Page 17 of The Spy Ring

“Yeah. I’ve met David a few times, and he was so happy for Henrik when he found out we were getting married. He loves Henrik so much and Henrik loves him. We thought it would be a great way to include him. He’s family to Henrik.”

My jaw tightened and I tried to keep my features calm, but it was hard. Tiffany seemed like a good mother, but now I wasn’t so sure as she sheltered her son like that. Sometimes too much of a good thing can turn horribly bad.

“I know he has the strength. I may have only had one session with him, but that boy is stronger than she realizes.” I blinked and wondered for that brief moment if David and my cousin would have been friends.

Ben was David’s age when he died.

“That’s what Henrik thought too. Maybe since you’re his therapist, you can talk to Tiffany. We don’t want to ask David until we have Tiffany’s blessing.” Morgana reached her hand out, laying it on my arm.

It was funny, when Morgana touched me there was no spark. Morgana was beautiful, but Tiffany was the one that dazzled.

I nodded. “Yes, I’ll talk to her.”

“She’s a great mom. Tiffany loves that boy. I’m sure if she knew your opinion, she would see how far he’s come in the last six months.”

Why didn’t her friends see that Tiffany was holding David back? Maybe they didn’t want to see. As much as I had to get this divorce and rectify the PT situation, maybe one more session with David was necessary to convince Tiffany that her son had more strength than she realized.

“I’m heading back to the table. It was nice to meet you, Jagger.” Morgana patted me on the shoulder and walked out of the hallway.

I nodded and waved, lost in thought of how I was going to fix everything with Tiffany. Based on Tiffany’s reaction at the booth, she realized I was the man she married. Would she even let me into her home again?

At least now that she knew, I could easily get her to sign the divorce papers. But how do I convince her that her son had enough strength to stand in a wedding ceremony?

I may not be a family type of man but I liked David. He reminded me how I felt at his age. All I wanted to do when I was young was be a spy. I watched every spy movie ever made, no matter how unrealistic they were.

Scenes of agents sitting at desks filling out endless paperwork don’t make for intriguing storylines.

David appeared to be obsessed in the same way I was, but with ninjas. He needed extra help from me to do the moves that required a lot of strength, but I knew with time and training, he could do them on his own.

If just last year he wasn’t even able to walk and now he can get up and down from crouching positions with some effort, then I am positive that boy could one day do ninja moves. And he would definitely be able to stand in a wedding ceremony.

Just as I was about to move closer to the bar to see if Tiffany had left I ran into a woman, close to my height, with blond hair.

“Excuse me,” I said and was about to move around her when I realized who she was.

“Agent Jagger. When Edgar told me he ran into you a few days ago, I almost didn’t believe him. Considering all you have done for us, I wonder why he hates you so much?” Evaleen Bechmann said as her bright blue eyes flickered between me and the hallway.

She had the sense of an agent. I tried to convince her over a month ago to consider joining the government, but she gave me a knowing smile before telling me no. I was disappointed but understood.

“Edgar and I have a misunderstanding. I’m sure he’ll get over it in time, I know I have.”

She nodded, and I knew only the most trained psychologist would be able to decipher what she was thinking. “Why are you here?”

“It’s government business,” I said.

Her lips thinned as she shook her head. “You’ve upset Tiffany, haven’t you?”

My eyes widened. Dammit, she was good.

“Did Tiffany tell you?”

She smirked. “No, but you just did.”

I couldn’t believe I fell for that. These past few weeks I’ve been struggling to avoid mishaps and focus on work. Making careless mistakes like drinking and getting a quickie wedding, then avoiding seeking the divorce, and now easily giving in to a pedestrian question was now becoming the norm.

Something like that would never have happened to me a few months ago.

“Did she leave?”

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