Page 105 of No More Spies

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Kala slipped out of the room where Cooper lay sleeping. Herphone had been ringing for hours, and though she didn’t want to have this talk,she was a rip the bandage off kind of girl. She pressed the screen to answerthis latest call. “Hey, Lena.”

A long sigh came over the line. “Finally. I thought I wasgoing to have to haul you out of that club.”

Stupid trackers. She was going to tell Lou to change thedamn frequency on hers. “Seriously, you turned on my tracker because I didn’tanswer my phone?”

“It’s been hours and hours, and I was getting worried aboutyou. So am I picking you up from the club or are you meeting me at theairport?” Lena asked, her voice crisp and professional over the line. “I’mcalling security for the plane because your father is an asshole.”

She wasn’t sure what her dad had done, but she did know herparents wouldn’t ever let her leave. Neither would Coop. They would track herdown, and no one would care that she was on a super-secret mission. They wouldcharge in and toss her over a shoulder and put her in a locked room.

It was easier to stay.

Nope. She was changing her thinking. She wasn’t going tomake things less than they were. Especially her feelings. She was stayingbecause this was her place. Because they loved and needed her, and she lovedand needed them.

Yes, she was kind of a grump, but there was nothing wrongwith her some good therapy couldn’t fix. And maybe some meds. “I’m afraid theplan is changing. I can’t go to DC tonight.”

“Kala, I set up several meetings with big-time players atthe Agency. These are serious people, and they won’t like the schedulechanging. I thought you wanted to work,” Lena replied.

Kala put the phone on speaker as she walked through the bar.Should they get pizza and spend the night here, or go back to her place so shecould get the lowdown on what happened with Ben? Scratch that. Definitely getthe pizza delivered here because if they went home with it, TJ would almostcertainly be hungry no matter what he’d had for dinner. She definitely wantedto know what happened with Ben. She wanted to make sure her heroic efforts didsome good for her sister. Of course if they didn’t, then she might be able tokill Ben. So it was a win-win either way. “I think I’ve got all the work I canhandle with this team.”

“You want to leave the team.” Lena’s tone had gone tight.

She should have known this would be a bit of a fight. Lenathought she was doing the right thing, but she hadn’t been there in Colorado.She didn’t know how much it changed her. “I’ve been persuaded otherwise.”

“Did your father threaten you?” Lena asked. “You should knowI’ve already filed an incident report with HR because your father told me notto talk to you any longer and that if I continued to interfere—his word, notmine—with his daughter, he will kill me.”

So her father was already hard at work. “Lady, you got offeasy. My dad can be very over the top when it comes to threats. I’m surprisedhe didn’t detail the death he has planned. It usually involves viscera. Also,you should understand that it’s not a threat. It’s more of a promise. He’s notlike other dudes who say a bunch of shit but have no follow up. He’s alreadyplanning on where to stuff your body.” Maybe she and Coop should look for someland. A couple of acres. A bit off the beaten path. They had family traditionsto uphold. “I’ll talk to him. Once he understands I’m not leaving the team,he’ll back off.”

A low huff came over the line. “Oh, trust me. I’ll handleyour father. Kala, we’ve talked about this. We have been working through this,and I would hate to see you fall back into old patterns. You will do muchbetter without the encumbrance of that team.”

How had she even thought those words? Her team wasn’tholding her back. This was what her dad meant. The dark voices and thoughtssometimes led her down dangerous paths. “They aren’t an encumbrance. I’vefigured that out. They ground me.”

“Yes, they ground you when you could fly. Have you forgottenthe last few weeks of therapy? We worked through this. We have a plan. A planto get you where you want to go, where you need to be.”

Tears welled when she thought about some of the things she’dsaid in those therapy sessions. “I wanted to talk to you about the plan. Andno, I haven’t forgotten. I do appreciate the time and effort you put in, but Ithink I need someone else. I do think I should be in therapy, and I would liketo talk to someone about whether or not some of what I’m going through isdepression.”

She’d thought so much about this when she was in Colorado.Even in her happiest, most content moments, she could still hear those darkvoices. They were shadows that might always be there. They might simply be partof who she was, and if that was true, then she would get through it. But if itwas some chemical imbalance, she wanted to know. Wanted a shot at quieting themso she could hear and feel the full extent of the amazing love she’d beengiven.

The line was silent for a moment. “Are you joking?”

“No.” Did she sound like she was joking? Sometimes she couldcome off as joking even when she was serious. Cooper seemed to understand her.And her friends talked a lot about speaking Kala. Maybe Lena didn’t yet, so sheneeded to be clear. “I think I should prioritize my mental health.”

“Kala, if you start taking drugs, they’ll very likely pullyou from the field,” Lena pointed out. “They won’t allow a mentally unstableperson to know some of the world’s most important secrets.”

She’d thought about it. Though it did seem unfair since sheknew a lot of dudes who worked in intelligence who could use some help. And whoused drugs like cocaine, but hey, the Lexapro was a bridge too far. “Then I’llwork behind the scenes. Look, we talked about me doing what’s best for myself.This is it. I want to be happy. I might never feel it like my sister does, butI’m going to do everything I can to be the best me. I have people I love whoneed me around, and if I keep going the way I’m going, I won’t.”

Starting with Devi, who should be here soon. This was hernight to inspect the equipment and make sure the bar was stocked for playtomorrow, so she would be here with her bodyguard any minute now. She washaving such a talk with her cousin. If she had to kick her cousin’s ass, shewould. She and Aunt Erin could start setting up a secure room to hold her assin if she had a problem with it. Ah, family time.

Damn, she loved her family. So fucking much.

“Are you serious? Who have you been talking to, Kala? You’renot depressed. You’re poison. You ruin the people around you. If you didn’thave people watching you constantly, you would likely have become a criminal along time ago. Is baby Kala trying to shut out the voices in her head with somedrugs? Do you think you can? Those voices are right, and they’re a part of yoursoul.”

Holy shit. She kind of wanted to fist pump. The therapistwas evil. Therapy sucked, and Lena proved it. She sighed. Or Lena was a plant.She could still hold it over her dad’s head for all of time.

It had been a good day. She had something to hold over hersister’s head, and now her dad had forced her to go to therapy with an evilminion. How bad was it? The worse it was, the more her dad would have togrovel. Also, she got to keep Coop for the rest of her life. That was the bestpart. But also the other stuff. She kind of bounced down the stairs. She neededa pizza. But first she would call her dad and tell him all the “Lena is evil”stuff. “Okay. So are you working for the shits in the Agency who want to takedown my parents? Or someone else. Huisman plays a long game.”

“You little bitch. I guess we have to do this the hard way.”

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