The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

63. Carys

CARYS

“ G o home, Carys. You look like hell.” Jessie carefully picks Elodie up from the bassinet and coos before she moves to Emerson’s bed, where she’s lying on her side, awake but not paying any attention to us. “You’re missing bonding time, Em. How about you sit up and hold her?”

“I’m tired,” Em moans.

I could have told her that wasn’t going to work.

I’ve tried, and that’s as much as she’s said all day.

But Jessie plays dirty. “Sit up, Emerson.” Her tone is sharp, leaving no room for argument.

Em’s eyes flash to Jessie. “It hurts, Jess.” The agony in her voice conveys so much more than physical pain, so I instinctively sit next to her, on the opposite side of Jessie, and push the button to move the bed up. Trying to give her support in any way I can.

Jessie sways from side to side with Elodie as she begins rooting around, looking for something to eat. “Emerson Madden-Alexander, we love you and this beautiful little girl. And we all loved Linc. Do you think this is what he’d want? Would he want you to be so heartbroken that you ignored the last piece of him in this world? Because I don’t think he would.”

Emerson’s big blue eyes fill as her lips tremble. “He’s supposed to be here,” she cries. “He wanted the baby. He wanted to get married. He loved me more than anything in this world... and I...”

Sobs wrack her chest as I gather her in my arms. “And now, she needs you more than anything in this world, Em. I know it hurts. But none of us can control that. What you can control is what you do now.”

Tears soak my skin as she lets it out and hopefully lets go of some of her pain. “I think I need help,” she whispers.

Jessie sits down on the other side of her, with Elodie getting fussier by the minute. “We’ll be right here, Em. I’ve asked your doctor to come in and talk to you about options too. There’s no shame in needing help, short- or long-term, and there are tons of medications out there that are safe for you and her.”

Em nods her head. “Okay.”

Jessie lays Elodie against Em’s chest without giving her the option to say no, then grabs a bottle of formula and hands it to her. “You need to bond with your beautiful baby girl, Em.” Jess sits down in the reclining chair and kicks her feet up on the bed. “I’ve got an hour before my shift starts, and I’m not going anywhere until your doctor comes in, okay?”

Emerson gently runs the nipple along Elodie’s little lips until she latches on and snuggles in against her momma. “Yeah. Okay.” She bites down on her bottom lip to stop the trembling. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you too, Em. And we’re not going anywhere.” I lean back against the bed and kick my legs up next to hers.

“Yes.” She turns her head toward me and sniffs. “You are. You need to go home and shower and sleep. I get out of here tomorrow, and I’ll need help.”

“Anything, Em. I’ll do anything you need.” I kiss the top of her head, then the top of Elodie’s. I grab the hoodie Jack left for me earlier and throw it on over my tank. It smells like his expensive cologne, but it’ll do. I pull my hair out of the hoodie, then mouth thank you to Jessie before slipping through the door, utterly exhausted, and hoping an Uber is close by.

“Carys,” Cooper calls out my name, startling me. “You ready to go home?” He stands from a chair across the hall from Emerson’s room and reaches for me.

I look around for the rest of the guys or something to explain what the hell he’s doing here, but there’s no one around except for a few nurses and some visitors in the hall. “Yeah, I’m going home.” He’s in the same clothes he was wearing earlier, but there’s an unease to his face that’s new. “Have you been here all day, Coop?”

He scans the hall without answering, then takes my hand in his. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

It’s the second time he’s touched me today, and like he’s electrically charged, the hairs on my arms stand on end at the connection. My body has always reacted to his this way, and I want to weep with relief over the fact that he’s standing here in front of me. Instead, I throw my arms around him and hope to God he doesn’t push me away. “Thank you for being okay, Cooper. My heart broke when I heard what happened to Linc, and admitting this probably makes me a horrible person, but all I could think was thank God it wasn’t you.”

Coop’s body stiffens against mine before he pulls himself away. “We’ve got to get moving, Carys.” His long legs eat up the distance as he practically drags me down the hall.

I struggle to keep up with him. “Hey.” I tug back, a little embarrassed over my mini-meltdown and more than a little annoyed at his lack of response. “I get it. You’re in a rush, but my legs are half the length of yours, and I haven’t slept in over thirty-six hours, Cooper. Can you please slow down and tell me what the hell is going on?”

He speeds up instead of slowing down and slides us both into an empty elevator before the doors close. Coop drops my hand and hits the emergency stop button, jerking it to a halt before his big body crowds mine against the wall. “I’m trying to protect you, Carys. You need to understand that Axel is dangerous.” His warm breath ghosts over my face as every frightening word leaves his lips, chilling me to the bone. “If I thought you’d be safer, I’d send you back to Kroydon Hills, but you’re better off here, where I can protect you.” He bends his knees so our eyes are level. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Not exactly.” I gasp as my body shakes violently. “Dangerous how?”

Coop slams his hand against the wall of the elevator next to my head, and I turn my face away from his as a tear runs down my cheek. He hits the button again, and the elevator jerks back into motion before he wraps an arm around me and tucks me against him. “I can’t answer that. But I need you safe.” He ushers me through the doors the second they open and out into the parking garage.

“Coop . . .”

He doesn’t stop to answer me. Instead, he just rushes us to his Jeep, shoves me in it, slams the door shut, and then moves quickly around to his side. Once we’re both inside, Cooper turns his head and looks me over briefly with something unreadable in his eyes. “Buckle up.”

