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)
She was on her own. “You should head into the office. I promise I won’t leave here by myself. I suspect our time together is over, and I’m about to be moved to a new location. Go talk to Wade. He’ll know what’s happening.”
“All right, but you should remember that no one can make you do something you don’t want to do.” West turned and jogged down the stairs.
But they could. They could trick her, manipulate her. She was fairly certain Kyle wasn’t above kidnapping her if he thought it would make the job of tracking down his ex easier.
“Be gentle with her,” Drake said under his breath as he and Taylor followed West.
She didn’t intend to go anywhere. If Big Tag sided with Kyle, she would be on her own and she could finally concentrate on the op she needed to work on. It would be easier to work with them, but it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen. “Where am I being shipped off to now? I suspect you don’t want me to stay here at Sanctum.”
“We were safe last night, but this is one of the first places she’ll look.” Kyle was studying her as though trying to figure out what game she was playing. “I don’t want to put this place in her cross hairs for more than a day or two. She is completely capable of blowing it up or burning it down to get to me. I’ve worked hard so she doesn’t come after the people I love.”
She’d figured out long ago that the only way to win this particular game was to not play at all. And he was right to not want the members of Sanctum involved in this. It was precisely why she was thinking about getting out altogether. “All right. So you’ve decided on a place where she can’t find me?”
She had to ask because according to Kyle, Julia was all seeing and all knowing. She was the alpha predator taking down everyone she wanted to with ease.
“Loa Mali.”
She barely managed to not roll her eyes. “You’re going to put me on a twenty-hour plane ride by myself? What if I manage to get a parachute and escape? Do you think Julia would be waiting for me on the ground?”
His eyes narrowed, a sure sign he didn’t appreciate her sarcasm. “I’m going with you, and we’re using the company jet. We’ve got a plan so Julia will have a hard time tracking us. We fly into London and then change planes without leaving the private airport. The logs will show your fake ID. You’re going to look like a British environmental consultant who’s being flown in to meet with the king and queen.”
It was good to know he had a plan. “And I’m staying there for how long?”
“I don’t know. Until we can solve the problem.”
Until they could catch or kill Julia Ennis. There was only one problem with that. “And if that takes years? Am I supposed to live in Loa Mali now?”
“It won’t be years. I promise I will come and get you the minute I can. When you get to Loa Mali you’ll have a dedicated guard, but you won’t need to leave the palace often. I’ve ensured you have a whole apartment to yourself, and you’ll be treated like a valued guest. Their oldest daughter is interested in coding. You could tutor her. You’ve always wanted to mentor girls.”
Yes, she’d wanted to encourage more young women to get into coding, but she hadn’t thought she would travel halfway around the world to do it. Still, there was nothing she could say to sway him, and she wasn’t about to argue when there was nothing to win. She needed to figure out how to work her way around him. If he realized she wasn’t going to be easy to deal with, he would probably never leave her alone.
“I should get dressed then. When are we going to the airport?”
He stared at her for a moment. “I thought you would argue with me.”
“Could I win an argument with you?”
“That’s not fair.” His tone had softened, and he had that little boy lost look in his eyes.
“Neither is sending me halfway around the world. We’re not dealing in fairness here. When do we leave?” She needed to know the particulars of the plan so she could thwart it. There were places she could go. She still had friends who had nothing to do with her work, friends she’d made when she’d been a hacktivist. They knew what it meant to be on the run.
It could be the best way to handle things. She didn’t want to put her friends at risk either. If somehow Julia got her hands on Noelle or Yasmin or Maddie or Vanessa Malone, there was no way MaeBe didn’t walk into that trap. She wouldn’t have another choice.