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)
The whole reason she’d initially felt somewhat comfortable with Tris going into Agency work had been his close proximity to her cousins and Cooper McKay. “Why?”
“Because my team is made up of you on steroids. All Taggart women. If I talked to Coop, it’s like I’m talking to Kala, and Uncle Ian would have smacked me upside the head and caused all kinds of trouble.” Tris paced the length of the small room and then back again, an anxious predator in a too-tiny cage. “I went into this particular mission because I was the only one who could do it.”
“The only one?” Tristan could be a bit on the arrogant side when it came to some things. “No one else in all the world?”
He sent her a look that let her know he wished they were in a club. “I was the only one in place at the time with the skills to track down The Jester. Once I had assumed his identity, I realized how truly dangerous this mission was, and I knew I had to protect you.”
“So now they know you’re The Jester.” She was confused. Maybe because her brain had been churning all night. She was still in shock. It wasn’t the best time to absorb years’ worth of mission information.
“We don’t have confirmation anyone knows anything.” Tris stopped, his arms crossing over his chest. “I think they were likely after TJ. You were listening when Big Tag explained what happened in Germany?” He sighed, softening slightly. “Of course you didn’t. You shut down and then our scene didn’t work, so you’ve stayed shut down. I don’t suppose you’ll let me spank you until you cry.”
She’d thought about it. “It won’t work. I need more than a simple spanking and more time than I’m willing to give you tonight.”
His brows rose. “Tonight?”
“The twins told me The Hideout is open tomorrow.” Beyond how pissed she was, the idea of playing with him again… Well, it all swirled around in her brain like a toxic cocktail waiting to do some real damage. “My first instinct is to tell you and Aidan to find a sub and have fun.”
Tristan’s jaw clenched. “We would never. There’s one woman in the world for us. You know that, right? You realize if you walk away, Aidan and I break, too. You seem to think you’re some sort of ancillary arm of my friendship with him. You’re not. You’re the base of our triangle. You leave and we fall apart. I’ll make a deal with you.”
She barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes because she knew exactly what he was about to say. “You’ll think about letting me on the op if I play with you tomorrow night.”
He chuckled, though it wasn’t an amused sound. “Oh, I thought you knew me.”
“I do.”
“You’re going to have to accept that the last few years have changed me. I’ve got scars you’ve never seen before, baby. On the outside and the inside, and I’ve always known there was one person in the world who could even start to heal them, and it’s not Aidan. No, I wasn’t going to offer you some tiny deal. I’m pretty sure this is beyond my fucking control unless I want to never be allowed to come home again.” He stared down at her. “If I wasn’t a selfish bastard, I would do it. I would call in a couple of favors, and you suddenly wouldn’t have a choice about the safe house. No one would. Not even Uncle Ian.”
“You honestly believe you can outmaneuver my uncle?” As far as she could tell, Uncle Ian and Aunt Charlotte were in control of everything concerning their team. To her they were fun relatives. Uncle Ian was goofy and had a ton of dad jokes and was way too sex positive, while Aunt Charlotte was exactly the kind of woman they all wanted to grow up to be, but she’d learned as she got older there was another side to them.
It was hard to believe Tristan could go up against them. Would dare to go up against them.
“I know I can. If I want to shut this down I can, but I’m asking you not to make me,” he said quietly. “I need you to think this through. What I’m offering you is training. I’ll train you so if I can’t find a way out of this without losing my whole family, you’ll be safer.”
“The twins are going to train me.” She felt the need to remind him of a few truths about her life. “Though you should remember my father put me in karate when I was six. I have a brown belt.”
“And I have a black belt. I recently used it in a fight where my opponent was trying to gut me,” Tristan shot back. “When was the last time you practiced?”