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)
Her father watched the doctor as she strode away. “You two pack up. Cooper, you can take the small jet.” He stood. “Don’t forget the first part of your multitasking is to keep your eyes and ears open.”
And her legs. Those were going to be wide open. She gave her dad a salute. “Will do, general.”
Her father shook his head and stared at her for a moment. “You know what you’re doing?”
She shrugged. Her father, she almost always understood. If it had been someone else, she would have wondered if he meant what she was doing with the op or with Cooper. Her dad? Oh, he was always asking about the most embarrassing thing. It was easy to be around her dad because he was so predictable. “Probably not. I mean, physically yeah. I think I got it down. I don’t know. I do have some questions.”
Her dad was out the door very quickly.
And she was alone with Cooper.
“So a couple of days in the woods,” he said, his lips curling in the sexiest grin. “Whatever shall we do?”
She could think of a few things.
Chapter Eleven
Cooper checked out the van, but it looked like Zach’s aunt lived lean. There weren’t a bunch of mementoes stocked there. There wasn’t much of anything beyond some blankets and pillows and a couple of books and dry goods. It looked like she’d taken a lot with her when she’d walked into the woods.
“And you’re sure Joyce isn’t in trouble?” the man who owned the store asked. He’d been introduced as Buddy. Buddy owned this general store and was friendly with their target.
He shouldn’t think of her as a target. She was Zach’s aunt, and maybe she could explain why one of his best friends had lost his damn mind.
More importantly, she might be able to tell them how to get Zach back in the fold.
“I’m sure. I promise you, she’s not in trouble.” The man who’d picked them up at the airport was acting as something of a go-between with the suspicious small-town citizens. Henry Flanders knew pretty much everyone in Southern Colorado. He and his wife were very important to the communities. They weren’t in Bliss, but Henry still had pull. “Do you want to talk to the sheriff? I assure you he wouldn’t be cooperating if he didn’t trust these people.”
“They look like Feds,” Buddy said with a frown.
Kala snorted. “Do not. I mean, I know he does. He’s Navy, by the way. I’m way cooler. I’m with the CIA.”
What? “Uh, hello, undercover?”
Kala waved him off. “I’m not lying to the people here.” She turned to the man. “Look, I spent a lot of time in these woods, a lot of time in Henry’s town. I understand you deserve your privacy, but I have to weigh that against Joyce’s nephew’s safety. I need to find Zach, and she’s my best bet. Now he might be in trouble since his ass apparently tried to explode a friend of ours.”
“He did?” the man asked, eyes wide.
He had zero idea what she was doing. Was she planning on handing over the mission briefing to the dude who ran a small general store?
“He didn’t do a great job,” Kala admitted. “Which is why I wonder about the whys. See, I don’t like to admit this but he’s actually competent. He doesn’t make mistakes. He wouldn’t simply guess and hope he hits his target.”
They’d spent the last night prepping for the op and then falling into bed together. And on the kitchen table. And on the couch. Brianna had protested that she used the couch, too, and Kala had given her permission to go to town on it. Bri had not been amused.
Having her sit next to him in the copilot’s seat had been… Well, it was his two favorite things together. Chocolate and peanut butter. Flying and Kala.
Now he wondered what she’d been thinking about the whole time. What had she worked out in that magnificent brain of hers? She wouldn’t talk about what his mother had said, waving him off with promises of not getting her butt hurt. She’d been more willing to talk about a contract. He now had the right to hold her hand when she didn’t need it to stab someone with—she’d insisted on the wording—and the right to sleep next to her when they were in the same place at the same time. Because it was easier than making two beds.
His girl was so fucking romantic.
“You thinking he could be in trouble?” The store owner was coming around. It was clear Kala’s openness was winning him over.
Kala nodded. “I do. I think he’s in serious trouble, and he’s my friend. I understand if you want to contact her and tell her we’re coming, but she could help us help him.”
“Oh, I can’t contact Joyce. When she goes off the grid, she’s really off the grid,” the man said. “But if I hear anything, I’ll let Henry here know and he can contact you.”