Page 40 of Claws and Feathers

Hewasa rat, but that wasn’t why Cooper was rattled.

No, he was rattled because what Henry had said was true.

A few minutes later, the group had piled into James’ SUV and were making the short trek back to drop off Abby, then take Kate and Cooper back to Kate’s house. Kate sat in the passenger seat, while Abby and Cooper sat beside each other in the back. There was only an armrest between them, but it felt like an entire continent. Abby was staring out the window in silence.

Cooper pressed his luck. “Did you have a good time?” he asked her.

Abby glanced at him with a small smile that quickly faded. “Sure.”

Cooper was happy she wasn’t ignoring him, but it was likely only to save them all from an incredibly awkward car ride. “Good. I’m glad you came out.”

They settled into silence while Cooper’s Fireball-infused brain tried to conjure up something else to say. He was desperate for her tonothate him – at least until he had a chance to explain himself. But before he could say anything else, Abby screamed.

“Look out!” she shouted, sitting up straight, her voice laced with sheer panic.

James slammed on the brakes and swerved off to the side of the road. “What? What is it?”

Cooper unbuckled his belt and slid across the seat to where Abby was practically hyperventilating. “Jesus, Abby. What happened?”

“Y – You didn’t see that? The animal?” she croaked out.

Kate twisted back in her seat. “I didn’t see shit. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Abby raised her hands to her heart to calm her frantic breaths. “I’m so sorry. I must have dozed off. I have these vivid nightmares, and sometimes I think they’re real, and…” Her voice trailed off. “God, I’m sorry.”

Cooper reached out to hold her, but she held out a hand in protest. “I’m fine.” She looked at him, her eyes firm and poignant. “Thanks.”

James put the car back in drive and soon they were pulling into Daphne’s driveway. Abby was halfway out the door before they were even stopped.

“Hey, wait,” Cooper said.

She faltered, then caught his gaze before closing the door.

“Do you want me to stay with you? I can crash on the couch again.”

Abby didn’t even hesitate. “No, I’ll be okay. Daphne’s home tonight.” She glanced at James and Kate, offering them a smile. “Goodnight.”

The door slammed shut and she was gone.

Cooper sat in his patrol car the following day, nursing a hangover and a headache from hell. He was on traffic duty, parked in his usual spot on the main drag, sipping a coffee and waiting for the inevitable speeder to force him to turn his lights on. He hated sitting in a speed trap all day, but the town had been quiet, and there wasn’t much else to work on that day.

After all, Abby’s case was colder than the shoulder she had given him the night before.

Cooper sighed miserably. They couldn’t decipher the sedan’s license plate from the surveillance footage from Kristoff’s, so the vehicle was a dead end for now. It was too grainy – too blurry. The phone calls coming in with possible sightings had trickled down to almost none. There still hadn’t been any hits in the database matching his fingerprints either. It was basically a waiting game until they generated new leads, or until a witness came forward.

Cooper hated waiting.

He glanced over to the opposite side of the road. He was practically walking distance to the location where the van had been discovered. WhereAbbyhad been discovered.

A sensation came over Cooper, and he decided to revisit the scene. He hadn’t been there since that day when the van was taken into evidence and the crime scene had been analyzed. Maybe he just needed to put himself back in that ravine. Maybe he needed to smell the air and feel his shoes sink into the soggy earth. Cooper wasted no time in pulling out onto the road and traveling the short distance to the familiar wetlands. He parked on a nearby dirt road and stepped out into the overgrown grass and weeds. He let the warm air coast across his face, encouraging it to tell him its secrets. What did it know that he didn’t? What had it seen?

It did not indulge him. It did not whisper any answers into his ears.

Cooper traipsed through thickets and brush as the blades danced across his pant legs. His eyes scoured the undergrowth for things the summer air refused to tell him. He thought about Abby during those two weeks of torture and isolation. He thought about how far she’d come – how much progress she had made in such a short amount of time.

He thought about how she had felt pressed up against him as they’d swayed to a song that would never be far from his mind. Cooper wasn’t sure what his intentions had been last night, nor what might have happened had Henry not soured the mood, but there was no doubt that Cooper was feeling something for Abigail Stone. It wasn’t right, and he knew he was walking a very thin line, butdamnit, she was impossible to ignore. And the increasing feelings that were developing were also becoming impossible to ignore.

Cooper looked up at the sky, begging for answers.

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