Page 86 of Savage

My eyes drifted to where Cooper poured himself a drink.

The resentment rising inside me wasn’t directed at him, but at the situation, because being tied down and unable to do the thing I was best at wasn’t going to work for me.

Telling me to “stay put”?

Fuck. That.

“Thirsty?” Cooper asked, still holding the bottle of soda.

I shook my head as I paced restlessly, staring out through the open curtains at the city below. From here, we faced the general direction of the warehouse, and wasn’tthatjust going to annoy the shit out of me?

Cooper sat on one side of the couch and leaned back casually, but there was nothing indifferent about his energy. He was sofull of questions and comments that he was ready to pop. How could he not be after what he’d just seen?

I cracked my neck from side to side, trying to release some of the tension building up inside me, but it didn’t help.

“So, that was an intense meeting,” Cooper said, hoping to open up a conversation I wasn’t in the mood for.

It was a comment that didn’t require a response, though, so I let him talk while my mind began to run through how I was going to sweep the warehouse and get what we needed.

“Obviously, I won’t say anything outside this room, but holy shit, I have to at least say it once. I was just in the same room as Shepard O’Neil Winchester III—like, he’s American royalty. And don’t even get me started on the fact that you’re friends with an actual prince.” He shook his head. “That’s wild. You have to admit it.”

I heard his words, could even acknowledge his point of view was right, but I was already deep in planning mode, orders be damned. Being cooped up in this building for days already had me feeling caged, and I needed an outlet or I was going to go out of my mind.

“So do you think I’ll be able to play a part when it all goes down?” Cooper asked. “I mean, I know nothing major, but I’d like to help get these assholes behind bars.”

I almost snorted at that.Behind bars…That wasn’t my preferred method of dealing with the garbage in this city, or anywhere else in the world. King would likely have a problem with that too for this particular mission, though I’d never been discouraged from unleashing my own brand of justice before.

“You’ve done enough,” I said.

“Oh.” He paused for a moment. “Well, if I can, I’d like to be there.”

“Of course you would. It’s dangerous—where else would you want to be?”

Cooper’s forehead creased at the caustic edge to my words. “Are you okay?”

Fucking perfect.I felt like a ticking time bomb ready to explode, and if I stayed here another second I’d end up taking Cooper down with me. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

Decision made, I headed for the door and called out, “I’ll be back.”

“Lachlan—” Worry laced Cooper’s voice, but I didn’t stick around to hear him ask where I was going and why. He didn’t need to know. Didn’t need to be complicit in my plans.

I punched the button for the elevator, and the doors opened like it knew I need to get the fuck out.

Seconds later I was on the ground floor grabbing my coat, then I was out the door. The cold air slapped me in my face as I stepped out onto the street, and when one of the drivers on hand got out of the car, I waved him off.

“Not tonight,” I said, jamming my hands into my pockets, then I started up the street.

God it felt good to be outside again. Not that it was a hardship to spend time at Libertine, but being cooped up in there for several days in a row had left me feeling antsy.

I didn’t do well in enclosed spaces, and when it was against my will, it was even worse.

Maybe this was King’s way of paying me back for these last couple of weeks. I definitely deserved it. But even he knew the consequences of caging one who usually roamed free.

I booked it several blocks, running over everything we’d uncovered in the last few days, and I had to admit that without Cooper we probably wouldn’t be as close to nailing Mick as we were as of tonight.

Not only had he led us to the club where I’d managed to secure a deal with Mick, but that fateful night in the alley had gotten us more intel than we could’ve hoped for. That key cardhe’d “accidentally” come across had cut weeks of surveillance off low-end drug deals and instead led us straight to the source.

I turned down a side street, one I knew would knock a little time off my trek across town, and made my way toward the one place I’d been specifically told not to go.

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