Retribution (26 page)

“Like what?” I teased. “My wonderful singing voice? Or maybe it’s my amazing ability to constantly find myself in trouble.”

“I’ll never tell.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but movement from the kitchen doorway caught my eye. I whipped my head around to see who was standing there. I froze when I saw her watching us.

“Ellie!” I cried. I stood and ran to her.

As soon as I was within reach, she grabbed me and pulled me to her in a hug that nearly cut off my air supply.

I saw Cooper stand up and cross the room. He stopped a few feet away from us, looking unsure of what to do about the two crazy women who were hugging and crying like they might die if they let go.

“Get over here, Cooper,” Ellie said when she noticed him.

Without a word, he stepped forward and wrapped both of his arms around us. We stood together like that for minutes or maybe even hours or years. The world stopped moving for a little while as we clung to each other. We were survivors. All three of us had escaped Robert together. The bond that had formed between us was deeper than any friendship we’d had before. We were bound by our memories, our loss, our truths, and our love.

Cooper finally released both of us. Ellie and I slowly pulled away from each other. I wiped my wet eyes on the sleeve of my shirt.

“I hope it’s okay that I’m here,” Ellie said after a moment. “I don’t want to intrude. I just…Cooper called and told me that he was going to bring you home. I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“You’re always welcome here, Ellie. You know that,” Cooper said before I could answer. “This is your home, too, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

I took a moment to look at her, really look at her. She looked horrible. There were bags under her eyes, and she looked as if she’d lost ten pounds in the five days since I last saw her.

“Ellie, how are you holding up?” I asked as I led her over to the couch.

We sat down side by side as Cooper sat in the chair across from us.

She tried to smile at me, but it was weak. Finally, she stopped trying. “I’m not okay, Claire. I’m not okay at all.”

“I figured as much,” I said sadly.

“I saved your life by shooting both of them. I’ll never regret saving you, but I don’t know how to live with myself now. I took two human lives. I can’t seem to get over that,” she said.

“That’s not something you just get over,” I told her. “It’ll stick with you forever. You just have to learn how to live with it. You killed to save us, Ellie. That doesn’t make you a murderer. It makes you a hero.”

“She’s right. We owe our lives to you,” Cooper spoke up.

Ellie quickly wiped at her eyes as if she hoped we wouldn’t see her tears. “I love you both so much. I hope you know just how much.”

“We do,” I told her as I pulled her in for another hug. “And we love you just as much as you love us. I promise you that. We’ll find a way to get through all of this, and we’ll do it together.”

“The next few months are going to be a nightmare.” She sighed. “My lawyer said there’s no way that they’ll convict me, but we still have to go through the process. Everyone in town is talking about what happened. My daughter was even approached by a few people, asking for the real story.”

“We’ll just be hermits here until it settles,” I said, “I have no desire to interact with humans—at all.”

She chuckled. “I think I’ve had enough interaction to last me a lifetime.”

“You two are depressing,” Cooper piped up.

I shot him a glare, but he wasn’t looking at me.

His eyes were on Ellie. “Let’s watch a movie or something. Anything is better than listening to this.”

“That would be wonderful. Why don’t you pick which one to watch, Claire?” Ellie asked me.

When I saw the relief on Ellie’s face, I understood Cooper’s plan. He didn’t want Ellie to dwell on what had happened. He wanted to get her mind off of everything even if it was just for a few hours.

And just like that, we were watching a movie in the house where Cooper and I had almost died and where two very terrible men
had
lost their lives.

Close to eleven, Ellie finally decided that it was time to go. She hugged both Cooper and me for an eternity. It seemed that she didn’t want either of us out of her sight for long. The feeling was mutual.

Once she was gone, Cooper turned to me as we stood in the foyer. He took my hand in his and squeezed it once. I tugged on his hand as I led us back to the couch.

“Are we sleeping down here?” Cooper asked.

I shook my head. “No, I want to talk to you before we go upstairs.”

We sat down together with our legs touching.

“About what?”

I took a deep breath as I tried to prepare myself for what I was about to say. Once I felt courageous enough, I spoke, “I want to talk about Isaac…and the fact that he almost raped me.”

My words were quiet, but Cooper’s response was that of someone who had been screamed at. He jerked away as if I’d slapped him. He kept his focus on anything but me.

Still, I forced myself to continue, “I’m not okay, Coop. I want you to know the truth.”

“No one would expect you to be okay after that,” he said roughly.

“No, they wouldn’t. I know we’ve been avoiding this, but we have to talk about it. What Isaac did really messed me up. I know it messed with you, too. When I went to see that therapist, she thought it would be best if I talked with you.” I swallowed roughly. “And she asked me what I would do if you asked me to have sex.”

“Claire…” He trailed off.

“When I thought about that, it made me sick,” I said before I lost my nerve. “I love you more than anyone else in this world, but the thought of you touching me makes me physically ill.”

He just stared at me, completely at a loss for what to say. I could understand that.

I stood and pulled him up with me. “Nothing about you or what we have should make me feel that way. I won’t let what happened destroy us.”

He followed me as I walked up the stairs. I kept one hand in his and one on the railing to support myself. My entire body was shaking by the time we reached the second floor.

