by Iris Abbott
“I got spooked by one of Rob’s calling cards. It would have happened whether you were there or not. I found something that Copper needs to see, and the sooner the better. I probably would have come over even if you were keeping me company at the house.”
“What do I need to see?” he asked Marla. “Natalie, we’ll discuss why you weren’t with your sister later.”
The deep voice was directly behind her, causing Marla to jump. The men were stealthy for their size. She attributed that trait to their military training. She took a deep breath and waited for her speeding heart to slow down.
When she was calm, Marla got out of the chair and turned to face Copper. She inched forward until they were standing toe to toe. She poked him in the chest with a long fingernail. “Don’t you dare reprimand my sister! I urged her to come to work, so if you want to lecture someone start here, but you’d better leave my sister alone.”
Before he could come back with a snappy reply she thrust the card toward him. “I was going through the box of things I dropped during the shooting. I thought the pictures and cards from my students would brighten my day. Instead, I found this.”
She shook the card, forcing him to glance down at it. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when he took the mangled card from her limp fingers. She was glad to have the thing out of her immediate possession.
Copper glanced over the card before slowly opening it. He read the cryptic message inside. A fierce frown added to the ruggedness of his face, and it sent a chill down Marla’s spine. If looks could kill, that stare would definitely be able to take someone down.
She intently watched him. She knew the instant the significance of the card hit him. His eyes turned cold as ice, and his knuckles were white from the strength of his grip. The card might not survive the strangling hold he had on it.
“Chrome!” The roar was loud enough to echo through the entire building.
Startled, Marla took several steps back, until her lower back collided with Copper’s desk, and she was forced to stop her retreat.
The partially open door was flung open hard enough to make it bounce off the doorstop. Chrome stood in the frame of the doorway, ready to spring into action if needed. His eyes darted around and took in the scene. He looked perplexed when he couldn’t identify a threat.
Copper threw the card at him. Surprised, Chrome leaned forward to catch the thick paper before it hit the floor. “You were supposed to check Marla’s box for any threats from her ex.”
He looked at the congratulations card in confusion. “I did. There were only a bunch of cards and pictures from her students, and a few books. Nothing dangerous or threatening, no trackers and no listening devices,” he insisted in a firm voice.
“You missed that,” Copper roared at the other man.
“So, it’s a congratulations card,” Chrome shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Marla’s stomach twisted in to knots. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a rift between any of the Metal Cowboys. They were all trying to help in their own way. Copper was the only one of the men who knew about her miscarriage. She was positive that the card looked harmless enough to Chrome during his search.
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and lightly touched Copper on the shoulder. “He doesn’t know the significance,” she insisted. “Let it go, Copper. Please,” she begged him with her eyes. Her voice became higher as her emotions rose in intensity. Unable to stand still, she tapped her fingers against her thigh, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
He vigorously rubbed his face with the other hand and faced off with Chrome. “The big deal is that Marla’s ex-boyfriend pushed her down a flight of stairs, causing her to have a miscarriage, before he skipped town, getting away scot-free. He used the card to plunge the proverbial knife in deeper and give it one more vicious twist.”
Chrome’s face turned white. He looked at Marla with compassion-filled eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have been more vigilant. I will be from now on. I know better than to take anything for granted when it comes to safety.”
Marla hated the pitying looks she was getting from everybody in the room. Now everyone but Steel knew her shameful secret. She was sure it was only a matter of time before someone told him about it too.
She was so upset her face flamed bright red from the rush of blood, and there was a slight buzzing in her ears. Marla was afraid she was going to pass out. She didn’t want to faint at Copper’s feet two days in a row. She forced herself to take a deep breath. It kept her from blacking out, but it did nothing to calm her frazzled nerves.
She got right in Copper’s face and stared him down. “I told you that in confidence,” she hissed. Marla didn’t care about making a scene in front of her sister and the Metal Cowboys. As far as she was concerned, it was too late for that. She had a point to make, and she wanted to make sure Copper received it loud and clear.
“I shared the worse moment of my life with you.” She threw both hands in the air. “It only took eight years for me to confide in someone other than my sister. I don’t talk about it for a reason,” she said in a deadly quiet voice. Her entire body trembled from the storm of emotions blowing through her system.
“The actual miscarriage and the horrible memories of why it happened haunt me enough. I don’t need everyone I know looking at me the way all of you are looking at me now. It only makes me feel worse, and believe me, I feel bad enough that my stupid mistakes cost me something priceless that can never be replaced.” She glared at Copper before running from the office.
****
“Bro,” Mercury said with a shake of his head. “You screwed up big time. That girl is hurting, cut to the bone, and you might as well have rubbed salt in her open wounds.”
Copper didn’t respond. He deserved the harsh words from his brother. He took a couple of steps toward the door. He needed to go after Marla. He wanted to apologize, and he needed to make sure she was going to be all right.
Natalie stopped him. “I’ll go,” she said in a firm voice that didn’t leave room for argument.
