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 was all for it but heard the beep that let her know the alarm was being reset. “I think she came early.”
“What the…”
Nope. It was totally her dad, and he was carrying a bag from her favorite bakery. It was sweet. Her dad had come back to try to persuade her with chocolate croissants.
Or he’d drugged them and this was his kidnapping play. A sucky thing to do, but she wouldn’t put it past him if he thought she was leaving.
He turned, but she could see he’d put a hand to his mouth. To stem the vomit. Well, he’d walked into a sex club.
“Hey, Dad, you should leave the croissants. We’re planning on having a lot of sex,” Kala announced. “Unless you drugged them. Then you should give them to Seth. Didn’t Lou tell you Cooper showed up?”
“She left that part out,” her dad said. “She told me about Ben making an appearance, and I thought it might be a good time to try to talk to you again. Lou thought that was a great idea. Boomer should have spanked her more. I take it you two are okay, and why the hell would I drug you?”
“We’re good,” Cooper replied, and there was a light in his eyes as he looked down at her. He was having fun. “And she thinks you were going to lock her up until she came to her senses. It’s cool. I figured out another way. I don’t know why you and Dad always tell me my dick is stupid. It was very smart this time.”
Her father dropped the bag. “I need a drink. And I wouldn’t drug you. I would trick you into the cage. Take care of her and…”
“We don’t need a condom,” Cooper called out. “We’re going to have the kids call you Grumpa.”
Her dad sighed and strode out the door again. Like she would get tricked. Maybe if there were chocolate croissants. Or pizza.
Cooper laughed and started for the stairs again.
“Hey,” she said.
He turned and lowered her close enough to grab the bag of treats her father had so thoughtfully brought her.
They would need some energy. They could get pizza later.
She snuggled close as he carried her to the privacy rooms.
* * * *
Kala slipped out of the room where Cooper lay sleeping. Her phone had been ringing for hours, and though she didn’t want to have this talk, she was a rip the bandage off kind of girl. She pressed the screen to answer this latest call. “Hey, Lena.”
A long sigh came over the line. “Finally. I thought I was going to have to haul you out of that club.”
Stupid trackers. She was going to tell Lou to change the damn frequency on hers. “Seriously, you turned on my tracker because I didn’t answer my phone?”
“It’s been hours and hours, and I was getting worried about you. So am I picking you up from the club or are you meeting me at the airport?” Lena asked, her voice crisp and professional over the line. “I’m calling security for the plane because your father is an asshole.”
She wasn’t sure what her dad had done, but she did know her parents wouldn’t ever let her leave. Neither would Coop. They would track her down, and no one would care that she was on a super-secret mission. They would charge in and toss her over a shoulder and put her in a locked room.
It was easier to stay.
Nope. She was changing her thinking. She wasn’t going to make things less than they were. Especially her feelings. She was staying because this was her place. Because they loved and needed her, and she loved and needed them.
Yes, she was kind of a grump, but there was nothing wrong with her some good therapy couldn’t fix. And maybe some meds. “I’m afraid the plan is changing. I can’t go to DC tonight.”
“Kala, I set up several meetings with big-time players at the Agency. These are serious people, and they won’t like the schedule changing. I thought you wanted to work,” Lena replied.
Kala put the phone on speaker as she walked through the bar. Should they get pizza and spend the night here, or go back to her place so she could get the lowdown on what happened with Ben? Scratch that. Definitely get the pizza delivered here because if they went home with it, TJ would almost certainly be hungry no matter what he’d had for dinner. She definitely wanted to know what happened with Ben. She wanted to make sure her heroic efforts did some good for her sister. Of course if they didn’t, then she might be able to kill Ben. So it was a win-win either way. “I think I’ve got all the work I can handle with this team.”
“You want to leave the team.” Lena’s tone had gone tight.