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)
Cooper joined Kala, and Zach took up their six.
She’d noticed that TJ had checked the back of his jeans where he’d loaded a holster with a semiautomatic before they’d left the office.
Maybe they should have stayed at home, but she needed him to take this seriously, and investigating Dennis Sims was going to waste time. Time they might not have.
Lou glanced behind her and sure enough, the man in black was there. He stopped at the entrance to the alleyway and seemed to make a decision, pausing briefly before walking past like he wasn’t following them.
Yeah, she didn’t believe that at all, and she noticed the man suddenly had a cell in his hand and he was talking as he walked away.
“All right,” Zach said, moving them all along. “So we have to consider he’s calling in reinforcements. We need to split up.”
“Kala and I are going to sit in that coffee shop right there and keep watch on the door,” Cooper offered. “You go in with TJ and Lou.”
“I should go in with TJ and Lou,” Kala argued, but her hand was already in Cooper’s like she was always waiting for the moment she had an excuse to touch him.
“Nope.” Cooper tugged on her hand. “I’m nervous, and we’re going to watch for a little while and then head back to the office where we can do a clean exchange between you and Kenz. Have you thought about what could happen if Parker finds out the secret? We can’t trust him, and someone following us feels like a play on his part. Guys, get whatever you need done and fast.”
Zach nodded. “I agree. Actually, I think I’m going to call this.” He had his cell phone out. “I’m going back to get the car, and I’ll pick everyone up right here. Lou, do what you need to do in the next ten minutes because we’re leaving.”
How was she supposed to convince TJ in ten minutes? She put a hand on her hip and glared Zach’s way. “You know you’re not in charge of my private life, right?”
TJ frowned down at her. “I am. The same way you’re in charge of mine, baby. I don’t want to be here, but I’m following you mindlessly because I’m so crazy in love with you. I’m walking into a bar where you want to meet a dude who’s trying to date you, and no, I don’t honestly believe he’s involved in this. I believe he got one look at you and wants a real taste. I’m still the idiot who’s walking in there without any kind of claim on you. However, things have changed and we’re going to follow the CO’s orders.”
“He is so not the CO,” Kala argued.
But he was in this situation. Tasha ran the team on the intel side, while Zach was in charge of any military operations. Which meant TJ would look to Zach, and she kind of should, too. Zach was here to balance out the fact that the rest of the team had deep ties and history. Zach was supposed to look at things with an unbiased eye.
“Fine, one drink, and we’ll meet you out here.” Lou took TJ’s hand. It would be smarter to leave with Zach, but she wanted to prove a point. She’d been quiet for days, letting the decision sink into her soul. She’d needed the time, but now she wondered what it had cost the man she loved.
“Fine,” Kala said as she followed Cooper across the street. “I hate that Canadian. I was hoping to watch TJ eat Dennis’s innards.”
He wouldn’t do that. He might play with them a little, but TJ was a gentleman.
Zach jogged away, and she could hear him talking to Tasha about trying to hook into the CCTV cameras in the area so they could get an ID on the man following them.
Things were happening much too fast.
One drink. A quick hello and sorry, I won’t be seeing you again and they would be on their way, and they would face this unsure future together. Side by side.
She would never leave him again.
She pushed into the dark little bar. It wasn’t the kind of place she thought Dennis would pick, but it had an odd ambiance to it, she supposed. It was quiet as she walked into the lobby. Soft music played through the place.
It was fairly empty. There was a bartender and a woman who could be a hostess, but she didn’t see the crowd that should inhabit a place like this at this time of the evening. Deep Ellum was coming to life, with nightclubs and bars all filled to the brim, and it looked like no one was here.
Were they in the right place?
“I don’t like this, Lou,” TJ whispered.
“Hey, you’re here.” Dennis stepped out, and he was wearing a three-piece suit, his hair perfectly slicked back. He looked good if one liked the sleek, master-of-the-universe look.