Take Me Anywhere
Summary: It's been two years since Cook left Manchester, still on the run from the law and as desperate as ever to disappear. Everything was simple until he met her; Tess was the definition of the word mayhem. Can he survive in her world or can he pull her into his?
XV: Blood Isn't Enough
The worst thing about being pregnant was that the morning sickness woke her out of the deepest of sleep. Even though she wasn't physically sick, the nausea was violent enough to stop her from doing anything. She glanced down at Cook as he slept soundly and felt jealous. She grabbed her phone and scrolled down her social feed as she waited for Cook to wake up. Tess had messages from her friends at the club, but she knew that they were fishing for information to report back to Luke and she couldn't risk contacting Kyle in case Luke tortured him for her location. She had thought that until she saw something that he shared; a missing poster with her face and information plastered all over it. She sat up and almost choked on the air.
"What… What time is it?" Cook mumbled as he rolled onto his side.
"It's still early." She didn't know if she should tell him or not, he wouldn't remember what she said anyway; he never did when he was only awake.
"Then why are you awake?"
"Felt sick." Tess got out of bed and quickly put on a pair of socks. "I have a phone call to make."
"Who do you need to call?"
"Go back to sleep and I'll tell you when you wake up." She tiptoed into the bathroom and closed the door, clenching her jaw as she thought about what she was going to say to her closest friend.
"Tess? Is that you?" Kyle sounded happy.
"Yeah it's me. Have you been waiting for my call or something?"
"Well yeah, I thought you would've called me ages ago. Are you okay?"
"I was until I saw that poster you shared."
"I've been sharing it everyday hoping that you'd see it; it's my way of warning you that Luke is still looking for you. He's filed a missing person's report and is offering a five-thousand-pound reward for information."
It felt as if her stomach was going to fall out of her and she needed a moment to recollect her thoughts. "Has he heard anything about me?"
"Not that I know of; he hasn't told Mason anything since you left. Probably because he knows that I'd hear and tell you. But what I do know is that there's some new guy hanging around with him."
"Who is he?"
"Some nut job called Louie."
"No, you can't be serious." She said quietly, but it was loud enough for Kyle to hear.
"Do you know him?"
"Cook does, they've got a history and I'm sure Luke knew it." She said with a sigh.
"Where are you? Are you safe?"
"I'm safe for now, but I'm not going to tell you where I am. It's better if you don't know. There is something you could do for me; I just hope it doesn't get you in trouble…"
"Whatever it is, I'll do it. Luke doesn't scare me anymore."
She let out another sigh and shook her head, her fingers gripping the roots of her hair. "No, I take it back, he's too dangerous."
"Tess, please let me help you. Tell me what your idea is."
"I know you probably don't want to be in the same room as him, but it would throw him off my scent…"
Things couldn't stop because of Tess, he still had a club to run and appearances to uphold, so as his staff set up the bar and cleaned the tables, Luke sat at one of the booths with print outs of all the tips he had, but none of them made sense; they were all from people hoping to receive his money, but there had to be some truth in all of these sightings. Only one mentioned someone that sounded like Cook and it placed her in Glasgow. He couldn't get his hopes up, but he could send Louie to check it out.
He removed his eyes from the tips and raised a brow at Mason before looking at Kyle. Luke was surprised to see him, but if anyone knew where Tess was, it would be him.
"You've healed up nicely." He leaned back into the soft seat and crossed one leg loosely over the other. "Why'd you bring him here, Mase?"
"He says that he has some information about Tess." He looked at his younger brother and gave him a light nudge.
"You do still want to find her, right?" Kyle asked as he sat in front of his enemy.
"Obviously," he said with an irritated laugh, "do you think I'm reading through this shit for nothing? What do you know?"
"Since she left, she hasn't been active on her social media but this morning she posted a picture of her on the beach." He unlocked his phone and pulled up a picture of Tess.
He snatched his phone from his hand and examined the picture of Tess smiling happily, her hands gripping the sand and her hair swept over to the side. He gulped back his anger when he saw what he assumed to be Cook's shadow to the side of her. "Where is she?"
"She's geo tagged it, she's in Ibiza and I think that Cook's with her." Kyle watched him squirm a little bit and revelled in his discomfort. "I doubt that she'd ditch him, from what I know, she loves him."
"Right," Luke dragged his eyes away from the phone and handed it back, "I get that I was an asshole to you, but now's not the time to return the favour. You want your best friend back, don't you?"
