Page 22 of Calling Chaos (Demon Bound #3)

21

Cooper

T he kidnapping and the threats of murder weren’t great, but leaving Cooper alone with his thoughts? That was truly evil.

His thoughts were…not good. Not good at all.

As soon as Red had walked out of sight, the sound of the door closing reverberating behind him, whatever bravery Cooper had gathered from thoughts of Chaos fled.

Chaos would come for him. Cooper knew that.

But would he get there in time?

Chaos claimed he could track Cooper down wherever he was, and knowing him, he probably could, at least with enough time on his side. But Red was taking Cooper away. Out of the city, on a plane, most likely. International—that was what he’d said.

And while Chaos might have figured out navigating a human city—and Cooper still wasn’t certain of even that much—he definitely didn’t know anything about modern air travel.

If Red took Cooper away, he would be well and truly lost.

And if he refused, he’d be dead.

And if Cooper really wanted to face the truth, he was going to be dead either way. Red seemed like exactly the kind of cold fish who’d do away with Cooper once he was even the slightest bit less than useful.

And just like that, anger reared its head, rising through the fog of fear and despair. This was just so…fucking pointless . Pathetic, really. All of Cooper’s struggle to survive, to try to make some sort of life out of the shit hand he and his father had been dealt, and now it was all going away because some hacker wanted lots of money ? Handed over like a trading card because Sergei had wanted revenge for getting caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing? Maybe Sergei could have tried not betraying his own mob boss! How about that? Cooper had been doing it for years. It wasn’t that fucking hard.

When would these greedy, shitty men stop pulling Cooper into their stupid games? And for what? Dimitri had been just the same—power-hungry and ruthless. And where had it gotten him? Death by an aneurysm before he could even enjoy any of that money he’d killed so many men for. Unmourned by the sons who hated him, and definitely unmourned by the wife it was rumored he’d had murdered.

Pointless, pathetic games.

Chaos would agree; Cooper knew it. Chaos had more power in his cute little wing tip than any of these narcissists, and he cared about it only so much as it made him laugh. He used it to amuse himself, to make life fun. And now he used it to make Cooper’s life fun. To try to make him a little less anxious, a little less lonely. To protect him and make him happy.

I love him , Cooper thought. I love that demon menace, and I might never get to tell him.

He allowed himself a moment—one moment to let the sorrow fill him—and then he let it go.

This whole stupid kidnapping had clearly been in the works for some time. RedRabbit had approached him months ago, before Cooper had even started looking into Sergei’s finances. So this all would have gone down no matter what. But at least Cooper had gotten to meet Chaos first. He’d gotten to remember what it felt like to care for someone and have that care returned. He’d had his small, contained life blown up, if only for a little while.

Cooper still didn’t know what drew Chaos to him, but he was grateful for it, whatever it was. And if Cooper died, Chaos would at least get summoned again. Cooper knew Nix and Kai would make sure of it. And hopefully they’d find another summoner who’d allow Chaos to be who he was. Maybe even someone who was a better match than Cooper.

His heart clenched painfully at the thought. Fuck, that hurt. He wished he could rub at his chest to ease it, but his arms were still tied down.

He missed his friend.

The door behind him opened again, and Cooper pushed the pain away. He needed to focus on the anger now. He wanted to be more than his usual scared, trembling self. He wanted to be brave for Chaos. Cooper owed it to him to keep himself alive for as long as possible. Even if Chaos couldn’t find him, he could at least stay in the human realm as long as Cooper was living and still in need of a friend.

Because Cooper would always need Chaos—that wouldn’t change just because he was under some madman’s thumb.

Red circled around, one thin brow arched over his glasses. “Well?”

Time was up. Cooper cleared his throat. “I’d like to live.”

Red’s lip curled in satisfaction. “Then you won’t do anything stupid, will you?”

“You’re going to hold me hostage by syringe all the way to the airport?”

“I have some hired muscle coming, and a private plane waiting. Money leads to such convenience, doesn’t it?”

Cooper scoffed. “Money’s empty.”

