Chapter 7

7

C ooper

(Mister Sommelier)

As Cooper's Italian luxury car pulled into the parking lot of the commercial building, Saint got out of his car. Cooper got out, holding a bottle of Armand De Brignac champagne with a small red bow around it. Saint accepted the eight-hundred-dollar bottle with genuine appreciation and a smile.

"Congratulations on your engagement, man."

"I 'preciate you, Coop, and I'm sure Harmony will share the same sentiment."

"She's beautiful, and she's…" Cooper's head tilted as he tried to find the right words. "She's made you seem alive, not just like you're existing if that makes sense."

Saint's head nodded in agreement as he put the champagne in his car. "Makes perfect sense because I feel the same way. Thank you."

"You're welcome. If y'all need a house after the wedding, just let me know."

Saint had already been thinking about that. Harmony loved his home, but he wanted them to choose and decorate something together. After tucking that piece of information in his mind, Saint asked, "You good, brother?" as he took in the beads of sweat that were on Cooper's forehead. It wasn't hot enough for Cooper to be sweating like that because of the weather. Saint trusted Cooper and didn't believe he was nervous because he was doing something suspect, but he was concerned about his friend's safety.

Cooper's head shook as he opened the door of the building that was at the top of Saint's list for In Harmony.

"They killed her. They killed my fucking wife."

Saint barely had time to process Cooper's words as he walked further into the empty building. Saint followed behind as his confusion grew. True enough, Cooper's marriage to Ashley was arranged and based on business, but still, Saint expected him to show some sort of emotion because he wasn't heartless.

"Fuck you mean they killed your wife?" Saint grabbed Cooper's arm, stopping his movement. "Who did it, and what we finna do about it?"

Cooper's head hung as it shook. "We ain't finna do shit. You legit now, and that ain't changing because of me." He pulled in a deep breath and returned his eyes to Saint's. "They don't know I know yet. I have to go through my normal day to day routine until after her father finds out. He's going to think I had something to do with this, and I need to find out who is responsible before he kills me because of it."

"Wait." Saint lifted his hands and took a deep breath. "Why would Houston think you killed his daughter?"

"Because I told him I was going to do whatever I had to, to get out of the marriage and our agreement." Cooper's voice lowered, and he took a step closer to Saint as he said, "But I didn't mean this. I would never put my hands on a woman, and I for damn sure wouldn't kill one."

There was no need for Saint to search Cooper's eyes for the truth. It was already there. Besides, he knew Cooper's character. When it came to women, he loved them or left them alone. He'd been raised right, with both parents, and had his grandparents too. He wasn't the kind of man to use his power and strength over women to abuse them in any way.

"Do you have any current enemies that would benefit from getting you out of the way?"

"When don't we have enemies in this business?" Cooper's smile was bitter. "I can name a few, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to use her to put me and Houston against each other."

"So you need to figure out who knew y'all had beef and you wanted out of the marriage. When you figure that out, it'll lead you to whoever killed her."

With a hard exhale, Cooper pulled his phone out of his pocket. "This is Houston. Have a look around while I take this."

Saint nodded his agreement. He took his time walking through the sixteen-thousand square foot building. It was kind of small for what he wanted to do, but Saint liked the intimacy of it. He didn't want a large space that allowed for seclusion. He wanted everyone communing and on one accord.

As he made his way over to Cooper he asked, "Does he know?"

Cooper's head shook. "Not yet. I've got probably until the end of the day. When he doesn't hear from her, he's going to go with his team to the house. I want him to see her first, then tell me when I get there."

"Are you going to be safe, Cooper?"

Cooper ran his hand down his face. "Yeah, but I gotta buy my time and play my cards right. He's smart, so he's not going to shoot first and ask questions later. If he makes a move on me, it'll be after the funeral. So I've got maybe seven to ten days to figure this out."

"Let me know if you need anything. Whatever you need, I got you."

The men shook hands and embraced, and Cooper thanked him before heading out. "Shit." He turned to face Saint as he neared the exit. "What do you think about the space?"

Saint chuckled. "This is the one, but don't worry about this right now. Handle ya business, we can take care of this when I get back from my tour."

"Nah, we can handle it today. Follow me to the office and we can go ahead with the signing."