Coop pushed his motorcycle to the limit, bending around corners, trying his best to outrun the truck and get Olin to safety. Olin’s hands were squeezing around Coop so tight that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the guy broke a few of his ribs.
He wanted to text Karidon and tell his friend to get his ass back here but at the rate Coop was going, he needed to keep both hands on the handle bars.
He spotted an access road into the woods and took it, hoping like hell the truck wouldn’t fit. Coop had to slow in order to traverse through the rough terrain. He heard tires screech and knew the truck had come to a stop. But he didn’t. Coop kept going until he made it through the woods and spilled out onto a street a few blocks from Talyn’s.
As soon as he had flat road under his tires, Coop gunned it, speeding down the streets until he slowed and pulled into Talyn’s driveway. He pulled the bike all the way in the back and then cut the motor.
“Get inside,” he ordered Olin.
Thankfully, the guy didn’t argue. He looked too shaken up to speak. Olin took off into the back door as Coop pulled his phone out and called Karidon.
“If you’re calling to brag, then I’m sorely disappointed. That was too damn quick.”
“Just got shot at by the deli,” Coop said as he wiped a shaky hand down his face. If those jackasses in that truck had been any sooner, Coop’s mother and sister would have been there, along with Karidon and Gracie. Red-hot anger filled him as he paced the concrete patio.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. Are you and Olin all right? Were either of you hit?”
“No, I managed to cut through the woods and spilled out on Daisy Road. I want to find out who the fuck put a contract out on us and put a fucking bullet between his eyes!”
“Take a deep breath, Coop. Are you at Talyn’s?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m on my way.” Karidon hung up just as Talyn walked outside. He glanced at Coop and then at his motorcycle.
“Olin looks as though he’s going to pass out at any second. I made him go upstairs with Gabriel and Dane to help paint the nursery. What happened?” Talyn swung one of the chairs around that had been tucked under the glass patio table and straddled it.
Coop took a few more deep breaths to try and calm his nerves and then told Talyn about the yahoos in the truck as he dropped into one of the chairs. “I swear, if my family or Olin had been hurt…” Coop couldn’t finish the sentence. He was too shaken and didn’t want to think about how wrong things could have turned out.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise. I’ve made a few calls and have some of the Enforcers out looking for leads,” Talyn said. “In the meantime, I want you and Karidon to lay low. Keep Olin with you. Now that they’ve seen him, he’ll be a target.”
The last thing Coop had wanted to do was get Olin involved in this. He was trying to convince the little leopard to build a life with him, and getting shot at hadn’t helped his case.
“I can’t take Olin to my place. With that kind of money on my head, I’m pretty sure it’s being watched. They’re probably watching yours as well,” Coop said. “But I’m safer at your house with you and Syn here.”
“You and Karidon should stay at Olin’s. I’ve already talked with their aunt. She’s getting some rooms ready for the two of you.”
“No.” Coop shook his head. “I’ll be damned if I allow anyone to run me away from here.” He slammed his fist on the table. “Karidon and I are your top Enforcers. Our place is here with you and Gabriel. He’s going to be giving birth in a month. You need us.”
Talyn stood to his full height as he gave Coop a hard stare. “What I need is for you two to stay alive. You’ll take Olin and Karidon to Mya’s. That’s a damn order, Cooper.”
Coop flexed his jaw but remained quiet. His alpha had given an order, and all he could do was either obey or get his ass handed to him. He’d grown up with Talyn and knew the man was a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m starting to wonder if it could be Khan who put those contracts out,” Talyn mused out loud. “We haven’t heard from him in two months. I highly doubt he would stay hidden, especially after I challenged him.”
Coop sat up straighter, feeling as if there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. “How would you find out?”
Talyn glanced down at Coop as if he’d forgotten Coop was there. “Let me handle that. You get Karidon and Olin to Mya’s.” Talyn walked to the door and then turned back around. “And stay off of Samson McBride’s radar while you’re there. I don’t need another beef with the Riverside coalition.”