Page 111 of Elite Metal: Warriors

He checked his watch. This was the most dangerous part of the process, because he could not control how long it took. Seconds crept by. The guards could come by at any moment. The thumb drive flashed as file after file transferred to his device.

Sweat prickled his brow. His pulse thudded. His entire body thrummed with tension. Every sound sent his nerves into a whirlwind.

Finally, finally, the device flashed green and Coop yanked it from the port. He put it around his neck again and headed back into the office. His plan for escape was simple. Cut a hole in the floor to ceiling windows and slip into the foliage, where he could make his way back down the hill to the bay.

What a pity that when he stepped back into the room, it was filled with Ming Kow’s henchmen. And each and every one of them had a weapon pointed at his head.

“Well, crap,” he said, but he missed Sterling’s response, because one of those gun butts connected with his head and everything went black.

* * *

It took far too much effort for Nat to focus on her work in the days following her misbegotten tryst with Cooper. For one thing, thoughts of him, memories of his voice, his body, his scent would visit her at the most inopportune times. She would find herself in the midst of an unwelcome reverie, an embarrassing fantasy in business meetings, events and official dinners. More than once, she’d awakened in a sweat, in the throes of some delirium.

Moments like this, when she was taking deadly dull dictation, were the worst. Ming Kow nattered on for hours about this or that and Nat found herself almost on automatic pilot, which was imprudent, because she might miss the crucial clue she’d been looking for in regards to his association with Nurelnikov.

She needed to forget Cooper, but it was easier said than done. What a pity she had no idea how to eradicate him from her mind. No man had ever had such an effect on her.

Hopefully, time would erase him from her memory, or at least dull the sharp edges of her emotions when he came to mind.

Thank God he had gone.

At least she assumed he had gone.

Hoped that he had.

It was for his own good.

The phone rang on Ming Kow’s private line and Nat let her pencil drop. There would be no dictation until he finished with this call. It was a shame, because they were just getting to something interesting.

The memo he’d been dictating had been about the shipment for Donovan. Ming Kow was very careful to never mention what the shipment was, but Nat knew. Now she also knew it was being shipped within the week.

Gregor had been right. It was foolish to want to save those girls, but she did.

“What?”

Her boss’ squawk yanked her out of her reverie and she glanced at him. Oh, dear. Whatever this was, he was furious. He leaped to his feet and let go a string of profanities that made Nat’s ears burn.

“No. No. No. Take him to the warehouse on Lánlǚ de Pier. I will meet you there.” He paused to listen more and scowled. “No. I want him alive. I need to know who he’s working for. Alive. Do you understand? And make sure he doesn’t bleed on my carpet!” He slammed the receiver into the cradle and scrubbed his face.

“Is everything all right?” she asked. It was hard to maintain her aplomb, but frankly it was a delight to see her boss so upset.

“Yes, yes. Of course. There was just a break-in at my house.”

Her heart stuttered. Her stomach lurched. She’d figured because she hadn’t seen or heard from Coop again, that he’d taken her advice and left the city. Apparently she’d been wrong. No one else would be so foolish as to try to breach Ming Kow’s fortress.

She swallowed and adjusted her collar. “That is terrible.”

“Yes. It is. Well, I suppose we are finished for today.”

“Yes, sir.” She calmly gathered her things, but her mind was a whirl. Her pulse raced. Heat ran up and down her spine.

There was no doubt in her mind. Coop had been captured. At best, he would be tortured. At worst, Ming Kow would have him killed.

The vision of his lifeless body whipped through her mind and her gorge rose. She couldn’t bear it. She just couldn’t.

How could she, in all conscience, just let him die? When she had the information and the skills to rescue him?

A sudden resolution swamped her. One that stunned her.