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)
“It wasn’t about following,” Kala argued. “It was about joining, and everything you worked for led here. We worked for. I guess I thought once you were on the team, he would see you differently.”
Lou felt her jaw drop. “Are you telling me you want me with TJ?”
Kala shrugged in that nonchalant way of hers. “Nothing’s changed. I still want you in my family.”
She leaned forward and took Kala’s hand in hers. Sometimes her best friend could be standoffish. She wasn’t the most physically affectionate person, but she needed it. “I am in your family. Me not having the last name Taggart doesn’t change that. I am never going to leave you. It’s you and me for life, and no man is going to change that.”
“Tash is already moving out.”
“Of course she is, but she’s still your sister.” She hadn’t been thinking about how poorly Kala handled change. Tasha had lived with them for the last couple of years. “She’s never not going to be in your life. Just like I won’t. But that isn’t a good enough reason for me to force TJ into a relationship with me.”
“Force?” Kala growled a little, a sure sign she was getting annoyed with all the emotional stuff. “Who do you think was right by my side when I threatened to ruin Dennis?”
“I know TJ was there, but that was high school.”
“Was it? Do you know why Fred broke up with you?” Kala asked.
Fred. He’d been a guy she’d seen for almost two years at MIT. She’d actually considered he could be a good partner. Again. Lots of interests in common, and he seemed like a genuinely nice man. He’d explained that he’d found another woman and couldn’t stay away from her. “He was cheating on me.”
“Oh, if only it was that easy,” Kala mused. “That feels sadly normal. No. He was planning on using your theorems as his senior project. I know because I hacked his system and monitored his ass the whole time you dated him.”
Shock hit her. “What?”
“Yes. I suspect he downloaded your research, or you shared it with him.”
“I most certainly did not. I talked to him about it, but I wouldn’t have shared it.” How many times had Kala saved her over the years?
“TJ made me do it. TJ met him and didn’t like the vibe he got off the guy. He told me he didn’t know how to keep watch on him, so I offered to do it. When I went to Fred, he told me to go fuck myself. Again, I showed an enormous amount of restraint. He was good, by the way. He could probably work black ops. It takes a lot to stare me down when I get going. He told me I would have to prove it and that with what his family gave to the college, they would always pick him over you. That was when TJ took over.”
She wanted to be shocked, wanted to be able to tell Kala what she’d done was wrong, but it didn’t feel that way. Kala was one of the world’s predators. She could have gone another way had she not been surrounded by love and parents who taught her to use her instincts to help the people around her. Kala could have been one of the people they hunted, but she chose differently, and Lou couldn’t blame her for focusing on the people she loved. TJ was different. TJ was sweet and happy-go-lucky and kind. “What did he do?”
Kala’s lips turned up. “I still don’t know, but I am fairly certain he only talked to the guy. I think he explained what he would do to him if he followed through with his plans. TJ can be intense when he wants to be, and he is intense about protecting you. I know I’ve been freaked out today, but I’ve thought a lot about it. Like I said, he’s been serious about protecting you. Even from himself, but something changed today, and I think you met the TJ I’ve seen from time to time. I think you met the one who got Fred to back off, the one who dealt with every guy back in high school. The one who goes to clubs you’re not at and picks petite brunettes every single time.”
She couldn’t buy it. “I was always willing to be with him.”
“But you weren’t willing to fight for him,” Kala countered. “I think today he figured out that you’re strong enough to fight for him. To fight with him.”
“I don’t want to fight at all.”
“But life is a fight.” Kala’s voice went soft. “You knew that when you were younger. Before your mom married Boomer and you were stuck at that school, you knew it was all a fight.”
Tears pierced her eyes when she thought about that time. It had been her and her mom against the world, particularly against her wealthy grandparents. “You know what’s funny? My biological father was very much like the guy everyone seems to think I should be with. Intellectual. Ambitious. Focused on his legacy. He wasn’t interested in me at all until I showed academic potential. He pushed me hard. Even at the age of four. After he died my mom was lost and my grandparents took advantage.”