Chapter Seven
Devi stared at the screen on the laptop.
“This is safe?”
Her mother sat in front of her own screen. She looked tired but then she probably hadn’t gotten a ton of sleep.
“Zach assures me he’s pinged it across the globe and no one can find it. Do you want me to call in Adam? I would call Lou to check but she’s asleep and your brother is…also asleep.”
So they were doing it somewhere. Good for TJ.
“No, I think it’s safe to say that when it comes to evading the cops, Zach knows what he’s doing.”
It was two hours since she cried on his shoulder and held him and then forced him to let her fix his bandages and nag him about not picking up stuff when he was healing a freaking knife wound. How was this her life?
Then she’d worked with Lacey to fix up the cat palace, and now she was talking to her parents.
It was all so unreal.
“I think Zachary has skills none of us imagined.”
Her father was there, too. He leaned in.
“How are you, sweetie? Has someone looked you over? Kala told us you took a pretty hard hit from that Lena person. Who should be glad she’s dead now. I wish I could say the same of Huisman.”
“I’m fine, and the woman Zach is working with is pretty good with herbs, so I didn’t even need an aspirin.”
The tea had worked wonders, though she still got the feeling Lacey didn’t want her here. She could understand that. Lacey Rook had a mission, and apparently Devi was cursed to be kidnapped every couple of days. It was Groundhog Day except with torture and regret.
“How is Kala?”
Lacey had returned with clothes and food and a couple of bottles of what she called responsibly sourced wine and a six-pack of beer. Devi had taken a shower and changed into comfy clothes, sat with the cat for a while before trying to introduce some warm blankets and nearly getting her fingers taken off. But the cat had eaten the treats she left, and they were in a holding pattern.
Like she and Zach were.
He cried. The sight of his gorgeous face with tears streaking down his cheeks as he tried to hide them from her… She wasn’t sure he could have done anything that would have gutted her more.
Were those the tears of an excellent actor?
“She’s got an appointment with a cardiologist. Whatever that fucker did to her might have damaged her heart,”
her father explained.
Her mom sent her dad .
“we talked about this”
look before turning back to the camera.
“Kala is fine and very feisty, and you need to tell Zach to fix this shit because Cooper and Kala are getting married in three weeks, and you know there’s going to be some drama.”
She heard a gasping sound and frowned toward the door.
“You might as well come in, Zach. It must be hard for you to spy out in the hallway.”
He eased in the bedroom, an apologetic look on his face.
“Sorry. There’s only one bathroom, and I heard that news. I’m surprised. Well, I’m not surprised they’re getting married. I’m surprised Charlotte is letting it happen in a couple of weeks. She’s been working on Tasha and Dare’s wedding for months and we still have months to go.”
“Hey, Zach,”
her mom said with a bright smile.
“Zach,”
her father growled.
He knelt down beside her. “Hi.”
If looks could kill, her father would be doing murder right now. Her mom seemed…okay with it.
“Want to tell me where you are, Zach?”
her father asked.
He looked to her.
“What’s the call, swee…Devi? It’s up to you. If you want to leave, I’ll give them coordinates on where to pick you up.”
The Garden. While she’d replaced his bandages they had also talked about the possibility of her going home. The only place he was willing to take her was to McKay-Taggart and Knight in London. She couldn’t go, and for more reasons than she was willing to admit.
“I think I should stay where I am for now.”
“I can protect you,”
her father insisted.
“Devi, your uncle has promised bodyguards and a safe house for all of us until this thing is over. We could use a vacation, your mother and I.”
“Speak for yourself,”
her mom said with a huff.
“She didn’t like the bodyguards. They didn’t work for her.”
She couldn’t let this get too heated.
“Mom, I was awful to Landon. Please don’t let Uncle Ian fire him. I purposefully tricked him so I could prove a point, and it got a lot of people hurt. It’s why I think I should stay here for a while.”
“I’m not worried about myself,”
her father insisted.
“Your mother and I can handle whatever comes our way.”
Her parents were badasses. Her dad was a former Navy SEAL and her mom had once been Army intelligence. They could still handle themselves, but they shouldn’t have to.
“Dad, I think it’s for the best.”
“I will protect her,”
Zach said gravely.
“Well, you’re the reason she’s being hunted by a fucking megalomaniac determined to bring the world down.”
Her father had clearly had a lot of stimulation the last couple of days.
