Page 46 of Cooper's Command

Bellamy slid in beside him, shielding his face from the rain and the spray. “I’ve got a very bad feeling about this, because I swear I can see lights bobbing on the water off to our starboard side.”

Cooper snapped his gaze to this right, cursing the flash of white off in the distance. “Well, shit. I’m betting those are highly armored assault boats with bullet-proof glass and mounted machine guns.”

“Sounds about right. Any suggestions?”

“Only one. We make a run for more open water and hope they capsize when we hit the really big waves.”

“And what’s stopping us from doing the same?”

“Skill.” Cooper shrugged. “Probably luck. If you’ve got a better idea, buddy…”

“I’ll get the dogs rounded up so they don’t get tossed overboard when it gets really rough. Try not to kill us, okay?”

Bellamy was gone before Cooper could answer, Nova quickly taking his place. She didn’t say anything just wrapped her hand around a bar near the wheel, looking as if she’d rather be back at the cabin, taking on all two-dozen mercenaries by herself.

He gave her shoulder a nudge as he increased the throttle — got the craft really rocking. “It’s going to be okay.”

She slid her gaze toward him for a moment then back out at the open ocean. “I’m not a fan of boats.”

“Please don’t tell me you don’t know how to swim.”

“Of course I can swim, it’s just…” She swallowed, looked as if she was going to puke, then held her head up. “My parents were killed on a sailing trip when I was nine. That’s why I ended up in foster care. I haven’t been on one since.”

Well, shit.

“Nova. Sweetheart, I didn’t… I mean, I’m…”

Somehow sorry didn’t feel like enough.

“How could you know? I’ve never told anyone, not even Tate. Though, I knew it would eventually come up with you being ex-Coast Guard. And I’ve made peace with the fact I should probably try to embrace being on the water.” She gave him aquick glance. “Especially since I want to spend the foreseeable future with you. Just try to get us back in one piece, okay?”

Had they been blown up? Hit a reef and sunk? Because the rest of the world disappeared with those few words, just her face visible next to him. Her undeniable trust in him stealing his breath.

Until one of those boats actually fired on them and snapped Cooper back. Had him dodging left and right, riding the crest of one wave, then disappearing into the trough of the next. Using every trick he’d learned to keep them one step ahead. Hoping whoever was piloting the other boats didn’t have his experience.

Weren’t quite as motivated as he was to push the vessel as far as necessary to get the job done.

One of the tangos managed to jump ahead, closing the distance enough the assholes had a chance of doing some real damage. Either blowing a hole in the hull or maybe pegging their engine. What would be catastrophic and definitely a death sentence.

Cooper took a chance and turned the craft into the next wave — praying he got to the top before the thing curled over and took them with it. The jerk followed, realizing a bit too late how close it was going to be. That he’d never make it. The guy tried to change directions — punch his way out of it — but it was too late. Cooper’s boat soared over the top, catching air before splashing into the water, shooting up a curtain of water out both sides as it rocked back and forth, teetering on the edge of capsizing only to finally settle, then leap forward as he hit the throttle.

Their pursuer wasn’t as lucky. The wave hit the stern lifting the ass end like a toy then curling over it and taking it under the water. There were flashes of white, of that light shining through the waves, then it was gone. Nothing but utter blackness left in its wake.

Not that Cooper had time to celebrate when the maneuver cost him some of the lead he had on the other boat. It roared in behind him, one of the mercenaries moving to the bow with what looked like a damn rocket launcher resting on his shoulder. A complication Cooper wasn’t sure he could overcome.

He called Bellamy’s name, hoping his buddy might be able to get off a quality shot when his radio chirped, a blast of static cutting through the howling wind.

“You know, only an ex-Coast Guard Lieutenant would be crazy enough to pilot a boat in this weather.”

Cooper shook his head, grabbing the radio as he searched the horizon. “Says the ex-Lieutenant Commander flying the chopper. Because you are flying in this shit, right Blake?”

She laughed. “I can’t let you have all the fun. Now, do me a favor, Cooper, and take your vessel hard to starboard, in three… two… now.”

Cooper didn’t hesitate, banking the boat hard to the right, praying he wasn’t sentencing them all to a watery grave. Water sprayed across the bow, nearly tipping them, again, when a helicopter materialized out of the darkness. Just appeared like a wraith, ten feet off the deck, screaming past them at some insane speed. Blake flared the bird into an aggressive hover, the tail nearly touching the water before it was sitting above the waves, someone hanging out the side.

There was a flash of green smoke then the other boat erupted in flames, continuing across the surface for a few feet before quickly sinking beneath the waves.

Cooper eased back on the throttle, turning the boat around until it was heading back toward the shoreline. A spot he hoped Blake would be able to land the chopper and give them a ride.

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