Slow Ride (20 page)

“You aren’t unlawfully entering my business, Saybrook. And save your tough guy act
for someone else. I don’t cave under your pressure like some of the others in this
town. Now, get the fuck off my property and don’t come back without that piece of
paper.”

Sayrook’s meaty fist shot out and Cooper had just enough time to dodge it. Saybrook
missed his intended target—his face—only grazing his jaw. No way was Cooper going
to let this jackass hit him on his property. He lunged for the top cop.

One of the other cops took out his baton and lashed out at Cooper, slamming it into
his ribs. He doubled over in pain and didn’t see the officer’s foot shoot out. Cooper
stumbled, dropping to a knee while he tried to catch his breath, pain shooting down
his thigh. He glanced up in time to see Jack holding Phil back from entering the scuffle.

“Stand down, Phil.” Cooper ordered, before pushing to his feet. He directed his attention
to Saybrook. “You might beat your way into getting your way with everything else,
but I am not one of your cock-sucking whores. Beat the shit out of me, I don’t care.
But I will not give in to you.”

“Coop, man, don’t. We do not need you going to jail right now.”

Saybrook leaned back. “Yeah, Moretto. Listen to your boy, Jack. Unless you want an
extended stay in my jail, that is. I’d love to have you in a cage, where you couldn’t
get away from me.”

“You’re a sick bastard,” Cooper hissed.

“I know,” Saybrook crowed, his chest puffing out with what looked like pride.

Jackson cleared his throat. “Boss, I think we should go get that warrant. If a chop
shop is what’s happening here, they won’t be able to hide the evidence.” He leveled
his gaze at Cooper. “We’re coming back so don’t do anything stupid. Or anything more
stupid than usual.”

Saybrook glared at the mechanics for another long moment before turning on his heel
and heading back to his tricked out Escalade. How the town afforded to buy him that,
no one knew. The cost alone was almost the entire department budget.

“Keep it calm, man.” Phil mumbled as they watched the cops peel out of the lot.

“Shut the fucking gate and lock it. They want in, they’re going to need to bust through
it. Have one of the guys sit out front to let in customers.”

“We’re swamped,” Jack said, but was cut off quickly by Cooper.

“I don’t fucking care. Just do it.”

Jack grumbled something before heading toward the gate, waving to the others to come
out of the office. Just then, Kyla turned into the lot, smiling and carrying a bag
and a couple boxes of pizza.

“What are you going tell her?” Phil asked.

Cooper sighed. “No idea, but I know I have to. She’s going to freak out, but she needs
to be ready in case they somehow get a warrant to come back here. And if Saybrook
suddenly has a hard-on for me, I don’t want her getting caught in the crossfire.”

“Good luck with that.” Phil muttered. “Hey Kyla. Perfect timing. My stomach was just
telling me it was time to eat.”

“Your stomach is always telling you that.” Kyla teased as she handed him the food.
She glanced back at Jack, locking the gate. “What’s going on? Is the shop closing
early?”

“Phil, take that out back, we can eat on the picnic table back there. There are beers
in the fridge. Turn the stereo on, too. I think we all need a break.”

Phil headed off to the back lot where they often partied or just hung out, and Cooper
turned his attention to Kyla.

“Cooper, what’s going on?” Her eyes were wide and he could tell she was nervous by
the way she was fidgeting, shifting her feet and wringing her hands.

“We had a visitor and I want to tell you about it. Not to scare you, but just so you’re
aware of what’s going on.” He grabbed her hand and led her into the office, locking
the doors. “Come here.”

She went to him and immediately put her arms around his waist. God, this woman was
amazing, he thought. Just that and he felt better. When she pressed tightly against
him, he grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath.

Kyla glanced up and her face took on a concerned look. She lifted a hand to his jaw
and he winced. “Cooper, you’ve got a bruise on your face. And your side. . .” She
ran a hand along his abdomen. God, he wished these were different circumstances, her
touching him like this, behind a locked door. “What happened?” He heard the trembling
in her voice and it pissed him that she was scared.

He sat in the office chair and pulled her on his lap. Screw the pain, he had to reassure
her right now that he was okay. She straddled his legs and waited.

“After you left, the cops came by. One of them was the chief, the guy I told you about.
They made some allegations about us running a chop shop.”

