Page 103 of Spy With Me
He knew something of what his brother was talking about. Heand Kala had a fight when they were teens and it ended with her being kidnappedso her cousin would have to walk into a trap. They’d been estranged for a longtime after.
Was Devi out there wishing she’d never met him? Wishing hehadn’t walked into her life and wrecked it?
What was she going through? What was his father putting herthrough on that plane? Would he dump her body at the end of this like shedidn’t matter? Like she wasn’t the whole world?
“Zach, you have to calm down. You need to be clearheadedthroughout this.” Cooper studied him for a moment. “Maybe we should rethink ourplans. I know it’s hard for me to think straight when Kala’s in danger.”
“You are not leaving me behind.”
“Technically, you’re not part of the team right now. You’reAWOL. Have you thought about that?” Cooper asked. “You could be arrested at theend of this. I don’t think Big Tag has worked his magic yet.”
“He doesn’t give a fuck.” TJ stood in the doorway, his facepale as he looked at the window. “Zach doesn’t care about anything but gettingDevi back.”
TJ should be pissed at him, too. “Man, I’m so sorry.”
TJ shook his head as though he was shaking off some thought.He walked into the room and gave Zach a big bear hug. “I know. I am, too. Oneof us should have stayed, but this is the job, man. She should have been safewith Kala and Lucy. Huisman threw us a curve ball, and now we have to doeverything we can to deal with the problem. So you’re going to take a deepbreath and we’re going to do the job. There is no failure here. There is onlyone purpose, and we will achieve it. No matter who we have to get through.”
“I know the Agency is probably going to make a big deal outof ensuring this op is as quiet as possible, and that means keeping the bodycount down, but everyone in that facility knows what’s happening,” Cooper said.“From what I can tell they fired the real scientists a year ago. This placeisn’t about climate change. It’s a bioweapons factory.”
“So we take them all out and then it’ll be real fuckingquiet,” TJ vowed.
Funny, goofy TJ could turn on his soldier self when hewanted to.
“But Zach, you have to consider the fact that they’ll wantyou to come in,” Cooper pointed out. “If you go in…”
He might never come out, but he was having some faith. “If Igo in and I don’t come back out, you have to promise me you’ll take care ofDevi. I have to do this because I need to clear my name if we’re going to haveany chance at the life she deserves. But if it goes wrong…”
“Then we’ll have a job to do,” TJ said, putting a fist out.
“And we’ll get it done, brother.” Cooper’s fist joined TJ’s.
His brothers. Somehow he’d found this amazing family. Hepressed his hand to theirs.
He wouldn’t let them down.
* * * *
As kidnappings went this one wasn’t terrible. At least theaccommodations were pretty good.
Devi looked around the sleek private jet. There were threemen with lots of guns and a pilot with guns, and then there was Zach’s dad whohad…yep, more guns.
It was gun party central.
“So you’re my son’s girlfriend.” Ray White sat in the chairopposite her.
She had to figure out how to play this. What she wanted todo was throw bile and vitriol this guy’s way. Her head hurt. She was beingkidnapped…again. She was on her way to who knew where, and her futuremother-in-law was drugged and buckled into a seat toward the front of theplane. They wouldn’t let her sit close to Shannon. She wanted to fight. Butshe’d seen how Huisman handled Kala. He’d loved her bile. It made him want tohurt her more.
She knew nothing about this man.
She knew nothing at all. Everyone kept looking to the backof the plane like they were all waiting to see a predator emerge.
She had the feeling Huisman was here, and that motherfuckerwas waiting to make an entrance.
“I don’t think he calls you dad.” She glanced over atShannon Reed. She’d tried to make her more comfortable.
“Only because she kept him from me. She kept the other onefrom me, too. I didn’t know about my other boy until Dr. Huisman told me. Thatbitch ruined us.”
“I thought she hid your other son because you were introuble with a cartel and she was trying to protect him.” Logic might not work,but she was going to give it a go.
