Free Copper by Iris Abbott

vein on the side of his neck stood out and started to throb.
    Marla winced even though she knew the anger wasn’t directed toward her.  She laid a comforting arm on his shoulder, hoping to calm down his mushrooming anger.  “More than once,” she confirmed. 
    He took a deep breath but didn’t have another outburst, so Marla continued.  “I mentioned earlier tonight that I was involved in an abusive relationship,” she softly reminded him.  “He only hit me twice.  I forgave Rob the first time, because I thought I was in love with him and that he felt the same way about me.  Chalk it up to stupidity, but I gave Rob a second chance, and I’ve regretted it every day of my life.”
    Copper snorted, but he entwined his fingers with hers. When she didn’t attempt to break the contact, he gave her a comforting squeeze. It gave Marla the courage she needed to continue. Now that the dam was broken, the words were flowing, and they came out faster and faster as she kept talking. 
    “I wasn’t willing to forgive him a second time.  I broke up with him a couple of weeks before I missed my period and realized I was pregnant.  I was scared to tell Rob, so I tried to keep the pregnancy a secret for as long as I could.”  She paused to take a deep breath.
    “I was as careful as I could be, but it didn’t matter. He was in my bedroom waiting for me one evening when Natalie and I got home from running errands.  He’d somehow heard rumors about my pregnancy.  You know the rest…”  She grew silent.
    Copper gritted his teeth and fought to keep the building rage inside him.  Any display of anger or temper would spook her.  He wanted Marla running to him not away from him. His silence didn’t stop him from making a promise to himself.   Rob Storey was going to pay, even if he wasn’t behind tonight’s attack the SOB was going to pay with interest for his past crimes against Marla.
    “Copper?” Her tentative voice whispered his name. She paused, waiting for him to answer.
    “Yes, darlin’?”
    “Thank you.”
    “I haven’t done anything.” Yet! But he was going to act as soon as he acquired a more detailed picture of what was going on. 
    “You listened, and that’s what I needed the most.  I never talk about that night, because Natalie feels guilty, and I don’t want to say or do anything that would make her feel worse.”
    Copper figured it was just like his efficient and fiercely loyal assistant to shoulder the blame instead of putting it all where it belonged, squarely on the shoulders of Rob Storey. “It wasn’t her fault, and it wasn’t yours either,” he felt compelled to point out.
    “I know, and deep down I think Natalie does too.  That doesn’t stop her from believing she should have protected me better, especially in our own home.”  Marla stifled a huge yawn.  She was on the downside of an emotional rollercoaster ride at the end of a traumatic day. Her body was finally crashing, and she had no choice but to let it. 
    “I’m so tired.” She closed her eyes and leaned even more into the warm and comforting body holding her up. “Going to crash now,” she warned just before drifting off to sleep.
    A gentleman would leave the bed and probably the room too.   Copper wasn’t a gentleman, and he wasn’t moving.  He wanted her to get used to being near him.  He wanted her used to his touch too. 
    He gently shifted Marla onto her side, so he could adjust his own position.  She stirred enough to try to move away from his embrace, but Copper just tightened his hold and whispered comforting words. The woman he was spooning with quieted down and went back to sleep.
    Rest would have to wait for Copper.  He needed to be alert when protecting Marla, but he needed to strategize too. Once during a particularly challenging mission, he went forty-eight hours straight without sleep.  He could afford to give up one night of rest to put a plan together.  The quicker he and the rest of