Injury (15 page)

The reference to his pet name for her overwhelmed her. “I
don’t want to keep going without you, Cope. If I have to, I will, but I don’t
want to. I went out with Eric to fill the empty hours and because he’s a nice
guy.”

Dani answered Cope’s unspoken question. “We didn’t sleep
together. It would be a long time before I could accept someone else into my
bed after what you and I had together.”

Cope’s fingers played with her hair, and she leaned into
him, let him cradle her against his shoulder. The stress eased out of her, and
she sighed.

“Daniella,” he whispered. “I want you. I need you. Can we
take this to your bedroom?”

Chapter 28

Silently, Dani pressed her lips to Cope’s, and after a long,
deep kiss, pulled away. She nodded—just a slight tilt of her head—once, twice.
Cope stood, clasped her hand, and helped her off the couch. Suddenly shy, she
took reassurance from his warm palm against hers.

In the bedroom, Dani unbuttoned Cope’s shirt and slid it off
his arms. “God, how I’ve missed your beautiful body.”

One of his fingers traced the outline of her lips, and then,
gentle and loving, he bent his head to kiss her again. Cope’s mouth moved from
Dani’s lips and glided over her cheek to her throat where it lingered while he
nibbled and tasted. Her breath came in gasps, and the room wavered around her.
Her hands clasped around his neck, she tingled at his every touch.

A nip on her ear made her groan. Cope drew down the zipper
on the back of her dress. Dani helped by unclasping her arms and wiggling out
of the cotton shift, letting it puddle at her feet. Cope nuzzled between her
breasts, and when he unhooked her bra, she dropped her arms again and let that
slide to the floor as well.

“I want you on that bed. Now.” Cope’s voice grew hoarse,
laced with desire.

Dani drew away from him, turned back the covers, and climbed
onto the bed. Draped across the mattress in just her thong, Dani ran her hands
over her body to settle the swelling ache. “Please, Robert. I need you on me.”

An attempt to speak failed, and Cope let out a growl from
deep in his throat. Shoes, pants, socks, and briefs hit the floor next to
Dani’s clothes, and then he was on her, pressing his body against her. One hand
massaged her breast, then held it still while he took the nipple in his mouth
and suckled, nipped, and teased.

Moans escaped, rising from the depths of her core, and she
writhed under him. The sweet agony was so strong Dani thought she might pass
out from it. Her hand reached between them, and she yanked her panties off,
ignoring the tearing sound that accompanied the motion. The throbbing between
her legs intensified. If he didn’t enter her soon, she’d scream from the
unbearable need.

Cope’s hand moved along her body and between her legs,
probing and exploring, making her cry out.

“Please. Please. Please.” Brain fogged, Dani stroked her
hands over his biceps and his back. Did he ache as much as she did? The groan
spilling from his lips made her believe he did.

“Daniella.” He kissed her again, tongues tangling,
anticipation building. He fiddled with a condom, and she wanted to howl in
frustration at the time it took to slide it on.

“Oh, Robert, now.” Dani guided him to the moist entrance she
wanted him to penetrate. Urgency pushed her pelvis into him. So long. She’d
been so horribly long without him inside her. Dani arched her back, pressed
against him, spreading her thighs wider in welcome.

His own need obliged, and he thrust into her, hard, their
movements growing more frenzied with the contact. Cries mingling, they gave to
each other, filling the voids that had opened during their separation. Dani
never wanted to be apart from him again, and her whole body gripped him,
caressed him, and loved him.

“Deeper. Please, I need you, all of you.” Unaware she’d said
that aloud, the rolling wave of passion consumed her, brought her to the edge,
and flung her over. Uncontrolled moans and sighs ripped from her throat, and
Cope’s thrusts became fiercer as his own climax followed hers. Dani tightened
her internal muscles, drawing a moan of pleasure from him.

“Oh, God, Dani, you’re killing me.”

She sighed, contented, and hugged him tight when he
collapsed on top of her. “I could stay this way forever.”

Cope let out an exhausted breath. “You’re wonderful. That
was amazing.” He groaned. “I need to move though. Are you okay?”

Dani nodded, and he rolled onto his back, pulling her into
the shelter of his arm as he did. Head on his shoulder, she stroked his soft
skin with one hand, a slow, lazy gesture that reflected the sultry ambience of
the room. Kisses—lots of kisses—covered his face, shoulders, and chest.

