Page 23 of Cooper's Command

Cooper simply pulled the trigger — dropped the guy a heartbeat later. “Nova. Move. Now.”

No sense worrying if the others heard. He’d already outed their location. That Nova wasn’t alone.

Nova stumbled onto the path, weapon in hand as she cleared the area than started running. Not as fast as before but decent considering the terrain. That she was gaining elevation.

Whiskey stayed on Nova’s six, dividing her attention between the path and Cooper. Ears twitching as she looked back down the trail. Cooper shifted his focus, narrowing in on another figure hovering on the edge of his sightline. Large. Rifle notched in his shoulder.

Cooper aimed, but the asshole flew backwards a moment later, a loud report echoing across the ridge. He looked over at Nova. She had her left hand extended, her weapon aimed at where the guy had dropped. She glanced Cooper’s way, checking her six one more time, then took off running. Picking her feet up a bit higher.

He started toward her when that asshole she’d downed staggered back onto the trail. Dazed but standing. His weapon not quite on target but close. What could still kill her if the creep managed to stay upright long enough to sweep his arm across the path.

No hesitation. Cooper simply aimed while still moving, dropping the guy with a head shot a second later. Nova paused to gaze down the path before doubling her efforts — scrambling up the last of the trail.

Cooper’s comm chirped, Rusty’s voice sounding in his ear.

“I don’t know who the hell Nova pissed off, but a second car’s here and there’re still more on the way. You need to get her ass in your truck and fucking fly. We’ll make sure you aren’t followed, then meet up in thirty. And Coop… Ignore the posted speed limits.”

More on the way?

That didn’t bode well. And Cooper knew this was far more than some cartel running drugs. The kind of trouble that smelled like a double cross with Nova caught in the middle. Not that he had time to worry with his buddies running interference and more tangos in the mix. If his team got hurt…

“Then you, Ethan and Bellamy better keep your asses in one piece, or I’ll be kicking them.”

“Like we’d let ourselves get capped by some no-neck cartel thugs after all the missions we’ve made it through. We’ve got this.”

Cooper headed for his truck, holding his door open as he whistled for Whiskey. She raced ahead, jumping onto the seat then into the back as Nova circled around to the passenger side. She yanked open the door, practically falling into the truck as he revved the engine then peeled out, dirt and gravel shooting out from his tires.

“Buckle up. Rusty said we’ve got more company between us and that access road out of here.”

She nodded, clipping in as he cleared the ridge, paralleling the lot. And Rusty hadn’t been exaggerating. That second SUV was idling in the lot, another racing toward them on the road.

“You’re popular.”

“If only it had been like this when I’d needed a date for prom.” She inhaled, pointing at some asshole running away from her car. “Did that bastard just?—”

It exploded, flames shooting twenty feet straight up as pieces of metal and glass flew through the air. One of the tire rims bounced in front of Cooper’s truck, rolling over the roof as Cooper veered left, cutting across the scrubby landscape toward the other road.

“They blew up my car!”

Cooper chuckled. “It was already dead on arrival.”

“Still…” She huffed. “It’s a rental.”

“Oh, sweetheart. I doubt that extra insurance was going to cover all the bullet holes, so… Shit. Hold on.”

Cooper made a hard left, busting through the end of a chain link fence then down the side of a ditch and onto a dirt roadwhen a couple of black trucks swerved onto the gravel track, quickly accelerating toward them.

Nova glanced over her shoulder then lowered the window, releasing her seatbelt and hanging half her body outside. She didn’t ask him to hold it steady just aimed then fired. The lead truck veered off for a few moments, the windshield looking like a spiderweb of cracks before it stabilized and settled in behind them. A series of pops filled the air, Cooper’s truck lurching forward from the impact.

“Christ, Nova, get your ass inside before you get it shot off.”

She snorted, grabbing the handle above the window when she nearly toppled out. “You worry about not crashing and I’ll worry about my ass.”

“We’re definitely having a conversation about your stubborn streak once we’re clear.”

He wove along the road, dividing his attention between the series of potholes and the bastards following them when one of the trucks surged ahead, flanking on their left. The driver turned into them, skidding Cooper’s truck sideways before he managed to counter — straighten it out. But it was enough the other vehicle gained on the right, wedging them in.

Cooper grabbed Nova and yanked her inside before slamming on the brakes — sending the other trucks screaming past him. Nova muttered something then leaned out, again, clipping the one on her side in the rear tire.

---