I leaned back in my chair, knowing I’d just lost it. I was still breathing hard from releasing the pent-up frustration that had been eating at me for a long time.
Cooper released a long breath. “And you thought you were the only one who could help her?”
“I knew I was the only one who could get through to her. I’m probably the only person who’s more stubborn than she is, and who would refuse to take no for an answer. Even Marshall tried to get her into decent treatment for months, and he failed,” I told Cooper irritably. “Failure was not an option for me. Not after it was perfectly clear that she wasn’t recovering.”
“You did help her, Jax. She’s on her way to recovery. She’s under Dr. Romero’s care. It’s time for you to bail out now before you care too damn much to do that. Before it’s too late.”
“I do care, dammit! And it may already be too late. We’ve been together every single day for nearly three weeks, Coop,” I explained. “Maybe you don’t believe it’s possible, but we have become friends. In some ways, being with Harlow has been good for me, too. You have no idea how good it feels to just be able to hang out with a woman who doesn’t give a damn about my family name or my money. There’s never been a female in my life like her. She actually wants to know me, and not the billionaire co-CEO of Montgomery. She looks at me just like she’d see any other guy, and before her, I had no idea how damn addictive that could be.”
“Now I know you’re completely screwed,” Cooper said flatly. “What in the hell are you planning to do when she recovers, and you want more? Believe me, you will want more. She’s already turned you down for a date, so the romantic interest obviously isn’t there for her. Look, I’ve never met Harlow, but I honestly wish there was a chance for you two to eventually get together. She sounds like a female who would never put up with your bullshit, but obviously has the capacity to care about you and not just your money. But that ship has sailed, Jax. I never thought I’d say this since you’re the king of one-nighters, but I’m afraid that you could really end up demolished when this is all over.”
I shrugged. “I’m willing to take that chance. I can’t just walk away.”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Cooper grumbled. “Since I know I’m not going to convince you to run while you still can, just be careful.”
I grinned at him. “I couldn’t go very far anyway since she has custody of my dog right now, and Harlow may end up volunteering for Last Hope.”
“Molly?” Cooper questioned.
I nodded and explained how Molly’s training had helped Harlow.
Cooper helped out at the canine training center whenever he could, and donated heavily to the organization, too.
“It’s always been a win-win situation,” Cooper mused after I’d finished talking. “Shelter dogs get a good home, and veterans benefit by getting some help with their PTSD. I’m glad that Molly could help Harlow. Now, explain to me exactly how Harlow could possibly end up being a Last Hope volunteer. Has Marshall completely lost his mind?”
I went through Harlow’s idea, and Marshall’s rationale for considering it.
Cooper was quiet after I’d finished talking, so I finished the last of my food as I watched his contemplative expression.
I could tell that my younger brother was thinking, weighing all the pros and cons, and running through every possible scenario that could occur from making a change to Last Hope.
It was almost scary that Cooper’s mind was like one big supercomputer sometimes, and even more frightening because once he came to a conclusion, he was never wrong.
“It could work, as long as Marshall sticks to only tapping volunteers who already know about Last Hope,” Cooper said cautiously. “We’ve been getting a lot more technically sophisticated for a while now, and we can hardly expect Marshall to keep learning all those areas himself. I hate to admit it, but we could really use Harlow’s skills as a weather specialist volunteer. Think about how precise our data could be. It’s a risk because once someone becomes an official volunteer, they’ll get a lot more information about the entire operation. However, we take that risk with every previous Special Forces guy we take on, too. Granted, most of them understand how vital it is to keep our operations a secret, but it’s still a bit of a crapshoot. When you’re dealing with that many personalities, you’ll eventually find an asshole in any group.”
“Harlow still wants to volunteer just as much as she did in the very beginning,” I told Cooper.
“Since she’s previous military, she’s obviously aware of how important it is not to out Last Hope,” Cooper replied. “You do realize that if things go south with you and Harlow, it could be awkward if she’s a member of Last Hope.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I said firmly.
For now, I was going to support Harlow, and just be a friend, even if it killed me.
At some point in the future, once she’d gotten her life back, I was going to ask her out again, and hope to hell her answer was different the second time around.
Harlow
“No! Please! Stop hurting him! Mark! Noooooo!”
I woke up screaming, and my body shot up into a sitting position as the last of those anguished sounds left my mouth.
Nightmare. It isn’t real. It isn’t real.
I bent over and wrapped my arms around my trembling upper body as my heart continued to race. As I moved my hands over my upper arms, I realized that my entire body was drenched in sweat.
I panted as I recalled exactly what had happened in my nightmare.
The sights and sounds of the rebels torturing Mark before he died had been so damn vivid. So…real.
Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I heard Molly whine and felt her pawing at my leg.
God, she must have tried to wake me, but I’d been too far gone.
I leaned up so she could climb onto my lap.
“Everything is okay, sweetie,” I crooned as I hugged her, savoring the comforting warmth of her body. “It isn’t your fault that you couldn’t wake me up this time.”
It was one of the worst nightmares I’d ever experienced.
Still panicked, I reached for my cell phone, and dialed Jax’s number without taking time to even think about it.
“Hello,” he answered in a sleepy voice.
“You said I could call you anytime,” I said breathlessly. “I know it’s late, but—”
“Harlow?” He sounded more awake now. “What is it? What the fuck happened?”