Dead Drop - Stolen Secrets

CHAPTER TWO

June 30

Cooper examined his face in the mirror by lantern light. The bruises had faded, but the cut above his eyebrow had left a scar. Thanks to Alex's handiwork, his nose sported only a slight bump. Both injuries were remnants of the beating that Mark and Ray had given him three weeks before. He wasn't sure what he'd do to them if they crossed paths again.

He shaved for the first time since they had left east Tucson. After he finished, he went back to his bedroom and picked his clothes off the floor. Julie was still asleep on one of the foam mattresses they had brought up from the bunker. She wore one of his t-shirts, and it had ridden up to her waist while she slept.

In the dim light from the lantern, he followed the curve of her back down to her toned legs. Moving closer, he ran his finger along her side to the top of her thigh. She stirred and rolled over onto her back. With her long dark hair splayed out across her pillow, she was a softer version of the gung-ho deputy who tried to arrest him for breaking into a Starbuck's several weeks earlier when he, Hayley, and Kevin were on their way to Tucson a few days after the May 4th attack.

"Where are you going? I bet it's not even five o'clock." She wrapped her hand around his finger and pulled him over to her. He felt the warmth coming off her skin as he bent down to kiss her. He breathed in the smell of her hair.

"You're killing me." He sat back on his heels and memorized every curve in the dim light.

Her puppy dog eyes and crooked smile almost broke his resolve to keep moving. "I think your pity party has lasted long enough. Same with Michele and Katrina."

Julie stiffened. Cooper lifted her chin with the fingers of his free hand and kissed her. He could feel her soften against his touch.

After adjusting the t-shirt, she leaned her head on her elbow. "I know I've kind of been living like hobo for the past three weeks licking my wounds and hiding out. But I've been making a mental list of all the things that would make this place more comfortable. Hey, you shaved." A smile brightened her entire face.

"The stubble made me itchy." He rubbed his jaw. "You need to get dressed. I have a job for you. Put your list down on paper. But no garden gnomes or frilly curtains. We don't want to attract any attention." He put his hand on the door knob.

Julie's pillow hit the door a foot away from his head.

"You throw like a girl." He laughed and adjusted the holster on the small of his back.

* * *

Halfway across the living room, a shadow moved across Cooper's line of sight. He stopped and reached for the Kimber in his right side holster.

"Damn it, Alex." He let out a deep breath. "That's a good way to get killed." He re-holstered the pistol. "Why are you sneaking around in the dark?"

Her eyes glowed red in the dim light. She could've easily been mistaken for one of the ordinary infected. She moved next to Cooper, tilted her head slightly, and looked into his eyes. "I didn't know I wasn't allowed out of the bunker."

"You know what I meant." He elected not say anything else in case he stuck his foot in his mouth again. Although Alex didn't suffer from any apparent brain damage, she was quick to anger. Whether this was a new thing or she was like this before, he didn't know. But he wasn't ready to do battle before he had at least one cup of coffee.

"A person can get a little stir crazy down there. Besides, it's kind of interesting listening to you all when you think no one can hear you." Her face looked fiendish in the dark. "I even got dressed for the occasion." Alex wore a large white t-shirt with nothing underneath.