Page 54 of The Story of Danny Rose

“Are you sure?” Reese replied just as quietly.

River nodded once. “I’ve done the math. It won’t work.”

What was going on?

Reese nodded too. “All right.” He shifted his stare to me and cleared his throat. “Do you have time? We need to discuss somethin’.”

I furrowed my brow and pushed away from the doorframe. “Shoot.” Danny was still in the shower—and even if he weren’t, I could sense this was important.

As always, Reese handled the talking. “We’re not gonna be able to graduate in November.”

I lifted my brows and folded my arms over my chest. “Did something happen?”

They looked at each other again, and River rubbed the back of his neck. “There aren’t enough hours in a day. With the extra fields Mr. Daniels wants me to study, I can’t make time for physical trainin’.”

What the fuck? What extra…

I drew a breath as everything snapped into place, every puzzle piece, every time Terrance asked for an update about the twins. He was inserting himself for a reason. He had plans for them that went beyond including them as next-generation operators.

“Let me guess, he wants you working full time in intelligence,” I stated.

River nodded minutely. “But honestly, I’m really into it.”

Yeah, that wasn’t a surprise.

“And I assume you won’t go to Ecuador without your brother,” I said to Reese.

He shook his head. “No, sir.”

Fair enough. I knew that was their one stipulation, and I respected that.

“The question is, what I can do in the meantime,” Reese said. “The way TJ, Mr. Daniels, and River have discussed his schedule, he’ll be busy with studies for at least a year—maybe more. They wanna send him to London for a bit too.”

“We already asked to make sure Reese can come with me,” River clarified.

I’ll be damned.

I took another breath and nodded slowly, realizing that Terrance was going all in. He wasn’t merely recruiting next-gen operators; he was recruiting the next management. He wanted River in charge in one way or another. Possibly Reese too. I didn’t know. What I did know… River was likely to get sent to every friend Terrance had in other agencies and sectors. Contacts at MI6, the CIA, presumably Mossad at some point. Just to learn, observe, and exchange knowledge.

First things first. “Have you boys made it crystal clear to the higher-ups that you wanna be field operators?” I asked. “Because if not, chances are they’ll wanna mold you into management suits.”

“Oh, we’ve beenveryclear,” Reese stated. “It’s the whole reason we’re here—and I told Mr. Daniels that bluntly.”

“A little too bluntly,” River replied wryly.

“The man needed to hear it,” Reese said with a shrug.

I believed him.

But good for them. “In that case, there’s room to shake ’em down a bit,” I said. “If they’re investing in either of you—or both—to this degree, it means they want you long-term.” I looked to Reese. “You’re, of course, welcome to stay with me for as long as you want, but this is the perfect moment for you to request your own condo in this building. Terrance will give it to you.” I paused. “You’ve also advanced far enough to be given a side gig. You could get practical experience by working security or be an intel courier locally. There’s decent money in that.”

He seemed to perk up at that, and he glanced over at River. “That doesn’t sound bad. I can continue my physical trainin’ and work part time while you get lost in more books than can fit in a library.”

I snorted softly. “Reese, you also need to study a lot.”

He scowled. “I know.”

I lifted a brow at River. “You okay with this?”

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