Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
“Well, Miss Stella is looking perfectly fit, and you are as well, so I think I’ll be heading out. Unless you want me to look at your new…guest.” Arthur Beddoe was the vet Lacey worked with when it was her turn to watch over what her group called “the farm.”
“She’s not a guest and you know it, doc.”
Arthur was an older man. Probably sixty or so, but he looked younger. He was fit, with neatly cut dark hair and warm brown eyes. He wore cargo pants and a short sleeve button-down, all of which might be normal looking until you got to the socks and Birkenstocks. They were a dead giveaway that this was a man who cared about the environment and probably smoked a little weed in his time. A brow cocked over those kind eyes. “Are we not playing games, then? Sometimes when Lacey brings…friends…around they like to pretend. I think the last one asked me to call him Mr. Noir and pretended to be an attaché with the French embassy.”
That made Zach chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose that’s a dig at the Agency, but I understand it. How much do you know and are you former or current?”
Because there was zero way this man wasn’t intelligence or had been.
Arthur studied him for a moment. “I was SAS in my youth and worked a bit of intelligence, but I’ve been out of the game for a while. Raised my kids. Got back in for them, I suppose, though I changed teams. I’m not involved in any state-sponsored intelligence agency, and I’m strictly logistics and aid now. I’m the one who brought Lacey in. Consider me her mentor, and I pretty much know everything except who the young lass in the big bedroom is. I need to know if she’s going to take us down.”
He would have said no an hour ago. He would have said Devi Taggart would never want revenge. “I don’t know, but if I get even a hint that she’s going to bring in the authorities, I’ll take her and we won’t bother you or Lacey or the group again.”
“I don’t think that was your plan, Zachary.” Arthur set his kit down and leaned against the fence posts. “I thought we were trying to find your mum before Huisman gets to her.”
“I know, but I also know finding my mom is only part of what you and Lacey are trying to do. Lacey has a much larger mission, and she’s been working on it for a long time. If bringing Devi here is going to upend her ultimate goals, then I’ll figure something out. I don’t know what yours is. I know you’re here to help Lacey, but I still haven’t figured you out yet.”
Arthur shifted the Tilley hat on his head, setting it back slightly. He wore a pair of glasses and had a wedding ring on his left hand. “Believe it or not my mission is to make this world a bit better. I do that by helping people like Lacey and others, and by helping these animals find a home where they aren’t abused. Where they can live a natural life. I believe Lacey would say that your mission is important to our work since Shannon Reed is the only one in the world with the detailed plans on how to build her bombs. We have some intelligence about Huisman buying property in Asia. Nepal, to be exact. There are a lot of rumors as to what he’s built there. I’m worried about what he’s planning, which is why I don’t think this is a good time for you to be working out your personal relationships. Especially when they could bring the world down on us.”
“I’m not calling in the cops,” a soft voice said, and he turned.
Naturally Devi was standing there, and she seemed to have found a robe and some socks. She looked young and pretty and vulnerable.
He wasn’t good enough for her, and she knew it.
She sniffled slightly and her shoulders went back, chin coming up in a stubborn expression. “I’m not a snitch, Zach. I might not work in the same world my cousins do, but I understand it.” Her eyes caught on the animals standing together by the water trough, and she gasped a little. “Highland cows. That’s what she meant by hillycoos. They’re so cute. Are they like the cat in the closet?”
He was unaware there was a cat, though it didn’t surprise him. The chickens walked around like they owned the place. He found himself standing up straight, fumbling for words. “The whole place is an animal sanctuary. Lacey works with a group that saves animals from bad situations and takes care of them.”
“The cows were sick and scheduled to be put down because they’re old and the farmer didn’t want to waste money on their healthcare. Our organization paid him to let us take them. They’re doing well now,” Arthur said. “Are you talking about the pregnant calico who won’t let anyone touch her?” When Devi nodded he went on. “She’s got a week or so before those kittens arrive. I worry she’ll abandon them or not let anyone near.”