Page 81 of Cooper

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We getto the prison a little later in the day than we anticipated, and it’s a whole ordeal getting rid of our original prisoner. The new prisoner is now moaning, pretending like he’s dying, but I checked the wound and it’s stopped bleeding. He’s going to need surgery to rebuild his knee, but that’s not our problem. And Sandor will be in Vinake by the time we get there to both interrogate him and decide whether or not he gets the surgery he needs.

Marcus is also in serious pain, but he refuses to take anything until we get to Vinake. There’s too much at stake for us to risk something else going wrong, and I force him to at least take a good dose of ibuprofen.

“Get some rest,” Natalia tells him once we’re back on the road. “We’ll wake you if anything happens.”

Marcus hesitates but then nods. A medic at the prison made a makeshift sling to hold his arm in place until he can get medical attention, but there’s no doubt he’s hurting.

“How long to Vinake?” I ask Natalia. She’s driving now since she knows the way and I want to keep an eye on both Dickhead #2 and Marcus.

“Less than three hours if the roads aren’t too bad. We don’t have highways up here so it’s all one- and two-lane roads most of the way.”

“All right.” I lean back in the seat and then glance at her. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. You?”

“Yeah.” She glances at me. “Welcome to the Royal Protectors.”

I grunt.

I’m not worried about the action we’re seeing—it’s the kind of thing I live for.

It’s just all the other things that are harder to wrap my head around.

I can’t fall down that kind of rabbit hole today, though.

We still have a long drive ahead of us and a prisoner to secure. Maybe even an interrogation later tonight.

The sun is getting lower in the sky, and I’m thankful it’s June so it doesn’t get dark too early. These back roads are narrow and winding, going through mountain passes with no rest areas, nowhere to pull off, nothing. It’s barren country up here, and I can see why it’s an ideal place for a prison. For the people who live here, though, it must be rough, especially in winter.

No wonder Natalia couldn’t wait to get the hell out.

By the time we get to Vinake, we’re tired and on edge, and our prisoner has passed out. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but we’re following orders.

“This him?” Sandor meets us in front of the inn we’re staying at and peers into the car.

“Yeah. He lost a lot of blood but seems stable.”

“I’m going to take him out into a remote area to interrogate him. Natalia’s coming with me, you need to get Marcus to the hospital.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to protest, but Sandor has already turned away. He’s not used to being questioned, and I shouldn’t anyway. There’s a chain of command, and though we’re encouraged to speak up during meetings, I know it’s not acceptable out in the field. So, I get back in the SUV and punch in the address for the hospital.

“Natalia’s going to be fine,” Marcus says in a hoarse voice.

I chuckle. “Am I that obvious?”

“Well, yeah. But she needs the experience. And you’re technically not a Royal Protector yet.”

“I know.”

“It’s going to be okay. Everything worked out.”

“But we still don’t know who’s after us or why our prisoner was important enough for them to find us again.”

“No, but we will. And there’s no better interrogator than Sandor. The first guy didn’t talk, but he will. This guy will too. It just may take time.”

“Yeah.” I stare straight ahead.

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