“Yes.” Nikki took in a deep breath.
“How did it go?” he asked quietly, concerned.
Smiling in reassurance, she released her breath slowly, amazed with how easy it felt now that she’d spoken to her dad. The information he’d given her was important, but to actually have a conversation with her father meant more to her than she could say.
“He told me what he knew,” she said. “And he said he’d make inquiries, try to find out everything he could about the Carillos and what they were up to now.”
Cooper returned her smile. “That’s good.” He gathered her in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’m glad he didn’t disappoint.”
He pressed his lips to hers, then pulled back when she would’ve deepened the kiss.
“We should get ready,” Cooper continued. “Figure out exactly how we’re going to get there and how we’re going to handle all this.”
Nikki gave him a curious look, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t continue right away, and she felt tension tighten his shoulders. She braced herself for what she knew was coming.
“I want to do this without you,” Cooper admitted.
Pulling away, she glared at him. Cooper didn’t move his hands from her waist and still held her close. “I don’t think so,” Nikki snapped.
“Hear me out, Nikki,” he said, his voice caught between pleading her to listen and that hard I’m-not-putting-you-in-danger tone she’d never heard from anyone but him before.
It made her pause and she waited then nodded for him to continue.
“They know you,” he said, but it wasn’t a question. “They’ve tracked you down how many times in the last year?”
Also not a question, but Nikki narrowed her eyes at him anyway. She didn’t answer.
“I can go in and no one will know me,” Cooper continued. “I can find out what the situation is down there. Maybe get whatever it is we need without you having to—”
“Cooper,” she cut him off. “I need to go.”
Nikki softened at his worried look, and relaxed in his embrace. “You can’t protect me from this.” She cupped his face again and ran her thumb over his cheekbone. “Whatever they did, it’s already been done to me. And I need to be a part of the fight to undo it.”
He watched her for several long minutes. She could tell he was angry but knew his anger was directed at the situation, not at her. Eventually he nodded, accepting her part in this. Cooper gathered her to him, and held her. Simply held her.
Nikki leaned her head against his chest, her eyes closed. He smelled of earth and grease and something she didn’t want to identify, but he held her tenderly. One hand cupped the back of her neck, his thumb running lightly over the soft skin there, the other on the small of her back.
“I know,” Cooper said quietly. “I just don’t want to risk you.”
She pulled back just enough to smile up at him. “Don’t worry,” she said lightly. “The demon’s pretty good at self-preservation.”
Chapter Eight
She woke slowly, lazily, and the sun shone higher than she thought. Not exactly bright out, she could see dark clouds rolling in. The wind gusted against the windows, and for a moment Nikki thought she could feel the coldness of it whirl around the bedroom.
They’d slept in late, and for a moment she panicked. But Cooper’s arm tightened around her and pulled her back to him.
Then she remembered: it’d been a week since she’d called her father. In that time she’d spoken with him twice more and her mother once. Her mom hadn’t cried, but Nikki had heard the cautious happiness in her voice during their conversation. It’d taken Cooper several days to fix the leaky watering pipe, then afterward he’d put Harrison in charge of the ranch for the foreseeable future. That had ensured the smooth running of Agua Clara and no interruptions for the two of them.
She stretched against her lover and smiled. Though they’d made plans to head to Mexico and find a way to exercise the demon in her, for the first time in possibly her entire life, Nikki felt a sense of optimism.
It was strange. But she embraced it, embraced Taima’s information. The seer had discovered more in a single day than she had in years of searching. It didn’t seem real—like the dream would burst if she stared at it too long.
Nikki pressed a kiss to his chest, inhaling his masculine scent and reveling in the feel of his body beneath her fingertips. She looked up at Cooper, who watched her through half-closed eyes. No, this was real, all right; this was no dream. His hand tangled in her hair, fingers flexing against her scalp. Nikki licked her lips and sat up. His hand fell from her hair to rest on her hip, but he didn’t try to stop her.
