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CHAPTER 10

Nova cursed under her breath, glancing back at Cooper. And it didn’t take their connection to deduce he’d figured it out. Knew there were only a couple scenarios that would compel her to follow Paulin’s demands.

Cooper hissed, moving in lover close. “This isn’t about best decisions. Or whether or not you’ve lost it. There are only two reasons you’d agree to meet Paulin alone. Either he threatened to hurt someone you care about, or he hung a giant-ass carrot out in front of you. The kind that likely involved Tate because regardless of getting Moody, I know you still think something’s off.”

Nova shifted her weight, not making direct eye contact. He inched closer. “Nova… Talk to me.”

She clenched her jaw, hating that her chin quivered. Not a lot, but Cooper noticed.

He took both her hands in his. “I know it’s hard for you but I can’t help you if you don’t trust me.”

“You know I trust you, Coop, it’s just…” She groaned, glancing at the ceiling before pushing out a rough breath. “He said he wanted out of whatever he was involved in because as soon as Tate was murdered he knew he was next.”

Cooper frowned. “How could he have been next when Moody’s dead?”

“All he would say over the phone was that I wasn’t asking the right questions or making the right connections. Then he said he’d bugger off if I brought anyone with me. And I couldn’t take that risk if there was even a slight chance he was telling the truth. And seeing as he was killed before we could talk, it seems he had a good reason to be paranoid.”

She huffed, slipping her hands free as she drew herself up. “Look, I get it. I should have confided in you and trusted that you could have found a way to back me up without him knowing. But I think we both know I don’t think too clearly when it involves Tate’s murder. So instead of standing here, analyzing all the stuff I’ve screwed up, can we focus on crap we can change? Like figuring out who, other than Simmons, is trying to frame me and why?”

That other guy — Milligan — arched a brow. “You seem fairly convinced that Detective Simmons is involved.”

“The man did shoot me while I was giving Paulin CPR. And I didn’t even have my gun in my hand. So yeah, I think he’s in on it. In fact, I think Simmons is the shadow figure I keep remembering. That he saw me find that tape and told Paulin, which is why he called. Who he was referring to when I told him he could trust Emery but he said he knew not all the cops were clean.”

“Do you think he killed Paulin?”

“Him. Mercenaries. Either’s possible. Which brings us back to all the evidence you’ve been collecting and interpreting while I was recovering. Your turn to share.”

Milligan shook his head. “Autopsy was a bust. Whoever shot him used frangible rounds, so they only recovered a couple useful fragments. Not enough to identify anything more than the slug likely came from a Sig. Which, you carry as your backup.”

“As does your department.”

Milligan grinned. “You’ve done your homework.”

“I don’t like surprises. What about the ledger?”

Milligan crossed his arms. “That’s a bit of a mixed bag. Porter had a buddy of his compare the handwriting to a few different samples, and the guy confirmed it’s a match to Paulin’s. And while Bellamy and Waylen have deciphered some of the code, all we’ve got so far are some dates and locations. The man was obviously mixed up in something but… We need definitive proof he was dealing cocaine before we can take it to the DEA and convince them you didn’t go seriously rogue, this time.”

“The ledger was supposed to be that definitive proof, Milligan.”

“And once Bellamy and Waylen crack the rest of it, I’m sure it will be. But in the meantime, it was enough to convince me and Porter to allow Cooper’s team to continue working with Emery on this endeavor instead of carting your ass off to jail. So, take the win where you can find it, Martin.”

“At least, tell me you’re investigating Simmons.”

“We’re looking into any possible connection they might have had before Paulin got stationed to the island. But we have to tread lightly or someone’s going to know we’re aiding and abetting a fugitive.”

“All of which means, we’re back to my word against Simmons’, but where his holds more weight.”

Milligan shrugged. “You did flee the scene.”

