Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
She could turn this around on him. “Says the guy who ran away and broke my cousin’s heart.”
He flushed. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Did you get close to Devi so you could stay close to Cooper?” Their time was almost up, and her decision was pretty much made. But there was still intel to be had. “Since Tasha friend zoned you, and you’re definitely not Kenzie’s type since she only likes douchebags.”
Zach leaned in, his eyes steady on her. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. Kala, I’m crazy about Devi. I meant everything I said to her. I meant to come back after the op and move in with Coop and start a damn life. I was ready to throw in the towel when it came to my mother. I figured saving her from The Jester could be my last act as her son, and walking away from all of it could be my first act as Devi’s man. That’s what I wanted.”
“You had a funny way of showing it.” Although now that she thought about it… “The bomb on Walsh’s car was a warning.”
“Of course it was. I had to get you guys to take this seriously. I know you are, but you’ll get more backing if they think Dr. Walsh is in real danger. Which she is,” Zach insisted. “They all are now that he’s out in the open.”
“He’s not exactly out in the open, is he? Do you know where he is?” The most important question she would ask all day.
Would it be easier to find him without the encumbrance of a team? She could focus entirely on hunting Huisman down and then her family would be safe. It might ease her conscious about leaving them, though she knew it was for the best.
His expression went dark. “If I knew where he was, I’d be there. And then he wouldn’t be in this world any longer. I think if I present his head to Big Tag, I might have a better chance of coming out of this with my own still on my shoulders.”
“That chance gets better if you come in with me now,” Kala offered.
He seemed to think about it for a moment. “I can’t because the minute I come in, it’s not just up to your parents. If it was, I might never have left. If you think I wouldn’t love to shove this problem on your dad, you’re so wrong. I hate this. I got too used to having a team. I fucking miss all of it. But you have to let me do what I need to do. I can find my mother and get the intel we need to take down Huisman, but I can’t do it if I’m still working for the Agency. I didn’t plan for things to turn out this way, but here we are, and I have to find the silver lining.”
“Of being on the run? You have to know we’re not the only ones looking for you.” The whole Agency wanted Zach brought in. “They sent a shrink out to talk to all of us so she can profile you. They’re serious about catching you. So is the military.”
“Yeah, that career’s down the drain.” He finished off the beer. “It’s all gone, Kala. My career, the family I wanted, Devi… Let me do one good thing. Let me figure this out. I can’t do that from a prison cell. I’m close. I’m meeting with an old friend of my mom’s in a couple of days, and I think he might have some actual intel for me. I swear I’ll find a way to share it with you, but I have to be out in the field. I have to look like a rogue CIA agent.”
“You are. A rogue CIA agent, that is.” There was no way around that particular truth. “You built the bomb?”
He nodded. “From some of my mother’s notes. The Jester had a bunch of her research, and that was one of the things he was planning on selling. Obviously I’m the one who took his laptop. I’ll send you what I have if you let me go, and I’ll stay in contact with you. Only you.”
“Or you could play me and never see me again because I was dumb enough to let you go.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t do it to him.” He glanced over to Cooper. “If you believe nothing else about me, know that I love my brother.”
She did believe him, and that was why she had to do what Cooper would never forgive her for. Let Zach go. She stood. “I’m calling my contact and getting out of here. You’ve got maybe twenty minutes after I make that call.”
Zach went still. “You’re letting me go?”
“Are you going to call me when you have what you need?”