Page 81 of Spy With Me
She had the sudden urge to get real. Even with her bestfriends she’d been putting on a front. She’d told her mom how she wasn’tthinking about a future with Zach at all. Same with everyone. She wanted totell Tasha she was lying because she couldn’t think about anything but Zach’sfuture.
But she couldn’t. Not when she was the second choice to thiswoman. She pulled back and gave her a grin. “I’m good. It’s been quiet and thenKala shows up and the world explodes. Hey, do you know why she and Lucy hateeach other? I stopped going to Bliss before that happened. All I remember ofLucy and her family was playing at the park with her and her sister Poppy. Ihaven’t seen her since we were children. Should I have recognized her?”
Tasha sighed. “Lucy is an excellent operative, and she’spretty cool when she’s not in the presence of my sister. As to why they hateeach other, well, she’ll have to tell you. Just know that my sister can hold aridiculous grudge, and Kenz and I are friendly with her.”
Good, because she kind of liked Lucy. Weeks with the womanhad proven there was a good heart under all her sarcasm and aloofness. Kind oflike Kala. “Well, she’s going to hate her more because she set herself up asCooper’s girlfriend so Ben Parker would buy the story that they’re onlyfriendly now. I would say she did it out of spite, but Cooper kind of walked inlooking like he’d had raucous sex in a barn.”
“Can we save the gossip for another time?” Her uncle stoodin the middle of the living room. “I’ve been on the road for hours and coulduse some sleep, but only after we figure out what’s going on.”
By road he meant air. Her uncle’s company owned two privatejets, and she would bet one of them had been used after Henry made the call.Which brought up some questions.
“How did you get here so fast? The flight’s almost tenhours,” Devi pointed out.
“Well, Kala sent her mom some pictures from dinner the othernight,” her uncle explained. “She showed them around the office.”
Kala sighed as though she knew what had happened. “Mae orHutch?”
MaeBeHawthorne and Greg Hutchinswere the cybersecurity team at McKay-Taggart. They could hack pretty muchanything, and Mae, in particular, was excellent at taking apart information onthe Internet and proving whether a story was true or not.
“I asked Mae to look at it because I’m not an idiot,daughter,” her uncle announced. “Honestly, I might have bought it if the picshad come from Lou or Cooper. You do not update your mom with pictures of yourdinners. So Mae took them apart and proved the dinner you said you had onWednesday was only available at the resort on their spring menu, which changedtwo days after you got there. You did a great job on the rest, though shesuspected Lou doctored some of them.”
Lou shrugged. “I told her it wouldn’t work.”
“Hey, I wanted to stay at the resort. They had this greatbuffet.” TJ yawned again.
“Next time I’ll disappear,” Kala vowed. “I don’t know why Ishould tell you everything when you obviously keep secrets, Big Tag.”
The townhouse was big and comfortably furnished. It madeDevi wonder where the family money came from. Or it could be something worse.She turned to Tasha, who seemed to always have the answers. “Is this an Agencysafe house?”
If it was, they would have cameras, and Zach would be onthem. If the agency was watching, they could walk in at any moment and damn it,she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t. She was supposed to have more time.
“My mother owns it,” Lucy admitted, setting down her bag.“She doesn’t typically approve of owning property, but she made an exception sowe would have a European base that didn’t also serve as some youth hostel.Please note she doesn’t have a problem with youth hostels. I thought it couldbe good cover. She then cried because I think human beings could be cover andshe failed as a mother. It was a whole thing.”
“We are thinking about turning it into one after we’re donewith this phase of life.” Henry settled into one of the big lounge chairs.
Her uncle frowned and sat next to him. “I don’t think we getout of this phase. Even if we do, I expect my grandson to announce any day nowhe’s joining the Agency, and wouldn’t I like to come along? Come on,Grumpa. It’ll be fun.”
“I can’t even think about it,” Henry said with a long sigh.“I don’t understand where they got it.”
Lucy snorted.
Henry shook his head. “No. I am not taking the blame forthis. I have been a mild-mannered peace-loving man since years before you wereborn. You never saw the John Bishop side of me. I made sure of it.”
Lucy shrugged. “Tash let me read those spy high books. Iliked the sound of it.”
“You like copying me.” Kala looked sullen as she took aseat. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her father. “You didnot have to come after me. I am on my honeymoon. It’s rude.”
Her uncle’s eyes rolled. “Sure, you are. I should havefucking known, but your mother convinced me it’s totally normal to take youremotional support friend on your honeymoon. TJ, I expected better from you.”
TJ shrugged as he dropped down to the couch with anotheryawn. “I don’t know why. I always do what Lou tells me to, and she always helpsKala unless she decides it’s too dangerous. So it feels like this is all justpart of the TJ Taggart brand. Where’s Aunt Charlotte?”
“Pretending everything is fine at home, including faking megoing into the office,” her uncle explained. “Because there’s only so muchDrake and Taylor can cover for us, and no matter how quiet you’ve been, Iassure you someone will notice we’re working with the Canadians. I’ve informedDamon we’re here and asked him to cover for us. Now someone please tell methere’s a plan. What were you going to do, daughter? Kidnap your cousin? Orwere you going to bring Zach in?”
Devi glanced over, and Zach was standing alone in the cornerof the room. He stood there as though waiting for judgment, his eyes downcast.
She should quietly go to bed. Now that everyone was here,being close to Zach would only make her look like a fool in the end.
She didn’t care anymore. Something had broken thisafternoon. Something cracked, and she didn’t want to fix it. “She’s notbringing Zach in. She was worried about me and needed to lay eyes on me. Nowshe’s going to chill out. Well, I thought she would but she’s kind of puttingall her restless energy on Lucy now. We need to tap her out and send in Kenzbecause I think her murdering another operative would give away this game we’replaying. And uncle, you’re not bringing Zach in either. I want to start talkingabout how to get him out of hot water with the Agency.”
