Page 20 of A Burning Rage

“Go back to bed, babe,” Cooper says.

“Are you coming?” Sam asks, leveling his puppy dog eyes on Cooper. “I woke up and you were gone.”

I shake my head. The co-dependence these two—a bodyguard and a former sniper—have for each other kills me. I guess I shouldn’t talk, though. Beth and I aren’t any better.

Cooper gets up from the table, walks over to Sam, and cups his face. He presses a quick kiss to his lips. “Go. I’ll come in a little bit.”

Feeling like a third wheel, I stand with my coffee. “I think I’ll take this to my office.”

Cooper grips Sam’s shoulder, turns him to face the way he came, and gives him a gentle nudge. “Go back to bed.” Once Sam’s out of earshot, Cooper rolls his eyes at me. “He can be such a baby sometimes.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t love it.”

After Sam and Cooper return to their room, I decide to head back to bed, too. I strip and crawl back into our bed to spoon Beth, wrapping my arm around her waist and tugging her close.

She’s still naked from the previous night, which has my dick coming to attention. I pull my hips back so I don’t wake her.

She moans softly and pushes her ass back against my erection.

I kiss the back of her head as I lay my palm on her belly. “Shh. Go back to sleep.”

* * *

At eight-thirty, after kissing the kids goodbye and Beth giving her mom unnecessary childcare instructions, we leave the house in Cooper’s Escalade. Cooper drives, and Sam rides shotgun. I sit in the back with Beth. It’s nearly an hour-long drive to the psychiatric hospital northwest of Chicago, where Andrew is incarcerated.

I try not to be obvious as I look Beth over. She looks very professional in a light gray business suit—slacks, jacket, and a white blouse. Her silky blonde hair is up in a twisted knot. There’s a gold chain around her neck that holds a photo pendant I gave her for Christmas. Inside is a picture of us at our wedding and a photo of the two of us with our kids. It occurs to me we might need to update that family photo soon.

Despite the light bit of make-up she has on—a little mascara, a touch of blush, and some pink gloss on her lips—she looks pale. She had nothing but coffee for breakfast this morning. Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to get her to eat a thing. She said she was too nervous. Even Cooper failed to get her to eat, and he even offered to make her pancakes.

She’s sitting quietly in her seat, her hands clasped in her lap, staring out her window at the passing scenery. I can’t stand seeing her so emotionally disconnected. I take one of her hands in mine and set it on my thigh. When I lace our fingers together, she squeezes my hand.

“If he gets out, this is going to hang over us for the rest of our lives,” she says quietly. “It’s never going to go away. And our children—” The words die in her throat, and she looks out the window.

I lean over to kiss the side of her head. “I swear to you, this will get resolved one way or another, no matter what it takes.” I turn her face toward mine and meet her gaze head-on, trying to let her know I mean exactly what I say.

Read between the lines, sweetheart. One way or another.

I’ve taken matters into my own hands before when it came to her safety. I’ll gladly do it again, without hesitation. Years ago, my brother Jake and I did just that, and we eliminated Howard Kline permanently.

“If he does get out, either now or at any time in the future, I’ll find some way to fix this.”

She closes her eyes and leans back on the headrest, effectively shutting the world out.

The drive to our destination goes smoothly. I’m focused on Beth the entire way. She’s off in her own world, and I’m getting strong vibes from early in our relationship when we’d drive north to my Kenilworth home, and she’d zone out, watching the boats on Lake Michigan. It’s her way of masking her anxiety.

When we arrive at the psychiatric hospital, Cooper parks in the visitor lot, and the four of us walk in together. We sign in at a security desk.

Troy’s already here, waiting for us. He looks quite the part of a high-powered attorney in his dark Armani suit, polished black loafers, and slicked back dark hair.

As we’re checking in, Tyler walks into the lobby. When Beth sees her brother, she goes to him, and he wraps her in his arms. As he murmurs something to her, he catches my gaze over her head and nods to me.

Once we’re all signed in, we head for the hearing room. The others follow Troy, while Beth and I bring up the rear. When I glance at Beth, my chest hurts. She looks pale, and her eyes look haunted. She’s clearly not comfortable at the thought of facing Andrew.

As the others walk into the room, Beth and I hang back a moment in the hallway. I turn to face her, cupping her face in my hands. “You don’t have to do this, sweetheart. I can have Sam and Cooper take you home. Troy and I can handle this.”

She gazes up at me with a pained expression. “I hate him,” she says, her voice cracking. “I can’t stop thinking about what he did.”

At the sound of footsteps, I glance down the hall to see Andrew’s parents headed our way.