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Kenzie was way better at following the rules than her twin. Most of the time. And she was making sense. “You’re right. This situation has already been made a million times more complex because I screwed up.”
“You didn’t screw up,” Kenzie corrected. “You fell in love.”
Kala made a vomiting sound and stood. “She fell into bed. Don’t make more of it. I need a drink. Do we have enough food for the Aussie? I’ve heard he’s massive.”
The problem was she was starting to think Kenzie was right. “Whatever I did, I made this whole thing more complicated.”
“I think feeding Nate is going to be Tasha’s problem,” Lou shouted to Kala before she looked Tasha’s way. “And Kenz, I understand you want to simplify things, but the mission parameters changed the minute Dare became the target. We need information on him, from him. Zach and I have been talking, and we think we should download his laptop.”
Her gut tightened. She’d known this could be a possibility, but she’d hoped to avoid it. “He’s got nothing to do with his father’s illegal businesses.”
“We can’t know that unless we see what he’s carrying around. You should know that Kala already duped his phone.” Lou made the statement in a no-nonsense fashion, but her jaw had firmed as though she expected trouble.
She was going to get it. “Kala did what?”
“I duped his phone while the two of you were saying good-bye.” Kala leaned against the bar, a glass of red wine in her hand. “He very kindly left it out in the living area. Since you confirmed the suite’s not bugged, I left a couple, so now we can say it is.”
Anger rose hard and fast, and she confronted her sister. “You had no right to do that.”
If Kala was concerned with her flash of temper, she didn’t show it. “I had every right because he’s the target. I have every right because two of my sisters are acting like we’re on The Bachelor and they need to get a rose out of a man instead of being the operatives they were trained to be.”
“If you have a problem with the way I’m doing my job, you should talk to me, sister.” She got up in her space. Tasha was the reasonable one, but she knew how to throw down when she needed to. The idea of Kala calmly taking away all of Dare’s privacy while she distracted him with kisses in the next room infuriated her. “What you do not do is go behind my back. I know I share charge of this team with Zach, but I will not have you going rogue on me.”
“What would you tell me to do if Kenz or I were working the target?” Kala’s expression stayed a careful blank. “Let’s think back. A couple of months ago we were working a scientist in Romania. We got to be such good friends. I liked her. What did you order me to do, Tash?”
A flush flashed across her. They’d been trying to get the plans for a potential bioweapon, and the best way in had been one of the scientists working on a lower-level project. However, she was the sister of the lead of the project the Agency was worried about. She’d been lonely, and Kara had been a good friend.
“I had you bug her apartment but that was…” Tasha stopped because she’d been about to use the word different, and she wasn’t sure it was. In fact, she was certain it was pretty much exactly the same scenario. Kala had genuinely liked the woman, had become friends with her. Kala didn’t do that often. Tasha stepped back. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
“I am, and you’re too close to the target.” Kala’s expression softened. “There’s a reason you run the team and don’t go out in the field, Tash. Same with Lou. You two are soft, and I like you that way.”
“I’m soft,” Kenzie argued.
Kala’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, you like to pretend to be, but not the way Lou and Tash are. You’re perfectly capable of making the hard calls in the field. What would you have done if you’d been Kara today?”
Kenzie sighed. “I would have duped his phone and hidden a couple of bugs. I’ve been carrying them around in case I got the shot, but Brian was always there.”
“He wasn’t this afternoon,” Kala explained. “So I did it.”
Kenzie perked up like she’d found a way out of being lumped in with her twin. “But I wouldn’t have told Tash, so she wouldn’t have to feel bad.”
“So she wouldn’t know we’re probably listening in on her doing the deed with Dare?” Kala asked.
Kenzie shrugged. “Now you’ve made her self-conscious, and she might not be able to perform. Did you think of that?”
“I think she’ll probably just be a little quieter,” Lou offered.
