Page 1 of No More Spies

Part One

That Night

Chapter One

Kala Taggart forced air into her lungs and tried to relax.Like this was a normal, everyday Saturday night. It was in some ways. Sheusually did sneak out of the house to spend time with Cooper, but tonight shewas doing something different.

Tonight, she was going to make Cooper McKay hers. Her first.Her only because she was going to love Coop for the rest of her life. And shewasn’t going to fake die on him like her mom had, so there would be no need forwhatever the hell they did on Saturday nights.

She was pretty sure she knew what they did and it was grossbecause…parents…but what she was about to do with Cooper would be beautiful.

And it was a nice night for it. There was a full moonilluminating the path from her house to his. Only three blocks separated them,but it was too much. She lived for these nights.

“You’re going to get caught one of these days, and Mom willground you for life,” her sister had said as she’d climbed out the window. Shewould give it to her dad. He knew how to lock down a house, but she’d figuredout how to screw with the sensor in the window of the bathroom she shared withher sisters, and luckily it was big enough she could wriggle her way out andshimmy down the drain, avoid the cameras, and then she was free.

Honestly, she kind of enjoyed the exercise and was lookingforward to the next time her dad redid the system. Getting one over on the oldman was truly something to be proud of. She liked a challenge.

Cooper’s house wasn’t much of one. His dad wasn’t as crazyparanoid as hers. It was easy to move around the sparsely placed motiondetector lights. She crept around the back of the house, working her way towardthe door leading to the kitchen. Cooper always left it open for her. She’d doneit at least a hundred times since she realized she didn’t actually have tolisten to her parents when they told her to stay home. She had feet and theytook her places.

Cooper was her favorite place.

“Hey.”

She nearly started at the sound but managed to play it cool.Coop sat on one of the lawn chairs by the pool everyone joked about. Likehey, do you remember the time we buried our enemies in your pooljokes.

Her parents were weird.

Of course, they might not be joking since her dad used towork for the CIA and her mom counted assassin in her previous professions.“Hey.”

She gave him the smile she only ever had for him. The truthof the matter was she had quite the reputation as a heinous bitch, and she wasproud of it, mostly. But not with him. Never with him.

“You’re late,” he said, standing. He was tall and lanky, andshe could remember a time when they were the same height, but the last fewyears had put a foot on him and she hadn’t kept pace. “I was starting to getworried.”

“It took forever to get Travis to go to sleep. Seth pays noattention whatsoever to what’s going on around him, but Travis is more aware,”she admitted. “And somehow he can tell me and Kenz apart.”

Cooper’s brows rose. It was his dumbass-said-what look. “Ofcourse he can. I know you’re twins, but you are unique. I hate it when peoplepretend they can’t tell you apart. There’s no one quite like you, Kala.”

He was the only one who seemed to see her. Well, everyonesaw her. He was the only one who didn’t think she was a bitch who happened tohave a saintly sweet twin. Like she and Kenzie were mirror images of eachother, but Kala was the evil version. Not to Coop. Coop saw her for who shewas. He always had. Ever since they were kids.

It was why she loved him. It was why tonight was going to betheir night, and then they would go to the dance together and everyone wouldknow they belonged to each other.

And those mean girls who hung around because Coop wasgorgeous and popular and on all the sports ball teams could fuck themselves.

“Hey, I heard something about Kyle and MaeBe,” Cooper said,worry in his tone. “Is that woman back?”

Ah, Julia Ennis. Kyle Hawthorne was her cousin. Technicallynot by blood since he and his brother David were her Aunt Grace’s sons from herfirst marriage. But blood didn’t mean a lot in her circles. When Grace hadmarried Sean Taggart, those brothers had become family. Kyle had played withher and her siblings, babysat them, always got them ice cream when they werekids. He’d been gone for a couple of years and everyone pretended like he wasin the military doing normal military things, but Kala was excellent atbreaking into records and listening when she wasn’t supposed to. She gotgrounded a lot, and it was her parents’ fault because there wasn’t much to dowhen she was grounded. Eavesdropping and spying were the only fun times to behad. “Yes. From what I heard this week, she’s been causing all kinds oftrouble. She wants to kill MaeBe because she thinks once Mae’s dead, she can,like, move into her place or something. She’s pretty psycho.”

Julia Ennis had been Kyle’s CIA partner. Because very fewpeople in her family actually did real military time. Nope. They found outsomeone was connected to Ian Taggart and got the Agency invite real damn quick.

She was counting on it.

“I don’t understand the connection. Is she an oldgirlfriend? I asked Dad and he said it was classified.”

It was always good to have intel. Her parents had taught herinformation was a form of currency. Of course, she would never use it againstCoop. She gave him everything for free. “He worked with her when he was withthe Agency. From what I’ve pieced together she was actually a double agent forthis group called The Consortium. They work for really rich people. Like anIlluminati organization. Anyway, Kyle found out and tried to kill her, but hedidn’t do a great job. He also asked her to marry him, but that was before hefound out she’s a traitor.”

“Shouldn’t she be hiding?”

Kala shrugged. Who knew why psychos did the things they did?“I think she’s doing what abusive shit men do. I think she believes Kylebelongs to her, and no one else can have him. Huh, when you think about it,it’s kind of feminist.”

---