Page 4 of Sweet Little Spies

“I’m talking about how you did this.” Aidan sat back,staring at him, gesturing around at the luxurious surroundings they were in.“This conspicuous show of wealth doesn’t help you.”

“I wanted a special night.” It was true and also a lie. He’dwanted…he wanted to go back and not open that file, not get curious, not end upin a corner.

Aidan wasn’t having it. “You wanted to show her what shecould have if she waits a bit longer. You know damn well I can’t give herthis.”

“No, you give her everything else.” It was an old woundbetween them.

Aidan shared her interests. They could talk medicine forhours and hours. Neither of them understood his need to unlock mysteries viahis keyboard. They certainly wouldn’t understand the forces behind the missionhe was on now. Not even his uncle knew.

His parents didn’t know, but then Adam Miles would havealready figured the problem out and Jacob Dean would have handled the wholephysical mission without batting an eye. He was the child of giants, and hefelt so small.

But if he could follow through, he might prove himselfwrong, might be worthy of being their kid.

Aidan sat there for a moment. “Is she right?”

Tristan didn’t have to answer. His silence was enough.

“Fuck.” Aidan’s expression fell. “This is honestly what youwant? Because I don’t know how we get through this. We’ve put off the weddingonce.”

Aidan was the easy one. Tristan had known the minute he’drealized he was going to join the twins’ CIA team he would need to work onAidan because Carys wouldn’t want to listen. “I need more time. That’s all.Look, what Kala and Kenz are doing is something totally new. It’s anexperiment, and it’s exciting. I know you don’t understand.”

Aidan held up a hand. “But I do. Man, do you think I don’tget excited about getting invited to watch a craniectomy? I dropped everythingincluding a date with Carys. She understood. But we’re not talking about afive-hour surgery. If you do this, your life is classified.”

“It already is. Do you think my Army intelligence jobconsists of me giving soldiers tests or something? I’ve been seekinginformation for the US Army while you’ve been in med school. The onlydifference is I’ll be doing it for another agency.”

“FortheAgency.”

Tristan glanced over to make sure the other tables couldn’thear them. There were only three on this balcony. It was as private as theycould get. “Look, I know I said I would come home, but there’s something I haveto follow through on.” He leaned in. “It’s a project I started a while ago, andif my instincts are right, it’s big.”

“So is our wedding,” Aidan countered.

“Our wedding means nothing if the world burns. And don’tlook at me like that. Like I’m talking in hyperboles. I’ve been tracking agroup, one I think is behind several terrorist events across the globe.” Hecouldn’t tell Aidan too much, but he had to make him understand.

Aidan was…more than a friend. More than a brother. Sometimeshe thought Aidan was half of his whole. Like they were one soul born in twobodies, and they’d managed to find the one woman who could handle them. Hisparents always talked about how they’d been inseparable, even as babies.Aidan’s mother was his mom’s best friend/personal assistant, and they’d beenthrough everything together—even their pregnancies. It was as natural asbreathing to share Carys with Aidan.

He couldn’t lose them, but he also couldn’t walk away. Evenif he wanted to.

“There’s a job, and I’m the only one who can do it,” Tristansaid quietly. “It’s important.”

“It sounds like the twins can do it. Or Cooper. You shouldknow he’s a good spy. He’s been home a couple of times, and not once did hemention ‘hey, I’ve joined a CIA team and your partner is coming with me.’”There was a bitterness to Aidan’s words.

Tristan couldn’t blame him. They’d been in their house for acouple of years now, and in the beginning it had been the three of them. He andAidan and Cooper McKay had moved in together after college. Then he and Coophad gone into the military, and now they treated the house like a way stationwhile to Aidan it was home. For now. “He’ll be here in Dallas more, you know.For Coop, this is a way to come home more often.”

“It’s a way for him to try to keep Kala from killingherself,” Aidan shot back. “Coop never intended to go into the Agency. But Ihave to wonder now if this wasn’t your end game.”

“My end game is and always has been marrying our sub andliving a happy life.” Frustration started to well. Somehow he’d thought thiswould go better. “But we can’t get there if this…” He took a long breath. “Theman I’m tracking is an arms dealer, but the important part is he can lead me tosomeone much more dangerous. Aidan, you know how there are breakthroughs inmedicine the public doesn’t know about yet?”

“Of course,” Aidan replied. “There are any number of studiesand new tech coming through. They’re in testing before they’re released to thepublic.”

“Weapons are the same way.” A pit opened in Tris’s gut. Thesame one he got every time he thought about this mission of his. “What if Itold you there’s a man out there in the world who is working on a deliverysystem for a bomb you can hold in the palm of your hand. A weapon capable ofdecimating all living things within a city the size of London and yet leave thebuildings standing.”

Aidan went still. “Is that what you’re telling me, Tris?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

He’d thought about telling her for months and come to oneconclusion. “Because it won’t matter to her. I’m not saying the world won’tmatter. I’m saying she’ll be more worried about me. Does she need more to worryabout while she’s in the middle of her last year in medical school? Which willmake her more stressed? The idea of me being a selfish ass who wants to playsoldier or me being in real danger?”

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