Cooper

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Whatever it is, just tell me.”

  “I don’t want to go to school. Not yet, I mean. I want to start a training school in town.”

  “Who would be teaching the classes?”

  “You and everyone else at Reed Security.”

  I raised my eyebrows in shock. That wasn’t asking for a whole lot. “Kayla-”

  “Just hear me out.” I nodded and let her finish. “I was lucky. I had already had training. I was able to think through what was happening and fight back, but there are a lot of girls and women that don’t have that type of training and would never stand a chance. And I don’t think it’s right that you can only take these classes if you can afford them. That leaves a lot of women and girls vulnerable. And let’s face it, it’s mostly the girls like me, that are too rebellious and think they’re invincible. If they have the training, they could get away or better yet, learn to be more responsible and know what it’s like to be put in that situation before it actually happens. And I know it’s a lot to ask of Reed Security, but it would be a community program and there are all sorts of tax breaks that would benefit the company-”

  “Kayla,” I interrupted. “It’s a good idea. I’ll talk with Cap.”

  “You will?”

  “Of course. I like that you want to do this. And if you decide you want to go to school, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’m sure for now Cap would like help getting it organized, if he accepts.”

  Her eyes brightened and she almost jumped up. “Do you think he will?”

  It didn’t matter if he did or not. I would make sure this happened for Kayla, even if I had to pay for it with my own damn money and be the only one to do the training.

  “I’m sure he will. I’m gonna head to the hospital, but I’ll let you know what he says.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  She gave me a big hug and then stepped back, looking at me like she did when she was little, when I was her whole world. Something had mended between us and I was damn lucky for that. This could have all turned out so differently, but I was getting my daughter back, and learning to be a better father because of it. Now I just had to get Becky back and my family would be whole.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Becky

  I waited all day for Coop to show up in my room, but he never did. Lola stopped by, telling me that the guys were busy with something at work. She tried to distract me by telling me about how she was due to pop any day now. But I knew that she was just avoiding talking to me about everything else that was going on. It felt like they were hiding something from me, but I wasn’t sure what. The remnants of my dream haunted me all throughout the day, and when I did manage to sleep, I woke up terrified by those eyes.

  Now it was nighttime again and I was alone. Was Coop giving up? Had I ruined everything by not talking to him when I had the chance? I had asked Cap if Coop was coming by today, but he just shrugged and said that he was busy with something. I hated to think it, but I was in the hospital. Wasn’t I more important than whatever case he was working on? I was alone and scared in the hospital and he was running around playing with guns.

  I was finally able to fall asleep later, but my dreams were filled with those terrifying eyes.

  “Please,” I begged, but he didn’t listen. He shoved the knife in again, tearing my insides apart.

  I woke slowly, still trying to pull myself out of my dream when I heard two low voices somewhere in the room. I stayed silent, hoping to hear whatever was being said.

  “You should just go home. We have people here watching her. She’s safe.”

  “No. I promised her I wouldn’t leave. I stepped out last night for fifteen minutes and she woke up terrified. I wasn’t there for her.”

  “You need sleep. You’ve been here every single night with her and you’re killing yourself during the day to find her attacker. You’re not gonna be able to protect her if you can’t stay awake.”

  “You don’t fucking get it. She fucking pleaded with me not to leave her when she was dying. And now she’s having nightmares about that night. I need to be here with her. I won’t leave her again.”

  “Fine, but at some point you have to actually go to sleep.”

  “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

  I heard footsteps across the room and feigned sleep. My heart thundered in my chest as I heard a heavy weight in the chair next to me. He was staying. He had been here every night with me. And he was here last night, just not when I woke up. Tears burned behind my eyelids as I realized what a shit I was being. He was practically killing himself to stay with me because he didn’t want me to wake up alone. If he hadn’t proven himself to me already, I wasn’t sure there was much more he could do. I knew he loved me, so why did I keep pushing him away? Because I was an idiot. He had made a mistake, just like I had. He had been reacting to his daughter, and I was reacting to the hurt he caused. It was a vicious cycle that we would never break if we didn’t just let it all go.

  I opened my eyes and sat up to talk to him, but he was sleeping. Sighing, I laid back down and groaned when I put too much pressure on my injured hand.

  “What’s wrong?” Coop was out of his chair and by my side in a flash, his eyes flashing all over my body to see what the problem was.

  “I’m okay. I just put pressure on my hand.”

  He strode around to the other side of the bed and picked up my hand, gently examining it. When he was satisfied that I wasn’t bleeding out, he set it back down and turned his gaze on me.

  “You weren’t here today,” I said after a minute.

  “I wanted to give you space.”

  “But you come back here at night.”

  He shrugged slightly. “I couldn’t leave you.”

  I held out my hand for him and he took it, but when I tried tugging him down on the bed with me, he hesitated.

  “You need sleep.”

  “You need it more.”

  “I’ll sleep better if you’re beside me,” I admitted.

