Cooper

I relayed Jenny’s account to Jake as he and I sat in the chairs across from Shane’s seat. When I finished, Jake looked just about as unimpressed with the news as Shane and I felt.

“What do you think?” Jake asked Shane.

Shane’s mouth flattened. “I don’t think this report changes anything. We have nothing definitive. No one’s apprehended Stevens, which means he could be anywhere.”

“But they do have his vehicle,” Jake points out. “And physical evidence that he’s been camping out in the woods. Is he an outdoorsman? Does he have survival skills?”

I nod. “Jenny said he does. She said he’s a member of a local hunting club. She also mentioned he’s a member of a survivalist group down there. They do monthly exercises in the woods, camp rough, that sort of thing.”

Jake still doesn’t look convinced. “And there’s no report of any stolen vehicles in the area? No evidence that he might have rented a car, or perhaps a buddy of his rented a car for him? Or loaned him a car?”

“According to Jenny, none,” I say.

“Well, we have no evidence he left the state,” Jake says. “And we have no evidence he’s here in Chicago.” He looks at Shane. “So, what’s the plan?”

Shane blows out a heavy breath as he runs his fingers through his hair. “We’ve got a bunch of hearsay, that’s all. I’m not willing to bet anyone’s safety on hearsay.” Shane looks to me for my opinion.

“Sam’s going in to see Liam tomorrow morning, to get recertified for work,” I say.

“Do you think he’ll pass?” Shane says.

I nod. “He’ll pass, or he’ll kill himself trying. He’s tired of being cooped up. He and Beth both need some freedom back.”

Shane shakes his head. “I don’t like this one bit. There’s nothing more than anecdotal evidence that Stevens is still in Sweetwater, and none that he’s here, and yet I can’t shake the bad feeling I’ve got.”

“How about this,” Jake says. “Until Stevens is captured, we keep the extra security inside the building lobby, and I’ll reassign Cameron and Killian to the bookstore. And Beth is limited to just going to Clancy’s for now, nowhere else.”

Shane looks pensive, and still not happy, but eventually he nods. “I can’t keep her locked up here forever, or she’ll mutiny. And if Sam’s going to be back to work tomorrow, then it’ll be impossible to keep the two of them cooped up in the penthouse.” He blows out another heavy breath. “All right. We’ll let them go to Clancy’s, and we’ll increase the security in the store. That sounds reasonable.”

Then Shane looks at me. “Keep checking in with the authorities in Sweetwater for any updates on the search for Stevens. I want to know the instant that fucker is apprehended.”

* * *

About eight o’clock that evening, the four of us are seated on the sofa by the fire, just relaxing, watching a movie on the flatscreen.

Shane’s phone rings and he looks at the screen and frowns. As he accepts the call, I mute the audio on the movie.

“It’s the front lobby security,” Shane says, putting the call on the speaker phone.

A disembodied voice comes over the speaker. “Sir, there’s a man in the lobby asking to see Mr. Harrison. What should I tell him? It’s not Roger Stevens, sir. This is a younger man. Says his name is Craig Morrow, sir. He says he’s a friend of Mr. Harrison’s.”

I look at Sam, who looks as surprised as I feel to hear that Craig is here in Chicago. “Are you expecting him? Did you know he was coming here?”

Sam shakes his head. “No. I haven’t spoken to him since I left Dayton.”

Shane looks at me first, then at Sam. “What should I tell him? Do you want to see him?”

Sam looks absolutely baffled by Craig’s sudden appearance. He opens his mouth to answer, but nothing comes out.

“Send him up,” I say, suddenly overwhelmed with the need to meet the asshole who tried to steal my guy. “I want to meet this guy.”

“All right,” Shane says. Then to the guard on the phone, he says, “Have someone escort Mr. Morrow up to the penthouse.”

I jump up from the sofa and stand at the foyer doors, arms crossed over my chest, eager to meet this Craig. I hope he really is an asshole so I can kick him out. If he says one inappropriate thing to Sam, he’s out of here.

Shane remains seated on the sofa, next to Beth, who’s half-turned in her seat to watch the foyer door over the back of the sofa.

Sam joins me at the foyer door. “Tone it down, babe,” he says, nudging me with his elbow. “You look like you’re ready to kill someone.”

I scoff at him. “Maybe I am.”

Sam rolls his eyes at me. “Relax. He probably just came here to check on me. Stop worrying.”

“Who says I’m worried?”

Sam gives me a flat look. “Give me a break.” He runs his hand down my arm, squeezing my muscles. “You’re too tense. Relax. Craig’s harmless.”