“I was being pursued by mercenaries. Ones who obviously wanted Simmons to keep breathing.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Unless Kian found a slug inside me, you know I can’t.” She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Cooper eased her against his chest, again, as if he knew she needed the added strength. “I think you’ve worked enough.”

She shook her head but didn’t pull away. Clear evidence she wasn’t quite as strong as she’d claimed. “Did you get the chemical analysis of the drugs back yet?”

Emery nodded. “That part’s a bit interesting. One of the bricks was cocaine mixed with the usual cutting agents. What you’d expect to find. But the others…” She whistled. “There was enough fentanyl to down an elephant.”

Nova perked up a bit. “So, they were making fatal batches. That is interesting. And might be the break we’re looking for.”

“How so?”

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not that easy to become a high-profile drug dealer, let alone head of a cartel. There’s too much competition and the really big organizations tend to kill anyone who poses a threat to their empire. Which means you’re either born into it, get lucky when one of us shuts down a competitor or you find a way to discredit an established supplier.”

Emery inhaled. “Like having their clients drop dead from fentanyl poisoning.”

“Eventually, trust in that cartel gets so shaky that dealers turn to someone new.” Nova held up her hand when both Milligan and Porter grunted. “I’m not saying it would be easy. But with the right connections, it’s possible. And it explains why Paulin and Simmons were so antsy about me showing up. Paulin knew I’d recognize those bricks if given the chance.”

“All right. Let’s overlook the logistics and run with it for a moment.” Porter held her gaze. “Is there any way you can prove that the cocaine you found in the lab is the same stock you were given in Columbia? Other than a blood-soaked piece of tape that’s useless now?”

Nova winced, glancing back at Cooper for a moment. Wondering what he’d think once he’d learned that she’d gone off-script, again. “Maybe, but… Everyone has to promise not to freak out.”

Porter chuckled. “This should be entertaining.”

“When Bellamy called me while we were all in Bogotá, I was already packing up to head back to Virginia, which meant I didn’t have time to do the usual analysis on the new drugs. I left instructions for it to happen, but that’s generally something I oversee personally. So, I can compare it to all the known dealers we’ve identified. But because I thought those bricks were connected to my undercover case with the Moreno cartel and what I thought was a new lead to their supply routes, I took an extra precaution.”

“What kind of precaution, Agent Martin?”

She sighed, wondering if it would sound as crazy as she feared once she said it out loud. “I might have brought a small sample of both bricks back with me and called in a favor from a friend in the DEA who has access to analysis equipment.”

Bellamy coughed as he all but choked on some water. “You smuggled in cocaine from Columbia?”

“A small sample. And it was just so I could get a head start on what I thought would be my continuing investigation in Bogotá.” She sucked in a quick breath because it definitely made her seem crazy. “Though, saying it out loud, I’ll admit, it doesn’t sound as reasonable as I initially thought.”

“Reasonable or not, that took balls, Nova.”

“You’re missing the bigger picture. I know my friend completed the analysis but because of the warrant, I’m assuming she didn’t send me the files. All we need to do is access her database, and we can compare those results to the ones Emery has. While it won’t exonerate me, it should at least prove they’re the same drugs because no two batches are identical. Close, but never an exact match.”

“You just admitted to smuggling cocaine into the country.” Porter shook his head. “That’s not exactly helping your claim that you’re not involved.”

Nova straightened, all the self-doubt from the previous week slipping away. “You know, I’m not sure what I’m more insulted by. That you think I fired at Simmons with the intent to kill him and missed, or that you think I’d be stupid enough to kill a DEA agent while still in the States if I was looking to become the next Columbian drug lord.”

She hitched out her hip, glancing at Cooper, again — encouraged by the grin he flashed her. What looked oddly like pride. “I have more connections in Bogotá than even Tate did. I could disappear in a heartbeat. So stop acting like I suddenly lost my ability to strategize and pretend like I’m still one of the good guys.”

Porter chuckled. “Cartwright was correct about one thing. You’re not afraid to go to extremes. Can you get these results without my colleagues breaking down your door?”

