Page 111 of Sweet Little Spies

“She’s not fucking dead,” Cooper barked.

“Hey.” TJ stepped in front of Lou like he needed to protecther.

“Everyone calm the fuck down.” Big Tag’s voice rang outthrough the chaos.

Chaos. They were caught in a chaotic situation. The kit wassitting on the table in the dining room, but Aidan stopped. This was chaos.Disruption. According to Ben Parker, it was what Dr. Huisman believed in.

Does chaos ever make sense?

Carys had asked the question.

Maybe it didn’t to an outsider, but perhaps they were usinga logic that didn’t apply. They needed to stop thinking like Agency operativesand start thinking like a narcissistic sociopath who’d watched his father dieat a young age.

Sometimes our brains make odd connections. Trauma can dofunny things to a person. Especially a child. Sometimes revenge doesn’t makesense.Carys had said.The brain can make connections that wouldn’tlook rational to the outside person.

Carys’s words were playing around in Aidan’s head. “Unlessthis is all about Ian, and then he would want Kala. He would want to hurt herto get back at her father.”

“We don’t know Huisman even knows who Kala is,” TJ argued.

“He does.” Big Tag seemed stuck in place. “He knows exactlywho she is. He’s been watching me and my family since long before there was anAgency team. Damn it. I’ve been avoiding the truth because it didn’t make senseto me. I didn’t fucking kill his father. Neither did anyone on my team.”

Carys had been on to something. She’d looked at thesituation from the outside and slid pieces into place none of them realizedformed a different picture. “But you were the starting point. If you look at itfrom a distorted position, none of it happens if Big Tag isn’t there. LeviGreen got involved with Huisman’s father because he was looking for men underBig Tag’s protection. Without Ian they wouldn’t have had the money or theresources to run. They certainly wouldn’t have been investigating Dr. RebeccaWalsh.”

“So he could want revenge on you, and that would meanhurting Kala.” Cooper sounded more hopeful. “She can handle pain. She canhandle torture. She can stay alive until we find her.”

There was a knock on the door, and Charlotte took herdaughter’s hand.

Kenzie stood there, her eyes narrowed. “No. I’m going totalk to Ben.”

Her father got into her space, taking her shoulders in hisbig hands. “You chose this. You and your sister chose this fucking life. Youcould be home right this second getting ready to go to whatever job you chose,but you’re here because you decided to be a damn spy. So you will walk up thosestairs and keep the illusion because you don’t get to fucking burn it all downwhen the inevitable happens. This is where it was always going, little girl. Soyou will walk upstairs and keep your shit together while I find your sister.”

Tears shone in Kenzie’s eyes, but she took a deep breath andnodded. “She would kill me if I blew this for her. But you can’t leave me here.You have to let me come.”

“If I can manage it safely.” Big Tag backed down. “Now go.”

Kenzie allowed her mother to lead her upstairs two secondsbefore Ben Parker walked in with Tara. She looked rumpled and anxious.

Parker looked…ready. Hungry. Like he’d been waiting for thisfor a very long time.

“I think I’ve brought Mr. Parker up to speed.” Tara leftParker standing at the edge of the room, walking right up to Big Tag. “Youshould also know I called in and they told me I should do whatever you tell meto do. They’ll send whatever support you need. My, Tris, and Zach’s bosses aregoing to be working with Langley to get us whatever we need.”

“CSIS is ready to help as well,” Parker offered.

“They believe us when we say it’s Huisman?” Cooper asked.

Parker looked him over, his face a polite blank. “Of coursenot. They want proof, but they also don’t like the idea of US operatives beingtaken on Canadian soil. Which is why we should get going before they send ateam. They’ll want to play this as cautiously as possible. If you want Ms.Magenta back, you’ll listen to me. Do you believe me now?”

The last question was pointed directly at Ian, who noddedshortly. “I do.”

“This is about me and it’s about the bombmaker,” Parkeraffirmed. “He wants both of us, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get us. He’staken Ms. Magenta because I’m sure he’s aware I have…feelings about her.”

“We talked about this on our way from the hotel.” Tarawasn’t staying at the safe house due to sleeping arrangements. She was in ahotel a few miles away. When the shit had hit the fan, Big Tag had woken herand asked her to bring Parker in. “We believe Huisman has found out Tristan hassomething to do with The Jester and possibly the same connection with Zach,since they work closely together. I’m not sure about that part. Zach has alwaysbeen behind the scenes.”

“What do you mean?” TJ asked. “I would think if they weregoing to take someone, it would be me. They can’t possibly mistake me for Zach.He’s bigger than me, and we don’t have the same coloring. If what you’re sayingis true, we have a leak.”

“Or he’s been watching you far more carefully than you everimagined,” Parker argued. “If there was a leak, he would know Tristan has noidea who the bombmaker is. Then there would be zero reason to start this warright now. He’s certain someone knows. If he didn’t come after TJ, then he’seliminated TJ as a possible source of information and decided Tristan knowssomething.”

“He doesn’t,” Aidan insisted. “He would have told me.”

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