“Theo,”
her mom said.
“We talked about this. Why don’t both of the guys go and find something to do? I’d like to talk to Devi alone. Please, Theo. I know how you feel, but you need to remember what your brother said.”
Her dad took a long breath and then nodded.
“All right. Devi, I love you. I want you to come home but… Well, I want you home and safe. I’ll talk to you the next time Zach allows it.”
“Not allowing anything. She’s not a prisoner.”
Zach was shaking his head.
“I will set this up whenever she needs to talk.”
She needed to channel her mom. She looked his way.
“You should go check on dinner.”
He stood.
“Okay, but I want to know about Kala and Coop. And honestly, all of them.”
He strode away and her dad was suddenly absent, though she was sure he would be somewhere listening in. Or not. Her dad was the best guy she knew, and he would honor her wishes and definitely her mom’s.
“How are you really, baby girl?”
She needed to get past all these tears.
“I’m physically okay. The place Zach took me to is actually pretty cool. I have a pregnant cat neighbor, so I’ll have kittens soon.”
Her mom got that mom smile on her face, the one she had for the soft and young and weak of the world.
“Aww, that’s sweet. Are you and Zach getting along?”
“I’m mad at him.”
“Of course you are, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a complex situation with complicated feelings. Anger can cloud things, but I know it’s there. I’m hoping you can take a deep breath and use this time to figure things out. Not only with Zach, but with your life.”
“I thought that’s what I was doing at home.”
But even as she said the words she knew her mom was right.
“You’re drifting. You came home from college and wanted some time off and I was happy to give that to you, but it’s been a couple of years and I know you’re working on commissions and trying to find internships but…”
She knew where her mom was going.
“It’s not what I wanted. I wanted my own line, but it’s hard. I guess I got caught up in life.”
“Working part time at McKay-Taggart or Top is not what you’re meant to do, baby.”
Her mom sighed and put her elbows on the table where they’d eaten meals growing up. Her and Mom and Dad and TJ. Sometimes Bri or Daisy would join them.
Precious, precious time. She hadn’t realized it then, but every moment had been precious.
Her friends were moving on with their lives and she was stuck. Sometimes the best way to get unstuck was to completely change the circumstances. For a little while at least.
“I know and that’s one of the reasons I want to stay here, but there are others.”
“Zach?”
She nodded, not able to actually say the words.
“And other reasons. Mom, I did ditch Landon, and I knew it would get him in trouble. I didn’t realize how much it would cost Aunt Eve.”
“She’s doing well.”
Her mom got a bit teary.
“Your Aunt Eve is tough, and you have to know that she would do it all again to save you. The first words out of her mouth when she woke up was to ask about you and Kala.”
Not a surprise.
“Please tell her how sorry I am.”
“She doesn’t need an apology, baby girl. She needs to know that you are okay, too.”
Devi nodded.
“I’m as okay as I can be right now.”
“That’s all we can ask for. How is Zach?”
Devi wiped away her tears and felt herself go mulish.
“I’m mad at him.”
“You did mention that and rightfully so, but how is he?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”
She’d expected her mom to be a Valkyrie warrior, bringing death and destruction on all who thought to harm her.
She hadn’t thought that maybe her mom didn’t think Zach wanted to harm her at all.
“Always. I can be on your side and still care about how Zach is,”
her mom said in an altogether too reasonable voice.
“Do you want me to turn this over to your dad? I assure you he’ll let you talk shit on Zach for hours. He’s been planning where to hide his body.”
Did she want that? Maybe if it was Bri and Daisy and they had margaritas. They would let her trash Zach, and still at some point Bri would push her to be honest about how she felt.
Angry. Angry. Enraged. Sad.
Longing. She felt longing when she looked at him. Ached when he cried because she’d been brutal with him and he couldn’t take it. Not from her.
Why? He’d told her some of his past, a sanitized version constructed to get him where he wanted to be. There were likely some truths mixed in, but a lot would have been hidden. What happened to him that he couldn’t be the hardened operative around her?
Or was it all one more act?
When she thought about it, she knew little that was real about him.
“What do you know about Zach?”
There was zero way her mom didn’t know everything her uncle did at this point. Classified intel be damned, Ian Taggart wouldn’t leave her parents in the dark. Not about the basics.
“I know you should talk to him. I know some of his past, and it’s painful and cruel and he didn’t deserve it. I can tell you, but it might be better if you ask him.”
