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)
Somehow she couldn’t see Bishop going all communist or anarchist. He’d been a true believer, a real protector of his country.
“What has he been doing all these years?” She took the tablet out of his hands and stared down at the photos there. John Bishop. His face was the same but not. The eyes were the same, but they looked warm in the photo, his normally tense body relaxed as he smiled and wrapped his arms around a petite woman with brown hair and shining eyes. A couple. They were a real couple who leaned into each other.
John Bishop looked…happy.
Once you go into this, you’ll be your sister, possibly for life. Get in. Do your job. Get as much intel as you can. If you ever see even the glimpse of an off-ramp, take it. Take it as fast as you can and don’t look back. And Kay? I hope one day you can forgive me.
His last words to her before she’d gone into the belly of the beast.
“As far as we can tell, he’s been in deep cover, a possible sleeper agent. He’s lived and worked in Bliss, Colorado. He and his ‘wife’ sell products at traveling fairs. Things like handmade crafts and vegan bread or some shit. He takes his cover seriously. The dude’s wearing Birkenstocks and according to our operative, he’s living a vegan lifestyle.”
She flipped through some of the other photos, her eyes clouding over with tears as she realized what had happened. She didn’t try to hide these tears. They were good tears. She’d left out one scenario to explain Bishop faking his death. The best scenario. There was only one reason a man like Bishop ever left. He’d been cold, ruthless in his protection of his country. He’d finally found some warmth. “It’s not cover. He fell in love with her. He found his off-ramp and he took it. Holy shit. John Bishop in love. That must be something to see.”
The Ice Man had fallen. He’d melted for a woman and now he couldn’t even eat a burger. If he could find a life outside, if Ten could find his Faith…what did that mean for her? Could she do it, too? She’d taken her off-ramp, but trusting someone enough to hand over her heart still seemed so far away.
If only he would kiss her…
“Kay, you can’t know that,” Ezra admonished, taking the tablet back. “His reasons are his own. You can’t start prescribing some random romantic crap to them.”
“What did Ten say when you told him?”
There was a moment of quiet. “That if John Bishop walked away he did it because he found something he loved even more than his country.”
“Has anyone talked to him? Can I call him?” She wanted to suddenly. It had been a long time and she’d missed him. She wanted to hear his story, find out what the hell had happened to put that smile on a face that had so rarely smiled before. She wanted his advice. No one knew the job like Bishop did. He’d sent her in. Maybe he could help her truly find her way out.
“Absolutely not.” Ezra stared at her. “You’re involved in your own op and you’re nothing more than a contractor now. I could get in trouble for telling you any of this. I’m sorry. I mentioned it because I know you worked for him. I thought you should know he could be arrested, and I didn’t want you to hear it through back channels. I don’t know what’s going to happen with him. Right now the Agency is deciding how to handle the situation.”
Arrested wasn’t the term. Renditioned. Dropped into prison with no thoughts to his human rights. Those were the kinds of things that happened to an agent who did what Bishop had. Would his wife mourn him? Would he be happy he’d had those five years with her?
What could she do to ensure that he had more? Fuck it all. She liked a damn happily ever after.
“And what’s the second issue?” Kayla began because she was fairly certain this was one of those lines of questioning Ezra would shut down and quick. She would have to ponder it alone. Or perhaps talk to Big Tag. Big Tag had worked with Bishop, too. She’d heard Bishop was one of the only men in the world Big Tag shut the sarcasm down for.
Maybe the team would take a little ski vacay in Colorado.
Ezra tensed, his shoulders going straight. Without turning, he clicked off the tablet. “Nice of you to join us, Levi.”
She glanced behind Ezra and sure enough Levi Green was walking up. He was dressed in So Cal chic—skinny jeans and a V-necked T-shirt, a pork pie hat on his head and loafers on his feet. Unlike Ezra’s masculine slacks and plain black T and sneakers without a single designer name on anything. It seemed to her like one was playing a role and the other merely wanted to blend into the background, his clothes another function of his daily life and nothing more. She would bet Ezra had a whole closet of basic, while there would be some flamingo in Green’s. He could stand out like a preening peacock when he wanted to.