Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 139606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 558(@250wpm)___ 465(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 558(@250wpm)___ 465(@300wpm)
“I don’t want him dead. I want to move on with my life. It was stupid to think it could work.” She should have known it wouldn’t work when he’d told her his name was Chet. She’d known how much her father loved her when he’d taken that news with a silent nod even as his face had gone red with the desperate need to let his sarcasm flow.
Her dad hadn’t even complained about the twenty-two thousand dollars in deposits he’d lost. Another sign of his love. She’d overheard him gleefully telling her mom he would have paid any amount of money for her to not marry that douchebag.
Kala’s blue eyes widened in that “you’re a dumbass but I still love you” way of hers. She had a lot of those looks, and navigating them was an important part of Tasha’s life. There was you’re a dumbass but I love you. You’re a dumbass and I’m barely tolerating you. You’re a dumbass and I’m a messenger of Darwinism sent to take you out of the gene pool. That one came up way too often.
“Of course it couldn’t work. His name was Chet. I have zero idea how he got into the Agency with that name. Someone’s not doing their job.” Kala was totally their father’s daughter.
“Because Kala is so normal,” Kenzie said in her ear.
Kala got her “my sister is a dumbass and I know what she’s saying even though I refuse to have her in my ear because I wanted to wear my hair up” look. When Lou had tried to give her a comm device, she’d refused. “Tell her Kala is awesome and it stands for something awesome, and she was named after some chick who had nice shoes.”
“And fought for the Earth.” Kenzie could hear Kala perfectly well thanks to Lou’s excellent communication devices.
Family lore had it that Mom had named Kenzie after some chick in a Sci-Fi TV show and Dad had used an acronym for Kick A Little Ass to name Kala.
Tasha believed it.
Sometimes she wondered what they would have named her if she’d been their biological child. But it was only a passing thing. She thought about her bio parents often and hoped they were together wherever souls went after death. It was odd. She’d never once felt the complex longing other adopted kids did. Somewhere deep down she knew they’d loved her. They’d lost her. Somehow they’d made sure she’d gotten to the best place she could.
It was a weird feeling but one she’d never tried to deny. Her parents had loved her. They’d put that love into her soul and then when the universe had taken them, she’d managed to land straight in the arms of the Taggarts.
“Well, this looks like a heap of trouble right here. Welcome, ladies. You’re going to elevate this piece of piss pub,” a deep voice said. “You girls from out of town?”
Tash turned and saw the man behind the bar. He was roughly six foot, with a beard to rival Santa Claus and a grizzled face softened by kind eyes. Even on a night off, she had a cover to keep. “Yes. My sister and I are visiting my cousin.”
Kala nodded his way. “They came all the way from America to spend a couple of weeks in my flat in Revesby. I thought I’d bring them down here to enjoy a few brews. It’s okay. The short one doesn’t drink much.”
Every word that came out of Kala’s mouth was pure middle-class Aussie. One of the things her sisters were excellent at was mimicking accents.
They’d spent months preparing for this op, and it had included them all learning the local dialect.
Some people thought guns and self-defense were the most important subjects an operative could possibly master. Tasha knew the truth.
It was languages. She spoke three herself fluently. Russian had been her native tongue, and then she’d learned English. Mandarin had been more of a stretch, though it hadn’t hurt having a whole group of people she lived with immersed in it, too.
“I’m the quiet type,” Lou admitted with a grin.
Kala slapped a hand on the bar, but it was a friendly gesture. “We’ll have two pints and a middy.”
The bartender nodded as he pulled down a pint glass. “It’s quiet tonight. I’ll bring these out to you. There’s some nice seats by the windows if you like.”
They thanked the man and then Kala walked through like she already owned the place. It was a tactic that worked time and time again for her. Sometimes she wished she had half of her sister’s confidence.
Tash followed along, noting the pub was about half full at this time of the evening. It wasn’t late. The sun had barely set. She was certain before too long the place would get louder. She counted five guys at a table in front of the big screen which seemed to be playing the aforementioned rugby match. There were two couples sitting in a booth playing cards, and another who sat staring at each other sullenly.