A/N: Thanks so much for taking time to review, Cheryl, ErinJordan, Paulina Ann, Guest, max2013, Akshata, and Jackie! I appreciate it. And thank you to those reading! Back to the parking garage..
Chapter 51
Cooper peered out from behind a concrete pillar in the parking garage. He spotted Joe at the opposite end of the structure, his weapon drawn.
The crown prince was shoving Iola and shouting at her. It was all Cooper could do to restrain himself. If he hadn't been so well trained, he would have run after the man right now. But that would put Iola in even more danger, and Cooper was going to be damned sure he got her out of here alive.
The prince turned his back to Cooper now. Taking the chance, Cooper stepped out from behind the pillar and caught Joe's eye.
OOOoooOOO
Joe saw movement behind a pillar near Iola and the prince. Armstrong. How the hell did he get down here?
In spite of Joe's misgivings about Cooper, a tiny bit of relief washed over Joe. Armstrong was close to Iola. He could help. He could buy Joe some time.
Joe gestured to Armstrong that he was going to approach.
Cooper shook his head. He made a stabbing motion with his hand.
The prince had a knife.
Shit.
Joe wouldn't be able to do it. If he moved toward Iola, the prince would stab her as soon as he saw him. Well before Joe could get close enough to prevent it.
He couldn't save Iola.
But Armstrong could.
Joe swallowed hard. How could he trust Iola's life to that half-assed actor?
He didn't have a choice. The crown prince was agitated and furious. Joe could see that from here.
Time was running out.
Joe looked around and spotted a decent sized chunk of concrete on the floor, broken off a crumbling area of curbing. Joe snatched it up and held it out so Cooper could see it. Joe gestured to a car windshield.
Cooper nodded, then slipped back behind the pillar as the crown prince turned in his direction.
Iola cried out and Joe's insides turned to ice. That bastard was hurting her. Joe could see the prince's face, distorted with rage. He was saying something in Iola's ear. She was trying to pull away. The prince tightened his grip and held up his right hand.
A stream of light from the almost setting sun glinted off the blade of the knife. A hot wave of anger flooded Joe's chest.
When Joe got his hands on the prince, he was going to kill him.
OOOoooOOO
Cooper peeked out from behind the pillar as Joe raised the brick sized chunk of concrete in the air. Cooper's eyes darted to the prince, who was trying to wrestle Iola to the ground. She wasn't making it easy for him. Good girl.
Cooper heard the windshield of a car on Joe's side of the garage shatter. Car alarms blared.
At the sound, the crown prince turned his back on Cooper again, and Cooper made his move.
Running at full speed, Cooper thrust his arms underneath both of the prince's armpits from behind, pulling the man's arms to the side of his body, and lifting the prince off the ground.
The prince swore as Cooper turned him away from Iola, who slid to the cement floor, clutching her side.
Cooper shoved the prince face-first against the wall of the parking garage. Then he held the prince's right arm high in one hand, twisting it clock-wise, while pushing upwards with his other hand, dislocating the man's shoulder. The prince cried out and his knife clattered to the ground. Cooper kicked it away, then turned the prince to face him.
"You bloody bastard," Cooper hissed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
OOOoooOOO
Joe rushed across the parking garage, as soon as Cooper grabbed the prince from behind.
He hurried to Iola and knelt down beside her.
"Where did he hurt you, baby? Let me see."
Joe ran his hands over her. He glimpsed the bruise on her cheek and his head swam with anger. Then he spotted the gash on her arm.
"It's…okay," Iola gasped out. "It's not deep. Go help Cooper! Please!"
Joe stared down at her. Help Cooper?
"Joe, please!" Iola insisted, wincing as she spoke.
Joe jumped to his feet and turned to where Cooper had the prince pinned to the wall.
The prince was breathing heavily, but managed a smile as his gaze darted between Cooper and Joe. "I have full diplomatic immunity. You can't do anything to me."
Cooper arched an eyebrow. "I'm not an American citizen. Your diplomatic immunity means nothing to me. And you are going to damn well pay for what you did to the woman I love."
Cooper pinned the prince with his left forearm across the man's chest, then thrusting his right arm forward quickly, he struck the prince's jaw with the heel of his palm. The prince dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"Bastard," Cooper bit out, before he turned and ran toward Iola.