“Damn it! Mercury’s right. I’ve got to fix this,” he insisted. “Hurting her is the last thing I ever wanted to do. My protective instincts took over and blocked out my common sense. I’m so angry that her attacker got to her under my roof and on my watch. It blinded me to everything else,” he admitted.
“Marla doesn’t hold grudges,” Natalie assured him. She gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “You’ve known her long enough to know that emotional outbursts are not her style. Now that she’s had her say, she’ll get over it eventually.”
“Yes, she’s too sweet for that,” Copper agreed.
“It will take a while for all this to blow over, however. She abhors calling attention to herself, but that’s exactly what happened and in a big way. She’s going to be emotionally devastated about this whole thing,” Natalie warned.
“You think I don’t know that,” he said. Desperation and sorrow tinged his voice.
“Take the weight of that burden off of your shoulders right now,” Iron insisted. “You’re no good to Marla if you’re wallowing in your own misery and self-contempt.”
“That’s right,” Mercury agreed. “You need to keep a cool head if you’re going to protect her to the best of your ability. Her ex is definitely not right in the head. He’s one sick SOB to do what he’s done. You need to be at the top of your game and ready for anything.”
Chrome rounded out the discussion by agreeing with the other two Metal Cowboys. “You know they’re right. Let it go and move on, bro. Marla needs justice, and it’s up to all of us to make sure she gets it.”
“Thank you for understanding that,” Natalie gave Chrome one of her sweetest smiles. “Rob was never punished for what he did to her, and I’m afraid she can’t find closure because of that. It’s been festering inside of her for a long time. And it finally came to a head. The shooting and everything else made all the pain, anger, frustrat
ion, and unfairness of the whole sorry and sad situation come rushing back.
Copper’s face twisted into a grim mask. “I promise to make him pay for what he did to Marla. She’ll get her closure,” he emphatically swore. “Go take care of your sister. I’m closing the garage for the rest of the day and sending Tina home. The Metal Cowboys are going into town for a few hours. We have a rat to trap, and we need intel before we can do the deed.”
“Good idea. Giving her space is the best thing you can do for the two of you. Your relationship is in the beginning stages, and it’s fragile. Give Marla time to process everything. She’ll eventually understand that you only betrayed her confidence because you care, and your emotions got the best of you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Copper said. “All this talk of emotions and relationships is hogwash. I think you have me confused with someone else.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes at her boss. “Don’t play dumb with me. I know you’re interested in Marla. Don’t even try to deny it. It’s as obvious as the Metal Cowboys tattoo on your chest I’ve caught glimpses of when you’re working around the garage without a shirt.”
She gave him a knowing look. “Don’t worry, Copper. For the record, I approve. The two of you are going to be perfect together. You need each other. She’ll keep your inner bad boy under control, and you’ll bring out the wild girl inside her that’s dying to come out and play.”
She gave him a dazzling smile. And as if she knew a good exit line when she heard it, Natalie left to check on her sister. Copper’s office was silent for several seconds after she disappeared.
Chrome’s full-bodied laugh eventually broke the stunned silence. “Damn! That Natalie has a way with words. She’s got your number, bro.”
“I wouldn’t look so smug, if I were you,” Mercury was quick to add. “Copper’s not the only Metal Cowboy smitten with a Taylor sister. Or did you think we wouldn’t notice the matching of wits and foreplay of words you and Natalie are always engaged in?”
Chrome’s face distorted into a serious scowl. Before he could come back with a blistering reply, Copper took over. “Metal Cowboys, let’s ride!”
SIX
The door opened, and Marla took several deep breaths. She couldn’t believe how out of control her outburst was. It felt good to let it all out, but she shouldn’t have taken all her frustration and anger out on Copper. She turned around, expecting to face the man and all his wrath.
“I don’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that it’s you instead of Copper,” she admitted when she saw Natalie standing in the doorway.
“I guess it’s natural to feel both. I promise that neither one will hurt my feelings.”
“Good, because that wasn’t my intention. I’d have been lost without you a long time ago,” Marla truthfully admitted.
“Right back at you! We got through the untimely death of our parents together. Sure, most of the financial responsibility fell to me. I was the oldest and most capable to work fulltime. Emotionally however I was a wreck. You were my life preserver, my reason for getting up every morning instead of drowning in a lake of self-pity and sorrow.”
The sisters hugged for several seconds. They were both wiping away tears when they parted. “We’ve both been so busy lately, I feel like we haven’t had a real heart-to-heart in forever,” Marla admitted. “I miss our special talks more than you know.”
“Me too,” Natalie agreed.
“So… I really blew it with Copper, huh? He probably thinks I’m an emotional basket case or worse some kind of nut job. Should we be packing and going back to the apartment?”
“I know you see him as a tough as nails biker. He does foster that image with his smug attitude and cockiness, but I’m pretty sure he has at least one soft spot, and it’s you.”
“Um, does that mean he’s not kicking us out, and you’re not losing your job?”
“Definitely not!”
“Good, I don’t need anything else to feel guilty about,” Marla confessed.