My heart rate is indeed pounding, and my teeth are clenched so tightly I’m afraid I might crack my jawbone. “Why is he here, Sam?”

He shrugs. “Honestly? I don’t know. I’m as surprised that he’s here as you are. I made it clear to him that I was taken.”

“Did you guys talk about seeing each other again? Did you make plans with him?”

He cracks a smile. “Oh, my God, are you jealous?”

“This isn’t funny, pal. Just answer my question.”

“No, we didn’t make plans to see each other again. When I left Dayton, I said goodbye to him. I never expected to see him again.”

I hate how cavalier Sam is acting about Craig’s arrival. I’m practically having a panic attack here, and he’s grinning at me like a fool, telling me to relax. “Don’t tell me to relax.”

The elevator pings as the doors open. Craig steps out of the elevator, accompanied by a uniformed, armed security guard.

The guard stops at the foyer door, eyeing me directly. Smart guy. “Mr. Cooper. Sorry to bother you, sir, but Mr. Harrison has a guest.”

Craig looks a little shell-shocked as he glances around the spacious great room, his blue eyes widening. When his gaze finally lights on Sam, he smiles and visibly relaxes. “Sam, hi!”

Sam steps closer to Craig and offers his hand for a shake. “Hi, Craig. Welcome.”

Instead of shaking hands, Craig pulls Sam into his arms, catching him by surprise with a bear hug. “Surprised to see me?” Craig says.

Sam pulls back from the hug. “Yeah, you could say that. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Tired of being left out of this little welcoming party, I step forward and lay my arm across Sam’s shoulders. Subtlety is not my strong suit. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, baby?”

Sam rolls his eyes at me. “Cooper, this is Craig, the guy from Dayton I told you about. Craig, this is my boyfriend, Daniel Cooper.”

Disappointment flickers across Craig’s face when Sam refers to me as his boyfriend, but I have to admit it gives me a hell of a lot of satisfaction.

“Hi, Dan,” Craig says, hesitating a moment before he smiles and offers me his hand. “It’s great to finally meet you. You’re all Sam talked about in Dayton.”

Reluctantly, I shake Craig’s hand, squeezing a little harder than necessary. When Craig makes a face and pulls his hand free, I smile. Hopefully like a shark. “It’s Cooper.” I cross my arms over my chest again, wishing like hell I was wearing my gun holster. I have no plans to shoot the prick, but it wouldn’t hurt to let him know I mean business. “So, what are you doing here, Craig?” I ask him, point blank.

Craig laughs, obviously nervous, as his gaze darts from me to Sam. I’m sure he’s looking for Sam to help him out here. “I just wanted to check on Sam, you know. See how he’s doing? We got to know each other pretty well in Dayton, and I just thought—”

“You thought what?” I say, glaring at Craig.

Sam jabs me with his elbow, but I don’t let up on the glaring.

Craig shifts his attention back to Sam, looking for support. “I just wanted to make sure you were doing all right. You know.” Even as he’s talking to Sam, his gaze keeps jumping back to me.

“I’m fine, Craig, really,” Sam says.

“Oh?” Craig says. He stands there for a long, awkward moment, as if waiting for Sam to elaborate. Craig leans closer to Sam. “Can I talk to you? In private?”

I bristle at the suggestion, but Sam puts his hand on my shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. I get the message. Calm down.

“Yeah, sure,” Sam says, looking at me to judge my reaction. “Come on, Craig. I’ll give you a tour of the fitness room.”

Then Sam looks right at me. “Wait here. We won’t be long.” Then he motions for Craig to proceed him down the hallway to the right. “It’s this way.”

 * * *

I pace the floor outside the foyer, glaring down the hallway where Sam and Craig disappeared into the fitness room.

Shane levels his gaze at me from over the back of the sofa. “Cooper, for God’s sake, sit the hell down.”

“Not helping, Shane.”

He and Beth both are watching me, Beth looking worried, Shane looking partly amused and partly exasperated.

“I could go—” Beth starts to say.

“No,” Shane says, pulling her into his arms. “You stay out of this pissing match.”

“They’re just talking, Cooper,” Beth says, smiling at me. “Don’t worry.”

I check my watch. “I’m giving them five minutes. Then I’m going in there.”

Shane shakes his head at me. “You don’t honestly think Sam would—”

I glare at Shane. “I’d like to see you remain calm if it was Beth and some admirer of hers shut up alone, out of your sight.”

“That’s different,” Shane says, looking affronted.

“No, it’s not.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust Sam?”

“Of course, I trust Sam!”

“Then relax, man. He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

* * *

I waited a full five minutes, just as I promised—five fucking long minutes—and then I took off down the hallway to the fitness center. I could hear Shane getting to his feet to follow me, instructing Beth to stay put on the sofa.

