Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“All of her attention will be focused there,” Charlotte mused. “I like that idea. If we can get good intel from Ten, we might be able to get Kala out early. But we need proof she’s in that house.”
“We’ll do whatever it takes,” Ian promised.
And she would do whatever it took to get her man back.
Chapter Twenty
Julia felt comfortable in Virginia. It was oddly peaceful here, though she had some terrible memories. This was where her father had brought her to train. His methods had been brutal to say the least, but effective. Still, she also had good memories. She and Drake would play here for hours, exploring the tunnels when they could. Her mom used to be happy when they would visit. It was the only time she slowed down enough to remember she had children.
If she had her way, she would live in this house most of the time. Not every day, of course. She had to travel far too often for work.
But in her mind she saw a different world—the one she should have had. A world where she and Kyle lived in this house and they were happy. They took a train into DC, and she oversaw operatives at the Agency and helped her father with his work. Kyle understood why it was important to make as much money as they could and accrue all the power they were able to. He supported her career and never talked to his family because she was all he needed.
She didn’t have to have nine guards to ensure he didn’t misbehave.
Was she doing the wrong thing? Had her father been right and Kyle would never love her the way she deserved to be loved? Not that he’d put it like that. He’d said something more along the lines of stop thinking with your pussy, but her mind changed the words to something softer, more fitting.
“Ma’am?”
She turned away from the big bay windows that showed the vibrant green of the well-kept backyard that led to the woods not a hundred feet from the house. New John was here, and he was like all the other Johns. Helpful. Seemingly subordinate. The slightest bit untrustworthy, but that kept her on her toes. She missed old John, but it was better that he was gone because Kyle didn’t need to know that their relationship had included an intimate level. She wouldn’t ever touch new John. Theirs would be a completely professional relationship. The higher she went in the organization, the better his placement would be as well.
“Yes? Is the meeting taking place this afternoon?” It had been two days since she’d gotten Kyle back, and it looked like there was finally some movement from the Taggarts.
“Your mother left her house about thirty minutes ago, and we tracked her to her club,” John explained. “We’ve got good surveillance there. Your brother and Taylor Cline just arrived. If things go the way we think they will, your mother will turn over the key to the safety deposit box to him.”
Drake had sent her his thoughts on where the intel would be in exchange for letting the Taggarts have a thirty-second video conference with their daughter. It was the only time she’d seen the girl cry. Such an interesting girl. It would be almost cruel to send her back. There was greatness in Kala Taggart, but it would be quashed by her parents’ bourgeoisie values.
“Good. If they can record the meeting, I would appreciate it.” They had several operatives at that club since it was frequented by DC’s wealthy and powerful. It would be easy to use some of the tech The Consortium kept for its own personal use to surveil the meeting. “Do we know where MaeBe Vaughn is? She’ll be somewhere close, listening in. She’ll be working the meeting from the tech end.”
She wouldn’t hate killing MaeBe. Especially if she could do it quietly and have some cover for the crime. DC could be a dangerous place. She wasn’t sure she bought Kyle’s story. It would be better if he had nothing to go back to.
“I didn’t have the manpower to look for her. We had to stick with your brother,” John replied. “I could call in and get some more help in the field.”
And then The Consortium would know what was going on. Or at least they would know something was going on. It was precisely why she’d been using mercenaries. She had her father’s hidden funds to help her out, but they wouldn’t last forever. She needed to get back in The Consortium’s good graces and soon.
Although she did have access to a cool million. A million she’d earned. She’d thought she would need it as leverage to keep Kyle close, but having him access the funds himself would do nothing but strengthen her case against him.