“I’ll be fine when we get out of here,” she answered, starting to sound like herself again. He moved over to the bed with her, his arm over a shoulder, rubbing her smooth, still-warm skin. He reached down to turn on the lamp on the bedside table and she gasped. He looked down at the single red rose lying on her pillow, inches from where her head had been. Her trembling hand reached down to remove it.
“Leave it!” he barked, unintentionally harsh.
She pulled her hand back in surprise.
“I’ll have it dusted for prints,” he said, with more control, but his jaw was tight.
The killer had crept in somehow while he was lying downstairs and been close enough to Laney to feel her breath. He felt an unfamiliar rage inside him. The rose was the killer’s way of mocking him, asserting he could get to Laney any time, even when Cooper was feet away. He smiled grimly. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.
While Laney gathered her things, he went back out onto the balcony to check again for clues, looking back every few seconds to make sure she was all right. Looking down, he discovered nothing new. He looked up. The balcony extended beyond the roof line by several feet, so it would be easy for someone who had accessed the roof to jump down on her balcony. But how would they access the roof?
She came out to join him, looking up along with him. “You think that’s how he got in?”
“Possibly. Do you know of any way to get on the roof?”
“Well, there’s no staircase that I know of, if that’s what you mean.”
He nodded thoughtfully then looked at her. She had pulled on an oversized Missouri Tigers sweatshirt, making her look even smaller and more vulnerable.
Seeing the way he was studying her, Laney glanced at the sweatshirt. “Sydney got it for me. She wrote one of her books about a pair of college sweethearts and went to Columbia for ‘research.’ She got this at the bookstore.” She shrugged. “It’s comfortable.”
He put both hands on her shoulders. “I think you look cute in it. Are you ready to go?”
She nodded and they left the balcony. He closed the doors securely, although he knew it meant very little.
Chapter Fourteen
By the time they got to Cooper and Aidan’s apartment, it was well after one. Laney had fallen asleep on the ride over and was apologetic.
“That’s okay. You’re wiped out. I’m glad you got more sleep.” Cooper opened the door and let her in. “I’ll show you to my room and I’ll sleep on the couch.” He was grateful Aidan had cleaned up in anticipation of his date with Jenna ending up at their place.
While he was getting her settled in, a tousle-haired Aidan appeared in the doorway. He grinned when he saw them together in the bedroom, sliding his hands up the door frame and looking self-satisfied.
“You dog!” he started to say before Cooper shot him a warning look. He cleared his throat. “Nice to see you again.”
Laney’s face was red and she was avoiding direct eye contact with Aidan. Seeing he was only wearing his boxers, and she was in his roommate’s bedroom in the middle of the night, Cooper could see why she was uncomfortable.
Aidan looked at him with one eyebrow raised, his way of asking Cooper why the change of plans. He gave him a little head jerk to indicate he would fill him in.
He seemed to have gotten the message. “I’ll let you get settled in.” Aidan smiled. “Sleep well.” With a wink to Cooper, he left the pair alone.
Laney looked at him, sheepish. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
“Don’t be silly. Is there anything you need?”
“No. I think I’m set. Thank you so much, Cooper.”
“Sure.” He felt unexpectedly awkward. He made a move to leave, but turned back, framed in the doorway. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room, just down the hall.”
She sat cross-legged, on the bed, the light from his ancient lamp giving her hair a magical glow. She looked good in his bed. She smiled, appearing tired, but no longer afraid.
“Good night,” she murmured.
“Good night, Laney,” he replied, his voice sounding husky to his ears. He closed the door and stood outside, gathering himself before going to the living room to talk to Aidan.
“What’s up?” he asked as soon as Cooper entered the room.
“The killer was there.”
“There? As in where, exactly?”
“In Laney’s room. I had turned in, but couldn’t get to sleep.”
“A little keyed up, were ya, Coop?
