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)
Zach’s head fell back, and he groaned. “I wish I could, man. But no, I did not have Devi Taggart sign a contract.”
Tris breathed a sigh of relief. So this was still at the talking stage. “Good, because again, I think you should be careful with her. You’re gone a lot, and I think she probably needs more stability.”
A brow rose over Zach’s eyes. “More than Carys and Aidan need? Because what happened on stage tonight looked pretty fucking serious.”
Well, he had to tell him sometime. “It was serious. I’m out. I’m going to let Big Tag get me out of my contract, and I’ll only work for our team from now on. After this op, I’m handing the whole Jester mission to you and Tara, and I know you’ll find someone who can do a magnificent job. Hell, Taylor Radcliffe might want to take it herself. She’s good at this kind of an op. She can’t physically be The Jester, but she can handle anything online. You can do all the physical stuff.”
“Uh, I was going to talk to my CO about maybe moving my base of operations from DC to Dallas and focusing as much as I possibly can on our team,” Zach admitted.
Again, he was floored. “That must have been a hell of a talk if you’re willing to give up The Court.”
Tris went every now and then when he felt like he needed to keep his skills up or when there was a social event requiring his attention. Zach was there all the time.
“I prefer this place. I know The Court is luxurious and stuff, but I’m… I think I’m more me here. Or I’m becoming the me I want to be. Yep, I’m just going to do it. We never tell Big Tag this conversation happened. Am I clear?”
Oh, he was so deeply curious. Zach seemed like a rock. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming when it came to personal stuff. They’d been working together for years. Zach was the one who took care of the subs Tris topped at The Court since he would never touch one in a sexual fashion.
Huh, had he been trying to replace Aidan? Like he always needed a partner…
He shoved the self-reflection aside because finding out what made Zach tick seemed way more interesting. “As crystal.”
Zach sat back. “Okay, and if I get too…I don’t know…personal, tell me, but I might need some advice because I don’t date and I don’t want to scare this girl off. I can be intense, though she handled me fine tonight. So I didn’t date in high school because I didn’t have time. My dad ran off when I was young, though not before he knocked my mom up twice. She was actually super smart. She was like a STEM girl before it was a thing.”
“You have a sibling?” It was news to him.
“I do, but we didn’t grow up together,” Zach said, taking a quick sip of his beer. “By the time she was pregnant the second time, she’d gotten into trouble. She ran into the kinds of problems a single mom can, including owing money to people who don’t send you to a collection agency, if you know what I mean.”
Well, he’d heard Zach had some unsavory connections. “I do indeed. So she what? Sold the kid?”
“I believe gave up for adoption is the term we typically use, though I always wondered. She was in prison for cooking designer drugs when she gave birth. I was only a year old at the time, so I often wonder why she didn’t give me up, too. It was a closed adoption, and even after she eventually got out, she wouldn’t talk about it. I only know the kid exists because of my aunt.”
“The one who worked with Big Tag?” He’d heard the story about Zach’s heroic aunt who did some work with the big boss when he was in the Green Berets. The aunt had been thrilled when she’d found out her nephew would be working under the man she’d so admired.
Zach nodded. “The one who gave up her military career so I didn’t go into foster care. Needless to say, we lived in a small town and we struggled. So when other guys were partying, I worked two jobs so we could keep the trailer we lived in.”
It appeared there was a reason Zach rarely talked about his family. “How long was your mom in jail?”
“She did seven years, and then she got out and got involved in some other bad shit. She lived with my aunt and I for a few years, and then one day when I was fourteen, the cops came looking for her and I haven’t seen her again,” Zach explained. “My aunt told me she didn’t want me to come visit, and I honored her choice. Even when she was around she wasn’t, you know. She was always hustling, doing whatever she could to make money. Illegally, of course. It’s not like she got a job that used her degree in a good way. I wonder what she could have been if she hadn’t met my father. It was my dad who got her into trouble. He worked for some bad people, and she fell in with them. According to my aunt, he enjoyed the idea of corrupting some egghead scientist. So she’s probably cooking meth somewhere or dead. I don’t know. Anyway, I didn’t date because I worked. I managed to scrape together enough to get through college and then went into the Army. I liked the Army, but it’s also not particularly conducive to a relationship.”