A Good Killing Read Free

luggage, but now she just said, “Thanks.”
    As they walked toward the parking lot, she saw that Cooper’sgait had changed too. It used to be a long, loping bounce, like a frisky colt finding his balance. Now his stride was shorter, more deliberate, and with a little hitch that could be interpreted as a swagger if you didn’t know better.
    “Have you heard from Jody?” Anna asked. “I still can’t get ahold of her.”
    He shook his head. “All I know is the police want to interview her.”
    “I wish she’d called me. I’m a lawyer.”
    “I expect she knows that,” Cooper said with a smile. “And she doesn’t need a lawyer. She’ll be glad to see her sister, though.”
    “I hope so. Can we go right to her house?”
    “Sure.”
    In the parking garage, she followed him to a handicapped parking space and reached for the door to a gray sedan. He shook his head. “That’s not mine.” He walked to the other side of the sedan, where a huge black Harley-Davidson sat in a motorcycle spot. She glanced at the bike and then at Cooper’s prosthetic leg.
    “Don’t worry. There’s a double amputee riding across America.” He strapped her bag to a luggage rack and handed her a helmet. “He was fine when he started, but he lost both legs in a motorcycle accident.”
    She laughed, weighing the risk to her life versus the risk of hurting his feelings. She’d never ridden a motorcycle before and was mildly terrified. She reached for the helmet. Cooper opened a saddlebag and pulled out a black leather jacket, similar to the one he was wearing, and held it out to her. But it was mid-June, warm and balmy.
    “No thanks,” she said.
    “It’s to protect your skin if we have a crash.”
    “Oh, that’s reassuring.”
    She put on the leather jacket. It smelled of cedar, cherries, and the faint hint of another woman’s perfume. Cooper straddled the front seat. She climbed onto the seat behind him and grabbed the metal handles on the sides, leaving a wide berth between their bodies.
    Cooper glanced back. “Don’t be shy. Scooch up nice and close and hold on to my waist.”
    She hesitated, suddenly wary. Who picks someone up from the airport on a motorcycle? What if she’d had more luggage? She met his clear blue eyes and found only earnestness there. She slid forward and put her arms around him.
    He started the engine and pulled forward. As the motorcycle drove past the parked cars, her heartbeat quickened. She was very aware that she had a large man between her legs, her breasts pressed against his back, and a giant engine humming beneath her. She could feel Cooper’s lean muscles beneath his leather jacket. She wasn’t cheating on Jack, she reasoned. First: she was just getting a ride. Second: she and Jack were done. Third: she hoped she didn’t die.
    Anna tried to pay for parking, but Cooper beat her to it. He pulled out of the parking structure and onto the service road. Anna could reach out and touch the car in the next lane—which would take her arm off. As he pulled onto the highway’s on-ramp, Cooper yelled, “Ready?”
    “Yeah,” she lied.
    The bike roared up to Michigan’s 70 mph speed limit. She held tight to Cooper’s waist. The motor filled her ears and the pavement flew under her feet. She wondered how it would feel if her body hit it. The bike angled low into a curve, and Cooper swung between her thighs. Her adrenaline surged. She was scared and thrilled and very aware of being alive.
    Halfway between Detroit and Flint, Cooper slowed the bike and took the exit ramp marked “Holly Grove.” Anna’s grip relaxed, but her chest tightened. She’d beenrelieved when she left this town, and she never liked coming back. The only thing she really loved here was her sister.
    Cooper passed through the historic downtown. It must have been charming once, but it wasn’t used for much these days. The courthouse and city hall still looked respectable enough, but the storefronts in between were mostly vacant