“I can’t, but she’s removed enough from me that someone already inside the DEA could.” She looked at Bellamy. “If there were trustworthy and IT geniuses.”

Bellamy groaned. “My parents?”

“They’re the only ones who might not out me.”

“You know this means I’ll have to offer them something pretty damn epic as payback, right?”

“So, you suck it up and invite them to an actual wedding instead of eloping with Octavia like you two planned. Not exactly a sacrifice compared to my ass in jail for the next fifty years.”

Cooper coughed, stepping up beside her. “You two were going to elope?”

Bellamy groaned. “And Octavia says I can’t keep a secret. She’s a thousand times worse. And I was going to tell you guys, just not everyone else. Which isn’t the point of this conversation. I’ll contact a friend and get them to have my dad call me on a secure line. But I’ll need your friend’s information.”

Nova nodded. “I’ll write it down as long as you promise to burn it, after.”

“Always the agent. And yeah, I’ll burn it.” Bellamy glanced at his watch. “Give me a couple hours. That should be enough to contact them, have them backdoor their way into the database and get the intel back to me while the office is mostly closed for the night. Assuming they don’t disown me on the spot.”

“Fair enough.” Porter looked at her. “We’ll reconvene in two hours. Let’s hope this pans out or you might have to resort to Plan B and look into becoming that drug lord.”

The monitors winked out, leaving Porter’s final words hanging in the air. Like a damn premonition of how things would end if she didn’t get ahead of Simmons and whoever those thugs worked for.

Bellamy shook his head, handing her some paper. He didn’t speak just looked at the name, snorted, then walked over to one of the computers. What she assumed was him preparing a secure line.

Cooper nudged her, leading her out of the room and back into the main section. He stopped in the center, watching her as she made her way over to one of the walls.

Nova cursed inwardly, aware she needed to address everything she’d just confessed but wishing she could hide a bit longer. “Just say it.”

Cooper shrugged. “Not sure there’s anything to say. Bringing those samples to Virginia was…”

“Insane? Risky?” She swallowed, coughed then sighed. “A step too far?”

“Gutsy for sure. And maybe a bit… rash.”

“Rash?” Ethan shook his head. She hadn’t even realized he’d entered the other room until she’d turned and spied him leaning against the door. “It was either insanely brilliant or borderline psychotic. Not sure which right now. I’m just impressed you didn’t get caught.”

“No one knows how to smuggle drugs better than a DEA agent.” Nova cursed at their joint raised brows. “And that sounded really bad. Can we chalk it up to being temporarily insane because Tate had just been killed instead of the likely possibility I might have been going off the rails, just like Cartwright claimed?”

Cooper tensed at the mention of Cartwright’s name, his kissable mouth curving into the beginnings of a frown. He shifted his weight and she knew he’d come to some kind of conclusion. That he was likely done waiting for her to initiate that conversation she’d meant to have a week ago.

He crossed his arms, glancing at Bellamy when his buddy tripped to a stop behind him, as if he’d realized too late he’d stumbled into something serious. “Speaking of Cartwright, we need to talk.”

Nova arched a brow. “Right now? With your team standing here?”

“I’m finding it hard to care about that when they’ll ultimately know the outcome, anyway. But if you want them to leave…”

Did he think she’d shy away? That she cared if all his colleagues were watching?

“All right. Then, let’s talk. You think I’m upset because I got reassigned.”

Cooper held his ground, strangely detached. “I think you’re more than upset, Nova. I think it made you reevaluate your priorities, with returning to Bogotá landing at the top of the list. And while I know, without a doubt, that you went to that meeting with Paulin because you honestly believed his intel was worth risking your life for, I can’t lie and say there isn’t a part of me that wonders if you also thought that collaring Paulin and exposing whatever operation he’d been involved in — alone — might be the level of dedication it took to truly impress your boss. That it would prove you still have what it takes to confront cartel assholes and mercenaries.”

