Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
“I heal pretty quickly.” Parker groaned but shifted so he could see Tristan. “I ask again. Is she alive?”
Carys started to let go, but Tristan’s arms held her. “Ms. Magenta is alive, thanks to you. I’m sorry to say Dr. Huisman is gone. We believe he left the country a few hours ago. We were minutes behind him.”
Parker nodded, scrubbing a hand over his head as though trying to clear it. “Yeah, he had a way out. I should have… Well, let’s say he knew exactly what buttons to push. He knew I wouldn’t leave her behind.”
“How much did you hear?” Tristan asked.
The amount of information about the team Parker might have learned from the conversation Huisman had been having with Tristan was of some concern.
“Uhm, I managed to get into place when Manny went off on his misogynist bullshit. I couldn’t see well. Was he going to take her fingers off?” Parker coughed and put a hand to his chest.
“I don’t even want to think about that. Ever again.” Aidan shook his head.
“Yes, he was going to do exactly that.” Tristan rubbed his cheek against her head as though he needed the closeness to remind him they were alive and whole. “You saved more than Ms. Magenta. You saved my fiancée, and I’ll be eternally grateful, Parker. Anything you need, all you have to do is ask. I think you’ll find the Agency is now taking the threat seriously. CSIS as well. My boss is meeting with yours right now. I believe he’s planning on coming down to Langley in a couple of days to talk further.”
“I’ll be there if they’ll let me,” Parker vowed.
So stubborn. “Or you could rest and let your body heal.”
“See, that would be reasonable, and I happen to know he’s not reasonable.” The door had come open again, and her cousin stood there.
Kenzie not Kala, because she happened to know Kala was already on her way back to Dallas. Cooper had bundled her up after she’d woken and Carys had decided she was stable enough to travel. She was on her way home where they would assess her to try to figure out what Huisman had given her and if the experimental drugs had any long-term effects.
So it was Kenzie walking in, looking lovely in slacks and a silk blouse. Her heels clicked across the floor as she entered and moved to Parker’s bed.
“You look no worse for the wear.” Parker sounded wary.
“Oh, I assure you I’ll never forget what he did to me.” Kenzie stopped at his bedside. “Or what you did.” She leaned over, brushing a kiss over his forehead. “Thank you, Benjamin Parker. I can’t imagine what it cost you to let him go.”
When she started to move away, he caught her hand, bringing it to his chest. “I would make the same choice again, Maggie. I don’t care if you think you belong to Cooper McKay. I would still come for you.”
Kenzie’s lips curled up, and she nodded. “I’ll remember.” Then she disentangled her hand from his and moved back to the door. “Try to get some rest, Ben. You’ll need it the next time we meet.”
Parker’s eyes never left her. “How about you try not to kill me next time?”
Kenzie winked his way. “I won’t. Promise.” She looked to Tristan. “We’re wheels up in half an hour, so we need to get to the airport.”
Aidan took Carys’s hand and Tristan the other. They followed her cousin out.
It was time to go home.
Epilogue
One week later
Bliss, Colorado
Serena Dean-Miles stood on the porch of the cabin they’d bought so many years ago and breathed in the scent of clean pine. When she closed her eyes and that scent caught her, she was back to a time when her kids had bounced around the cabin and ran through the woods, when they’d eagerly gone off with their dad to fish or begged their papa to take them to the café in town for pie.
Her baby boy had gotten married today. She felt a smile slide over her face. She’d never thought her son would get married at The Feed Store Church, but here they were.
“Well, I personally feel like we’ve won a war,” Jake said, joining her. He’d lost the tie and jacket he’d worn to the small ceremony. It had been far more intimate than the other tries. “We managed to get through a whole wedding without a single assassination attempt.”
“Do not even joke about that.” Adam rounded the corner. He’d driven up moments before. Unlike Jake, he was in his full suit. “I’m still having nightmares.”
He was, actually. He’d woken up in a sweat this morning, and she knew it had to do with what happened in Toronto. He was playing it down for her sake, but she knew it had been bad. Carys hadn’t minded telling them all Dr. Evil had almost started cutting off her fingers and then blown up the house around them.