Cooper

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  My phone buzzed and I glanced at it, trying not to worry too much about what Becky was going to do next. Shit, Cap needed me in the office for a job.

  “Becky, I have to go.”

  “What about the birds?” she asked, like she was shocked that I would actually leave the dead birds, that I could do nothing about, to go to work.

  “Cap has a job for me. I have to go.”

  “But we’re hot on the trail of something here!”

  We were hot on the trail of absolutely nothing. “I know, Becks, but what do you want me to say to Cap?”

  She sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll figure this out.”

  I watched her warily for a moment, not sure that I should actually leave her here to try and analyze this. I should haul her over my shoulder and force her to go back to Reed Security with me.

  “Becky, you know Cap wants you back,” I tried. “Won’t you consider coming back to work?”

  But she wasn’t listening to me. She was too busy studying the dead birds on the ground. “Huh? Yeah, I love you too.”

  I shook my head and got back in my truck, never having given Becky her coffee. It was for the best. I would have had to find some way to spill it or knock it out of her hands. The guilt of knowing that I backwashed in it was just too much to let her drink it. I dumped it as soon as I got to work.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “Coop, are you paying attention?” Cap snapped from the head of the table.

  “Sorry,” I said, clearing my throat. I was stuck on this morning and Becky’s crazy obsession with the stupid birds.

  “Look, I get that you’re all in the whole love phase right now, but we have to focus on the job.”

  I rolled my eyes, wishing it was just that. “It’s not the love phase. There were a bunch of dead birds in Becky’s neighborhood this morning. Now she’s gone off in full detective mode and she’s trying to solve the mystery.”

  “Solve what mystery?” Tacos asked.

  I dropped my eyes, almost ashamed at what I had done to keep her happy. “Okay, you drive into a neighborhood and see a bunch of dead birds on the ground. What’s the first thing you think of?”

  “Hunters,” Tacos answered immediately.

  “Bird flu,” Storm answered.

  “Who gives a shit? They’re fucking birds,” Cap growls.

  “Exactly, but Becky got a bug up her ass and started in on all these crazy theories.” I leaned forward in my chair. “She thought someone was testing an airborne virus and killed all the birds.”

  “But not the people,” Cap said slowly.

  “Exactly.”

  “That doesn’t even make any sense,” Tacos said. “Were these guys only trying to wipe out the bird population? What would that do?”

  “Leave us with more worms,” Storm answered.

  “So, what did you do?” Cap asked.

  “I gave her another theory. I told her that they probably ate something that poisoned them.”

  “Oh shit,” Cap groaned. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  “I don’t know! I was trying to get her off the whole virus thing.”

  “Wait, what’s the problem?” Tony asked.

  “What are we talking here?” Storm asked. “Nancy Drew, Veronica Mars, or Miss Marple?”

  “Who the fuck is Miss Marple?” I asked.

  “The comedian on TV?” Tony asked. “What does she have to do with Becky?”

  “That’s Mrs. Maisel,” Cap answered. “Great show. I just binge-watched it with Maggie over the weekend.”

  “Filthy mind,” Tony nodded. “And sexy as fuck.”

  Cap groaned. “Tell me about it. It’s something about those shoes.”

  “The shoes?” I was confused. He was turned on by shoes?

  “All the women are dressed in these old-fashioned dresses and always the fucking heels. I’m telling you, fucking sexy as hell.”

  “And that hair,” Tony groaned. “Fuck, I would love to wrap my hands up in that hair.”

  Cap leaned forward, shaking his head. “I was so fucking pissed when she walked away from that doctor. He was good for her. They were alike, you know?”

  “Nah,” Tony waved him off. “She’s gonna end up with her ex again. I mean, he really fucked her over, and I was pissed, but it’s so obvious that they belong together.”

  “You’re both fucking wrong,” Storm cut in. “She’s gonna end up with that other comedian, Lenny Bruce. Only a comedian can truly understand that life.”

  “That’s not true,” Cap said. “That’s like saying military can only marry military.”

  “How many marriages work out in the military?” I asked.

  “Look at Maggie and I.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not in the military anymore, and if Maggie could, she would go out on every fucking mission,” I reminded him.

  Cap thought about that and leaned back. “Well, I still say that she should have married the doctor.”

  I internally groaned, hoping that we could get off this topic sometime soon. It was fucking pathetic, all these guys sitting around watching a show about a chick comedian.

  “Can we get back to the topic at hand? Or should I just call all the guys in so we can talk about our favorite shows?”

  “Well, we were actually talking about crime novels first,” Storm grinned.

  “But what does Mrs. Maisel have to do with Becky?” Tony repeated.

  “Nothing,” Cap sighed. “Unfortunately.”

  “So, who are we talking about then?”

  “Miss Marple,” Storm clarified. “She’s a fictional character. You know, from Agatha Christie’s crime novels?” I shook my head, not following him. “She was an old spinster that solved all these crimes. You’ve never read them?”

