Taima’s words echoed through her as if the seer once more spoke them aloud. “I believe it’s possible to expel the demon.”
Expel the demon. Nikki caught a reflection of herself in the window pane and for once didn’t see the beast looking back at her. She saw only herself: hair pulled back, face pale, blue eyes glittering with emotion. What if she could expel the demon? How long had she dreamed of doing just that? Of ridding herself of this thing and living a normal life?
Was it possible without destroying Cooper and his ranch? Or without killing herself? It was a risk she was willing to take.
And what of the cartel after her? She doubted they’d give up; they certainly hadn’t so far. The Carillo family had hunted her since she’d left her parents’ home. Not for the first time, Nikki wondered if they’d tried to get her while she’d lived there, but her dad was respected and well connected to the DEA, ATF, and Immigration. While she’d lived with her parents, it would’ve been too difficult to get to her.
She thought her dad still kept an eye on the cartel, but his contacts were fewer now, with not as many people left alive who would do him a favor. Nikki knew where the cartel was; she’d made it a point of keeping up on their whereabouts—it was a matter of survival, after all.
When they came after her, and she knew they would find her eventually, Cooper would be in the line of fire. Nikki shuddered as he slammed Taima’s car door closed and stepped back. Within her, she could feel the demon stirring with her fear and anger. She’d never let anyone hurt him. Never.
Right now, she wasn’t prepared to confront them and her own mortality at the same time. One life-or-death situation at a time, please.
“It’s not going to be that simple.” Cooper said the moment he entered the office.
Caught up in her own thoughts, Nikki frowned at him. “What isn’t?”
“Getting rid of me.” Cooper crossed the room and looked as fierce and determined as Nikki had ever seen him.
Relieved, anxious, and still confused about her own thoughts, Nikki let out a short laugh. “You make it sound as if I want to bury your body on the range.”
“You might as well,” Cooper said, his voice unyielding, “if you try to leave without me. It’s as good as leaving me for dead.”
All her arguments deserted her, and Nikki’s shoulders sagged on a long sigh. But then she straightened and caught his gaze, folding her arms over her chest. He did know how to get to her, every button to push despite the fact that until yesterday he didn’t really know what she ran from.
“No, it won’t.” Nikki glared at him fiercely. “It’ll be me making sure no one tries to bury you on the range.” She stopped and swallowed, stepped closer, and held his hand. “This is something I have to do, Cooper. Let me do this on my own. Let me come back to you a little less monster.”
“You don’t have to do this on your own,” Cooper said. He took her chin and made sure she understood every word he said. “And the last thing I’ve ever seen you as is a monster. Nikki, they did this to you. Someone out there wanted to hurt you and your family. It doesn’t mean you have to face it by yourself.”
She stepped back, putting emotional as well as physical distance between them. “This isn’t your fight.”
“You can say that to me a thousand, ten thousand, a million times.” Cooper’s dark eyes glinted with an unshakable resolution. “And I still won’t care. This is our fight now. We can go over this again and again, but it won’t change the way I feel. So stop pushing me away.”
He closed the short distance between them in one long stride and pulled her close. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled faintly up at him, but his expression didn’t change. No matter what he said, Nikki didn’t want him in this sort of danger and knew no matter what, she’d find a way to leave. Cooper’s eyes narrowed and she wondered how he could read her so easily.
His mouth took hers, a hard, branding kiss that sent fire licking through her veins and made her knees weaken. Nikki heard herself whimper, surrendering to the kiss, but he pulled away before she could.
“We’ll figure this out together,” he promised again, holding her close, his eyes black with confidence, lust, and, yes, even fear. But not for himself and what he’d just vowed to help her through—for her. “Now,” he said, with a decisive nod as if they’d cleared everything up. “What else can you tell me about where this curse originated?”
