The End of Games (16 page)

I scowled, “He’s so young.”

Coop nodded, “He was only fifteen when he started university.”

I laughed, “Luce is his first girlfriend, isn’t she?”

Coop snorted, “Yeah.”

“I like that. He is so in love.”

Coop’s eyes glazed over again. I rolled my eyes, tired of the games he was always up for. Mr. Hot/Cold. Mitch came out of the house with a grin, “So where we going, Coop?”

Coop walked over to him, smacking him in the arm, “If I told ya, I’d have to kill ya.”

Mitch’s eyes gleamed with adoration. Where I was always wrong in Mitch’s, Coop couldn’t be wrong. Jules ran out of the house holding the stuffed bunny Coop had gotten her from the crappy toy store. She jumped at him but looked at me as he lifted her into he air, “Is grandma coming too?”

I nodded, “She is, and then she’s going to go ahead and meet up with Aunty Luce and Uncle Jack.”

“Uncle Fitz?”

I nodded, “Uncle Fitz is flying us somewhere special and then he is going with Grandma.”

She beamed, “I love his plane.”

Mom and Fitz came out of the house. She gave me a hard stare, “I think we have everything.”

I folded my arms and walked to her as Coop wrangled the kids into the SUV. I pointed a finger, “What did you do with him? I want to know.”

She rolled her eyes, “You realize leaving people alive is leaving a loose end for your enemies to use against you?”

I shook my head, “I can't believe you. I can't believe you would have hurt him like that. What did you learn? What could you possibly have learned?”

Fitz gave me a sad smile, “Evie, Steve was not an agent. He was dispatched to find you by MI6 but he wasn’t an agent. I think he truly thought he was doing the right thing. Trying to save Servario maybe or whatever. Anyway, he was just a pawn in it all.”

I frowned, “You keep saying was.”

Mom gave Fitz a look. Fitz nodded and Mom looked back at me, “He is dead.”

I sighed, “You guys are sick. You killed an innocent person.”

Mom’s eyes stayed hard, “I’ve killed dozens of innocent people, Evie. It’s the hard part of the job. You don’t work for a man like Servario and expect to come out scot-free. Steve knew what possibilities his future entailed.” She nodded, “If he had been an agent, your kids lives would have been at risk. He knew enough not to tell them where he was, but he was being tracked. He was being followed. He could have led them here. As it is, he still feels like a loose end to me.”

Fitz nodded, “Me too. I feel like we should expect something bad at any second.”

I had no argument. I just changed the subject, “Do you know where Dad is?”

She shook her head, “He’s hiding, of course. The golden rule of the Burrow is that when you leave, you die. If you resurface, you are dead. That’s how Servario has the whole world fooled about his not being the old Master Key. He has resurfaced after his many deaths and never been killed off. Now he’s back out in the open, living free.”

I shook my head, “How come they haven’t killed him off?”

Fitz smiled, “That is an excellent question.”

Coop honked the horn. I looked back at him, “We better go.”

Fitz nodded, “See you at the plane.”

I gave Mom a displeased look, “You will stay here until the people come for the key?”

She smiled, “I will. Donating the house to the foster system is a great idea.”

I nodded and walked away, “Yeah.”

I didn’t want to talk about it with her. I was still pissed about the skinning and bleeding in the barn, fifty feet from my kids.

Chapter Seventeen

When cougars come home to roost

We walked up the steps of the massive lodge, and I knew the uneasy feeling was showing on my face when Coop smiled at me nicely, “It’s gonna be great. Can you just mellow out?”

I shook my head, “This is a terrible idea.”

He laughed, “Are you scared of my mom, badass Evie Evans?”

I nodded, “Yes. I am mid-thirties and I have two kids. I look like I was out daddy hunting when I found you at the same school my kids go to.”

Coop laced his arm around my back, “My mom is gonna love you. She isn’t one of those judgmental people. She isn’t gonna care how old you are.”

I looked at Mitch and Jules walking up to us. Mitch smiled wide. He and Jules loved that Coop and I were dating. They didn’t know we were hiding out at Coop’s parents’ place while Mom and Fitz got the new house ready and Jack and Luce drove our stuff all over the countryside.

Separating had seemed like a great idea. Going to Coop's parents’ had seemed like an awful idea. They owned a massive lodge in Alaska. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he was a country boy. I gripped my parka to me, “Come on, guys.”

The kids bounded up the steps. Mitch beamed at Coop. He had a boy crush on him. He thought Coop was the coolest guy in the whole world. I looked at Coop and sneered. He laughed and kissed the side of my head, “It’s not going to be easy for me either.”

Mitch frowned, “What isn’t?”

I smiled, “Waiting for our new house to be ready.”

Mitch nodded, “I’m pretty excited but this house is super cool, Coop.” Jules beamed, “It is super cool. Look at the logs, I never seen a log house before.”

I bent down and kissed her cheek, “I have never seen a log house before, not just seen.”

She scowled, “Whatever.”

I gave Mitch a dirty look, “This is your doing. Stop being sassy around her.”

