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)
“Of course,” Aidan replied. “There are any number of studies and new tech coming through. They’re in testing before they’re released to the public.”
“Weapons are the same way.” A pit opened in Tris’s gut. The same one he got every time he thought about this mission of his. “What if I told you there’s a man out there in the world who is working on a delivery system for a bomb you can hold in the palm of your hand. A weapon capable of decimating all living things within a city the size of London and yet leave the buildings standing.”
Aidan went still. “Is that what you’re telling me, Tris?”
He nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell her?”
He’d thought about telling her for months and come to one conclusion. “Because it won’t matter to her. I’m not saying the world won’t matter. I’m saying she’ll be more worried about me. Does she need more to worry about while she’s in the middle of her last year in medical school? Which will make her more stressed? The idea of me being a selfish ass who wants to play soldier or me being in real danger?”
“Okay. I’ll talk to her. But we can make this work if you’ll come home every now and then. I assure you simply spending time with her will settle a lot of her concerns.” Aidan sounded so reasonable. “And there’s zero reason for the wedding not to go through. You don’t have to do a thing. Carys and the moms are handling it all. You show up, say I do, we go on a horny honeymoon, and then we settle down. If she’s got a ring on her finger and believes we have a future together, she’ll be more patient.”
There were a couple of problems with Aidan’s scenario. “I have to step back from you both. I don’t want to, but there’s a reason I’ve stayed away.” He shouldn’t be doing this, but he couldn’t lose them, and he couldn’t leave them completely in the dark. Besides, if his boss found out, well, his boss was his Uncle Ian, and he would likely kick his ass. “I’m going to tell you something not even my team knows. I didn’t join the Agency because the twins talked me into it. I joined because it’s the only way I can do what I need to do. I’m going to be working for several teams beyond the one the twins and Coop are on. The arms dealer was killed three weeks ago.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Aidan asked.
“I took over his operation. He worked in the shadows, and so I have to be there, too. It’s the only way to find the person I need to find. The bombmaker. I find the bombmaker, I shut down his operation, and then I can come home. Until then I worry anyone close to me could be in the line of fire if it ever gets out that I’m The Jester.” Bile rose in his throat. “Fuck. Now I’ve brought you into it, and I am a fucking coward. Aidan, I should never…”
What the hell was he doing? Carys had walked out and…
Aidan leaned toward him. “Hey, I’m sorry. You’re not a coward. I didn’t understand.”
“I shouldn’t…”
“Yeah, you should,” Aidan said. “I don’t know how the team works, but I can guess who else is working on it. Lou left her assistant professor job to play around in a think tank? Nah. She’s working tech. I’ve also heard Ian and Charlotte and Tash have been mysteriously out of the office at the same time Coop is out of pocket. So if my brain functions the way it should, I can put it together, and you’re the one on the outside. Kala has Cooper and Lou. Kenzie has Tash and her mom. You deserve someone to talk to. I assure you I won’t say anything. Neither will Carys.”
Guilt threatened to swamp Tristan. “I can’t drag you into this.”
“You don’t have to.” Aidan reached out and gripped his hand.
It was a familiar gesture and one he’d always counted on. All of his life Aidan had been there. Carys had been there.
He had to do this job. For them.
* * * *
Aidan walked into the bar at Top, a familiar sensation buzzing through him. He’d worked summers and weekends here, washing dishes and later as a server. Always, always watching the boss’s daughter. Hell, he could remember running around the backrooms when he was a kid and begging the pastry chef for a taste of whatever he was making. There was so much of his childhood here. So many memories.
How could Tristan give all this up? Even for a little while. It wasn’t something he understood, but if he was going to save the most important relationship of his life, he had to go with it.