"Of course, why do you think I came here?"
"Good, I'll call Louie and tell him to get the next flight out to Ibiza."
"You're not going to go?"
"I need him to find her first before I go, I can't have her seeing me and running away."
Kyle scrunched his face up and got out of his chair slowly. "You're not going to kidnap her, are you?"
"And drive her away? I'm trying to win her back, not get a restraining order." Luke looked at Mason and nodded at him. "Take your brother home." He waited for the brothers to leave his club before he called his associate. If he had any chance of finding her, they had to act fast.
Finding out that there was a price on Tess's head was freaking him out more than the thought of him becoming a father; he needed to deal with one thing at a time and this seemed like a bigger priority. They had months before their child arrived while they could have days at the most before Luke landed on their doorstep. Tess was confident that she had got them off their trail but Cook knew Louie well and he wasn't so easy to shake. All it would take is one decent lead and their time together would be cut short. He needed to come up with a plan just in case things didn't go their way and with not a lot of cash left, he didn't have many options.
"Earth to Cook," Tess pushed his head playfully from the passenger seat, "are you still awake? Please tell me you aren't sleeping while driving."
"I know I'm hungover, but I ain't that bad." He tried to smile but it was hard to when he worried so much.
"What's going on in your head? You're not freaking out, are you?"
"Freaking out about what?" he glanced at her as she pointed to her belly. "No, I told you that I want this, and I haven't changed my mind; I ain't gonna either."
"You don't think that we're going to escape Luke, do you?" she watched his forehead crease and listened to his sigh. "My plan's going to work, I used a picture that he had never seen before and I tagged the location so that he thinks that I'm there. I know that you think he's some sort of mastermind, but I know him and right now he's not thinking straight, and he'll believe anything that Kyle tells him."
"But you don't know Louie, that man's like a sniffer dog. If anyone's going to find us, it's him."
"Well, I'd like to think that some of my dad's army skills have been passed onto me; that includes blending in and remaining undetected."
He laughed and shook his head as he parked outside her mother's flat. "I don't think skills like that are genetic, Tess." He watched her as she looked out of his window at the council flat that housed the woman that caused her so much pain. "Do you want to go?"
"I think we should wait for Asher. He shouldn't be too much longer. He was right behind us." She looked out of the back window and gasped a little when his car pulled up behind them. "I guess it's time."
"Do you think she'll help us?" he raised a brow at her.
"She's got to, she owes me big time."
"One thing you've got to know about our mam is that she's not the most loving person in the world," Asher divulged as they walked the path that led up to the block of flats, "so don't be surprised if she ain't bursting at the seams to meet you."
"I just need some answers and maybe a bit of help."
"Don't be expecting that, you'll only be let down." Before they got to the front door, Asher stopped in front of them and raised a brow. "What kind of trouble are you in?"
She saw from the corner of her eye that Cook was about to speak, and he was probably going to confess about their situation with Luke, but she couldn't scare off Evelyn or Asher. "I'm pregnant and I haven't a clue."
Asher let out a snort and pointed his thumb towards the door. "You think she does?" he turned around and knocked on the door. "The only help you need from her is for her to stay out of your business."
"What the hell, Tess?" he whispered in her ear. "You should tell them."
"How can I? It would only scare them off." She replied, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. "Just follow my lead okay?"
He stuffed his hands into the small pockets on his jeans and nodded. "Fine."
The door opened and Evelyn looked surprised; she played with her fine necklace and gripped onto the doorframe. Her eyes drifted from Asher to Tess and then Cook and her surprise became shock. Evelyn wasn't what Tess was expecting; she didn't look rough and she didn't look like an ex-addict. She looked like any normal woman in her late thirties.
"What's going on Asher? Who're these people?"
"Invite us in." he replied stiffly.
"Once you tell me who they are. Are they with the council?"
"Fuck sake, if you want to do this here, then fine. This is your daughter Tess and her fella. You know Tess, don't you? The kid in the photo that apparently died."
Evelyn's face said it all as she locked eyes once more with Tess. She didn't know where to look; Tess was looking so hopeful and Asher looked furious. All she could do was move out of their way and let them in.
"We've got a lot to talk about." She said as Asher slipped past her.
"Nah, I don't want to hear a word out of your mouth, but she does and you've plenty to talk about." He didn't stop to talk to his mother, he just retired to his old room and slammed the door shut.