The woman he loves? Joe stared after Cooper, then back down at the prince's crumpled form. He spoke into his microphone numbly. "Fox Two, Team Delta. Suspect is neutralized."
Agent Young's voice sounded in his ear. "We're coming in. How is Miss Morton?"
"She needs an ambulance," Joe said.
He wanted to go to Iola and toss Cooper aside. He wanted to be the one to comfort her. But he couldn't. He knew it in his heart now. Iola wouldn't be comforted by Joe's presence.
She wanted Cooper.
OOOoooOOO
Iola gazed up through watery eyes as Cooper dropped beside her. He looked terrified. She wanted to reassure him, but she couldn't quite catch her breath. The sob she was trying to swallow seemed to have lodged in her throat like a baseball.
"Where did he hurt you?" Cooper's voice was ragged as he reached for her bleeding arm.
"It's fine," Iola managed. "It's not deep."
Cooper didn't look convinced. His gaze wandered to Iola's side. She'd been holding it with her uninjured arm, which she dropped. She didn't want him worrying.
"Let's have a look," Cooper said in a soft tone.
Iola gazed up at him. She could see the rage and fury in his eyes that he so was carefully filtering out of his voice.
She tried to steady herself. "He kicked me. I think it's my ribs."
Cooper's entire body stiffened with anger, but his hands were gentle as he lifted her sweater, and examined her side. He swallowed twice before he spoke. "You need to be in hospital. I want to have a doctor look at you to make sure nothing is broken."
Iola couldn't stop her lower lip from trembling. "Thank you. You saved me."
Cooper wrapped his arms around her carefully and held her close to him. "Shhh, no thanks are necessary. I love you. It's all over now, sweetheart. It's finally over."
OOOoooOOO
Joe stood over the unconscious form of the crown prince.
The man who was responsible for ruining his life four years ago.
What a pathetic human being this loser was.
Joe almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
The part of him that didn't feel sorry for the prince wanted to kill him.
Joe looked up as Frank and Agent Donovan came rushing into the garage.
A huge wave of relief washed over Joe at the sight of his brother.
Frank was soaking wet, but otherwise appeared to be in one piece.
Although he smelled like something rotten.
Joe held his nose as Frank approached him.
"East River," Frank said.
"Did you float through the sewage treatment plant?" Joe asked, taking a step backwards.
Agent Donovan laughed. "He probably would have smelled better if he had."
Frank rolled his eyes, then glanced down at the prince. "You didn't kill him did you?"
"I wanted to" Joe said. "But Armstrong knocked him out cold."
"Cooper did?" Frank asked.
"Yeah." Joe's mouth thinned into a straight line. "If it wasn't for James Bond over there, Iola would be dead."
Two paramedics hurried into the parking garage pushing a gurney.
"Patient?" one of them shouted at Joe.
"Over here," Joe said, heading toward Iola.
"What about that guy?" the other paramedic asked, gesturing toward the prince.
"He can wait," Joe said in a grim tone.
OOOoooOOO
Cooper's stomach clenched as he watched the two paramedics lift Iola onto the gurney. "Take care with her."
Iola gave him a tiny smile and reached out for his hand. "They're being gentle. Don't worry. I'm fine."
Cooper brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "I'm not worried. I'll make sure they look after you properly."
But he was worried. The prince had kicked Iola hard in the side, and she was having difficulty catching her breath. If he'd broken her rib, it could have punctured her lung.
The paramedics raised the gurney and one of them leaned down to speak to Iola. "Okay, Miss Morton, we're going to transport you now. I'm going to give you some oxygen to help you breathe easier."
"I want him to ride with me," Iola said, still holding Cooper's hand.
"I'm not leaving your side," Cooper assured her, then stared hard at the paramedic. He needed the ambulance crew to understand that. Iola wasn't going anywhere without him.
The paramedic smiled. "That's not a problem. We have a jump seat with a safety belt in the back. You'll have to sit there, belted in, Mr. Armstrong. It's the law."
Cooper nodded. As long as he could stay with her. Cooper leaned down and kissed Iola's forehead as Joe approached them.
"Is she okay?" Joe asked.
