Page 128 of Elite Metal: Warriors

Chapter Nine

Over the next few days, Coop and Nat worked incessantly, reviewing and categorizing Ming Kow’s files. Well, during the day. At night they dedicated themselves to other pursuits, and since they didn’t have to keep it a secret, they didn’t bother being quiet. Which resulted in Gregor frequently pounding on their door and bellowing that they “Give it a break.”

They became very adept at ignoring him.

Cooper was excited at some of the information he found and made it a point to share those files with Titanium in hopes it would help the overall goal of finding Red Wolf. Gregor and Titanium spent a good amount of time on Skype, sharing notes on the villain as well, as it was now clear they were all after the same guy.

Hopefully, this treasure trove would benefit everyone.

It was certainly a boon to Cooper’s mission. He’d been able to develop a plan for undermining Ming Kow’s various operations by targeting his partners in crime and providing the specifics of his activities to the Chinese authorities. Before long, Ming Kow would find himself hamstringed and unable to move.

Cooper still wanted the man in custody, but that proved more difficult, as he had gone underground. No one had seen hide nor hair of him since that day in the warehouse. This made Cooper leery, because he wanted to know where his nemesis was, but for all intents and purposes, Ming Kow had disappeared.

As far as Gregor was concerned, he and Cooper had settled into an uneasy truce. It was clear the man was not pleased with his presence, but Coop wasn’t sure if that was because of burgeoning love affair with his agent…or the girl he saw as a daughter. It was tough to say which would have been worse.

Still, he took every opportunity to irritate the old man, simply because it was entertaining.

Natalia often scolded him for egging Gregor on, but Cooper suspected she was as amused as he was.

As they came closer and closer to finishing their work, Cooper spent more and more time thinking about this life, the way it had been, and the changes he was considering…and the prospect seemed more and more appealing.

He’d never allowed himself to consider a world where he had a partner, a friend, a lover, but the time he spent with Natalia made him realize what he’d been missing. He realized he would do anything, sacrifice everything, to keep her in his life.

And the most amazing thing? The thought didn’t scare the shit out of him.

In fact, the opposite was true.

The thought of losing her turned his blood cold.

But he had no intention of losing her.

Thank God she felt the same. Thank God when they talked about going home—to his home—together, she didn’t flinch.

Yes, they were still learning each other, but one thing was clear, they were a perfect fit, and they both acknowledged it.

“There you are,” she said with a smile as he came downstairs one morning.

“You let me sleep in,” he complained, as he bent to kiss her.

“You needed it.”

Gregor rolled his eyes.

“You should have roused me.” He kissed her again and then pulled her up into his arms so he could get a better angle.

“Please,” Gregor said. “Must you torment us all day as well?”

In response, Natalia wrapped herself around Cooper and moaned. It was clearly a fake moan. Probably.

“Bah,” the old man said. “I’m going to get the paper.” That was about all he did nowadays. Read the paper.

“Let me get it,” Natalia said. She took Cooper’s hand and drew him toward the door. “We hardly ever get outside and I am missing the sunshine.”

“Please. Tell me you two aren’t going to make love out there too.”

Nat grinned at him. They probably would.

They both chuckled and, with fingers linked, stepped out onto the porch. It was a short walk up the drive to the mailbox, where the paper was left each morning, but Cooper enjoyed it tremendously. Especially because it was peppered with kisses. And yes, he had been feeling a bit of cabin fever, locked inside staring at a computer screen all day. It was a beautiful morning, with a bright sun, blue skies and a light breeze.