He laughed. Coop knocked once and opened the door. “Mom, Dad?”

A man in his early sixties came around the corner. He was the older version of Coop. Handsome and fit, and obviously an ex-company man. He had CI written all over him. He smiled wide, “John! Come on in, son. This must be your lady friend, Evelyn.”

Coop laughed, “Yeah, this my Evie. These are her kids, Mitch and Jules.” He looked at his dad, “This is my dad, John Senior.”

I smiled harder, my cheeks started to ache. I put a hand out, but he grabbed me and hugged me firmly. He was like a tree trunk.

His mom came around the corner. She looked shocked and then pasted a sweet smile on her lips. Yeah… I had seen that coming. I too had a son. The idea of some older hoochie-breeder coming along and stealing my sweet boy made me psycho too.

She spoke in the fakest voice I had ever heard, “Evelyn, why you are pretty as a picture. And your kids, they’re so big and so old.” Her emphasis on your and old was unmistakable. I was going to murder Coop. Soon.

She hugged me, lightly, like she didn’t really want to touch me, patting my back flatly.

Jules gave her a funny look and Mitch stayed back, this after hugging Coop’s dad. I could tell instantly Coop's mom was older. I almost cocked an eyebrow but I forced my face to stay frozen and sweet. I stepped in close to Coop and pinched the back of his arm through his coat. He laughed when he felt my grip, “This is my Evie, Mom. Evie, this is Suzanne, my mom.”

We all stood there, surrounded by the great, old, white elephant in the room… me.

Coop started to chuckle, I could hear the nerves in his voice, “Mitch, Jules, let me show you to your rooms.”

His mother’s face went red, “No, no let me.”

Jules clung to my arm. Coop picked her up, smiling at her, “I’ll come just so I can see where they are. It’s hard to sneak in later when they’re sleeping and put bugs in their beds, if I don’t know where they are.”

Jules wrinkled her nose, “Coop! Gross.” She giggled. Mitch did too. I smiled and couldn’t even stop myself from swooning.

I would have sworn he was doing it on purpose to make me like him, but the fact of the matter was, he had always been teasing and joking with them. He truly was comfortable with kids.

My kids, desperate for a male role model, latched on for dear life. It was a bit sad. Suzanne gave him a look and nodded her head, “This way. Ignore him, Jules. He’s always been the naughty one. He’s the baby of the family and he thinks that buys him some kind of favor with us.”

Coop gave his mom that smile that melted hearts for miles, “It does and you know it. I’m your favorite.”

She laughed and smacked him in the arm, “You used to be. Now you never come home.”

I watched them walk away but didn’t budge from the front door entryway. John Senior gave me a smile, “He is her favorite. She spoiled him, if you ask me. The military was the only thing that ever saved that kid’s ass. Come on in, Evie. You want a drink?”

I nodded, “I do. Is that bad?”

He chuckled, “Nope.”

I had the distinct feeling he understood my pain or maybe my fake relationship.

He stood at the bar in the massive family room. “You want red wine, liquor, beer, or a fruity drink. I think we have some of them around here.”

He was twangy a bit but very ex-CI. I narrowed my gaze, “Red wine would be amazing. How many years were you CI?”

He started to laugh, "Smart girl. CIA. I was never CI. Counter Intelligence always felt like lying and being up front about the fact you were lying. I preferred to lie on the sly." He passed me a large glass of red wine, "Some cute kids you got there."

I nodded, "Yeah. They're literally all I have in the whole world."

His eyes twinkled, "You mean, besides John."

I frowned and then nodded, "Right, Coop. I always forget Coop isn’t his real name." I sipped the wine and nodded, "Yes, I suppose he is something I have too."

I didn’t have to tell him that Coop and I were not together. I could see it on his face. He assumed I was being protected. He knew the truth. I nodded at the stairs, "Does she know everything?"

He shook his head, eyes gleaming away and mouth in the same crooked smile Coop always got, "She does not. She knows I worked for the company, that’s it." He winked, "Need to know has always been her way."

I felt my throat get thick, "This might be one of those need to know things."

He laughed, "I'll let ya know when I think we're at need to know."

I frowned and drank a sip of wine, "How will you know when it's need to know?"

He chuckled, "Well now, miss, that’s need to know."

I lifted my hand in the air, "Fair enough."

He sighed after a minute of awkward silence, "I knew your dad well."

"Really?"

He drank a gulp of his bourbon, "Very smart man."

A disgruntled sigh slipped from my lips, "Sometimes being too smart is a bad thing."

"Well, I'll drink to that."

Coop came down into the living room and grabbed himself a beer. He cracked it and sat next to me. "You two already trading secrets?"

His father winked at me, "Telling bad stories about you."

Coop lifted his beer, "At least you'll never have an awkward silence." He smiled at me, "The kids seem to really dig the cool rooms they got. Mitch has wifi so we will probably never see him again and Jules discovered the Barbie bin my sister's kids play with."

I was about to remark when the front door burst open. Kids and adults came barreling in. Coop's eyes narrowed. He turned and gave his dad a look. John Senior shrugged, "You know what she's like."