“But you don’t. I mean, I’ve seen the books, and there isn’t anything shady going
on, like weird deliveries or unknown cars showing up and being ripped apart. You wouldn’t
exactly be able to hide that here.”

“I know that, and you know that. Hell, everyone knows that, including probably Saybrook.
But he wants to bust my balls for whatever reason and this is how he’s choosing to
do it.”

“Did you let them in? And what does this have to do with your face being bruised?”

He buried his face in her neck and inhaled her sweet scent. His lips brushed the sensitive
skin of her neck and he felt her shiver in his arms.

“Don’t distract me,” she whispered. “Tell me the rest.”

Cooper lifted his head and sighed. “All right. We got into a tussle. The cops took
a few shots when I told them to come back with a warrant. But it wasn’t a big deal.
Just a couple bruises, I’ll be fine.”

“Be fine. You’ll be fine.” She was looking at him strangely before she exploded from
the chair and railed against Saybrook.

“That stupid jerkface! I cannot believe he came here, threatened you, and then hurt
you. And I wasn’t here. But let me tell you, if I were, I would have so given him
a piece of my mind. I am so sick and tired of people taking the power they are given
and abusing it. Why is he allowed to do that? Why doesn’t anyone stop them?”

Cooper reached out and took her hands, yanking her toward him. “Kyla O’Grady, listen
to me. You will not, under any circumstances give that man a piece of your mind. You
see him, you walk the other way. No, you run the other way. I cannot have you anywhere
near him. I’ve heard what he does to women, and I will not allow you to suffer that
fate. And don’t forget about what I told you we think he did to Cheryl. He will hurt
you, Kyla, and make you wish you were dead. Maybe he’d even do worse. So please, steer
clear of him. Promise me you will.”

Kyla’s eyes were round. “Fine, Cooper. I promise, I’ll stay away from him. Pinkie
swear.”

“Isn’t a pinkie swear some girl thing?” How she had him fearing for her safety in
one moment and then had him amused in the next was beyond him. “I don’t know if that
works in this situation but, I believe you’ll keep your promise.”

“I always keep my promises. Especially to really hot, brave, kind mechanics who take
care of Lola.” Kyla wrapped her arms around his neck and she leaned in, gently pressing
against him. “Now, about this bruise on your jaw: maybe a kiss will make it better?”
Her lips brushed across his skin and his fingers pressed into her hips.

Cooper grinned. “I think that’s a start.” She was still kissing him, her lips moving
down to his neck now. “Ya know, they got me in the stomach and thigh, too. I think
those need a kiss.”

He heard her soft laugh as her hands moved to the bottom of his shirt and slid underneath.
“Well, let’s see what we can do about that.”

Cooper groaned as she dropped down and her lips touched his stomach, leaving kisses
along his skin. He glanced at the door, thankful that he had the forethought to lock
it.

• • •

“So, are you going to tell me what’s happening with you and Cooper? We haven’t had
a lot of time to talk.”

That was Sarah, who was sitting on the bed while Kyla was getting ready. It was a
week following the disaster at the 4th of July picnic. They had finally rescheduled
their date, but between work and his sleeping over every night, they were inseparable.
Unfortunately all they did was sleep, which was more than a bit annoying. Something
always happened to get in the way of their finishing. But tonight was the night. Kyla
was determined.

“Things are good. We’ve been getting to know each other better. I didn’t think he’d
want to talk but he does, especially about his dad.”

Sarah nodded. “Yeah, he and his dad were tight. Even though I was a couple years younger
than him and the guys, I would go to the hockey games and his dad was always there,
cheering Cooper on.”

Cooper had talked a lot about his hockey playing days in both high school and college.
Hockey was why he had a slightly crooked nose, the victim of a hockey fight after
checking someone into the boards. She sighed. “I really like him, Sarah.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no shit. I mean, not to say I told you so, but well,
I told you so.”

Kyla shot her a mock glare and then went back to yanking the hem of the dress.

“All that is going to do is show more cleavage up top. Now stop it before you ruin
the damn thing. You look hot,” her friend scolded.

Kyla’s stomach did another roll, definitely a good one. “So, am I all put together?”

