Page 19 of Cooper's Command

“That Nova’s a seasoned DEA agent and can handle this kind of stuff in her sleep. Which, of course she can, except…”

Except Cooper couldn’t shake the feeling that he was the one missing the signs, this time. And if he wasn’t careful, Nova would end up like Tate.

“If your gut’s telling you something’s wrong, then I say we take a drive. Check out her office.”

“And when she decides to shoot us both in the ass?”

Bellamy laughed. “Then it’s a good thing our fellow Brotherhood Protector, Kian, is a medic.”

Cooper grinned. “Or, I could stop agonizing over theories and call her and see if she picks up. Save us a trip and a couple rounds in the ass.”

He grabbed his cell when the front door flew open, Flint and Emery marching in. Eyes narrowed. Mouths pinched tight. Flint stopped just inside, taking up point on the door as Emery headed straight for the bar. And Cooper knew things were about to get real.

She glanced back at Flint once she’d gotten within a few feet of Cooper, drawing herself up as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Have you spoken to Nova recently?”

Cooper frowned, looking from Bellamy to Flint then back to Emery. “Not since she left to meet Paulin at the DEA office. Why?”

“So, she hasn’t called you in the last five minutes? Maybe sent you a text?”

“I just said I haven’t talked to her since she left the crime scene. What’s up?”

Emery glanced at the rest of his team as Ethan and Rusty shuffled in behind Cooper, looking as if she wanted to be anywhere but there. “There’s been a development.”

Cooper huffed when Emery simply stood there, staring at him as if he’d grown another head — doing his best not to let his imagination run wild. All the thoughts he’d been having sinceNova had driven off alone. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific. What kind of development?”

Her shoulders drooped and she shook her head, moving over so she could lean against the bar. “There’s no easy way to say this so I’m just going to spit it out. Simmons is at the DEA office. Paulin’s dead. Shot twice in the chest. And Simmons claims Nova’s the one who shot him.”

“What?” Cooper stood, closing the gap between them. “That’s crazy. Why would Nova shoot Paulin?”

“I don’t know. All I’m getting are patchy details secondhand over the radio. But from what I’ve heard, Simmons went there to meet with them and walked in just as Nova gunned Paulin down. He says she turned on him but he managed to get behind some cover. Then, he says a bunch of cartel assholes showed up and they all had a massive gunfight before she escaped. As far as he knows, she’s still at large.”

Dreaming.

That’s what Cooper was doing. He’d obviously fallen asleep at the counter and this was some twisted nightmare wrought by his anxiety over the possibility of losing Nova.

Bellamy recovered first, shouldering up beside him. “No fucking way. Nova Martin’s as true as they come. She’d never turn and she’d never kill someone without provocation. And before you ask, yeah, I’m sure. Because if she was going to murder anyone, she would have capped Eric Moody the second he set foot on the island instead of leaving it to the feds.”

Emery held up her palms. “I’m just relaying what I heard. But you should all know, there’s a warrant out for her arrest as a person of interest in Special Agent Paulin’s death. One that will go federal once her boss gets involved. And Simmons is really pushing the fact that she fired on an officer. If she resists…”

“This is insane.” Cooper held up his phone. “Let’s call her.”

“You can’t. Her phone was found at the scene beside Paulin’s body. Trust me. That was the first thing I tried, which is why I came here. If she’s going to reach out to anyone, it’s you.”

“And you think I’ll just rat her out?”

“No. I’m hoping you’ll put your faith in me — in the fact you trust Flint.”

“Is that before or after you arrest her and she gets locked in a cell where she’ll have an unfortunate accident before she has a chance to tell her side of the story?”

Flint cleared his throat. “That’s not fair, Cooper.”

“No.” Emery shook her head. “Cooper has a point. We’ve all seen it happen. But I don’t think I need to stress how badly this will play out if someone else gets to her, first. All I’m asking is for a chance to talk. However that needs to happen.”

Cooper tried to swallow, praying he didn’t end up spitting it all over everyone. “That’s assuming she calls.”

Emery nodded. “She will.”

Cooper shrugged, trying to brush it off when his cell rang. He glanced at the number, not that he recognized it. But he didn’t need to. He already knew it was Nova.

---