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)
They’d listed Lou herself as working for the think tank, given her address, and posted a couple of pictures they’d gotten off her social media. No mention of her work with the Agency. It was a half-assed job.
Devi was luckily in New York for a couple of days with her best friends Daisy O’Donnell and Brianna Dean-Miles. Given who Brianna’s father was, they had a guard with them. Adam Miles was known for developing software that had taken down many criminals. He was a high-value target, and so were the members of his family, so they always had some security around them. Another bodyguard was now on the way, and Devi was in a very quiet lockdown. They wouldn’t have a chance to get TJ’s sister.
So that left Lou.
Theo’s head shook. “I can’t believe they thought Erin would be an easier target than me.”
She wouldn’t have been that much easier. Theo Taggart had been on the same CIA team as Lou’s dad, and he’d been a badass. Erin was only slightly more ruthless than her husband. Of course if the mercenary had gone after Theo, he would likely be alive and she would have gotten a whole lot more intelligence.
Luckily she’d found a text giving him a location in Bavaria and a time two days away. It had to be the drop-off.
“They didn’t do any research,” Charlotte said with obvious disdain.
Erin winked her husband’s way. “Misogyny for the win, babe. And I’m with Lou. If TJ wanted to keep the ladies in his life safe, he shouldn’t have gotten kidnapped. I can go in if we don’t want Lou going.”
“Mrs. Taggart, that is not your call.” Lou would normally call her Erin. She didn’t use aunt or uncle with these Taggarts. Probably because even as a kid her relationship with TJ hadn’t been familial. Not from her end. “This is not a McKay-Taggart mission, and the information you’ve learned here should be considered classified and only given to you out of respect. You will not be going in because you are not the one on the team.”
Erin’s lips curled slightly. “Then you’re really ready, and you definitely know what you’re doing. Proud of you, kid.”
“Does she?” Big Tag asked. “Know what she’s doing that is. From an emotional standpoint.”
Erin sighed. “Yes, she does.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Cooper replied with a grim frown.
Erin sighed. “If this is about the whole ‘Lou loves TJ and TJ strings her along’ thing, it’s more complicated than that. And it doesn’t matter. I know even at my angriest with Theo, I would have saved his life. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself, and I damn straight wouldn’t have been able to leave it in someone else’s hands. I lost him for almost two years, Tag. I don’t want that to happen to my son.”
“I won’t let it.” She’d felt the flush of embarrassment go through her when Erin had mentioned the unbalanced nature of her relationship with TJ, but she shoved it aside. Everyone knew she loved TJ and he considered her a kid sister. Nothing had changed. It had simply gotten put out in the open.
And Erin was right. No one else could do this job the way she could.
Erin’s gaze went soft. “I know, sweetie. And I also know you’re way more competent at this than my son thinks you are. I worry one of the reasons he’s held back with you is he doesn’t think you can handle his world.”
That made zero sense. “I work for the Agency. I live in his world.”
“In a support role,” Theo pointed out.
“I assure you, Lou can handle herself in the field. I made sure of it.” Big Tag sat back, seeming to consider the situation. “Do you honestly believe I would put a woman on a team if she couldn’t handle herself?”
She’d had to pass all of Big Tag’s tests, despite the fact she wasn’t normally supposed to go into the field. She was there to do a lot of the mental and technological lifting.
Tasha didn’t look up from her screen. “Dad put Lou and I through all the same training as the rest of the team. We’re competent in hand to hand and have used all the weapons. Lou’s good with a knife, and she’s excellent at finding weapons in the field. She’s surprisingly creative.”
“Big Tag used to send pretend assassins to keep us sharp,” Lou explained.
Big Tag grinned, a predatory look. “I sent in new hires. If the girls killed them, then they weren’t ready for the job.”
“I know Lou can handle herself,” Cooper said. “But I have to reiterate that this is not what TJ would want. He wants her safe. Look, you’re right. He’s under a couple of misconceptions. He thinks Lou’s job is safer than it really is. He thinks she simply sits behind a computer and never has to defend herself or her team. I’ve kept up the delusion because I worry what he would do if he thought she was in actual danger. He can be unreasonable when it comes to Lou.”