“Go back to sleep,” she insisted with another lingering kiss.
Cooper didn’t say a word, but he watched her as she rose and grabbed a robe. The morning was chilly, the hardwood floor cold on her bare feet. She had so much to do, and Nikki didn’t know where to begin. She quickly showered, a little surprised that Cooper hadn’t joined her. When she opened the door connecting the rooms, she saw he’d fallen back asleep.
Careful not to wake him, Nikki moved as silently as she could. Below them, the house held an eerie stillness that made her shiver, and she dressed warmer than was probably necessary. Easing the door open, she didn’t hear Sylvia. Nikki frowned and left the bedroom.
It was a foolish move; she wanted Cooper to sleep, but the house felt so empty, she couldn’t help herself.
Stupid. It was Sunday when most of the hands had off, or at least had off after all the morning chores had been finished. Sylvia didn’t work on Sundays, and Nikki knew from experience that even Marty stayed away from the ranch.
The steps were unusually creaky this morning, and Nikki tried to make as little noise as possible. She glanced up the stairs, but continued on and didn’t rush back to wake Cooper. She knew she was being ridiculous, but for the first time since arriving at Agua Clara, she felt a little creeped out by the house.
In the hallway, she hesitated and glanced at the front door. It wasn’t locked, Nikki didn’t think it ever had been—someone always seemed to be at the house, and she didn’t think anyone in the surrounding county would be foolish enough to try and break into the ranch house.
Sitting at the desk, she opened the laptop and waited as it powered up. A nice four-star hotel probably didn’t exist in the town the Carillos ran, but there had to be something. She’d just started her search when she heard the car.
Turning in disbelief, Nikki watched the late-model dusty Cadillac pull slowly up the driveway. It didn’t look familiar, and while she wasn’t familiar with the cars every hand owned, she’d never seen a Caddy at the ranch.
This had to be a joke. Some sort of instant karma? Even she wasn’t that unlucky. Two men exited the car—tall, muscular, well dressed, and wearing shades despite the incoming storm.
“Really?”
She’d finally discovered a way to get rid of her demon, and Cooper knew all her secrets. She had a chance for a future with Cooper instead of running from her past. And now this?
She’d have to ask Taima for a change my damn luck charm. Nikki’s jaw clenched in anger and she bolted from her chair. She was cursed with more than a demon. She was cursed with the worst luck ever.
Nikki swore. They probably weren’t from the local Boy Scouts selling popcorn. She edged along the wall, trying to keep out of sight. Cooper had to have a gun here, but she’d never seen one in the office and wouldn’t know where to look for it, anyway.
Her demon stirred; she could feel it clawing at her, trying to break free from the cage she kept it in. It sensed its chance, and Nikki wasted precious seconds struggling to control herself enough to control the demon.
Peeking around the corner, not in as control of herself or the demon as she’d have liked, she scanned the area for the men. They stood before the front porch now, in no hurry, it seemed.
“Cooper!” she shouted up the steps.
; She needed to warn him, tell him about the two men probably from the Carillo cartel. A moment passed as she waited at the foot of the stairs. Nikki felt the demon inside her fighting for control, struggling to break free.
She pushed it back, struggled to keep it at bay. Even if this was the one time she wanted the demon loose, Nikki refused to give it free rein.
Swallowing hard, her fingers curled into tight fists, she stepped toward the kitchen. And suddenly Cooper appeared, fully dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and his work boots, carrying a shotgun.
He looked furious.
Neither said a word as he stepped in front of her, his shotgun pointed at the front door. Nikki glanced out the window again, but couldn’t see either of the men. Damn, where had they gone?
“I saw them from upstairs,” Cooper said shortly, glancing at her.
For so fast a look, he seemed satisfied with whatever he saw and nodded. She’d never seen him look so hard, so focused; his jaw clenched, eyes harsh, he looked prepared for anything.
His attention shifted back to the front door. Shocked at this total change in her lover, Nikki could only stare at his back for a long heartbeat. Clearing her throat, she pushed that away and focused on the matter at hand.