“Shut up.” He smiled, but continued talking. “I heard a noise, and when I went up to check on Laney, her balcony doors were open. He was in there, man, when I was lying right at the bottom of the stairs.”
“He didn’t hurt her, did he?”
“No.” He laughed. “She slept through the whole thing.” He frowned. “But he left a rose on her pillow.” His heart clutched, remembering. “He could have hurt her. I should have known he was there.”
“You don’t generally expect someone to break in on the upper floor.”
“Yeah. But I should have—”
“Coop,” Aidan interrupted, “you took care of her. You brought her here, and she’s safe. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
He smirked. “She’s pretty, even rumpled up.”
Cooper glared at him before nailing him with the pillow he was carrying. Then, he ambled over and retrieved the pillow. He sat on the couch, running his hands through his hair. Aidan sat next to him, waiting. “Geez, man! You should see her dance.”
“There was dancing?”
“Y-yess. Is your love life so pathetic you have to live vicariously through me?”
“You wish!” Aidan turned to leave. “And, hey, Coop, try to keep it down in the morning, would ya? I’d hate for you to wake Jenna.”
Cooper smiled and shook his head. “And I’m the dog?”
“Good night, Coop. Enjoy the couch.” He ducked, chuckling when the pillow hit the wall.
Unbelievably, he fell asleep right away. Somewhere in the middle of the inky night, though, he woke up. He heard footsteps. He swung off the couch and snatched his gun from the coffee table in one smooth move. Knowing his way in the dark, he made his way to the opening of the hall. In the murky light, he could see the door to his bedroom open. Keeping his back on the opposite wall, he slid along, his gun at the ready. He felt a vibration at his back as a door opened. He swung across the hall, his back slamming into the wall on the other side, his gun up.
Laney swallowed her shriek, hands coming to her chest. He lowered his gun. She leaned against the bathroom doorjamb, both breathing heavily. He rubbed his hands over his face. As one, they stepped to the middle of the hall and into each other’s arms.
“God, Laney, I’m sorry. I heard a noise…” His voice was muffled by her hair.
“No, Cooper, I’m sorry. I was trying to be quiet. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Come here.” He looped his hand over her shoulder and led her to the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled her down between his legs. His hands began to work her shoulders.
“Mmmm…” she murmured, her voice low and sexy. “You’re good.”
He smiled as she leaned back into his arms. “Better?” he growled in her ear.
“Much.”
He rested his hands on her thighs and she leaned into him. She turned her head toward him. “I don’t want to leave here,” she said wistfully.
He gazed down into her face, moving a strand of hair from her eyes without speaking, his throat tight. He shifted until he was lying behind her on his side, his back to the couch, his arms wrapped around her. She copied his position, leaning her back into him, and was asleep in minutes. Her breathing and the warmth of her closeness soothed him, and he drifted off soon after.
* * *
When Cooper opened his eyes, he saw Aidan leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, a snide smile on his face. “Well, I’ll be damned!�
�
“Shh! You’ll wake her,” he hissed, sitting up quickly, but trying not to jostle Laney. “I just freaked her out a little, so she slept out here with me. I heard a noise in the hall and ended up pulling my gun on her by accident.”
“Geez, Coop! I didn’t think you’d have to pull a gun on a woman to get her to sleep with you.”
“Shut up!”
Laney took a sudden deep breath and stirred. When she opened her eyes and saw Aidan watching her, she scrambled into a seated position, almost knocking Cooper in the chin. “Oh, Aidan! G-good morning,” she sputtered.
“Good morning, Laney.” He seemed tickled by her reaction. “Did you sleep well?” He could hardly keep from laughing.
“I…well…I…”
Aidan couldn’t keep it in any longer, he put a hand up to try to hide his snickering. Cooper hit him with a well-aimed pillow. “Get out of here!” he yelled, laughing at himself. He turned to Laney. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no. I guess I deserve it.” She moved away from him sooner than he would have liked. “I’ll get my stuff together and get out of here.”
