Cooper

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  I was going to have to have a serious talk with Rob about parental restrictions when I went to work tomorrow. “Fine, we’ll talk about the job. You can start looking, but I have to approve of the job before you go in for an interview.”

  “Fine,” she said with a grin.

  I started for the door and then turned back to her, pointing an accusing finger. “And no strip clubs.”

  “Dad, I’m not eighteen.”

  “Yeah, like that really matters to some places. I’ll be watching you. Don’t fuck this up.”

  She rolled her eyes and pulled her homework into her lap. I hesitated leaving, feeling like I should stay home with her, but if she wanted more freedom, she definitely wouldn’t like me in her space. And honestly, I really wanted to escape after that talk. I didn’t think I could handle any more talk of sex, even as short as that conversation was.

  I drove to Becky’s house and groaned when I saw that her roommate was there. I always felt her eyes on me, and it pissed me off. I hated to be gawked at like some kind of attraction in a zoo. Maybe I could convince Becky to come back to Reed Security with me, though that hardly ever worked. I walked up to the door and knocked, holding back my grimace when Delaney opened the door.

  “Hey, Coop.”

  Her eyes started roaming over me, and it took everything I had to stand still and not squirm under her scrutiny. “Hey, where’s Becky?”

  “She’s coming.”

  She smiled coyly and opened the door wider for me. It set me on edge, not knowing exactly what she was thinking. Becky walked out of her room, dressed in her pajamas.

  “Hey, babe,” she said, walking over to me and giving me a kiss. I couldn’t close my eyes. I felt Delaney’s watchful gaze on me and it made me uncomfortable.

  “Why don’t we go out for dinner?”

  “Really?” Her eyes lit up and I could kick my own ass for having never actually taken her out on a date before.

  “Yeah. Go get dressed.” When I saw Delaney move closer, I snatched Becky’s hand. “I’ll come with.”

  I followed her into the bedroom and shut the door behind me, glad that I was out of the crosshairs for just a moment.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I just realized that I’ve never taken you out before.”

  She gave me a sharp look, crossing her arms over her chest. “You didn’t just realize this. We’ve talked about it before.”

  “Well, I’m turning over a new leaf.”

  “No you’re not.”

  She sat down on the bed and stared at me.

  “Fine, your roommate freaks me out. She always stares at me and she always stands too close. You know I hate to be stared at.”

  Becky snorted. “She’s staring at you because she thinks you’re hot.”

  That just pissed me off. I didn’t need to be placated by Becky. I knew what I looked like and it most definitely was not hot. “Cut the shit,” I said harshly. “I don’t need you trying to make me feel better.”

  She quirked an eyebrow at me, but didn’t seem the least intimidated by my anger. Maybe I wasn’t doing a good enough job of looking menacing.

  “You cut the shit. I’m not trying to make you feel better or play to your ego. She. Thinks. You’re. Hot. It’s as simple as that.” She must have seen the confusion on my face because she stood and walked over to me, running her hand through my hair, over the spot that hair didn’t grow anymore because of my burns. “I know you don’t want to hear this because you think it has a different meaning or something, but scars are hot. I get that you haven’t shown me all of them, so you see something different than I do, but to Delaney, she just sees what you’ve shown her, and she doesn’t see some beast or a disfigured man. She sees a sexy man with battle scars. Like it or not, she finds that attractive, and so do I. Probably for different reasons than her. I find it sexy because of how they were earned. They’re sexy because they’re part of you. And you are this amazing man who sacrificed everything for his country. I’m not trying to blow sunshine up your ass. Everything about you is sexy to me, and no amount of your bullshit is going to change that.”

  Her lips pressed against mine and her tongue slipped through to meet mine. I felt her hands on me and tried not to pull back from her. Every time I kissed her, I wanted to be closer to her, to give her more of me, but I was still uncomfortable and I just wasn’t in that place with her yet. I snatched her hands and brought them from my waist to up around my neck where she wouldn’t feel as much of the mangled skin. Slipping my hands around her waist, I enjoyed the freedom of touching her, gripping her ass, and pulling her to me. I thought briefly about shoving her down on the bed and fucking her, but I promised her a night out, and she was going to get it.

  Reluctantly, I pulled back and cleared my throat. “Finish getting dressed.”

  I saw a flicker of disappointment in her eyes that I had once again put a stop to any kind of progress between us. She finished getting dressed while I tried to get myself under control before we left. It didn’t help that Becky was doing some kind of seductive strip tease in front of me. Who knew that getting out of flannel pajamas could be so sexy?

  When she was dressed, I barely spared Delaney a glance before pulling Becky out the door. When I got to the truck, I realized that I didn’t actually have a plan in mind for where to take her.

  “Where would you like to go?”

  “I’m good with anything.”

  “Becky, I don’t know how often this will happen, so if there’s someplace you really want to go, let’s go there.”

  “Okay, how about we go to Pittsburgh? There are tons of restaurants to choose from. It could be fun.”

  The excitement in her voice was enough to keep my negative comments to myself. Being in Pittsburgh meant being further away from Reed Security and backup. Thankfully, it was dark in the truck, so she couldn’t see how unexcited I was about going to Pittsburgh. But this was for Becky, and I said I would try.

