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)
Drake Radcliffe was their Agency liaison, and he could get them into any files they needed.
“Hey, we’re going to find him.” Kala put a hand on her arm.
Who would want TJ? Yes, he’d worked on a lot of covert ops, but he wouldn’t have the information his Agency handlers did. Of course, if they knew his friends were Agency, they wouldn’t have tried to throw them off with simple texts and pictures.
Kenzie walked back in, a grim look telling them what they already knew. “The tracker is in a landfill in Germany. They threw it out. The last location they show is a bar a couple of miles outside of Ramstein. I would bet that’s where they picked him up. It’s been a little over twenty-four hours, so I think it’s still early.”
It wouldn’t feel like twenty-four hours to TJ.
What were they doing to him? Was he hurt? Was he being tortured somewhere out there?
It didn’t matter that he couldn’t love her the way she needed. She loved him, and she couldn’t leave him.
“Lou, he’s going to be okay,” Kala promised.
But she couldn’t know. She couldn’t know what he was going through, if he was already…
She shoved that thought away because it was too terrible to contemplate. She couldn’t imagine a world without TJ. She could let him go, but she couldn’t ever let him die.
Why would they want TJ? Who would want TJ?
She heard a dinging sound, letting her know someone had unlocked the security system and was coming in the lobby doors.
Kala’s head turned. “Were we expecting anyone else?”
“I haven’t called anyone.” Zach stood, his hand going behind his back, likely feeling for the semiautomatic Lou knew he kept there.
“They know the code.” She wasn’t going to let him get into a gunfight because whoever was coming through probably had one, too. “Some people come up on the weekends to work while it’s quiet.”
Lou got to her feet, but Cooper was already at the door.
His eyes widened at whatever he was seeing. “Aunt Erin? Are you okay?”
TJ’s mom was here? Lou moved to the door and realized why Cooper was so shocked. Erin Taggart was dragging a body. A big body.
“Oh, hey, kids. I’m glad you’re here. This asshole’s heavy.” TJ’s mom was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, her red hair up in a ponytail. “I didn’t want to leave him downstairs for the security guard to find. Howard’s getting up there in years, and his heart’s not what it used to be. Definitely didn’t need two bodies to deal with.”
“Mrs. Taggart, is there a reason you’re dragging a dude around?” Zach asked. “Is he dead?”
Erin looked down at him, wincing. “I think so. I was a little enthusiastic. It’s been a long time since someone jumped me. So now I have a dead body, but the good news is I have all you young, strong kids to help me deal with it. Kala, look, I brought you a dead asshole. Do you think your dad has any more room in that backyard of his, or am I going to have to haul him to the lake house?”
“Why?” Lou asked. Sometimes the older generation’s motivations evaded her.
“Did you hear the part where he jumped me?” Erin asked.
“Okay. The better question is what happened. Like more than he jumped me and I was cranky,” Kenzie corrected because she knew how the OGs worked. Sarcasm powered their parents through life, and they weren’t above joking about a dead body. They kind of lived for it.
“I was coming up to get some paperwork done because Theo’s got a bunch of guys over playing board games. It was a lot of talk about wings and birds. I do not get that. So I hopped in my Jeep and grabbed some lunch—which I dropped because of this asshole—and that might have played into the whole ‘squeezed his windpipe a little too long’ thing. Also, I’m embarrassed because I should have realized I was being followed. Don’t get old, kids. It sucks. I really wanted that burger. Theo’s on a health kick.”
“Have you searched him yet?” Lou asked.
Erin shook her head. “Nah. Like I said, I didn’t want to freak Howard out. And there are still lawyers in the building, despite Big Tag scaring most of them off. Couldn’t risk one of them finding me and wanting to call in the cops. So I decided I would drag his nasty ass up here and call Tag. Maybe it was random, but he got into the building, which makes me think he’s a pro.”
“Why would someone want to assassinate you?” Zach asked.
Erin shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m a fucking delight.”
There were probably a bunch of people she’d pissed off over the years, but Lou didn’t think this was about Erin Taggart. “Check for his phone. I’ll have an ID asap.”