“So?” Jace asked as they pulled up to the motel in the pouring rain.
Cooper turned off the ignition and looked at his friend. “You drank coffee and talked about the weather the entire way over here. And now you want to ask a question?”
“Not just any question. The question.”
“Oh, the question. What question is that?”
Jace rolled his eyes. “Don’t try that shit with me. You know what.”
Cooper faced forward and shrugged, no longer pretending he didn’t know what his friend was asking. “I’m not sure. She told me yesterday that I belonged here, and it would never work between us.”
“She certainly wasn’t acting like things were over last night. Neither of you was.”
“Because I don’t want them to be.”
“You need to call your mom.”
Cooper smiled as he glanced at Jace. “I did this morning before you came downstairs. I’ve been keeping her informed of things, and she was asking to meet Marlee.”
“I gather you told Mom you’re in love with Marlee.”
“Yeah.”
“I can guess what she told you.”
Cooper turned his head to his best friend. “Oh? What’s that?”
“The same thing I’m going to tell you.” Jace met his gaze, his expression serious. “I’ve seen you with lots of women. I knew the instant I saw you with Marlee that she was different. That she was the one for you.”
Cooper didn’t so much as move as Jace continued.
“We’ve been best friends for a long time, Coop. We remained close through the years while we were in the military. And you know what? We’ll always remain close. No matter where you live. If you want to be with Marlee, and I know you do, then that means your path lies alongside hers, which means traveling away from here.”
“I know,” Cooper said in a soft voice.
“You two work well together. Think what you could accomplish.”
Cooper nodded, unable to find words.
“I’ll always be here for you, brother. You know that. Get the girl and take hold of the life that awaits both of you.” There was a pause, then Jace got out of the truck, stepping into the frigid rain, and ran to Marlee’s door.
Cooper followed his friend. They entered the room and began collecting pictures off the walls, stacking them neatly. Jace had two boxes piled on top of each other as he headed to the truck to load them. Cooper kept packing. He didn’t even glance up when the door opened.
“We don’t have much left,” he said.
“That’s nice.”
The deep voice wasn’t one he recognized. Cooper froze and slowly straightened. He then turned to face whoever it was. That’s when he spotted the crowbar in the man’s hand that dripped blood on the carpet. The fact that the man was in the room and not Jace put Cooper in defense-mode.
The man smiled sadistically. “Jace never saw me coming.”
“You’ve got one chance to leave before I rip you apart.”
“With what?” the man asked. “You have no weapon.”
Cooper fisted his hands. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“I would,” he declared and drew out a gun with his other hand, pointing it at Cooper. “Not so cocky now, are you?”
“If you knew who I was, you’d stop running your mouth and do something.”
The man laughed. “I know who you are, Cooper Owens. I learned everything about those Marlee was investigating the moment she pulled into town. But all your training doesn’t scare me. Because I have much, much more than you.”
“What do you want?”
“Marlee. I knew someone would come for her things. I’ve been waiting all night for one of you to drop by. I’m really glad it was you.”
Jace winced as pain radiated through his head. The rain beat a steady tempo on his face, like tiny icicles piercing his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push up with his hands. The pain made his stomach roil, and he had to fight not to be sick.
He’d had a head wound before. He knew exactly what was happening. If only he knew how he’d gotten hurt. Had he fallen? He shifted his head and cracked open one eye. The boxes he’d been carrying had spilled, rain pelting the pictures and papers. Yet there was no ice on the parking lot that would have caused him to slip.
Jace forced his body to move as he got to his hands and knees. It took considerable effort because every movement was pure agony. He managed to reach one of the cardboard boxes, toss everything back in, and then put the lid on. It took forever, and he nearly blacked out twice.
As he reached for the second box, the pain became too much, and he had to turn away to vomit. As he finished, Jace glanced up and saw the door to the motel room. He had to get to Cooper. He forgot about the boxes and used the truck to help himself regain his footing. Once he stood, the world began to spin.
Jace grabbed hold of the truck again to remain standing. His legs were Jell-O, and everything kept whirling. He had no idea how much time passed before the Earth stilled. Only then did he attempt to walk. The last thing he wanted to do was fall. He wasn’t sure he’d get back up if he did.
Placing one foot in front of the other, he managed to get to the door. He threw it open, ready to attack whoever was inside. Except there was no one. It was empty and everything looked as it should, save for a bullet hole in the wall.
“No,” Jace said as he searched for his cell phone in his pockets. When he couldn’t find it, he rushed to the phone beside the bed, stumbling and falling upon the mattress. Jace righted himself and dialed Danny, apprehension and his wound, causing his hands to shake.
“We’re sorry. Your call cannot be completed as dialed,” said an automated female voice.
“Fuck!” Jace yelled as he slammed the receiver down.
