Chapter 2

Any hope of getting things wrapped up fast so he could meet Everly for dinner was crushed the moment Gage and Deputy Chief Hal Mason showed up with Detective Vince Coletti from Internal Affairs. It was normal for IA to do an on-scene investigation in an officer-involved shooting, but the deputy chief usually showed up only if the shit hit the fan. Cooper supposed two dead bank robbers with three more in the hospital counted as shit hitting the fan. No doubt other detectives from IA had already questioned Everly and the witnesses in the bank to get their accounts of what had gone down.

He frowned as he thought of Everly. They’d exchanged phone numbers before Gage and Mason had shown up, and even though she assured him she was fine, he’d been hoping to see her again before she left to make sure she really was okay. She’d gone through a hell of a traumatic experience in that bank. They might have just met, but he was already feeling protective.

Unfortunately, Cooper couldn’t check on her until he finished with Coletti. The detective was going to keep asking his damn questions until he got the answers he wanted. They’d already spent frigging forever going over every one of his actions related to the attempted robbery and the takedown of the suspects, and it didn’t look like they were even close to being done. The dark-haired IA detective was a slow note taker, and repeatedly had Cooper back up and go over certain parts of his story again…and again…and again.

“You shot the first two suspects, then threw the next one through the window?” Coletti’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Explain to me again how that happened.”

Cooper fought the urge to curse. He settled for blowing out a breath as he crossed his arms over his chest instead. They’d been going at this for nearly two hours in the small mobile command tent the team had set up in the parking lot, while more investigators pored over the physical evidence inside the bank. The paramedics and rescue workers had left a long time ago, taking the wounded customers and security guard with them. Last Cooper had heard, the guard wasn’t doing so well and would likely be in surgery all night.

“Like I’ve told you several times already,” Cooper said, “the third suspect took cover behind a teenage girl as I approached him. I couldn’t shoot without risking the hostage, so I grabbed him, and in the act of dragging him away from the girl, he went flying and somehow ended up going through the window.”

Coletti glanced at his notes. “I see. He just happened to end up going through the window. Like the other two suspects just happened to sustain concussions when their heads bounced off the wall or floor, right?”

Cooper caught the warning look Gage threw him. His boss probably thought he was going to tear into the IA detective for being an asshole. But while it was true Coletti seemed to take more pleasure in his job than most detectives in the department’s oversight division, Cooper was smart enough to know the guy was simply trying to piss him off to see what would slip out. Cooper wasn’t falling for it.

“That’s exactly right.” He gave Coletti his most sincere grin. “And here I was thinking you weren’t paying attention the first five times I told you what happened.”

Coletti didn’t return the smile. He didn’t get pissed either. Instead, he regarded Cooper for a long time before referring to his notes again. “What do you think I’m going to see when I watch the video from the bank’s security cameras?”

Cooper had no idea what Coletti or anyone else would see on the video. Besides letting his eyes turn gold, Cooper hadn’t shifted far enough for someone to figure out he was a werewolf. But they’d almost certainly see some things that would make them sit up and take notice. Like him tossing that guy through the window. Or lifting another guy off his feet and bouncing his head off the wall. Or how fast he’d moved. Cooper prayed people would dismiss those things as some kind of video glitch because there was really no good way to explain them.

He sure as hell wasn’t going to say that to Coletti though. “I have no idea what you’ll see, but if you find a cop to look at them with you, I’m sure he’s going to point out five men trying to rob a bank. He’ll likely mention that those five men had absolutely no regard for human lives. The cop you’re watching with might even remark on how I kept a woman from being taken hostage and almost certainly ending up dead.”

Coletti didn’t say anything in reply to the jab, but just kept taking notes. After a few minutes, he looked up. Cooper expected him to start in with another round of questions. Instead he closed his notebook and looked at the deputy chief.

“I’ll be recommending standard leave with pay until we complete the officer-involved shooting portion of the investigation. At least three days, perhaps a week.”

No way in hell. Coletti couldn’t be serious. Cooper opened his mouth to argue, but one glare from Gage halted his words.

“I’m also going to recommend that Officer Cooper undergo a complete psychological assessment as part of his formal fitness-for-duty evaluation,” Coletti added. “I believe there are some additional stressors involved here beyond those that typically occur in an officer-involved shooting situation. I think Officer Cooper would be well served talking to one of the department’s contracted psychologists.”

