“I don’t make things easy for you, do I?” Cooper said carefully.
Park’s hand flexed slightly under his, but his face remained carefully impassive. “You don’t make things hard, either.”
Cooper smiled. “I hope I make some things hard.”
Park’s expression softened slightly, revealing how tense he’d been a moment ago. He turned his hand over in Cooper’s to interlace their fingers. “All right. Hit me with it. What’s wrong with this one?”
Cooper leaned forward and kissed Park quickly, light and affectionate. “You’re incredible. The good kind of incredible. And I appreciate how much—” he gestured with his free hand “—work you’ve done on this, for us. I know how hard it’s been, trying to figure out what I want on top of the problems with the job—”
Park glanced away, a flash of discomfort on his face. “There’re no problems,” he said quickly.
Cooper let that drop. Another hurdle, another time; it was becoming a bit of an overused motto for him these days. “Okay. My point is we’ve both been busy...adjusting. To everything. But I’ve been using that as an excuse not to have this conversation and I think—I know it’s gotten out of hand.”
Park’s breathing hitched, very slightly. “What are you saying, exactly? You don’t want...”
“I’m saying I can’t afford this. Not even close,” Cooper said frankly. “You know I can’t afford it.”
“But I can.” Park frowned. Slowly he said, “Cooper, I don’t expect you to contribute anything financially.”
That...didn’t feel good. But Cooper wasn’t sure if it stung because of some outdated, toxic bullshit of a man’s role in a household or if he had legitimate reason to cringe at the idea of giving up his apartment, his beloved neighbors, his security, to bunk rent-free in his boyfriend’s mansion.
“Look,” Park said, when Cooper was silent too long. “If I want to buy you a big house and can afford a big house, what’s the problem?” He ran a hand through his hair and seemed to force himself to say, “Unless there’s another reason you’re not comfortable with this?”
Cooper shook his head. “I just... I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to spend a bunch of money on me,” he hedged.
“Cooper, I’m the one who needs the space. If it wasn’t for me, would you even be moving?” Park asked.
“Well,” Cooper said. “Eventually. Probably.”
“The way you’re eventually, probably going to buy a bookshelf where the books aren’t the ones holding up the shelves?”
“Last winter you said they were charming,” Cooper grumbled. “Like being back in college. Where’s your loyalty?”
“With you. You have all my loyalty and there’s none to spare for DIY home deathtraps.” Park sighed and pulled Cooper toward him. He pressed a kiss to his temple. “Look, if you let me worry about the money, I promise to look for something with less staircases. And then maybe you can stop clutching your pearls if the toilet can be flushed more than once an hour.”
“No pearls. I draw the line at pearls,” Cooper said, recognizing when he was being distracted but lacking the energy and breathable air to do anything about it.
Park laughed into his hair, and one hand trailed very lightly down his spine. “But you’d look so, so pretty...”
Cooper felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and reluctantly pulled out of Park’s arms to give him a mock “how dare you” look.
Probably for the best. If Park’s thoughts were going anywhere near the same direction as Cooper’s, poor Josh might have returned to something incredible, indeed.
Cooper pulled out his phone and glanced reflexively at the screen, then paused.
“What?” Park asked, studying his reaction. “Who is it?”
Cooper showed him the phone.
Santiago. His old boss at the BSI. Both their bosses, really. At one time Cooper had even considered her...something. Not a friend—no, they were nowhere near close enough for that—but someone he liked, respected. Someone he sometimes suspected might like and respect him, too. A rare occurrence in his last job. She’d had a legendary career in the FBI and was part of the reason Cooper had even agreed to join the BSI. That and the promise of answers about the man who’d grown claws and ripped his gut out. It was a busy year.
Then when a cold case at his dad’s house turned hot and his relationship with Park had been revealed, she’d gotten distant, fast. Cooper hadn’t spoken to her at all since officially leaving the BSI to join the Trust.
“Dayton,” Cooper said, answering the call.
There was a pause, long enough that Cooper checked they were still connected. Then, “Dayton. This is Santiago.” Another pause. “You’re doing well?”
“Yeah. Yes. And you?”
This time he heard a shuffling sound and a door closing from the line. As if Santiago was moving around. She ignored his question. “Are you available to meet? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you. In person.”
Cooper glanced at Park, who was staring intently, head cocked slightly to the side. “Um, yes. All right. When were you—”
“Today,” she said. “Now or...as soon as possible.”
“All right,” Cooper said. “Where?”
She named a residential address surprisingly close to where they were.
“I can be there in twenty.” Park made a face and Cooper rolled his eyes. “Ol—Agent Park is with me. Is that going to be a problem?”
Santiago sighed. “No. I was hoping he would be. This concerns both of you.”
* * *
Well, he would have made it there in twenty if it weren’t that meddling DC traffic. As it was, they turned onto a leafy, residential street over half an hour later and parked in the shade.
“Do you think it has something to do with Dr. Freeman?” Park asked as they got out of the car.
Cooper startled. “What?”
Dr. Emily Freeman was not a name he’d heard in a while. It had been his and Park’s first case with the Trust. After she had disappeared with biological samples proving the existence of werewolves in her pocket and blood on her hands—well, accessory to murder on her hands, anyway—Cooper and Park had tracked her clean across the continent to the West Coast, but had lost her somewhere in British Columbia. Jurisdiction issues with the Canadians had eventually sent them back home. For the next month the Trust had been on high alert waiting for Freeman to reach out to her old contacts, but there was no sign of her and eventually her case had slipped into the unsolved files.