Page 22 of Kidnapping Their Third

She made a disappointed sound. “You’re spoiling my fun.”

“This is really different,” he muttered. Instead of leaving to find medical help, Cooper kept standing there, eyes bouncing back and forth between him and Cora. “You’re never this nice to your boyfriends. If Andrew or Todd had tried to defend you, you’d have ripped into them.”

“His name was Thomas, not Todd,” Cora said. “And if they had ever tried to defend me from real danger, I wouldn’t have said anything. All they wanted to protect me from was bullshit social situations.”

“You can tell yourself that,” Cooper said with a shake of his head. “But I’ve never seen you let anyone step in like this before. You trust this guy.”

Cora stiffened and when she tried to pull away, Pike let her. It was obvious by her pensive expression that she didn’t like what Cooper was saying, even if it was true. As fated mates, she’d instinctively trust Pike to protect her to the best of his ability. Maybe it would help if she understood it went both ways.

“I know you’d put yourself in danger to protect me,” he murmured. “Even if I didn’t want you to. That’s how the bond between us works.”

“Bond?” Cooper asked from behind her. “What kind of hippy-dippy shit are you talking about? Ted said you two had only been seeing each other for a few weeks.”

“I swear you all gossip more than a bunch of old women at a church social,” Cora muttered.

Pike leaned in close and whispered in Cora’s ear. “Can we feed this brother to Kimble? You’ve got five others. Five is a good number.”

Cora snorted. “He’s not even the most annoying one.”

Pike pretended to be shocked. “That can’t be true.”

“You sort of met the most annoying one over the phone,” she reminded him. “Remember Ted? He invited you to our Sunday BBQ.”

“Yeah, he totally needs to come,” Cooper said, having sidled up close enough to hear that part of their conversation.

Cora took Pike’s hand before turning to face her brother. “Why are you here anyway?”

“We were all worried,” Cooper said. “Dad thought you might have joined a cult or something because you never go that long without answering your phone. Tim was sure you’d gotten kidnapped, and Caleb claimed you’d finally gotten fed up with all of us. I selflessly offered to check on you myself.”

Cora narrowed her eyes at him. “Bullshit. You lost at arm-wrestling, so you’re the one who had to make sure I wasn’t dead or dying.”

An unrepentant grin stretched across Cooper’s face. “Yeah, but it wasn't just that. I was as worried about you as everyone else. I swear.” He tried to hold up his right hand in a solemn promise, but winced and pushed it back against his chest.

“Idiot,” Cora muttered.

Cooper ignored her and met Pike’s gaze. “I’d like to formally invite you to our monthly BBQ this Sunday. Show up at four pm with the meat of your choice. Or fake meat of your choice if you swing that way. I think we’ll probably be grilling some mushrooms and veggies too because Trevor’s wife is a vegetarian.”

Pike looked at Cora. “Do you want me to go?”

“Sure,” Cora said with a resigned sigh. “Like I said when Ted invited you over the phone, you’re going to have to meet them sometime. It’s probably best to get it over with.”

“You make us sound as fun as going to the dentist,” Cooper complained.

Cora raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. The siblings stared at each other until Cooper broke eye contact with a wince.

“I’ll tell the guys to be nice,” Cooper said.

“I won’t hesitate to fuck any of you up,” Cora warned him. “Make sure they know that.”

Cooper laughed. “I don’t need to remind anyone of that. I still haven't gotten the dead fish smell out of my work truck.”

Cora assumed an innocent expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, sure,” Cooper answered. “Oh, and call Calab, he and Janet need help with the kids. And Dad wants you to pick up a few jobs that are too small for him. And…”

Cora shook her head. “Enough, I’ll call everyone and figure it out.”

“Good.” Cooper turned his gaze to Pike, his expression turning mildly hostile. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

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