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)
“Because they weren’t her,” Ben admitted. He needed to be honest with the man. He would apparently find everything out anyway. “I don’t know that I would have trained if I hadn’t met her. It’s not that it doesn’t speak to me. It does. I was surprised how much it did. But I trained so I could give her what she needs. I won’t take another sub. If this doesn’t work out, I’ll be vanilla the rest of my life.”
“So do you want to game plan?” Cooper asked. “Use this chance to run a real scene with her whether it’s private or public.”
“Private at first, but I’m open to moving into the public sphere of the club if she likes it.” He knew she did. She’d walked him through her club, The Hideout, one night. She’d worn a blue corset, and she’d looked so fucking delicious he couldn’t stand it. Was she sad he hadn’t slapped her ass silly? Had she been expecting it and he’d been remote because he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that she could have died? “I have my own room?”
“Yeah.” Cooper ran logistics. He would know the layout and what they would need, and he would likely be the one to assign spaces. “All the couples are together. Kenzie offered to bunk down with… I’m not allowed to say her name out loud or Kala will appear, and it’s a whole ritual. I’ve been told it’s how Appalachian witches toss out demons. I’m worried that she knows that.”
Ah, so they were going to be working with Lucy Brooke Flanders. He’d witnessed some of the way Kala interacted with the young woman she called her nemesis.
Taggart stood up. “You and me both, buddy. If you are going to discuss scenes, then it is my time to join my wife.”
Taggart walked off and he was left with Cooper and TJ.
It was kind of nice to be one of the guys when the “guys” weren’t psychopathic narcissists. He’d held back, but it might be better to play this straight. To be honest with them. Let them help him. It could make them trust him more.
Yeah, it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he liked these guys. Or he would if he let himself.
The same with really getting to know Kenzie Taggart. He should know the target.
“So how would you play it?” Ben asked.
“Well, I think she might appreciate the element of surprise,” Cooper began.
Cooper leaned in and Ben listened.
* * * *
Damon Knight was an attractive man around her dad’s age, and like her father, he could truly express his disappointment. Sometimes Kenzie wondered if they taught that particular look in the military. Or in Dad School. “Tag? Are you serious? Did you bring two wanted criminals into my club?”
Thank the universe. A shudder of relief went through Kenzie. She was worried she would spend the entire rest of the day focused on how Ben wasn’t interested in her anymore. Now she could watch her dad and Damon go at it. They could be amusing. Of course, anything was more amusing than sitting in her own head right now.
Maybe the sex hadn’t been as good for him as it was for her.
Maybe she’d misread him entirely and sleeping with her was nothing more than a conquest. A way to get back at her.
But damn it, that wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be a good guy.
So she was deeply grateful for Damon’s hissy fit.
“First off, from what I can tell they’re not wanted. Their organization has been careful to keep them off the authorities’ radar, and I didn’t exactly call in the cops. So no Red Notices on the girls.” Her dad gave him a grin. “And last time it was way more, buddy. Last time I dropped off five of them. You can’t count Owen. He was yours already. Those two young women are way better at hiding their crimes than the Lost Boys. Hey, Pen. How’s it going?”
“Good afternoon, Ian, Charlotte. Lovely to see you. Well, I can tell you that Sosa is definitely native Russian, but I would say she’s not from a city.” Penny Knight had been MI6, too. She’d was an expert in languages and codes. “And Gabby is French. Probably from one of the southern regions. It’s hard to tell because they were taken so early, but some of their native accents remain. I’ll know a bit more when we have extensive interviews tomorrow.”
Damon looked down at his wife as though he’d expected way more support. “There are no interviews. Tag is not dumping them on me. Not this time. Nothing good came from the last time.”
“Whoa. Rude, boss.” Ariel Adisa Seeger walked in dressed for work in a pencil skirt and silk blouse that showed off her graceful curves. “I got a rather nice husband and two kids from that adventure. I won’t mention this to your longest-term employee. You know Robert runs a good portion of your business now.”