  “Sure,” I said, clearing my throat as I backed out of the driveway. “Why don’t you start looking up restaurants you want to try.”

  “Okay,” she said, the happiness in her voice evident. I fidgeted the whole way to Pittsburgh. Even the darkness of the country roads made me nervous. I kept thinking that someone was waiting in the dark to attack us. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that all the shit with Adams wasn’t truly over. When I pulled into the public parking garage, I cursed myself for allowing her to manipulate me into coming here. There was no way to make a quick getaway in this garage, and the security sucked. It was one of those open parking garages, which made it a sniper’s paradise. I could easily be taken out from another building and I wouldn’t even see it coming. And Becky would be left vulnerable.

  I pulled my gun out of the back of my waistband and checked it once more before getting out of the truck to head into the restaurant. I knew Becky was watching me, but I didn’t give a shit. I needed to make sure we were safe, and there was only one way I knew to do that. I gripped her hand as we got out and placed her on my left side, away from the outside of the garage. I could get her out of the way of a rogue vehicle, but I couldn’t stop a bullet I couldn’t see. I tucked her into my side, and headed for the elevator.

  Once we were down on the street level, I assessed everything around me before heading down the street for the restaurant. The streets were relatively quiet tonight, which made it easier to assess any threats. A man walked toward us, his hand inside his jacket as he reached for something. I shoved Becky up against a building and guarded her body with my own. My heart beat a steady rhythm as I reached for my gun and readied to pull it at the first sign of trouble. The man gave me a strange look as he passed, pulling out his cigarettes and lighter. I sighed and released my grip on my gun, shoving away from Becky. I gripped her hand and pulled her down the street, tucking her into my side yet again. She didn’t say anything, and frankly, I didn’t give a shit what she thought. I would protect her in any way I neede
d to.

  When we stepped through the doors of the restaurant, I immediately knew this was a bad idea. The restaurant was packed and I wouldn’t be able to choose where we sat. Becky seemed to understand and gripped my hand tighter.

  “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

  I didn’t want to look at her, didn’t want to see the disappointment on her face. I could do this. I could take her for dinner, no problem.

  “No, this is fine.”

  The hostess led us to a table right in the middle of the fucking room. I pulled out a chair for Becky, scanning all the people in the restaurant as I pushed in her chair. I took my time taking my seat and looked for the best possible routes for the exits. The one in the back was way too crowded to get through easily, and the front door would be everyone’s first choice in an emergency.

  Becky was already looking at her menu by the time I stopped looking around. I glanced down at it, but every noise drew my attention. A waiter walked behind me and I immediately stiffened, waiting for the attack that never came. Shaking off the feeling of being watched, I looked back at my menu and picked the first thing I saw so that I could get back to watching the room.

  “So, what made you want to go out to dinner?” Becky asked.

  “Delaney was being weird,” I answered without thinking.

  I continued to scan the room, my fingers playing with the silverware so that I didn’t grab my gun and set it in my lap.

  “Oh, I thought…”

  “Hmm?” I asked, still not really paying attention.

  “I thought you wanted to take me out.”

  My eyes narrowed in on a guy that was getting a little too rowdy on the other side of the restaurant. I took in the three bottles of wine on his table and the way he was practically falling over in his chair. One of the other men at the table said something and the guy gripped his knife even tighter, his knuckles practically white. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, the one guy was getting really pissed.

  I flinched when someone walked behind me again, brushing against my back just slightly. A hand landed lightly on my shoulder. “Sorry,” the voice said. Sweat trickled down the side of my face and my heart beat a little faster. I felt like the whole place was getting out of control around me. Loud laughter at the next table drew my gaze immediately. I started drumming my fingers on the table and my foot tapped out a steady rhythm to control my urges. The men across the room were arguing loudly now and the hostess had to go intervene. When they stood suddenly, I reached for my gun and kept my hand there until the men left the restaurant.

  “Coop,” Becky said, drawing my attention back to her. She was looking at me with a mixture of confusion and concern. I let go of my gun and settled back into a more normal position.

  “What are you getting?” I asked, trying to move the attention away from me.

  “Um… I was thinking…” I ignored the rest of what she said and started scanning the room again. Truth be told, there was a loud pounding in my ears that was drowning out whatever she said. All I could focus on was the chaos around me. There was just too much going on and there was no backup in sight. I could deal with situations I could control, but this was most definitely not something I could control. Not even close. And Becky didn’t have a gun, nor was she backup.

  Something shattered to the ground behind me and I spun around, pulling my gun, but covering it as soon as I saw that it was a tray of food on the ground. The waitress bumped into someone and the crash I heard was all the plates hitting the ground. Becky slipped her hand over mine, and I looked back to her.

  “I’m not feeling well. Can we leave?”

  I nodded and stood, quickly concealing my gun. I held out my hand for her and placed a tip on the table, though we hadn’t actually eaten or drank anything. The hostess looked at us in confusion as we passed.

