Page 17 of Claws and Feathers

Abby looked down at her hands which were sticky from her donut. She began massaging the glaze on her fingertips into tiny balls. “I guess I’m just confused. Yesterday you come by, all ‘Miss Stone’ and ‘part of the job’, and now you’re here wanting to bond over donuts. What are your… intentions?” She looked up at him through timid eyelids, unsure of what she was actually asking him. And undoubtedly unsure of what she wanted his answer to be.

Cooper seemed to consider his response, his hands planting on his knees as he leaned forward. “My intentions are to keep you safe. I’m the officer on your case,” he told her. He hesitated, then caught her gaze. “But I’m also the man who rescued you. So… maybe I care a little more than I should. I’m just trying to find the balance.”

Abby’s posture relaxed as she drank in his words. She chewed on her inner cheek, processing what he’d told her. She had felt a connection to him, no doubt. How could she not be drawn to the man who literally carried her away from pure terror and evil? How could she notfeelsomething for the person who saved her life? It seemed Cooper might also be navigating through the complexity of their situation. It wasn’t black and white.

Nana Cecily used to tell her that all the time:“Life isn’t black and white, my child. It’s gray. It will always be gray. Remember that.”

“We’re gray.”

Cooper tilted his head in a way that was entirely charming. Curious eyes twinkled back at her. “Gray?” he wondered.

She shrugged her shoulders and began picking at her fingernails. “My grandmother used to say that life was always a balance. Nothing was ever black and white.”

“Cecily, right?”

Abby glanced up at him. “How did you know?”

“I know a lot about you,” Cooper said. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “That sounded extremely creepy. Sorry.”

“Part of the job?” she smiled.

“Yeah. I had to do a lot of digging when you were… missing,” he explained.

Abby realized Cooper probably knew far more about her than she was comfortable with. He likely knew all about her brother, her relationship with Jordan… the accident. She swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat. “Wow. Well, I guess now you know that my life has been a giant Shakespearean tragedy. You probably think I’m a total weirdo.”

His eyebrows furrowed in a thoughtful way. He was studying her again. Reading her. “Actually, I think you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

Abby’s heart constricted in her chest and her skin flushed with heat.Oh.His words hovered between them, heavy and thick. Potent. She swallowed again as the lump in her throat grew twice its size. “I – I should hop in the shower. I was going to explore the town with Daphne later after her shift at work.” Abby turned to walk away when she felt fingers wrap around her wrist, startling her. Like instinct, her body reacted, and she promptly spun around with her hand raised in defense.

Cooper caught her arm before it collided with him and Abby froze. Her breaths were coming hard and fast – it felt like her ribs might crack. She stood there in silence, her chest heaving with quiet anguish, equally confused and embarrassed. Cooper didn’t seem angry by her reaction. He didn’t seem the least bit frazzled. He continued to hold both of her wrists in each hand, his eyes soft and worried as they locked with hers. Her body instantly began to calm at his touch, and her defenses melted away.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. His tone was low, merely a whisper. “I should know better.”

Abby felt her heartbeat slow to a less alarming pace.God, what had she planned to do? Hit him? The fact was, she hadn’t planned anything at all; her body had simplyreacted. This was her new normal. Everything, and everyone, was a threat. As humiliation settled in, she pulled her arms from his grasp and took a step backwards. “I’m so sorry, Cooper. I’m just on edge. I didn’t mean…” She ran her fingers through the roots of her hair, linking them behind her neck. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You’re working through a trauma.”

“Yeah, but…” Abby bit down on her lower lip, closing her eyes to force back the tears. She hated crying. She hated being weak. “Thank you.”

Cooper stood from the stool, reaching for his coffee, and twirling the paper cup between his fingers. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

She felt the urge to hug him, to thank him for giving her grace. Instead, she nodded her head, unable to even look him in the eyes. She felt him sweep past her, his cedar scent lingering as the door closed shut. Abby breathed it in. It gave her peace.

Cooper headed into the station later that day after Daphne had returned home to whisk Abby into town on a shopping adventure. He’d called Kravitz to take over the evening watch so Cooper could go over the new surveillance footage with James.

They had a stolen van, a physical description of the suspect, and fingerprints they’d collected from the vehicle. They had a hell of a lot.

And yet, they hadnothing.

No sightings, no fingerprint matches in the database, and no witnesses coming forward. It was frustrating to say the least. The man who’d abducted Abby was not careful; he was sloppy. He’d made a public appearance at The Crow Bar, and had brought attention to himself by bailing on his tab. He’d stolen a company van in broad daylight. He’d left evidence behind.

The attack seemed spontaneous and unplanned. The perpetrator looked to have been running on adrenaline as opposed to logic.

Cooper sighed, nodding his head at Faye in greeting as he passed. He was beginning to think this was more than likely a crime of opportunity, as opposed to something more personal. He’d done his homework into Abby’s past, and while there was a great deal of heartache, there wasn’t anything that would lead him down a rabbit hole of violent suspects. Her parents were killed in a car accident twelve years ago, orphaning both Abby and her brother, Ryan. Their grandmother, Cecily Stone, gained custody of the siblings until Ryan moved out a year later.

Cooper had even spoken to Jordan Kline – Abby’s long-term love interest of fifteen years who’d been caught cheating with the young neighbor girl. While he was a skeevy son-of-a-bitch, he was not their guy. Description alone ruled him out, along with his alibi of being over four-hundred miles away. And the idea of Jordan hiring a hitman simply did not fit. He had zero motive.

All they had right now was the van and that surveillance footage. The suspect had stolen the van out of the parking lot of a packaging supply company called Kristoff’s in Ashland. Their video recordings had just come in. Cooper was desperate to have even the smallest lead. A breadcrumb. Abby’s kidnapper was still out there, and she wasn’t safe until he was behind bars.

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