Chapter Twenty – Hear Me #2
I was a criminal, just like the ones he put away for a living.
I’d run from an active murder case. I’d never fulfilled my deal with the FBI or the tribal leaders.
Worse, I’d knowingly dragged Dawson into it.
If it was discovered he’d helped a fugitive escape justice, he could lose everything.
I wouldn’t, couldn’t, do that to my brother.
Not after he’d given me a second and third chance.
Instead of saying any of that, I simply repeated myself. “I have to make a call.”
I pulled my phone from my back pocket, and Cooper stormed out of the room.
I fought back more tears until my front door slammed shut. Then, they rushed out.
I left a message on Dawson’s burner phone and hung up.
A service would call Dawson’s regular line and let him know he had a message, but it would take a few moments.
While I waited, I started piling all the clothes that had been removed from my dresser into a laundry basket.
I couldn’t afford to throw them out. I’d wash them repeatedly and hope I could forget that someone else had touched them.
When my phone rang, I answered it on the first ring.
“Are you safe?” Dawson’s deep voice hit me in the chest.
“For now.”
“Where are you?”
“Still in Swift Rivers.”
He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Do you need to leave?”
“I don’t know.” They were the same words I’d given Cooper with a totally different meaning. And yet, these were also a lie. Dawson and I both knew I needed to leave.
I dragged off the boots I’d worn to the party, sank onto the mattress, and wrapped my arms around my knees.
“Tell me what happened.”
So, I did. Not only the dresser and the clothes, but I told him about Cooper. About our date. About a man who looked at me and saw possibilities instead of failures. And like always, Dawson listened without interrupting, loaning me an ear I wasn’t sure I’d done anything to deserve.
When I finished pouring out my heart, silence greeted me.
“I did some digging on Cooper Wylee after we talked last time.”
Surprise shifted through me. “You did?”
“Dad would have been part of the State Sheriff’s Association with Cooper’s father, so I wanted to know what ties still bound them, and if there was a way any of this could get back to Dad through the Wylees.
I don’t think Dad and Dale Wylee have any interaction now, and he wasn’t one of Dad’s hunting buddies back in the day.
From what I can find, it doesn’t even look like Dale contributed to Dad’s campaign for state senator. ”
“Okay.”
“Cooper, on the other hand, made a name for himself in LA with the actress Eden Blackwell.”
“I know.”
“But everyone who was willing to talk to me about him in his old department had only good things to say about him. He’s on the up-and-up. Good egg. Honorable. They miss him but understand why he uprooted his life for his kid. Everyone said he’d do anything for his son.”
I didn’t need Dawson to tell me any of that.
I felt it with every fiber of my being. Cooper was a decent man.
He loved fiercely. I saw it with his parents and Luca.
He was a defender, not an abuser. I wanted to believe I’d learned the difference after all these years, after living through the worst.
“He is. He’s everything a man should be.”
Dawson sighed. “You love him.”
My first instinct was denial. I hardly knew him.
We’d had a single date and shared a handful of kisses.
It was ridiculous to say I loved him. But I did feel something.
Something that ran soul deep. Something that whispered of possible forevers, so I told my brother the truth. “If given the chance, I might.”
“Then tell him.”
For the second time in our conversation, surprise hit me. “What?”
“You have three choices, little sis. One, you can either pack up and run and hope whoever has found you loses your scent again. Two, you let me come and find the bitch and end her. Or three, you tell Cooper the truth, all of it, and let him stand up for you. Maybe he can catch this asshole and truly free you.”
A shiver ran up my spine at a possibility I’d never foreseen. Real redemption? Freedom?
I’d only thought of all the ways my life could drag Cooper and his family down. I hadn’t considered the reverse could happen. That he could help me escape the virtual jail I’d been living in.
“I refuse to let you put your life in jeopardy for me again, Dawson. I won’t let you risk what you’ve built with Violet and the kids for my mistakes.”
“We’ve had this argument a million times. But for now, I’ll let it slide. If you won’t let me help, it leaves you with two choices.”
“What if I tell Cooper and all he sees is a criminal?”
“I hate when you call yourself that. You aren’t a criminal.
You were a teenager who was manipulated and abused.
You’re lucky you survived. If Cooper can’t see the truth of you, then he isn’t the man you’re trying to tell me he is.
But if that’s the case, you just go with option one, and I’ll help you start over again. ”
A knock on my bedroom doorframe jerked me to my feet with a squeal.
Cooper stood there with eyes shadowed. But it wasn’t frustration I saw written on his face anymore. It was grim determination. He leaned a shoulder on the jamb and tucked a hand into his pocket.
“Andie?” Dawson’s voice was full of concern.
“I’m okay. Cooper is here.”
“Aw.” A hint of humor was embedded in that single syllable. “I’ll let you go. Give me a call or text me when you’re done so I know how it went. If I need to, I can be there in a few hours.”
Tears filled my eyes again, but these were from the gratitude I felt. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Another conversation we’ve had on repeat.
I’ll always be here for you. But I’m hoping someday you’ll be able to stop running.
That the truth will finally come out, and you can find what Vi and I have.
If this is your chance, don’t let it go.
Fight for it with the same spirit you fought for your life. ”
He hung up before I could respond.
I set my phone on the nightstand, wrapped my arms around myself, and met Cooper’s stare head-on.
Dawson was right. I had two choices. Leave everything I’d built, this place I loved, the home I’d bought, and the man I could see a possible future with…or share the truth.
If I trusted Cooper and he stuck by me, he might help me uncover whoever this was once and for all. Maybe, after almost a decade, I could actually fulfill my promises to the casino and the FBI. Maybe I could actually end this.
And maybe I could also have everything I’d ever wanted. Love. Family. Home.
It was a huge gamble, and I’d stopped gambling nearly ten years ago.
I wasn’t sure I knew how to play the odds anymore.
But this payout was worth far more than any dollar amount I’d ever earned at cards.
If I stayed, there was a chance I could give Cooper the love that Eden had convinced him not everyone got.
I could love him like he deserved to be loved.