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)
“I don’t think they’re doing it yet,” Tim whispered her way. “If they are, then Ben is awfully uptight, but now it looks like Cooper’s getting some and this could become a fight.”
“I am not with Cooper,” Kala stated, sounding more like herself.
“We are not together,” Cooper agreed. “I’m over that stupid crush.”
“Yes, he is.” Lucy entered with a breezy smile. She looked Cooper up and down and tsked, her British accent perfect again. “And I did not properly dress you after our reunion.” She rebuttoned Cooper’s shirt. “Sorry about that.”
All of the American eyes went straight to Kala, who was probably about to commit murder.
“Sorry. Cooper and I worked together several times before. We haven’t seen each other in ages, but let me tell you the chemistry is still there.” Lucy ran an arm through Cooper’s and leaned against him like he was her beloved boyfriend. “At least he won’t have to sleep on the couch.”
“Fuck me,” Henry said under his breath.
But Parker seemed to buy it. He relaxed and leaned over, whispering something in Kala’s ear that made her go pale. Still, she smiled gamely and seemed to agree.
“If you two lovebirds could sit down, I think we have a lot to talk about,” Kala said in her most professional tone. “As for why I left my handler out of it, well, I’ve come to suspect he leaves his team out of some key decisions, so it felt like fair play. Mr. Bishop, are you or are you not working under direct orders from my handler?”
“I wouldn’t call them orders,” Henry replied. “I don’t work for Ian. I work with him from time to time, and I trust him. My operative, Lacey, and I were in the perfect position to work our way into Zach’s world.”
He could guess what that position had been. “You were already in my mother’s world.”
Lucy laced her fingers through Cooper’s and dragged him to the table, sitting them together across from Kala, who would likely play in her entrails soon. “Mr. Bishop and I have connections in certain underground movements, including a couple Shannon Reed is involved in. My specific mission for the last couple of years has been to investigate Disrupt Europe. We’ve worked with MI6 trying to track down the people who attempted to assassinate several members of Europe’s royal families a few years back. That was when we became aware of the bombmaker. It took us some time and another one of our associates to confirm the identity of her. At this point we believed the two missions were not connected. We knew Zach was involved in some way, but we didn’t suspect Shannon Reed was his mother.”
“Like Lacey explained, in the beginning we were tasked with figuring out what Zach was doing and if he was a direct threat to Ian’s team,” Henry continued.
“Threat?” Parker stuck on the word.
It was time for his confession. “When I was assigned as the military liaison for Ian’s team, my real mission was to report back to my Army bosses and a certain contingent at the Agency who did not like the thought of Ian being in charge of a team. His team is considered experimental, and some people thought it was Ian’s way of acquiring power. I was sent in to find the dirt so they could break up the team while keeping the assets they wanted. Like Kara and Lou. They would have quietly put Ian and Charlotte out to pasture.”
“Is it experimental because they’re married?” Parker asked. “They are married, right? I think he’s referred to the redhead as his wife before.”
It was as close to the truth as he wanted to get. “Yes, though there are other ways the team bucks Agency traditions. Operatives don’t work with the same teams. It tends to lead to drama.”
“It leads to us caring about the people around us,” Lou huffed. “And not sacrificing them for an op. Which is why they think we’ll fail.”
Henry’s brow rose. “I’ve heard you don’t have that problem, Mr. Parker.”
That caught Zach’s attention. A few months back Parker had allowed Lou to be in a dangerous position in order to confirm his theory that Huisman was working with a German mercenary. Oh, he saved her after he got the bad guy to fess up, but it had been a close thing.
If Henry knew that, he was talking to Ian far more often and with more frankness than Zach had imagined. If Ian told him, then Ian trusted Henry.
Ian knew. Oh, he might not have known all of it, but he’d known. Zach hadn’t fooled him, and he’d likely wrecked his whole fucking life for nothing. He could have taken it all to Ian and maybe he would have come out of it with his career and freedom intact.