“They’re probably cartel men.” Her eyes darted to the windows then the front door. “Damn. This is all my fault. I should have left.”
“Why?” Cooper rasped out, his eyes hard as they caught and held hers. “To make it easier on them to find you?”
She didn’t get the chance to answer. Cooper grabbed her arm and shoved Nikki behind him. She didn’t object. He moved her behind the stairs and slowly eased out just enough to see along the long hall between front and rear doors. It was the perfect vantage point.
But her demon didn’t want to stay quiet. Fear rose in her alongside the rage she always felt when the demon reared up within her. She felt threatened, so her demon felt threatened. Nikki swallowed, struggling to contain her emotions, and took a step back from Cooper.
She refused to put him in even more danger.
She didn’t want the demon set free. Not out of concern of those two men, but terror for Cooper. What if she hurt him? What if she couldn’t control it and she hurt him?
The door handle jiggled, as if the man on the other side tested it; the movements were unmistakable.
Nikki saw Cooper glance at the back door as a shadow appeared through the curtained pane. It didn’t take the one at the front door long before he slowly swung it open. The man eased into the house. He moved cautiously, and Nikki knew this wasn’t the first house he’d broken into.
Cooper waited a beat. He stepped from behind the steps and aimed his shotgun at the other man. An instant later, the intruder raised his handgun. Without hesitation, before the other man could get off his own shot, Cooper fired.
He caught the man straight in the chest with buckshot, throwing the intruder against the wall.
Cooper didn’t pause but turned to fire through the back door. The second man had just managed to ease it open. The shot went through the back door and caught the man before he realized what happened. His shout echoed along the hall in the eerie silence.
Surprised at Cooper’s adeptness, Nikki stared at him. He certainly was full of surprises. Cooper glanced over his shoulder, probably to make sure she was still there, and walked silently along the hall. She followed him to the back door, not quite as silently.
The man they’d left just inside the front door hadn’t moved and was clearly dead. Cooper set the shotgun on the table and with one solid kick at the back door, forced it to swing open, half off its hinges. The second man had attempted to crawl away, his left arm and leg leaving a trail of blood in the dirt.
Dispassionately looking at the man, Cooper stepped around him and pulled a handgun from the back waistband of his jeans. Nikki hadn’t seen it—not that she’d been looking, but now realized it lay hidden under his shirt. He stopped her with a look, and she waited at the kitchen door as he scanned the area. Like a cop or a soldier. But there wasn’t another gunman; she’d seen only the two had exited the car.
Returning to her, he kept his gaze on the land, his eyes moving back and forth. “I used to get a lot of drug runners trespassing on my land,” he told her. “They know better now.”
She could only nod. “I bet they do, Cooper.” Nikki managed with a smile.
He returned the smile, but didn’t take his attention from the yard. Nikki looked at the man on the ground, who gazed up at her with pain-laced hatred.
“What’s your name?” she demanded.
The man stopped crawling, and with a groan rolled onto his back. The moment he turned, Nikki saw a talisman around his neck. She had never seen one, not like that, but the image screamed inside her. Or made her own demon scream.
Before she had the chance to process that implication, to realize what the talisman meant or that there were others cursed like her, Nikki’s demon rose. Heard a wild cry of anger inside her.
Rage, pure and unadulterated, coursed through her with a heat so intense, some corner of her mind that was still Nikki thought she’d burn to ash.
She leapt.
With the swiftness of a predator, she snatched the man’s talisman. He clambered to his feet, his demon uncontrolled and wild. She growled low and hungry, and didn’t give him time. Nikki pounced, covered his body with hers, her hands around the man’s forehead and jaw. He growled in return, an angry hunger that made her own demon snarl. Made her snarl.
His hands tried to wrap around her throat, but she bore down on him, fluid and effortless, and in one quick motion snapped his neck.
