Corps Security: The Series (87 page)

“We need to get Sway a man. Not just any man, but we need someone that could stand up next to these C.S. boys and belong. Certified, grade-A, hunk material.”

Emmy looks up from where she’s entering some notes from an earlier meeting the guys had and drops her jaw.

“You aren’t seriously thinking about playing matchmaker, right?”

“Why not? It shouldn’t be that hard to find him someone. I bet if we checked Craig’s List right now, there would be a million men looking for companionship!”

Emmy snorts. “Yeah, maybe if you were in the market to start pimping. You can’t pick him a man off Craig’s List . . . That’s just dirty.”

“Okay then, Ms. I Know Everything, where would you like to find him a man?” I cross my arms and huff.

“Uh, how about, I don’t. I have enough trouble with my own dates, let alone picking up someone else’s.” She turns her attention back to the computer, effectively cutting me off.

Whatever. I turn around from the front desk and take in their lobby. I was shocked when Greg told me that the guys did all their own decorating. The lobby is pretty dark, but still welcoming. Emmy’s desk is the center of attention when you walk in the door, literally, the first thing you can see. Then of course, there is the Corps Security logo in huge black letters behind her head. The walls are a dark gray, and on either side of Emmy are two thick black couches. Both sitting areas have a gray coffee table with various piles of crap magazines on them. We had finally talked the guys into adding some red accents around the place to at least make it look a little happier and less ‘my wife is cheating, will you catch her’ gloomy.

I walk over to the left of her desk, pick up the most recent People magazine, and start flipping the pages.

“Emmy, we’ve got to take an important call in the conference room, so hold all the other calls, and when Coop comes back, tell him to get in here.” Beck’s voice draws my attention away from the magazine. He walks over and gives me a brief kiss. “You okay up here for a second? We’re just right down the hall.”

I smile up at him and reach out to rub the frown from his brow. “I’m fine. Emmy and I were just discussing the benefits of getting into the pimping trade, so just go along, and let us work our magic.”

He walks away with a smile and all traces of his frown gone.

“You are nuts,” Emmy says from her desk, punctuating each word with a hard snap of the keyboard.

“But you love me!” We both laugh, but before she can go back to her work, I ask her the one question I know she hates to be asked. “So, how are things with Maddox?”

She loses the small smile on her face and stops what she’s doing.

“Things aren’t anything and they won’t be anything. That man is impossible.”

“You’re giving up?” I really never expected her to hold on to her flame for him this long, but I had been hoping that he would at least let her in when he realized how awesome she is.

“It’s for the best, Dee.”

Before I can reply, Coop comes dancing in the door, running his fingers through his shaggy blond hair. We both start laughing when we notice the gold glitter falling from his locks.

“This isn’t funny! I swear Sway has some kind of tracker on my truck. Ever since Greg told him I was some glitter fairy, he finds the need to come shower that shit all over me.”

I can’t hold back the laughter. I have to walk over to the desk and hold on so I don’t fall over, and squeeze my legs together so I won’t pee in my pants like a little kid.

I’m so busy laughing that I miss the second the mood shifts from light and laughing to deathly serious. I’m wiping the tears from my eyes when I notice something out of the corner of my eye. I take in Emmy’s stark white face and bugged-out eyes, before looking over at where Coop is standing. He’s frozen with his hand still in his hair, but his attention isn’t on the glitter anymore. I have never, not once in the two years that I’ve known him, seen him look like this. Playful and joking Coop has been replaced with someone that would give Maddox a run for his money. He looks absolutely lethal.

“Dee, get your ass behind the desk. Now.” Coop’s voice sounds the same, only much harder. I try to move, but the second I shift, the figure standing in the doorway turns his attention back towards me. I don’t even need to focus on him to tell that he’s pointing a gun right at the side of my head. The sickening click of him releasing the safety is all I needed to hear.

“If you even think about movin’ a fucking inch, I’ll put a goddamn bullet through your head.”

You would think that when you hear the voice of someone you know has clearly gone in-fucking-sane that he would at least sound demonic, but no, Adam sounds just like the same southern frat boy I hired not too long ago.

“Adam, put the gun down and let the girls go. Let’s me and you sit down and talk.” I beg. I try to swallow the lump of fear that’s crawling up my throat, but my mouth is bone-dry. I sneak a glance at Emmy to see that her face is impossibly pale, and she has tears streaming down her face.

