Sour Cherry(28)

Sweat-glazed bodies pressed against me from all sides, the ninety-degree weather making it so much worse than any enclosed space. I held my breath as cigarette smoke assaulted my nose and mouth, and pushed myself toward the glowing lights and loud music of the Freemont Experience. My paranoia had risen to an alarming level when I heard my name again. This time closer. It was impossible. Even the best tracker couldn’t have kept tabs on me in the middle of five hundred people on a darkened street. At least not the ones I knew.

Somebody grabbed my arm, twisting me around into a wall of hardened flesh.

“Stop running.” Cooper stared down at me, a mixture of concern and frustration simmering in his eyes. He tried to catch his breath around his words. “Please.”

My knees nearly buckled in relief as I wrapped my arms around him. One of my hysterical laughs rippled through my chest and shoulders as I took comfort in his hold. “How did you find me?”

“I went back to your apartment for my cuffs,” he said over my shoulder, still somewhat out of breath. I heard the smile in his voice, possibly from the memories of what we’d done with the cuffs. “When I got there, Ryder’s old lady pulled a gun on me. You’d already gone out the window, so I left my partner there and ran after you.”

I clung to him, almost as if for dear life. “You arrested them?”

“Well, I didn’t. But I’ve been assured they’re on their way to lockup for B and E and assault with a firearm.”

My paranoia subsided as I listened to his racing heartbeat, not completely, but enough to enjoy the delusion of safety. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“Wow,” Cooper remarked and pushed me arm's length away. A smile pulled at one corner of his mouth, the sexy grin I loved appearing to calm my pounding heart. “It’s almost as if you like me or something. What did you say when we met up again? Oh, right, this was supposed to be a one-time thing.”

“Well, I had just gotten hit in the face with a skateboard. So you can’t take everything I said to heart. I could have had brain damage at the time.”

“What about now?” Cooper pulled me back into him, chest-to-chest, his swollen groin pressing against my lower belly. “Your face looks almost healed and despite the fact you ran from me into the middle of these sweaty bastards, you’re not running now.”

“What if I do? Like you.” Did he have any idea of how much his answer mattered to me? I didn’t want to think about his possible rejection because it didn’t fit into my plans. “What if I don’t want this to be a one-night thing anymore? We could run for it. Hide.”

“I think we’ve gone past one night, don’t you agree?” His smile made me laugh, but after a moment, his face grew serious. His hold tightened as his eyes narrowed in on me. “I worked hard to get where I am, Cherry. It took me years to find a career that makes me happy and I don’t want to give that up. Not yet.”





Chapter Eleven

This was so not good.

The atmosphere pressed in on me from every side. Sweaty bodies, the sour taste of cigarette smoke, bright lights and loud music took over my thoughts. I backed away from Cooper slightly, still within reach, but out of his grasp. My heart plummeted into my stomach as I tried to swallow around the lump in my throat. Tears flooded my eyes as if he’d hit me in the gut. I studied the crowd surrounding us in order to hide my reaction to basically getting rejected and nodded as if I were in agreement with his admission, not really seeing the people staring back at me.

“I understand.”

I lied.

Who wanted to stay in a life filled with drugs, guns and blood? If the past week had taught me anything, it was that those three things lead to worse things. Betrayal by the people you thought you knew, for one. Or death, in Talon’s instance. I didn’t want this life anymore and for a brief instant, I’d thought Cooper wanted the same.

I couldn’t imagine him having a death wish, but who was I to say? We barely knew each other. I had no idea where he’d grown up, if he went to college or had fallen in love once. Did he have kids or a hobby? I couldn’t answer any of those questions. Ironic how the person who’d given me hope of a normal future with those exact elements didn’t want to leave his chaotic one. I couldn’t blame him. I’d set the rules when we met; one night. Nothing more.

But I wanted more now.

And as Cooper had just enlightened me, he didn’t.

“Cherry.” He reached for me, but I stepped away.

My gaze connected with his for a brief instant and I refused to acknowledge the sorrow in his eyes. The tears threatened to escape. I had to get away from him before they spilled over and revealed how much I’d betrayed myself. Why hadn’t I listened to Trish back at the clubhouse? I’d known going in this would be impossible. “I won’t be at the warehouse tomorrow,” I yelled over the mob. “There’s something I have to do.”