Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(78)

“Nothing, Coop, I swear. I’m just really tired, and I know you’re tired too from your flight. I’ll see you first thing in the morning, okay?”

“Okay,” he sighed. “If you change your mind you know where I’m at.”

“I will,” I whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

When I heard the final click of the line go dead, I knew it was over. Closing my eyes, I bit my lip until I could taste blood; even more so when Marianne laughed at my expense.

“At least Cooper’s mom will be glad she doesn’t have to worry about you. There was one thing we had in common … we didn’t like you. You see, she knew you weren’t good enough for her son, and I knew you weren’t good enough for mine. It killed me that Scott chose you over me. Every time I wanted him to come home and visit, he said he couldn’t because he was too busy doing something with you. You have no idea what it feels like to be a mother and have your favorite child treat you like second best.”

I really wanted to tell her that Scott was a big boy and made his own decisions. It wasn’t my fault that he chose me over her. If she wasn’t so controlling maybe he would’ve had a reason to go home. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow creep up the hallway outside of my door. I didn’t dare look for fear that Marianne would look, too. I prayed it was Cooper, but knowing my luck it was probably just a figment of my imagination.

“So what’s going to make you happy, huh? Do you want me to break up with Cooper and be miserable for the rest of my life?”

“No, dear,” she responded, grinning evilly. “All I wanted was to say what I had to say to you and end it. I honestly thought I’d get more pleasure in ruining you and Cooper, but you two just don’t want to stay away from each other. I don’t trust you to end it, so now I have to do it myself.”

I moved over a step. All I needed was a few more inches and I’d be able to grab the bat. Marianne continued to move closer, waving the gun in the air with her finger on the trigger. She set my ring down on the dresser and slid the piece of paper out from underneath my jewelry box. It was one of the letters from Scott. She had her back to the door, and that was when Cooper came into my line of sight and put a finger to his lips.

Opening the piece of paper, Marianne huffed and said, “I don’t know what it is about you and these men, but they fall all over you like you’re something special. All I see is a self-involved, spoiled girl who cared more about her schoolwork than taking care of my son, who worshipped the ground you walked on. I just don’t …”

Her eyes went wide as she read the letter. She immediately stopped what she was saying and whispered one word when she got to the end, “Scott.”

Everything after that moved in slow motion. Cooper threw something down the hall—making a loud crashing sound—and it captured Marianne’s attention for a fraction of a second, allowing me to grab the baseball bat and swing. I didn’t get as much force behind it as I wanted, but when it connected with her arm I knew it was going to leave one hell of a bruise, or maybe even a broken bone.

The only problem was that it wasn’t enough of a distraction for her to drop the gun. When she hollered in pain, she reared back at me, her eyes wild. Before she could lift the gun and aim it at me, Cooper exploded into the room straight for her; except, he didn’t get to her in time.

After that … all I saw was red.

The sound of the gun blasted through my ears, and when I saw a spray of blood spurt from Cooper’s body, every ounce of fear and terror I felt in my gut made my blood run cold. After that I didn’t think … I reacted. Cooper was still on his feet—holding his side—but I was the one closer to Marianne.

My God, I hated her.

Before she could turn around, I took Scott’s baseball bat and swung. The sickening thud as I made contact with her skull made my stomach cringe, especially when she landed face first on the hardwood floor. For so long, she hurt me and made me miserable, but now she hurt Cooper. The gun she had in her hand slid across the floor, but it didn’t look like she’d be picking it up anytime soon. I hit her pretty hard, but I knew it wasn’t a killing blow. Rushing to the gun, I grabbed it off the floor and ran straight to Cooper, who immediately put his arms around me.

“Kate,” he murmured, grunting in pain. Crying, I quickly pulled out of his arms and lifted his shirt where he was shot. “It’s just a graze, love. It could’ve been worse.”

Realizing it was just a graze right above his hipbone, I sighed in relief, but I knew it had to hurt like hell every time he moved. I fetched a T-shirt from my pajama drawer and placed it on his wound, adding pressure. “I need you to put pressure on your wound, okay? I’m going to call the police,” I told him, reaching into my pocket for my phone.

“I already called, Kate. Sam should be here any second.”

Right about that time I heard the front door slam open and footsteps barreling up the stairs. Sam burst into my room with his gun drawn, followed by Officer Stilwell who lowered his and went straight to Marianne, lying motionless on the floor. He called for a couple of ambulances and for backup while Sam holstered his gun and inspected Cooper’s wound.

“This isn’t the way I wished it would’ve gone down, but at least it’s over,” Sam assured us. “She’s not going to bother you again … ever.”