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)
But what had Taggart ragged her about? Protocol? The op’s parameters had changed after his talk with Tyler and she was supposed to have called back to her boss and figured out another plan. Instead, she’d panicked and blown the whole thing wide open.
Why? Because she was desperate to save that operative who was likely already dead? Or because she didn’t want her lover walking into something he couldn’t understand?
Taggart sat back. “Well, I can’t fix stupid. All right, then. That’s all. Don’t get my agent killed by doing something dumb. You know your role. Escort her in. Let her do her job. Escort her back out. And then what happens is up to you. We’ll send a plane for her. You’re dismissed.”
Like he was a soldier. “I’m not your employee.”
Taggart was on his phone, texting someone. He didn’t bother to look up. “No, you are not. I wouldn’t hire you.”
“And this is not your club.” Being dismissed rankled.
Arctic blue eyes came up. “I heard it wasn’t yours either. Aren’t you quitting?”
Someone had been talking, but then he couldn’t simply blame Kayla for this one. He’d talked about it with Declan as they’d traded punches. Shane had heard him, too. He’d gone over everything Kay had cost him. God, even thinking about the things he’d called her made him wince. And why? He had every right to call her all the nasty names he wanted to. She’d done this to him, not the other way around. Everyone kept forgetting that he was the victim here. “Yeah, I’m going to leave the club. I can’t stay here. From what I understand you have your own club, so you should understand. These people depend on everyone here to keep things private, and I’ve proven I can’t do that.”
“What’s gotten out? Did Riley finally give up the game and sell photos to the tabloids? I thought I saw him eyeing a pair of sneakers he can’t afford the other day. I always suspected that was why he took the job,” Taggart said with a sad shake of his head. “Fucker.”
Some woman somewhere put up with this guy’s shit? “No, obviously, but it could have happened. That’s the point. I’m not staying around and waiting until something bad happens because I made a poor judgment call.”
“And no one in this club ever brought in someone who could have done something bad? Dear god, Jared Johns is a member of this club. He brought a serial killer in and no one kicked him out. Did you have a trial and put him on suspension or something? Make him work his way back in, because I think serial killer trumps bringing in bodyguards who behaved poorly.”
Wow. He hadn’t thought of it that way. No one had been pissed at Jared. There certainly hadn’t been a meeting where they discussed getting rid of him. He was one of them. The club had closed ranks around him and supported him. “This is different.”
“Yes, because it’s about you and you’re very hard on yourself, aren’t you, Joshua? You know my wife tells me holding myself to a far higher standard than anyone else is a sign of egomania. I think I’m just better than everyone else, right?”
“No. I don’t fucking think that, asshole.”
“Yet, you don’t deserve a do-over, huh?” Taggart shook his head ruefully. “Dude, sorry. It’s none of my business if you want to leave a place where you could relax. Hell, you probably have a million of them. You probably belong to a bunch of clubs.”
“No, I don’t. I had two places in the whole world where I felt safe enough to relax and I have to give them both up now. They’re both tainted because I was too stupid to protect them. I have to give up my house because I’ll never be able to trust it again.” He would always be able to see her in that house. Years of memories and peace wiped out because anytime he opened the door, he looked for her now. His eyes would immediately go to the balcony to see if she was standing there, or to the kitchen where she often made snacks for the guys and he would say no and then sneak one anyway.
“What did the house do to you? Is it haunted?”
Why was he even talking to this asshole? And yes, it was haunted. She would be the ghost he could never get rid of, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Taggart. “It’s bugged. It was invaded by a bunch of people I don’t know. I was safe there and now I’m not.”
“Yeah, you know we can get rid of the bugs after the Agency is gone,” Taggart said as though he was talking to a four-year-old. “Easy peasy. We can even teach you how to check for bugs so you can chill on the paranoia. And in case you weren’t aware, other places can get bugged, too. When you think about it you’re not safe anywhere.”