Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
Cooper
Natalia falls asleep instantly but it’s harder for me. I slept a little before she called me to pick her up from the hospital, and now I’m struggling to doze off.
I keep thinking about these Arabic men who weren’t an issue until I got to Limaj.
What’s happening here?
It bothers me that this started happening after I got here.
Actually, no.
It started after Paris .
When the pictures of me with the Limaji “socialite” hit some of the media outlets. It’s not a huge thing, and mostly news throughout Europe since my family didn’t see or hear anything, but it’s still out there. Captain Ryan Cooper dating mysterious Limaji woman… how many times did I repeat my name, rank, and serial number while I was being tortured?
None of it makes sense.
At six thirty, I drag myself out of bed because I’m done tossing and turning. Natalia is out cold, which is good because she was up much later than me, so I pull on shorts and a T-shirt and decide to go for a run.
To my surprise, I run into Sandor outside.
He gives me a grin. “Up early or couldn’t sleep?”
“Both.”
He nods. “Joe told me what’s on your mind.”
“Yeah. I can’t shake the feeling this is about me. If that’s the case, I have to get as far away from you and the royal family as possible.”
He frowns. “That’s not how we handle problems in our family.”
“My job, as a Royal Protector, is to do whatever it takes to protect the king and his family, right? I can’t do that with a target on my back.”
“No, but we can eliminate that target just like we would an enemy of the king.”
“Long-term, that’s great. Short-term, I can’t go back to the palace.”
“Let’s make sure we know what we’re dealing with before you make any decisions. So far, there’s no evidence this is about you. We have so many enemies, how do we decide if this one is different?”
“It’s time for me to go back to the States anyway. I have to close up my apartment and pack my shit. Spend a couple of days with my mom. I just…well, it’s time for me to shit or get off the pot. I need to go home and clear my head before I can do that.” I take a breath. “But I need a favor.”
“Name it.”
“You have to tell Natalia she can’t come.”
He sighs.
“I know. It pisses me off too, but if I am the target, she becomes a target with me. Like yesterday. And Marcus…” I stare up at the sky in frustration, hands on my hips. “He’s out of commission now—what? Six weeks? Eight?”
“Probably six, but he’s not completely out of commission. He can run the surveillance room, help Jonas with cyber security, stuff like that. It’s a good time for him to take the immersive language class to help his Limaji. He’s not at full capacity, but we’ll still utilize him. As you saw yesterday, being down an arm doesn’t slow him down much.”
“I just need you to tell her no,” I say flatly. “Tell her you can’t spare her with Marcus out of commission.”
“Have you talked to her?”
“No. I know she won’t leave my side. She’ll become a mother hen. She’s still dealing with a little bit of PTSD from what happened to Logan.”
“I’m not going to lie to her,” he says. “I can skew the facts to make her feel guilty about leaving us while we’re down a man, but I’m not going to forbid it. You’re not prisoners to this job. She signed a contract and is committed to the Protectors for at least five years, but that doesn’t mean she can’t take a few days off to go meet her boyfriend’s family. That’s not a precedent we want to establish.”
We glare at each other. “Dammit, Sandor.”
“Keeping big secrets this early in a relationship is asking for trouble.”
“I’m trying to protect her!” I throw up my hands.
“I know that. I appreciate it. But you don’t have to throw yourself under a bus. Once you’re one of us, you’re part of the family. And right now, we don’t know anything.”
“My gut—that place deep inside that we call our survival instinct—is screaming at me.”
“So we’ll dig deeper. Ace and Joe are already on it. But for now, don’t do anything rash. For as long as you’re here, we need you. She needs you.”
I know she does.
That’s partly what makes this so hard.
“Yeah. Okay.” I pause. “Are we going to run?”
“Actually, we’re not.” He has what I can only call a shit-eating grin on his face. “We’re going to pay a visit to Nat’s brother-in-law.”
She must have texted him before she fell asleep.
“Oh. Fuck yeah.” I nod. “That sounds like a great way to spend the morning.”
We turn and head for the SUV.
It will feel good to burn off this nervous energy and the fear winding through my gut.
It’s not for me. I can take care of myself.
But Natalia?
These new friends I’ve made?
No, I can’t put them in danger.
If we find out that it’s me these guys are after, I’ll leave Limaj and head back to Germany so I can get on a military transport. I’m still in the marines. I haven’t made any decisions, so I can get on a plane there. I’ll tell my commanding officer what’s going on once I’m back in the U.S., and they’ll help me sort this out. I also plan to call Louie as soon as I get a chance, see if he can help with reconnaissance.
“If you want some advice,” Sandor says, bringing me back to the present. “I have some regarding meeting Natalia’s parents.”
“We’re not going to see them,” I say, frowning.
He laughs. “You met her sister, and she named her kid after you. Trust me—you’re going to meet them.”
How does he know every damn thing that happens?
It’s a little unnerving.
“Well, shit.”