She glared at him. Did he think one kiss, as mind-blowing and skin-tingling as it might be, would change her mind? But she tried to fool only herself. This wasn’t about the kiss; it wasn’t even about her anymore. It’d become about them the moment he hadn’t run screaming from the bedroom when the monster manifested itself.
Nikki believed him.
When she took everything else away, the simplest thing was that truth lay between them. She believed he’d help, that he’d stay with her, that he’d believe her and, most importantly, that he wouldn’t desert her.
This was the moment. The choice.
Even as she opened her mouth to lie and claim she knew very little about who did this or where they were, she was already agreeing. “I want to tell you, but promise me that if it gets too dangerous, you’ll step back.” She stopped and looked up at him but already knew his answer.
Cooper shook his head, a slight smile on his grim face. “Not a promise I’d make, Nikki.” When he held her close this time, it was tender and loving, and it almost broke something inside her. “Sweetheart,” he whispered with a half-grin, “trust me.”
Nikki drew in a sharp breath and almost sobbed at the feeling of being in his arms, the certainty Cooper engendered. She’d always held back, from everyone. Even with her parents, who knew intimately about the demon inside her, Nikki had never felt comfortable telling them everything, telling them the whole truth.
Shaking, she gave herself a moment to gather her emotions. Not to lock them away, not to hide them from Cooper, but so that she could tell him everything.
She pulled back, looked at him with clear eyes, and began.
“The family who originally did this is now a cartel in Mexico. They’re involved in drugs and who knows what other illegal activities. I’ve done my best to keep tabs on them over the years. They’ve definitely shown an interest in me,” she added bitterly. “I’m sure it’s them who have sent men looking for me. Once they kidnapped me, but I managed to get away.”
She remembered that day all too clearly. The suddenness of it all, the van, the blinding terror when they’d took her. The fury that had galvanized her to think. The running. Nikki didn’t know how far she’d run but she had done so, never looking back. That night she’d returned to her small apartment, packed anything that fit into a duffle bag, and left.
“They tried again,” she added softly, “but my demon almost killed them.”
Nikki had less of a memory of that; she could still feel the rage and all but taste it as it pulsed through her. And the fear. The horror of the demon taking over so completely that she never regained herself, never found her way back to being her.
“Why would they want to kidnap you and not just kill you?” Cooper asked. “I thought this was about revenge against your father.”
Nodding, Nikki looked up at him and agreed, her own confusion coming through. “So did I,” she admitted. “The only explanation I can come up with is that they wanted to taunt my father. Let him know they had me, lure him into a trap—and then kill me.” Nikki tried to smile and failed. “It’s not like I’ve been dealing with upstanding citizens all these years.”
“When we head to Mexico,” Cooper said in a tone that brooked no argument, “we’ll need to take precautions. We can’t let them know we’re in town until we’re ready for them to know. Maybe,” he said, and she could tell he was thinking out loud now, “there’s a way we can do this quietly.”
Nikki smiled at him, a real smile, and despite the tenseness of the situation, it felt so good to have him here. “E
nvision yourself as James Bond now?”
Cooper gave her a wicked grin. “Bond wishes he had a woman as beautiful as you at his side.”
He really did have a way with words, and Nikki knew she melted at them. As corny as they might be.
“We’ll have to bribe the locals,” Cooper continued. His hands were warm on her suddenly clammy skin, and Nikki stepped closer to his warmth. “But perhaps we’ll be able to get the item we need without revealing ourselves. Taima said you would know what to do with the item once you had it. Does that mean you could also identify it?”
“I think so,” she said slowly, wondering if things really could be that simple. “If it’s something attached to this thing I’ve had inside me all my life, I would hope I’d spot it immediately.”
“We’ll need to get into Mexico under the radar. Thankfully,” he said with a wink, “I know a few people who can sneak us in.”
“Cooper,” Nikki began, but couldn’t force any more words out.