Because if he told her, he would be opening up to her.
“What does Uncle Ian think?”
There had to be a reason her family wasn’t banging on doors and threatening the world. Her parents had gone to Germany with the team when her brother had been taken. They’d made sure he got home.
So there had to be a reason her mother was calmly sitting there while she was in… Everyone told her it was Wales. They could be lying.
“I’m pretty sure your uncle knows more than he’s saying, and I know he did not arrest Zach when his dumb ass walked right up to the team in Virginia. I need you to think about that. He didn’t hide. He didn’t run. He walked up to them knowing they have orders to bring him in. I believe he did that for you. Now you’re probably sitting there thinking it was all about Cooper, but I don’t, and I have several reasons why,”
her mother began.
She was confused.
“Why would it be about Cooper? Because of how close they are and he didn’t want him to have to save Kala alone? I don’t understand. Uncle Ian could have gone in with him.”
Her mother went still, like she hadn’t anticipated the question.
“He didn’t tell you. Damn it. I thought for sure he would have told you that.”
Really confused. How much worse was this going to get? Or did her mom not understand.
“He and Cooper are friends. At least they seem to be. When we were together we spent a lot of time with Cooper and Kala.”
Who were getting married. She always dreamed of designing dresses for her cousins’ weddings. She’d made all the dresses for Carys’s wedding. Well, for the one that got busted up with gunfire. She was supposed to start Tasha’s wedding dress soon. Well, after her cousin figured out to the very last detail exactly what she wanted. But that was probably done now that she was stuck on a Welsh farm. Someone else would get to lovingly sew the dress. Not her.
Was she going to end up being the cursed wedding dress designer? Not lik.
“hey, you’ll probably get divorced if you wear that Taggart original.”
Nope. More lik.
“your wedding will get raided and there will be bombs.”
“Sweetie, Zach and Cooper are biological brothers.”
She’d had such plans for Tasha’s wedding and the bridesmaids’ dresses. Wait. What.
“Brothers?”
“Yes. It’s one of the things he told Cooper and Kala while they were in the woods.”
“Why were they in the woods?”
She had been left out of so damn much.
Now that she thought about it, they did resemble each other. Same coloring. Same nose. Same build.
Brothers.
“They were tracking down Zach’s aunt. The one who raised him after his mom went to prison.”
Her mother seemed to be carefully measuring her words. A thing she almost never did.
“Zach was there, and they all had a showdown. You’ll notice that Kala didn’t bring him in either. As a matter of fact, I believe Kala is still feeding him information.”
“How?”
“Well, there’s this thing called the Dark Web and…”
Her mother was starting to irritate her.
“How are they brothers? I swear I will hang up if you start explaining sex to me.”
Her mother sometimes spoke only sarcasm.
“I wouldn’t do that. Not now. Baby, I know you are hurting. I know it feels like you’re on the outside looking in, but that’s what happens when you’re involved with a person who works intelligence. I should know. I’ve been on both sides.”
Her mom’s words kind of flowed over her because her brain was moving in quick speed.
“Cooper was adopted. Zach’s older. His mom kept him but not Cooper? Or were they both adopted out?”
“You were right the first time. Our mom wanted to hide Cooper from our father,”
a deep voice said. Zach was back in the doorway.
“Sorry. It’s not a big cabin and you kind of screeched. I’ll tell you everything if you give me the chance. Or I can give you the reports I sent to your uncle. Either way, I’ll be in the kitchen. Dinner’s ready. I’ll warn you. It’s beets. Do you want me to make a plate and send it to your room?”
Where she would get no information?
She felt her mom watching her. Waiting for what she would do. She loved her mom, but she could be judgey when she thought her kids were doing something dumb. Devi wasn’t sure which would be the dumber path, but she knew which one she was taking.
“I want a debrief. That’s what you call it, right? Look, Zach, if I’m staying here for safety, I want to know what I need safety from. I will not be kept in the dark. If you think I’ll sit in my room and be a good girl, then you don’t know me. I’m smart and I’m strong and I can make decisions myself. So set the truth out in front of me and I’ll decide if I’m part of this team or if I’m going to hide somewhere on my own.”
“Nicely done, sweetie,”
her dad yelled from the kitchen.
Good to know his hearing was still excellent.
“Can you handle that, Zach?”
her mom asked, clear challenge in her tone.
Zach nodded.
