Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
EVERS
Cooper ignored me, turning to the open doorway. Lucas Jackson paced through, his rough-hewn face serious, eyes shadowed.
"Cynthia and the rest of them are upstairs," he said. "Still out. Whitmore's on the way. He can examine them."
"We don't let the paramedics know who else is in the house," Cooper said.
"The inside team is still unconscious. I don't know if he dosed them harder or it's coincidence. Everyone's secured with zip ties. Griffen was just starting to come around. Where's Summer?"
At Lucas' question, I snarled, throwing the chair forward, the zip ties cutting deeper into my arms.
Cooper sent me a cautious look before he said to Lucas, "Tsepov has Summer."
Lucas nodded once, and the sympathy in his eyes almost broke me. Lucas could be a scary motherfucker. The parts of his file that hadn't been blacked out were scary. The blank spots hid worse.
He'd left that life behind, but it lived inside him. He knew exactly how I felt. If it had been Charlie, he would have torn the world apart to get to her.
"We'll find her, Ev. I fucking swear it. We'll find her." Lucas gave Cooper a sideways glance. "I'm cutting him loose."
"No," Cooper said. "You cut him loose and he'll be out the door. He's not thinking straight. He's going to get himself fucking killed."
"Fuck you, Cooper," I said. Cooper was on my fucking list of people to kill, right after Tsepov, Smokey, the goon who'd dragged Summer from the room, and my fucking father.
"He's not going to bolt. I've got him," Lucas said, kneeling at my side, the flash of his knife making quick work of the zip ties.
The second the last zip tie fell to the floor I lunged out of the chair, already planning my next move.
My gun.
My backup weapon.
Car keys.
Hit the arsenal at Sinclair Security.
Head for—
An arm closed around my neck, yanking me off my feet. For a second, I dangled in midair before my shoulders hit a chest as solid as a brick wall.
Lucas' bicep flexed against my neck, cutting off my air. Sometimes I forgot how fucking big the guy was.
He set me on my feet, his arm cranked tight, the lack of oxygen slowing me down. His voice rumbled from behind me.
"I know. I know you're half-crazy and all you can think is that you have to get to her.
I know. You need to listen to me. You're going to get both of you killed if you leave this house the way you are right now.
Lock that shit down, Ev. I swear to you, we will get her back.
I swear it. Another twenty minutes won't make a difference. If I let you go are you going to run?"
I shook my head as much as I could. Lucas rumbled in my ear, "Liar."
Changing his grip, he released my neck but had my arm twisted behind my back an instant later. I won't dwell on how humiliating it was to be fucking frog-marched out of the room by my own employee.
Never mind the fact that he was half-giant and built of solid muscle. I let him shove me into the hall as the wail of sirens sounded outside.
Rycroft's bar was about to be flooded with paramedics. We needed to move the party anyway. We headed for the library. Lucas pushed me at a chair. I sat, every muscle in my body itching to move. To do something. Anything other than sit around and talk.
I knew Lucas and Cooper were right. Knew I was scared stupid and riding an adrenaline high. Bad for decision making. Bad for Summer. As much as it killed me to sit and wait, I'd do it. I'd do whatever I had to as long as it meant I could bring her home.
Cooper followed us into the library. He'd brought a team, and I could hear one of them opening the door to the paramedics, leading them to Smokey.
I looked at Lucas. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"
"I was pulling into the garage when I saw Cooper fly out of the elevator like his feet were on fire. I grabbed him, he told me what was up, and here I am."
"What the fuck were you doing in the garage in the middle of the night?" I asked, momentarily baffled.
Lucas' face transformed from craggy and brooding to sheepish. Was I imagining the flush in his cheeks? I had to be. He jerked one shoulder in a rough shrug.
"I haven't seen my wife in four days. Didn't want to wait until tomorrow."
Cooper mumbled under his breath, “Whipped.”
Lucas didn't respond. I wasn't going to tease. I might have before Summer. Before I knew what it was to have her at home waiting for me.
Finishing the explanation, Cooper said, "Hendrix called Franklin to give him shit about that bet on the Braves. When Franklin didn't answer, Hendrix pulled up the cameras, saw him passed out at the desk. Called me."
Thank fucking God he did. Thank God for that stupid bet. Hendrix and Franklin were about even this year. I didn't want to think about what would have happened if Hendrix hadn't gotten bored enough to waste some time needling his buddy.
