Page 127 of Elite Metal: Warriors

“They have cows,” Vasili offered, but everyone ignored him.

“They have snow,” Cooper said. “It’s cold.”

“Would you prefer Texas?” Nat asked.

“Texas would be fine,” Cooper said.

Gregor threw his hands up in the air. “Why are we talking about this?”

“Because I am thinking of retiring,” Natalia said. And yes, it felt right. It had been there, in her soul, that beautiful desire, but she’d been hiding it, covering it up, ignoring it for a long time. It felt so wonderful to let it fly free.

Gregor paled. His throat worked. “But-but…”

“This is not the life I want to live.”

“This is the life you’ve always lived!”

“Exactly. But it was never the life I chose.”

It nearly broke her heart, the pain on Gregor’s face, but such things needed to be said. If she was to be free. Free to remake herself.

“You’ve gone soft.” A growl.

“Perhaps.” She offered him a gentle smile. “But it’s not so bad.”

In fact, it was quite magnificent. Cooper was magnificent. He squeezed her hand in support and her heart trilled.

“What will you do when he tires of you?”

Ah. Leave it to Gregor to put to words her greatest fear.

“I am my own woman.”

“You certainly are that,” Cooper said. She glanced at him. His expression was tight. His fury barely reined. “I will never tire of her. How could I?”

“You cannot promise that,” Gregor spat.

“You can never promise anything,” Natalia reminded him. “Nothing is certain. Not in this world.”

“But still, you take such a risk.”

“I do. I will.” She had to. She had to or she would wonder forever about the life she could have had.

Gregor dropped into his chair and buried his face in his hands. “What will I do without you?”

“You could retire as well. Come and stay with us.”

Cooper’s head whipped around like something from The Exorcist and he stared at her.

She nodded and patted his hand. “Gregor is my family,” she told him.

“Gregor hates me,” he reminded her.

“He’ll come around.”

“No, he won’t,” Gregor muttered. But it was clear he was coming to accept this. As she knew he would. Eventually.

“In the meantime, we have work to do,” she said. And she was excited to get started again. Because as soon as they found Babikov, and as soon as Cooper destroyed Ming Kow, their new life could begin.