One of Cope’s hands reached out to brush hair off Dani’s
face. He turned to her, gazed into her eyes, and smiled. “I love you.”

Dani returned the smile. “I love you, too.”

Afraid that anything said after that would ruin the moment, she
snuggled against him and allowed herself to drift into a contented sleep.

***

Voices. Loud, argumentative. A man and a woman. Father.
Mother. Dani listened from her bedroom. The memories returned in a lightning
bolt flash. In the darkness of her apartment bedroom, Dani’s mind turned back
to the room she’d had as a five-year-old child. Back to that night. It burst
into her consciousness when she awoke, Cope’s warm body anchoring her, making
her feel safe and protected.

At last, she knew what had happened, understood what she’d
seen. The horror of it made her wrench up in the bed, pulling the sheet with
her. Dani paused and gently tucked it back over Cope’s chest.

For a moment, she listened to his light snoring, loving the
manliness of the sound. If history were any indicator, there’d be times when it
wouldn’t sound so appealing, and he’d get a poke and a request to roll over. In
the dim glow of the clock radio, Dani watched Cope sleep, letting the sight of
his innocent, beautiful face ground her and squeeze out the terror.

She’d have to call Detective Vega. A glance at the clock
showed that while it was early here, in Toronto, the morning was well underway.
It would be okay to call him now. Dani slipped out of bed, threw on her robe,
and went to put on the coffee.

Once the coffee was brewing, she walked into the living room
and retrieved her purse from the floor. It astounded her that so little time
had passed since she’d dropped it there. So much had happened since Cope had
greeted her downstairs after her date with Eric.

Eric. She’d promised him she’d go out with him again. Heat
from a flush crept up her face though no one was around to judge her except
herself. Dani shook her head.
Can’t think
about Eric now. Have to call Vega.
She’d call Eric after and tell him she
and Cope were back together before he read it in the news.

Cell phone now in hand, she speed-dialed the detective and
waited while the call transferred. He picked up on the second ring.

“Detective Vega? Daniella Grayson.”

“Dani? How are you? What can I do for you?” His voice was
warm, friendly. It had been a while since they’d last spoken, but he always
seemed happy to hear from her whenever she called.

“I’m fine. Great, in fact. I remembered, Detective—the whole
night.” Voice low, but excited, Dani wanted to pour her story out though the
recollections were disturbing.

“I’ll record this, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Give me a moment.”

She waited while Vega set up the recording device, and
stated the date, time, his name, and had Dani give her name.

“Okay, Dani. Start from the earliest memory of that evening
and tell me everything.”

Dani curled up on the couch and spoke. “My father put me to
bed and left my room to go watch TV. Lilli immediately nattered at him, telling
him he needed to find work. Daddy replied he was doing his best, but she said
that wasn’t good enough. Lilli must have stood in front of the television,
blocking his view, because Daddy told her to move out of the way.”

She paused. “My father rarely raised his voice or got angry,
but even he had a breaking point. After days of being home with Lilli picking
at him, he snapped.”

When she paused again, Vega interjected. “What were you
doing?”

“Cowering in my bed. I knew it’d get worse—maybe bad enough
for Lilli to hit him. People think spousal abuse victimizes women, but men can
be abused too. My mother belittled Daddy. She cursed him out, threw things at
him, and even hit him. Daddy put up with it because he didn’t want to leave.
Anytime he’d threatened to walk out and take me along, she taunted him, calling
him a loser. No judge would award him custody, she said, and he had no one to
take care of me when he went to work.”

Tears welled up. Hearing a sound behind her, Dani turned
toward it. Cope walked around the couch to her side.

“One moment, Detective.” Dani pulled the phone away from her
ear. “I remember, Robert.”

“Shall I leave the room while you talk?”

She shook her head. “I’m glad you’re here.”

While Cope settled next to her, Dani returned her attention
to Vega. “Sorry, Detective. That night, the fighting escalated, and before
long, it turned to accusations of cheating.”

“Who accused whom, Dani?”

“Both of them. Lilli told Daddy she thought he was cheating
on her. Daddy said that was the pot calling the kettle black if he ever saw it.
Lilli laughed at him and said that she didn’t care if he knew she was, she was
… ” It was difficult to say the words.