Movement at the door caught my eye. Griffen, wobbling a little on his feet, holding one hand to his head. I imagined he had the same headache I did. His eyes scanned the room, and the first thing he said was, "Where's Summer? She's not upstairs."
"Tsepov has her," Cooper said in a low voice, sending me a cautious glance. "Go get the paramedics to take a look at you."
"Fuck that. I'm fine."
"Griffen," Cooper started.
Griffen shook his head, wincing as it throbbed with the motion. I knew the feeling. "Save it, Cooper. I'm fine." He looked to me. "How long? What the fuck happened?"
The front door slammed open with a crash. A voice bellowed, "COOPER!"
"Oh, shit," Griffen said under his breath.
Cooper's eyes shot to Lucas in accusation. "You fucking called Aiden? It's the middle of the goddamn night!"
"Yeah, I fucking called Aiden. Clive Winters is the next thing to dead. If he makes it through the night, it'll be a goddamn miracle. His daughter's not here, and Aiden is the closest thing he has to family. There was no time to wait until morning. Aiden would want to know."
Aiden strode into the room, his dark auburn hair standing straight up. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen Aiden anything but perfectly dressed. Even when we played basketball, I'd swear his T-shirts were designer.
Tonight, he wore a faded Emory sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with a jagged hole at the knee. I'd forgotten Aiden owned jeans.
"What the fuck is going on, Cooper? They're loading Smokey into an ambulance. How could you let this happen? Where the hell is Summer?"
Cooper glared at Lucas, who said quietly, "Tsepov took Summer."
Aiden's eyes went so wide they almost bugged out of his head. In any other circumstances, I would have laughed my ass off. Instead, I was fucking grateful someone finally seemed to be taking Summer's loss as seriously as I was.
"How the fuck did he take her from this house? You said it was safe, Cooper. Tsepov can't just take her. Does he have any idea who she is?"
Cooper waited patiently while Aiden ranted. Aiden didn't rant often. Pretty much never. His control was as good as mine. Usually.
But Aiden took his role as the head of the family seriously. He'd waited to establish contact, but he considered Summer one of his. She was a Winters, and no one fucked with a Winters. Especially not some two-bit Russian mobster.
And then it clicked.
I knew exactly how we were going to get Summer back.
"Aiden, shut it," I said.
He rounded on me, ready to unleash his fury, when he saw something in my face and fell silent.
I looked to Cooper. "Call Tsepov. Tell him he needs to trade me for Summer, and he needs to do it now. Otherwise, Aiden Winters is going to start a shit storm he won't survive."
Cooper stared at me, mouth hanging open before he shook his head. "No. Not that way. We'll—"
"Yes, that way," Griffen interrupted. "If you want to get her back before he has a chance to—"
Shooting a cautious glance at me, Griffen skipped ahead. "We need to get her back. Now. We don't have time to figure out another way. If it was anyone else, maybe. But not him. He could change his mind about holding her." Another cautious glance at me.
I drilled Cooper with my eyes, willing him to understand. Cooper said, "He's not going to kill her."
"I know that," I ground out. "There are things worse than death. It would take nothing for him to move her. To sell her—" The words stuck in my throat.
I could not say it out loud. I couldn't stand to think it, but I needed Cooper to get that this was not a fucking game.
Lucas stepped in. "Cooper, we have to make him understand that she's too hot to keep and too hot to move.
He has to know that every second he has her, he's a target.
He wants leverage? Let him have Evers. Evers is leverage.
You and Knox will do anything to keep your brother safe, and Evers can handle himself. "
Cooper shook his head again "No fucking way am I turning my brother over to Tsepov."
"I'm not asking," I said, "I'm telling you. Call Tsepov. Do it now. Tell him we want to make a trade. Tell him if a single hair on her head is harmed, Aiden will be on the phone with the Deputy Director of the FBI."
"Fuck that. I'll be on the phone with the goddamned president," Aiden spat out.
It wasn't a bluff. Aiden had the personal number of the president, a Supreme Court justice, fuck, probably half the members of Congress, not to mention the Deputy Director of the FBI and a handful of key players at the NSA and the CIA.
When your multi-billion dollar business spans the globe, you develop some pretty extensive connections. Aiden would use every one to protect his family, even an estranged cousin.
