Chapter 16
COPPER
Bella zooms into my work parking lot. I know instantly that something is wrong. Wiping my hands on a rag, I call out to the guys.
“My girl’s here. I’m taking lunch.”
I don’t wait for them to reply as I stride towards her car and open the door.
“What’s happened?” I demand as soon as I see the look on her face.
Bella shakes her head, placing her index finger against her lips. “Nothing’s happened,” she says with an overly bright smile. “I missed you and wanted to see if we could do lunch.”
I catch on immediately. She hasn’t had a chance to check her car for trackers and bugs.
Playing along, I reply, “I missed you, too, baby. Come on, we can walk to the sandwich shop on the corner.”
Helping her out, I notice that she leaves everything but her phone in the car. We walk silently to my bike, and I grab the scanner before we walk down the road, chatting about nothing.
When we reach the corner, we duck into an alleyway, and I run the scanner over her to check she’s clean. Shoving the scanner into my pocket, I wrap her in my arms and cup the nape of her neck, massaging the tense muscles.
“What happened?”
“They killed John, the guy whose ledgers contained the coordinates for the MC op last weekend. The brothers did the job on Friday, and he was murdered on Saturday. These guys retaliate fast.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “What else?”
“They’ve given me all his accounts,” she whispers.
I know that’s not the only reason she’s upset. Something else has happened. “Did they threaten you?”
She shakes her head against my chest, still not looking at me. I know my woman, and when she’s closed off like this, I know that whatever they’ve threatened her with is serious. “Who did they threaten, Spice? Do we need to let our families know so they can go somewhere safe?”
“No.” Bella lifts her head from my chest and looks at me. The anger in her eyes makes me feel sorry for whoever upset her because my woman is a force to be reckoned with. “They threatened you.”
This is the woman who thinks she struggles with emotions. The same woman now breathing fire because someone has dared to threaten my life. And I bet she’d be the same if that threat was aimed at any of her family.
She does feel. She does care. Deeply. So deeply that she doesn’t know how to handle her emotions in situations like this, and compartmentalises them until she can.
I run my fingers through her hair to calm her down. When she’s breathing easier, I cup her face with my palms, tilting it towards me.
“We knew this was a possibility, Spice,” I remind her.
She glares at me. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I like it. It makes me feral. I’ve been imagining all the ways I can kill that little worm for even daring to threaten you.”
I chuckle and press my lips to hers. When she relaxes against me, I pull away.
“I love that you want to kill for me, Bee. We need to let Cahir know that things have escalated. They need to find another way to collect information for now. We can’t have the organisation looking for a mole until you have something substantial on the big players. ”
“Yeah,” she agrees, moving away and taking my hand. “Let’s grab some lunch. Then we’ll call them. I’m not sure what information I’ll find in the new ledgers. Fingers crossed, it’s enough to close them down.”
That’s what we do. We take our lunch to the park near where I work and call Cahir, filling him in on John’s death and Bee’s increased workload.
“Remember, Bella, gather information only when it’s safe to do so. I know you, and you’re angry right now. You need to contain that anger before you do something rash and get hurt,” Cahir orders.
Anger flashes in Bee’s eyes at his order, but she banks it. “I know. I’ll be safe while I gather information. I don’t want anything to happen to Copper. I’d never put him in danger.”
My heart beats faster at her words.
“And you, Bella,” Cahir admonishes gently. “We don’t want you in danger either. Promise me you’ll be careful.”
She bites her lip, and her eyes meet mine. “I’ll be careful. I have too much to lose not to be.”
We end the call and finish our lunch before I walk Bee back to her car.
I kiss her goodbye, rubbing my hand over the ache in my chest as I watch her drive back to work, to a place that should be safe but isn’t.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I call Silas. “Is she going to make it through this in one piece?” I demand as soon as he answers.
Silas is silent for a minute before he admits, “I don’t know. I can’t see the outcome. But whatever’s coming won’t happen for a few months.”
“Fuck,” I whisper, my throat clogging with emotion at the thought of Bella not making it through this. “Thanks. Sorry to push you.”
“It’s okay,” Silas replies. “I wish I knew, but sometimes, I’m not shown things for a reason. We’ve prepared you both as much as we can, but in the end, it’s always fate’s decision. If I see anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.” A wave of hopelessness floods me, and the hand holding my phone drops to my side. I can’t contemplate my life without Bella at my side.
“Copper?”
I press the phone back to my ear. “I’m here.”
“You’re good for her. Don’t let what’s coming ruin this for you. If my brothers and I have learned anything, it’s that when you’re given a gift, you grab it with both hands and cherish it for as long as possible.”
With those words, he ends the call, leaving me with my troubled thoughts.
***
Over the coming months, we follow Silas’s advice—we live our lives as if these were our last days and enjoy every second of the time we spend together.
Our feelings for each other grow stronger until it’s hard to remember a time when we weren’t a part of each other’s lives.
Christmas comes and goes.
I miss my family, but it’s not safe to meet up with them.
We learned that Bolt has taken an Old Lady, and that Bella knows her.
My family likes her, and we laughed our asses off when Coal tells us about Bolt’s initiation into the O’Shea family.
Bella fills me in on Jeanie O’Shea. It’s clear she likes her, and I’m happy for my little brother. If anyone needs a good woman in his life, it’s him.
Bella texts her family and wishes them a Merry Christmas.
“Don’t you want to call them?” I ask as she stares at their messages.
She lifts tear-filled eyes to mine and shakes her head.
When I tug her toward me, she straddles my lap and tucks her face into the crook of my neck. Hot tears soak into my chest as she trembles in my arms and cries without making a sound.
My heart breaks for her. I don’t know why she won’t call them—especially when it hurts her this much—but I know she has her reasons for not speaking to them. Bee never does anything without one. That much, I know.
As for me, I can’t solve this for her, so I do what I do best—I hold my woman. I comfort her when she needs it and love her until her tears dry up.
We spend Christmas and New Year wrapped up in each other. Because deep down, I think we both know it could be our last.