Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
“You were right the first time. Our mom wanted to hide Cooper from our father,” a deep voice said. Zach was back in the doorway. “Sorry. It’s not a big cabin and you kind of screeched. I’ll tell you everything if you give me the chance. Or I can give you the reports I sent to your uncle. Either way, I’ll be in the kitchen. Dinner’s ready. I’ll warn you. It’s beets. Do you want me to make a plate and send it to your room?”
Where she would get no information?
She felt her mom watching her. Waiting for what she would do. She loved her mom, but she could be judgey when she thought her kids were doing something dumb. Devi wasn’t sure which would be the dumber path, but she knew which one she was taking. “I want a debrief. That’s what you call it, right? Look, Zach, if I’m staying here for safety, I want to know what I need safety from. I will not be kept in the dark. If you think I’ll sit in my room and be a good girl, then you don’t know me. I’m smart and I’m strong and I can make decisions myself. So set the truth out in front of me and I’ll decide if I’m part of this team or if I’m going to hide somewhere on my own.”
“Nicely done, sweetie,” her dad yelled from the kitchen.
Good to know his hearing was still excellent.
“Can you handle that, Zach?” her mom asked, clear challenge in her tone.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, I can handle it. I’ve been telling this story a lot lately. But I’m going to pop open some beers if we’re doing this.”
He walked back out into the hallway.
“Listen to him, baby girl,” her mom said. “I think he cares about you, and he’s definitely in trouble. Your uncle is in the background trying to help him, but a lot of this work is going to be done on the ground.”
Meaning Zach had to handle it with his “team.” And she’d opened the door to becoming a part of it. The good news was she liked beets. Aunt Charlotte made an excellent borscht. Hopefully Lacey knew how to cook. If she didn’t, then that would be something Devi could take over. Like she’d never cooked for vegan models. But there were still problems. “How can I trust him?”
Her mom seemed to think about it for a moment. “I’ve looked at his actions, and I would trust him. I think he’s a young man in a bad situation for the right reasons.”
Her mom wasn’t considering all the scenarios. “I think he likes me because I’m a Taggart.”
“So you heard the rumors about Tasha.”
She couldn’t seem to get away from them. She nodded.
“Consider the fact that from what I’ve heard he never once made a move on her. He made several moves on you.”
Oh, like she hadn’t thought this problem through. “I was convenient. He didn’t have a play partner and he was bored.”
Her mother sighed. “You don’t know that. Don’t let your insecurities overwhelm you. It’s time to ask some questions and to take a real measure of the man. He called me from the car that night. Before he even had you on a plane. He called your parents because he couldn’t stand the thought that we would worry. He’s taking the risk of getting caught by letting you talk to me now.”
All of which could mean that becoming a Taggart was worth the risk of jail time.
How would she know until she truly understood Zach Reed’s story? Until she pulled the veil back, it was all supposition and gossip.
He was Cooper’s brother? She was still floored by the revelation. Brothers. And Cooper knew. And Kala knew.
Did she trust them? “I wish they would have told me. Kala and Coop, that is.”
“That’s part of it, and you need to decide if it’s worth it to stay close to the people in your life who owe their secrets to the Agency. You know a lot of the time I thought your father was dead, your uncle had some inkling that he wasn’t.”
“And he didn’t tell you?”
Her mom’s head shook. “Nope, and I thank the universe for that. Uncle Ian sent Uncle Liam out on several ops to figure out where your dad was being held, and neither mentioned it to me. Not because they didn’t care about me or want me to know, but because they weren’t sure. I was pregnant with your brother and starting to figure out I could live a life.”
Devi didn’t see how her mom’s past related to her own. “That’s not the situation here.”
“No, but it is a situation where they have to decide what you need to know versus the risk of you knowing. Also, a lot of this happened recently. Kala’s only known since Colorado. She just got back and oops, kidnapped. Would you like me to play the part and explain why she hasn’t taken the time to tell you?”