Page 11 of No More Spies

Ian paced, looking like a caged lion. “All right, let me getthis straight. My fifteen-year-old daughter tried to sleep with you, you turnedher down and she walked out in the middle of the night alone and you let her.”

“She wasn’t serious,” Cooper tried. “She was joking.”

Ian turned like he was scenting pray. “If she was joking,she would still be at your house, and I wouldn’t know a whole lot of things Idon’t want to know. So if she was joking, Cooper, then what was the fightabout?”

He felt queasy. He fucked everything up, and the truth ofthe matter was she was probably going to be home at any minute. Kala could be alittle on the vengeful side. She was probably hiding out.

“Cooper,” his father sent him a stern stare.

This. This is what he’d always feared. He was letting hisdad down. He had to be honest, had to take accountability. “She wanted me to beher boyfriend, and I don’t think I want that right now. I like her. I like hera lot. She’s my friend but…”

“You don’t kiss your friends, Cooper.” Ian bit out everyword. “You don’t have make-out sessions with your friends.”

“Dad,” Tasha began.

Ian shook his head, his fingers coming down on theconference table. He held himself there, looking like he would attack at anymoment. “No. I understand Kala can be stubborn. I understand she’s noteveryone’s cup of tea, but he led her on. What was the play, Coop? Did youthink you could see her in private? Did you think you could get your hands onher and no one would have to know you thought the freak was hot?”

“It wasn’t like that,” Cooper replied. But he worried. Maybeit was. He did want to get his hands on her. He didn’t want to deal with theramifications of being her boyfriend. He loved her. He wasn’t sure he couldhandle her.

He was so fucking selfish.

“Then what way was it?” Ian asked, the question a landmine.

“Hey, remember he’s fifteen, too,” his dad said, standing upand moving closer to him. Like he had to protect him.

“Ah, but he’s not the one who’s out in the middle of thenight.” Ian’s voice was smooth, but there was no mistaking the threat beneathevery silky word. “He’s not the one who constantly gets told he’s too much.Cooper is the athlete golden boy everyone loves, and Kala is the weirdoeveryone thinks will go psycho one day. Do you have any idea how hard it is tobe the kid no one understands? You don’t have enough, Cooper? It’s not enoughto be the most popular kid in school? You have to have her, too? But on yourterms.”

Every word hit him like a bullet to the heart. Was that whathe’d done? It wasn’t what he thought he’d done.

“Ian, I think you should go find your wife.” His dad soundedcolder than he could remember, and he knew he was the reason his dad wasfighting with his best friend. “I know the trouble with Kyle and MaeBe has youin a mood but…”

Ian pointed a finger his way. “Don’t blame this on somethingit has nothing to do with. You wait, Alex. You wait until your daughter, theone who looks so much like Eve, gets her heart ripped out of her chest by theonly boy she’s ever cared about and you come back here and tell me I should bereasonable. You think I don’t remember changing his fucking diaper? But I’m notcapable of seeing the kid I love right now. All I can see is the little shitwho told my daughter she wasn’t good enough and let her walk out into thefreaking night on her own.”

“She wouldn’t let me walk her home,” he protested. And hehad to watch his brother and sister. He was the oldest. He didn’t have a Tashaand Kenzie to back him up. He’d had to wake his brother and freak him out bymaking him promise he wouldn’t open the door to anyone.

He’d let his parents down that way, too.

“And don’t tell him he should have called.” Tasha was a wellof calm. She handled the whole thing so much better than he ever could have.“No phones allowed on the floor.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Ian pushed off the table andstarted for the door. “I don’t think your mom and I will be back for a while.Not now that I know I can’t trust any of you.”

Tasha went quiet.

“I’ll go get Derek,” his dad said, seeming to try to bringdown the intensity in the room. Cooper recognized the name. Derek Brighton. Hewas a big deal with the Dallas Police Department. They were bringing in thepolice. “And I’ll let your mom know she needs to get home because Hunter iseleven and he’s not old enough to be alone. Hopefully Vivi slept through all ofit.”

So much guilt. So much drama.

“I’m going to call Chelsea,” Ian said. “She’s at hometonight so she can pull up the security cameras between your house and mine.You two need to go and sit in the lobby.”

Tasha followed her dad out, but Cooper’s dad put a hand onhis shoulder.

“Stay for a minute.”

Cooper braced for another blow. His father knew what a shithe was now. He felt like one. He felt like the worst piece of crap who everwalked the earth.

He could still see the minute she understood he wasn’t goingto say yes. He could see the split second when her heart had broken.

He stood there, unable to respond.

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