Sour Cherry(20)

As far as I could tell, the coast was clear.

I dismounted Cooper’s bike, holding myself back from kicking the damn thing to the curb. Didn’t matter if he was CIA—he’d put a lot of cash and love into his ride. He might just be a biker at heart. I half-jogged across the street, my gaze darting back over my shoulder. My paranoia had reached an alarming level. Then again, apparently I had two clubs and the CIA after me.

It took me less than two minutes to reach my apartment door. From the looks of it, the door hadn’t been kicked in. No forced entry. Which meant somebody had a key. If they’d searched my place, that is.

I didn’t bother with my key, turning the doorknob and, finding it unlocked, pushed the door inward. Staying in the hallway, I surveyed first my kitchen then the living room beyond. Everything seemed to be exactly where’d I’d left it, but I wasn’t stupid enough to go in blind.

I climbed back down the stairs, pleased to see Cooper’s bike hadn’t moved. That had to be a good sign. Taking a walk around the exterior of the apartment building, I made sure nobody could get up the fire escape. For some reason, it didn’t satisfy my paranoia. There were too many places an enemy could hide or keep an eye on me through my third-story window. Adjacent buildings, for example. I picked up a couple of rocks on my way back inside.

My feet shuffled across the hardwood floor of my hallway a second time. Exhaustion pulled me down. A shower, a change of clothes and some sleep were in order before I began my little investigation. Only the possibility of someone waiting for me stood in the way. I pushed the door open once slowly again and fondled a rock in one hand.

I threw it as hard as I could in the direction of the living room wall, but hit one of the windows instead. Glass dropped onto the carpet.

No reaction.

I did the same with the second rock, only this time, I threw it in the kitchen sink.

Silence.

Nobody waited to drag me back to headquarters or cut my throat. I exhaled in relief and slammed the door behind me. Nothing in the world sounded better than a shower.





Chapter Eight

I woke to utter darkness.

The clock on my bedroom nightstand read two in the morning, but I felt as if I’d slept for two days straight. My body ached, my injuries pulsing in rhythm to my heart rate. I struggled to turn over, but something around my wrist prevented me from moving very far. I pulled against it, the sound of metal-on-metal echoing throughout the room.

“What the—?”

The light on my nightstand flipped on.

Cooper stared back at me with a smile on his face, so comfortable lounging on the other side of my queen bed. “I think you need to see that doctor about your snoring or at least about the broken nose.”

“What?” What was going on? I pulled on the handcuff around my wrist again. “Is this a dream? Because so far, I’m not okay with it.”

His laugh rolled over me like the sexiest kind of silk, brushing the furthest reaches of my mind and the naughtiest places. I liked that laugh. I needed it.

“Not a dream.” Cooper jumped up from the bed, the space he’d occupied growing cold with his retreat. He faced me as I laid my head back down and closed my eyes.

I didn’t want to think about how much I missed him beside me or the fact I wanted him to stay there forever. After everything I’d been through in the past two days, I couldn’t handle another disappointment. Cooper had gotten under my skin the second we hooked up at the bar. Then I remembered that’s exactly what he’d wanted. I groaned in frustration. “If you’re leaving, shut the light off.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Then shut up so I can sleep.” The weight of his gaze settled on me like a bundle of bricks on my chest. I couldn’t see him with my eyes closed, but I felt him all the same. I didn’t even care about the reason he’d cuffed me to my own bed. All I wanted was to sleep off the past two days like they’d never happened.

“My superior has instructed me to turn you in to the Outriggers.” His words penetrated the thin veil of sleep I’d succumbed to.

Exasperation tinted my words as I opened my eyes. “Listen, I don’t give a shit who you talked to or what you do. Please just let me sleep for a little while longer.” A sob built in my throat as the gravity of the situation slammed into the forefront of my conscience. “I’ve had a hell of a week and for just a little while, I’d like to feel safe, even if it’s only in my dreams. So either shut up and leave, or shut up and get back in the bed.”

I didn’t wait for his response, and instead readjusted to a more comfortable position. The handcuff made it difficult, but just as I settled in, the other side of the bed dipped with Cooper’s weight.