He sank onto the comforter and tried to read the instructions on the phone, but his eyes were too blurry. He blinked several times. Thanks to the adrenaline pumping through him, the pain became manageable. Finally, he was able to read the instructions on the motel phone and get an outside line to Danny.
“Mornin’, Jace,” Danny said happily.
“I need you. ASAP.”
His tone shifted to that of the sheriff. “Slow down. Where’s here?”
Jace grabbed his head and grimaced as the throbbing intensified. “The motel Marlee was staying at. Cooper and I came … I … fuck.”
“Stay there. I’m on my way.”
The line disconnected. Jace looked around the room again as he hung up the receiver. Gingerly, he felt along the back of his head until he found the knot. As soon as he touched it, nausea roiled and had him running to the bathroom to empty his stomach again.
He must have passed out because the next thing he knew, Danny was kneeling beside him, trying to wake him up. Jace raised a hand to let his friend know that he was conscious.
“What the hell happened?” Danny demanded. “Never mind. I’ve been trying to wake you for about five minutes. I called an ambulance.”
Jace started to speak when Karl and Marina filled the doorway. He frowned at his paramedic friends, but before he could ask them what they were doing there, they shooed Danny out and began tending to Jace.
He tried to wave away their hands, but they were too quick for him. “I’m fine. We need to look for Cooper.”
“You’re far from fine,” Marina stated in a no-nonsense tone. “There’s blood covering your face and clothes.”
Jace couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. “I found the bump.”
“Not only a bump. A laceration,” Karl told him. He grabbed Jace’s hands and held his gaze. “We need you to be still. If you want to help Cooper, you need to let us help you first.”
Jace wanted to argue with them, but he didn’t have the strength. As soon as he stopped fighting, Karl and Marina worked seamlessly. Jace closed his eyes and tried to think back to what had happened. He remembered getting the boxes and walking outside. He even remembered reaching the truck. As he’d stopped to press the boxes against the vehicle to free one hand to open the door, he’d seen a figure come up behind him in the glass. Then, everything went black.
His eyes snapped open. “I was attacked.”
Danny leaned against the doorway of the bathroom to give Marina and Karl room. “We figured as much. I also found the bullet hole in the wall. No slug or casing, however. Did you hear a shot?”
“I think he came at me first.”
“You?”
Jace blew out a breath while Marina cleaned the blood from his face. “I saw him in the window of the truck before he hit me.”
“Whatever he struck you with was meant to kill,” Marina stated. “It would’ve killed others.”
Karl chuckled. “It’s Jace’s hard head that saved him.”
“We didn’t look for anyone when we got here,” Jace said as he lifted his eyes to Danny. “We should have. We know better.”
Danny got down on his haunches and shoved his cowboy hat back on his head. “You got your bell rung pretty good. You’re going to need to take it easy.”
“That’s my best friend out there,” Jace said as he shoved Karl’s hands away.
Marina grabbed Jace’s arms and gently lowered them. “You won’t be of any help until your pain subsides. You have a concussion and a deep laceration that needs stitches to stop the bleeding.”
“Then do it,” Jace ordered angrily.
Danny sighed and straightened. “You might as well do it, Marina. He won’t go to the hospital.”
“Damn straight, I won’t,” Jace stated.
Karl flattened his lips and got everything ready to begin stitching. Marina pulled out a syringe for a localized anesthetic, but Jace shook his head. He was well accustomed to pain. Deadening it might affect his senses, and he needed to be ready for anything.
“Tell me everything,” Danny said.
Jace allowed them to roll him onto his stomach with his face turned toward Danny.
“Ready?” Karl asked.
Jace nodded and took a deep breath. He released it as Karl stuck the needle into his scalp. Instead of giving in to the pain, he focused on Danny and telling the sheriff what he knew. “There were a few vehicles in the parking lot when we drove up. Nothing looked out of place, but we didn’t search as we should have. Cooper and I were talking, and I think we both assumed the bad guys wouldn’t be interested in us.”
“They want Marlee, is my guess,” Danny said as he ran a hand over his mouth. “If they know anything, then they know about Marlee and Cooper.”
“If they killed Cooper, his body would’ve been left here.”
Danny nodded and removed his hat, turning it around by the brim in his hands. “Then why shoot him?”
“Because Cooper never would’ve left with them otherwise.”
“Would he have gone regardless?”
Jace thought about that for a moment while remaining perfectly still. His wound throbbed uncontrollably, and the feel of his scalp being stitched closed only added to the agony. “No. Cooper would’ve fought them.”
“Then they took him the only way they could. By force.”
“In order to get Marlee to come to them.”
Danny pulled out his phone as he turned away.
All Jace could think about was finding the bastard who had done this to Cooper and him. Because he would find him. And he would tear him apart.