“I’m afraid I’m not going to let you out of my sight for a while. Not until we catch this guy.”
“But I have the funeral today.”
“We’ll go with you.”
“Okay.”
He wished he could read her expression, but before he had much of a chance, she left the room.
* * *
Aidan joined Cooper and Laney when they returned to her condo to get her suit for the funeral. Cooper preceded her up the stairs to make certain it was safe, and was the first to see her bed.
“Uhh, wait, let’s—” He tried to shield her from the sight, but it was too late. A strangled noise left her mouth as she moved around his side.
She held the shredded quilt up to her cheek. “My grandma’s quilt.”
“I’m sorry. I had a car sent out here to watch your place, but it must have been too late.”
Hearing the disruption, Aidan followed them upstairs. He surveyed the damage. The quilt looked like it had been hacked to bits, the top of the trunk was torn off its hinges and thrown across the room, and deep gouges were scraped into the top of the antique dresser. Clothes were spewing from dresser drawers, some of them ripped, and one of the drawers was removed and cracked down the middle, dumped upside-down on the floor.
He whistled. “Somebody has some serious anger issues.”
Cooper glared at him and Aidan mouthed, “What?” Both men watched as Laney walked over to the closet and opened the door fearfully, but it appeared the killer hadn’t had enough time, or, perhaps, enough energy, to make it that far. She pulled out a dark grey suit and white blouse, which were untouched.
“At least I have something to wear today.”
“I’ll call it in,” Aidan offered, taking his phone out and backing down the stairs.
Cooper moved over to peer into the bathroom and make sure it was safe for her. Everything inside was still intact. She approached him, her suit in hand.
“Just try to touch as little as possible. You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m tired of this man trying to intimidate me, trying to make me a victim. I’m not comfortable with that role. It’s not me. Besides, he already took from me the most valuable thing I had. Beside her, none of this—” She gestured to include all of the destruction in the room. “—means anything.” She edged past him into the bathroom. “I’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”
That a girl, Laney. There was the defiance he liked in her.
Chapter Fifteen
When Cooper hit the bottom of the stairs, he kept walking. Aidan had finished dialing in his report on the vandalism, and was asking for crime scene technicians to come and have a look. He jumped up and followed.
“Where you goin’?” He tried to keep up with Cooper’s angry strides.
“To talk to the neighbor.” He pounded on the door. It opened almost immediately.
“What do you want?” Steve droned.
“Steve, this is my partner, Aidan. Aidan, this is Laney’s neighbor, Steve. I was wondering, Steve,” Cooper pronounced his name like he was referring to some sort of repulsive bug, “if you heard any kind of disturbance last night as somebody trashed Laney’s room.”
“That’s a shame,” Steve replied, his face impassive. “But I’m afraid I didn’t hear anything.” He smiled, while Cooper stood, his hands clenching and unclenching. “Too bad you didn’t have me install that security system for her.”
“Yeah, too bad.” The two men stood staring at each other while Aidan looked from one to the other.
“Well,” Aidan said, breaking the awkward silence. “If you should remember anything, please give us a call.” He handed him his card.
“Yeah,” Steve said, taking it, but still staring at Cooper, “I’ll do that.” He stepped back and closed the door in their faces.
* * *
Cooper watched Laney as she stood at her mother’s side. She had made him promise not to say anything to her mother about the killer threatening her, not wanting her to worry, though he didn’t see Camille as the worrying sort. Neither Essex woman shed a tear during the entire service; he figured such a thing must be “unseemly” in her mother’s eyes, but it looked like it was killing Laney. When Aidan and Cooper approached her afterward, she appeared half-dead with the effort.
“Ahh, Detective Sullivan. So good to see you again.” Camille bubbled upon his approach, although her eyes were cold as she surveyed him.
“Mrs. Essex. Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I’d like to introduce my partner, Aidan McConnahy.”
Aidan offered his hand. “How do you do?”