Had Cooper left the burner on? Because she felt suddenly hot. As if that propane was burning right next to her.

Cooper didn’t waiver, standing there with his back rigid, his jaw clenched. “I’m not saying you don’t care. And I’ll help you figure this out regardless of what happens between us. But I’ve spent the past week watching you fight your way back to life, and I can’t spend another second wondering where we stand. If I’m the only one who doesn’t want you to leave when all along, this has been nothing more than one hell of a speed bump on your way back to Bogotá.”

Nova stood there, staring. Wondering if she’d heard him right. If he really had no idea how far she’d fallen. That she’d gladly give it all up if it meant she got to spend the rest of her life with him. And had he said he wanted her to stay? Implied that he’d been thinking about forever, too?

She pushed down the fear that she might have waited too long — that nothing she said would take the look of betrayal off his face — and said what she should have back at that crime scene. “I guess this means we’re not holding anything back. So, let’s start at the beginning. Since my first day on the job — getting partnered with Tate — I knew that I wanted to be just like him. Specialize in undercover ops. Spend as much of my career as possible immersed in all that adrenaline until I was either too old or too dead to do the job. And until a month ago, I would have done anything to prove I’m the only choice to run that office — be the agent Tate wanted me to be.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, hating the way her hand trembled. “But then, Tate died, and I came here and… Jesus, Coop, you turned my entire world upside down. And it hasn’t just been the fact we’ve been shacking up — without having sex, I might add. It’s how you’ve had my back. Jumped in amidst car chases and gunfights without a moment’s hesitation. How you trusted me when all the evidence pointed to the fact that I’d cracked, just like everyone predicted.”

She gulped in some air, wondering if she’d get through it all without falling apart. “Do you know why I never pushed anything between us these past couple years?”

Cooper simply shook his head.

“It’s because I knew from the moment we met that you were special. That if I let myself fall, and I mean really fall, that everything I’d set in motion would grind to a halt. And all my plans would go up in smoke. I’ve never had a home — not in Seattle and definitely not in Columbia — but that’s what you’ve been to me since our first date, and the truth is, I was too scared to even think about trying to make it a reality.”

Was she crying? It felt like it as she stood there, floundering. “Do you know what went through my mind when Cartwright told me I was being reassigned to the Big Island — that my time in Columbia was essentially done despite hinting I might be able to earn it back? It wasn’t how my career was in the crapper. Or that I’d wasted the last ten years carving out a future I’d never manifest. It’s that I got to stay here with you. That, given time, maybe I could make you fall even a fraction of the way I have.”

She took a step toward him. “That you’d want me to be your home, too. So yeah, Coop, I’m upset. And scared and so damn crazy about you I can’t think straight. I meant what I said in there. I’ve made a lot of mistakes lately, but showing up at your house that night was the one thing I got right.”

Silence.

No breathing, no shifting his feet. Just total silence.

Even Bellamy and Ethan were frozen. Staring at her as if she’d spoken in a foreign language and they were still trying to translate all the words.

Fear sluiced through her veins, a cold sweat beading her skin. “You gotta say something, I?—”

Had he moved or had he just appeared in front of her? Because he was there a second later, his fingers sliding through her hair as he pulled her against him, his mouth claiming hers.

Had a kiss every felt this right? Like promise and anticipation rolled into one? She didn’t know — didn’t care — as her back hit the wall, his massive body holding her captive.

She vied for control, yanking him back down once he’d eased up — allowed them to gasp in some air. But she didn’t want to breathe. Didn’t need to. Not as along as he was there, kissing her.

Cooper sighed after he released her, staring down at her as if she’d lifted some soul-crushing weight. “Sweetheart, I…”

She smiled when his voice faded, the love in his eyes telling her everything he couldn’t. “Your team’s still here.”

He laughed. “I care even less, now.”

“Then, kiss me like you mean it, slugger.”