Natalie looked at her sister for a few seconds. “I think we both deserve a shopping spree, but since that’s out of the question for safety reasons, let’s go down to the entertainment area and have a chick flick marathon.”
Marla perked up instantly. “Sounds like fun, but if we do that, they’ll want to kick us out for sure.”
“Actually, they left,” Natalie said. “We have the place to ourselves for a while.”
“Oh!” It was definitely disappointment she was feeling now.
“Don’t look like that. Since they’re positive Rob was the one that shot you last night, they are going on the offensive. They’re trying to get the lowdown and his whereabouts so they can stop him in his tracks.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that. Besides watching girlie movies with my sister is a great way to spend the afternoon and evening. Just promise me that we’re going to watch comedies. I have enough drama and emotional overload of my own right now without absorbing more from fictional characters.”
****
Copper threw back his head and downed the bottle of beer in six gulps. When it was empty, he slammed the bottle down on the table. He used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth. A woman wearing a tight denim skirt, Western shirt, and cowboy boots sat next to him and draped her body across his. Copper didn’t know her name, but he’d seen her around plenty of times.
“Want to dance, cowboy?”
Copper pushed the black Stetson down low over his eyes and gave the woman a smug grin. “Sure thing, sweetheart.” She looked to be about Marla’s age. She might be a good source of information. He pushed back the chair. The sound of wood scraping against wood assaulted his ears. The irritating noise suited his mood.
He loosely rested his arm around the woman’s shoulders and led her onto the dance floor. As soon as they were on the dance floor, she moved in as close as she could get, and pressed her body against his. Copper sighed inwardly and used his hold on her body to put space between them.
He’d much rather be holding Marla in his arms, but her safety came before his own wants and needs. The Metal Cowboys traded their bike helmets for black cowboy hats to blend in at the honky-tonk. The idea was to cozy up to as many locals as possible and subtly probe them about Rob Storey and his whereabouts.
After a couple of spins around the dance floor, Copper made his move. “A good-looking woman like you, I bet you know just about everybody in town, huh?”
The woman’s bright red lips parted. She flashed him with teeth so white they had to be bleached. “That’s right, sugar, and everybody knows Rose.”
Copper bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. When the urge passed a few seconds later, he winked at her. “I just bet they do. So, Rose? Does the name Rob Storey ring any bells?”
“Of course it does, sugar. We went to school together, though he was actually a couple of grades ahead of me. Funny you should ask. He’s been gone for years, but I saw him in the feed and tack store just the other day.”
“Really?” Copper tried not to act too excited. “Any idea what he’s up to these days?”
The woman shrugged. “You never can tell with Rob. He’s a cagey bastard that one.”
“Give me your best guess, and I’ll buy you a drink for your trouble,” Copper promised, turning on the charm. He gave her his sexiest grin to sweeten the deal.
“That’s a tempting offer,” she said, moving even closer. “I think his father is getting on up there in years. The family ranch is probably too much for the old man, and Rob’s brother to handle on their own. Everybody in the farming and ranching community have been tightening their belts since the last drought.”
“Makes since,” Copper swallowed a sigh of relief when the song ended. “Let’s go back to the bar, and I’ll buy the drink I promised you.” He carefully disentangled himself from the clinging woman and sauntered over to the bar.
The fact that he’d left many a bar with a woman j
ust like this one didn’t escape his notice. It was ironic really, because the only interest he had in Rose was garnering as much information as he could about Storey. He most certainly wouldn’t be going home with her. Just the thought made his sex shrivel.
The only woman his body wanted was in his home, probably tucked away in his bed, and he was going to have to beg for Marla’s forgiveness to join her there, after the monumental screw up he made that afternoon. Finding and shutting down her tormentor would go a long way toward making things up to Marla. That was the only reason he was tolerating Rose’s outrageous flirting and seductive groping. Her touches gave him the willies, but he sucked it up and concentrated. He was doing this for Marla, he reminded himself.
He leaned closer to the woman, struggling not to hold his breath. Her cloying perfume really annoyed his senses. It was almost the opposite of the delicate floral scent that Marla favored. “What will you have to drink?” Copper said to keep the conversation going.
“Whatever you’re having, I’m easy.”
Copper didn’t doubt that for a second. He raised his hand to get the bartender’s attention. When the woman sashayed over, he ordered, paid for two bottles of beer, and spent the next fifteen minutes extracting all the information Rose possessed on Rob Storey. When he finished, he hightailed it straight home. It was the one and only time he remembered leaving a bar alone and being happy about it.
SEVEN
The closing of the bedroom door roused Marla from a light sleep. There was a crick in her neck from falling asleep on the window seat of the bay window in Copper’s bedroom. She raised a hand to massage the sore spot just as a shadow loomed over her. Before she could react, a pair of strong arms swept her up and held her close in a tight embrace.
Marla was wide awake now. She instantly relaxed when she recognized Copper’s profile thanks to the moonlight filtering through the windows. “Um, hi,” she shyly greeted the man holding her.