Page 54 of Cooper's Command

Nova wasn’t sure if her boss had been on the island since he’d issued the federal warrant for her arrest or if Milligan had contacted him once they’d put their sting operation into motion. Either way, the guy looked pissed.

He stopped next to car, bending down to look at her through the opposite window as he shook his head, then walked over to the officer who was standing watch. He showed his badge, motioning to Nova. The officer glanced at the factory, then huffed and stepped over to her door.

The hinges creaked as he opened it, waving at her to turn around. “Apparently your boss wants to talk.”

Nova rubbed her wrists once the cop had released the cuffs, twisting back around when the officer jerked then pitched forward, bouncing off the door frame before crumpling to the ground. Blood spreading across the back of his uniform.

She inhaled, lunging for him when Cartwright tsked, aiming his gun at her head as he sighed. As if shooting the officer had been an inconvenience for him. A complication she’d driven him to.

“Do you see what you’ve made me do, Martin? Forcing my hand?” Cartwright waved her out with his weapon, the silencer on the end gleaming red then blue in the rotating police lights. “Get out. And I swear, you so much as blink, and I’ll just kill you.”

Nova scanned the area, but it was too far removed for anyone to notice them unless they were specifically looking that way. Which, why would they when all the action had been inside the factory?

She eased out, side-stepping the officer as she kept her back to the vehicle. “I knew Paulin wasn’t smart enough to pull this off. But I have to say, I never imagined you were dirty.”

“Save me the guilt trip. This isn’t personal. It’s business. Now get in the driver’s seat of the Suburban. It’s about time you and me took a drive.”

CHAPTER 17

“What the hellis taking so long?” Cooper paced across the factory floor, just like Nova had been doing, glaring at the three officers who glanced at him before resuming their conversation.

It had been over ten minutes since those other two jackasses had shoved Nova from one side of the room to the other before disappearing out the door, and Cooper’s patience was about to snap.

Bellamy stepped in front, stopping Cooper from making another pass. “We knew this is how it would play out, but Emery and Milligan are on top of it. They need to keep Nova isolated until they can sort everything out. Or have you forgotten there’s still a federal warrant out for her arrest?”

“I haven’t forgotten, wiseass. But what if there’re more cartel assholes hanging around? Who’s going to protect her? That rookie who barely looks old enough to walk to school on his own?”

“There’re half a dozen cruisers out there along with ambulances and other emergency vehicles. Besides, I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to attack her.”

Cooper grunted, rolling his shoulders in attempt to calm down. Whether it was the aftermath of the firefight, Whiskeytaking two slugs to her vest, or just the fact he was stupid in love with Nova, he wasn’t sure. But his inner voice was nagging at him. Warning him this wasn’t over. That despite the numerous battles they’d waged over the past week, it had been almost too easy.

That maybe they were missing something.

He clenched his fists, reminding himself Bellamy had a point, when Emery walked toward them, Flint shadowing her every move. “Well?”

Emery snorted. “You know Nova’s just outside in Milligan’s Chevy, right? Not stuffed into someone’s trunk or stuck behind bars.”

“Yeah, handcuffed, unarmed, with some rookie as her only protection.”

“That rookie graduated top of his class. But more importantly, he’s too far removed to have been bought by a cartel.”

“I’m sure his sense of honor will be a godsend when half a dozen mercenaries come gunning for her.”

Flint chuckled. “I told you so, sweetheart.”

Emery sighed, digging her hand into her pocket before handing Flint ten bucks. “I never should have taken that bet. And yeah, Flint said you’d be running through every worse-case scenario until you could have her six, again.”

“That’s because this isn’t over. Nailing Simmons was a start, and with any luck, it’ll cripple whatever cartel was backing him for a while. But the fact those medics carted him out of here while he was already trying to broker a deal suggests he’s only a piece in the puzzle. And Nova’s at the center of it.”

Cooper raked his hand through his hair, huffing out his next breath. “In fact, the more I think about it, the more I believe it’s who Paulin was going to ID that got him killed. Thatconnection back to Tate. And that doesn’t have anything to do with Simmons.”

Emery frowned when her radio buzzed, that older cop who’d escorted Nova out, yelling for a medic. That there was an officer down.

She inhaled, then she was racing across the factory a heartbeat later, Cooper’s team in tow — Flint taking point. He stopped her just long enough to clear the immediate area, then he was waving them through — covering their six. Medics were already at the car, working on the kid. Something about a gunshot wound.

She went to the other side, cursing at the empty back seat, Nova’s handcuffs lying on the floorboard. No other obvious clues within sight. “Shit!”

Cooper had Whiskey scenting the Chevy as soon as the paramedics had the officer on a gurney heading for the ambulance. The dog sniffed the cuffs, then turned, limping toward the back of the car. She stopped, sniffed again, then took several more steps, shifting over to the middle of the lane way, before sitting. Looking up at him, tail wagging.

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