Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“I’m here,” MaeBe said in a small voice.
“Listen up, Mae. If you’re a good girl, I might think about letting you live through this,” Julia began.
“John is dead,” Ian said flatly. “This is Ian Taggart, and I would tell you to stay away from my nephew, but you’re not going to do that, are you?”
Joseph sighed and sank down to the couch beside Drake. His shoulders slumped, but he didn’t say a word.
“Kyle? Kyle, are you there?” Julia didn’t sound so confident now.
“You don’t get to hear his voice,” MaeBe replied without moving away. “He’s not going to engage with you in any way. He’s busy burying the men you sent. Don’t send anyone else or we’ll kill them, too.”
“Well, that’s interesting.” Julia proved it wasn’t easy to dissuade her. “I wonder what the police will think about that. Perhaps someone should call them.”
“Feel free,” Ian replied. “I assure you I’m excellent at cleaning up messes. You send the cops here and I’ll explain exactly what happened. I’ll open my files and you’ll have some new surgery in your future. Or maybe I can do it anyway and be done with you because we both know there won’t be any surgery for you. You fuck up and get made and there’s not even a coffin.”
“You won’t do that because if you do, I’ll bring Kyle down with me,” she vowed. “Has he told you all the things he’s done? All the people he killed for me? He was good, Taggart. He was as good at murder as he was in bed.”
Shame washed over him. He had done both. He’d killed for her. Slept with her in what now felt like a mockery of everything love had come to mean to him. He’d sought out that life because he’d believed he’d deserved it. His past had pushed him to recklessness, and now it might cost him a future with MaeBe.
“He was working for the CIA.” MaeBe moved in beside him. “He was following orders. No one is going to blame him for that.”
“I can prove he wasn’t.” A long sigh came over the line. “Mr. Taggart, if you move on me, I assure you I can make your nephew’s life a living hell. I have everything I need to do it. You’ve been surprisingly good at avoiding getting entangled with my group in a business sense, but I can find something on you, too. Stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine. And Kyle, I know you’re there. I’m not done with you. Not even close, baby. I’ll see you soon. We’ll talk then.”
“You won’t see him at all. I meant what I said. He will not answer your call again.” Ian hung up.
“Drake’s father helped her put money in your account.” Joseph looked oddly relaxed now that it was over. “She has all the information on the fake assignments she sent you on. She intended to use it to force you to her side.”
“What?” Drake sat up. “I know about the money, but what do you mean by fake assignments?”
He hadn’t told Drake, hadn’t wanted to let his friend know how bad it had gotten.
“Not tonight.” MaeBe put a hand in his. “He’s had enough tonight. So are we heading to Sanctum or are we staying here? Ian, you should know that Kyle and I have decided to go at it hard while we’re working this op, so that will happen wherever you decide it’s going to happen.”
What was she doing? “Mae, we should…”
She turned to him, her face set in frustrated lines. “No. We shouldn’t. I’m done with debriefs for the day, and I can’t stand another confession. I have had the shittiest day. I want to play. I want to have someone spank me and tie me up and let me forget for a few hours. If that’s not going to be you, let me know.”
Joseph held up a hand. “I’ve had a terrible day, too, sweetheart. And now that I’m unemployed, I have some time on my hands.”
“My office is a sacred space. No one except for me is having sex in here.” His uncle’s hold on that big gun had gotten tighter.
“Then we should get these guys to Sanctum.” Charlotte was right back to her charming self, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “No one would ever do that in here. They know how much you love this space. Why don’t you go and tell Hutch he can stand down, and let’s get everyone where they need to go so we can go back to bed.”
“We’ll talk in the morning about how to handle whatever she has on you. Unless you fuck up my private space, and then I will eat you, nephew.” Ian walked out, grumbling.
“We’re never going to tell him what Adam did in here. Never.” Charlotte put on a bright smile. “So, let’s go to Sanctum. Joseph, welcome to the team. I suspect you’ll be hanging out with us for a while. I hope you like glitter.”