This time Cooper ignored Gage. “That’s bullshit, Coletti. I was fully justified shooting those suspects in there, and I’m not going to see a shrink so I can lie down on a couch and talk about my mother when I have a job to do.”

Coletti leveled his gaze at Cooper, his jaw tight. “Officer Cooper, this investigation will run its course, and that includes a thorough review of the bank’s security footage. Based on what you’ve told me so far, I’m leaning toward calling this a clean shoot. However, I have to admit I’m troubled about how you physically subdued the other three suspects. My bigger concern is the trauma you went through in that bank. Not only did you see a security guard and several civilians get shot, but you were forced to give up your weapon or risk seeing another civilian shot in the head right in front of you. I’m aware of your military background and how that ended. I’m worried about what effects these recent events could have on you. I think talking to a mental health professional would be good for you.”

Cooper bit back a growl. The fact that this guy had dug around in his military record was bad enough. But the idea that Coletti actually thought he would appreciate being forced to see a shrink was even worse. He saw stuff like what had gone down inside that bank every day on the job.

Cooper expected Gage, or even Mason, to help him out, but both were infuriatingly silent.

“And if I don’t want to see a mental health professional?” he ground out.

Coletti’s gray eyes hardened to steel. “Then I doubt you’ll be returning to duty anytime soon.”

* * *

Everly hadn’t had a chance to do more than exchange phone numbers with Landry before he disappeared inside the fancy tent thingy the cops had set up. She’d let a paramedic take a look at her while she waited for him to come out, then met with a detective who took her statement about what had happened in the bank. Reliving the whole experience hadn’t been fun. She’d rather forget some guy had grabbed her and put a gun to her head, but the detective was only doing his job, and if her statement put the bank robber in prison, she would help any way she could. It would have been nice to have Landry there with her while she talked to the detective. It was silly, but he made her feel safe.

While she wanted to see Landry before she left, she felt completely out of place at the crime scene. It didn’t help that the other police officers kept eyeing her curiously. If she hung around much longer, they were going to think she was up to something.

She turned to leave when she saw a group of cops dressed in all kinds of dangerous-looking military gear standing over by an equally big RV. Underneath all that tactical gear, they wore the same dark blue T-shirts and cargo pants as Landry. If the clothing and relaxed, confident way they stood hadn’t given them away, the word SWAT in big letters across the back of their vests definitely told her they were part of the city’s special weapons and tactics team.

Thinking they might know Landry, Everly walked over to them. They turned at her approach, as if sensing her. She hadn’t realized that one was a woman because two men had been blocking her view, but the female cop looked just as intimidating as the guys under all the tactical gear she was wearing. As for the men, Everly couldn’t help noticing that all five were not only tall and well built, they were incredibly attractive to boot. Not as hot as Landry, of course, but definitely not hard to look at. Her roommate Mia would just about melt around so many big studs, even if they were a little unapproachable.

“Can we help you?” the female cop asked.

“I was wondering if any of you know Landry Cooper?”

One of the men gave her a big smile. Almost as tall as Landry, he had dark blond hair and blue eyes. “Sure we know Cooper. You a friend of his?”

Everly was hoping she and Landry would be more than friends at some point, but right now, friends worked. Especially if it meant she could hang around with the rest of the SWAT team and wait for him.

“Yes. I was in the bank when the robbery happened,” she said. “We exchanged numbers, but I was hoping to talk to him before I left. Unfortunately, I think those guys would rather I leave.” She jerked her thumb at the uniformed police officers keeping reporters and curious onlookers outside the yellow crime scene tape. “Could you let him know that I waited for him but had to go? I wouldn’t want him to think I just bailed on him.”

The female cop smiled and held out her hand. Taller than Everly, she had dark hair pulled back into a bun and brown eyes. “I’m Khaki Blake. If Cooper wanted you to hang around, you’re welcome to stay here with us. We’ll make sure no one bugs you until he comes out.”

That had been almost two hours ago. She couldn’t understand now why she’d thought the guys were intimidating. Tall, dark-haired Xander Riggs; the equally tall Alex Trevino, whose nearly black hair looked like it was perpetually tousled; wiry Remy Boudreaux with his unmistakable Cajun accent; mocha-skinned, gray-eyed Jayden Brooks; and the blond-haired Eric Becker were some of the nicest people she’d ever met. Becker, one of Landry’s closest friends, was especially sweet to her. And hanging out with them helped her push aside the horrible memories of what had happened in the bank. She’d have to deal with them later she was sure, but right now, it was good simply to laugh and be thankful she was alive.

