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)
Kala shrugged. “You survived, buddy.”
“No thanks to you,” Parker shot back.
Kala’s eyes rolled. “Yes, thanks to me. You’re the jackass who jumped without a parachute. I’m the one who caught you at twenty K and held onto you until we landed safely.”
“And then you dosed me with a sedative and left me in the middle of a rice paddy in Mongolia.” Parker loomed over her like they were about to go at it.
He was yelling at the wrong Kara. Or he was yelling at the right one and putting out sexual tension to the wrong one. Or the whole situation was way more fucked than he’d known. Maybe Parker was a masochist, and then he would do better with Kala, who was never in ten million years going to give him any more affection than a kick in the balls.
He would take a kick in the balls if it meant Carys talked to him.
“I had what I needed. I had the hard drive. I wasn’t about to fight you for it,” Kala said. “Besides, you looked like you needed a nap.”
Parker loomed over her. “There are snakes in rice paddies.”
“There certainly was one when you were there,” Kala replied.
“Kara.” Lou shook her head her best friend’s way and proved how well Ian trained them all. Lou wouldn’t screw up and call Kala by her name. “We should move on.”
Kala looked around and seemed to read the room a little. She shook her now strawberry-blonde hair. Charlotte had disappeared. She usually would be in on all of the shenanigans.
But the twins had dyed their hair to something close to their natural color, which meant they looked even more like their mom. So Charlotte would deny Parker the ability to see them side by side.
Which meant Ian would be even more cranky than usual.
“Does he know?” Parker wasn’t following Lou’s excellent advice. He gestured Cooper’s way. “Does your boyfriend know how you danced with me in Croatia? How you almost kissed me?”
Cooper’s hand came up. “Told you. Not her boyfriend.”
“Parker, leave it alone right this fucking second or we’ll pull the op altogether and you can find your own way into Huisman’s,” Big Tag said on a low growl. “There was a reason I didn’t want you here.”
“I’m the expert on Huisman.” Parker seemed to gather himself. He took a deep breath and banished whatever he’d been feeling before. “No one knows him like I do, so you’re not getting anyone else. However, if Maggie can play nice for once, so can I. I’ve decided you’ve got multiple personalities. Could we please speak to the reasonable one?”
The reasonable one was in the attic, probably losing her shit because she wasn’t down here to fight him on her own. Kenzie had been so angry with him after what he’d done to Lou, but Tris didn’t think it would last. There was too much chemistry between them. Kenzie had been the one in Croatia, and she’d come back from the event they’d attended like she was Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
He was pretty sure Kala had been the one to leave him on the plane. He’d been damn lucky she’d caught his ass.
“Sure thing, sweet cheeks,” Kala said. “Let’s get down to business.”
“I should probably leave the whole relationship stuff out of my report.” Tara watched as they walked into the dining room. “I’m not even sure how to document what just happened. Is it always like this?”
“Pretty much, and I think the big guy would appreciate you not mentioning it in your report,” Zach agreed.
“They do not like each other.” Tara shook her head. “I’m surprised. I’ve always found Kara to be friendly and easy to work with. I’m surprised to see her be so aggressive.”
Because she’d only ever met Kenzie. When they needed someone to walk into Langley and charm the brass, it was Kenzie. Kala got her dour ass benched those days.
“Why does he call her Maggie?” Aidan asked, staring at the group as they walked away. “I thought her name was Kara.”
Aidan was already doing well. He’d put the question in a way that wouldn’t spark interest from anyone listening in. He would need to keep some distance between his subs and Parker, though. It would be hard for them. They hadn’t spent years pretending the way he had. “When he first met her, she called herself Ms. Magenta. He named her Maggie despite the fact he knew we called her Kara. He said it wasn’t her real name, so it didn’t matter what he called her.”
“He wanted a name only he called her. It’s topping 101. Make a connection no one else has. He’s got it bad,” Aidan said quietly. “I feel for the fucker.”
“Yeah, well, feel for me because I have to figure out how to explain why I joined Zach at The Court.” Tris wanted to walk in there and carry her out and force her to talk to him.