Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
What he’d given up was precious time with Carys and Aidan. He didn’t want to lose more. “I think the fact they allowed him to take over this op means they’re coming around. You were sent in to discredit the team. It’s been a couple of years and you haven’t managed it.”
“I was sent in to report back with an unbiased eye,” Zach corrected. “I’m going to admit something I wouldn’t to most other people. I wasn’t ever unbiased. I wanted on the team.”
“Because it sounded like a beautiful train wreck?” Tris got to work. Despite what Aidan had said, Tris didn’t mean to leave their stuff behind either. Though he wouldn’t call for a bellman. They’d checked for bugs, but the absence of them in the room didn’t mean there weren’t still eyes on them. Especially once they hit the elevator. He intended to walk out before anyone could think to stop him. He grabbed his laptop and shoved it in his bag.
Zach grinned and picked up Carys’s laptop bag, moving it to the table at the front of the outer room. “It is most of the time. What I loved about the idea of the team was the family aspect. It felt more military to me than Agency. I liked the idea the team would care about each other, would know each other. So often a Mr. or Ms. Black would roll in, order my Special Forces teams to do their will, and then never see a one of us again. Big Tag gives a damn about everyone he works with, and he’s passed his philosophy on to his team. I wanted to be part of that.”
“I can see why it would be appealing.” Tristan mentally counted their baggage and the likelihood he and Zach could handle it. Luckily, he packed light. The good news was they hadn’t gotten around to unpacking more than toiletries since they wouldn’t be staying more than the night. It was easy to shove the dirty clothes in the outer pockets of the luggage and then roll it to the living room where Zach moved it into place. “Tell me something. Did you know about the whole taking the last parachute and leaving Parker behind to die thing?”
Zach chuckled. “I did. I kind of watched it happen, though from a distance. In Kala’s defense, she didn’t believe they would kill Parker. He’s being kind of dramatic when he says that.”
Tristan scoffed at the idea. “She did not care.”
“Okay, she didn’t, but what else was she supposed to do?” Zach asked, proving he would back his teammates even when they were a little psycho. “She did catch him, and she did make sure he made it safely to the ground. It was a hell of a thing.”
“Why didn’t it make your report?” Tris was always careful to go over mission reports even when he wasn’t involved in the op.
Zach stopped, and Tris could have sworn there was the faintest flush to the big guy’s face. “I don’t know.”
“Yeah, you do.” He knew exactly what had happened, but he wanted to hear Zach say it.
Zach shrugged. “Fine. Because you don’t tell on your sister. I’m not a snitch. You know what they say.”
Except there was one problem with what Zach had said. “You were literally hired to snitch. Also, you should be happy you didn’t because snitching on that particular sister wouldn’t lead to stitches.”
“Nope. It leads to a body bag, and what can I say, man? I drank the Kool-Aid and I want more,” Zach admitted. “I came on board because some of the directors worried the team would be unstable. Don’t ever tell our Langley handlers, but those directors wanted Big Tag and Charlie in. It’s the only reason Drake and Taylor were allowed to form the team. They knew if they had the twins, they had their parents. Some of them thought if we could get shit on the team, they would have leverage over the whole Taggart clan.”
Tris stopped in his tracks, feeling his eyes widen. “Ian would eat them all if he knew.”
“Which is why we’re not going to tell him, brother,” Zach said. “It would cause problems. I handled it for him. They’re no longer talking about shutting it down at Langley. Instead, they’re giving the team more important assignments, and that’s why I think this one is going to fall to Big Tag. Honestly, bringing your dad in is the nail in the coffin to the people who want to shut this team down. If we have Adam Miles, no one’s going to argue with us.”
His father was being used as a chess piece, but he had to trust his dad could handle it. Between his father, Big Tag, and Charlotte, they would likely upend the whole game and change all the rules. If there was anything he’d learned from all of this it was to trust the people he loved. “Well, then one good thing came out of all the mess I made.”