Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
I couldn’t describe how frustrated I was, both with myself and with Kayden.
One part of me grew angrier and angrier, because how had I not seen this?
Someone who lacked passions could still be a passionate person, and that was how I’d describe him. He may have lacked direction in life, but he was still a young man who went all in, whether it was a new hobby or, as evidence showed, hiding his vulnerability.
His façade of indifference had just never made sense to me.
Why hadn’t I pushed for answers? For the truth.
“There’s more,” I admitted. “Chris is currently on an assignment in South America to take care of a problem.”
Kayden’s head snapped up, phone forgotten.
“He’s fine,” I stressed. “I’m in constant contact with Quinlan. Chris is safe. But whoever came for him knows about you too. We think you were spotted together over the holidays.”
I was an asshole for dumping all this in one big pile of shit in Kayden’s lap, but the levees had clearly broken. I was over it. I had too many impressions, too much to process, and… From the kink—God, so much kink—to his confessed desire to work in logistics.
We had logistics officers at Hillcroft. Kayden could thrive there. He’d be away from danger, and he’d love his job.
I’d never heard him say he was good at something before.
And now that I had… All bets were off. I didn’t know they would be, but here I was, ready to include him in everything. Anything to make him happy.
Kayden just stared at me, shell-shocked, and I couldn’t blame him.
“I’m sorry for springing this on you,” I said. “It’s incredibly selfish of me—not to mention tactless. But I’m tired of the secrecy in our family. It’s just now dawning on me how it’s been keeping us apart.”
He swallowed and wet his bottom lip nervously. “How can you be sure he’s safe? Why am I a target? Did I do something wrong? If Chris hurts himself because of me, I’ll—”
“This has nothing to do with you, blue,” I was quick to say. “Our operators spend their careers in unsafe environments, and Chris specializes in organized crime. It goes without saying that he’s pissed off some people over the years, and this time, the trouble came home with him. They managed to find out who he is, and you happened to be with him when they did. Chris would’ve flown down there with or without you involved.”
My God, I should’ve told him all this once Chris was on his way home.
I was a fucking moron.
Kayden couldn’t hide his anxiety. “You can’t know for sure he’s safe,” he said shakily. “You said you were gonna be safe too, and then you almost got blown to pieces.”
When we returned to DC, I was going to let Quin and Chris take a swing at me.
I didn’t lose my goddamn composure like this. Could I blame Kayden? It’d been an utter mindfuck of a day so far.
“This isn’t close combat,” I explained patiently. “Chris and his backup are taking every precaution available, and they will handle the problem from a safe distance.” Or thereabouts. I’d spilled enough. I wasn’t going to go into detail about our drone defense. “My guess is that we’ll hear from Quin tomorrow about the whole thing being over.”
Kayden swallowed again, and he dropped his gaze to the phone on the table.
“Did you bring me here to keep me safe?” he asked quietly.
“Partly.” I nodded. “The other reason is still very much legitimate. Chris and I have been planning an intervention since you were incarcerated.”
He looked over at me. “What about Yaya? Is she safe?”
I inclined my head. “We asked her to visit friends in Boston just in case.”
He nodded in acknowledgment and pulled up his leg, then wrapped his arms around it. “So all these years, Chris has been risking his life…”
I hated watching him try to make himself as small as possible, and I could no longer stay on my section of the couch. I got up and went over to sit next to him instead.
“He’s supposed to be a mall cop, Wade.”
I smiled sympathetically and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
I remembered the day Chris had shared that first lie with Kayden. He’d literally called himself a glorified mall cop.
“That wouldn’t have made him very happy,” I murmured. “When we get home, I’ll show you around the agency. We have trainee programs for logistics officers and coordinators, you know.”
He looked up at me, surprised. “You do? What do they do?”
I smiled at the curiosity and enthusiasm in his eyes.
As inappropriate as it was for me to think so, he was so goddamn beautiful. And adorable and—
Get a grip.
I suppressed a sigh and scratched my forehead. “It depends on the level. We have senior officers who deploy with our operators, but you need military experience for that, not to mention a supportive family willing to let you take on higher risks, which you don’t have.” I took a great deal of pleasure in that cute grin of his. “Then there are our junior officers,” I went on. “They work domestically for the most part. They put together itineraries, routes, and schedules. Depending on the assignment, they also transport equipment or operators to various destinations.”