Page 73 of Claws and Feathers

Cooper took a seat next to her on the couch. Abby stared straight ahead, having little reaction to his proximity.Dammit.He refused to let her start slipping away. Not now. Not after everything they had been through. Not after last night.

Not ever.

He took her face in his hands and forced her eyes on his. “It was just a prank,” he told her. “A sick prank from a sick individual. Marky is going to jail. I promise you that.”

Abby blinked – once, twice. She blinked until a spark returned to her eyes.

Then it faded as quickly as it had come.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she said solemnly.

Abby rose from the couch, pulling away from his touch, and Cooper followed suit. “Abby, wait.” She faltered. There was an eerie silence that wrapped itself around them, and Cooper felt a chill seep into his skin. “Talk to me.”

She hesitated, then turned around, her hair flying over her shoulder like a dramatic prelude to her words. “It’s never going to be over, Cooper.”

Her voice cracked, and Cooper felt a hint of relief at the sound – emotion.Life. “It will be,” he replied. “I swear to you Iwillfind him. Hewillpay for what he did.”

“It’s not enough.” She shook her head, tears beginning to swell. “It’s not enough.”

Cooper stepped towards her, but she stepped back. He frowned, hurt by her dismissal. “Abby…”

“Why are you doing this? Why do you want to help me?”

Why?What an absurd question. “I thought it was obvious.”

“You’ll eventually stop trying to help.” Abby lowered her eyes as the tears began to fall. “My heart is too heavy. You’ll grow tired of carrying its weight.”

“Stop it. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You say that now…”

Cooper grit his teeth in frustration. “I care about you.”

“Why?” she demanded. Her emotions flared, her eyes back on his, and her fists balled up at her sides. “Why do youcare?”

“Because I’m falling in love with you, goddammit!” Cooper broke, his chest heaving, his own emotions soaring to the surface. He froze as he realized what he’d just admitted. He hadn’t even admitted it to himself –fuck. Oh, but it was true. It was real. It was happening. “I’m falling in love with you and thatterrifiesme.”

Abby fell silent. She stared at him, speechless, possibly in shock, but mostly in wonder. Cooper was confident her reaction was reflecting right back at her through his eyes. He swallowed, awaiting her response.

She moved towards him, her gaze never leaving his. She was about to speak. She was about to put him out of his damn misery by breaking the thick haze of silence that had swallowed them up.

But his phone rang.

Shit.

They both flinched at the intrusion. Cooper tried to ignore its incessant pings, but he knew it could be work calling, so he fished through his pocket and pulled it out. He didn’t recognize the number, but something about the area code was familiar. He felt compelled to answer it, despite having just spilled his guts to Abigail Stone – despite having just placed his bleeding heart into her fragile hands.

Cooper exhaled a heavy sigh, glancing between her and the phone. “I’m sorry, I have to answer this. I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t wait for her response. He clicked accept as he moved quickly out of the living room and slipped out the front door. “McAllister,” he answered.

“Uh, hi. I’m returning your call,” said an unfamiliar male voice on the other end. “This is Ryan Stone. You left me a message concerning my sister, Abigail.”

Cooper stilled, his feet sticking to Abby’s welcome mat on her front porch. He had not expected to hear back from Abby’s brother. Cooper was caught off guard, so he wracked his brain for a reply that wouldn’t scare the man away. “Yes, hi,” Cooper said. “I appreciate you getting back to me. I just had some questions I was hoping you could answer.”

Ryan paused on the other line. “I wasn’t going to call you back,” he said wearily. “I wanted to stay out of it, but something came up.”

Cooper felt a tingle. Abuzz. That feeling he got when he knew, he justknew, he was moving in the right direction. There was about to be a break.

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