Cope took her free hand and held it in both of his.

Dani gulped in air, swallowed her tears, and continued. “She
admitted to cheating on him. I didn’t understand what it meant, but I knew it
involved Daddy’s friend. Then Daddy told her he hadn’t slept with anyone else,
but he was leaving, and taking me with him. Lilli said, ‘The hell you will. Try
to take my baby from this house, I’ll kill you.’”

A squeeze on Dani’s hand made her glance up at Cope. Dani
searched his eyes and saw compassion. Vega waited on the other end, silent.

“Thank you, Detective.”

“For what?”

“For being so patient with me.”

“Dani, I know how hard this must be for you. Continue
whenever you feel able.”

Steadied, she spoke again. “I was relieved that Daddy wanted
to take me away from the shouting and the hitting. The stress of trying not to
make Lilli mad day after day and failing was unbearable. When Daddy mentioned
leaving, I got out of bed and tiptoed from the bedroom. If they saw me, they’d
be angry, so I tried to be quiet. I got as far as the living room entrance.
Lilli chose that moment to come charging out into the hallway, and she caught
me. I peed myself when she rounded the corner and walked into me.”

A glance at Cope again reassured her, and she stared off
into space, letting the story flow out of her. “Lilli grabbed me by the ear.”
The memory gave Dani an echo of pain on her left ear, making her flinch. “She
screamed at me, which wasn’t unexpected, and she hit me, which was also not
unexpected. Lilli called me a little pig and told me I had to clean up my
filthy mess. I cried, so afraid of her I couldn’t move. Daddy came into the
hallway and told Lilli to leave me alone. He said, ‘she’s just a child, Lilli.
I’ll clean it up.’ He told me to go change into a dry nightgown and everything
would be okay because we were leaving.”

“That was the last time I saw Daddy.” Voice breaking, Dani
wished for a shot of vodka. Another glance at Cope helped the urge to pass. “I
went to my room, Lilli right behind me. I changed into another nightgown, and
when I tried to get into bed, she grabbed me and … ”

Cope pulled Dani into his arms, held her while she sobbed.

Vega’s voice spoke in her ear. “It’s okay, Dani. It’s all
right. Continue when you’re ready.”

Still sobbing, Dani choked out more of the story. “Lilli
locked me in the closet. It was dark, and I was so scared. She didn’t say a
word—just grabbed me and threw me in there and locked the door. Oh, God, I was
just a scared little kid. I thought she was mad because I’d wet myself, and
this was my punishment, but I think she was already thinking about killing
him.”

“Lilli left me in that closet the entire night. I slept
there—tried to, anyway. In the morning, she got me to school. When I came home
from kindergarten, she told me Daddy had left. She said he didn’t want to take
me with him. It broke my heart. I always wondered what I’d done that made him
leave me behind, that maybe he didn’t want me because I’d peed myself. But
she’d lied.” In a quiet voice, she said, “Daddy didn’t leave me behind.” Dani
finished with a loud sigh, relieved at getting the story out.

Vega thanked her for calling and told her he’d have to fly
out to LA to interview her again. “I’ll need to video record it, Dani, for the
trial. It’s great you got it all out while it was fresh in your mind, but I
need an in-depth interview.”

She agreed and told him she’d have her assistant set it up.
They said their goodbyes and disconnected.

Dani turned to Cope. “Thank you for being here. I don’t know
how I’d have gotten through it by myself.”

“I love you, Dani, and I’ll always be here for you.” He
kissed the top of her head. “So sorry you had to experience that. It must have
been terrible to believe your father abandoned you and endure such abuse from
your mother.” Cope’s arms tightened around her, making her feel safe and
secure.

This sense of stability had allowed the memories to come
flooding back as Doctor Hadley had told Dani they would. Relieved she didn’t
have to go to work early, Dani suggested they have breakfast before Cope had to
leave. With the grand opening of his business looming, he was working long
hours every day of the week.

Cope headed to the shower, muttering about a meeting he had,
while Dani went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Déjà vu hit her when she
pulled ingredients out of the fridge to make a veggie omelet. The last time
she’d wanted to make a meal for Cope, it had ended in disaster. Well, she’d
leave the television off. If the news had anything to say regarding her or
Cope, it could wait.

But when the phone rang, she answered it.