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)
If he hadn’t made a big deal, hadn’t let his ego get in the way, she wouldn’t have had to. She might have been able to quietly disentangle herself.
Thank the fucking universe for his ego because he wanted to be entangled.
“Huisman isn’t the only one who is heavily connected to bombs,” Lena pointed out, also ignoring Kenzie’s pointed jabs. “What I mean by the big picture is everything Huisman has done to this point has benefitted his plans for the Disrupt organization. The shadow one, of course.”
“Uhm, pretty sure Kala would disagree,” Lou said. She’d been watching him, too, obviously trying to figure out what had happened.
“I don’t know about that,” Kala replied. “In this I might agree with the doc.”
“How so?” Charlotte’s head tilted slightly, taking in her daughter. “I think what was done to you was pointedly about the grudge he has against your father.”
“But that wasn’t his plan.” Kala turned in her seat, facing her mother. “Taking me was a mistake. He even told me he hadn’t planned to move so quickly, but he wouldn’t waste the chance. He wanted information from Tristan, and more importantly, Zach.”
“Exactly,” Lena said, nodding Kala’s way with an approving smile. “Huisman’s plans were about discovering the identity of the bombmaker, which brings us to Zach.”
“Yes, he obviously knows more about the bombmaker than we understood.” Big Tag sighed as though tired of the whole thing. “But if you are trying to convince me Zach planted that bomb, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Zach barely knows Dr. Walsh. He met her briefly once. He has no reason to hurt her.”
“Unless he’s in league with Huisman, and he lied about wanting information from Zach.” Lena sat back. “We’ve already established that Huisman’s true goal is chaos. What better chaos than to be working with a member of your team? Especially if there’s a possibility of Zach returning in some way to the fold. He would be able to give you a lot of misinformation. It’s obvious you don’t believe Zach is capable of this kind of crime, but we have already established he’s murdered one man in cold blood.”
“The Jester,” Charlotte said. “Who is an arms dealer who fed multiple wars and criminal organizations. I get what you’re saying, but you don’t know Zach. There’s something bigger here we don’t understand.”
“All right.” Lena studied Charlotte for a moment. “You care for Zach and I understand, but I would like for the group to at least consider what I’m saying. I wasn’t placed in this position for my good looks. I know what I’m talking about, and in this case I believe I can think more clearly about the situation.” She held up a hand as if to ward off the inevitable arguments. “If I’m wrong, all you’ve done is be more careful. I suspect you’ll hear from Zach at some point, and he’ll come with explanations and apologies. He’ll play on the sympathy he knows he’ll get from you. Be careful, Mrs. Taggart. Your operatives need to be careful as well.” She stood and collected her designer bag, settling it on her shoulder. “Now, I’m going to get back to my hotel and get some sleep since it’s easy to see I’m causing problems here.”
Drake looked up at her. “Lena, you don’t have to go.”
She shook her head. “They’re emotional, and I’m making it worse. I’ll be back at the Ferguson Clinic tomorrow. Mr. Taggart offered me an office in his building, but the clinic is quite nice, and I won’t be a focal point there. Please keep me up to date on anything I need to know. Kala, I’ll see you soon.”
Cooper winced at the thought but Kala merely nodded, and Lena exited stage left. He wondered what she thought about being dragged into a meeting at a lifestyle club. Drake was in the lifestyle, and he and his wife attended a club in DC, but somehow he couldn’t see the perfectly controlled therapist being interested in D/s. He could be wrong.
Drake looked Ian and Charlotte’s way, his eyes narrowing. “You know who she is and what she’s here to do.”
Charlotte tucked a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. “I know she’s trying to sway my team to believe Zach is the bad guy here.”
“She’s not wrong,” Ian said tightly. “I’m not saying Zach is evil, just that we should be careful and keep an open mind. We don’t know what forces are pushing on him right now, what kind of trouble he’s in. We don’t know who or what he’s protecting.”
“Well, I would think it’s the bombmaker,” Tristan said with a frown. “At least it seemed that’s what Huisman believed. But I can’t see Zach trying to kill Dr. Walsh. He wouldn’t have any reason to.”
“Unless he was working with Huisman,” TJ replied. “I know. I don’t believe it either, but Huisman plays games. What if this is all part of his game?”