Shit! Okay. Think Dee . . . I can feel the claws of my own personal hell trying to latch on and pull me under, back into that darkness that I’ve finally overcome, but I’ll be damned! There is no way in hell that I’m going to finally move past that to find my own happiness, then have some motherfucking cokehead take it away from me.

“I have nothin’ to say to you! All of yous assfucks have been in my business. You don’t think I know yous been lookin’ for me?! NO! I ain’t lettin’ you take me to him!” He sounds high as a kite. Surely, I can make it behind the desk and grab my purse. I made sure that my Glock was loaded before I put it in my purse earlier. All I need to do is get a little closer.

“DON’T FUCKIN’ MOVE, BITCH!” His maniacal screams cause me to jump, and I reach out to grab the desk again to help keep me from falling.

“Please, Adam.” I beg. I just need to buy a little time to get behind the desk. Fuck! Why haven’t the guys come out! Surely they . . . Oh, God! They’re in the conference room. The conference room isn’t just in the back of the building, but it’s also completely sound proof! My heart sinks when I realize that, unless Maddox comes back, there isn’t anyone to help us.

“No! No! NO!” My mind flashes back to when Brandon held Izzy and me hostage. He was the same kind of crazy, bashing his head with the gun, and pulling frantically at his hair. The only difference is that Adam looks completely insane, while Brandon was able to hide his under his perfect exterior.

The gun never wavers when he starts rocking back and forth, muttering under his breath. His beady eyes look over every single inch of the lobby, pausing to leer at Emmy behind the desk before a sick smile curls his lips. “Who is this little thing? You sure do look a lot like that bitch Chelcie. Where is that little shit?” His bloodshot eyes swing back towards me, and I flinch when I see his vacant expression.

“She isn’t here, Adam. She’s back in North Carolina.” I hold my hands up, and hope that by showing him I’m not a threat, he will drop the weapon and give us enough time to take control. I can see Coop shift just slightly, and I know he’s trying to get to his gun. He’s the only one out of the group of Corps men that keeps his gun in a shoulder harness, and there isn’t a way he can get to it without drawing more attention. “Adam,” I start, trying to make sure he’s looking at me. “Why didn’t you just tell me you needed help? I would have helped you.” I keep my tone calm and hopefully void of the terror that is washing through my body.

“You ain’t foolin’ me, Dee! I know what kinda sneaky bitch you are.” His laugh comes out completely possessed. “You couldn’t just keep your nose outta my business. Noooo, you had to come in and fuck everything up!” I back up a step when he turns his attention back to Coop. “Stop fuckin’ movin’!” he screams, coming closer to Coop by a step. It’s like a nightmare square we’re forming. Emmy is behind the desk and I’m next to it. Coop is standing in front of Emmy with Adam at the doorway pointing the gun right at him.

“Adam, please let them go. It’s me that you have issues with; these people are just innocent bystanders. Okay? I’ll go with you, and we can go get the money and take care of everything.” He laughs again, and I know that he isn’t going to be reasoned with.

I just need one more inch, and my purse is right there on the floor. I take a step back, hook my purse strap with my heel, and try to bring my leg up slowly where he can’t see it. Luckily, we’re at an angle where he can’t see the bottom part of my body since he’s moved closer to Coop.

“Adam, you don’t want to do anything stupid. Let me have the gun, and we can go in the back and figure this out. You want some protection against this guy? We can do that. Come on, Adam, let me have the gun.” Coop moves just a step closer, and I use the distraction to grab the strap and pull my purse up. My gun is in my hands before he even has a second to notice I’ve moved. The heavy weight feels like the only lifeline I have right now.

“Oh, really? I don’t wanna do anything stupid? Yous idiots can’t protect me from D. He will find me, and since I’m already a dead man walkin,’ there ain’t shit to stop me from, oh, I don’t know, taking blondie’s head off first.”

