Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“Chelsea can cover my tracks,” he assured her.
“And if you get caught?” It was a dangerous game to go directly against orders.
“I don’t know that I care anymore.” He stared off into the distance. “I don’t think I care about much of anything anymore. None of it matters, you know what I mean?”
She would have to disagree since he’d been arguing with her over her safety for the last twenty minutes. “Let’s get through this and then when we get back, we’ll talk about your options. You’ve done your time, Ez. Maybe it’s time to take the off-ramp. I know you don’t like him, but that’s what Bishop always told me. He said if I saw a way out, I should take it.”
He sighed, a weary sound. “And take what road, Kay? This has been my life for years. My entire adult life has been about the Agency. I don’t know much else, and I fear I’m not doing any good here now. When I was in the field, taking out terrorists or gathering intel on potential attacks, that was pure. What I do now…well, let’s just say there’s a lot of gray in what I do now. This job is my whole life. My brother’s gone. He was my only family. I’ve only ever truly cared about one woman and she’s a Taggart now.”
Mia Lawless Taggart. Her heart ached for him, but she couldn’t believe there wasn’t someone else out there who could ease his soul. She’d found hers. “I didn’t think I would ever feel about anyone the way I feel about Josh. You can’t give up on the rest of your life. You’re in your thirties. You’ve got a lot ahead of you.”
“Yeah, that’s what scares me. All that time and nothing good to fill it.” He turned away from her. “If I can contact you once you get to Mexico, I will. Be careful, Kayla. Watch your back. I wouldn’t trust anyone except your boys, and I don’t include Josh in that. You don’t know enough about him. I would hate to see an operative like you go down over a guy.”
He walked away without looking back, and Kayla was left with a chill despite the hot California sun.
She stared out over the ocean, praying she was right and Ezra was wrong.
Her cell buzzed and when she looked down it was Josh.
Come home, beach babe. We need to talk.
There was a heart emoji after the message.
She smiled. She had to be right because this feeling was everything.
She would fight to the end for it.
Chapter Fourteen
Josh stood on the balcony, watching her. He could see her standing and staring out at the ocean. A man was walking down the beach, but Josh hadn’t seen if he’d stopped to talk to Kayla. Not that he would blame the dude. He would hit on her, too, if she wasn’t already his.
Oddly, the idea of men hitting on her didn’t bother him the way it probably should. Not as long as they were respectful and took her no with politeness.
Because she would tell them all no. She was his. His girlfriend. His sub. He got that now.
She didn’t watch the man as he walked away from her. Her eyes were out on the ocean. She loved it here as much as he did.
They could build a life here if he was brave enough to. She’d heard his story. She wasn’t leaving him.
All the things Tyler Williams had said came back and made his stomach churn. He couldn’t risk her. Oh, he knew damn well he was in for a fight, but he couldn’t make the choice to put her in danger. He pulled his phone out and texted her. Complete with a heart emoji. Jeez, he was turning soft. Going all kinds of soft for a girl.
It was kind of cool.
He watched as she pulled her phone out and that smile on her face was fucking everything. She didn’t wait. She turned immediately and started coming home.
Because she wanted to be here with him. Because him asking her to come home was meaningful to her.
He smiled as she picked up the pace.
“Her dads are awesome, man,” a familiar voice said. “I hate that you missed brunch this morning. How did it go with your expert?”
He glanced over and Jared was lying on a lounger on his balcony, soaking up some sun. “He was a smart man. You know I like to listen to the experts.” Kay was still a couple of minutes away. She would have to wash off her feet at the base of the house. “I kind of got the feeling the dads didn’t approve of actors.”
He couldn’t necessarily blame them. If he had a daughter as smart and funny and capable as Kayla, he wouldn’t want some dumbass actor who showed off his abs to the world coming and whisking his baby girl away.