Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“We all know they would,” Oliver agreed. “And that’s why some of our bosses in MI6 don’t even know how far down the rabbit hole we’ve gone. Like your team, we’re considered young, and our parents give us some cover. We get left out of some intel that would be helpful, but we also fly under the radar when we need to.”
Something about the way his eyes narrowed made Lou wonder. “Do you think The Jester has contacts in more than one intelligence agency?”
Kenzie nodded, picking up on what Lou threw down. “They think MI6 is involved, too. I can tell you Ben doesn’t trust everyone in his agency. He thinks CSIS might be compromised.”
“By Huisman,” Cooper prompted.
Kenzie’s eyes flared, the light of battle coming into them. “I know we haven’t been able to prove Ben’s theories, but I didn’t like Huisman. I know he presents as this inspirational, rational man, but that’s a mask.”
“Says the woman who wants to get into Parker’s pants,” Zach replied, his eyes still on the screen.
“Don’t.” Kala frowned Zach’s way. “I’m with my sister on this one. I’ve watched the man, and something is off about him. He’s not the person he pretends to be. I’d like to know more about him before we shrug off the Canadian’s concerns.”
Lou leaned over, watching what Zach was doing. He cursed, and she realized he was in a military database, pulling up information.
“TJ was in Sofia, Bulgaria, that day,” Zach said. “I’ve got him and his whole team in the city, so that piece of the intel checks out. If that is indeed The Jester in the Berlin picture, then we can place TJ in relative proximity to The Jester twice. Whatever the team was doing there is classified. I can probably find out.”
“Or we could ask him,” Cooper shot back. “I don’t like that we’ve left him out of this.”
Lou had been planning on doing exactly that, though she wouldn’t admit it in front of the Brits. Or Zach, who had to be careful. If he knew TJ was talking about classified assignments, he would have to turn him in. Lou did not.
“I’ll look into it. I bet I can find out,” Lou promised.
Zach sat back, groaning. “Just don’t tell me about it. I’ll pretend you have access.”
“I’ll have something for you this afternoon, but I need to use the system at the 4L office,” Lou explained. “It’s got better security than anything the Agency has. I get the feeling I’m going to need to break into some fun systems. Like Interpol. That should be easy, right?”
“Why would you break into Interpol?” Oliver asked, though the question wasn’t tinged with outrage, merely curiosity.
Lou started to pack up her laptop. “Because I want to know who sent you that intel.”
“It’s anonymous,” Oliver pointed out.
Sami snorted. “You know nothing is truly anonymous, and that girl right there is one of the best hackers in the world.”
Lou glanced back at the hallway and halfway wished TJ would come walking out, yawning and ordering her to stay with him all day. The other half thought she should move and fast. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to think. “Who’s coming with me because I suspect TJ will be upset if I go to the office alone.”
Kala stood and stretched. “I’ll babysit you, bestie. I’m sure we’ll find something to talk about since you fell asleep in TJ’s lap in the lounge last night and then ran to your room when we got back here. I was promised gossip.”
What she really wanted to know was if Lou was okay.
Was she okay? Something had changed inextricably between her and TJ the night before.
“Kala, you going to stay with her at the office?” Zach asked. “Because I don’t want her alone. That was precisely why I put TJ on her. He’s got nothing better to do than stare at her and ensure she doesn’t die.”
Kala’s eyes rolled, and she pushed her chair back. “I think I can manage it. I’ll send him a text so he doesn’t lose his shit the way he did yesterday.”
“She was kidnapped yesterday,” Cooper pointed out.
Kala shrugged. “And we got her back. Besides, if I hang with Lou, I don’t have to listen to my dad bitch at Kenzie about the Canadian. So it’s a win-win.”
Kenzie frowned. “I don’t understand why. Tasha’s marrying a Canadian. We could have a double wedding.”
Kala made a vomiting sound. “I think you’ll find there was only one Canadian slot available, and your sister took it. So sad. Now, someone drive the Brits to the office. I’m not leaving them here. They might kidnap Bud 2, and then I would have to kill them.”
Lou gave Bud a pet and grabbed her laptop. As everyone was breaking up, she decided to text TJ, too. Maybe he would think she wasn’t running away.