“Anyway, depending on what happens, if the conversation permits, ask her father about her dowry.”
“Her dowry ?” I gape at him.
“I know. It seems counterintuitive and archaic. But it will show him that not only did you do some research into our traditions, you care enough about her to respect them. And no matter how much, or how little, he offers you, ask for a tiny bit more.”
“More?” I can’t wrap my head around the conversation we’re having. Women still have dowries?
“This is about her father and respecting his beliefs. By asking for a little more, you show him how much she’s worth to you.”
“She’s not a brood mare!” I protest.
“I know that.” He cuts a look at me. “That’s not what this is about. You know that. And she does too.”
“Jesus fucking Christ. So, if he offers me three goats, I ask for four?”
“You ask for one that’s already pregnant.”
We stare at each other.
“I’m just putting this out there now—if there are goats involved, I am not taking care of them!”
He nods solemnly. “Understood. We’ll figure something out.”
I don’t even know if I’m staying in Limaj, but now I’m thinking about Natalia’s dowry.
All I can do is laugh.
Fate is an ornery motherfucker.
* * *
The beatdown I give Pieter is tame compared to what I normally would want to do to a man who puts his hands on a woman.
His wife .
His pregnant wife, no less.
But Natalia said not to hurt him too badly, that it would cause problems in the family, so I keep it simple. The black eye and bloody lip are effective enough, and having Sandor standing there—all six feet seven inches of him—with his arms folded is pretty fucking daunting. Even to me. And I’m not scared of much.
Pieter is a slobbering mess when we’re done, but I don’t feel even a little bit bad. Fuck men who hit women. If you don’t love her, leave. If she cheated or spent the mortgage money shopping, leave or suggest counseling. Arguing is fine. Normal. But hitting her because you’ve had a bad day? Because you can?
Fuck that noise.
I don’t think Pieter will be putting his hands on her any time soon, but according to Natalia, she’s leaving him anyway.
He just doesn’t know it yet.
“I’ll leave you here,” Sandor says when we get back to the inn. “I’m going to break Marcus out of the hospital and head home. You and Natalia okay here? You’re not going to disappear like a thief in the night the minute I’m gone, are you?”
“Not today, no.”
He meets my gaze. “Trust us to help you. That’s what we do. If nothing else, trust me . I entrusted you with someone very important to me when I sent Natalia to you in Iraq. Give me the same respect by giving me a chance to take care of this.”
“I will. I appreciate everything you’ve done, both then and now. Believe me, I’m not doing anything until we know for sure I’m the target. I’m falling in love with her, but I’m trying to make thoughtful, rational decisions when it comes to her and to the Royal Protectors.”
He nods. “Then I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
I want to protest, tell him we might not be staying for the weekend, but I’m pretty sure Natalia wants to see her youngest sister, and now that at least two people know we’re here I might as well meet her parents.
I’m torn because I don’t know what’s happening with these guys coming after us, and if they found us on the way to the prison, it wouldn’t be hard to find us on her parents’ farm either. The last thing I want to do is bring trouble to her parents.
That’ll win me a lot of points.
Not .
“Hi.” Natalia is just coming out of the inn as I’m walking in. “Where did you go so early in the morning?”
“We had a pleasant visit with Pieter,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.
She grimaces, her gaze falling on the blood stains on my T-shirt. “He’s…okay, right? It’ll make things worse if he can’t go to work or?—”
I cut her off. “Don’t worry. Black eye. Cut on his lip. He’s fine. Scared shitless, but fine.”
“Did you make him cry?” Her eyes gleam with mischief now.
“I most certainly did. Well, I think it was Sandor who made him cry. He’s way scarier than me.”
“He definitely is. And good. He deserves to be scared.”
“I’m going to change my shirt. Do you want to wait for me? Sandor’s heading to pick up Marcus and then home. He assumed we were staying for the weekend.”
Our eyes meet.
“Do you want to stay for the weekend?”
“I want what you want. I know your relationship with your family is complicated, but Lucianna knows about us now, and she’s going to have to explain why her new daughter suddenly has a very American name. It’s probably better to get this over with.”
She chews the inside of her cheek as she mulls it over. “All right. Go change your shirt, and then we’ll go to the hospital to see Luci. Sandor arranged for her to stay five whole days, which is amazing. Our national health only covers two, but this will give her a chance to rest, recuperate and hopefully come up with an exit plan. Later, I’m going to pick up Greta, so she can see her mom and meet the new baby.”
“Sounds good. Just let me take a quick shower and maybe grab a cup of coffee? Fifteen minutes, max.”
“Of course. I’m going to text Femke, so you go ahead.”
I run inside and for a while, I forget all about the target on my back. I’m clinging to the hope that Sandor is right and I’m wrong.
Because leaving this job and my new friends will be hard.
Walking away from Natalia, even if it’s for her own safety, will be harder than anything else I’ve ever had to do.
And I’m going to have to consider that carefully when I decide whether or not to become a Royal Protector.