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)
He hadn’t gotten Tasha. He’d gotten Kala and Carys, and apparently he’d shot a dude in the head over the mistake. Not that Huisman hadn’t made the most of it.
Devi didn’t even stop doing her eyeliner. “I’ve already gotten the talk, and I have my very own bodyguard following me around when I’m not with Dais and Nate. I’m excited about it since I’ve heard all our bodyguards end up marrying their clients.”
Kenzie sat up, losing her I-want-to-murder-someone face and putting on her this-is-good-gossip one. “Who? Who did you get?”
“Landon Vail.” Devi’s lips curled up, but it was easy to see the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “He’s adorable and my type. I think he’s exactly what I need to forget my troubles.”
Her cousin was deflecting. And not taking the risk seriously. “Well, you can forget the whole Zach thing but try to remember the last person he had a thing for was the one Huisman wanted to torture instead of me. So you could be next if he decides he wants to see if he can bring Zach in.”
“All Kala is trying to say is you need to do what Landon tells you to and stay close to home when you can,” Kenzie said.
Devi sighed. “Sure. I got it. Ignore my career needs because some asshole wanted to get close to my family since he’s a counteragent. Thanks, spy kids.”
“Hey.” Kala could only be pushed so far. “I get it. You’re sad and hurt and I look like I can take some damage. Cool. I can. You want to blame me, go for it, cousin. But he’s not a counteragent. Don’t try to simplify this and make him the baddest of all bad guys. That man saved my life more than once, and honestly, if he shows up again, I’m going to beat on him a while and then sit his ass down and figure this out. Because something is wrong. He’s not a good actor. He kind of sucks. He’s also a shitty bad guy since the last thing he did was save Lou and Aidan and then text me that I should take care of our team. And I know he told Lou to tell you he was sorry. Such a bad-guy move.”
Devi turned her way, eyes narrowing. “He was in love with Tasha. No one bothered to tell me. I had to overhear you guys talking about it. He loved Tasha and then she was unavailable, and so he started to look around for the next best thing.”
Bri winced. “We’ve tried to talk to her about that, too.”
“I don’t think Zach was in love with Tash. He was in love with the idea of being part of a family.” Kenzie put a hand on the folder she’d been reading. “He was alone most of his life, with a mother in prison and an aunt who was barely able to hold it together. He was a lonely boy who found himself when he joined the military. Tash is… She’s Tash. She’s gorgeous and easy to be around, and the daughter of the couple he wished had been his mom and dad.”
“You are proving my point,” Devi replied.
“She’s fucking not.” Kala knew she wasn’t going to get through to her cousin. Not about Zach, but she had to make her point about safety. “What she’s saying is Tasha is sweet and easy to love, and you turn into a raging bitch a lot. Don’t think I’m insulting you. It’s my favorite part of your personality. The point is you’re not Tasha, and if Zach wanted someone sweet and with connections to my father, he could have done way better than you. You are difficult, and everyone shrugs and says it’s because you’re an artist, but it’s because you’re Erin Taggart’s daughter and that shit is hardwired into your DNA. As you proved when you blamed me for all your problems.”
“I didn’t say your name,” Devi replied.
She loved her cousin, but her cousin didn’t understand her world. Oh, she thought she did on an intellectual level. They all did. They had no idea how bloody it could be. They did not understand she was a fucking wall between them and the bad shit. She finished off her last curl and put the iron down, turning to her cousin and looking her straight in the eyes. “I don’t care. I don’t care if you hate me. You won’t be the only one. It’s surprising because we’re so alike, but I get it. If there’s one thing I think I’ve figured out, it’s that I can’t fix other people’s perceptions of me. So in essence only how I feel about a person matters. I love you so I’m going to explain a bit of the world to you.”
Devi huffed. “See, this is the part I don’t like. I love you, too, but you think you know better than all of us.”