"He's right, we do have a lot to talk about." Tess' tone was softer, she didn't want her mother putting up any walls. She stepped into the flat and looked around with a small smile; it was well decorated for a council flat.
Cook wasn't as happy as Tess, he had a bad feeling about this place, about Evelyn and their remaining time in this city. He didn't step into the flat, he took his phone out of his pocket and called out to Tess, "I'm going to let you two get acquainted, I've got a call to make."
"I'll call you when I'm done?" she smiled at him when he nodded and looked to her mother. "Shall we talk?"
Evelyn nodded and shut the door behind her. "Yeah, I owe you much more than a chat."
Tess looked around the small living room as her mother made some tea in the kitchen; everything was quaint, not too shabby but more importantly, clean. Her eyes were drawn to a picture of Evelyn and a much younger Asher; he looked happy and it made her wonder why he was so standoffish now. When Evelyn placed the warm cup into her hands, she smiled and sipped at the tea.
"I'm sure you were surprised to see me here."
"I never expected you to look for me, your father told me that he didn't plan on telling you anything about me." She sighed and nursed her cup on her lap. "I suppose I didn't deserve to be a part of your life. I just don't understand why he told you now. After twenty something years."
"I started asking questions."
"Only now?"
"I didn't need a mother when I was younger, no offence but my dad did a good job raising me."
"I can see that, that's why I left you with Gerard; he was always a good man."
Tess watched Evelyn as she stared into her cup, she could see that her mother was emotional. "But I need my mother now. I need your help."
She looked up at her and raised a brow. "Are you in trouble?"
Tess nodded and took out her phone, pulling up the post Luke placed online. "My ex fiancé is hunting me down."
Evelyn reached over and took the phone from her hands reading the post. "Who is he?"
"His name is Luke and he's an asshole," she shook her head and sipped at her tea again, "I had to leave him, he used to beat me, and he tried to control my life. If it wasn't for Cook, I probably would've been killed by him in the future."
Evelyn handed her the phone back. "Is Cook that fella who was with you and Asher?" when Tess nodded, she raised her cup to her chest. "Well, I'm happy that he was able to get you out of that relationship."
"He's good, he's been really looking after me. You know, I thought that if I told you about the trouble I'm in, that I'd only scare you off."
"I've been in plenty trouble in my life, trouble doesn't scare me." She smiled a little. "Are you staying in the city?"
Tess nodded as she finished her tea. "We've got a little flat, it's nothing special but it'll do until we find somewhere else."
"I'll try my best to get you on your feet, even if it's letting the two of you stay here."
"I don't want to put you out."
"You wouldn't be. Asher's room has been empty since he went to uni. And it'd be nice to have someone to talk to around here."
Tess couldn't help but grin, if she could get Cook to agree to stay here, she would have the chance to get to know her mother properly. "I'll ask Cook and see what he says."
"It would be lovely having my home full again." She leaned back into her chair, her nails tapping against her cup. "Tell me more about yourself."
"She said that she would take us in, do you know how nice it is for her to offer that? Like, I could tell that she doesn't have much and she's still offering to house us free of charge." When Cook didn't reply, she sat on the bed and climbed towards him, watching as his eyes drifted from her to his phone. "It means we wouldn't have to pay rent and we could save up for the baby."
"I think it's a bit unrealistic for her to let us live with her, rent free. As you said, she doesn't have much so how are you expecting her to feed us?"
"Why are you being a downer?"
"Because I don't trust her." He put his phone in his pocket and looked down at Tess, letting out a sigh. "There's something about her and from what your dad said to you, he obviously didn't trust her either."
"Yeah, but she's the other half of me. She's my blood and I want to know her."
"Then get to know her without moving in with her. I out of everyone knows that blood isn't all it's cracked up to be." He got up from the bed and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "Blood isn't enough to just trust someone."
She could see that Cook was hurting, she didn't know what happened between him and his parents but whatever it was, it messed him up. "Where are you going?" she said in an almost whisper.
"I'm going to go out and have a smoke."
"Why don't you just smoke in the room?"
"You're pregnant, I don't plan on fucking up this kid before he or she is born."
She watched him walk out the door and after a few moments, she peered down at him from the window. He just paced back and forth as he smoked his cigarette, something wasn't right with him, but she didn't want to pressure him into telling her. She just hoped that he would tell her in his own time.
