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)
“Yeah, and it makes you gassy and unpleasant to be around. You should try some vegetables,” Lucy replied.
They really did hate each other. Maybe they were like magnets. Put together the north end and south end of a magnet and they attracted. Like Cooper and Kala. But try putting two north ends together and they repelled.
“It was her dad who got her in, though I don’t think he wanted her at the Agency.” Lou joined them, though her eyes never left the two predators circling each other. “Henry Flanders was Big Tag’s mentor when he started his career. He’s the only guy I know who Big Tag lets get away with pretty much everything. He’s probably somewhere nearby. He only works with his daughter. They are a specialized team. The Agency gives him a lot of leeway.”
Devi gasped. “He’s Arthur. I figured something spy-like out, Zach. I think I’m getting good at this. Arthur is Henry, and that’s why he doesn’t look anything like the dude in the picture at the pub. What’s the chance I would run into the vet? Or you would? I wonder if they had to scramble.”
She seemed so pleased with herself. He couldn’t take that from her by pointing out they’d both gotten tricked. “I met Arthur a few weeks after I met Lacey, so they’ve had this cover in place for a while. I didn’t think anything about the fact that Arthur didn’t have a bigger web presence than his website. No pictures of anything but cuddly animals. The time I called he wasn’t in, but it seemed like a real vet’s office. When would I run into the real Arthur? I’m kind of stuck out here.”
“Hey, babe, she was serious. There’s nothing but a bunch of beets and green stuff. I found a muffin though.” TJ joined them and then frowned when he saw his sister on Zach’s lap. “I can pull up another chair.”
The instinct to back off…wasn’t there. Normally he would feel weird being this affectionate around her siblings. He would never have kissed Tash in front of any of her family, even if she’d initiated it. He would have pulled away and respected her dad and sisters.
Damn, she really had been a way to be inside the family he wanted. It had been more about who her parents were. He loved Devi’s parents, but she was far more important.
All that fucking mattered was Devi. If her dad was here, he would tell Theo Taggart that he would die for his daughter, but he wouldn’t pretend he didn’t want his hands on her all the time. He wouldn’t pretend like having her this close didn’t calm and soothe him. Brought him a peace he was surprised to have. “She’s fine right where she is.”
Like TJ and Lou should care.
“I’m fine,” Devi said with a smile to her brother. “Also, I figured out that the vet is actually Henry Flanders. Look at me. I can be a spy, too.”
TJ’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t think you should change careers, although I would like to point out that for a fashion designer, you could wear more clothes. Like underwear. Underwear is a great thing to wear around your brother.”
She crossed her legs demurely but didn’t move to fix the situation. She was comfortable in her own skin, and he supported that. If her brother didn’t want to catch her half naked and tied down in a barn with a plug up her backside, well then he should have called.
“So no one knows why they hate each other?” Zach asked.
They should be dealing with the whole Lacey isn’t Lacey and what the hell is going on that he had an additional Agency team checking on him thing. But this was more fun, and all the gossip made Devi’s eyes light up.
“No idea,” TJ admitted as the two women in question continued to hurl insults at each other. “I stay out of that situation right there. I’ve worked with Henry and Luce a couple of times as support. They’ve brought in some scary assholes. They took down this cult leader who was about to Kool-Aid his whole congregation. Fun days. But I don’t talk about that with Kala. I know better than to mention what she calls the unholiest name.”
“I think they’re both territorial assholes who rub each other the wrong way and don’t like it when they get in each other’s business.” Cooper moved in beside TJ, arms crossed over his big chest. “From what I can tell, Lucy loves her big sister, Poppy, and Kala kind of got to be good friends with her and Lucy was young and acted out and Kala refuses to forgive her. There might have been a prank involved. I don’t know. She kind of foams at the mouth when I ask her about Lucy.” He sighed. “Is it weird that I find it hot?”