A muscle ticked in Cooper’s jaw. “Pick a side and stick with it, Parker.”
“You are kind of going off like a loose cannon over there, babe,” Natalie added. “But I appreciate the support.”
I gave them both a middle-fingered salute and returned to my doodling, grumbling, “I didn’t ask to be here in the first place.”
“I don’t want to stop what we started, Nat,” Cooper said in a softer tone. “But I agree on playing it safe for a while in public.”
“But Coop,” she started.
He held up his hand to stop her. “No buts, Beals. And if we’re laying some ground rules here, I want you to stop all flirting with other guys. I have enough heartburn dealing with Parker’s stupid shit on a daily basis.”
“You’re the one with stupid shit,” I muttered, sketching a rough version of the newer ward I’d seen on the wall next to the now-broken window in the Sugarloaf Building.
“Okay, Coop, no more flirting with anyone—other than you, that is.” Natalie’s voice was low and breathy. “But the same flirting rule goes for you while we’re keeping things platonic in the public eye. And no more bimbos rubbing all over you and sticking their tongues down your throat.”
I grimaced at the image she painted while I drew the three triangles inside the ward sketch. Cooper was as abrasive as a great white shark most days, including the multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth. Just standing too close to him would leave most people scraped and bleeding, if not limping away with a bite-size chunk missing from their backside. I’d sure taken my share of …
“No more women,” he agreed. His voice was husky now, too. “If I can’t have you—”
“I don’t want nobody, baby,” I sang out loud and clear. Yvonne Elliman’s hit from Saturday Night Fever blared in my head for a moment before I could fully shut it down.
Natalie snorted with laughter.
Oops. So much for that little romantic moment.
At Cooper’s glare, I cringed. “Sorry about that, Cooper. My mom loves watching John Travolta dance in that tight white suit, so I know that movie’s soundtrack really—”
“Shut up, Parker, before I shoot you.”
“Okay, right. I’ll just shut up now.” I closed my mouth and mimed zipping and locking my lips, and then throwing away the key.
“Sooo,” Natalie said in her normal voice, the sex kitten caged again for the time being. She came over and leaned against the worktable, putting more space between the two of them. “I think we all need to figure out how to beat Hawke at his own game.”
“No,” he deadpanned.
“Yes,” Natalie countered.
“No,” he reiterated louder. “Whatever plan you two desperados come up with will backfire in all of our faces.”
Natalie guffawed. “What are you saying, Coop? That Vi and I are screwups?”
I lowered my pencil. “I believe that’s exactly what Mr. High-and-Mighty Detective is saying.”
“I thought your lips were locked, Parker.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “They broke free to join the girl-power rally.”
“Here’s another rule for you, law dog.” Natalie hopped up onto the worktable, letting her feet dangle. “If we end up continuing our under-the-covers game on the sly, you don’t get to boss me around like you do Violet.”
“Yeah,” I started, but then frowned at her. “Wait …”
“What do you mean, if we end up continuing?” He stalked closer, stopping in front of her. “I thought you said we needed to take a step back, even though I disagree.”
I was having trouble keeping score here, too. I sat back, waiting to hear where she was going with this.
“I know what I said.” She leaned back on her hands. “But you’re you and I’m me. We both know that I struggle when you walk into the room, so I’m just buying some insurance for the future when it comes to your Johnny Law side and your tendency to spout orders.”
A smile played at the corners of his mouth as he looked her up and down, getting stuck on her high points in the middle. “You struggle, huh?”
She shrugged, her full lips pursing as her gaze lowered. “You’re hard to handle, Coop.”
It was my turn to groan. “Okay, let’s stop with the innuendos.” I stood, tossing my pencil on the worktable. “I’m leaving now.”
“We haven’t decided on how we’re going to stop Hawke yet,” Natalie said, sitting upright again, flirting put on hold.
“You two troublemakers need to let me handle this from the inside,” he said.
“I agree with Cooper. I have a lidérc to catch, and maybe a Duzarx, whatever the hell that is. I don’t have time to deal with Hawke’s blundering attempts to pin the tail on the donkey right now.”
“Well, I disagree with you both.” Natalie crossed her arms. “Hawke is going to be watching you two closely. Of the three of us, I’m the one who should track him and figure out how to remove him from the equation.”
“No.” Coop stood his ground, eyeing Natalie.
“Yes,” she insisted. “He doesn’t suspect me of anything beyond being Violet’s friend yet.”
“That’s because he wants to take you to bed, woman.”
“Cooper is right. Hawke has wanted in your pants from the get-go.”
She harrumphed. “Violet Lynn Parker, you are flip-flopping more than a fish out of water tonight.”
I thumbed in Cooper’s direction. “He may be a pain in my ass, but he has a valid point. Hawke thinks he has a chance of getting you naked.”
“And we can use that to our advantage,” she said, hopping to her feet.
“No,” Cooper said again, catching her by the wrist and pulling her toward him.
“Coop.” She smiled up at him. “You have to trust me around Hawke if I’m going to fix this.”
“I do trust you. I just don’t trust him. You’re forgetting that I’ve worked with Hawke off and on for years. He’s not as dumb as Parker thinks he
