Chapter 5

"You didn't take any?" I repeat his words, making sure I'm understanding him right. Every man I've ever met wants something out of whatever they're doing and it's always for their own benefit. There has to be a catch.

"Monte's dirty hands haven't touched me yet. He's either scared of me or biding his time."

He takes a giant bite of his breakfast sandwich and I do the same to mine as I let his words sink in. I'm trying to wrap my mind around all of this. I've met too many shitty men to believe I've been kidnapped by one of the good ones. If something is too good to be true, it likely is. I should have remembered that when Monte hired me. I let his grandpa-ish exterior fool me. With Warren I let his family name and fancy suits fool me, too. I couldn't let his charming persuasiveness get to me, but maybe it's three strikes and you're out. I'm playing with fire and I'm going to get burned. I won"t even be one of those girls in a missing persons report because no one would report me missing.

"So you're doing all this to take him down and he can"t come for your business next?" I hedge, wanting more information. I don't know why I care because my plan is still escape. What does it matter what Cooper is up to? I'm not sticking around to see if it's all bullshit or not and I'm hoping to be long gone before Monte gets a chance to find me. It isn't safe for me to be here even though Cooper said he would protect me.

The problem is too many people know where I am now and things aren't a secret if even one person knows. I could tell last night a few of the men weren't happy about me being there, but they didn't challenge Cooper over it for more than a second. That meant they either respect him or fear him and I'm not sure which one I'm in favor of at the moment.

I should be scared, but for some crazy reason after last night and stealing peeks at Cooper, I'm not afraid of him. All night, every time I opened my eyes I'd see his gaze flick over to me. I was wondering if he was checking on me because he truly cared or he kept waiting for me to make a run for it.

"That's part of it, yeah. But he fucked with my brothers and their families so that means he fucked with me."

There's so much conviction in his words and I don't understand that kind of loyalty to people, blood related or not. I lived in a world where it was everyone for themselves and when I tried to reach out for help it got me nowhere. Sometimes it made things worse and it's another reminder that I'm the only one who can save me. No matter how nice Cooper's words sound about helping others because he wanted to, I've heard too many lies planted in hope before. I know Cooper shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes other men have made, but he kidnapped me and it doesn"t look as though he's letting me go anytime soon.

I know for a fact that the mayor of Chicago helped Warren get away with dirty shit all the time. He looked the other way and pretended I was some crazy woman making things up. Cooper is paying off here, but it doesn"t make me feel any better about my well-being.

The only place I ever called home helped Warren get away with the things he did. My biggest regret in all this is I might have run away but someone else could be his next target. That's if he has stopped chasing me. Men never do well with things they want being taken away from them. My guess is he's still looking for me and it shouldn't make me feel relieved, but he doesn't need to mess with another woman's life. As much as it eats me up inside I have no idea how to fix it. If I did, I wouldn't be in a brand new mess. Everything around me keeps stacking up higher and higher and I don't have a band of brothers to stand by me like Cooper does. I'm all alone and it's something I've grown used to.

"You need to eat more. All you had last night were crackers." He lifts another breakfast sandwich from his bag and hands it to me.

"What now? Are we going to drive in circles again?" I try to hold back a smile when he winks at me. Damn those green eyes. "You could take me to the bus stop and I could be out of everyone's way in no time," I suggest, knowing what he's going to say.

"I'm not real sure." He lets out a long sigh and it's then I realize he hasn"t slept. "I guess I'm taking you home."

"Like, to your house?" I swallow because this isn"t the city. I'm guessing we aren"t going to some apartment or condo because most people live in houses around here. The farther we drive, the closer we get to the warehouse district. "Where do you live?"

"Work." He says it with a laugh.

It's the weekend and no one is around here today. The normally busy streets are empty.

"As in, where you work? You live there?" I take a bite of my sandwich and I feel the wave of exhaustion hit me as well. I slept some, but I could still use a nap. I spent my time last night dozing off, watching Cooper, and thinking about how I was going to get away. It made my sleep restless and everything is starting to catch up to me. The warm food in my stomach doesn't help with keeping me alert and awake.

