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)
It was good to have a doc on call. The Dallas team had Faith Smith and London had just gotten their own in Stephanie Carter.
She was going to miss her team, but her heart was always going to be in California. Or wherever Josh was.
“Arrest the dude who nearly got killed trying to save us?” Josh asked. “That’s insane. I’ll testify for him.”
There was a knock on the trailer door.
“There won’t be a trial for Fain,” Ten said grimly. “The Agency is going to choose the story that best fits the narrative they want. The Jiang Kun mission will remain top secret, potentially scrubbed from the files. Fain will be attached to Morales. Levi Green will be the good guy, the one who tried to find out what happened to the agent there.”
Josh held up his hand. “I know. Levi Green killed him. I do not get this. This is a poorly written script because the bad guy is getting away.”
“Yeah, that’s how it works sometimes,” a quiet voice said as he stepped up the stairs and into the trailer. “That’s one of the reasons I got out, though not the most important one.”
Everyone stopped, all eyes on the newcomer. He looked so different. The Bishop she’d known had worn mostly black. His hair had been longer, his eyes flat much of the time. Every now and then she would coax a smile from him, but there had always been a darkness about John Bishop that she’d been sure nothing could banish.
The man in front of her wore a T-shirt that proudly stated that life was better in Bliss, Colorado. He had a touristy Cuban-style shirt over the T and khaki shorts that her dads might pick out and say were sporty. They weren’t. Nor were the Birkenstocks on his feet or the Tilley hat covering his trimmed brown and gold hair.
He stood back as though afraid of his welcome.
Ian Taggart’s face actually went soft. “Sir, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Never thought I would.”
“Ian.” Bishop held a hand out.
“Hell,” Big Tag said before pulling the smaller man in for a bear hug. “We thought you were dead, Henry.”
When Bishop pulled back there was surprise in his eyes. “You called me Henry.”
Big Tag looked deeply pleased with himself. “You’re Henry Flanders now. That’s what all this was about. You’re Henry and you’re Nell’s husband, and that’s the truth. That’s why you did everything you did. You did it so you could be the kind of man your wife would be proud of. Why is everyone looking at me like that? I’m fucking sensitive, too. I can figure things out.”
Ten rolled his eyes. “I told him all that on the plane ride here. Henry, it’s nice to meet you, man. And thank you for letting my old friend Bishop come out to play this time. I think we would have lost a lot had you not.”
“I had to come,” Henry said, his eyes finding Kay’s. “I owed it to you. Kayla, I did what I did…”
She gave him her middle finger. “You suck, Bishop.”
His face flushed.
He really was a different person. A happy person. Josh could be that with the right love. Her love. She bounced up off the couch to her feet and crossed the space between them. “But this Henry guy seems awfully lovable. It’s good to see you.”
She threw her arms around her old mentor, forgiving him in that moment. He’d done his job and known when to take that off-ramp he talked about. He’d found his and now she had hers. Forgiveness wasn’t hard when he’d been the one to save Joshua.
His arms wrapped around her. “You, too. Do you have any idea how proud I am of everything you did? Including saving these two numbskulls a couple of times. Just because I’ve been dead doesn’t mean I haven’t kept up with my people. Well, a friend of mine who’s quite good at hacking a system got your mission files for me. I was happy to hear Ian got out when he did. I worried about him, especially after his wife died. I was thrilled to hear she’s back. I’m not the only one to pull the old ‘I’m dead’ routine. Ten, though, I always knew would find a nice woman and settle down.”
“Glad you knew,” Ten shot back. “Someone might have mentioned that to me. I always thought I was a broody son of a bitch no one would ever love.”
“I need more punches,” Tag said. “When he says shit like that I need more punches.”
Ten’s eyes narrowed and he pointed at Tag. “Don’t you dare. You used up your last punch.”
Tag turned to Henry. “Did those reports tell you about the time that asshole stormed my building with a full Special Forces team? My building. I have a daycare there.”