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“Because you bugged my room,” he said pointedly.
She nodded, agreeing fully. “Yes.” She backed up. “And Dare, a hug goes like this. You put your arms around the huggee and then affection is exchanged. Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it. Someday you will be an excellent hugger. I know it.”
While Kenzie slipped out the back, Kala moved toward the door to the club. She shook her head as she passed him. “Sorry about that. She played with a lot of Barbies as a child.”
“And you played with knives,” Taggart said under his breath.
“Yes, much more fun.” Kala disappeared out the door.
“All right, let’s go over what I expect you to do on this op.” Taggart took a seat again. “It’s pretty simple.”
“And when it’s over?”
“Then the real fun starts,” Taggart replied. “It’s been a while since I took an asshole down strictly for fun. I think you’ll find we’ll make it a family project. Hey, my son will probably write a theme song.”
He wouldn’t be around to meet the rest of the Taggarts. Once this was done, he would insist on conference calls only. Tasha would be out of his life.
But she wasn’t tonight, and he had to figure out how to do what Taggart advised. Not put his penis in.
The trouble was his penis was not aligned with his pride. His penis was already trying to justify finding a way in.
But he was going to be smarter than that. He was going to get what he needed and then he would never see that woman again.
Chapter Fifteen
“You know this is going to hurt, right?” her mom asked.
Tasha sniffled and wiped her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time in the last half hour. “It hurts right now. It hurt the minute I saw the look on Dare’s face.”
“I mean getting him back is going to hurt,” her mother said. “It’s not going to be as easy as apologizing.”
“No, it is not.” Kala walked in, followed by Lou. “Dad’s doing what he can, though. He’s got Dare in the men’s locker room. Nate’s there to make sure Asswipe can’t walk in on them. That’s for Asswipe’s safety, though.”
“TJ’s distracting him. They’re talking to Ben and the rest of Chet’s team. Well, the ones that are awake. I am glad no one died. That would have been a lot of paperwork.” Lou sat down across from Tasha. “Cooper is taking Kenzie back to the safe house so we can avoid Ben figuring out Kara is more than she seems.”
“Ben?” Tasha asked, a little confused.
“Yup. The Canadian knows how to pick an alias. He’s Ben Parker not Brian Peters, and according to Kenz, that name is perfect for him. I’ll be working for the rest of the op, so we don’t have to worry about Ben at all,” Kala promised.
Poor Kenzie. She wasn’t the only one who would be hurting. “Ben is only doing his job.”
“Bullshit. He was still hitting on me a few minutes ago,” Kala replied. “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t bother my sister again.”
Lou sent Kala one of those stares that always made Tasha think they were having a silent conversation. Lou had been Kala’s best friend for over a decade. Despite the fact that Kala had a twin in Kenzie, Lou had always been the one who seemed to truly understand her. Or maybe it was more about acceptance.
Kala’s expression softened. “But this isn’t about Ben. Are you okay, Tash?”
“Of course she’s not okay.” Her mother shook her head her sister’s way. “Would you be okay if the man you loved suddenly hated you?”
Kala shrugged. “Precisely why I don’t intend to do the love thing.”
Her mom sighed. “Oh, you’ve done the love thing, stubborn girl. You just can’t forgive him. You’re going to regret that, but I can’t make you see that he was a child.”
“I’m not here to talk about Cooper.” Kala went still.
“If you can’t be supportive of your sister, you should go and join the guys,” her mom said.
Kala’s face flushed, and for a moment Tasha thought she would stand up and storm out. It was this way with Kala and their mom at times. Especially when their mom thought Kala was being stubborn. Something had happened with Cooper McKay when they were teenagers. Something happened the night Kala had ended up being kidnapped, but she didn’t talk about it to anyone but Lou and their mom.
Lou put a hand on Kala’s. “We’re both here to support Tash.”
Kala’s eyes closed briefly, and when she opened them again, the momentary anger was gone. “So what is the plan? Because I know we’re not going to shrug and move on. That is not the Taggart family way. Mom, Tash is genuinely in love with this guy, and honestly, I’ve seen him change in the last week. He was kind of closed off and shut down, and he’s come to life. She’s good for him and he’s good for her. I’m going to assume I’m not allowed to kidnap and torture him until he sees the light.”
