Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
What if it had been a romance all along? A slow burn, take their time until it was right because they valued each other romance? She might never have the crazy passion of Tasha and Dare or the angsty pain of Kala and Cooper, but it was enough.
Their story was enough.
“People change.” TJ strolled alongside her, his hand in hers. It felt right. It felt real this time. “They grow up. I’m actually a little excited to see what happened to some of them. But mostly I want to prove that Dennis Sims needs to be assassinated.”
Lou groaned.
“Yes, that’s why I’m here, buddy.” Zach gave him a pat on the shoulder. “To make sure you don’t kill anyone.”
Kala gave Zach a smile. “I thought you were here to make sure we didn’t have any fun.”
Zach nodded. “That’s what I said. Where is this place? I feel like we’ve been walking forever.”
There wasn’t a lot of parking in this part of town. “It’s just around the corner, if my GPS is right.”
“I’m starting a timer,” Cooper announced. “We spend exactly one hour so Lou can convince TJ her old… What are we calling him? He wasn’t a boyfriend.”
“Her ex-asshole,” Kala offered.
“We’re giving her an hour to prove her ex-asshole isn’t some weird criminal mastermind who’s been plotting his revenge for years and then we’re heading to the club,” Cooper said. “Parker’s coming in again tonight, and Dare’s agreed to spend time with him. And yes, I know Tash is going to kill us all, but Dare’s our best bet at figuring out if Parker’s a rabid beaver.”
Kala’s grin was as bright as all the neon signs. “Thanks, bab…” She seemed to straighten up. “Thanks, man. I appreciate the support.”
Kala had been all for the send Dare in plan, while Kenzie had taken Tasha’s side. They’d agreed to let Dare decide, and he had not decided the way Tash had wanted him to. So they were arguing and Kenzie was on Tasha’s side and the guys had sided with Dare, and Big Tag had opened a bottle of Scotch and Lou was feeling anxious again.
Because she might lose them all. Because her decision was made.
She looked down at her phone again, trying to figure out if they were going the right way.
“Hey, guys, keep smiling but I think we might have a tail,” Zach said, his smile totally masking what was likely his awareness heightening. “The tall guy in black parked close to us, and he’s stayed a block back since we started walking.”
They huddled around Lou, looking for all the world like they were trying to figure out which way to go.
“I can circle around and get behind him,” Kala offered.
Cooper sent her a Dom stare that would not work on Kala. Lou gave him credit, though. He kept trying. “Yeah, because he won’t notice the pink-haired bombshell walking behind him. You kind of stand out, babe.”
He placed an emphasis on the word Kala hadn’t been able to say. Her nose wrinkled. “I can blend when I want to.”
She actually could, but she didn’t have time to tone it down.
“It’s probably Parker,” Zach said. “If I were him, I would set someone up to watch us. It’s why we’ve been so careful not having Kala and Kenz together in public. We just need to be aware we’re being watched. Act like nothing’s out of the ordinary, and we move on. Kenzie’s in lockdown until we can switch her out at the club.”
But now they had a complication. “They’ll see Kala go in and wonder why she enters a second time.”
A groan came from Zach’s throat. “All right, we’ll go into this bar, and I’ll call her. We need another plan. But I’m with Coop. One hour, tops. I hope you can soak in all the nostalgia you can in that sixty minutes because after we’re all going into lockdown until the Canadian’s gone.”
Lou didn’t mind the idea. She and TJ could curl up on the couch with Bud 2 and watch movies when they weren’t working.
When she wasn’t trying to find a way out of the trap someone was trying to put him in.
Of course, they would all be waiting to see if she could solve the mystery before the Agency dragged TJ in for questioning. Tried to, because they had plans in place to get him out before it could happen.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” TJ leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. “We’ll cuddle up and catch up on some TV.”
They were really in synch when she let them be. She gave him a half smile because even if they ran, there was no guarantee someone wouldn’t catch them. “Sounds good. And I think we can cut down this alley and it should be on our right.”
TJ’s hand found hers as Kala took the lead.