Page 63 of No More Spies

She turned and walked out. His mother frowned. “She heardsomething. Damn it, she’s going to take it all wrong.”

And he would have to deal with it. Lucky for him, sex wasnow firmly on the table, and after the night before he kind of thought it mightwork on her. He only knew one thing.

She wasn’t getting away from him this time.

* * * *

Kala sank down into her chair, grateful someone had dimmedthe conference room lights.

It was awesome to know Eve McKay still thought she was atime bomb waiting to hurt her baby boy.

Well, it wasn’t like she was planning on marrying him. Ithad been right there on the tip of her tongue to explain to Alex and Eve thatall of her intentions toward Cooper were perfectly sexual, and they didn’t haveto worry. When he found his perky former cheerleader ready to have his babiesand make him all the sandwiches he could eat, she would fade away into theshadows and never be seen again.

Could she do it? The idea of walking away from her team madeher heart ache, but could she hang around and watch them all get married and behappy and she would stay…Kala?

She would be a terrible mother. She wasn’t affectionate. Shewasn’t sweet and kind and loving.

“Are you okay?” Lena asked from her place at the end of theconference table. She’d been sitting in the shadows for more than twentyminutes. She’d been the one to bring them the footage they were about toreview.

Kala cocked a brow and turned her way. “I’m fine.”

Lena stared at her for a moment. “Is it about the footage? Itold you what’s on there.” Lena had been waiting in her office when she’d comein this morning.

“And I know that sometimes cam footage doesn’t tell a personthe whole story.” She knew what Lena thought, but Lena came in withpreconceived notions. Or maybe she herself was the one with a hard belief whenshe should keep an open mind.

“Do you not trust me?” Lena asked with a sigh as though shecouldn’t believe such a thing. “Drake himself sent that footage. He would behere if he wasn’t accompanying Louisa.”

Kala noted she didn’t mention TJ. Lou would be the importantone to someone like Lena. TJ was just another soldier, and he could bereplaced. There were certainly days when she thought about replacing hercousin, but she didn’t like the idea of someone else thinking he wasn’timportant. “Of course I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone.”

Lena chuckled. “Now that might be the first real lie you’vetold me.”

“The first? You’ve kept count?”

Lena waved a hand. “Of course not, but I do find yourhonesty refreshing. Although sometimes we like to lie to ourselves. You trustyour team. Maybe too much.”

She did trust her team. She knew her team. It’s whathappened when you grew up together. “I do trust my team, but you should know Idon’t truly trust anyone else.”

Another lie. She trusted her cousins. And most of the peopleat The Hideout. She wouldn’t like tell them classified secrets or shit.Especially Brianna, since she seemed to be rolling down the same road as herromance-writing mom, but she certainly trusted her. Oooo, she wouldn’t trusther brother with any of her friends because his dick was dumb and wanted toknow every woman in a biblical sense.

But she would trust Seth with her life.

Yeah, when she thought about it, maybe she wasn’t asisolated and gloomy/broody as she thought she was. She blamed her parents. Theyhad too many friends. If they’d been the proper spy parents she’d deserved, shewould have been an only child—created by accident—who they carried with themaround the world, never making friends, only enemies to be taken out at a laterdate. But no. They had to settle down and have a billion kids and dogs and makeher love them all.

It was gross.

“I don’t think that’s abnormal for a woman of your talents,”Lena said, the shadows throwing across her face. “You have a healthyskepticism. I certainly worry more about the other members of the team. I thinkKenzie could be easily manipulated with the right tools. You should know I toldDrake I don’t think Kenzie should be the one to deal with Benjamin Parker. Ithink you should handle the relationship. I was overruled.”

She bet she’d been. Even if her dad agreed with Lena, hewouldn’t hurt Kenz that way. “Kenzie isn’t as naïve as you think she is. Mytwin just likes to look on the positive side of things.”

“I still think it would be better for you to manage therelationship.”

“If she did, Ben would be dead now,” Cooper said from thedoorway. He was a big, muscular shadow standing there, and she felt a rush ofarousal go through her system.

She was a big old perv now. Even after what she’d heard, allshe could think about was getting into that boy’s manties. She had so littletime with him. Shouldn’t she take advantage before she did the right thing andgave him up to some whining sheep who would give him what he needed? Who wouldhave a ton of kids and go to PTA meetings and not embarrass him because she wasweirdly socially awkward.

Until she needed to give him up, shouldn’t she have him asmany times as he was willing?

Would he be willing after what his mom said? Or was hereconsidering.

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