“Claire, where are we going?” he demanded.

I turned down the hallway that led to my old room and his room. “My room,” I said.

I didn’t dare look in the direction of his bedroom as we passed it. I couldn’t. Tomorrow, I would. Tonight, I wasn’t ready. One step at a time would have to be enough.

When we reached my bedroom, I pulled Cooper inside before closing the door behind us.

“What’s going on?” Cooper asked me.

“I’m going to make things right—for both of us,” I said as I pushed on his chest until he started walking backward.

He realized what was happening a split second before the back of his legs connected with my bed. He tumbled down onto it.

“Claire, stop,” he said. “We don’t have to do this.”

“But we do. I won’t let him ruin us, Coop. I won’t let what happened symbolize what sex is in my mind. I can’t live that way.”

I pulled my shirt over my head, careful not to jostle my injured arms. I tossed it aside before pulling off my jeans. When I stood in only my bra and underwear, I moved forward and slowly undid the buttons on Cooper’s pants. My hands were still shaking, but I never once wavered. Cooper and I would conquer this—together.

Cooper finally seemed to realize that I was serious. He helped me as I pulled his pants down his legs. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

“You have to do the rest,” I told him quietly.

“Are you sure?” he asked, fear evident on his face.

“I am. I trust you more than anyone else on this earth. You’re the only one who can help me heal.”

He nodded as he stood and carefully picked me up. His movements were gentler than normal. It was as if he were afraid of scaring or hurting me. He lowered me onto the bed and removed my undergarments. His eyes never left mine as he slipped his boxers over his hips.

“I love you, Claire.” He climbed into the bed and moved his body so that it hovered over mine.

He held himself up so that not even an inch of our skin touched. It didn’t matter. I still felt the terror starting to pulse through my body as he tenderly kissed me.

I forced myself to relax as his kisses deepened, and he slowly lowered his body down on top of mine. He was careful not to move too fast.

It’s Cooper. It’s Cooper. It’s Cooper
, I repeated over and over in my head as his kisses grew feverish.

His lips trailed along my jaw before moving to my neck. My fear slowly disappeared. I kept my eyes open and on his face constantly. I needed to know that it was Cooper with me and no one else. I wouldn’t be able to do this if I closed my eyes. One day, I would but not today.

One step at a time.

Cooper worshiped every inch of my body, showing and telling me just how much I meant to him. When he was finally ready, he positioned himself at my entrance.

“Tell me to stop, and I will. I swear it.”

“I know you would,” I whispered. “But I don’t want you to.”

When he filled me, I felt a moment of panic as my eyes closed involuntarily. They flew open to see Cooper staring down at me with nothing but pure love in his expression. He cupped my cheek, making sure that our eyes stayed locked, as he slowly started to thrust into me. We stayed that way—our bodies joined, our gazes cemented together—until I felt myself on the brink. When I crashed over, Cooper was right there with me, whispering his love in my ear as he came.

That was how we took back the first piece of ourselves. That night was just the beginning of everything for us. There were still several more pieces to put together. I knew it would be a long time before we found them all, but that was okay. We’d find them together—always together.

One Year Later

“You ready?” Cooper asked from outside the bathroom door.

“I’ll be out in a second,” I said as I ran my brush through my hair one last time. I tossed it down on the counter and headed for the door.

Cooper was standing in the hallway, waiting for me. He smiled and wrapped an arm around me as soon as I was within reach.

“You look pretty. You’re practically glowing,” he said.

We walked down the hallway and toward the living room of our new home.

We’d lived here for almost a year, and I’d never felt more at home. This house was more than just a house. It was our home. As soon as Robert’s affairs had been settled, Cooper and I had decided that we wanted to find a place of our own. This house was the first one we’d looked at, and both of us had fallen in love with it. As soon as we’d signed the papers, we’d put Robert’s home on the market and moved into our own. It was our new beginning.

Cooper had sold not just the house, but also everything else that had been left to him. We hadn’t wanted any of it. To us, it was just a reminder of the past.

“Did you call Ellie?” I asked.

He nodded. “She said she’d be there in an hour or so.”

“Good. I want her with me,” I said.

“It took you long enough! I’ve been waiting by the door for, like, an hour,” Shelly whined the moment we walked into the living room.

“Oh, you have not! Liar,” I shot back.

“Well, it
felt
like an hour,” she grumbled.

Cooper laughed at her. “Do you have the bag?”

“Of course.” She pointed to the bag next to the door. “I grabbed it just like you said.”

Shelly was ours now. As soon as we had settled into our new home, I’d started the process of adopting her. The day I’d driven to Rick and Tammy’s to pick Shelly up for the last time was the best day of my life. The moment Shelly had opened the door, I’d smiled as I grabbed her and tightly hugged her.

“You’re ours now,” I had whispered into her ear.

Those three words had changed our lives forever. Finally, Shelly was legally mine. There were no limits on the time we could spend together. We always woke up in the same home and spent every single day together.

I was abruptly brought back to the present. I gripped Cooper’s arm tightly as pain shot through my body.

He looked at me with concern in his eyes. “You okay?”