  He looked like he didn’t believe me, but I didn’t care. I would sleep squished up against his chest if it meant I could finally escape the evil in my dreams. He laid down beside me and I turned as best I could, ignoring the pain all over my body as I rested into his chest. I laid my injured hand on his chest and sighed when his hand started rubbing soothingly up and down my back. This was all I needed.

  “I’m sorry,” I heard him whisper.

  “Me too.”

  My eyes started to droop as he continued the lazy path up and down my back.

  “I can’t lose you again, Becky. I’ll spend the rest of my fucking life making it up to you.”

  “I don’t need you to make it up to me. I just need you here beside me.”

  “Always. I’ll never leave your fucking side again.”

  I chuckled slightly at the vehemence in his voice. “Well, you’ll have to at some point.”

  “Nope. I’ll just tell Cap that I quit. I’ll work in the IT room with you for the rest of my life.”

  I stiffened at his mention of the IT room. “Coop, I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. You just have to work up to getting back there.”

  “You don’t understand. First, with Kayla, and then what happened at the house…He said that it was because I put up the cameras. If I hadn’t done that, Delaney would still be alive.”

  “Hey, you don’t know that. He was psychotic. He would have snapped eventually, and it could have still happened, or it could have been a lot worse. What if it had been a kid?”

  I shuddered, thinking about a kid going through what I had. I was an adult. I was better equipped to deal with my trauma than a kid.

  “We’ll work up to it. Besides, you still have a long road to recovery ahead of you. We’ll take it one day at a time, and when you’re ready, you’ll know.”

  “What if I’m never ready?”

  He shifted and looked down at me. “Then I’ll keep you trapped in bed all day with me.”r />
  I shook my head at his lack of a serious answer, but the truth was, neither of us knew what would happen. He was right. We just had to take it a day at a time. I drifted off after that and woke again when Cap walked into my room sometime the next morning.

  “Aww, see, I knew you two would work shit out,” Cap said with a grin, sitting down on the other side of the bed. “How’s sleeping beauty?”

  I glanced up at Coop, but he was still out of it. He must be worn out after watching out for me night after night.

  “Any chance I’ll be getting out of here soon?”

  He nodded. “The doctor said that he wanted to run a few more tests, but then if everything is good, you can go home.”

  “Shit. Where am I going to go? They haven’t released the house as a crime scene yet, have they?”

  “No, but would you really want to go back there?”

  “No,” I admitted. “I don’t think I could ever go in there again. I don’t even want my stuff. It all feels tainted.”

  “You’ll stay with me,” Coop grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.

  “I’ll stay with you?” It sounded like I was questioning his motives, but what I was really questioning was the longevity of his offer. He had made similar offers before, but it was always implied that it was short term.

  He finally opened his eyes and stared me down. “You’re mine for good. You, me, and Kayla are going to be a family. And families live together.”

  “But what about when I get better? I mean, shouldn’t I start looking for an apartment or something?”

  He growled and narrowed his eyes at me. The hand on my back pushed me toward him until I was trapped against his body. “Did you not just hear me say that we’re a family? That means you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life. There’s no moving out into an apartment or finding your own house. When you decide that you don’t want to live in the panic room anymore, we’ll build a house on the property. Am I making myself clear?”

  I nodded jerkily. I was a little shocked, but as if Coop wasn’t sure he was clear, he pulled me up to his lips and smashed his down on them. He didn’t press for a long kiss, but kissed me several more times before releasing me and rearranging me on the bed so I would be more comfortable.

  The door opened and Sean strolled through, but I got the feeling that this was not a friendly visit.

  “Hey, Becky. How are you?”

  “Fine. What’s going on?”

  He grinned and stood at the foot of my bed. “I came to talk to you about what happened.”

  “Sean,” Coop warned.

  “No,” I cut it. “It’s fine. Did you catch him?”

  “No. We don’t have any solid leads right now. Cap told us about your suspicions, so we went through your computer and searched through the feed, but whoever this guy is, he’s smart. Did you get a good look at him?”

  Flashes of his evil eyes filled my brain, but that’s all I saw. I knew that I had seen his whole face, but for some reason, I just couldn’t see the rest of it.

  “Hey, you’re okay.”

  Coop was leaning over me, whispering in my ear as his hand rubbed mine. My heart was racing out of control and he must have known that I needed him. I nodded to him and he brushed another kiss over my cheek before sitting back down.

  “I saw him. I know that I saw him and I knew who he was, but I can only see his eyes right now. It’s like…he’s blocked in my brain or something.”

  “Sometimes that happens with victims,” Sean said. “Your brain is protecting you from the trauma.”

  That made sense, but I wanted to know. Because if I could tell Sean who it was, he could capture him and get him off the streets. I would be safe.

  “Does he know that I’m alive?”

  “Most likely,” Sean said. “But Sebastian has teams posted all around the hospital. You’re safe.”

  “But for how long? Once I leave here-”

  “We already talked about this,” Coop cut in. “You’re not leaving my side ever again.”