When I get to the fitness room, I don’t bother knocking, but instead shove the door wide open and walk into the room, interrupting a rather heated conversation. Craig is practically in Sam’s face, gripping Sam’s biceps hard.

“Get your fucking hands off him,” I say. It comes out more like a growl, but I can’t help that. All I can think about is that this asshole is trying to make a move on my guy.

Sam looks surprised by my entrance, but also relieved, as he gives me a rueful smile. I expect he’s going to chew my ass off, but instead, he surprises me. “I’m actually surprised you waited this long.”

“But he doesn’t deserve you!” Craig says to Sam, completely ignoring my entrance and shaking Sam as if he’s trying to talk some sense into him. The guy really has no sense of self-preservation.

Sam looks Craig in the eye. “My relationship with Cooper is my business, and no one else’s. I’ll decide who deserves me. I don’t need anyone’s help.”

“But you said it yourself! Cooper can’t meet your needs. You need someone who—”

“Things have changed—he’s changed. But I don’t need to explain anything—”

“Oh, come on, Sam,” Craig says. “No one changes that quickly. He’s doing a snow job on you.”

Sam sighs, showing far more patience than I ever could. “Craig, I think it’s really…um, considerate…of you to come all this way to check on me, but a text or an e-mail would have sufficed. If you came here to talk me into leaving again, well, I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time. You should have just called.”

“But—” Craig huffs with frustration, glancing back nervously at me. Then he turns back to Sam, lowering his voice. “Look, is there somewhere we can go, just the two of us? Somewhere private? Let’s go out for a drink.”

I’m so fed up with this guy, I’m ready to kick him out of our apartment. But I can’t do that to Sam. Sam has to make his own decisions.

“I’m sorry, Craig,” Sam says. “There’s no point in us going anywhere. My answer’s not going to change. You’re welcome to stay here and visit for a while, but I’m not leaving with you to go out for drinks, not unless Cooper comes with us, which I really don’t recommend. You should have called me first.”

“But I drove all this way to see you, man,” he says.

This asshole walks into my home, trying to sweet-talk my lover…not cool. “Well, now you’ve seen him,” I say. “You can go.”

Sam glares at me over Craig’s head. “Not helping, babe.”

Craig’s gaze scans the room, going from Sam to me to Shane and Beth, who are standing out in the hall. I guess he can tell he’s waging a losing battle, because his shoulders slump in defeat. “It was worth a try, Sam,” Craig said. “You were worth a try.”

* * *

Craig leaves as quickly as he arrived, with little fanfare and his tail tucked between his legs.

“Huh,” Shane says, after the elevator doors have closed on Craig and the security guard who’d escorted him up. Then he looks at Sam, a quizzical gleam in his eye. “Do you have any more secret admirers we should know about?”

“No,” Sam says, looking almost bashful. “Can I help it that I have a certain effect on people?”

Sam seems oddly subdued, and I wonder if he’s feeling bad for Craig, having come all this way just to be rejected.

“Can we talk?” I say, nodding toward our suite.

Sam nods, then heads toward our room. He doesn’t say anything as we step into our room and I close the door quietly.

“Sam? Are you okay?”

He nods. “I’m sorry about that. I had no idea he’d come here. We were friends, buddies, and that’s it—I swear. I never gave him any indication that there was anything romantic in our future.”

I walk right up to him, eye to eye, and lay my hands on his shoulders. “I know you didn’t.”

“I never gave up on us, Cooper. Even while I was away, I always had it in the back of my mind that we’d somehow work things out.”

I nod, realizing just how close I might have come to losing Sam. I have to admit, Craig’s a good-looking guy, and he’s close to Sam’s age. Sam could have easily decided I wasn’t worth the effort and just given up on me.

I cup the back of his head with one hand and meet him halfway for a kiss, teasing his lips apart, while my other arm snakes around him so I can draw him even closer.

We stand there for a few moments, just kissing.

Damn, I came so close to losing him. “Hey, what do you say we go away for the weekend? We could leave tomorrow, after you pass your physical assessment test.”

Sam pulls back, his eyes widening. “Really?”

“Yeah. A romantic getaway, just the two of us.”

I can tell by the smile on his face that it’s the right move.

“What did you have in mind?” he says.

“Somewhere private, some place secluded, where we can relax and do whatever the hell we want. We can spend the whole weekend naked in bed if you want to. I’ll ask Jake if we can borrow his cabin up in Harbor Springs.”

Sam pulls me into a bear hug, nestling his hips against mine. “Yes!” he murmurs against my lips. “I would love that.”