Everly sighed with relief when she saw Landry finally come out of the tent. As far as she knew, he hadn’t seen a paramedic about his injuries yet, and she’d been worried. But he looked fine. Instead of coming over to join his team, he stood talking with another big man dressed in SWAT gear and an older man dressed in a traditional police uniform. She had no idea what they were discussing, but whatever it was, Landry looked angry.

“Do you think everything’s okay?” she asked no one in particular. “Landry doesn’t look too happy.”

Beside her, Becker snorted. “The only time Cooper’s happy is when he’s blowing something up.”

Everyone laughed at that. Everly laughed too, even though she didn’t understand why anyone would enjoy working with explosives. They seemed dangerous. But the other SWAT officers she’d been chatting with for the past two hours had told her Landry worked with explosives a lot, so apparently, he didn’t mind being around them.

While they’d waited, Becker entertained her with stories about Landry and some of the crazy things he’d done. If half the things Becker told her were true, Landry might be the most insane person she’d ever hung out with. But rather than dissuade her from wanting to spend time with him, the stories made Everly want to get to know him even better.

“Hey, you’re still here!” a familiar voice said from behind her.

Everly turned around to see Landry walking over to join them, the corners of his sexy lips edging into a smile.

“I thought you’d already left,” he said.

She smiled. “I ran into your teammates, and they let me hang out with them until you got done. I wanted to make sure you really were okay before I left.”

As Landry came to a stop in front of her, she was suddenly reminded how big and muscular he was. He loomed over her by nearly a foot. She almost laughed as she had a vision of climbing up his body to kiss him. Not that she minded. Something told her it would be worth it.

He grinned. “The wound was just a scratch. The paramedics didn’t even bother with it.”

She found that hard to believe considering the amount of blood on his shirt. She opened her mouth to say so, but suddenly, she found herself tongue-tied as a delicious scent filled her nose. At first, she thought he was wearing a nice cologne. But she immediately dismissed that idea. She had four brothers she’d bought a lot of cologne for over the years, and Landry didn’t smell like any of those. No, this scent was all his, and it was more intoxicating than any cologne, that was for sure. She didn’t realize how good until she leaned in closer to get a whiff. If she could figure out how to put it in a bottle and sell it, she’d be rich.

Landry lifted a brow. He was probably wondering why she was standing there breathing him in like some kind of weirdo.

“Um,” she managed, trying to gather her thoughts. What had she been going to say? For the life of her, she couldn’t remember. So she said the first thing that came to mind.

“You never told me where you were taking me for dinner. I wanted to know what I should wear for our date.”

Landry gazed down at her for a long moment, a slight smile at his lips, as if he knew how off kilter he had her—and that he enjoyed the fact.

“To tell the truth, I hadn’t really picked a place yet,” he said. “I thought I’d ask if you had a favorite restaurant, or a favorite food, then go from there.”

She wasn’t fooled for a second. Landry knew she was seriously attracted to him, but she appreciated the fact that he didn’t let the knowledge go to his head. A lot of other men would have assumed that she’d go wherever they wanted. It was nice to know Landry was ready to make their date all about her. Still, she had to wonder how far he would be willing to go with that.

“You sure you’re okay with me picking the restaurant?” she asked. “You strike me as the basic meat-and-potato type. Aren’t you worried I’ll pick some kind of girlie place with fondue pots and bean sprouts?”

He chuckled, a rich, warm sound that rumbled from his big, broad chest. “Are you saying you’re the fondue and bean sprout kind of girl?”

She gave him a coy smile. What was it about him that made her want to flirt so outrageously? “Maybe.”

Landry stepped closer, and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her right here in the middle of a crime scene with all his SWAT teammates standing around them. She went up on her tiptoes, more than ready, but he stopped just short, leaving her hanging.

“Then it’s settled,” he said. “I think there’s a Melting Pot over on Five Point in Arlington. Would that work?”

She laughed softly and dropped back down off her toes. She might as well stop testing him. It was clear he’d take her anywhere she wanted to go. “I’m sure it’s a nice place, but I was just kidding about that stuff. I don’t like fondue or bean sprouts. But if you know a place that serves authentic French food, that would be perfect.”

