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“Well, it goes against all military rules, and Big Tag knewthat,” Cooper pointed out.
“My dad doesn’t care about rules. He would say he’s not inthe military anymore, and Taggart rules are in play,” Kenzie said. “And thatmeans we only trust family. A truth I should have remembered.”
“Kenz,” Kala began. “You’re being overly dramatic. I’mpissed at Parker, too, but I also get why he did what he did. I just got thefile he’s worked up on Huisman, and if that fucker is half as bad as Parkersays he is, I would have done the same thing.”
Kenzie shook her head. “He put Lou in danger. He could havetold us.”
“And we could have trusted him in Australia,” Kalacountered. “We’re fucking spies, Kenz. Look, I know it goes against everythingI believe in to defend that asshole, but if you’re going to be pissed at himfor that, you need to find some nice dude with a white hat to ride into thesunset with. I would have done the same thing.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Cooper argued.
Kala turned his way, her expression grim. “Yeah, I would,and that’s why you should walk out there and find your perfectly wholesomelittle sub to top and build a white picket fence with so she can pop out yourtwo point five kids.”
“Kala,” Cooper said, his mouth in a frown. “You wouldn’t putsomeone’s life on the line. I know you.”
“If you can say that, then you don’t.” She took a long dragoff her beer. “And my sister should remember it, too. Though, hey, if you wantme to take Parker out, I’ll be happy to.”
“He could have talked to me,” Kenzie said quietly.
“Or he could have talked to me,” Kala replied. “I think thefact that he doesn’t trust us proves he’s got a brain in his head.”
“Well, it’s over now.” Kenzie finished her drink and seemedto steel herself. “We won’t be the ones on the Huisman case if he’s really thatdangerous. And now that we know Tasha’s ex set TJ up, we should be able toclear everything with Interpol and The Jester can be someone else’s problem.”
“But I want to deal with The Jester,” Kala complained. “Notonly does he sound like a massive asshole since he calls himself The Jester,but I kind of want to figure out who the bombmaker is. I don’t think we shouldlet this go. Dad won’t. He’ll lobby to keep us in play.”
“Even if we manage to clear things up with Interpol, thatdoesn’t mean everyone will get the memo,” Dare pointed out. “It’s still outthere that TJ is somehow connected to this guy. Shouldn’t we be worried aboutthat?”
“Yes, we should.”
TJ looked up, and a familiar figure stood in the doorway.He’d moved with the silence of his father. One of them, anyway. When Jacob Deanhad been in the Green Berets his call sign had been Ghost because he’d movedlike one. Though Tristan Dean-Miles looked like Adam, there was a lot of Jakein him, too. “Hey, man. You missed all the fun.”
Lou turned her gaze Tristan’s way. “Yes, you did. I supposeyou can’t tell us where you’ve been.”
Cooper frowned. “How many teams are you working for, man? Weneeded you here.”
“Yeah, Lou hasn’t been able to figure out who The Jester isyet,” Kala said.
“I think I know,” Lou said quietly. “But I haven’t put allthe pieces together.”
Tristan walked into the conference room, closing the doorbehind him. “Don’t worry about The Jester. I’ve got it handled. And yes, I’mworking with another team on some highly classified ops, but I think it’s timeto come clean. I’m sorry I wasn’t here. My handler kept me out of the loop, andI’m starting to wonder if he’s not keeping me in the dark about a lot ofthings. I’m afraid I might have fucked up my whole life for nothing. TJ, Dare’sright. You can try to clean up the mess Chet made, but not everyone out therewill believe it. They’ll still think you have a connection to The Jester.”
Kenzie sat up, focusing in. “So, the Agency is aware of theproblem, and you’re working with the team that’s trying to find The Jester?”
Lou shook her head, and TJ knew what she was going to saytwo seconds before she said it. After all, it only made sense. Something aboutThe Jester had changed two years before. The same time Tristan starteddisappearing for long periods of time.
“He is The Jester,” Lou said quietly.
Tristan sank down in his seat. “I am, and now I need yourhelp because we’re all in trouble.”
Lou’s hand found his as Tristan started talking.
The future was suddenly dangerous, but it would be okaybecause she would be at his side.
Epilogue
Some time later
Erin Taggart looked out over the dance floor where her sonwas smiling down at his new bride. Louisa Ward Taggart looked beautiful in herwedding dress, her hair in soft curls.