He doesn’t say anything else until we’re on the interstate. “You were my first thought when I woke up in the hospital. My brain is still a little foggy on everything that led up to that point, but you were my first thought when I woke up.” His words are spoken softly but with a force powerful enough to steal the breath from my lungs. He doesn’t offer me anything more, and I take a few minutes before I ask any questions, scared to break whatever peace offering he’s giving me, no matter how short or long it lasts.

“How are you doing now? How is your head and your... your?—”

“My bullet wound?” he fills in. “The doc took the stitches out before I left Germany. Now it’s just tape that will fall off soon.” He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “My memory still isn’t completely back.”

“Did Axel have something to do with what happened over there?” I can’t believe I’m even asking the question and half expect him to say no. To tell me that sounds insane. Because it does. But Coop doesn’t say any of those things.

“Yes.”

One word. Three letters that just blew my mind.

“Oh, God,” I gasp. “Who hurt you, Cooper? Who hurt Linc?” Please let me be wrong.

Cooper doesn’t answer, but his knuckles tighten around the steering wheel, and I try to absorb what he’s not saying. It doesn’t make sense. None of it does.

Then I start thinking about the cafeteria earlier. Axel wasn’t there to hurt me or anyone else. Was he? It’s like a puzzle with pieces that don’t fit together, but I try to make sense of it anyway.

“I don’t understand... Why would Axe do this?” It’s Axel. The goofball who’s been joking around about marrying me for over a year.

“We’re not sure. But our best guess is money. The problem is, we don’t have any fucking clue what he’s doing now, and the fact he came to you today can’t be dismissed. But I promise you, I’ll keep you safe. I’ll be at the house with you and Emerson until this gets straightened out.”

“Um, what?” I turn to look at him, not sure I heard him right. “What do you mean?”

“I’m staying with you guys until this is straightened out.” Coop refuses to look at me as he turns onto our street, then parks in the driveway. “Give me your keys and let me clear the house before you come in.”

I pull my keys from my bag and throw open the door. “No. I’m not letting you go in without me.” He’s out of his freaking mind if he thinks I’m going to sit out here like a good little girl and let him get hurt... again.

“Goddamnit, Carys.” He slams the door shut behind him and catches up to me in two strides, grabbing my shoulder to stop me. “This isn’t going to work if you don’t listen to me.”

“Oh, I’m going to listen to you.” I wrench my arm away as a plan begins to form in my mind. “But you’re going to listen to me too, Cooper Sinclair.” I hand him my keys. “And either way, I’m going in that house with you.”

Cooper groans. “Why do you insist on being such a pain in the ass?”

“Because you won’t talk to me, but you think you have the right to tell me what to do. Well, guess what? Out of everything I’ve learned in the past year, the most important thing has been to stand up for myself and what I want.” I walk ahead of him and wait at the front door. “I’m working on my communication skills, Coop.”

He looks up to the sky as he groans, then unlocks the door, coming face-to-face with Jack and Theo.

They look between Coop and me and must sense the tension rolling off us in violent waves. “We’re out.” Theo salutes us.

“We’re on our way to see Emerson.” Jack basically ignores Cooper. “We should be back in a little while, and then, Brooklynn is coming over to run through the set one more time before we leave for the tour. You gonna be around, CC?”

“Yeah. I’ll be here.”

Jack tugs on the hoodie I’m wearing as I walk by him. “Am I getting that back before I leave?” His lips tip up in a crooked grin, and this fucker knows exactly what he’s doing, which is taunting Coop, who storms away.

“I’ll wash it tonight, you ass.” I shake my head, and Jack’s smile grows.

“You’ll be thanking me later.” He winks and closes the door behind him.

I lock it and watch Cooper drop a duffle bag, I hadn’t even noticed he was carrying, next to the couch. He stretches his arms up over his head, exposing a strip of bare, golden skin above the waist of his jeans. My mouth waters.

God, I miss this man. But two can play at this game.

“Are you ready to talk?” I lift my eyes to his after staring for a moment too long, then slowly peel the hoodie off, leaving me in a thin pink tank that’s pulled low in the front, exposing the tops of my breasts.

Cooper’s already moved to the glass doors leading to the back yard and is checking the lock, when he turns around and audibly swallows, shaking his head. “No. I’m going to check the locks, then crash on the couch for a little while too.” He lowers the blinds on the glass doors, then follows me up the stairs.

Heat colors my cheeks as exhaustion mixes with grief, frustration, and fear.

He might not forgive me yet... but I think he still wants me.

I know he still loves me.

And while nothing about this situation is good, if he’s going to be here, in this house and in my space, I’m going to get this man to talk to me if it’s the last damn thing I do.

Coop stops in Emerson’s room, while I move into mine, leaving the door open while I strip out of my sweats. Standing in my tank and black panties, I pull the blanket back on my bed as he walks into my room and forces his eyes from me while he checks the lock on my door. “Can I ask you something?”

Cooper turns around, with his eyes glued to my face like a perfect gentleman.

As if I don’t know all the ways he can be ungentlemanly...

“Did you push me away at the hospital because you hate me?” There’s a nervous quiver in my voice I wish I could hide, but I have to know. The thought has been playing over and over in my head since he admitted he thought of me when he woke up. “Or did you do it because you already knew about Axel and thought I was in danger?”

Cooper’s eyes hold me hostage until he abruptly storms out of the room.

And somehow, for some reason, I think that might count as a win.