Page 13 of Savage

“Hotter.” Cooper shrugged. “Sexier.”

Damn.Nothing shy about him right now, and I had to respect that he was asking for what he wanted. Something I was only too keen on giving.

I slipped my hand inside my jacket, pulled a business card and pen from the pocket, and wrote my main personal cell number on the back. Then I held it up between two fingers and dared him to take it.

As Cooper reached for it, I snatched it back and grinned.

He laughed. “Oh, so you’re a flirtanda tease.”

“What, you don’t like to be teased?”

Cooper plucked the card out of my hand. “I didn’t say that.” He glanced down at the number I’d written on one side and then flipped it over before licking his lips. “Lachlan Stone, CEO, Stone Security.” His eyes flicked up to mine. “Now that suits you.”

“Yeah? Sexy enough?”

“Oh yeah.” That blush made its way back into his cheeks, but to his credit, Cooper didn’t break our stare. “Lachlan.” The way he said it, rolling the Ls around his tongue like he could taste them, made me think he planned to use my name later. In the privacy of his apartment, naked and lying in bed?—

Fuck.My cock ached at the thought as my bastard phone began to vibrate with the alarm I’d set for myself in case I got carried away. I had too much on my plate to be sitting here, eye-fucking Cooper, but I considered blowing it all off for another half-hour.

Unfortunately, that was when I remembered why the meeting was important enough to set the damn alarm in the first place—it was a personal favor to King.

Goddammit.

As I reached down to silence the alarm, I gave Cooper an apologetic smile.“Sorry to cut this short, but work calls.”

His face fell for the briefest of heartbeats before he smoothed it out and waved a hand. “Yeah, of course.”

As I stood and buttoned my suit jacket, I noticed him watching me and nodded at my card still in his hand. “You should give me a call, Cooper. See what trouble we can get into.”

I gathered up my coat and shot him a wink, but left my drink on the table in case he wanted…a taste.

Let’s see how brave the Boy Scout really is.

6

COOPER

THE AMOUNT OF hours I’d spent mining information that never amounted to much was mind blowing. Being a journalist meant days and nights singularly focused on one story, hoping for a breadcrumb that could lead you to a bigger break.

So far my breadcrumbs had only led to a near-death experience and a whole lot of nothing else. Nothing I could use, anyway. I knew where a lot of the dealers congregated, which is how I’d ended up following some of them to an alley. I had photos of faces, had tracked down all I could find on them, had sussed out hidden drug spots, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. I still had no idea who the ringleader was, and no one was freely giving their name.

The only actual evidence I had was the key card, or whatever it was that I’d found, which I’d hidden somewhere safe.

I scrubbed a hand over my face and reached for my coffee mug only to find it empty. Surviving on caffeine felt like a requisite of the job, and God knew I’d gone through enough that it’d probably replaced the blood in my veins at this point. Hell, when was the last time I ate something? It was already dark out,though that didn’t mean much when the city was pitch black by five in the winter, but the clock on my phone said ten p.m.

Later than I thought. And what did I have to show for it?

Sighing, I went to close my laptop when an email notification popped up in the corner, and I clicked it open. When they deemed it too late to call with the time difference, my parents had resorted to sending emails to check in, and I skimmed through it to make sure there was nothing urgent that needed my attention or response.

Are you ready to come home yet… Will you be coming back for your grandfather’s 90th next month… Have you found a job… Are you being safe… Do you need any money?

I snorted at that, because they hadn’t given me money since I was fifteen and started mowing lawns. Would things be tight down the road if I didn’t get a job soon? Uh, yeah. But that would happen…at some point.

After writing back a response and promising to elaborate more later, I hit send and let my gaze wander out the lone window in my apartment. The view wasn’t anything much, not with the fire escape blocking most of it, but it was enough to let in the moonlight. I hadn’t bothered with curtains, being on the top floor, and I doubted anyone was interested enough to peer inside and watch me sit at a cramped desk most of the time. Although I’d considered getting some the last few days, because paranoia had made it feel like someone was following me. All. The. Time.

Are you being safe?If my family only knew just how unsafe I’d been, they’d have my ass on the next flight home.

Which was exactly why they didn’t know the reason I was really here. It’d been only too easy to say I needed to get away from it all after losing Alex, that I needed time and space away from my hometown.

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