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)
That picture made her ache, but she pushed the feeling aside. “And you think this is real?”
Cooper frowned. “Why wouldn’t it be real?”
“Because it’s Devi’s birthday in a week. When was the last time TJ missed his sister’s birthday for anything other than work?” She stared at the picture. It looked real, but reality wasn’t what it used to be.
“I’ve got the same picture and almost the same text,” Zach said, turning his laptop toward her. “Have a look.”
“TJ wouldn’t miss Devi’s party.” Kala was sitting up now. She pulled her cell, putting it to her ear after sliding it open and pressing the screen. “Has anyone actually talked to him? Not text.”
Lou was staring at that picture, trying to find the holes. There were always holes.
In the picture they sat on a big sofa, TJ’s arm around the blonde’s shoulders and her legs crossed over his. Where was it taken? She opened a piece of software she’d developed with Tristan Dean-Miles and imported the picture, setting the program into motion.
It scoured the Internet and social media for similar pictures, looking for anything that could ID a position. It would take into account the sofa itself, the placement of the big windows behind the happy couple.
“I haven’t talked to him, but we usually text,” Cooper admitted.
“Did anyone call Tris?” Kenzie asked.
“Tristan is not reachable at this time,” Zach said. “And you know I can’t talk about it.”
Tristan hadn’t returned to the States with them after the Australian op, but that had felt normal. At least of late. When they’d first started working together as a team, Tristan had taken every opportunity to come home and spend time with his long-time girlfriend, Carys Taggart, and best friend Aidan O’Donnell. They’d been a trio since they were kids, and when they’d hit high school, they’d openly dated. All three of them. Tristan and Aidan had decided not to fight over the girl they both loved.
And then something had happened. Tristan had withdrawn. He was working on a project, and he claimed he couldn’t share it with the team.
Something dangerous. She worried about Tristan, but she knew she could get him in serious trouble if she started trying to solve that mystery. The Agency was using him and his unique skills for some kind of long-term mission.
She hoped it didn’t cost him the love of his life.
“We don’t need to bother Tris,” Lou said as the program narrowed it down to three different possible locations where the picture itself had been taken. She took those results and started another, more detailed search before loading the pic into a program she’d designed to find even the best of photographic manipulations. “I can take this thing apart in a couple of minutes. And don’t call Tasha. She’s with Dare and her mom looking at condos.”
“I’m going to miss my sister, but I will not miss how loud those two are. They go at it hard.” Kala stood and walked around to move in next to Lou.
She’d lived with Tasha, Kala, and Kenzie in a four-bedroom house they rented in the suburbs not too far from Ian and Charlotte Taggart since she’d left her job in Austin. They also had a small apartment in DC they shared when they were called into the office, so to speak. She would miss Tash, but it would be nice to have more space.
And they were loud.
“What have you got?” Kala asked.
A notice popped up, and Lou had her answer. “It’s been manipulated. It’s not even Germany. Look. The program found the original photograph on a social media site. It’s from someone named Annie Jackson. She posted it four years ago while she was on her honeymoon in Aspen with her husband, who is roughly the same size and body shape and skin tone of one Theodore Taggart Jr.”
Her tone was even. Like she was working any case. But her heart was beating in her chest. Someone had TJ. Someone had taken TJ, and they were doing a halfway decent job of covering their tracks.
“Yes, I need to activate a tracker.” Kenzie had her phone to her ear. “My ID number is…” Her voice trailed off as she walked out of the conference room.
“If they’re good at all they’ll have pulled his tracker. If they know he’s Special Forces, they’ll look for one,” Zach said, sitting back. “All right. So they’ve tried to cover his kidnapping. That means they want time with him. What would TJ know?”
“He’s been on over sixty highly classified missions. It could be anything,” Cooper said. “He’s worked with a bunch of different agents over six continents. I can go over his mission briefs if you get me the clearance.”
“I’ll call Drake.” Zach pulled his cell. “Coop, I want you to reply to him. Something douchey like get in there, brother. I don’t know. Whatever a frat bro would text, that’s what you should do. I’ll do the same after I talk to Drake.”