  “No, I don’t usually go for women’s fiction. I usually go for Guns and Ammo,” I emphasized. “You know, like a fucking dude would.”

  I stared at them all for a moment, wondering where their balls had gone. They were all daydreaming over a woman in the fifties.

  “I was actually thinking we have more of an Erin Brockovich situation on our hands.”

  Tony groaned and a smile lit his face. “Please tell me she’s gonna start dressing like her. I would love to see some tits around here.”

  I smacked him upside the head and he winced. “You already have a woman.”

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t walk around like that. And Lola and Florrie may walk around in sports bras, but it’s no fun when your balls shrivel up at the sight of them.”

  “I’m not worried about the fucking clothes,” I practically yelled. “I’m worried how the fuck I’m gonna get her off of this so I don’t have to hear about this every fucking night.”

  Tony snorted next to me. “He’s worried about how to get her off.”

  “Just make her watch Contagion,” Storm said, like it was that fucking simple.

  “You want me to make my paranoid girlfriend watch a movie about a virus that’s killing off the population?”

  “Hey, you get her hooked on that idea, she’s gonna call the CDC and then they’ll take over. They’ll lock her out of the whole process, and then you can spend the weekend doing more important things.”

  “Like watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Tony said. I glared at him. “Hey, it was a fantastic show, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you really need to.”

  I glanced at the other guys, but I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. They were all nodding along in agreement.

  “And you all think this is the way to go.”

  Cap grinned at me. “And when you’re done with that show, you should really check out Breathless.”

  “What’s that about?” Tony asked.

  “A doctor in the 60’s in London. Maggie played it one night and I finished it by the next morning. I stayed up the whole night, and I was so fucking pumped for season 2, but they canceled the show. I was so fucking bummed.”

  “Was this last week?” Storm
asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “I just thought you had a fight with Maggie or something.”

  “No, I just really wanted to see how it would all play out. It was kind of depressing to see it all end.”

  Storm nodded. “You know, Jessica started watching all these BBC shows based on Jane Austen novels. Now, I’m not typically one to watch that shit, but…” He glanced out the door, making sure that no one was watching before turning back to us. “Have you seen the five hour Pride and Prejudice they did?”

  Tony and Cap shook their heads. I, however, just barely restrained myself from punching him in the face when he looked at me.

  “Fuck, I never thought I would like that shit, but that Mr. Darcy? Hell, the way he pulled through for his woman was inspiring. And I had to go through one fucking episode after another just to see how it all played out. I was fucking dying to watch it all in one night, but Jessica said she was tired. I had to watch it over the course of the week, because there’s no fucking way to tell a woman that you want to watch that shit right fucking then.”

  Cap nodded in agreement. “I hear ya. Before I watched Mrs. Maisel, Maggie was watching Jane Eyre. I never fucking thought that I would want to see that show. I mean, all that shit about ghosts just isn’t realistic-”

  “Hey,” Storm cut in. “Let’s not bring up ghosts.”

  “But it wasn’t a ghost,” Cap said, his eyes wide. “It was his fucking wife. She was a fucking lunatic and when Jane found out, she ran away. They were separated for so long. It was so fucking sad. And when she finally found him again, he was blind because of a fire his wife started. Talk about powerful shit. I was practically in tears.”

  “Hey, did you see there’s a new one on right now?” Tony’s brows furrowed as he snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name of the show. “Sanditon,” he grinned. “Man, that shit’s killer.”

  I stared at all the guys and threw down my pen as I stood up and headed for the door. “Are there no fucking men left in this building?”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Becky

  I rushed through the last file on my desk, making sure that everything was in order before I left work for the day. I wanted to get home and try and find out more about what was happening in the neighborhood. I knew that Coop thought I was nuts, but it couldn’t just be a coincidence. There were too many strange things happening, and while they could all be explained away, I saw a bigger puzzle that needed to be solved.

  There was nothing indicating that anything that was happening was linked together. I mean, the break-ins were for sure linked, but they had stopped. But my car being moved and Mr. Marley telling me his phone had been tapped? I wasn’t sure how it all fit together, but something told me that it did. Carrie Anne had the right idea when she said she wanted the houses all under surveillance, but I couldn’t ask Cap to do that for me. Not unless I could come up with some solid leads to make him believe me.

  I answered my phone when it rang as I rushed to my car, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. “Hello?”

  “Sunshine, I have to go out of town.”

  “Oh,” I said, feeling slightly deflated. I had been looking forward to seeing him tonight, but I knew that his job sent him out of town. I just didn’t have much practice with dealing with it yet. “Well, how long will you be gone?”

  “A few days. I need you to do a favor for me.”

  “Of course.”

  “Can you please stay with Kayla?”

  I got into my car and slammed the door, shoving my purse over to the other seat. “Um…I guess. But why do you need me to? She’s in the panic room. It’s not like you’re leaving her all alone.”

