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)
Yep. She knew it well. She’d known he wouldn’t think straight about this. “She said there was zero proof it was altered. It’s Zach.”
“It can’t be Zach,” Cooper said stubbornly.
“Of course it can be.” Her father was a realist. He moved his hand to the control panel and flicked a switch, bringing the lights back up. He looked a bit weary. “We knew he was hiding something. I didn’t think it was this big.”
“He wouldn’t kill someone,” Cooper argued.
“Sweetie, you’ve seen him kill people,” her mother said with sympathy. “But I do tend to agree with you that I’m not sure we should immediately jump to conclusions. Which is why we’re sending the two of you on an assignment.”
She’d expected something like this. “You want us to find his aunt and figure out if she knows anything. Shouldn’t I just go after Zach on my own?”
“You’re not going anywhere without me,” Cooper said, his tone deepening. She turned his way, and he shrugged. “No one goes alone, and I’m the only one left. Unless you want to hang with your dad.”
It wouldn’t be bad if her dad would let her work in peace, but he would want to talk. For a dude who claimed to shove his feelings real deep, the man loved to talk about other people’s feelings. She wanted to avoid all the feelings talks. It would come, but she could put it off. Maybe even long enough that they would have broken this unwritten contract of theirs and she could chalk it up to random, meaningless sex.
Damn it. Her father would never buy it.
“He’s not wrong,” her dad replied. “And neither is your mom. I want you to find Joyce Reed. I’ve sent her dossier to you along with a map of the national park I’m fairly certain she’s living in right now.”
“National park?” Cooper asked.
“I might have mentioned she’s nomadic,” her father pointed out. “I’ve had some people I know tracking her movements, and she’s definitely not doing seasonal work right now. She’ll often work the holiday season to collect the money she needs to move around. About four times a year she’ll work for a couple of weeks. She recently did a three-week stint in a town close to the Rocky Mountain National Park, and my investigators believe she’s camping there for the time being. They’ve found her van parked at the store she was working at, and the owner admitted to letting her stay there.”
“Then we should simply watch the van,” Lena said with a shake of her head. “We don’t need high-level assets out in the wilderness. We can send someone else.”
“I want Kala and Cooper to handle this,” her father said, turning Cooper’s way. “Read the dossier. She requires a somewhat soft touch. Joyce has seen some shit.”
“Soft touch?” Coop asked, his lips quirking up, and then he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “I will attempt to make up for my partner’s blunter approach.”
Her father’s eyes went right to their entwined hands, brow rising, but the bastard had a grin on his face. “Oh, Joyce will love Kala. It’s men she can be nervous around, and by nervous, I mean she can shoot first and ask questions after she’s buried your body.”
It was Kala’s time to chuckle. And not think about how good it felt to sit here with him, to have his affection in a place where someone else could see it. “Somehow I think Coop will be okay. He knows how to handle an angsty chick.”
“They’re my favorite kind,” Cooper replied.
“I’m pretty sure from here on out they better be your only kind,” her dad said with a smile that was only half predatory. Seventy-five percent.
“Ian,” her mother said, his name a clear warning.
Yeah, maybe she should rethink the in-public thing. Her father shouldn’t threaten Cooper when this relationship was completely casual and had an open end date that would probably happen sooner rather than later.
“Don’t push her, Ian,” Cooper said quietly, and he turned her way when she started to pull her hand back. “It’s hold my hand or sit on my lap.”
A weird thrill went through her. She was almost never challenged. Her siblings would poke her, but they wouldn’t ever throw down some arbitrary choice she didn’t have to make. Dom wanted to play, did he? She pulled her hand away and stared at her temporary lover. “I don’t have to do either.”
Cooper glanced between her and her father, and she was suddenly well aware that Coop was now trapped between two stubborn Taggarts. If it bugged him, he didn’t show it. He simply shrugged. “Then let’s negotiate.”
Her dad huffed, an annoyed sound. “And it’s time for me to leave.”
Her mom winked her way. “I think that’s a good idea.”
“And I don’t.” Lena slapped her hands on the table. “Look, I get it. You’re family. But I’m here as a representative of the Central Intelligence Agency, and you are running this like some family bakery or something. The emotional connections between your operatives alone makes me want to question your leadership choices.”