The howl echoed through her, a long and loud sound that terrified Nikki even as her demon reveled in an enemy beaten. She fought for dominance over the rage, over the glee at taking another’s life even if that man had his own demon and had tried to kill her and Cooper.
She warred with herself—she and the demon—but they both agreed on one thing. Protect Cooper.
A predatory hunter, she snapped her head around, scenting the area for more prey. Cooper knelt at her side. His hand outstretched, he waited, patient and calm. Nikki felt herself move, for the first time in tandem with the demon.
Protect Cooper.
She looked up and recognized him. Understood he was no enemy. The consuming anger began to fade and she reached out and took his offered hand. Felt his fingers close around her. She blinked, the demon receding with that touch. Cooper hadn’t taken his gaze from her, direct and unafraid, and that resonated within Nikki, a profoundness that touched both her and the demon. Without a word, he pulled her into his embrace.
He held her. Nikki didn’t know how much time had passed; all she knew was that Cooper held her. For the first time in forever, she felt the demon. Not just the fuzzy haze of not being herself, but actually felt the demon—the raw emotions of a predator as it sniffed this strange newness.
Its curiosity as it tested Cooper. Its calmness as Cooper held her.
Her safety in Cooper’s arms. He cradled her, body warm against hers, solid. Only then, as the shivers subsided, did Nikki realize she shook. On the ground next to them lay the man she’d just killed.
“You should have run,” she finally managed to rasp out.
Within her, the demon had calmed, retreated to wherever it lived when Nikki knew she was herself.
“You were never a threat to me, Nikki.” Cooper smoothed his hand along her back, the motions lulling her into a sense of safety. Of peace. “You recognized me.” He paused. “It recognized me.”
Nikki pulled back, the shaking almost gone now, and looked up into Cooper’s face. His voice had been firm, and seeing his eyes, the clear brown she loved, she knew he told the truth. But how? Had she truly recognized him through all that rage, through the haze of…of…what was it?
Power. Force. The hunter protecting its territory. Feelings, emotions, but nothing concrete, nothing in words. All she felt was rage, and all she knew was deat
h.
How could he not be afraid of her?
Chapter Nine
Cooper stood next to Sheriff Nathan Hickland and watched the truck drive away with the bodies of the two drug runners. The sheriff had his arms folded, sunglasses neatly tucked into his uniform shirt pocket, an annoyed frown on his face as he scowled into the distance. Nate hadn’t said much since arriving at the ranch, other than to take down Cooper’s statement and coordinate the investigation, such as it was.
Luckily, Nate also wouldn’t call him on those omissions. He couldn’t tell what his old friend thought, but knew Nate well enough to know that he didn’t quite believe the story Cooper had told.
Cooper glanced behind him at the house, but saw no signs of Nikki. She’d collapsed in his arms after killing the second man, exhausted. He’d carried her upstairs, instructed her to rest, and called Nate.
Now, with the wind whipping across the land and the storm rolling in faster and faster, he wondered how she felt. She hadn’t come downstairs, and Cooper hadn’t offered to let Nate talk to her. The other man had given him a strange look, but hadn’t pressed.
“Don’t worry about it, Cooper,” Nate said as he turned back to face him. His sharp green eyes looked steadily at him, concern etched there, but puzzlement as well.
Damn. Nate had to suspect. The gunshots were easily explained, but the broken neck? It didn’t matter, as long as Nate didn’t do anything to Nikki.
“Though I’m surprised they returned,” Nate continued, nodding to where their Caddy was now being towed from the driveway. “It’s been almost a year since the last trespassing incident. But these drug runners always push the boundaries. You did the right thing.”
He clapped Cooper on the shoulder and smiled. “I’m glad you and Miss Nikki weren’t hurt.”
This time the innuendo in his voice spoke clearly of his and Nikki’s romance. Cooper only grinned; he hadn’t even told Nate he’d planned to ask Nikki to marry him, but his friend had to know. Everyone within a hundred miles of Agua Clara knew how serious things were between them.
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