Retribution

by K. A. Robinson

  He looked up at me. “Where did you find this?”

  I looked away. “I’ve been keeping things from you, Cooper—a lot of things. I’m sorry for that, but I wanted to see what I could find before involving you.”

  “Like what?” His voice sounded guarded now, and the tiny smile was just a distant memory.

  “I went to the storage unit without telling you. I didn’t find much there, except for that album and a couple of other things.” I picked up the divorce papers and the will. “I found Robert’s will first. You’ll be surprised to know that he plans to leave everything to you. I also found the divorce papers Marie planned to file. He had them hidden in old luggage. I couldn’t figure out why he had hidden those, but it finally clicked. He never should have known about the divorce to begin with.”

  “Why are you just now telling me this?” Cooper asked as he looked through the papers.

  “I didn’t want this to be another disappointment to you. I wanted to find something solid before I involved you.”

  “And did you?”

  I gave him a weak smile. “Sort of. When I realized that the only way Robert could have those divorce papers was through Marie’s lawyer, I paid him a visit.”

  “You went to Virginia?” He seemed surprised.

  I nodded. “That’s where I went today—to the lawyer’s office.”

  “And what did you find out?” Cooper’s voice was cautious. He obviously wanted me to have found something, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

  “Rather than tell you, you should just listen for yourself.” I picked up my phone and pulled up the audio files. “I want you to listen to them all before you question me.”

  I pushed play. Mr. Peters began speaking. When Marie’s voice filled the room, Cooper froze.

  “Mom,” he whispered.

  I handed my phone to him and moved to the computer chair to sit down. Listening to Marie had been hard enough for me. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Cooper.

  To give him privacy, I turned away. He deserved that and so much more. I knew the things Marie had said were going to tear him apart. I waited patiently as the conversations between Mr. Peters and Marie filled the room. I blocked them out—or at least, I tried. I didn’t think I could handle listening to Marie’s voice talk about the way Robert had abused her without losing my mind from rage.

  When Cooper listened to the fourth recording, where Marie had spoken so highly of him, I glanced back at him. He had tears in his eyes.

  Once the recordings were finished, I waited a few minutes before standing and walking over to Cooper. I took my phone from his hand and tossed it back into my purse before sitting down next to him.

  “Coop?” I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He shook his head. My heart hurt as I noticed the devastated look on his face.

  “I’m the furthest thing from okay. I knew my father was a bastard, but to hear what he had done straight from my mother’s own mouth…it’s almost too much to take.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have let you listen to them.”

  “No! I needed to hear all of it.” He laughed humorlessly. “I didn’t think I could hate him any more than I did, but it looks like I was wrong.”

  “I hate him, too,” I said quietly.

  “But they didn’t explain how my father found out about the divorce,” he pointed out.

  “It was her lawyer. Your father had Marie followed. When he found out where she had gone, he paid Mr. Peters a visit to find out what was going on. He threatened Mr. Peters enough that he caved and told Robert what Marie had planned.”

  “Then, he’s just as guilty as my father. Mr. Peters is the reason she’s dead!” Cooper’s voice was full of fury.

  “In a way, yes,” I said. “He was scared though, so you can’t hold him completely accountable.”

  “The hell I can’t!” Cooper said. “He knows as well as we do that it’s my father’s fault. My mother had everything planned, so she would be safe, and he took that from her. When I turn these in to the police, I plan to mention that scumbag as well. He can rot with my father.”

  I stilled. “What do you mean? We can’t turn these in.”

  He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Of course we can. Did you hear everything my mother said? She all but predicted her own death!”

  “She did, but there’s no proof that Robert actually killed her. All this will do is start an investigation that Robert will have dismissed in no time at all. There’s not enough evidence.”

  “If her lawyer will testify that my father found out about the divorce before it was filed, that will help. Add in everything my mother said on those recordings, and a jury would have to be full of idiots not to find him guilty.”

  “Those tapes and the bruises on my body prove that he’s abusive, but that’s all. The rest is circumstantial. The only way we could prove that Robert had Marie killed would be to find whoever he hired. That will be impossible. Besides, it’s too dangerous. Even you have to realize that.”

  “And what do you propose we do then?”

  I bit my lip as I tried to think of a way to say the truth without sending Cooper into a fit of rage. I came up with absolutely nothing.

  “It’s time to let it go, Cooper. We both know the truth, but that’s as far as this can go. If you try to turn your father in with what we have, he’ll walk, and you’ll become his next target.”

  “You expect me to just let this go now that I have the proof I need? You’re out of your mind, Claire.”

  “He’ll kill you for this!” I shouted, losing my cool. “He’ll kill you, and I’ll be all alone with a murderer!”

  “If he kills me, then so be it, but I won’t let this go. I can’t.”

  “Do you really think your mother would want you to die trying to prove that Robert was the one responsible for her death? We both heard her on those tapes. I know how proud she was of you and how much she loved you. She would strangle you herself if she knew what you were trying to do now. You know that’s the truth, too.”