“French, huh?” He considered that. “I think I have the perfect restaurant in mind. Tomorrow night good for you?”

“Perfect,” she said, although she didn’t know how she could ever wait that long. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.” He leaned in again, putting his mouth close to her. “Especially since you did promise me it’d be the best date of my life.”

Everly’s face heated at the reminder. But she had said those exact words, so she couldn’t hold it against him for bringing them up, especially since her mind was probably wandering in exactly the same direction.

She smiled up at him. “Well, a promise is a promise. And I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t.”

His eyes caught the light of the nearby streetlamp like they had in the bank, making them almost gold, and suddenly, she was having a hard time breathing. She’d never been around a guy who had this kind of effect on her.

“I’ll text you my address later,” she said. “Is seven o’clock good for you?”

He nodded. “Perfect.”

Even though the logistical details of their first date seemed to have been pinned down as well as they were ever going to be, Everly noticed that neither one of them moved. They simply stood there, gazing at each other, mere inches separating their lips.

Behind her, one of his teammates cleared his throat, and the trance was broken. Everly reluctantly stepped back. She turned and saw Khaki and the guys regarding her and Landry with knowing smiles.

“What?” Landry demanded.

“Nothing,” Becker said, still grinning.

Landry shook his head, his mouth twitching. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.”

He fell into step beside her as she led the way to her silver Nissan Juke. She dug in her purse for her keys as she turned to him.

“Thank you,” she said. “And not just for walking me to my car. For what you did in the bank. You saved my life.”

“Any time,” he said. “Are you doing okay? Do you need to talk to someone? About what happened in there, I mean.”

Talking to him was all she needed. She smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m going to go home, take a nice, relaxing bath, and think about our date.”

His mouth curved. “Okay. But if you need to talk, call me.”

“I will.” Everly reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, suddenly self-conscious. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

He flashed her that gorgeous smile. “I’ll be there.”

* * *

It was nearly eleven o’clock by the time Everly let herself into the loft-style apartment she shared with Mia Barlowe. She tried to be as quiet as she could so she didn’t wake up her friend, but Mia was curled up on the couch watching the local news, nervously chewing on her thumbnail. The moment she saw Everly, she turned off the TV, then jumped off the couch and ran over to hug her.

“Thank God! I’ve been so worried about you. I heard about the bank robbery on the news and have been trying to call you all night. When I didn’t get an answer, I freaked out. Then someone posted a picture of you on Facebook getting checked out by a paramedic. I was just about to call the hospitals.” She pulled back, holding Everly at arm’s length. “Are you okay?”

Everly smiled, nudging her petite, dark-skinned roommate into the apartment so she could close the door. Then she turned and took Mia’s hands in hers. “I’m okay. You can calm down. I was in the bank during the holdup, but I wasn’t hurt.”

Mia eyed her skeptically, as if she thought Everly might be lying. “Come on. I have comfort food. You can tell me all about it while we eat.”

Everly let Mia lead her into the cozy, eclectic living room they’d shared since they’d graduated from college. She almost reminded Mia that it was practically midnight, but then realized she was hungry.

She winced as she took the bottle of water Mia thoughtfully grabbed from the fridge. Her friend had obviously been freaking out in front of the TV for hours. Everly felt terrible about not calling. Then again, she did have a good reason for being distracted.

“Was it absolutely horrible?” Mia asked as Everly took a slice of lukewarm pizza out of the box on the coffee table.

“Horrible enough to make me not want to go into a bank for a while. There were five guys with guns, and they didn’t seem to mind killing people. They shot the poor security guard in the back. I’m not even sure if he made it to the hospital alive.”

“I read on Facebook that he’s still in surgery, but the hospital seems hopeful.”

Everly was glad to hear that. “What about the other people who got hurt? Anything on them?”

Mia nodded as she reached for a slice of pizza. “They all seemed to be doing okay. The guard was the worst of the bunch. The news said there was a Dallas SWAT cop in the bank at the time of the robbery. He’s the one who saved everyone’s life, including some poor woman one of the robbers took hostage.”

Everly shuddered. “Yeah. It was me.”

“You?” Mia’s eyes widened, the slice of pizza halfway to her mouth. “Oh God! What happened?”

Everly thought about drastically editing the details of what had gone down in the bank, but Mia already knew most of it from watching the news, so she’d figure out if Everly was glossing over things. So, Everly told her everything from the moment she had met Landry until she had left him twenty minutes ago.

