Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 135382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
“Did it come with a note?” O’Donnell had changed out of his earlier costume and now was dressed in jeans and a button down, his hair slicked back from a shower.
Brody wished they’d had time to shower. He hated the fact that he’d had to hurry her along. At least she’d had street clothes to change into.
“Of course it came with a note.” Taggart hadn’t changed, though he’d pulled off the long blond wig and bandana. He frowned Tucker’s way. “Unless the puppy forgot the note in his mad dash to erase any and all evidence we could have gotten off this thing.”
Tucker was pacing the floor, a frown on his face. “Well, I’m sorry. I’m not used to opening boxes and finding…that. I’m used to opening boxes and finding pizzas. Or cupcakes. Good things are supposed to come in boxes that are delivered to your front door. Damn it, I tipped that guy. I tipped him and he gave me that.”
“What is it?” Steph asked.
Tucker started to open his mouth and then closed it. “Maybe Steph shouldn’t be here.”
It was far too late for that. There was no way Stephanie would let him ease her out of the room and allow him to handle this. No way.
“Steph should probably be receiving aftercare, from what I understand,” Taggart shot back. His voice lowered and he leaned toward Brody. “Did you find the ‘anal-gesic’ packs? It’s perfect to ease the way after a good plugging.”
“Focus, Taggart.” The man had no discretion.
“Is it a body part?” Steph moved toward the conference room table, her voice a bland, flat tone that told him she hadn’t heard Taggart.
“It’s probably a bad sign that I have boxes of these here.” Taggart dragged a pair of latex gloves over his hands. “Let’s see exactly what we’re dealing with. Still, at least I won’t be leaving fingerprints everywhere. We might have to rethink leaving the police out of this. Maybe I should call in Derek.”
Brody was not interested in dealing with the local police because he knew exactly where that would lead. “It won’t be Lieutenant Brighton who handles this case and you know it. First they’ll call in the FBI, and then Interpol will want a piece of it, and potentially whatever the hell agency Ukraine has to track down kidnapped citizens.”
O’Donnell stepped in beside Taggart. “I’m with Carter. We can’t let this leave our house. We’ll lose control of both the case and of Steph’s protection. We wouldn’t be consulted at all if they decide to take it out of the US. We don’t know that the mercenary team is even still here.”
“We can call in the police if it means saving Anya.” Steph hadn’t moved. She hadn’t smiled or held his hand since that moment when she’d realized the future wasn’t going to leave them alone. At least Brody thought that’s what had happened.
She’d opened up to him. Something had happened when he’d forced her to meet his eyes in the mirror. She’d softened and been willing to talk about what she’d gone through all those long months that he’d been gone. The connection that had always been between them had flared to life and he’d held on to it with all his strength. He’d known he’d gotten to her and that they could talk. She might listen to him, might understand his apology went far beyond words.
One knock on the door and she’d folded back in on herself.
“It won’t save Anya,” Brody insisted. “In this case, bringing in a bunch of feds and different international agencies will only complicate things. We have no idea which corporation is involved in this or how far reaching their influence goes. If you were on your own, yes, you would call in law enforcement, but you’re not. You’re surrounded by some of the smartest men in the world when it comes to intelligence and security. Let us do our jobs.”
Her arms came up, crossing over her chest. “I want her saved. I’m the client. I want saving Anya to be made a priority over everything else. Unless that’s a head in the box and she’s already dead.”
“It’s not a head.” Tucker sounded horrified. “I wouldn’t have brought a head in here. I don’t know what I would have done if it had been a head.”
Sometimes Brody thought Tucker had been a mistake on Dr. McDonald’s part. All of her other experiments had been warriors, and they still acted like it for the most part. Though Robert was calmer than the rest of the Lost Boys, there was still a deep darkness in the man. Tucker seemed so close to the light that he wondered if it was a part of the bloke or if the drugs had so thoroughly wiped his memory that he couldn’t conceive of the world he’d landed in.