Caleb sighs. “I will talk to Ginny. I’m sure she will handle the other two.”
“I don’t doubt that. Caleb, did Colin clue you in everything he found?”
“Yes, and there’s a lot more we need to tell you and things Rosalie needs to clue us in some things too.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know when we are ready.”
“I can deal with that. Cooper, do you know what you just did to the club, to the town, right? Everyone here is a target.”
“I know. Now that she is here, I’ll make sure they can’t touch us. I’ll pluck those Crows feathers and burn them all. Before, it was a matter of business. Now is personal.”
“I guess I have some meetings to schedule with the locals.”
“I guess so.”
I hold Rosalie closer to me as I head to the east side of the Black Reign compound. I’ll deal with Los Cuervos de Plata later. Right now, I need to make sure Rosalie feels safe, that she knows I’ll never leave her, and that I’ve fallen in love with her.
EPILOGUE
“Give me a tour,” I say, laying on Cooper’s naked chest.
Since we both got shot a couple of days ago, we spend all the time in Cooper’s room. I’ve only seen this room and the bathroom. He has more injuries than I, but he doesn’t let me leave the bed unless I absolutely need to. He brings the food in. He brings my luggage, which at this point I thought it was a lost cause, but I’m learning the word impossible doesn’t exist for Cooper.
Jessica, theirs and the town’s doctor, told Cooper to tour me around the compound and the town. She reminds him I need to move; I need fresh air; I need to see the sun and that he can’t keep me hidden here for eternity. I kiss his pout away before I head to the shower to get ready for my tour.
I haven’t seen my friends and VERA members since I arrived, barely awake and bleeding through my arm. Cooper helps me to get dressed, complaining through every piece of clothing.
“Cooper, stop this.”
“I almost lost you, Rosalie. Is it that hard to understand how I feel?”
“No, it is not hard, but also you have brothers and a town you are responsible for. You have a cartel to smash and burn to ashes and you have a town to protect and to show me. I almostlose you too, twice I might add. I can’t cage you away the same way you can’t to me.”
“But I can try.”
“Cooper, please.”
He sighs and helps me put on my arm sling. I finally see his side of the compound. He explains each of them has a section that serves like a house or apartment. His living room is a little spar and so is his kitchen. His office is another thing. His desk holds three monitors and two of his walls are covered in bookshelves and the other wall has four big cabinets I imagine are filled with documents I’m not privy to.
I discover that the two doors out of his living quarter door are one for the armory and one for the garage exclusive to the Black Reign club.
“Guns and vehicles?”
“When I was in the military, armory and marksmanship were my specialties. I did my studies in mechanics, which help me excel in armory, and it’s something I could turn into a profession as soon as I was out.”
“You are ex-military?”
“That’s the only thing you heard?” Cooper caresses my cheek
“I heard it all, but my brain is stuck at that specific fact. How are you ex-military and also are…” I can’t find a way to say it without it sounding like I’m judging.
“A criminal?”
“That’s not what I wanted to say.”
“I know, but it is one of the many things I am. You’ve seen me killed people.”
“For self-defense.”
