Intercepting Love

11. Cooper

11

COOPER

On my way to the restrooms, I passed Lara. “Hey, have you seen Kate walk by? She left a few minutes ago and I know she’s had a little too much to drink.”

“No, I haven’t seen her. Do you want me to check the bathroom?” she asked worriedly.

I nodded and followed on her heels when she rushed off. Slipping into the bathroom, it only took her about two seconds later to burst out. “Cooper, I need your help,” she exclaimed. “Now! I need you to help me pick her up.”

Rushing inside, I found Kate splayed out on the floor, unconscious, and her phone scattered into a million pieces. She must have thrown it to cause that much damage. Quickly yet gently, I picked her up and held her in my arms.

“You care to tell me what’s going on?” I snapped. “What’s wrong with her other than being drunk off of her a*s?”

Lara picked up the shattered pieces of Kate’s phone and threw them in the trash before running cold water over a handful of paper towels. Placing them on Kate’s forehead, she sighed and explained, “Cooper, I would love to tell you, but it’s not my place. Right now she needs to go home. I should’ve known better than to make her come out tonight. I thought it would help, but obviously I was wrong. I’ll pack up your food so you’ll have it when you take her back.”

“Does she take any meds? Is there anything I need to do for her when I get her home?”

Sadly, she gazed down at Kate, and then back up to me. “Yeah, don’t leave her alone tonight. I would take her myself, but I won’t be able to lift her if she needed help. She’s going to be pissed in the morning when she realizes I let you take care of her instead of me. Are you sure you want to be on her bad side tomorrow?”

“If it means making sure she’s safe and taken care of, then I’ll do anything. She can be mad at me all she wants.”

Lara smiled warily and gently brushed the hair off of Kate’s forehead. “Okay, then. Just so we don’t have anyone asking questions, take her out the back door and put her in the car. I’ll have your food out to you in two minutes.”

“What about Luke?” I asked.

She waved me off. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of him.”

Opening the bathroom door, Lara motioned for me to come out and led the way to the back door. As soon as we got out, I carried Kate over to my car, gently laid her inside, and buckled her in. It was literally two minutes later when Lara came out with our food and handed it to me.

“Here’s your and Kate’s food, even though she’s most likely not going to eat tonight. She’s kind of a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Most of the time she doesn’t drink a lot; it’s only during stressful occasions when she does.”

“Trust me, I know the feeling all too well,” I mumbled. “Thank you for the food.”

Lara nodded. “Anytime. Just get her home,” she commanded, handing me a little slip of paper with a phone number on it. “Here’s my number in case something happens. Call me anytime if you need anything. The key to her house is the one attached to the keychain with her name on it. I’m sure they’re in her purse.”

“I’ll find them … and again, thank you.”

Once in my car, I double checked that Kate was securely buckled before we left. Her blonde hair draped over her face, hiding her behind a veil of gold so I gently pushed it to the side and tucked it behind her ears. She was so beautiful, but asleep she looked vulnerable and scared. What was going on in her life that would drive her to break down?

Carefully, I drove the few minutes it took to get to Kate’s house, constantly peering over at her to make sure she was all right. Once we were in her driveway, I reluctantly searched through her purse to find her keys. It felt like I was violating her privacy, but I had no choice. After finding them, I lifted her out of the car and took her inside, only I did not know which room was hers. Sure enough, it was the last room I looked in; I knew it had to be hers because the room smelled like apples. Gently, I laid her down on the soft, yellow and light blue striped bedspread and turned on her bathroom light so it would give her room a little glow.

Her room was very feminine with a certain southern charm, consisting of floral arrangements with soft yellow walls. She had a couple of paintings depicting meadows and farmlands, along with horses running through the fields. It all showed a softer side to her, but I had yet to see it for myself.

As I was taking off her shoes, she started to wake, or at least I thought she was waking up. Whimpering, she curled into a ball and whispered, “I’m so sorry. Scott, I’m so … so sorry.”

Who was Scott? I wondered.

Carefully, I climbed onto her bed and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s okay, love.”

Kate shook her head hard. “No, it’s not. He’s gone and it’s all my fault. They tell me it’s all my fault.”

“Who does?”

I knew I shouldn’t pry while she was drunk, but she was obviously upset about something, and if I could help I was sure going to try.

“They say I killed him. They want me to suffer like them,” she cried. “And I do. I suffer all of the time because they won’t leave me alone.”

“Who are they? What do they do to you?” I asked quickly.

She was so completely out of it that I didn’t know if she was speaking the truth or if it was just drunk talk. Shaking her head quickly, she sat up and put her hand over her mouth, stumbling out of bed. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she sobbed.

