Cooper held up his hands. “I’m just saying. I know you’ve been looking around the next corner for that one-in-a-billion babe for you ever since Gage met Mac. I get it.”
Becker didn’t say anything. Cooper was right. He hadn’t had a serious relationship since he’d gone through his change, and if there was a perfect woman out there for him, he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to her—or turn her in to his fellow cops.
“So what if I am eager to findThe Onefor me?” he asked. “What kind of dumbass werewolfwantsto live his life alone?”
Cooper seemed to think about that. “I get what you’re saying. But given that you really, really want this woman to beThe One, are you sure you aren’t just seeing what you want to see?”
“No. I’m telling you, there’s something about her.” Becker eyed his friend. “So…are you going to say anything to Gage?”
Cooper looked to Tuffie for help, but the dog’s expression remained happily neutral, as if to say Cooper was on his own with this one.
Cooper muttered something under his breath. “Why am I the one who has to keep everybody’s secrets when they’re doing something stupid?”
Becker chuckled, remembering how Cooper had kept Xander and Khaki’s relationship secret from everybody on the team for a while. “Because you’re so good at it.”
Cooper shook his head. “Okay, so we don’t tell Gage and the rest of the Pack. What do we do then?”
Becker frowned. “Hold on. There is nowe. I’ve already gotten you in deep enough by asking you to lie for me.”
“If this all goes south, it’s not like Gage and Xander will go easier on me because all I did was lie to them,” Cooper pointed out. “It’s in my best interest to make sure this all works out right. If it doesn’t, we’ll probably both end up getting punched through a brick wall. So, how can I help?”
Dammit, Cooper could be stubborn. Becker should have told his friend that he didn’t want him involved, but the truth was, he could use the help. And as Cooper pointed out, Gage would be pissed anyway. Then again, Gage was always pissed about something.
“The first thing we need to do is get out of here so I can do some digging,” he told Cooper. “Think you can come up with an excuse without making anyone suspicious?”
Cooper thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “Yeah. We tell Gage the truth.”
Becker gaped. Had Cooper missed the part where he said they couldn’t tell anyone about the werewolf babe?
But Cooper was already out the door with Tuffie at his heels, leaving Becker no choice but to catch up.
Cooper’s version of the truth was telling Gage that the two of them wanted to check out the warehouse to see if they could find something that would lead to the other pack. Becker had expected it to be harder than that, but Gage hadn’t even batted an eye.
Cooper glanced at Becker as they headed to the parking lot. “See how easy things are when you tell the truth?”
Becker just snorted as he walked over to his bike. He could have ridden with Cooper, but since Becker didn’t know where the trail might lead, he figured he might need his wheels, so he took his Harley instead. Besides, the ride might help him get his head right where that female werewolf was concerned. Could she really beThe One? Yes, he’d been immediately attracted to her and so rattled that he’d barely been able to think, but shouldn’t he have felt something more definitive? Gage and Xander claimed they’d known they’d met their soul mates the moment they saw them. Why hadn’t he?
Unless being attracted to a woman even though she’d been pointing a weapon in his face at the time actually was a sign he’d metThe One.
Stupid thoughts like that were still bouncing around his head when they arrived at the warehouse. He pushed them aside as he parked his bike beside Cooper’s Wrangler.
Cooper motioned to the helmet strapped to the backseat as Becker climbed off his Harley. “Why do you carry that if you never wear it?”
Becker shrugged. “Never know when you’re going to meet a safety-conscious hottie looking for a ride.”
“If she was safety conscious, wouldn’t she want you to wear a helmet too?”
“Huh. Never really thought about it that way.”
“Yeah, I figured you hadn’t,” Cooper said drily. “And as long as you’re thinking about it, you might want to consider that a safety-conscious hottie probably wouldn’t want to ride on a motorcycle anyway. There’s a reason doctors call them ‘organ donor vehicles.’”
“I guess I’m just looking for a regular hottie then,” Becker said. “Forget the safety-conscious part.”
Cooper just shook his head and fell into step beside Becker. The crime scene techs were done processing the warehouse, but the young patrol officer left on duty still signed them into the logbook before letting them go inside.
“Were you guys part of the SWAT team that took down that crew this morning?” the patrolman asked. Then he hurried on enthusiastically, “I got a look inside. It was like a combat zone. Must have been crazy, huh?”
Becker nodded but didn’t say anything.