“Yeah, I can handle it. I’ve been telling this story a lot lately. But I’m going to pop open some beers if we’re doing this.”
He walked back out into the hallway.
“Listen to him, baby girl,”
her mom said.
“I think he cares about you, and he’s definitely in trouble. Your uncle is in the background trying to help him, but a lot of this work is going to be done on the ground.”
Meaning Zach had to handle it with his “team.”
And she’d opened the door to becoming a part of it. The good news was she liked beets. Aunt Charlotte made an excellent borscht. Hopefully Lacey knew how to cook. If she didn’t, then that would be something Devi could take over. Like she’d never cooked for vegan models. But there were still problems.
“How can I trust him?”
Her mom seemed to think about it for a moment.
“I’ve looked at his actions, and I would trust him. I think he’s a young man in a bad situation for the right reasons.”
Her mom wasn’t considering all the scenarios.
“I think he likes me because I’m a Taggart.”
“So you heard the rumors about Tasha.”
She couldn’t seem to get away from them. She nodded.
“Consider the fact that from what I’ve heard he never once made a move on her. He made several moves on you.”
Oh, like she hadn’t thought this problem through.
“I was convenient. He didn’t have a play partner and he was bored.”
Her mother sighed.
“You don’t know that. Don’t let your insecurities overwhelm you. It’s time to ask some questions and to take a real measure of the man. He called me from the car that night. Before he even had you on a plane. He called your parents because he couldn’t stand the thought that we would worry. He’s taking the risk of getting caught by letting you talk to me now.”
All of which could mean that becoming a Taggart was worth the risk of jail time.
How would she know until she truly understood Zach Reed’s story? Until she pulled the veil back, it was all supposition and gossip.
He was Cooper’s brother? She was still floored by the revelation. Brothers. And Cooper knew. And Kala knew.
Did she trust them.
“I wish they would have told me. Kala and Coop, that is.”
“That’s part of it, and you need to decide if it’s worth it to stay close to the people in your life who owe their secrets to the Agency. You know a lot of the time I thought your father was dead, your uncle had some inkling that he wasn’t.”
“And he didn’t tell you?”
Her mom’s head shook.
“Nope, and I thank the universe for that. Uncle Ian sent Uncle Liam out on several ops to figure out where your dad was being held, and neither mentioned it to me. Not because they didn’t care about me or want me to know, but because they weren’t sure. I was pregnant with your brother and starting to figure out I could live a life.”
Devi didn’t see how her mom’s past related to her own.
“That’s not the situation here.”
“No, but it is a situation where they have to decide what you need to know versus the risk of you knowing. Also, a lot of this happened recently. Kala’s only known since Colorado. She just got back and oops, kidnapped. Would you like me to play the part and explain why she hasn’t taken the time to tell you?”
Oh, she could hear her cousin in her head right now. Sorry, cos. Was way too busy getting my ass kicked and then valiantly trying to save us both to give you a debrief on what happened with your ex-honey in Colorado.
“Okay, I’ll give you that, but obviously Zach knew.”
And she wouldn’t understand why he didn’t tell her until she talked to him.
“Sorry. I’m mad, but I get it. I don’t know the whole story. Even when I do, I don’t know that I can trust him.”
“All you can do is try and listen and trust your instincts. Look, there’s a big part of me that wants to tell you to come home. We can hide out somewhere until the heat is off, and you don’t have to risk having your heart broken. Because there’s still a big risk of that. He’s in serious trouble.”
Trouble she didn’t understand.
“Mom, I love you. I’m going to go talk to Zach.”
Her mom nodded.
“Good. I think you should do that, and tell him you’re going to need a tablet or something you can work on because I’ve already got a text from Tasha. She wants you to send her some more design ideas for her dress.”
“More? I’ve sent her five already.”
Her cousin was turning into a bit of a bridezilla.
Her mom shrugged.
“She might have mentioned that it’s not like you have a lot else to do. Unless you’re coming home.”
That didn’t seem like a great idea. On a lot of fronts. Including the one where she hated Zach and still couldn’t stand the thought of not being around him. To torture him and get revenge.
Yeah, sure. That’s what she was doing.
“I’m staying. It’s safer for everyone.”
Still a lie, but closer to the truth. She couldn’t leave until she had some closure.
“I love you,”
her mom said and cut the connection.
And Devi stood ready to figure out what the hell was happening with the man she definitely shouldn’t love.