"This isn't the way," Cooper said. He wasn't thinking. In his mind, Summer was collateral damage.
"You don't get it," Lucas said. "Call Tsepov. Make the trade."
"You want me to just hand him over?" Cooper demanded, throwing out his hand in my direction, frustration etched in every line on his face.
"Evers would die for her," Lucas said in a low rumble.
"He'd do it gladly if it would mean she was safe.
They're right. Once Tsepov realizes what he's done, he'll hand her over for Evers.
He's not going to want that kind of attention.
Aiden will rain hell down on him if he doesn't give Summer back. "
"Damn right I will," Aiden agreed, staring Cooper down. Cooper reared back.
"What the fuck, Aiden? You've known Evers since you were born. You just met this girl—"
"She's my fucking family," Aiden said. "And yeah I've known Evers since I was born. That's why I'm telling you to make the fucking call. Because if you don't get her back, you'll lose him. Fucking look at him, Cooper. You have no fucking clue what's going through his head right now."
"And you do? What the fuck do you know about it?"
"He knows because he has a woman he would die for," Lucas said, his voice like gravel. I knew he was thinking of Charlie, of how far he would go to keep his wife safe.
I shuddered to think what would happen to anyone who caused Charlie a second of pain.
"No, you're right," Cooper said, "I don't know. You're all fucking nuts. Thinking with your dicks instead of your heads."
Cooper was full of shit. I never pushed him on this, but I was running out of time. "You do know, Cooper. We both know, there's one person—"
Cooper pointed a finger at me, stabbing through the air as if he could puncture my words like a balloon. "Shut the fuck up."
"—and if you weren't such a fucking pussy, you'd really know what we're talking about."
"Yeah, you're one to call me a pussy considering all the time you wasted lying to Summer—"
Cooper fell abruptly silent as he realized what he'd said. His face blanched. He ground his teeth together, staring at the carpet between his feet.
After a long moment, he said, "Find another way."
"There isn't another way. Give me the phone, Cooper," I said, holding out my hand. He shot me a disgusted look.
"No. You're a fucking mess. I'm not letting you get on the phone with him. You'll threaten to eviscerate him if he touches her, and the whole thing will go to shit. I'll make the call."
He activated the screen, looking for the number he'd jotted down from Tsepov's voicemail. When he pulled it up, he put the phone to his ear and paced to the door.
"Do it here, Cooper. I want to hear what you say."
Cooper scowled but stopped just inside the door. Tsepov answered the second time Cooper put the call through.
Their exchange was blessedly short. Tsepov, while nowhere near as savvy as his uncle, was not a complete fool. He'd taken Summer thinking she wasn't a real Winters, that Aiden wouldn't care one way or another if something happened to her.
Once he realized she was a liability, he was eager to trade her for me, promising that she was fine, and demanding that Aiden do nothing until he confirmed that Summer was unharmed.
Cooper arranged a meet at Smokey's place in an hour. Tsepov didn't want us knowing where he was holed up, and he didn't trust us enough to come here.
See, not entirely stupid. Smokey's place was empty, temporarily abandoned, and isolated enough to avoid prying eyes.
Cooper hung up and slid the phone in his pocket. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said.
"You know I do." Cooper shook his head in resignation. Already thinking ahead to Summer's rescue, I said, "I'll be right back. Get to work on the plan."
I left the library, heading for the stairs to our rooms. Aiden said something about going to the hospital. All I could think of was Summer in her thin silk nightgown, so short it barely covered the curve of her ass.
She'd be cold. Never mind that it was fucking July, she'd be cold, and she wouldn't want to be the next thing to naked after what she'd been through.
I pushed open her door, my eyes on the robe tossed over the chair in the corner. My fingers closed around the lush cotton, the scent of lemon and flowers and saltwater drifting up, reminding me of that night in the pool. Of her raspberry bikini.
Bundling the robe in my arms, I jogged back down the stairs, buoyed by hope. Tsepov had agreed to give her back. She was unharmed. Now that he knew we were coming for her, she was as safe as I could make her.
In an hour, she'd be with my brothers. I didn't spare a thought for what might happen to me.
Any risk was acceptable if Summer was safe. Any risk.
I would protect her with my life. If that meant I wasn't coming home, that was fine. As long as she did.