  “I know, but I like it when you stay over when I’m gone. It makes me feel like I’m not just leaving her.”

  It felt a little like parenting territory, and I knew that Kayla wouldn’t appreciate it. It wasn’t the first time that I had stayed over, but it was usually that I stayed over the night before Coop went out of town. He was gone in the morning, but at least I had gone to bed with him the night before. This was different. Kayla would think I was checking up on her, and that would mess up the delicate balance of our relationship.

  “Please,” he said quietly. “Stay in my bed and look out for my daughter. I’m not asking you to act like her parent, but hang out with her and maybe get her to talk to you.”

  “You want me to be your spy?”

  He sighed heavily. “Not my spy, but if there was something that you felt was worrying, I wouldn’t be against you telling me.”

  “Coop, that’s not the way our relationship works. If she thinks I’ll run and tell you everything she tells me, she won’t ever want to be around me.”

  “I’m not asking you to tell on her. I just…she talks to you. I know that if there was anything serious going on with her, you wouldn’t let her go through it alone.”

  Even though I didn’t want to be put in this position by Coop, his faith that I’d keep her safe set me on fire. Our relationship was so much different than it used to be and I would give anything to keep it that way.

  “Alright. I’ll be there until you get home, but I’m not telling on her. No matter what happens, I have to be there for her.”

  “I understand. Thank you.”

  “You owe me big time.”

  “I promise to make it up to you.”

  “You’d better.”

  I got off the phone with him a few minutes later, a little sad that I wouldn’t get to work on my side project. But I would get to spend time with Kayla, which was something I didn’t do very often anymore. We were close, but I didn’t want to confuse who I was to her. Besides, I was Coop’s girlfriend and I had to remember that.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “So, Dad sent you to spy on me,” Kayla said as I walked through the suite door with a box of pizza.

  “No, he sent me here because he feels like if I’m here, you aren’t alone.”

  “I’m surrounded by people. And I live in an impenetrable fortress. I think I’m good.”

  I grinned at her and set down the pizza, then carried my bag into Coop’s bedroom. It was sad to see the bed and know that he wouldn’t be joining me tonight, but at least the sheets still smelled like him.

  “So, have you been working on any college applications?”

  “Well, I can only get into a community college at this point. I’m not sure I want to go to college right away.”

  “What? I thought you wanted to go into business?”

  “I do, but I wanted to go to a four year school. I wanted to get away and experience the whole college thing. It’s not the same at a two year school. I’ll still be living here. I figured that I could apply for the winter semester and work for the first semester.”

  We both picked up our first slice and started eating. God, the pizza was good. But as I thought about her logic, it occurred to me that she wasn’t actually accomplishing anything with her plan.

  “You know, that’s not going to get you out from under your dad’s thumb.”

  “I know, but I really want this. I know that it probably sounds stupid, but I want something normal.”

  “Plenty of kids go to a two year school.”

  She picked up a napkin and wiped at the sauce on her face. “Plenty of kids didn’t grow up on the run.”

  “Alright,” I said, sucking in a breath. “You’ve got me there. So, where are you going to work?”

  “I actually found another job. This one is something even Dad can’t turn down.”

  “Really?” I asked in surprise. “Tell me more.”

  “Claire got me a job working at the library.”

  “Wow. Is that something you really want to do?”

  She shrugged. “It’s a job. I’ll be surrounded by books all day. It’s not like I can get in too much trouble.”

  My head bounced lightly from shoulder to shoulder as I thought about that statement. I remembered all too well the trouble that
Claire got into. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve heard all about what happened with Claire. The difference is that she wanted all that action and adventure, and Derek provided it for her.”

  “I think Claire would disagree and say that it just kind of happened to her.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to be working days and a few nights.”

  “When are you telling your dad?”

  “Well, I start tomorrow.”

  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, knowing that I couldn’t tell Coop, even though he would skin me alive for keeping him in the dark. She wasn’t doing anything bad and I knew where she would be. What possible reason could I have for telling him? It was up to her.

  “If it makes you feel better, I did plan on telling him. It’s not my fault that he got called out on a job.”

  “Just keep telling yourself that.”

  “Are you going to tell him?”

  “No, in fact, I think I’ll be suspiciously absent when he returns from his trip. Until then, you’re either sleeping or training, as far as I know.”

  “Don’t you think he’ll figure that out?”

  “Maybe, but he can’t kill me from five hundred miles away.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Coop

  “What’s going on?” Becky asked as I paced around the panic room.

  “Kayla was supposed to be back a half hour ago.”

  She reached out to touch me, but I moved away. I didn’t want to be coddled right now. I was pissed. Kayla and I had agreed that she would be home at a certain time every night and she had been following it for the past two weeks. So why wasn’t she home? She had been doing so good.

  “Maybe she got held up at work.”

  “Or maybe she broke the rules.”

  Becky sighed and plopped down on the couch. “You know, you have to trust her. You can’t watch her every move like this. You’re going to ruin your relationship with her.”