Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Chelsea leaned against the reception desk. “He thinks you’re hiding Solo. He tried to arrest her yesterday and she got away.”
“Got away?” Levi zeroed in on Chelsea. “She didn’t get away. The London team freed her from a lawful arrest and nearly killed me in the process.”
“If it was a lawful arrest, she would have been taken in by the London metro police or Scotland Yard.” Chelsea didn’t back down at all. “She would have had a trial to determine whether her extradition was legal under British law. I don’t think you were taking her to the police station, right? You know the funny thing is I haven’t heard an outcry in the media.”
“You know we do things differently. It wasn’t so long ago you were one of us.” Levi was talking to Chelsea, who had worked as a data analyst and all-around walking computer for the Agency until she’d quit to start a company with Adam Miles.
“Yeah, and I thought you were all assholes then, too,” Chelsea shot back. “Now, why are you here in Paris if you’re not trying to fuck up a little girl’s adoption? She was in Siberia, you know. First they took her father and sold him to McDonald, and then they killed her mother and shipped Tasha to somewhere cold and quiet so they didn’t have to look at her. You here to send her back?”
Levi threw up his hands in obvious disgust. “Why would I care about some kid? Tag wants another one, good on him. I’m here because this is one of the spots I suspect you might hide Solo in.”
Tag proved he could have been an actor because the surprise on his face seemed totally real. “Why the hell would I hide Solo? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I don’t hang out with a bunch of Agency fuckwits. I left a long time ago and I haven’t looked back. Solo’s been a pain in my ass for over a year and you’re welcome to her.”
He turned to Kim. “He doesn’t mean that.”
Kim rolled her eyes his way. “He can’t exactly proclaim his deep affection. He’s not going to be nice about you either if he’s smart.”
Levi turned his attention to Tag. “Okay, I’ll give you that my girl can be troublesome, but I know you’re loyal to Beck…Ezra Fain. He’s been working with you for over a year.”
“And he did what I needed him to do,” Tag replied simply. “Now he’s a pain in my ass, too. I assure you I didn’t give him a thumbs-up to do anything. If I see him again, I’ll fire his ass. Do you honestly think I want the Agency all over me right now?”
“You’ve got friends at the Agency. You’ve always got someone willing to cover for you,” Levi pointed out.
Drake was walking around the room, studying it. “He’s adopting a kid from a country that no longer allows foreign adoptions. He’s basically smuggling her into the US. Where do her papers say she’s from?”
Chelsea crossed her arms over her chest. “Her papers are from the Ukraine. They’ll hold up under scrutiny. You’re not taking her back. She was in an orphanage and she was never getting out. She wasn’t getting a proper schooling, and I don’t think they were feeding her enough.”
Drake didn’t bother to look at her, merely kept staring at the walls like he could see through them. “I wasn’t suggesting we take some kid away from her newfound Daddy Warbucks. I was simply explaining Mr. Taggart’s problem to my colleague. It’s not a good time for him to have the Agency looking into his activities, so I can see where he might be upset about what Mr. Fain did. Is there a dungeon? I assume this is a BDSM club.”
Levi frowned. “Yes, but how did you know that? I didn’t tell you anything about it because I wanted you to come in cold.”
“Don’t be surprised that the guy you brought in for his deductive reasoning powers deduces things correctly.” Drake seemed to find the walls fascinating.
“You’ll have to forgive my friend, Taggart.” Levi was frowning Drake’s way. “Mr. Brown is a bit of a savant when it comes to finding things.”
“Mr. Brown?” Tag asked, a suspicious brow arched. “Really?”
“No, of course not,” Drake replied. “But it’s better than Magenta.”
“I like magenta,” a voice said.
Tag turned and his face tilted up. “Girls. When I said upstairs, I meant all the way.”
“Okay, but Magenta’s a cool name,” the voice said and then there was much giggling.
Chelsea sighed. “I think you can handle the rest of this on your own. I’ll go make sure the girls stay out of trouble. And maybe I can find a cup of coffee.”
Chelsea strode up the stairs.
Drake turned to Levi. “Can I look through the dungeon?”