  Cooper’s entire body slumped. “I know it’s the truth, but it doesn’t change anything. I can’t just let him keep living his perfect little life. I have to expose him for the monster that he is. The world should know just what hides behind that mask of his.”

  “They should know, and maybe one day, they will. Today isn’t that day though. Please just think this through before you decide to go after him.”

  Cooper’s shoulders started to shake, and I realized that he was crying. I pulled him to me and tightly held him as his grief took control. Cooper had always been the strongest person I’d ever met. It crushed my soul to see him break down, but I knew that he needed this. He needed to grieve for his mother. He’d pushed his grief away, turning it into anger, for far too long. It had slowly consumed him.

  “She’s all I have. I can’t just let this go,” he said as his tears soaked my shirt.

  “She’s not—not anymore. You have me, Cooper. I care about you. I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you,” I whispered as I ran my hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him the only way I could.

  “If I let this go, it’s like I don’t care about what happened to her,” he said as he pulled away.

  “We both know that isn’t the truth. You care about her, Cooper. You care so much that it breaks you apart inside.”

  He rested his head in his hands. I continued to gently rub his back as the room filled with silence. Cooper’s pain and anger surrounded us like an ominous cloud, pushing against us on all sides, suffocating us. I wanted to say something, anything, to make this whole situation better, but I knew it would be pointless. There was nothing that either of us could do that would make anything better.

  “Cooper, look at me,” I said after a while. When he didn’t move, I pulled his hands away from his face. “Look at me.”

  He slowly turned his head. I winced when I saw how
dead his eyes were. The man sitting next to me was a hollow comparison to the man I had slowly fallen in love with.

  I love him.

  I finally understood that was the truth. The realization didn’t scare me like I’d thought it would though. To finally admit it to myself was freeing in so many ways.

  “I love you, Cooper. I know that doesn’t make any of this better, but it’s the truth. Please don’t do anything that will take you away from me.”

  We’ll be forced apart soon enough, I thought.

  I couldn’t tell him that though. If he knew my plans to run, he’d try to stop me. I would probably let him. It was stupid and reckless, and it would probably end up with both of us getting hurt, but I knew I would cave if he tried to keep me here with him. Love had made me stupid, yet I couldn’t regret falling for Cooper.

  He stared at me for a moment before he stood. Without a word, he reached down and scooped me off the bed. I wanted to ask what he was doing, but I stopped myself. Wherever Cooper wanted to take me, I would go. The man holding me had kept me together more times than I cared to think about. He’d helped me grow into the person I was now. I wasn’t weak or naive anymore. I was stronger now than I ever had been in my entire life. The old Claire never would’ve had the courage to go after Robert. She would have hidden away and hoped that things would get better on their own.

  I was strong. And that was because of Cooper.

  He carried me from the foot of the bed to the side and lowered me back onto it. Without a word, he unsnapped my pants and pulled them down my legs. I raised my hips to help him. Once they were gone, he started working on my shirt. Less than a minute later, I lay completely bare before him.

  He stared into my eyes as he pulled his own pants and shirt off. His boxers slid down his legs a second before he joined me on the bed.

  “Kiss me, Claire. Make me forget every fucked-up thing in this world.”

  Tears filled my eyes as I rolled on top of him and did as he’d asked. I kissed him. Our lips met, and I concentrated on only the here and now as my tongue slipped into Cooper’s mouth. I moved to kiss the corner of his mouth and then his jaw. With each tiny kiss, I felt Cooper’s body come alive with want. I closed my eyes as I moved lower to his neck and then his chest. My fingers explored his skin right along with my mouth as I moved lower and lower.

  When I reached his hip bones, I kissed each side softly. Cooper’s body tensed just before he grabbed me and pulled me back up his body. He rolled me onto my back and lifted his body so that he hovered over me. His eyes never left mine as he slowly entered me.

  My fingers dug into his arms as I felt him fill me. He was so gentle, so sweet, that my tears finally escaped. They ran down the sides of my face before he reached up and wiped them away.

  “I love you, too.”

  I clung to him as his body started rhythmically thrusting in and out of me. His strokes were slow and gentle at first before he started moving faster. I wrapped my legs around him as I begged him to go faster.

  The friction between us grew until I felt that I couldn’t take any more.

  Still, I clung to him.

  I clung to him like I was dying, and he was my only salvation. Maybe he was.

  Some people entered our lives and filled it with nothing but lies and hate. The destruction they left in their wake would be catastrophic. Robert was one of those people.

  Cooper was not. He filled a void that I hadn’t even known about. He made me crave life and the joys it could be filled with. He made me want impossible things. That didn’t matter to me though. I still wanted them. I wanted him. He was everything to me, and I knew the love I felt for him was something rare, something to be cherished.

  Cooper’s breath became ragged as he fought for control. I released my grip on his arms, only to cup his face.

  “Let go,” I whispered. “Just let it go.”

  He drew back and slammed into me one final time. We both let go.

  I woke up disoriented. It took me a moment to realize that I was still in Cooper’s room. I was naked with only the sheets covering me, and Cooper’s legs were tangled around mine. I sat straight up when I realized that Cooper’s bedroom was bright with sunlight.

