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)
“Question away, Doc,” her father said with a shrug. “You want to fire me, cool. I would love some more golf time.”
“You’re acting like you can fire us,” her mother challenged.
Lena took a long breath. The doc was definitely overstimulated. “All I can do is suggest. And right now I suggest that Kala remains here in Dallas. She’s doing some important work both mentally and physically.”
“I have the exercises I’m supposed to do for my knee. I’ll do them.” She knew what she’d promised and she wasn’t going to back out, but the truth was she could use some time away from everything. Everything except him.
Negotiate.
She understood negotiations. Negotiations put things in plain words and let her know what was expected. She didn’t pick up on nuances sometimes, not when it came to the interpersonal. A contract. She loved a contract. Maybe they could talk about one between them.
Though she wasn’t his sub. And he wasn’t hers.
“Kala, I scarcely think the Agency wants to lose its most valuable young agent in the damn forest,” Lena complained. “I don’t like the idea of you being completely dependent on McKay in a world that is utterly foreign to you. I’m trying to look out for you since it’s very plain your father is pushing this new…relationship.”
Cooper sat up straighter, seeming to decide this was a serious conversation. “First off, she wouldn’t be dependent on me. You said Rocky Mountain National, right? She spent most of her summers in the Colorado mountains. Trust me, I’ll be nothing more than the dude who carries a bunch of stuff and cleans up after us. She knows the woods. Her dad’s an asshole who dumped her in the middle of the woods and forced her and her sisters to find their way back.”
She didn’t blame him. She’d requested the test when she was fourteen, and she was pretty sure her dad had been following them, waiting in case they needed help.
“Can’t go raising soft kids,” her dad replied. “They either came back or got eaten by a bear.”
Her mom rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because you didn’t have most of the town of Bliss watching for them. Those wildlife cameras just popped up overnight.”
She wasn’t sure who Lena thought she was. “It’ll be good to spend some time in nature. I’ll be fine, and I’ll take a sat phone with me. Well, Cooper will. Those things can be heavy.”
She kind of hoped it took a couple of days to find the woman. It would be nice to be alone with him in a place she loved. Alex and Eve would come out there from time to time, but never for the weeks and sometimes months her parents did. Once they got good Internet, her parents had spent most of the summers in Colorado.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I actually was going to propose that you and I go to Langley for a couple of weeks. I think you can help me with the profile of Zach Reed. Your father seems to think his aunt is going to… I don’t know, open up his baby book and you’ll know what he’s doing. It makes no logical sense.”
Her father’s eyes narrowed, and she could tell Lena hadn’t spent a ton of time around her dad. His voice went soft, a sure sign he was about to do some bad shit. “We don’t understand the same logic, Doctor. You are not her boss. I am.”
“Yes, I have a problem with that, too,” Lena added. “Kala doesn’t need a firm hand. She’s smart and capable, and sometimes you treat her like a child.”
Her mother’s hand disappeared, going under the table and likely squeezing her dad’s thigh. Her mom’s hand was a leash, hauling back the biggest, baddest guard dog in the world.
“Baby, move back a little. I know you just bought that shirt, and blood is hard to get out,” Cooper whispered.
He knew nothing about laundry. Blood was actually quite easy to clean up.
Her father’s eyes remained on Lena, but his words were for Kala. “Which assignment would you like, Agent Taggart?”
That was easy. “Uh, you’re asking me if I want to spend a week in the woods talking to a nomadic crone or in DC talking to assholes? I very much like a crone, thank you. I also think Lena is discounting the intelligence we can gather from talking to Zach’s aunt.”
“Really? You think you can get something from her or are you simply attempting to take a couple of days off with your new boyfriend?” Lena asked.
Her mom sat up at those words.
Kala didn’t care. She waved her mom off. “I’m going to work and fuck his brains out. I can multitask. It’s all cool. I got this.”
Lena sighed and stood. “Well, I can see I’m not needed here.”