Page 39 of Cooper

“Come on,” I urge. “We can do this together.”

“Dammit, Nat, we can’t! I’m going to mess this up for you.”

“This is a test,” I hiss, nudging him along. “They know you’re here. They know what you’ve been through. They know if I’m not on active duty with someone in the family, I’m never going to leave you behind. They’re testing me to see if I can save you in time.”

“Fuck.” He picks up speed even though I can sense how much it’s costing him. Luckily, he’s a tough sonofabitch who just survived being tortured by the Taliban so he’s going to push through. I hope so anyway.

We get to the tunnel at the end of the hallway, and I reach for the lever beneath a gilded decorative antique table. The door swings open and I punch numbers into the concealed keypad. A hidden pocket-style door slides open, and I push him inside.

“It’s a slide,” I say. “The end might be painful, but you need to go.” Before he can acknowledge, I push him into position, and he disappears from sight.

I glance behind me, which is what I would do if this were a real attack, and then push the buttons that will trigger all the mechanism that hopefully puts everything back in place so someone coming down this hallway wouldn’t even realize there was a secret passage.

It’s all very cloak and dagger, but after multiple attacks both on the palace and Parliament House, which is where the government meets, Sandor and Erik decided this was the safest course of action.

The tunnels have been here for centuries, but most of the originals have become dead ends and/or replaced with new ones going in different directions. This one is a newer one, put on this floor because there weren’t any.

As I throw myself down the slide, I feel a moment of silliness, wondering when the last time I was on a slide for fun. Or had any fun, really. Other than a few evenings with Logan where we went into town and walked around the shops, a couple of romantic dinners, and some game nights when I was stationed in Iraq, there’s been very little anything that even remotely resembles fun.

I land at the bottom with a jolt and find Cooper there catching his breath. The landing is a little jarring, and I’m sure it didn’t do his ribs any favors, but he’s a trooper. And the strongest man I’ve ever met.

“The meeting point isn’t far,” I tell him. “How are you doing?”

He grunts. “I’ll make it, but I’ll pay for it tomorrow.”

I grab his arm and toss it over my shoulders. “Come on. I’ve got you. And don’t give me any of that macho, alpha bullshit. I’ll suck your dick later to make it up to you but right now, lean on me.”

He chuckles. “If I’m completely honest, macho alpha bullshit is currently unavailable.”

We hobble the rest of the way to the meeting point, and I nearly cry with relief. I know my time isn’t great, but I’m sure it’s at the low end of acceptable. As far as I’m concerned, this is a win.

“Very nice.” Sandor nods at me. “With one point five seconds to spare.”

I don’t roll my eyes because he doesn’t like it during drills, but I really want to.

“I’m impressed,” Joe says, marking something in his notebook. “Good job, Natalia.”

I’m currently the only Protector who’s still in training, other than Dax, who took my place in Iraq. We do drills regularly, and we’re always timed because they feel strongly about getting everyone out in time, but since I haven’t had my official ceremony yet, I’m technically still being assessed.

“We do apologize to you,” Prince Daniil says to Cooper. He’s Sandor’s brother and currently the President of Parliament. “We knew it would undoubtedly be uncomfortable, but this was a rare opportunity to see how Natalia reacts when there’s someone she cares about in danger but who isn’t part of the royal family.”

“Totally understandable,” he replies. “No worries.”

I love how they’re talking about me like I’m not standing right here.

Not.

“Normally, they’re at three in the morning,” Lennox says dryly, bouncing one of her newborn sons on her hip. “But I vetoed that. For both of us.”

“I appreciate it,” Cooper says.

“I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to formally introduce you to everyone,” I say.

“I thought you said this was an all-hands drill?” Cooper says, looking around.

“It is,” Joe replies, “but full-time palace staff go to a different area. Ace is over monitoring that part of the drill. The royal guards don’t participate because obviously we’re not going to leave entrances to the palace vulnerable for a drill, and some of the family no longer lives on site.”

“And Luke is out on a date,” Casey says, wrinkling her nose, “so Marcus is with him.”

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