Coop sighed, "You might have warned us."

His dad laughed, "First girl ya ever brought home, what did you think was gonna happen?"

A tall blonde with a beautiful face attacked first, "JOHN!" She ran at him. I watched as they swarmed. It made me miss Sissy. I wondered how she was making out with all the craziness in our lives. My family might have been small and full of lies, but we did love one another.

Coop was eaten up by the crowd. I sat, frozen and completely afraid. Our family had never been like that. Our version of love was mom kissing you and giving you a slight pat on the cheek. Dad only ever dolled out a rub of the head or a hug, and then he would slide the arm around the shoulders and make you 'walk with him'. Coop's family was scary. The small kids hugged Coop, screaming things like ‘chase us’ and ‘do the sock monster’. He chuckled and tossed children about. At least his skills with kids made sense.

His brother and sisters were obvious. They all looked like their dad.

Their mom came down the stairs after a minute, she was crying and hugging and loving everyone up. She was Nanny to the kids and they attacked her as much as they did Coop. She made a super-excited face like she was sharing a secret with them, "If you go upstairs very quietly, you might find something very interesting up there."

The kids squealed and raced up the huge wooden stairs.

Coop laughed, "Go easy on them, they're city kids."

I stood up and looked at them all, not sure what to do. The blonde gave me a look, "John."

He took a breath, "This is Evie. Evie, this is Maria, my eldest sister. Louise, my second-eldest sister. Rachel, the middle child. Brant, my brother."

I was wide-eyed and terrified, I waved softly, "Hi."

They all spoke at once, dragging me to them, hugging, and talking over each other. I opened my mouth to get at least one answer out, but they were savages.

The girls were pulling at my hair, and the brother was trying to tell me a story about when they were ten and eight. I was lost in it.

Coop started to laugh. He fought them off and grabbed my hand. He pulled me to his side and wrapped an arm around me, "Easy, guys. Jeeze. You act like I never bring girls home."

The brunette, Louise, gave him a sarcastic look, "Yeah, the last one was in middle school."

He shrugged, "It's not like there haven’t been girls, maybe it's you I don’t want anyone meeting."

They attacked again. I backed away as he was assaulted by all four of them. Their dad came and stood next to me, "You sure you know what you're getting yourself into?"

I shook my head, "No. That’s a firm no, sir."

Their mom carried over a tray of snacks which broke up the wrestling. I couldn’t be sure, but I would swear Louise was winning the fight when it ended.

I looked up the stairs but Suzanne interrupted my mommy-worrying, "Evie here is your age, Rachel."

I felt the heat in my face. Rachel winked at me, "Nicely done. A little Demi Moore action there, huh?"

I laughed, but it was something I had never heard come out of my mouth before.

Coop stuffed a piece of pickled herring into his mouth, "Rachel, you're just jealous I found her first."

Rachel laughed, "I switched teams again since you’ve been gone. I'm seeing someone of the male persuasion, thank you very much. His name is Oscar and he is lovely."

Coop gave her a blank stare, "What happened to Katrina? She was hot."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. He flashed me a grin, "She was. What is hotter than a hot lesbian?"

Rachel smiled sweetly, "Two hot guys kissing." She held her knuckles out for me to pound. Thankfully, Luce had taught me that one. I pounded them. Coop rolled his eyes, "You learned that like a week ago." He turned to Rachel, giving her the very same smile back, "Oscar sounds like he might be just your type then. What kind of a name is Oscar? He's gonna hit on me like that guy Lance you dated in college."

Rachel laughed but Brant looked uncomfortable, "He hit on me too."

We all laughed. All of us but Suzanne, who gave me a bogus smile until it looked like her cheeks had frozen up.

I yawned after a while and Coop steered me towards the upstairs, "Night everyone!"

By everyone, he meant everyone. The entire family stayed over in their bedrooms. The lodge was huge and I understood why. I kissed the kids goodnight and went back into the room I was sharing with Coop. He was on the bed in his boxers and t-shirt. I suddenly got how he felt. My feelings for him would compromise my ability to do my job. More so than Servario. I adored Coop in a way that was dangerous. He was suddenly something that could be taken away. He was safe and comfortable. I could imagine him in a coffee house or a bookstore.

I pushed the thoughts away and sat on the bed next to him. I smiled and resumed our conversation from the living room with his sisters, "What do you mean, you never watched The Bodyguard?"

He sighed, "I don’t watch movies with Whitney Houston in them."

I pushed his face away from mine, "Ewww. Those pickled herring fillets still stink and she is dead. Do not speak ill of the dead."

"I'm not. I just don’t like sing song chick flicks."

I pushed his face harder, "Dude, your breath stinks."

He laughed, "You sound like Luce. Evie, I flossed and brushed. What more do you want?"

I shuddered, "Sleep on the floor."

He groaned and pretended to roll over on top of me. I tickled him in the ribs, on the off chance he was ticklish. I never expected what I got. He started flopping about the bed and making a girlie giggle.