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It had been the best Master Colin had been able to do in a pinch. They didn’t have a place to hold prisoners at the safe house.
And that is why you fail.
Yep. Her dad’s voice was playing through her head.
“You would think Colin would be better prepared,” Cooper said with a shake of his head. “The man was an operative for twenty years.”
“And the fact that he worked with Nate’s dad is the only reason he’s being patient with us,” Zach pointed out. “I assure you this dude would be tied up in the twins’ bathtub if Brody Carter hadn’t vouched for us. I don’t think the man is particularly happy we’re using his club as part of an Agency op. He was fine when it was all about making the target feel comfortable, but now that we have an actual prisoner, we need to be careful.”
Master Colin had met them with all sorts of colorful Aussie ways to express his disinterest in being dragged into spy games. There was talk of all them being a sandwich short of a picnic. Colin himself was mad as a cut snake. And he’d declared himself knackered by their collective dickheadedness.
There was some other stuff in there, but she’d gotten the message. They were on thin ice, but at least they had a safe space to stash Brian.
The question was how long they could hide him. Dare would have questions, and a lot of them. She’d already had to text with him and convince Dare that Brian had managed to spend some time with Kara, and that was why they couldn’t meet.
“Even The Hideout has an interrogation room,” Cooper complained.
“Only because you’re a paranoid bastard.” Kala was in fet wear and a robe, sitting in the back of the room, one long booted leg crossed over the other.
Cooper’s lips curled up slightly. “Really? I think you were there giving me directions when I equipped it.”
A rare smile crossed Kala’s face. “Because I’m a paranoid bitch.”
It was good to know having a crisis could bring those two together. “How long do you think before he wakes up, and do we have anything else on this guy? I’m confused about what the hell he wants. He’s been embedded with the Nash Group for six months now, but he mentioned Ms. Magenta. Is he a corporate spy or with an intelligence agency?”
“He could be mafia,” Kala mused.
“He’s not mafia.” Kenzie had been the most upset, and not because somehow Brian knew who she was. Half of. She’d been way more upset with how Cooper had manhandled him.
In this case she agreed with Kenz. “I don’t think a mafia guy would have treated me the way Brian did. He was trying not to hurt me. He wants intelligence. If he was mafia and he thought I was a rival, he would take me out. There’s something going on here we’re not seeing.”
“He could be a good guy,” Kenzie argued.
“Kenz, you heard what the rest of us did.” Tristan stood and stared at Kenzie, who was in street clothes. “He knew who you were. He didn’t want you to be able to influence Dare, and that is why he pursued you. This is not some love story between the two of you. It’s an op. He played you.”
Kala held a hand up. “He played me, actually. That’s what she keeps forgetting. He pursued me first.”
“And he had real conversations with me,” Kenzie insisted.
Her heart ached for her sister, but she had to be realistic. “With Kara. Not with Kenzie.”
“Kenzie, you are officially off this mission.” Zach’s lips had turned down. “Kala, you’re Kara for the rest of the op. Kenz, you can help Lou. Don’t argue with me or I’ll send you back to Dallas. You’re way too close to this guy, and I don’t trust you to think straight when it comes to him.”
There were frustrated tears in her sister’s eyes, but she nodded and went to sit beside Lou, her arms crossing over her chest.
“He’s awake.” Lou had been quiet the whole time, her eyes either on her laptop or the man in the window. “He’s pretending to sleep, but he’s also been testing his restraints.”
Tasha moved to the window. Sure enough, Brian’s wrists moved slightly against the restraints.
She had some time before Dare would be here. Zach moved to the door.
“Tasha, he knows who you are. I’m not letting him get another look at Kenz or Kala, so it’s you and me talking to him,” Zach explained. “Lou, keep your eye on the web for any chatter about this guy. I suspect he’s a deep cover operative for someone. Hell, the way we’re playing things these days, he could be one of ours.”
“I don’t think so,” Lou replied. “I think he’s foreign, but I’ve got some calls in. I’ll ID him eventually.”
