Eventually, they both broke into a stream of anxious murmuring, repeatedly checking to ensure that the other was truly unharmed. When they finally separated, the sisters gratefully accepted steaming cups of coffee from an ogling salesmen.
“Lincoln will be here any minute,” Ashley said in a surprisingly steady voice. “You were so brave!” She reached over and squeezed Cooper’s hand. “You saved me! I feel so guilty about running away.”
“Don’t,” Cooper scolded her. “You wanted to live. You wanted your baby to live. There’s no shame in that.”
Ashley placed a hand on her flat belly. “Wait until he hears about this story when he’s older.”
“Or she,” Cooper said with a smile.
“Could you imagine?” Ashley giggled. “Poor Daddy! Four generations of girls!”
Just then Lincoln rushed into the office. He gathered Ashley into his arms and covered her face with kisses. “My darling,” he murmured. “Oh, I should have known something was wrong with her. I should have been with you! Are you okay?” He pushed her away in order to look her over and then pulled her against his chest again.
“I’m fine, sugar. We’re just a bit shaken, that’s all.” She smiled reassuringly at her husband, even though her hands trembled. “My sister saved my life.”
Lincoln turned to Cooper. She had been too tired to move and remained seated in the stiff-backed office chair. He fell to his knees and, taking her hand in his, kissed it gallantly. “God bless you!” he whispered with a catch in his voice.
Made slightly uncomfortable by the dramatic gesture, Cooper withdrew her hand. Smiling tenderly at her brother-in-law, she said, “I believe He already has.”
19
“Because he takes note of their deeds,
he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
He punishes them for their wickedness
where everyone can see them.”
Job 34:25-26 (NIV)
Rich Johnson pulled up to the front door of the police station to let Cooper out. She’d been too shaken to drive her own truck, and the policeman was eager to acquire her statement while events were fresh in her mind. Ashley had insisted that she was well enough to give her statement as well, so a reluctant Lincoln had chauffeured her to the station.
“But the second you’re done, it’s straight home with you. I’m ordering in and you’re going to lie down on the sofa and rest. No more excitement for you for the next eight months, do you hear me?” He practically carried her to the car.
Cooper was so tired, cold, and hungry that she barely noticed Nathan waiting for her in the station’s lobby. Looking dashing in a navy blue overcoat and a plaid scarf, he set down the brown bag he was carrying and scooped Cooper off her feet, kissing her all over. She wrapped her arms around him and her lips found his. She finally felt safe.
“It’s a good thing Batman’s parking the car!” Cooper laughed and rested her head against Nathan’s chest. “He might arrest us for public display of groping.”
Nathan didn’t smile. “I should have been at your side today. I just didn’t think a trip to the car auction would end with someone pointing a gun at you!”
“How did you find out what happened so quickly?” Cooper asked quizzically.
“Ashley called me from Lincoln’s office. She heard the cops say you’d both need to come down here and I figured you could use a shoulder to lean on.” He pointed at the brown bag. “I brought you some food, too. I figured cream of chicken and wild rice soup, a buttered roll, and a cup of hot coffee would give you the strength you’d need to make it through this interview.”
Prying open the bag, Cooper almost cried when she smelled the soup and felt the warmth of the coffee cup seep into her palms. “I don’t think I’ve ever loved you as much as I do right now!” She kissed him again and he slipped his arm around her waist.
At that moment, the figure behind them developed a serious throat tickle. “A-hem! Ms. Lee?” Investigator McNamara glowered. “Here I was, thinking we’d made such progress during our little chat in the Kroger parking lot. Yet, once again, you’ve stepped into the line of fire.”
Cooper’s neck flushed. “I don’t think I compromised anything, sir. In fact, you’ll have plenty of evidence to put Aleksandra Ivanovich away and hopefully Albion, too.”
“We’ll see.” McNamara sighed. “I’m going to conduct your interview. ‘Batman’ has bigger fish to fry.” One side of his mouth stretched into the beginnings of a smile, but then was