  “Shit! Cooper, wake up!” I said as I shoved on his shoulder.

  He mumbled something before rolling away from me. I groaned as I shoved him a few more times.

  Finally, he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. “What’s wrong?” He groaned.

  “It’s morning! We fell asleep in your bed!”

  “So?” he asked, still half asleep.

  “Ellie could already be here, or worse, your dad could come home soon!”

  That woke him right up. “Shit.”

  “Yeah, shit,” I said as I climbed out of bed. I quickly pulled my clothes back on and glanced at the clock. “I need to go. I have to be at work in forty-five minutes.”

  He stood and walked over to me, still completely naked. I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering lower than they should have.

  “We good?” he asked quietly.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Last night was…” He trailed off, fighting to find the right word. “Intense. Everything about last night was intense. I just want to make sure that we’re okay.”

  I reached up and cupped his cheek. “We’re good, Coop—on all accounts. Just promise me that you won’t go after Robert, please.”

  He pressed his cheek closer to my hand. “I promise—for now.”

  That would have to be enough. I was out of time when it came to talking Cooper down from the precarious ledge he was on.

  “Thank you.”

  He leaned down and softly kissed me. “You should go, or you’ll be late.”

  I nodded as I threw the papers and my phone into my purse. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Just as I was about to walk out of his room, my phone beeped. I stopped and pulled it out of my purse to see who had texted me. My heart started beating double-time when I saw that it was Robert.

  I’ll be back sometime this morning. I want to have dinner tonight at six.

  As I was reading the text, Cooper’s phone beeped. He walked over and picked it up. I looked over at him as he read it. A frown marred his face.

  He looked over at me. “It’s my father. He wants to have dinner tonight at six.”

  I held up my phone. “He just texted me, too. Why would he want us both around for dinner? Me, I can understand, but after you punched him, I didn’t think he’d bother you.”

  He shrugged. “With my father, it’s hard to say. We’ll just have to be careful. I have a class that ends at five forty-five, so I might be a few minutes late. Just be sure to watch your back around him, okay? I hate leaving you alone in the house with him.”

  “I’ll be fine. I doubt if he could do much damage in the few minutes it’ll take for you to get home.”

  His face turned dark. “If he hurts you, I swear, I’ll kill him myself.”

  “Hey, calm down. Nothing is going to happen to me. As far as Robert knows, I’ve forgiven him for what happened, and he’s determined to make up for it. I’m safe.”

  “All right. I’ll see you tonight,” he said.

  I opened his door. “Bye,” I whispered before walking across the hall and into my own room.

  I grabbed a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom to get ready for work. With only a small amount of time until I had to be at work, I took a quick shower. Afterward, I scrunched my still wet hair and applied a small amount of makeup. I pulled on my outfit for the day, and then I hurried downstairs and out to the garage.

  I spent the drive to work wondering what Robert could possibly be planning. I wouldn’t have been suspicious if it weren’t for the fact that he wanted Cooper at dinner as well. As far as I knew, the two of them hadn’t spoken since Cooper punched him. Whatever it was, I would have to be on my guard tonight. There was no way that Robert could know what was going on between Cooper
and me.

  Cooper and me.

  That situation was so far gone that I didn’t know what to do about it. I still felt that I would have to leave Morgantown to escape Robert, but after last night, I wasn’t so sure that I could do it. I didn’t want to leave Cooper. I loved him. He loved me. If I left, it would destroy me.

  But if you don’t leave, you’ll only add more trouble than you already have, I thought to myself. How could Cooper and I be anything publicly? How could I tie myself to him, knowing that it would tie me to Robert as well?

  No matter how much Cooper hated him, Robert would always be his father.

  I felt the beginning of a dull headache by the time I pulled into work. I needed to make a decision concerning all of this, and I needed to do it fast. I couldn’t continue to be Robert’s loving wife much longer. Whatever decision I came to, I would have to make sure that it was what was best for not only myself, but for Cooper as well.

  I didn’t even bother to greet anyone as I walked into work and headed up to Becky’s desk. My mind was too full to be polite today. Apparently, I had my bitch face on because no one tried to talk to me, even on the elevator.

  When I reached Becky’s desk, she was already there. I took a moment to wonder if she ever left to go anywhere besides lunch. It seemed that she was a permanent extension of her desk.

  Becky looked up when I sat down in the chair across from her. “Morning, Claire.”

  “Morning,” I said without much emotion.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m just a bit stressed out.”

  She glanced around to make sure no one was near us. “How did yesterday go?”

  I looked around, too. “It went fine.”

  “Where did you go, Claire? I can’t help but be curious. Did it have anything to do with what he did to you?”

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Maybe.”

  She seemed to take that as a yes. “Good. I hope you nail him to the wall for what he did to you. I can’t stand when men hurt women, especially men like him.”

  There was so much anger in her tone that I couldn’t help but respect her even more. Becky was a good person. Even though going against Robert could get her fired, she still stuck by me.