Page 121 of Spy With Me
“What was it?” Devi Taggart-Reed might be a mother of twoand wife with many years of happy marriage under her belt, but she rememberedher childhood.
They talked about what happened to him. Even when she and TJwere kids. He’d never hidden the fact that it was hard for him to remember mostof his life before Hope McDonald had experimented on his brain. He’d gottenback a lot, but it was by using methods like this one. Not chasing the memory.Simply letting it come, feeling the emotions connected to it, and then talking.
Sometimes he wasn’t completely sure if the memories he hadfrom those methods were true or some variation his brain created to fill thevoid.
He no longer cared. All that mattered were the feelings. Thelove. The passion. The deep sense that this was right and he was home.
“I got a little flash of how your mom and I met the firsttime.”
Devi grinned. “You mean the first time she kicked your ass.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, that is absolutely what Imean. That woman took my breath away within seconds of meeting her.”
He looked across the elegantly decorated room and found her.His whole fucking beautiful life stood there in a black sheath dress that clungto her curves and made his mouth water. Her glorious red hair had only a hintof steel in it after all these years. But then he was pretty sure the woman wasmade of it. He’d never met a woman stronger than Erin Argent, and the joy ofhis life—the salvation of his life—was that he’d made her love him so much shedragged him back from hell.
His brothers often teased him about being the girl in theirrelationship. They could be toxic assholes sometimes, but he loved them. Itnever bothered him because he quite liked being Erin’s prize. It was a goodthing to be.
“She likes to tell everyone how she did it. I believe it wasan elbow to your solar plexus,” Devi said, sounding infinitely amused. “I knowthis is well-worn territory, but I still wonder how you thought it was a goodidea to raid your brother’s company in the middle of a workday.”
“I wonder about it, too.” Because he really couldn’tremember. It was odd what came back and what didn’t. What surfaced at thestrangest times, but lucky for him his baby would tell him stories. “I believeyour mother would say I was an arrogant shit who stormed her castle and thoughtI would get away with it.”
It wasn’t true. He had been on a CIA team and followingorders, though there had been something deep inside that told him when TenSmith had ordered them to storm the building because he mistakenly thought hissister was in danger, he’d been excited. Not because of Erin. He hadn’t met herat that point. But at that point they’d met Ian Taggart and knew about SeanTaggart, and he thought he would have wanted to get to know his other brothers.He liked to think he’d been a young dumbass and the world had seemed like anadventure.
How odd to have gone through all of that and be right backhere. Where his knees creaked and he had to worry about cholesterol and theworld still seemed like a big, gorgeous adventure.
Devi threaded her arm through his and leaned her headagainst him. “Well, I personally think having parents who had an epic lovestory led your kids to find their own. At least with me and Zach. All Lou hadto do was lay out a trail of sandwiches to get TJ to fall into her web.”
He snorted because that was so not true. “I think Lou wouldsay there was a lot more to it.”
Devi and Zach had been much simpler. Zach had seen her,fallen in love, fucked it all up, and then wooed her back by kidnapping her andkeeping her with a bunch of rescue animals. It had taken TJ and Lou years.
Louisa. His sweet daughter-in-law. He’d always worried abouther working with the Agency, but she’d survived something horrific in thoselast few months when the team had fought Emmanuel Huisman and she stillthrived. It had taken a while. It had taken love and therapy and a familysurrounding her, but Lou had beaten all those beasts back and she was a wifeand mom, and more importantly to the world, she was Lou again.
Devi stood up straight and her hand came out, catching thefive-year-old trying to race by at breakneck speed. “Mitchell, what did I tellyou? You cannot run around Top like it’s a park.”
“But Uncle Lucas lets us.” His grandson had the Taggartlooks. Blond. Blue eyes. A smile that belied what would absolutely someday be asarcastic wit. “He says the olds need a jolt of… It was something that startswith an A. I don’t know but Thea does.”
Thea Calliope Taggart. His first grandbaby. She had TJ’ssmile and eyes, and thank the universe her momma’s intellect. Thea ran thelittle cousins’ group with smarts and kindness and joy. She was eight and wouldone day rule the world.
“And what did Thea tell you?” Devi asked.
Mitchell shrugged. “That I shouldn’t listen to Uncle Lucasbecause he’s going to get us in trouble with the grumps.”
“Do not let your grandmother hear you,” Devi said, glancingaround.
“Eh, I’m okay with it.” The light of his life was suddenlybeside him. Erin looked down at their grandbaby and winked. “If Big Tag can beGrumpa, I probably deserveGrumpma.”
She made him smile. He leaned over and kissed her. “You donot, sunshine.”
“Only for you, babe.” Erin knelt down with a grace thatalways took his breath away. She put her hands on Mitchell’s shoulders.“Sweetie, you should totally call your Uncle Ian an old. You should go do itnow.”
Mitchell’s eyes had gone wide, and he shook his head. “Theatold me I should never say that word around any of the grands. I’m supposed tocall them grands if I want to survive.”
Damn, that kid was cute. How did he have grandkids? How washis heart so damn full? Every time he was certain his soul was as full as itcould get, someone put another baby in his arms and his soul grew.
“Thea is very smart.” Erin winked and stood. “Come on,buddy. I think your Uncle Lucas put out the kid’s buffet, and he promised tomake plain hot dogs this time.”
Because Lucas Taggart believed in elevating every food. Heloved his nephew, but he was a food snob. Sometimes a bag of chips was just abag of chips.
