her up on her offer. I’ll be fine with the guys and Kit as long as you don’t screw her at my house,” she shouted in my ear over the loud din.
“I won’t be screwing her anywhere, Miss Cooper.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically, the alcohol running through her bloodstream exaggerating her expressions. “Lighten up, Harrison. You’re such a stickle brick.”
“A stickle brick?”
Her striking chocolate eyes looked up at me as she nodded erratically. “A stickle brick,” she repeated with a slow slur. “A prickly brick.” She laughed loudly, her eyes shining with glee. “I’m surprised I managed to say that right.” Her eyebrows dipped when she concentrated. “Did I say that right?”
She hiccupped and held a hand to her chest, blanching as she wet her dry, pale lips with the tip of her tongue. “Eww,” she muttered as she swallowed hard.
“Are you okay?”
“Hmm?” She pressed against me and placed her ear to my mouth. Her tits squashed against my chest, unwillingly causing my dick to stir in my pants. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. What?”
“I asked if you were alright. You seem a little… green.”
She poked me in the chest and nodded once. “Yep. I’m a little vomity, Mr Cole.” I didn’t miss the glimmer of tears in her eyes, but she blinked harshly, sealing them away before they escaped.
Vomity? Was that even a word?
“Do you need some air?”
Reviving Heaven Page 2