Mia flopped back against the couch with a sigh. “Most women would be thrilled to get out of a situation like that alive, but you come out of it with a date with a cute cop? I want your life.”

Everly sipped her water. “I’m not really sure you’d say he’s cute.”

“He’s not?”

“Not really. I’d probably go with gorgeous. Or devastating. I’d even go so far as to say he’s so sexy I had a hard time not kissing him right there in the middle of the crime scene,” Everly added with a grin. “But I would never call him cute.”

Mia threw an unopened packet of Parmesan cheese at her, which Everly deflected as she laughed.

“You are so bad,” Mia grumbled. “But I’m willing to overlook it if this new boy toy of yours has friends.”

Everly was about to mention all the attractive guys on the SWAT team when her phone rang. She quickly grabbed it, hoping it might be Landry calling to make sure she got home safely. But when she saw the name showing on the screen, any thoughts of the hunky cop disappeared.

Mia frowned at the look on her face. “Who is it?”

“My father.”

Her friend grimaced. “I didn’t call him, I swear.”

Everly found her thumb moving back and forth between the green button and the red one, not sure what she wanted to do. She loved her dad like crazy, but he’d been treating her like she was five years old ever since she was five years old. She might be twenty-eight, but he didn’t see it that way. He was from the old country, and sometimes, it really showed. He could be a pain in the butt when he wanted, and was overprotective to a fault. If he knew she’d been involved in a bank robbery, he’d probably insist her brothers go to the bank for her from now on.

But even if he’d heard about the bank robbery, what were the chances he knew she was there? It wasn’t like he used the Internet. He didn’t even have a clue what Facebook was.

She pressed the green button before she could overthink it.

“Hey, Dad. You’re calling late. Is everything okay?”

“I am fine, Everly. I am more concerned about you,” he said in his deep, rough voice. “Can I assume the reason you did not call was because you were hoping we had not heard about what happened at the bank? Or was it simply because you do not care if your brothers and I worry about you?”

She rolled her eyes. Honestly, why did her father have to be so dramatic all the time? “I’m fine, Dad. I was never in any danger. You know how the news blows everything out of proportion. I didn’t call because I didn’t want to worry you. And of course I care that you guys worry about me.”

“So the news is blowing the danger you were in out of proportion? What about this police officer who saved your life? Are they making him up too?”

She cringed. “No, Landry’s real. And the part about him saving my life is true. How did you even know about that? It wasn’t in the news.”

“Armand and Tristan went down to the bank. They asked, and someone told them. Your brothers can be very charming when they want to be.”

Everly jerked back and stared at the phone as if it had bitten her. Then she put it back to her ear, her hand tightening so hard on the small device she thought the glass cover would crack. “You sent them down to the bank to spy on me?”

She could imagine her brothers chatting up some poor female reporter, turning on the charm and laying on the French accents. It made her want to throw the phone at the wall.

“I did not send them there to spy,” her father said calmly. “I sent them there with instructions to go in and get you out if they needed to, but with that very large SWAT officer there to watch over you, it wasn’t necessary. What did you say his name was—Landry? I didn’t realize police officers were on a first-name basis with women they rescue.”

Everly didn’t know which part annoyed her more. The fact that her fool brothers intended to rush into the bank unarmed and save her from a bunch of killers, or the fishing expedition her father was on. She sighed. If her date with Landry went as well as she hoped, her father was going to find out sooner or later.

“Landry was behind me in line,” she explained. “We were talking and exchanged names. In fact, he was asking me out when the bank robbers started shooting up the place.”

“I see. And did you agree to go out with him?”

She really needed to have a conversation with her father about boundaries. But midnight was not the time. “Yes, Dad.”

Her father was silent as if considering that. “Then you must bring him by the house so your brothers and I can meet him in person. I would very much like to thank him for what he has done for our family.”

Everly wanted to ask if he planned on having her brothers chaperone the date too, but bit her tongue. She didn’t want to give Florian Danu any ideas.

“I’ll think about it. Have a good night, Dad.”

Mia lifted a brow. “Your dad already knows about Landry?”

Everly tossed her phone on the couch beside her. “Worse. He wants to meet him.”

Her friend popped what was left of the slice of pizza she was eating in her mouth and grinned. “I’d pay to have front-row seats for that.”

Everly could only groan.