Cooper thought Joe looked almost as worried as he felt. "They're transporting her. I'll be riding in the back."
Joe moved to Iola's other side. "Are you all right?"
Cooper could see the worry in Joe's face. And the longing. Cooper felt for him. It had to be difficult to love someone who didn't love you back. At least not in the way Joe was hoping she did.
"I'll be fine," Iola said, giving Joe a tiny smile. "Thank you for being here."
Joe shook his head. "I didn't do anything. Cooper saved you."
"I couldn't have done it without you, Joe." And Cooper meant it. "Throwing that brick gave me the distraction I needed to get to the prince without him seeing me. If he had spotted me before I'd reached him…"
Cooper couldn't finish. He knew what would have happened. The prince would have slashed Iola's throat and she would be dead.
"You're both my heroes," Iola said, smiling up at them.
Joe smiled back at her. "I'll meet you at the hospital."
Cooper nodded, and the paramedic began pushing the gurney to the waiting ambulance.
As they wheeled past the still crumpled form of the crown prince on the parking garage floor, Cooper shuddered as he thought how this encounter might have ended.
He had so much to be grateful for.
OOOoooOOO
Joe looked down as his phone buzzed. He had a text from Callie.
I can't reach Frank. Where are you? Is everything okay?
Joe walked over to his brother, who was deep in conversation with Agent Donovan, while another team of paramedics was working on the crown prince.
"Your girlfriend wants to know how you are," Joe said.
Frank held out his hand for Joe's phone.
Joe sniffed the air around Frank audibly and made a face. "I can text her back for you. I don't want any deadly microbes from the river taking up residence on my phone case."
Frank rolled his eyes. "Tell her I'm fine, and have her meet us at Brooklyn Hospital."
As Joe was texting, he glanced down at the prince. "What's up with him?"
The paramedic sat back on his heels. "This man has an infected surgical wound in his abdomen. Do you know what that's all about?"
"He had appendicitis with complications," Joe said. "He left the hospital against medical advice last week."
The paramedic shook his head. "That wasn't a good idea."
"Nothing he's done in the past four years has been a good idea." Joe's voice was tense as he thought of Iola.
The paramedics lifted the prince onto a gurney. "Well, this mistake may just cost him his life."
They wheeled the prince toward a waiting ambulance.
Joe stared after them.
Good.
OOOoooOOO
Callie and Vanessa had been pacing in Central Park ever since Frank had told them to get out of Iola's apartment. Things had been fairly quiet though. Well, as quiet as they could be in the middle of Manhattan on a Monday afternoon. But nothing out of the ordinary had happened, as far as Callie could tell.
Frank hadn't answered her last text.
Which wasn't unusual while he was working, but this time she felt edgy about it.
So she'd texted Joe.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down at it.
Joe had replied.
Frank's fine. His phone fell into the East River when he did, so it's not working. Iola was injured. Going to Brooklyn Hospital ER. You and Vanessa meet us there.
Callie felt a mixture of relief and anxiety wash over her. Frank was fine. Why he was in the East River, she had no idea, but she'd learned to expect the ridiculous when she started dating him in high school.
But Iola was hurt. Enough to have to take her to the ER.
She texted Joe back.
Is it serious?
Joe's reply was almost immediate.
She's conscious, but having a little trouble breathing. The prince kicked her in the ribs. We have him in custody.
Well, that was good news. Callie looked over at Vanessa who was checking her email on her phone.
"The prince hurt Iola, and she's in the Brooklyn Hospital ER. I'm headed over there now. Are you coming?"
"I'm sorry, I can't." Vanessa's lower lip trembled. "I can't watch Joe hover over Iola and worry about her. It's too hard. I need to go into the Midtown office, anyway. I have to pick up a proposal for a client. It's not that I don't want to see Iola. I really like her, and I hope she's okay. I just don't want to see Joe."
Callie nodded. "I understand."
Vanessa gave her a sad smile. "Thanks. Tell Iola I hope she gets better quickly."
"I will."
Callie gave Vanessa a hug, then made her way to the street for a cab. This whole situation with Joe and Vanessa broke her heart. Those two were so good for each other. She really wished she could make Joe see that somehow.
Because losing Vanessa would be the biggest mistake of his life.
