Page 21 of Cooper's Command

She’d definitely sobbed. More than once though he couldn’t tell if she was sad, relieved or if it was something else entirely. “I need to ditch this car. Not that it’s got much life left in it, anyway. And, I need a ride and a safe place to crash for a few days while I figure out what the hell is going on. I know it’s a lot to ask, but?—”

“You remember where we went to watch the sunset the other night?”

A watery chuckle. “I was hoping you were going to seduce me on that cliff.”

“Leave the car in the lot and hoof it up to the lookout. I’ll be waiting in my truck on that access road near the back.”

Another grunt. “I’ll be there in twenty. And Coop… I doubt I’ll be alone.”

The line went dead like an eerie premonition of how her life would end if he didn’t get his ass to that spot before she showed up with god knew how many cartel assholes on her tail.

Emery stepped closer once he’d pocketed his phone, looking from Flint back to him. “Where are you meeting her?”

“I can’t tell you that.” Cooper held up his hand when Flint grunted and took a step closer. “You asked me to trust you. Now, I’m asking you to do the same. Let me get her to safety, then, we’ll arrange a place to meet and you can have that talk.”

“Cooper. Every cop on the island is looking for her. We don’t have time to play the long con, here.”

“I understand the gravity of the situation. But she’s not some naive civilian running scared. She’s a trained operative. One who’s logged more undercover hours in her agency than any other agent except Tate. If she chooses to disappear, no one will ever find her, including me. And that’s what will happen if anyone else shows up.”

“Other than us.” Bellamy crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s no way we’re going to stand by while you face armed gunmen alone because that was obviously a yes when you asked if that was gunfire. And Nova knows I’d take it personally if she ran from me.”

Cooper arched a brow. “Well, Emery? Either you trust that I won’t screw you over or you don’t. But either way, I’m going to help Nova, if for no other reason than to give her a chance to turn herself in, safely, if she is guilty of whatever Simmons seems to think she’s involved in. But I promise you, she’s not.”

Emery huffed, shaking her head as she moved aside. “Bring her to Hawk’s in an hour. I’ll radio in that I’ve cleared the ranch and am personally standing watch for a while. That should prevent any unwanted company from showing up.” She snagged Cooper’s wrist when he went to walk past. “Don’t cross any lines you can’t undo.”

Cooper tilted his head, nodding toward Flint. “How many would Flint cross for you?”

Emery glanced at Flint and Cooper swore she glowed with that same neon essence Nova had earlier after kissing him. “All of them.”

Cooper merely smiled as he held the door open for his buddies. “And I meant what I said. No one follows us, not even Blake in her chopper, or this will turn out far worse. I had your back when those assholes were gunning for you. I need you to have mine, now.”

“The ranch, Cooper. One hour.”

CHAPTER 6

Nova was late,and Cooper had a bad feeling it wasn’t because she was standing him up.

He looked through his scope, again, scanning the area around the lot. While he thought she’d likely be traveling on the access road just east of the highway, he wasn’t discounting that she’d busted through a gate and was barreling across some private track. Or maybe making her own trail, assuming her vehicle could handle it, which was definitely a concern.

He should have insisted she take his truck. Not that she would have accepted it, but he should have tried. Anything to ease the guilt burning in his gut. That he’d known something was up and had simply let it slide.

His comm buzzed a moment after Whiskey nudged his leg. “Coop, I’ve got a vehicle coming in fast on the southeast access road. And with the amount of damage, I’m surprised it’s even running.”

Rusty and the man sounded more animated than usual. What seemed to be the guy’s default setting regardless of how intense the situation was.

Cooper clicked his mic. “Gray sedan?”

“Bingo.”

“That’s Nova. Anyone else?”

Ethan snorted into the comms. “You mean like the heavily tinted SUV trailing behind her? With what looks like bullet holes through the chassis?”

“Something like that.”

“Then, yeah. She’s bringing company. And there’re more a few minutes behind them. I can’t see anything other than a dust cloud, but…”

“But there’s little chance we’ll get out of this without having to engage whoever’s tailing her.”

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