  Sean pulled out his phone. “I have some pictures Delaney took with her phone. I’m not sure it’ll tell you much, but…they’re very graphic. I can show you some of the ones that just show him.”

  “No. Absolutely not,” Coop said, standing in front of me, like he could protect me. “You’re not showing her that shit.”

  “It could help us catch him,” Sean said apologetically. “If you’re not ready, we’ll just keep working.”

  “But it could help.” I took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s do this. It might help me remember.”

  He nodded and brought his phone over, pulling up some images. Coop stepped aside, but didn’t let go of my hand. The first image I saw was a hand, but it didn’t show anything else. The next was a shot of his chest and he was holding the bloodied knife.

  Oh God. Delaney was on the floor, laying in blood. She was dead, I was sure of it. I walked closer to her, even though I knew that I shouldn’t. I should call for help. I spun around and felt the sharp stab in my stomach. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever felt. A knife handle protruded from my stomach and there was that hand, smooth and manicured.

  My heart thundered loudly in my ears, pumping out an erratic rhythm that set my nerves on edge.

  Thump-thump.

  My eyes lifted, slowly trailing up his chest. My heart thudded out of control. In just seconds, I would see who this was that had taken my friend from me, that was trying to kill me.

  Thump-thump-thump.

  I saw his shirt, black and opened at the top, just enough to let his chest hair peek through the top.

  Thump-thump.

  His lips were thinned in anger. His jaw clenched tight, like I had done something wrong.

  Thump-thump-thump.

  His evil eyes stared back at me through his glasses. It was him.

  My heart thundered out of control as he tore the knife from my stomach and grinned maniacally, lifting the knife to sniff at my blood. Oh God. I was going to die.

  “You’re okay,” Coop said soothingly in my ear. “You’re fine. He can’t get you.”

  He was sitting on the bed with me and I was wrapped in his arms. It hurt to sit in this position, but with his arms wrapped around me, I felt safe as the remnants of whatever that was wore off. And then I remembered.

  “It was my neighbor. The one on the left. He was there in the house with me. He was the one that told me that my car was in his driveway. Why would he do that? Why would he try and kill me?” I yelled hysterically. Sean left the room immediately, and Coop continued to try and calm me down. Cap was on the phone, handing out orders to whoever was on the other end; I assumed the teams he had posted around the hospital.

  I sat there shaking in Coop’s arms, terrified from what I saw. It didn’t matter that it was over. In my mind, it would play over and over again. But with Coop, that terror faded and all I felt was the warmth and strength of his arms. There was no place else I would rather be. He was my safety and my protector.

  “Did this guy ever talk to you before?”

  I shook my head. “No, I didn’t really know anyone in the neighborhood. Just passing hellos.”

  “What about friends or family? Did anyone ever stop by?”

  “Coop, I don’t know. I never really paid attention.”

  Cap hung up and turned to me. “Did he say anything that morning he asked you to move his car? Anything that could help the police?”

  I shook my head as I thought back. “He…he gave me a funny look when I told him I would have to check my security footage.”

  Coop and Cap exchanged a look, and Coop gritted his teeth. “That’s why he was staying away from you. When he found out you had a security system, he knew that he couldn’t go near you without risking getting caught.”

  “And when he realized you had a security system, he became more careful, targeting only homes that were more vulnerable.”

  “But then I put the target on myself when
I set up those cameras around the neighborhood. He told me that was the reason,” I laughed humorlessly. “Delaney would still be alive if I hadn’t done that.”

  “You don’t know that,” Cap insisted. “He was escalating. He might have attacked anyone in the neighborhood.”

  “He went after me. But if he knew that I had a security system, how….” I shook my head, trying to understand it all.

  “He hacked into your system on your computer,” Cap said regretfully. “He was able to loop the cameras in your house. That’s how he went undetected.”

  I huffed out a humorless laugh. “Hacked into my own feed. Aren’t you glad that you got rid of me now?”

  “Becky, the only reason he was able to hack your feed was because you weren’t working,” Coop said. “If you had been working, if…” I could see the pain on his face. He was thinking if he hadn’t pushed me away, I might still be working. I would have caught on to what was happening.

  “It still might have happened,” Cap cut into my thoughts. “You can’t play the what if game. You’ll never win. And if anything, this just shows how much you still need to work.”

  “Cap, I can’t. I’m not sure I want to.”

  “That’s just how you’re feeling right now. You need to give all of this time to settle,” Cap said, brushing off my hesitation. “Besides, you still have months of recovery ahead of you, and that’s plenty of time for me to find something to peak your interest.”

  “And get me my bonus,” Coop added.

  “Your bonus?” I questioned.

  “When I first started, Cap offered me a bonus if I could get you to stay.”

  “Which you failed at,” Cap pointed out.

  “But I’m bringing her back now. Besides, there were never any guidelines for the timeline.”

  “It was implied that you wouldn’t let her leave.”

  “Should I be offended that you came after me because my boss asked you to?”

  Coop shrugged. “Be offended if you want. Doesn’t change the fact that I wanted you from the moment I saw you.”