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)
“It’s why we weren’t surprised they didn’t find her body.” Drake took a sip from the water bottle he’d brought with him. Julia was his sister. She’d betrayed him and then he’d discovered his father had betrayed him, too. Yet his voice was steady as he spoke. “It’s why we’ve been walking around thinking everything was fine. I would like to see any information you have on my father and to talk to you about where you think he might have stored data he considered highly valuable but also dangerous. I’ve looked over every place I can think of in DC, but it appears I never knew the man at all, so I might not be good at this.”
Drake had support. He let the woman he loved lend him her strength. She would bet Drake didn’t shove her in a cell to protect her. He would want Taylor to watch his back.
“What you need is an outsider.” Charlotte looked thoughtful, as though she was playing through the scenario in her head. “Someone who’s studied your father from a distance. Someone smart who knows how to dig up information other people can’t access.”
“Obviously we need MaeBe.” Kyle wasn’t going to play the game. He turned his attention directly her way. “All right. MaeBe, can you work with me? Can you help me find what I need to finally take this whole organization down?”
If only he’d asked her months ago. Things would be so different, but her answer hadn’t changed. “Yes.”
She started to explain what she’d discovered and tried her hardest not to think about the man sitting across from her.
* * * *
An hour later MaeBe finally closed her borrowed laptop. She’d given them everything she had, and there was a part of her that was grateful to be done. She was almost certain that now Kyle would thank her and he and Drake and Taylor would go catch that airplane they’d intended for her.
He might come back one day, but she would know it wasn’t about love. She’d thought about their relationship a lot and come to the conclusion that Kyle still viewed her as the opposite of Julia Ennis, and she couldn’t be that.
The truth was she and Julia had something in common now. She could see the world through Julia’s eyes, and she didn’t like her place in it.
She’d been prey, and now she had to be the predator.
Big Tag closed his notebook and sat back. “All that sounds like an excellent start. What do you want to do with that information?”
“I’d like to have MaeBe discuss everything she knows about my father. It might help us figure out where he might have kept his personal files.” Drake had been solemn all morning, listening to the rundown of his father’s crimes.
She could do that from the comfort of her cubicle. “Of course.”
“And when we decide on a couple of locations that might work as a place for him to have stashed the intel, the four of us will go and hopefully find the data we need.” Kyle sat up straight and stretched, moving one muscled arm over his chest. “Mae can act as our analyst and tech when we’re in the field. I’m going to raid the storeroom for some equipment and then I’ll set up a couple of desks for us so we can work from here, if that’s all right.”
Why had he said four of them? Who else was he taking?
Charlotte stopped Ian, who looked like he was about to protest. “Take whatever you need. I think you’ll find we’re pretty well stocked here. Your uncle likes his toys.”
“Yes, and I tend to like to keep them.” Ian didn’t move when Charlotte stood and gathered her things. “He better not touch my flamethrower.”
“What do you mean act as your tech?” MaeBe asked. He couldn’t have said anything that would have surprised her more. Kyle didn’t want her to work. She’d always gotten the feeling he would be so much happier if she’d stayed home and waited for him. Like some pathetic doll. “You want me in your ear?”
It was something she’d done many times before for ops, but almost never for Kyle. He mostly did bodyguard work, and MaeBe worked tech for investigators.
“You’re the only one I would trust. I want Taylor ready to come in if she has to.” He pushed back and stood. “She’ll stay with you and help with tech, but if you’re there then we can be assured we’ll still have someone in an overwatch position.”
Now she understood. She could easily do that job from here. It would be good to keep an eye on what was going on. “Sure. We’ll need to coordinate and make certain we’ve got a secure link from here to wherever we end up.”
She was thinking DC. It was where Don spent most of his time. He’d lived there for forty years and was well established in the area.