As fast as I could, I jumped up and helped her to the bathroom just in time for her to dispel every ounce of wine she drank for the night. Rubbing her back with one hand, I held her hair in the other to keep it out of the way. When her body started to sag toward the floor, I picked her up and carried her back into her room, feeling her tremble against my chest. She began to shiver and shake uncontrollably so I pulled the blankets over her body and mine to keep her warm, holding her tight against me. I wanted her to talk some more so I could find out what was wrong, but instead, her breathing became heavy and deep. She was asleep. For the rest of the night, I held her in my arms but was woken up several times to her whispered words.

“I’m sorry,” she would say. “I’m so sorry, Scott.”

I needed to find out who Scott was.

* * *

Six-thirty had finally arrived and my shoulder screamed at me to take my pain pills. I wasn’t at home so I couldn’t do it, but I’d make sure to take one as soon as I got there to get ready for practice. As quietly as I could, I slipped out of Kate’s bed and sauntered into her kitchen to make her some coffee before I left.

Pulling out Lara’s number, I dialed it and prayed that she wouldn’t get pissed from the early wake up call, but I had to tell her Kate was all right. “Hello,” she answered groggily.

“Lara, it’s Cooper.”

“Hey, how did everything go last night? I was going to stop by, but by the time I got away from the restaurant it was late and I figured you two would be asleep.”

“Everything’s fine,” I told her. “I’m making her some coffee, and then I’m going home before heading to practice. Do you think she’ll stay home today?”

“Of course not,” she laughed. “Kate doesn’t let anything keep her away from work. She may be late, but she’ll be there. Don’t worry about her though, this has happened before.”

“Does it involve someone named Scott?”

The line went quiet.

“Lara? Are you there?”

Nervously, she cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’m here. What did she tell you?”

“She just said she was sorry. Over and over she kept saying his name and that she was sorry. She also said that they blamed her. Who are they?”

Lara sighed and blew out a nervous breath. “Okay, I’ll tell you what’s going on, but I’m not giving you all of the details. Kate would kill me if I told you. Two years ago yesterday she found her boyfriend dead in his bed. He’d overdosed on pain pills. Needless to say, his family blames her and they won’t leave her alone about it. Every year on the anniversary they come around and do something to her so she’s reminded that he’s dead. I have a feeling they called her and that’s why her phone was shattered.”

“Why doesn’t she change her number?”

“She has, but they always find it somehow. I wish I knew of a way to help her.”

We might not have a way to help her, but unfortunately, we both knew of someone who could. I never thought there would come a day when I wanted advice from the man who stole Claire from me, but I guess there always came a first time for something.

“I’m going to call Mason,” I told her.

Lara gasped, “What? Why?”

“Lara, you know what he’s capable of. As much as I don’t like the guy, I can’t deny that he used to be one of the best undercover detectives out there. He’ll be able to find these people and put a stop to whatever they’re doing to Kate. If he can’t do it then I’m sure he has connections here to people who can.”

“Okay, fine, but don’t you dare tell Kate I told you anything. She worries too much and I don’t want her drinking like she did last night ever again. She only does it once a year on the anniversary of Scott’s death and that’s more than enough.”

As soon as Lara and I hung up, I finished the coffee for Kate. It was four in the morning in California, so I knew I needed to wait a few hours before I called. She may not want my help, but by lunch time I was going to have a plan in motion. Since she was still asleep in her bed, I wrote a note to tell her that if she wanted to see me later to give me a call. It was closing in on seven-fifteen and I needed to leave so I could make it to practice on time; there were penalties if we were late.

After shutting her front door, the moment I turned around, Luke Collins pulled up in the driveway. When his gaze found mine, he snarled and jumped out of his truck.

“What the f**k are you doing here?” he growled, slamming the door to his metallic blue Ford Raptor.

“I could say the same to you,” I replied coolly, ambling over to my car. He eyed me up and down, and I knew he didn’t like what he saw. I wore the same clothes from last night and they were wrinkled. All night I was in the bed with Kate, but it wasn’t what he thought.

“Lara told me she was taking her home and that Kate didn’t want to be bothered. Why would she lie to me for you?” When all I did was shrug in reply, it pissed him off even more. “You told her to, didn’t you? You told her to lie to me. So help me if I find out you took advantage of Kate while she was drunk I’ll kill—”

“Relax,” I snapped, cutting him off. “I would never do that to her, and I sure as hell didn’t get Lara to lie to you … that was her own doing. Why don’t you just shut the f**k up and make yourself useful. I made Kate some coffee, but she was still asleep when I came out here. Also, she’s probably going to need something for a headache, too.”

Luke glared at me for another second before rushing to the front door. I was worried about Kate. I wanted to do anything and everything I could to help her, even if that meant calling my number one enemy and getting his help.

I would do it for her.