  “My girlfriend isn’t feeling well,” I said quietly as we passed. She nodded and we exited the restaurant. I wrapped my arm around her instantly and pulled her into my side. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Then why did you want to leave?”

  “Because you needed to.”

  I stopped on the street and backed her up against the wall, guarding her from everyone else. “What do you mean?”

  “You couldn’t enjoy yourself. I didn’t want you to be in there and be uncomfortable.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her, pissed that she had seen through me so easily. “I don’t need you to make those decisions for me. I know what I can handle.”

  “Coop, you pulled a gun in the middle of the restaurant,” she hissed, looking around to make sure she wasn’t heard.

  “I had it under control,” I said angrily. “I don’t need you to baby me.”

  “I wasn’t babying you. I was recognizing that it was a situation that made you uncomfortable, and I pulled you out of it. I’m so sorry for looking out for you.”

  “I’m not some fragile piece of shit that needs his girlfriend to step in and take over,” I bit out.

  “I didn’t say you were-”

  “Then stop pretending like I need you. I don’t fucking need you.”

  She flinched back like I had slapped her. That wasn’t exactly what I had meant to say. “It won’t happen again,” she said, slipping under my arm and walking down the street. I chased after her, gripping her arm in mine as we headed back to the truck. The drive home was cold and her goodbye was even colder, letting me know that I most definitely would not get an invitation inside., not even to apologize for my behavior.

  Pulling away from her house, I cursed myself for being such an idiot. For someone that wanted to move on, I was doing a really bad job of actually doing it. It seemed like every time Becky tried to get close to me, I found some way to completely fuck it up. When I got back to the panic room, I headed straight for my room, but paused when I noticed that all of Kayla’s homework was on the living room table, not put away like she had finished it. Something inside my gut churned and I stomped over to her room, slowly opening the door in case I was wrong. But when enough light streamed in to show me her bed, I knew I wasn’t fucking wrong. I flicked the light on and checked her bathroom just to be sure, but she was gone. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Rob.

  “Yo,” he answered.

  “Rob, it’s Coop. Kayla’s been sneaking out and she’s gone again tonight. I need to know how she’s doing it and where she’s going.”

  “On it. Give me ten and I’ll call you back.”

  I snatched my coat and walked out of the room and headed for the main building. It wasn’t that I was planning on killing anyone, but it was always best to be prepared. I grabbed an extra gun from the weapons room and headed for the IT room to look through the surveillance. I was shocked to see Rob still here. I would have thought he would be at home already.

  “I thought I was interrupting your night.”

  “Nah, we have a team in the field.”

  “Isn’t that what we have other techs for? So you can get a break?”

  “Don’t trust them,” he said with a shrug. “Ever since Becks left, it’s just not the same around here. The techs we hired just aren’t as dedicated as her.”

  “So, you’re taking over for her?”

  “Someone has too,” he grunted. “Alright, your girl is getting out with a code. It looks like someone put her into the system so she can come and go as she pleases.”

  “Fuck. It’s gotta be Maggie.”

  “I’m not sure Maggie could do this. We’ve added in a lot of security protocols in the IT room. I’m not sure this is something she could hack, but I guess anything is possible when it comes to her.”

  “Can we change the security protocols? Make it so that she can’t leave after a certain time? Or that she has to have one of us enter a code to let her out?”

  “I’ll talk with Cap about it. Not sure he’d be happy with me changing that on my own.” I nodded, but Rob seemed to be thinking. “On the ot
her hand, he’ll probably add in more security measures when I mention this has happened. Either way, I think you’ll be set tomorrow.”

  “Good. Can you tell where she went?”

  “I pulled up the footage from the gate. A cab picked her up and took her to a house in town. I checked out the family that lives there. They’re good people, have good jobs, and no criminal record.”

  “But what’s she doing with them? Do they have any kids her age?”

  “Not that I can see, but they do have kids that are younger. Maybe it’s a babysitting gig?”

  “Maybe.” I chewed on my lip as I thought about my next move. She did say that she wanted a job. Maybe she had already found one, though I wasn’t sure how she would do that when she didn’t ever leave the fucking property. “When did the cab drop her off?”

  “Seven o’clock.”

  “That was about a half hour after I left.”

  “Yep. I scrolled through the footage from the panic room. She was definitely biding her time until she left. She wandered into the kitchen and talked with Susan for a few minutes. She ran into Raegan and talked with her also, but the whole fucking time, she was nervous and kept glancing at her watch. She was getting ready to make a run for it. And then, Raegan must have suggested they do something, but Kayla ghosted her and just barely made it out of the panic room. Raegan was looking for her for a good ten minutes. She probably figured that Kayla went to bed.”

  “Shit. She’s getting awfully deceptive.”

  “Something going on we should know about?”

  “Fuck if I know.” I scrubbed a hand over my tired face and stifled a yawn. “I had no fucking clue that anything was going on until this morning when I caught her sneaking in. I didn’t handle it the best and I probably should have laid down the law, but I figured that she couldn’t do anything anyway.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, she fucked you over there.”

  “I know. Thanks, Rob.”

  “No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  I nodded and left the room, calling up Storm and Tony Tacos. It was time to go hunting.