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)
“I want to visit her.”
That brow of Taggart’s rose again, though this time it seemed more curious than judgmental. “You know someone is going to want to know why you would visit a drug addict and a prostitute in jail. It will get out.”
“Fuck ’em,” Josh said. He wanted to see her. It probably wouldn’t go well, but he had to try. Even if only to apologize to her. For not saving them both. For not being able to protect her.
“That’s the first smart thing you’ve said,” Taggart replied. “We’ll make that happen too. Now can you promise me you’re going to be a good boy and do your job? Wait, let me be clear about what your job is. You will go to the party at Morales’s place. You will get Kayla in. You will get her out. You will keep your mouth closed and maybe we can save this operative’s life. If not, at least we can figure out what happened and how he became compromised.”
“I can do that,” Josh said, holding on to the folder Miles had given him. Hannah was in that file. Her picture showed a hardened woman, aged before her time.
Did she have to stay that way? Was the damage permanent or could her pain be eased with a friendly hand reaching out, a compatriot in the horror who wanted to help her find some kind of light? Did her life have to be over?
Did his? Did his heart have to harden because one woman had lied to him? The problem was he was fairly certain it had only softened because of her in the first place.
The only way to beat the darkness is to drag it all into the light, Josh.
Sometimes he wondered if he’d exchanged one prison for another. One had been dark, the other gilded, but in neither could he be himself, could he have true control over who he was. One had been a fight to exist, the other a constant battle to hide his history. He’d found a career where he didn’t have to be himself, where it was of the utmost importance that he almost never be himself.
Who was he? The scared child? The unrepentant and violent teen? The man who shut everything down so he didn’t self-destruct?
“Do we have a deal?”
From the tone of Taggart’s question, Josh figured it might have been asked more than once. “Yes, we have a deal.”
“Excellent.” Taggart closed the folder in front of him and turned Kay’s way. “Could you go and have Riley call the pilot and tell him we’ll be ready to leave early?”
“Wait,” Adam said, a frown on his face. “Doesn’t anyone want to know about how I found her so fast? You see I wrote this software that searches all known databases for…”
Taggart groaned. “No one cares, nerd. We all know you’re a genius. You have my investment. Don’t ask for my damn attention unless you’re a bottle of Scotch or a lemon pie. Are you either of those things?”
“I’ll text Riley,” Kayla said, pulling out her phone.
“I didn’t ask you to text him,” Taggart said, his voice going low. “Please, go and ask him in person. And maybe get yourself a cup of coffee.”
Kayla frowned, looking from man to man to man as though trying to figure out exactly what they were going to do. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s an excellent idea.” McKay sat up, looking a little more awake. “Go on. I’ll make sure the beast stays on the leash.”
Kay got to her feet. “I don’t know why the beast needs to be here at all. This is my problem, Alex. I need to handle it. I don’t need the brotherhood rushing in to save me like I’m some delicate princess.”
McKay shrugged. “Did you not see the delicate princess clause in your contract? The brotherhood doesn’t care that you’re competent and capable of handling things yourself. The brotherhood cares that you’re a woman we care about. Now go. You’re on thin ice. Let us do what we need to.”
She sighed. “Fine. But I’ll be right back.”
And he was left alone with them. Was he about to get some kind of warning?
“Mr. Hunt, would you care to tell me why the sunniest woman of my acquaintance looks like death warmed over?” McKay asked. “I’ve seen that girl with the flu and she still smiles like she’s at Disney World.”
That was interesting. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her.”
“Oh, but we’re asking you.” Miles was suddenly side by side with Taggart, their bickering tossed aside in favor of putting forth a united front.
Against him.
“Yes, and the answer to that question will let me know a whole lot about you,” Taggart said.
Jeez, when the guy wanted to look psychotic, he could turn that shit on. “I suspect she’s upset that I didn’t take her deception well.”