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)
“Then he’s innocent and Lydia is the one working for The Consortium, but if she’s the one lying to me, I don’t understand why because she doesn’t know about Taylor. She doesn’t know about the op at all.”
“So you’ve got two different people in two different boxes and you can’t figure out how they could be connected.”
Drake’s phone buzzed, announcing a text had come in.
I’m not going anywhere, but when Taylor walks in, I’ll find a way to shadow her. If Julia shows up, I’ll handle it.
That was Kyle. Stubborn to a T.
He was going to get himself killed. “Can you go faster?”
“We’re almost there. Keep thinking, Drake. I know it’s hard because the woman you love is in danger. If this was Penelope, I would be as panicked as you are, but you have to calm down and think this through. You know the answer. You simply haven’t put the pieces together yet. So take a deep breath and let your mind work.”
What had his father taught him?
Nothing is more important than the work. Not your life or your family. At the end not even your country. The intelligence we receive is what we serve. We take that information and create or destroy as it guides us.
Where was the information guiding him?
And how had he not realized how deeply fucked up his childhood had been?
He shoved that thought aside. He had the feeling he was going to need more therapy before he settled in and thought about having his own kids.
“Breathe, Drake. You’ve never been in this position before. You’ve never loved someone. It’s hard. But you can do this.” Knight’s voice was deep and soothing, as if he genuinely knew exactly where Drake was in this moment.
Because he probably did. He worked with his wife, and they’d worked together when they’d both been in British intelligence. They still worked together, though now they oversaw the younger operatives, helping them and keeping them safe.
He and Taylor could do that.
Was there a connection between Lydia and Brad that went beyond their working relationship?
“What if Lydia is the mystery woman Brad talks about?” Drake mused. “Lydia only said they were friends, but she could be lying. He’s mentioned he has a girlfriend but won’t tell me her name. I would absolutely have been concerned if he was sleeping with Lydia.”
“Excellent.” Knight made a turn, and Drake could see the lights of the conference hotel up ahead. “What you’re telling me is that Lydia worked with both your sister and Brad.”
Fuck. “She’s the connection between them. But why would she want me to turn against Brad?” His brain was whirling, answering his own questions. “She wants me to get rid of Brad because they’re done with him. But if she’s working with Brad, then she likely knows about Taylor. If she’s lying, then she’ll tell my sister and Brad that I’m on my way. I need to have Kyle grab Taylor the minute he sees her.” He was moving past texts now. He dialed Kyle’s number.
“Hey, I can’t talk right now,” Kyle said as he picked up.
“You have to listen to me. This is a setup. Julia is behind it,” he said as quickly as he could. “But Lydia and Brad are in on it, too.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get that.” Kyle sounded slightly out of breath. “Taylor just walked into the lobby with Julia and her asshole enforcer. I was about to call Brad when Jax told me he was in the room Brad was supposed to be in and Brad’s gone. Left everything but his gun behind.”
Drake’s stomach churned. “Knight and I are almost there. Start moving toward Owen and Rebecca’s suite. If you have any way to get Taylor away from them…”
“They’re not going where they should be. From what I can tell, they’re in the opposite wing. They got on an elevator using a key card,” Kyle said. “I think they’re going up to the larger suites, the ones they reserve for celebrities.”
Or for government employees who required a ton of security.
There was one other target Julia could go after.
“She’s going after my parents.”
Knight sped up, and Drake prayed they made it in time.
Chapter Eighteen
Taylor followed Julia Ennis through the lobby, a low level of anxiety coursing through her mixing with the adrenaline she hoped she wouldn’t need.
The truth was she should have been prepared for this outcome. Julia was the only ex-Agency operative they knew of. Likely not the only, but it made sense to send her in to deal with the recruitment of a new Agency contact. She knew the language, so to speak.
So far they’d done nothing at all that made her feel like they were trapping her. They were walking ahead of her, giving her every chance to leave if she wanted to. In some ways, she felt silly even wanting to run since they were being so deeply unthreatening.