Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“I thought that guy was after Michael’s wife.” Drake had heard some of the trouble MaeBe had gone through when she’d been injured on the job. Mostly because Kyle liked to complain.
“I wonder now. It was a miracle he didn’t hit an organ, and he managed to not get caught even though there were a ton of people and police around. He was either terrible at stabbing and ridiculously lucky or he was quite good at stabbing and knew how to get away. I think it was one more way to fuck with me before she was ready to spring her trap.” Kyle turned to Taylor. “Didn’t you say you thought The Consortium operatives often work with males who serve as muscle?”
She nodded. “Yes. We believe they often work with mercenaries, but also there are some men who support the women in positions of power. And yes, they often do the dirty work, especially when it comes to violence. We have every reason to believe they also hire assassins if they can’t get the job done themselves or they believe it could harm them politically to do it in a way that could be tied back to them. Are you wondering if the male voice who spoke to your mother was Julia’s partner? That would likely mean he works for The Consortium as well. I would be surprised if she used a contractor for something like that.”
“Is there any way you could look into him, Taylor?” Kyle stood and started to pace. “His name is John Smith, and according to the records he’s from Colorado. I know it’s a bullshit name, but it’s all we have.”
His gut felt tight. He didn’t want to drag Taylor in further than she already was. “She’s not involved in this.”
“Not involved?”
“Not in this part of the op. You are going to meet a Consortium contact and gain intel from working as a double agent in the organization.” Even saying the words made him sick to his stomach. “That operative is not Julia.”
“We can’t be sure of that,” Kyle said.
“The likelihood is low,” Taggart pointed out. “But I’m interested to see how Drake tries to wiggle out of this. You know it’s her op, right? You’re the interloper. Either she’s aware of Julia and working on your project or there’s really no need for you to work on hers.”
He was back to thinking Tag was the world’s biggest ass. “I’m just saying she doesn’t need to be involved in researching a person she’s not likely to encounter.”
Taylor sighed and pushed her chair back, standing. “Mr. Taggart, do you have the files?”
“I do indeed,” Big Tag said. “I can have them in your inbox shortly, and I’ll have Adam send you everything he found out about Julia’s disappearance the first time he investigated. Spoiler alert—it’s not much.”
“I appreciate this, Taylor.” Kyle nodded her way.
Drake didn’t appreciate any of this. When Taylor walked out the door he hurried after her. “Hey, we weren’t finished.”
She didn’t stop. “You don’t get to order me around. We’re not playing. Now, I have some research to do, and I suspect you’re going to need someone to put together a lively fiction to fool your poor mother that the police are actually looking into this. I assume you don’t want the Capitol Police involved.”
That was his worst nightmare. “Of course not. My mother knows I have connections. She believes I work for Department of Defense in an advisory role in their intelligence department. She thinks my connections to the CIA, Homeland Security, and the FBI come from there. She’s calling me because she’ll want me to take over.”
“Then she knows how this works,” Taylor said, walking toward the stairs.
No. She didn’t. His mother had no idea how his world worked. And that was why it would likely be all right. Someone would craft a fiction that would include an arrest and proof of the plot that would have bilked his mother out of a ton of money.
He just didn’t want that someone to be her.
But did he have the time to do it? Bringing Lydia in would mean telling her Julia was alive. Brad wasn’t good at this, and Kyle’s computer skills were more about cyber stalking his girlfriend than anything else.
His cell phone trilled, and he looked down at it.
His mom.
Taylor’s expression softened slightly. “Talk to her. You should honestly go see her. I’ll be fine here until we’re ready to go to London. I’m safe here. You don’t have to worry.”
Oh, he was worried. So fucking worried. “This doesn’t change anything, Taylor. We made a deal tonight.”
“One I can change my mind about at any moment,” she returned. “I’ll see you when you get back.”
“I didn’t say I was…” he began. But the phone was still ringing, and he was trapped.