“Officer McConnahy.” Camille nodded stiffly, but then she turned on Cooper. “And why haven’t you been keeping me informed of the progress on my daughter’s murder investigation?”
“Mother,” Laney interrupted, “Cooper has been keeping me informed. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to you about it.”
“Did you expect me to hear it from the tabloids, Laney? Like everything else about Sydney? I guess it should be no different from hearing about which Hollywood hunk she was screwing.”
“Mother!”
Camille seemed to realize her blunder and glanced around to see if anyone had overheard them. Laney whispered fiercely, “I was trying to save you a little pain. My mistake. Did you want me to show you the autopsy photos, Mother? Did you want to see her the way I saw her that night, lying on the pavement beside her car, knowing she had been alone at the end, with no one to help her?” She made a slight gurgling noise, somewhere between a sob and a gasp.
Camille took Laney by the hand and marched her out of the room, leaving Cooper and Aidan behind openmouthed. They hurried to follow. Stopping at the opening to the short, empty hallway Camille had dragged her into, they watched the pair’s interaction. Laney’s mother grasped her by the shoulders and shook her, like she was a child afraid of the dark. “Don’t you fall apart on me, Laney Cassandra Essex! Don’t you dare fall apart on me! I won’t have you embarrassing me like some silly school girl.”
Cooper imagined the woman’s long, manicured fingernails biting into Laney’s skin. She pulled away from her mother’s claw-like grasp, gazing at her with fire in her eyes. “The only one who is embarrassing herself here is you, Mother.”
She turned and marched off, almost bowling him over as she entered the lobby. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, you okay?”
“Nothing a strong drink wouldn’t cure.”
He smiled. “I’ll remember that.”
She smiled and exhaled, laughing. “That woman gets under my skin!”
“That woman would get under Ghandi’s skin, no offense,” Aidan interjected with a shake of his head. She laughed and Cooper pulled her to his side for a quick squeeze.
The rest of the funeral went off without Laney or her Mother speaking to each other; the ice wall had been erected. Cooper watched the in
teractions between mourners. He watched one man approach and take Laney by both shoulders and kiss her on the cheek, ignoring the way it made his hair stand on end. “Isn’t he going to let her go?” he mumbled under his breath.
“Huh? What, Coop?”
“Nothing,” he muttered. Then he saw Steve. Cooper strolled casually over behind Laney so he could catch some of their conversation.
“I heard someone broke into your condo. That’s awful! You should let me install a security system for you. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Thanks, Steve. Maybe in a couple of weeks. I’m not comfortable there at all right now.”
“Where are you going to stay? With your mom?”
“No.”
Hell no! Cooper thought.
“I’ll find a hotel somewhere. Thank you for coming, and for taking care of me.” She hugged him.
“Of course. Let me know if you need anything.”
Steve moved on and shook Camille’s hand coolly, offering his condolences, and then proceeded past the coffin. Cooper was about to turn away, when he saw something. Was he imagining it, or did Bertrand have a smug look on his face as he looked down on the corpse? Now that the karate teacher thought no one was looking at him, his face, which had been bright and friendly seconds before, changed, the lines becoming hard and sharp. “Aidan, look at Steve Bertrand,” he said out of the corner of his mouth, but just as he said it, his face turned back into the benign visage, which was in place when he talked to Laney. It reminded him, somehow, of a puppy.
“What about him?” Aidan whispered, eying Steve.
They looked on for several seconds, but Steve seemed to have his mask firmly back in place. “Never mind. It was nothing, I guess.” Cooper took out his phone. “I’m going to make arrangements for a uniform to stay with Laney at her hotel tonight.”
* * *
For the second time in as many days, Kent Heaton had visitors waiting in his office.
The two men rose from their chairs as he entered. “Good morning, gentlemen,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Kent Heaton.” Cooper recognized him as one of the mourners from the funeral.
THE HEART TEACHES BEST (REAL ROMANCE COLLECTION Book 2) Page 9