Page 99 of Cooper

Am I in some kind of trouble because of Lucianna?

Did my father essentially forcing us to say we were engaged freak Cooper out?

I don’t know what’s happening and I don’t like feeling like I’m on the outside. Sandor promised he wouldn’t do it again, yet here we are.

I pour a cup of coffee and sit down in a huff.

“All right, everyone. Let’s get started.” Joe stands up. “We have to discuss a situation.” He looks to Sandor. “Perhaps you can start with what happened with our second prisoner.”

Sandor clears his throat. “After we got him medical attention, he was transferred to Braksa Prison. Needless to say, two nights there and he was singing like a bird.” He pauses and cuts a glance to me. “These attacks have nothing to do with us. Unfortunately, although we don’t have any details, this appears to be something to do with Cooper. And he’s left the Protectors to go back to the military.”

“What?” I sit up straight and stare at him. “And you let him go?”

He sighs. “The long and short of it is, Cooper was never a Royal Protector. We gave him the opportunity to give it a try, but he never signed a contract or took the oath. He’s not beholden to us in any way. Aside from that, this is something he has to do. Because his presence here becomes a security risk while these men are after him.”

“I understand that, but you let him go alone?” I stand up now, hands on my hips. “So they can kill him?!”

“He’s going back to the military,” Sandor says quietly. “He won’t be alone.”

“But they’re not going to protect him like we can. Hell, they count onhimto protect everyone else!”

“It was his choice.”

My whole body feels hot, and there’s a combination of fear and dread and fury racing through my veins.

“Natalia, sit down,” Joe says. “We’re going to work this out. Daniil is going to the U.S. for a meeting with the Secretary of Defense, and he’ll take some time to talk to his contacts and?—”

“Cooper could be dead by then,” I interrupt.

“I know you’re upset, but this is part of the job. Cooper is doing what’s best for the royal family. Not for himself. Or you.” Sandor meets my gaze steadily.

I know he’s right, but I’m on the verge of freaking out.

I can feel another panic attack coming on and I hate myself for being weak.

“Then I go with Daniil. As his bodyguard, since he’s going in his capacity as a member of Parliament.”

“You can’t,” Sandor says flatly. “The king wants you here. If these men know you’re Cooper’s girlfriend, they might go after you in an attempt to lure him out. It’s not a risk the king is willing to take.”

My pulse is racing, and I feel myself breaking out in a sweat.

But I’m not the same woman I was nine months ago.

Or even six months ago.

I refuse to succumb to whatever this anxiety bullshit is, so I take a slow, deep breath, and mentally count to five. Then I exhale as unobtrusively as I can. I feel sick, and I’m furious with these people who claim to be my friends. How could they just let him go?

I must look ready to murder someone because Sandor approaches me gingerly. “Please. Give us a chance to work behind the scenes to help him. And protect his family in the U.S. You have a job to do here. Can you still do it with all of this going on? Can you put your feelings for Ryan to the side and follow your king’s orders?”

I want to scream that Cooper needs me more than the king does right now, but I can’t. It goes against everything we stand for as Royal Protectors.

So I take another shaky breath and nod. And even though it’s almost physically painful to say the word, I do it anyway. “Yes.”

* * *

After the meeting,I don’t linger and make a beeline for the Royal Apartment. I’m annoyed with my bosses, my friends, and especially Cooper. If I hang out, I’ll probably say something I’ll regret so I get out of there as quickly as possible.

As far as I know, Casey has no plans today, and I find her at her desk in her office. She has her desktop computer open, working on something.

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