Chapter 7

"Aren't you scared I'm going to try and get away?" I ask Cooper as we drive back toward the city and out of the warehouse district.

To be honest I don't think I can get away. Where would I go? He already said someone was watching my place and he's probably right. Monte would do anything to get his money back, so I'm better off sticking to Cooper's side. After the show this morning it might not be such a terrible place to be. My body still aches with need, but I'm too shy to ask him to take care of that for me and it will only make the situation worse. Cooper is charming and sexy, but those quick smiles of his are killer. He's a heartbreak waiting to happen.

"I look big, but I'm fast; you can try though." He winks and I fight not to melt. "I'm always down for a good chase."

I lock my thighs together as I think about what it would be like for him to chase me down. My arousal from earlier gets worse and I'm going to need new panties. I still can't believe I busted him jacking off as I was trying to organize his desk. I'm not sure "busted" is the right word for it because he didn't look like he cared that I caught him. He all but invited me to join him and before my brain could catch up to what I was doing I was moving across the room to the bed. I unbuttoned my top to turn him on more and to tease him.

"I'm not going to run." I let out a long sigh as I try and get my raging lust under control. There are bigger things at play here and I guess I'm along for the ride now. "It's not as though I have anywhere to go."

I look out the window because when I look at him I forget about everything else. I need to remember two men are out there trying to find me. God knows what they'll do to me if that happens and the thought helps cool the lust simmering inside.

"You don't have any family?" he asks, and I shake my head. "No ID either, buttercup."

I can feel his eyes on me, and I realize he went through my purse. I have a driver"s license. I just don't keep it on me. It's stashed with the small amount of money I kept hidden at my place. God forbid one day I get in an accident and go to the hospital. I'm sure with Warren it would have only taken someone typing my name into a system or database and he'd be here.

"Maybe I should be the one asking if Jules is your real name."

"Julian is what my birth certificate says," I admit. "Jules kind of stuck over the years." I didn't try and change my name. Jules felt common enough when I went on the run and I keep my last name to myself. Monte knows it because I thought I could trust him and now I worry what he might do with that information.

"I guess I should have asked this before," he mumbles under his breath. "There isn't someone Monte can go after to try and hurt you, is there?"

"Like I said, no family."

Normally that thought doesn't bother me because I'm used to it. I don't have any friends either, but seeing Cooper with the friends he called his family last night pulled at something inside of me. They all had each other's backs and I bet if I had someone like them in my life maybe I wouldn't have had to run from my old one. These men took the law into their own hands and maybe it isn't right by everyday standards, but if anyone knows that trying to do the right thing can get you nowhere, it's me. Warren got to break the rules and get away with it.

"No man?" he clips, breaking me from my thoughts.

I let out a humorless laugh. "Not one I'm trying to have."

"Is someone trying to have you?" Cooper"s hands tighten on the steering wheel and I need to remember he's good at reading between the lines. Hell, he's good at reading people in general. Yesterday he was picking up things about me before I even said them.

"Something like that." I go back to looking out the window.

"Is it someone at Monte's place?" Cooper pushes for more information and his playful tone is gone.

"No, he's not from around here." I glance over and see Cooper's body is tense.

He's pissed and I wonder if he's mad that someone wants me or if it's his good guy thing and he doesn't like the idea of someone pushing a woman around. Maybe the Robin Hood act is real.

"You're not going to give me more than that, are you, buttercup?"

I press my lips together and shake my head. I don't want to talk about Warren, and I hate how much of my mind he already rules.

"All right then," he says as he pulls into a parking spot. It looks like a little boutique, but the sign in the window says it's closed.

"Really? You're just going to drop it?" I see someone coming to the door inside the boutique and it's a woman with a very pregnant belly. She turns the lock and waves us in.

"Nope, I don't push women," he says before he gets out of the car and comes around to open my door for me.

"You just take them hostage and threaten to cut them in half?" I say and realize I'm teasing him.

His face fills with regret again and I hate it because I wasn"t trying to upset him. I really was only teasing.

"I wasn"t going to—"

I lift my hand and put two fingers over his mouth. "I know you wouldn"t have hurt me." He smiles against my fingers as his hand comes up and wraps around my wrist. He kisses my fingers before he slides my hand into his.

"If I ever do something you think might not be right in the moment, know I'm always playing the long game." He pulls me into the shop.

I see one of the men from last night standing next to the pregnant woman and I'm pretty sure I heard Cooper call him Track. I see the rings on both their hands and realize they're married. She gives me a warm smile, but Track's face is blank.

"Welcome," the dark-haired women chirps and her smile is growing bigger by the second.

"Hey, Mags," Cooper says.

The woman tries to move toward us, but I realize Track has a hold of her arm. She gives him a hard elbow to the stomach and he lets out a grunt before dropping his hold. She rolls her eyes but keeps on smiling as she comes over and gives Cooper a hug and then wraps me in her arms. I'm a little taken aback by it, but it feels nice.

"So Cooper went and got a girl," she says, leaning back and looking me over. "We need more girls around here."

"I'm not his girl," I rush to say, and my face heats.

"Hostage," Track corrects from where he's still standing.

"Willing captive?" Cooper says in his deep seductive voice and I'm reminded of him on the bed back at his place.

"Jules will be fine," I say with a small laugh and Track nods to Cooper.

"Let them do man things and we'll get you some clothes." Mags waves Cooper off to go talk to Track. I'm sure it's about me because it's clear none of them enjoy the idea of me being here. Well, Mags looks pretty happy about it.

Cooper gives my hand a small squeeze and then he surprises me as he brushes his lips against mine before walking over to Track, who lets out a low curse.

I'm guessing Mags knows most of the story because she didn"t look shocked when her husband called me a hostage or by Cooper's affection.

"I think Coop's seen the perks of having a wife and is trying to get one." At Mags's comment, Track's face finally changes and a smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth before he walks to the back.

"So you need some clothes?" she asks, and I look down at my wrinkled work clothes from the day before. I'm a mess.

"Guess so." I feel out of sorts because I know Cooper is going to have to buy my clothes for me. I can try and work in his office to help pay back whatever the cost is. I can hide out there until I rebuild my small savings and I can take off again.

"Perk up." Mags nudges me. "It can't be too bad being Coop's hostage. That man is sweet as can be and I like seeing him with someone. Maybe he'll stop working so much." She shakes her head.

"He's sweet," I agree, remembering how he helped me through my panic attack. He's always trying to make me feel better and now he brought me to get new clothes.

"I love your hips," Mags tells me as she reaches out and grabs them. I stand there, unsure what she's doing. "They're great for making babies and great for high-waisted pants." A smirk forms on her full lips. "I'd know." She taps her round belly, then she motions for me to follow her.

I follow her over to a rack and she starts pulling things off and dropping them into my arms. When my arms can't hold any more, she finally stops.

"We'll start here," she says with a nod.

"This is a lot of clothes."

"Women need options." She motions with her hands. "That's why I got myself a store."

"Hey, I helped with the store," Track says as he and Cooper come back into the room.

Cooper's face is solemn and I drop the clothes down onto a chair, knowing something is wrong. Track doesn"t look so irritated anymore, but Cooper sure does.

"What?" I ask as my eyes lock with Cooper's.

"Warren Humphries," he says, and all the blood drains from my face. "He's in town looking for his missing fiancée. A Julian Langley."