She looked up at him and realized she’d never loved him more. There were no words to tell him how much; it went beyond the romantic love she felt for him. Hell, the depth of her love went beyond mere emotion. But now…
Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him. Nikki couldn’t voice her feelings, but she couldn’t hide them any longer, either. She poured every ounce of the love she felt for him into that one kiss.
Cooper held her against him, his body hard and his mouth insistent on hers. Nikki didn’t know what to do; she knew accepting his help put him in danger, but she was so tired of running, of being alone. More than the sex between them, being with Cooper made her feel alive and safe.
He picked her up and carried her the few steps to the desk, neat as always, and set her atop it. His fingers made quick work of the buttons on her jeans, shoving the material over her hips and bare feet. His mouth kissed up one leg and Nikki gasped, arching into him. She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him close as he tasted her.
The wood of the desk was hard beneath her, but Nikki barely noticed. Cooper knew her body well, knew every spot to kiss, that sensitive spot on her inner thigh that made her shudder. Despite his tender lovemaking, his hard body as he covered her, the feeling of completeness when he entered her, Nikki worried.
How could she put him in danger by accepting his help? She clung to him as he thrust harder into her, straining for her orgasm, clawing his back, desperate for release. Nikki kissed up his neck, along his jaw, to his mouth. She bit his lower lip and kissed him hard, too many emotions colliding within her to sort through.
Her orgasm broke over her and she cried his name, riding the endless waves of pleasure. Nikki held him as he found his own release, his climax coming hard as he thrust into her. Spent, exhausted, she held him close. The desk dug into her back and she knew any moment one of the ranch hands could enter, but Nikki didn’t care.
She trusted Cooper, but more she loved him with everything in her. If she left without a word, he’d only find her; she knew that as surely as she knew that going to Mexico was suicide. But to do this on her own? She didn’t think she had the strength for that.
Plus, she didn’t want Cooper going down there on his own. She trusted him and believed in that trust. And perhaps it would be the one thing her demon would be good for—protecting them.
Nikki kissed Cooper’s shoulder and knew she’d made her choice. She had to keep him safe, but more…she needed him.
Chapter Seven
Nikki bit her bottom lip and paced in front of Cooper’s desk. She ran her hands down the front of her jeans and stared at the phone as if she carefully circled a cobra.
When was the last time she’d called her parents? Four years ago? Five? Nikki couldn’t remember. But now she needed information from her father.
Taima thought she could help her, and Nikki grabbed onto that hope with both desperate hands. The temptation of a normal life with Cooper called to her, and she wanted that life more than she thought possible.
However, each time she’d called her parents, she heard thick fear in their words. They were curious about her life, of course, and wanted to know she was safe, but they were afraid she’d return. And with her return, the return of the monster within her.
Nikki didn’t blame them. She’d run to get away from the thing inside her. She just hadn’t been able to.
Swallowing hard, she crossed the short distance and picked up the phone. She knew their number; it was the same phone number she’d grown up with, one of two she had memorized—the other being Cooper’s. Did they still live there? It’d been years, after all—they could’ve moved or divorced or any number of reasons to no longer live in her childhood home.
Nikki drew in a deep breath and dialed the familiar numbers. Each ring felt like it took forever to complete, one, two. They could be out. Vacationing or sightseeing or having drinks with friends.
In the middle of the third ring, a man’s deep voice answered. The low, familiar rumble of it was as familiar now, after all these years, as it had been when she’d been a teenager. She couldn’t help memories from returning. The father she loved so much, who’d comforted her, scolded her, had become a father who feared her.
“Dad?” she asked, her voice unrecognizable even to her own ears.
There was a long silence and Nikki licked her lips, her heart racing as she waited for him to answer. It hurt to breathe. “Dad, are you there?” she asked.
“Yes, Nikki.” She heard him swallow and closed her eyes. “I’m here. It’s been a long time. Are you all right?”
Nikki took a deep breath and released it in a rush. “I’m fine.” The understatement of those words weren’t lost on her. “I’m okay for now.”
