Page 33 of Spy With Me
She thought he was such an asshole. “I already did. I calledher before we left the States.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked an awful lot like her mom.“Why would you do that?”
“I was never going to let them worry about you. I wasn’tgoing to not let you talk to them, Dev. I know you think this is some brutalkidnapping where I tie you up and starve you for days.” Now that was a point.“Although you might want to because I’m fairly certain the only groceries inthis place are vegan. But that’s not being done to torture you. It’s whathappens when you work with underground animal rights activists. The point is Ipromised your mom you would talk to her today. To make sure she knows you’reokay.”
“She’s all right with you taking me?” There was a slighttremor to her voice that let him know she was emotional. “She didn’t threatenyou?”
Another thing he hadn’t considered. He was fucking this upentirely, but that was what he seemed to do. “I explained the situation to her,and she believes I’ll do what it takes to protect you. I will, you know.”
She sniffled again and turned away from him, looking backout over the pasture. “Or I caused enough trouble that she thinks I deservewhatever I get.”
“You didn’t cause anything.”
“Not what your friend said.”
“Lacey? Look, I’m sorry. Lacey can be harsh, especially whenshe’s worried her mission and her people could be at risk.” How had it all goneso fucking wrong? He shouldn’t have called Lacey. He definitely shouldn’t havehauled Devi off like some prize of war. He should have remembered that he wasalone and there was nothing he could do about it. “We can go to London in themorning. I need to make some arrangements.”
He would roll the dice and call Kala to see what she couldput together. And then he would hope Huisman didn’t realize their connection.
“Arrangements?”
He shrugged. “It’s not easy to travel when all of theintelligence world is out to get you. And a big portion of the criminalunderground. I might have a Red Notice out.”
“Zachary.” She said his name like an admonition. Like he’ddone something terrible to embarrass her.
“It’s what happens when you try to chase down yourcriminally minded mother,” he admitted with a long sigh. “Now I have to dealwith the fact that my father is involved somehow and pray they don’t know whomy brother is.”
“Your brother?”
He took a long breath. He shouldn’t do this. It was bringingher further in. “None of this matters. You should stay as far away from myproblems as you can. Honestly, the less you know the better for you.”
“Is that your excuse for lying to me? You were trying toprotect me?” She crossed her arms under those pert breasts of hers. Theyweren’t big. They were gently curved and had pink nipples that tightened intobuds he liked to suck on. “You know it’s considered the worst trope.”
Now he was lost. “Trope?”
“Bri writes romance novels. We’ve read them since we wereteens, and guy protecting the fragile girl flower from the horrible truth bylying to her and pushing her away is the worst trope. It’s like a recurrentelement. Something that happens in the genre over and over again. Like surprisepregnancies.”
He barely managed to not let his jaw hit the floor. “What?But we were careful.” His heart started to race. This changed everything. IfDevi was pregnant, there was no mission beyond protecting Devi and his kid. Atall costs. Except she’d taken a hit to the head and been fucking drugged, andhe was pretty sure that was not a recommended activity for pregnant ladies. “Ineed to call Arthur back. He should look at you. I told her not to drug you.”
She stepped in front of him, her hands going to his armswhere she held him back. “I was talking about tropes in romance novels, Zach.I’m not pregnant. Wewerecareful. Are you okay?”
He was shaking slightly, and he wished he could hug her.Instead he steadied himself and stepped back. “Sorry. I guess I just…”
“Freaked out at the thought of getting me pregnant?”
He shook his head. “No. That part didn’t bother me. Thatpart would be wonderful even though I know the timing would be hard, but thethought of you and our baby in Huisman’s hands got to me for a moment.”
“Well, I suppose if I was pregnant, you would get yourTaggart connection.”
They were back to that. Every time he got a second’s worthof hope it came crashing down, and it irritated him. He knew he was in thewrong, but could she give him a second’s grace? He was tired and hadn’t eatenand his damn side hurt. “Which am I, Devi? First, I was the horrible assholewho got you pregnant and would leave you high and dry, and now I purposefullygot you pregnant so I can join your clan because once your uncle discovers thepregnancy, he’ll drag me to the altar and force me to marry you.”
“Other way around, buddy,” she shot back.
“No way around, buddy.” He gave her back her words andcouldn’t help the bitterness. “No one is going to force Devi Taggart to doanything she doesn’t want to do. No one would blink an eye if you told them youwere having a baby, and oh hey, it’s that asshole’s, so could you bury him,uncle, so I don’t have to put up with him anymore and I can go find thepure-hearted man of my dreams without that piece of trailer trash in my life?”
“I never said that, Zach.”
“I’m sure you’ll get around to it. Don’t think I haven’theard it all.” He needed to breathe. He’d gone from terror to a weird high ofhaving his brother actually work with him, to the revelation that none of thiswas going to work. There was no tender place for him at the end of this. Therewas horror and death, and that was likely the happiest of outcomes. “When Laceygets back, we’ll call your parents and get you out of here.”
