Chapter 24

Keavy~

W hen Cooper Donaldson had insisted that we meet in his room, it hadn't taken a moment of genius to figure out why. If there was any truth to the rumors that Declan had told me about him, then he probably had his fetish tools in his room. If he was really into knife play or anything dangerous like that, then it'd be better to meet in his room where he could control the narrative.

My heart was beating rapidly inside my chest as I stood in front of his door, and even though I didn't particularly feel bad for what I was about to do, Cooper Donaldson wasn't like the men that Declan had sent after Kenneth. Whatever I'd done before, it'd been in self-defense, so there'd been no real thought into what I'd done. I had reacted on instinct, choosing to protect myself over suffering a martyr's death, but that wasn't the case tonight. Tonight, I was part of a planned conspiracy to kill one of the nation's most powerful men, and anything could go wrong.

I turned my head when I noticed a figure coming down the hallway, and the confidence oozing off his imposing frame was rather impressive. He walked like a man that knew his worth, and his worth was enough to intimidate a lot of fucking people in this world. He had enough to buy whatever he wanted and still tell people to keep the change.

"I'm glad to see that you didn't change your mind," Cooper said as soon as he was standing in front of me. "I would have been disappointed."

Knowing that he appreciated my candidness, I said, "Even if I wanted to, I can't afford that kind of self-righteousness at the moment."

Something flashed in his hazel gaze. "I think you and I are going to get along very well, Mary."

I gave him a tentative smile before he turned to open the door to his room. Having never been here before, I wasn't sure if all the rooms were the same or if there were suites or whatever like normal hotels in the city. When it was all said and done, I supposed that it didn't matter. It wasn't like we were going to actually enjoy any of the accommodations that the club had to offer.

Ever the gentleman, Cooper placed his hand on the small of my back, ushering me inside like we were on a real date or something. It was also easy to see how a woman could fall under this man's spell, never suspecting what she was getting into.

Once we were inside, Cooper shut the door as he asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

I pretended to glance around the room nervously, my heart still beating rapidly, but not for the reasons that a normal person might think. Taking a quick look around, the room looked like a pricey suite at any random hotel, but it wasn't ostentatious. The room actually looked tasteful and like a nice place where you wouldn't mind spending the night.

Turning back to face Cooper, I answered. "No, thank you." Giving him a tentative smile, I added, "Your room is nice."

"Yours isn't?" he asked as he made his way towards me in the center of the room.

"I…" I swallowed, doing my best to appear nervous again. "I paid for a…a standard room."

"Well, if we do find that we suit, then you won't have to worry about wasting your money on future rooms, Mary," he said kindly, and it really was hard to reconcile this polite gentleman with the monster that he was reputed to be.

I gave him another small smile, then looked around before placing my purse on the decorative table next to the door. "Do…do you mind if I put this here?"

"Not at all, sweetheart," he replied easily. "In fact, make yourself at home. I'd like you to feel as comfortable as possible."

I didn't move from near the door, and when Cooper began to take off his suit jacket, that was my cue. "Wait," I blurted. "I…uhm…just…can you wait a second?"

His light eyes flashed with the real him for a second before quickly masking his anger. "Is there a problem?"

I shook my head, but then quickly nodded. "I…I just…I think I…I think this might be…be a mistake," I stammered. "I…now that I'm here, I don't know…" I let out a deep breath. "I don't know if…if I can do this."

Cooper quietly placed his jacket on the back of the settee, then wiped the edges of his mouth with his fingers, obviously trying to appear calm. The energy in the room had shifted with that simple act, and this was the man that shook hands on million-dollar deals and knew the strength of his power. Gone was the charming man downstairs, replaced by the rumors that Declan had told me about.

However, before he could say anything or come at me, there was a pounding on the door that startled me. Though I wasn't scared, the surprise on my face was real. "Did you…did you invite someone else?" I asked incredulously.

Cooper scowled. "No."

"Then why is someone knocking on your door?" I stepped back from the table a bit. "Did you…is it another woman? Another man?"

"No," he bit out, clearly offended. "I don't share."

When the knocking continued, he said, "Stay right there."

Doing as he'd said, my mind started racing with all that could be happening right now. Declan and I had never discussed what I'd do if someone else entered the picture, and we really should have. If Cooper was as sexually deranged as he'd been reputed to be, then why wouldn't he be the type of man to abuse a woman with a team? After all, abusive men got off on the pain, not the sex, right?

My chest felt tight as Cooper went to open the door, and my heart stopped beating in my chest altogether as soon as I saw Declan on the other side. I had no idea what was going on, but Declan showing up had never been part of the plan.

"O'Brien," Cooper said, sounding surprised and irritated. "What in the fuck are you doing here?"

My eyes widened as Declan pulled out a gun, then pointed it at Cooper's head. "Saying hi," he drawled out, stepping forward, forcing Cooper to have to step back into the room.

"Have you lost your mind?" Cooper snapped. "What's the meaning of this?"

Declan's sapphire gaze glanced my way, and once he was satisfied that I was okay, he turned his attention back towards Cooper. "You've overstayed your welcome in O'Brien territory, Donaldson."

Before Cooper could utter another word, Declan fired one shot to his head, Cooper falling backwards, a look of shock on his already dead face. Even though Declan had used a silencer, the vibrations of the muted sound still made me jump, Cooper Donaldson not the only one shocked by this turn of events.

Turning my eyes from the dead body, I hissed, "What in the fuck are you doing, Declan?'

His blue eyes were like lit torches of fire as he looked me up and down. "Doing what I should have done a long fucking time ago."

"Declan-"

"Get your purse," he ordered, cutting me off.

"Where are we going?"

"I'll explain later," he said, and now that I was out of the loop, I had no choice but to listen to him.

So, I quickly grabbed my purse, then let Declan lead me out of the room, closing the door behind him, and that's when I noticed that he had gloves on. Whatever this was, he'd had enough time to plan the details, and I found myself getting pissed off. I had risked a lot by agreeing to this, and Declan had disregarded that risk by changing things up on me and not even bothering to let me know.

My mind really started racing when Declan grabbed my arm, then started dragging me down the hall in the opposite direction. We were practically at the end of the other side of the third floor when Declan pulled out a keycard, swiping it at a door that I'd had no idea that he had rented.

I was going to kill him.

"What in the hell are you doing?" I hissed. "What are we doing here?"

Instead of answering me, Declan pushed me into the room, and it looked very much like the one that Cooper had rented, only this room had a half-naked woman lying on the bed, a black blindfold covering her eyes, and a smug-looking Noah Murphy smirking at us from over the bed.

I was at a loss for words, which was a good thing since I had no idea if the woman in the bed was in on this or not. However, even if I hadn't been at a loss for words, Declan was already dragging me into the bathroom, so I wouldn't have had time to say anything, even if I'd wanted to.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Declan took my face in his hands. "Did he touch you?"

Instead of answering, I asked, "Declan, what is this?"

"Did that sonofabitch touch you?"

"No," I bit out. "We'd barely gotten to the room, but I have a feeling that you already know that."

"Baby-"

"Declan, what the fuck is going on?" I asked, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say.

"There was a change of plans," he said, not telling me anything significant.

"Well, no fucking shit."