Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“No, excuse me? You’re not even going to speak to me? Did I do something wrong?” I ignore the ache in my chest at his sharp, unequivocal dismissal.
Coop’s booted feet stop in the middle of the ramp, and he turns to face me, blinking as if he’s seeing me for the first time.
“Kelsey, hey. I didn’t see you there.”
Bullshit. “Really?”
He nods. “Got a lot on my mind. What’s up?”
“What’s up? What’s up? I haven’t seen or heard from you in days, and I figured I would stop by. Say hey and check on my car. Maybe have some lunch with you?”
He shakes his head before I get the last of the words out of my mouth. There’s no playful smile on his face, just a dark, angry scowl.
“I don’t have time for this right now, Kelsey.”
It’s like another knife straight to my heart. “You mean you don’t have time for me.”
“Right.” He’s standing taller now, his gaze determined and far away. Icy. “I don’t have time, period.”
For extra insult, he glances down at his watch and blows out a deep, impatient breath. “Your car isn’t ready yet.”
“Why not?”
“Dammit, Kelsey, because it’s not!”
I shake my head because there’s no way in hell I’ll ever let a man talk to me the way Daddy talks to Mom, even if she deserves it sometimes.
“That’s not good enough, Coop. You want to be an asshole to me? Fine. Dismiss me and hurt me? Go right ahead. But my car is my business, and I demand to know what the hell is going on!”
My heart races as the tough words tumble from my lips, my hands settle as fists on my hips, my eyes glare back with as much, if not more, fire.
Coop pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is a really bad fucking time, Kelsey.”
“Yeah, well, every day I don’t have my car is a really bad fucking time, Coop.”
This is the asshole Coop. The one who probably kicks ass and takes names for his club. The one who slams fists into flesh and bones, all in the name of protection and brotherhood. This is the other side of the coin, the Coop I met that first night.
He takes a step back in surprise at my tone. His fists unfold, and he stands a little taller, his posture defiant.
“Feel free to take your Daddy’s car somewhere else then, princess.”
I suck in a gasp and shake my head.
“You did not just…”
Except he did just go there. He’s trying to hurt me, but I can’t let him. I won’t.
“All right. I’ll do that then because I don’t have time for this shit. I thought you guys were the best. I thought you were…someone else.”
He pats his chest. “I never pretended to be anyone else, sweetheart.”
“That’s a fucking lie. You pretended to be a good guy, but you’re not. You got what you wanted from me, pussy and information, and now you don’t have the balls to just say you’re done with me.”
If I want this kind of headache, I’ll continue to fuck around with college guys who only think with their dicks.
“Fine, Coop. Have it your way. I’ll have my car picked up. Soon. But I also don’t have time for this shit because I have class.”
I stomp away, happy that Ruby’s five-minute window is still open as I pull open the door and put one foot inside.
“Kelsey,” he calls out to me, a hint of anger and a touch of anguish darkening his tone.
I don’t turn around as my shoulders fall, the ache deep inside of me too raw to look at his beautifully rugged face.
“It’s all right, Coop. You’re not the first man to hurt me, and you probably won’t be the last.”
I drop down into Ruby’s passenger seat and risk a look at Coop. His blue eyes sparkling, a deep blue that’s stunning and heartbreaking all at once. “Be safe, Coop.”
As Ruby drives off, my eyes can’t leave his, can’t stop staring until the universe removes him from my view.
“You all right, honey?”
I shake my head and swipe a rogue tear as it slips down my cheek.
“I will be,” I assure her. “Another one bites the dust,” I tell her, but my heart clenches knowing that Coop isn’t just another asshole. Another notch in my bedpost. He’s something else.
Something different.
Something special.
Most of all, he’s not mine.
Not any longer.
Chapter Twenty
Coop
The Iron Kings are out in big numbers tonight, so many it’s almost like they know what’s coming. They don’t know, of course. They can’t, but there are enough of them now to put up a real fight.
“You sure about that no mole thing?” Shades whispers the question, but I can still hear the smile in his voice.
“Fuck off,” I say, still watching the stash house from a distance as they unload a truck and stash it inside the nondescript white house with pillars out front and a circular driveaway. It’s not the ideal location to strike. Too many ways in and out of the place, but this is where we can do the most damage, so this is where shit is going down.