Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“You’re Kayla’s handler. You’re Ezra. She said you were going to back her up.” Josh finally saw enough of his face to ID him as the man who met Kay on the beach from time to time. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Fuck if I know,” Ezra replied. “I think our new friend is going to have to explain. He’s not as bad as I thought he was. You know how to shoot?”
“Yes, but I’ve only ever shot at a gun range,” he admitted.
“Better than nothing. Reach down and take the spare out of my boot. Bishop’s coming back.”
Sure enough, the door opened as Josh reached down and came up with a small semiautomatic. The weight felt good in his hand. “Bishop?”
The only Bishop he’d heard of was dead.
The man he’d known as Tyler Williams strode back into the hall. “John Bishop is a ghost I hoped I could leave behind. John Bishop is someone I’m not proud of right now, and he’s the one who has to clean this mess up so I can go back to being Henry Flanders.”
“I’m confused about the names and the whole death thing,” Josh admitted. “It doesn’t matter. Could you just tell me if you’re going to help me find my Kayla?”
“Getting Kayla Summers out of here alive is my highest priority. Help me get Fain out to the guesthouse and I’ll tell you the whole story,” the dude with a shit ton of names said.
“Yeah, I’d like to hear it, too,” Ezra said.
“Help him,” Bishop ordered. “I’ll take point. And be careful of the bodies. Wouldn’t want you to trip and fall.”
Ezra groaned as he tried to straighten up. Josh put a shoulder under Ezra’s arm, giving him some balance as they began to follow Bishop.
That was a lot of bodies. As they followed the mysterious Bishop through the garden, he counted at least five men down. He hadn’t heard a single shot, and there was a surprising lack of blood. The guards looked as though they’d simply dropped where they stood, one every couple of hundred feet or so. Like a nasty treat trail leading them where they needed to go.
“Did you leave anyone alive?” Ezra complained. “You know sometimes it can be helpful to interrogate people. It’s hard to do when you internally decapitate them.”
“I couldn’t risk putting them out,” Bishop replied. “I don’t know how long they would stay out. Besides, you have no idea what these men have done. Every single one of them. I worked inside a group like this for years. You don’t get this close to the boss without proving how far you’ll go.”
“Oh, I know.” Ezra groaned a little but managed to keep up. “The question is what have you been doing for the last five years? Where have you been since you faked your death and ditched your responsibilities?”
“I found more important responsibilities,” Bishop shot back and then seemed to take control of his temper. “As to what I’ve been doing, would you believe growing a sensationally non-lucrative but cruelty free business selling crafts and organic vegan baked goods while my wife supports us with money she makes writing naughty books? Don’t call them porn. She gets upset at that term. Her books are about love. And sex. Lots of filthy sex, but mostly the love thing.” He stopped and listened for a second before waving them on to the small outer building Shane was staying in.
“No, I wouldn’t believe it,” Ezra shot back. “The idea of you wearing Birkenstocks and eating tofu while selling homemade dream catchers is ridiculous.”
“And yet that’s how I spent last summer, but my present isn’t the problem,” Bishop returned. “My past is back with a fucking vengeance. You hate me for leaving the Agency the way I did. I get that. But don’t think for a second I’m not paying for it right now. I faked my death because I wasn’t sure the Agency would let me leave, and even if they did I would have had enemies coming after me for the rest of my life. And I lied to my wife about my past. I should have been honest, but I didn’t think my Nell would be able to handle the truth. Now she has to face it and the fact that the very reason I faked my own death is coming back for me. I should be at home protecting my pregnant wife, and yet I’m here for one reason and one reason alone—because I owe Kayla Summers.”
“Is this because of what happened with her sister?” Josh asked. Despite what the Ezra guy said, he’d actually watched Bishop eat tofu. He’d developed a taste for the stuff, and nothing about his demeanor this evening made Josh think he was lying.
“Yes,” Bishop replied as he got to the door. “Joshua, let Shane see your face. I’m afraid he doesn’t know me.”