Robert Kent let out a long sigh, part relief, part in fear. And frustration, the kind of annoyance she always heard because he couldn’t help her. He’d spent his whole life helping, but couldn’t help his only child.
“How are you and Mom?” Nikki asked, pushing the words out through a dry mouth.
She wanted Cooper here. Oh, she’d told him she’d be fine, she’d be able to call her dad on her own. She was a big girl. And she could do this on her own.
But she was no longer alone. And Nikki wanted her lover’s quiet support next to her as she made this call.
“Good,” he said. “We’re good. Your mother’s joined a swim club and is with Joan Ferguson.”
Nikki barely remembered the Fergusons, though they’d been their neighbors since Nikki was born. “And what about you?”
“Still working with my hands,” he said, more naturally now. “Building things in the workshop keeps me busy.” He took a deep breath.
“Dad, I need your help.” With her eyes closed, she turned to sit on the desk. The phone was cordless, of course, and she could’ve moved anywhere in the house. But Nikki didn’t want anyone else overhearing her conversation.
“Where are you?” her dad immediately asked. “I’ll come and get you.”
There had been no hesitation in his voice, no trepidation, no hesitation at all. The words had come out as quickly and smoothly as anything, and Nikki blinked open her eyes in surprise.
“No.” She breathed out a laugh. “Not like that.” Nikki swallowed, the fingers of her free hand curling around the edge of the desk. “I need to know about the Carillo cartel and where they are. I need details about them and the man you think is responsible for…” She let out a breath. “For what happened to me.”
“Why do you need that now?” he asked. But not angrily. “After all this time?”
“I have a chance, Dad.” Oh, those words felt so good to say, so freeing. “I have information I didn’t before. And maybe,” she said, looking into the cold fireplace in Cooper’s office, “just maybe, this thing can be undone.”
She heard her dad’s rush of breath and wished she could see his face. It’d been over ten years since she’d seen either parent and now, with this information, Nikki wanted to see their faces when she told them her
news.
“I tell you everything I know,” her dad promised.
An hour later, Nikki was just hanging up with her father when Cooper entered his office. Covered in mud and grease, he looked aggravated. Blood smeared along the back of one hand.
She dropped the phone to the desk and crossed the room. “What happened?” she demanded, taking his bloody hand. The cut didn’t look deep, but who knew what he cut it on. With her mind racing with what her dad had told her, Nikki held back and tugged Cooper into the downstairs bathroom.
Running the water, she made him wash his hands as she searched for peroxide.
“It’s not deep,” he said, amused, his dark eyes dancing.
“Doesn’t matter,” she shot back with a smile.
Almost uncaring about the level of mud that clung to him, she wanted to lean up and kiss him. Her dad hadn’t known much more about the cartel or what they’d done to her, but it was the lightness of having a real conversation with her parent that made Nikki smile. She wanted to share that with Cooper.
“You’re cleaning it anyway.” She opened the bottle and held it out to him. “Weren’t you wearing gloves?”
That aggravated look returned and he pressed his lips together into a flat line. He examined the back of his hand with a frown. “Caught it on something in the irrigation system.”
Concerned, Nikki folded her arms over her chest. “What happened? Is it leaking?”
The underground system delivered water to the horses and livestock. It was fairly new and, in Nikki’s opinion, shouldn’t have broken. Not this soon.
“Pipe cracked,” Cooper muttered, clearly annoyed. Nikki wisely said nothing. He looked at her and sighed. “I’m sorry, Nikki. We’ll have to put off going to Mexico for a couple days while I fix it.”
“That’s fine,” she said. Nikki cupped his cheek, uncaring about the grime and muck. She didn’t want him feeling bad about the wait. It was only a couple days in the grand scheme of her life. A couple days wouldn’t make a difference.
Still, he looked angrier with them having to wait than with the leaky pipe. “Did you talk with your father?”
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