Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
“I suspected, and I suspect she’s not the only one. If I recall he had twins. Two girls who looked an awful lot like their mother,” Joseph said softly, as though remembering. “If you look today there is no mention of the twins. Given that I know for a fact the young woman who runs the team and coordinates with base for them is his oldest kid, I did think it was more than possible Ms. Magenta was Ian’s as well. The whole team is something of a family. TJ is his youngest brother’s son. Cooper McKay is his best friend’s kid, and Tristan Dean-Miles belongs to a family Ian’s worked with forever. So yes, I suspected.”
“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
“Well, I don’t gossip about other agents, Ben.” He took a long breath as though considering the situation. “I know you’ve had trouble with her and you suspected her of keeping intel, but Ian always made sure we got it. He’s a valuable asset to our agency. I know things are touchy with the Americans, but he’s solid. So no, I didn’t give up his secrets because you didn’t need to know them, and before you say something you shouldn’t, fucking another operative in the field is not enough to make me cause a rift between our team and Ian’s. Though I think you’ve managed to do exactly that.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means we have data the Americans don’t have and when I suggested you go down and debrief the team, they requested another operative,” Joseph replied.
A wave of anger surged through Ben. She thought she could fuck him over? “If they want the data, they can get it from me or they don’t get it at all.”
Joseph groaned. “And then we don’t get their data. For fuck’s sake, Ben, I thought you wanted me to take Huisman seriously. Well, here I am. Taking him seriously, and you’re the one screwing around. Literally. Can you think with your actual brain for ten minutes?”
Not when it came to her. He’d proven that time and time again.
What made him ache was how peaceful he’d felt with her in his arms. He’d lain there and known he was going to die and it was okay because she was with him. She’d been everything in that moment, and she never bothered to tell him she was two different people.
Gaslighting. He was pretty sure this was a textbook case of gaslighting since he’d mentioned several times it felt like she was two different people and she’d blown him off saying it was a work persona.
“You kept important intel from me, Joe.”
A brow arched over icy eyes. “So you needed to know which twin you were dealing with when all you were supposed to do was work with her? Did you need to know which twin you were passing intel to? Or did you want to know which one you were hitting on? Tell me—did you sleep with both of them or just one?”
“I’m pretty sure it was only the one.” Tim walked in, carrying a folder. “You see, boss, there was a good Maggie and a pretty evil but still hot Maggie. I think he liked the sweet one. I’ve thought about this a lot and I think the one Huisman tortured is the mean one.”
Yes, he’d come to the same conclusion. He’d spent days and days going over every op he’d been on with the Americans, and he’d split up the times he’d dealt with Kenzie’s twin. Kala. That was her name. Kala Taggart. Well, Kala McKay, if what she’d told him was true.
“Is there a point, Tim?” He didn’t need input.
“Many,” Tim said with a sigh and turned to Joe. “I’ve tried to talk to him. He’s got this thing going where he thinks the twins have been like laughing behind his back or something, but Lou says Kenzie’s been crying for weeks and that she’s listened to something called her sad-girl mix, which from what I can tell is a lot of sad songs about how guys are assholes.”
She’d been crying? “When did you talk to Lou?”
That felt like a betrayal too. Tim had been talking to the Americans behind his back? Was he working for another team? Damn it. Could he find a single person who was loyal to him?
Tim handed over the folder to Joe. “We’ve been working through the data. Not all of it. Rest easy, friend. We’re all still holding out on each other, but I think we have enough that we should work with them. I know you’re going to be mad, but I’m going to Dallas with the new girl.”
Hannah Hayes, a long-term operative who’d been working in Europe for the last several years. She sometimes worked with MI6. The same MI6 team Ben had worked with when TJ Taggart was kidnapped. She was good, but she didn’t know Huisman. “So I’m out. I do all the work and I’m out because your relationship with Taggart is more important than taking down Huisman. Am I being benched? Should I start looking for another job?”