"Yeah, kind of own the place," he says nonchalantly.

We pull up to a warehouse and the sign outside reads "Cooper Inking" in big letters. I've heard the name before and it only takes me a second to realize he's the other ink company left standing. Only he and Monte are left to run the show. No wonder he didn't take a cut. He doesn't need it. He might not be some crazy millionaire, but he has to be doing well if he owns this place. Monte makes bank and his place isn't as big as this one.

Cooper hits a button and one of the large bay doors for trucks opens. He pulls in and hits the button again so it closes behind us.

"Home sweet home," he says, hopping out of the car before coming around to open my door for me. He holds out his hand and I take it on instinct. I should push past him but instead his hand wraps around mine in a warm hold and I follow him willingly.

I look around inside the quiet warehouse and I can imagine what it's like when it's filled with over a hundred people each day when it's open. At Monte's I never go into the warehouse and instead stay toward the front in the office.

"Do you really live here or is this where you're going to keep me?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

Maybe he doesn"t want to take me home and for all I know that's where he has a wife and two kids. The thought makes my stomach turn.

"Sadly, I live here. I had a place but I was never there, so I had my mom move into it." He shrugs. "You'll have to share a room with me, but I think we've established you think I'm hot, so this won't be a hardship." His crooked smile is so damn sexy I have to look away from it.

He pulls me with him past the rows and rows of giant metal containers that I know can mix multiple barrels of ink at a time. This place puts Monte"s to shame.

"So it's only you and Monte now?" I ask, not watching where we're going. I'm trying to take in everything else.

"Yeah, he's greedy. We need more than two inking companies and as you can see I'm big enough." His words sound tired as he says them. "This is the first weekend I haven"t had this place working overtime in months." He shakes his head. "Watch your step."

He nods toward the ground, and I look down to see we are about to go up metal steps. I follow him up and his hand still holds mine as he uses the other to unlock a door. He pulls me in with him and locks the door behind him. I walk over to the giant glass window that overlooks the whole factory below before Cooper pulls a thick curtain to cover it.

"You don"t want to grow bigger?"

"No, I'm big enough. I already work too damn much as it is." His laugh is a little self-deprecating. "Other people can have companies too; I don't have to be the only one."

I look around his office and see there are piles of folders and invoices all over his desk. My gaze flicks back to Cooper as he pulls his shirt off over his head and my eyes widen as I take in his broad, muscular chest. I don"t think he's working behind that desk much. Jesus, he's hot. I guess if I'm being held against my will, at least it's a nice view.

"I'm tired, buttercup," he tells me. "I need sleep, but I can't chance you trying to take off."

"What does it matter? I'm not going to run to Monte and tell him it was you that took his money." I don't say "stole" this time. Besides, I think we all know at this point Monte wants me dead. I guess Cooper thinks I'm still with Monte, but we're both only going off the other's word at this point. "I just want to get the hell out of Dodge."

Maybe I can still make it back to my place. I don"t have much of a choice because I need my money if want out. How else am I going to get a train or bus ticket out of here? I have a feeling that might not be an option.

"It matters because you'll get yourself killed." My eyes leave his bare chest to lock with his. Is that really his concern?

"Not that I might tell Monte it was you?" I ask, and he shakes his head. He reaches for a shelf on the wall and I watch as he pulls it down, revealing a bed.

"I need some shut-eye," he says, lying down and patting the bed next to him.

I can"t believe it, but I move over to the bed and lie down with him. I feel bad because I know he needs sleep and I probably need it, too. Maybe once I get some I can get my head on straight.

I'm on my side and I begin to freeze when he pulls a blanket over me then wraps his big body around mine.

"This way I'll know if you try and leave." He throws his leg over me, too, and I'm trapped below him. I use the word "trapped," but God does it feel nice having him pressed into me. He buries his face into my neck and his warm breath is against my skin. "I'll keep you safe," I think I hear him say before sleep takes me under.