Page 20 of Cooper
“I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, the worst of the aftermath will be over, and we can spend time together.”
“I’m looking forward to that.” I grin. “And maybe a few other things.”
* * *
Natalia is gonewithin the hour, but I feel good knowing I’m going to spend some of my recovery with her. King Erik even offered to send his private jet for me once I’m released, which is incredibly generous.
I sleep on and off the rest of the day, watch a little TV that night, and am just about to doze off again when someone knocks on my door. I glance up in surprise and grin at Louie.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, holding out my hand.
“Came to check on you.” He pulls me into a half-hug.
“You flew to Germany from D.C. just to check on me? You could’ve called.”
“Had some business in the area,” he evades, sinking into the chair next to my bed. “Also thought I might see Natalia, but it looks like she’s gone?”
“Yeah, there was another attack at the palace, so they called her back early.”
“That sucks.” He pauses. “You planning to see her again?”
“As a matter of fact, I’m going to spend most of my recovery in Limaj.”
“Nice.” Louie seems to have something on his mind, and I cock my head.
“Whatever it is, Marine, just say it.” Since there’s no such thing as a former marine, and Louie served ten years before moving to the NSA, I don’t hesitate to get his attention.
He chuckles. “I guess I was wondering what your plans are. Beyond recovery.”
I arch my brows. “What do you mean? Am I looking to leave the military?”
“Are you?”
“Not necessarily, but I have some time before I have to decide.”
“What about Natalia?”
“We’re not there yet, man. We’ll see what happens once we’ve spent time together where I’m not her commanding officer. And even then, I’ll probably have to get to Hawaii at some point.”
“So you wouldn’t be interested in something with the NSA?”
I hesitate. “It would depend on what, when, and how much.”
“Money’s pretty good, benefits excellent, work is interesting.”
“Honestly, I’m not ready to make any decisions,” I admit. “I need to heal my body and mind, focus some attention on Natalia, and then see how long until I can go back on active duty.”
“Fair enough. But will you talk to me before you decide anything?”
“Absolutely. I like options.”
“You got that right.”
We shoot the shit for a while before he heads out, and I spend a long time thinking about his offer. Moving to the NSA wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I’m not sure I want to sit at a desk. Louie gets out into the thick of things once in a while, like his time at the base in Iraq, but mostly he sits in front of a computer analyzing data, reports, and intelligence. I don’t know if that’s enough for me. Right now, I don’t know much of anything except that my ribs hurt and I’m horny as fuck.
Hopefully, both of those things will change in Limaj.
EIGHT