Page 38 of Spy With Me
“Nicely done, sweetie,” her dad yelled from the kitchen.
Good to know his hearing was still excellent.
“Can you handle that, Zach?” her mom asked, clear challengein her tone.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, I can handle it. I’ve been telling thisstory a lot lately. But I’m going to pop open some beers if we’re doing this.”
He walked back out into the hallway.
“Listen to him, baby girl,” her mom said. “I think he caresabout you, and he’s definitely in trouble. Your uncle is in the backgroundtrying to help him, but a lot of this work is going to be done on the ground.”
Meaning Zach had to handle it with his “team.” And she’dopened the door to becoming a part of it. The good news was she liked beets.Aunt Charlotte made an excellent borscht. Hopefully Lacey knew how to cook. Ifshe didn’t, then that would be something Devi could take over. Like she’d nevercooked for vegan models. But there were still problems. “How can I trust him?”
Her mom seemed to think about it for a moment. “I’ve lookedat his actions, and I would trust him. I think he’s a young man in a badsituation for the right reasons.”
Her mom wasn’t considering all the scenarios. “I think helikes me because I’m a Taggart.”
“So you heard the rumors about Tasha.”
She couldn’t seem to get away from them. She nodded.
“Consider the fact that from what I’ve heard he never oncemade a move on her. He made several moves on you.”
Oh, like she hadn’t thought this problem through. “I wasconvenient. He didn’t have a play partner and he was bored.”
Her mother sighed. “You don’t know that. Don’t let yourinsecurities overwhelm you. It’s time to ask some questions and to take a realmeasure of the man. He called me from the car that night. Before he even hadyou on a plane. He called your parents because he couldn’t stand the thoughtthat we would worry. He’s taking the risk of getting caught by letting you talkto me now.”
All of which could mean that becoming a Taggart was worththe risk of jail time.
How would she know until she truly understood Zach Reed’sstory? Until she pulled the veil back, it was all supposition and gossip.
He was Cooper’s brother? She was still floored by therevelation. Brothers. And Cooper knew. And Kala knew.
Did she trust them? “I wish they would have told me. Kalaand Coop, that is.”
“That’s part of it, and you need to decide if it’s worth itto stay close to the people in your life who owe their secrets to the Agency.You know a lot of the time I thought your father was dead, your uncle had someinkling that he wasn’t.”
“And he didn’t tell you?”
Her mom’s head shook. “Nope, and I thank the universe forthat. Uncle Ian sent Uncle Liam out on several ops to figure out where your dadwas being held, and neither mentioned it to me. Not because they didn’t careabout me or want me to know, but because they weren’t sure. I was pregnant withyour brother and starting to figure out I could live a life.”
Devi didn’t see how her mom’s past related to her own.“That’s not the situation here.”
“No, but it is a situation where they have to decide whatyou need to know versus the risk of you knowing. Also, a lot of this happenedrecently. Kala’s only known since Colorado. She just got back and oops,kidnapped. Would you like me to play the part and explain why she hasn’t takenthe time to tell you?”
Oh, she could hear her cousin in her head right now.Sorry,cos. Was way too busy getting my ass kicked and then valiantly trying to saveus both to give you a debrief on what happened with your ex-honey in Colorado.
“Okay, I’ll give you that, but obviously Zach knew.” And shewouldn’t understand why he didn’t tell her until she talked to him. “Sorry. I’mmad, but I get it. I don’t know the whole story. Even when I do, I don’t knowthat I can trust him.”
“All you can do is try and listen and trust your instincts.Look, there’s a big part of me that wants to tell you to come home. We can hideout somewhere until the heat is off, and you don’t have to risk having yourheart broken. Because there’s still a big risk of that. He’s in serioustrouble.”
Trouble she didn’t understand. “Mom, I love you. I’m goingto go talk to Zach.”
Her mom nodded. “Good. I think you should do that, and tellhim you’re going to need a tablet or something you can work on because I’vealready got a text from Tasha. She wants you to send her some more design ideasfor her dress.”
“More? I’ve sent her five already.” Her cousin was turninginto a bit of a bridezilla.
Her mom shrugged. “She might have mentioned that it’s notlike you have a lot else to do. Unless you’re coming home.”