“ People are empty,” Red hissed. “They’re common, and they’re disappointing. Hard data? Cold cash? Those are reliable.” He leaned in, his hands gripping the armrests of Cooper’s chair. The scent of menthol crept into Cooper’s nose again, and he had to hold back a sneeze. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Sergei told me your sob story. People have let you down your whole life.”

It wasn’t a very convincing supervillain speech, in Cooper’s humble opinion. His life had certainly had its lows but no more than any other person’s. It didn’t mean there was no good in the world. It didn’t mean people and connections and love weren’t worth it.

But he wasn’t going to waste his breath on this guy. He would have shrugged if he could have managed it. “People have disappointed me, maybe,” he conceded. “But demons? Never.”

Because even if Chaos wasn’t going to find him in time, Cooper knew in his bones that his demon would try. And that? That was enough.

Red looked at him in confusion and then cocked his head. Some sort of door or window or something had slammed overhead. The sound was muffled, like maybe they were underground. A basement, perhaps.

“My muscle,” Red murmured. Then he frowned as something slammed again. “I’ll have to teach them how to be more discreet.”

And then there was a garbled scream, louder than the muffled slamming. Closer.

Cooper grinned, the relief so sweet it was almost painful. He knew a certain creature who could invoke that kind of terror.

Red seemed to realize at the same moment that his hired muscle might have come with company. He swiped a hand out, grabbing a syringe from the medical tray. And then he was behind Cooper, his arm around Cooper’s clavicle. He rocked Cooper’s chair, turning them both to face the door, and Cooper felt the sharp pinch of a needle poking at his skin.

The door flew off its hinges. Smoke filled the room.

And then there was Chaos, his feathered wings spread wide, fire racing along his arms, his horns, his tail. There was blood on his clothes. Cooper’s clothes, actually, since Chaos was still wearing his hoodie.

“Puppy,” Chaos greeted lowly, though his eyes were locked on Red. “I’m sorry it took me so long. You were right. I got a little lost.”

In contrast to his cool tone, Chaos’s flames were flaring out in bursts, lighting up his eyes and even his hair. Almost like he couldn’t control them.

Cooper winced as the needle jabbed deeper into his skin.

“I don’t know what or who the fuck you are,” Red said, sounding about a thousand times calmer than Cooper would have been in his position. “But don’t come any closer, or this goes right into his veins and he dies.”

The scent of harsh campfire smoke filled the room, thick enough to choke them, but it wasn’t visible in the air anymore. They still had a clear line of sight to Chaos, his flames flickering in and out as he held himself perfectly still. “I’ll stay right here.”

And then Chaos’s voice was behind them, even as they could still see him in front of them. “And I’ll be right here .”

There was a choked scream from behind Cooper. Something hot and wet landed on the back of his neck, and the needle pressing against his skin fell away.

Then there were two Chaoses in front of him, melding into one as Cooper blinked in shock.

He tried to smile, the gesture faltering as he heard pained gurgling behind him. It sounded like someone had their throat cut but was still trying to speak. Cooper hated that he knew what that sounded like. “You came for me,” he said, soft as a whisper.

Chaos glared at the ropes tying Cooper down, at the spots along his wrists where they’d rubbed Cooper’s skin raw. “You’re hurt.”

Chaos jerked his head, and there was another scream, and then the gurgling stopped, the smell of burned flesh filling the room. Cooper gagged, glancing out the corner of his eye before he could help himself. There was…a lot of blood. He looked away again.

Flames flared on the thick ropes around him, and they fell away. Cooper wanted to leap up, to hug his menace, but fire was still flickering along Chaos’s skin, and he was still frowning horribly.

“Bracchus,” Cooper soothed. “I’m okay.”

“You’re not ,” Chaos told him, uncharacteristically cold. He wasn’t even pouting, which was alarming. “You have rope burns, and you smell like stale fear.”

“But I’m okay.”

Cooper didn’t exactly understand what was happening. He had known Chaos would come for him, that Chaos didn’t want him hurt, but also…shouldn’t this have been a little fun for the demon? He’d killed some men— don’t think about it, don’t look behind you —and he’d gotten to hunt Cooper down through the city.

Wasn’t this his idea of a good time?

“You’re so upset,” Cooper found himself saying.

