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)
TJ’s expression suddenly turned sunny. “Cool. Give me ten and we’ll pick you up here.”
He walked away but not before she saw Lou standing behind him. Sneaky bestie.
God, she would miss Lou if she left. The thought of not having her around nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she had to think about it.
“He’s your cousin?” Lena asked.
Kala sank down to the bench Gabe had built. The Hideout was a work in progress. It wasn’t much to look at right now, certainly not from the outside, but every week the board worked on it, and slowly it was becoming something they could all be proud of.
What would it look like ten years from now? Would it rival Sanctum or The Club? Would she ever see it again if she walked away from her team?
“Yeah. He’s my uncle Theo’s oldest,” she replied. “I have a ridiculously large family.”
“Yes,” Lena agreed. “Four brothers on your dad’s side, and your mother has a sister.”
“It’s way bigger since my parents collect people. My parents have had the same close group of friends since long before I was born. They’re family, too. It can be a lot sometimes,” she admitted. And wonderful, but it also was hard because she didn’t fit with them. “How about you? You have any siblings out there?”
Lena sighed, and her eyes found the darkness again. “No. I’m afraid I’m on my own. My father was involved in the intelligence business at one point, and he was killed in the line of duty. Not that I spent much time with him. My parents weren’t married. He didn’t want a kid at the time, but I like to think if he’d lived, he would have been a better dad.”
“I’m sorry.” Maybe she shouldn’t get to know this woman. It was easier to hate her when she was nothing more than an Agency spy sent to break up her team. Which she was thinking about doing herself. “Was it hard to work in intelligence? Or was it easier? Everyone thinks I’m here trying to be my father, but it wasn’t him. It’s something I needed to do.”
“This work fills something inside me,” Lena explained. “It’s gotten me to where I need to be to do what I want to do. If that makes sense. I have goals and dreams and plans like everyone else. Being here gets me closer to achieving the goals.”
Did she have goals beyond the next job? Anything that didn’t involve work? Cooper had been…not a goal exactly, but definitely a dream.
Lena got quiet, and the silence sat between them, not a comfortable one. It was awkward, and Kala remembered that wasn’t the only question Lena had asked. “It’s a BDSM club. Did you not get the background research on my family? I suspect it’s one of the reasons the Agency watches us so closely. Can’t trust those perverts.”
Lena sat down beside her. “Of course I have read all the relevant background, and your parents’ lifestyle was covered. I wouldn’t say it’s perverted. Simply more open than most lifestyles. And since you’re in an honest lifestyle, do you mind if I ask a couple of questions?”
“Is this a session?” If she could fit in one of the required sessions, the night might not be a total loss.
Lena snorted like she knew exactly what she was thinking. “Not a session. This is just me asking some questions so I can work better. The whole team is involved, correct? I can understand you all better if I’m informed.”
Lena made it sound so reasonable, but Kala’s suspicious nature still made her careful. “Sure.”
“So I do understand that there are a couple of different ways to play… That’s the word, right?”
“Yes,” Kala allowed. How long would TJ be? Lou had already changed. She wouldn’t take any time at all. She would grab her bag, but TJ probably wanted to look pretty or some shit.
“So there are different ways to play. Pain can be oddly relieving for some people. For some people who don’t like traditional therapy, the careful administration of pain can release pent-up emotions. Are you a submissive, Kala?”
Kala sighed. Naturally, she was a woman so she should submit to someone. “Nope.”
“So you prefer to be the one inflicting pain?”
Kala lifted a brow, staring plainly at the therapist. “What happened to the careful administration of pain to relieve inner turmoil? Your disdain is showing, Dr. Gallagher.”
“Sorry. I’m not disdainful at all,” Lena countered. “I was simply surprised. I’ve heard the lifestyle can often provide a place for the other side of a person to come out. You deal with violence in your daily life all the time. You’re in control. You have to be. I’m surprised you prefer to dominate. I guess some of us are simply wired one way and don’t have another side. See, I’m learning.”