Page 33 of Copper

I get up from his lap, and my legs shake a little as I stand. Aaron reaches out and catches me while pulling himself up. Once I’m steady, we head up to my room in silence, and Aaron watches as I pack two rolling suitcases, throwing everything in without thought to season or practicality. Packing at three in the morning isn’t exactly well thought out.

Aaron helps by finding a small cosmetics case and going into my attached bathroom and packing my toothbrush, toothpaste, basic makeup, and moisturizer. While he does that, I go down to my small desk and grab my important documents. May as well take those so nobody steals them.

Once we’re all packed, we silently load the car. It’s only when we’re safe in Aaron’s police cruiser and the sun is rising over the horizon that we speak, but it’s only small talk until we reach his house.

I’ve never been to Aaron’s house, but tears sting my eyes when I see it. It rises up from the perfect yard, a fortress of safety and normalcy in the middle of my life tornado. It’s a two-story, modest colonial with a picket fence around the backyard. When I walk through the door, a golden retriever mix greets me at the door, wagging its tail and barking at Aaron to bend down and pet him. “This is Mickey,” he says. “He’s extra, but you’ll learn to love him. You OK with dogs?”

I smile at the friendly animal. “I love dogs. My parents didn’t allow pets, and Beck hated them.” I look at the ceiling and think. “Probably because dogs could sense he was a shitty human.”

“Dogs are good that way. Mickey seems to like you, though.” The dog rolls over, begging for me to rub his belly, and I happily oblige. “You must be a good person.”

Aaron leads me upstairs to a guest room as Mickey tags along behind us, his head never far from Aaron’s palm. Aaron sets my things in a corner and looks around the room like he’s seeing it for the first time as Mickey jumps on the bed, making himself at home. I feel safer already.

I eye the bed and admire that Aaron’s guest bed looks more comfortable than my actual mattress at home. “Will you stay with me tonight?” I ask.

Aaron checks his watch. “Do you mean this morning?”

“You haven’t slept. Do you have to be at work soon?”

“Nine.”

I walk to the bed and pull down the sweatpants I hastily threw on before we left. Kicking them aside, I crawl into the cool sheets and rest my head on a pillow. “Just be here with me for a few minutes.”

Aaron silently kicks his shoes off and climbs under the covers. I curl into his chest as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him.

Maybe we’re just exhausted. Maybe we’ve missed this. Maybe the rhythm of Aaron’s heartbeat lulls me into a relaxed state. Whatever the reason, I fall asleep in Aaron Dwyer’s arms as he softly breathes against my hair in his own sleep.

Chapter 15

Aaron

“MurphyBeckettisthecommon denominator, but we need something firmer than a membership card and a bank transaction,” I say, putting my feet on Coleson’s desk like it’s mine.

He doesn’t wave me away, but he looks at my shoes like they’re insects. I don’t move my feet, though. I’m so exhausted that I could close my eyes and be in dreamland in under a minute. Coleson must understand because he stands and walks to the small coffee maker in his office. He quickly fills the water and adds grounds.

“I’ve been through everything,” he says, going back to his desk and tapping his fingers as the smell of coffee fills the room. Just the smell perks me up a little. “I can’t make something appear from thin air.”

I crane my neck to look behind me where Mitchell sits in a folding chair against the wall. He looks as tired as I feel. Did he have a long night, too? He looks twitchy today, and it annoys me for some reason. Maybe it’s because I worked all day yesterday, packed up my children, drove two hours to Cynthia’s mother’s, drove back, and spent an hour of restless sleep with Lucy in my arms, but I want to punch Mitchell’s face. Does he really know worry and exhaustion?

I slept with Lucy in my arms for a good hour but woke when I heard something outside. It was probably the neighbor’s dog, but my protective instinct kicked in, and I pulled Lucy tighter to me. Then, I had other ideas. Filthy ideas. They kept me up until it was time to get ready for work, needling me as she was so close to my body, but I couldn’t do what I want with her. I can’t remember the last time I had such a frustrating erection – probably when we dated before and were only at the hand job stage of our relationship.

“Any ideas from the peanut gallery?” I ask, directing my question to Mitchell. I wouldn’t normally ask his opinion for shit, but I’m also out of ideas.

Mitchell bites his lip and looks out of Coleson’s window. “Dunno, boss. Maybe it’s easier than what we’re making it out to be.”

I sit up in my seat, interested to hear what Mitchell is suggesting. Coleson hands me a mug of coffee. “What do you mean? This is a hard case.”

Mitchell takes a breath like he’s going to recite a long Shakespearean monologue, and then promptly closes his mouth again. Is he afraid to voice his opinion at work? Does he know something about this case? Whatever it is, silence won’t get you far in police work.

I take a drink of the bitter coffee and shake my head a bit to wake up. “Out with it. If you have an idea, you should share it, Deputy, or you’ll never move up the ladder.”

“Yes, sir. It’s just…have we looked at the club?”

“The club?”

“The strip club that, well, the one Lucy works at.”

I glare at Mitchell, and he practically shrinks into the wall. “Lucy has nothing to do with this investigation. She’s told me Murphy runs drugs through there and threatens the women. What does that have to do with Todd Daniels? Murphy is her cousin by marriage, and she stays far away. That’s the extent of Lucy’s involvement.”

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