Sarah grinned. “If I were into girls, I’d be doing you right now.” The two burst out
laughing and made their way into the small kitchen area. Kyla grabbed a bottle of
wine and poured them each a glass.

“To liquid courage.” she toasted, clinking Sarah’s glass.

Her phone buzzed and Sarah grabbed it, “Oh I bet it’s Cooper! Let’s see what he says.”
She was squealing, but when she read the text her eyes narrowed, “Um, Kyla, what the
hell is this?”

Kyla felt frozen in place. Something in her gut told her that it was another text,
another threat, something else to add to her nightmares.

Sarah read the first text aloud.
“I’m coming for you, whore. You won’t get away from me.”

Kyla grabbed the phone from a stunned Sarah just as another came in.

“You heard me, bitch. I will cut you up and leave you to bleed. See you soon.”

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there staring at the phone as if it was going to
bite her. She fought the urge to throw up, steadying herself with a hand to the wall.

“Kyla, you okay?”

She jumped when Sarah placed a hand on her arm. “Yeah, I’m fine. Fine.” Her movement
was robotic. She could tell from Sarah’s pursed lips that she wasn’t buying it. She
felt bad, guilty even, for lying and decided in that moment to not close herself off
with her new friend. She wasn’t going down that road again.

Just then a knock came at the door and they both jumped a mile. Sarah knocked into
one of the wine glasses and it crashed to the floor, shattering everywhere.

Kyla ran to grab a towel and the broom while Sarah let out a curse and turned to greet
Cooper. “Kyla and you need to talk. Now.”

Cooper stood there, his hand still on the door-knob, taking in the scene. “What the
fuck?”

Kyla stopped when she heard Cooper, fidgeting where she stood. Sarah grabbed the items
out of her hand. “Go, Kyla. You need to tell Cooper what just happened. I’ll clean
this up and lock up when I go.”

She was nervous, her voice barely above a whisper. “Are you mad?”

Sarah’s head jerked up. “No! Kyla, why would I be pissed at you? I’m mad about that.”
Her eyes hit the phone Kyla gripped in her hand. . “But I’m not mad at you. I will
be, however, if you don’t give it up and let Cooper know what is going on.”

Cooper came unstuck from the doorway. “Come on. We got time to talk.” He tugged at
her hand and she grabbed her wrap and purse. It was then that she got a good look
at what Cooper was wearing. A pair of black dress pants, something she’d never seen
him in, but holy heck, he looked good. This was paired with what looked like black
cowboy boots and a dark gray, button-down shirt. Cooper escorted her to his truck
and as rounded the hood she noticed his thick, dark hair lift in the breeze. Once
glance at the sky confirmed dark clouds forming in the distance.

“What is going on?” Cooper said as he stuck his key in the ignition. The muscle in
his jaw ticked and she could hear his voice vibrating.

She didn’t back down though, or give in. Not until she said her piece first. “You
look nice, Cooper.” She reached over and interlaced her fingers in his.

His eyes shot to their hands and then back up to her. “You look better than good,
baby. I wanted to say it when I first saw you. Hell, I wanted to cancel our date and
take care of things right there, but we had an audience and clearly something is going
on.” He lifted their hands and kissed hers. “Talk to me.”

“I will. Can we drive though? I can talk while you drive and then, once we get there,
hopefully it will be all out and I can be done with it. I don’t want to re-hash it
a hundred times.”

“The club is ten minutes from here, if that. This sounds like it might take longer
than that.”

She sighed. “It likely will, but we can sit in the lot until I’m done.”

Cooper paused a beat but then started the truck and pulled out of the lot. She waited
until they were on the street to begin.

“I got a text message. Actually two, tonight. And this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten
them. They’re threatening and they scare the heck out of me. My brother has been trying
to take care of it, filing violations of the order of protection and whatnot, but
Frank’s lawyers keep getting it adjourned. Anyway, just before you got there, Sarah
saw them. Or one of them. It freaked her out. Well, and me too. And she told me to
tell you.”

“You weren’t going to?”

Kyla hesitated and sneaked a look at Cooper; his jaw was hard as he concentrated on
the road. “I was, but I wouldn’t have done it tonight. I didn’t want to ruin anything.
Every time we try to go out, something interrupts and we don’t get to have some peace.
So I would have told you, but. . .”