“Yes!” Chaos’s wings flared, and flames shot up to the ceiling. This time, the fire caught. Cooper watched in horror as it began spreading down the walls, faster than it should have been able to. “Yes, I’m upset!” Chaos cried, ignoring the fire that was circling around them, heating the room. “He hurt you. He told me he’d kill you. You. My mate. My friend. My puppy. My Cooper.” He glared over Cooper’s shoulder. “I let him die much too quickly. I should have made it hurt .”

Smoke was filling the room now but not the yellow campfire smoke of Chaos’s magic. Just ordinary, life-extinguishing smoke. Cooper coughed, gesturing to the flames. “How about you put out the fire?”

Chaos crossed his arms. “No.”

“If it spreads, someone else could get hurt.”

“ Let them .”

“You don’t mean that.”

The flames reached the computers and tech behind them. Sparks began showering as Chaos narrowed his fire-filled eyes. “If I killed every human in this realm, there would be no one left to hurt you.”

Holy shit. Cooper’s kidnapping had broken his demon.

Cooper coughed again, his eyes watering. “That would be…extreme, Bracchus.”

“Everyone in the city, then,” Chaos offered, almost flippant. “We could keep Ivan and Nix.”

“That would still be extreme ,” Cooper told him, getting desperate now. “And unwelcome. People aren’t too bad. You like them, remember?”

“I like you more.”

Cooper still didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he was getting some idea. He gathered his courage and grabbed Chaos’s fiery hand, trying to exude a calm he wasn’t sure he felt.

“Do you love me, Bracchus?”

Chaos frowned, like Cooper’s question had caught him off guard. The flames on his hand trailed over to Cooper’s skin, but they didn’t burn. They only tingled, a warm caress.

“Love,” Chaos mused, still frowning. “It’s a stupid, human word. A nonsense word. I’m yours . You’re mine.”

“But why?”

“Is it normal to give reasons for these things?” Chaos shook off Cooper’s hold. “I want you because of this.” He flung out a hand, and the fire on the walls and ceiling went out. “I love you because of that.” He flung out his other hand, and the tech stopped sparking. He pressed both hands to his chest, over his heart. “Isn’t the whole point of emotions that they’re feelings ?”

“Well, feelings can sometimes be based on reason.”

“Fine.” Chaos glared at Cooper like he was being unreasonable. “I want you because you’re lovely and special and bright, even when you’re sad. Because even when you’re scared or nervous, you carry on. Because you’re brave, though you don’t see it. I love you because you’re not the strongest or the fiercest or the wildest, and yet somehow you’re still perfect. It doesn’t make sense, and that’s the best part.”

Cooper grinned, so wide it hurt his cheeks. The room was still smoky, but some of the furor around them had quelled. “I love you too, Bracchus.”

Chaos stared at him, the flames on his skin dampening slowly until they extinguished completely. His eyes returned to their fox-like yellow as he pushed his lower lip out into a pout. “Stupid, human word,” he griped.

And without another word of warning, he scooped Cooper out of the chair, holding him bridal-style tight to his chest. Cooper closed his eyes so he wouldn’t see anything he didn’t have the stomach to see. He’d have to be careful with himself from now on, for the sake of the humans around him. Red had been a jerk—and he’d definitely intended to kill Cooper if he’d needed to—but did that mean he’d deserved to die?

A suspiciously Chaos-sounding voice in Cooper’s head let out a resounding, Yes . He did.

Still. Cooper should try to limit bloodshed in the future. He knew he was lucky Chaos had been willing to put the flames out. Lucky he’d had the trump card of an ill-timed conversation about feelings in his pocket.

“I’m taking you out of this dungeon, and we’re going to bond now,” Chaos told him, and Cooper could still hear the pout in his voice.

Cooper wrapped his arms around Chaos’s neck, resting his head against his demon’s shoulder. “Okay. Whatever you want.”

He could feel some of the tension ease in Chaos’s frame. “Yes. Whatever I want.”

“I knew you were coming for me, you know.”

Chaos scoffed. “Of course I was. I always will.”

Cooper smiled, letting Chaos’s warmth surround him. He kept his eyes shut as Chaos took him out of the building he’d thought he might die in.

Always. Always sounded good.