It’s as if the world starts only working in slow motion. Adam turns and points his gun right at Emmy’s head. She gasps but doesn’t even move. Absolute terror washes over her body and she goes statue still. I scream and go to raise my gun, but before I even have it halfway up from my hip, I hear the deafening sound of the bullet leaving the chamber. And then the slow motion, horror show keeps rolling. I watch with helpless, stone-cold dread as Coop flings his body to the side. His large frame jolts when he takes the bullet meant for Emmy’s head.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” I scream and finish raising my gun. He just laughs, and before I can pop the safety and shoot, I hear another shot echo around the room. A burning like nothing I have ever felt in my life sears through my left shoulder, but I don’t even falter. This sick bastard just shot my friend, and I’ll be damned if anyone else here takes a bullet. It seems to take forever, but really, it’s only been seconds since Coop hit the floor, before I take a deep breath and fire my own weapon. When the recoil rocks me back, I lock my knees and keep my eyes trained on the sick fuck that just took
my
bullet between his fucking eyes.

I drop the gun, and with a sob, I rush towards where Coop’s body is lying motionless on the black tile floor. My ears hurt from the screams that are echoing throughout the office, and it takes me a second to realize that they are coming from my own mouth. When I reach his side, I slip and fall, crashing to the floor next to him. “COOP! Oh, God . . . Zeke Cooper, open your eyes, please! HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!” He opens his eyes for a second, but they slip closed just as I’m pulling his heavy body into my arms. I search his body, but when I see the dark red hole right in the middle of his stomach, I know this isn’t good.

“EMMY! Come on, Em, help me.”

She doesn’t even move.

“COOP, wake up, Babe! Please, God . . .” My sobs start to echo around me. I lean back, pull my tank top over my body, and press it tight against his stomach. I don’t know if this is going to help, but I’m not going to stop short of trying everything.

I know they had to have heard the shots next door. There is no damn way they didn’t. “MADDOX! God, PLEASE . . .” I sob, begging for the only person that can be any help now. Unless the guys in the back open that door, there is no way they can hear anything happening, but I keep trying.

“Coop, please . . . stay with me, Coop!” I keep pressure against his wound, but when the blood starts coming through my shirt and coating my hands, I start to panic.

“FUCK!” I’m not even sure how I hear Maddox scream over my sobbing, but he is immediately by my side. He pulls his shirt off and puts it on top of my hand. “Hold. Don’t fucking move.”

He bends down and speaks in Coop’s ear. Coop’s eyes open and he tries to nod his head, but his eyes widen before a sickening wet groan comes up his throat. I watch in horror as he coughs once and a massive amount of blood comes pouring out of his mouth. I try to shift my body so that I can offer him something, anything, but my legs slip and my body almost slides, crashing down when I lose my traction. I look down and notice the amount of blood that I’m kneeling in.

“Maddox!”

I call him to come help me, but he’s looking at Emmy as he barks orders into the phone. She still hasn’t moved from her spot behind the desk, tears still pouring down her face, and her small body shaking with so many violent waves, I know she’s about two seconds away from going into shock. Shit.

I see a flash of hot pink and long blond hair rush past me and down the hallway to the back of the building. I look up for a second to see Chelcie with her arms wrapped tightly around her belly, just shaking her head back and forth.

It doesn’t take long before Beck, Greg, and Axel come rushing down the hallway followed by a frantic, crying Sway. They don’t waste any time springing into action. I don’t move from my position, and continue pressing the two soaked shirts against his solid abdomen. Maddox finishes telling the 911 operator the rest of the details before slinging the phone across the room where it crashes against the wall.

“I’ve got it. Go get Em.” Greg’s rough voice, thick with emotion, tells Maddox when he moves to come back to Coop. He looks torn for a second between the man that is like his brother, and the woman that he’s been fighting his feelings for. With a heavy sob, he picks himself off the floor and rushes over to where she is sitting. She doesn’t move, but he picks her up from the chair and quickly carries her over to one of the couches. “Chelcie, find me a jacket, blanket, some fucking thing now!” His tone snaps her attention from Coop, and she rushes back through the office.

I bring my focus back to the men surrounding Coop and take in each one of their faces. They hold so much pain and grief. This is what the face of hopelessness looks like.

“No, no, no! Coop, Coop, you stay with us. Do you hear me?” I sob and scream. Beg for him to be okay. When the paramedics rush in and tell me to move out of the way, I refuse at first. I’m keeping him alive. How can they think of asking me to move! It takes both Beck and Greg to pull me off of his body. When they finally roll him into the back of their rig, I collapse and let out every single scream and ounce of agony left in my body as Beck holds me tight. Axel leaves with Coop, Maddox leaves in the second ambulance with Emmy, and when they come to tell me I need to be checked out, I fight them tooth and nail. Beck finally tells them that they will have to look me over while I sit in his arms.