Page 81 of No More Spies

Kala’s eyes stayed on Joyce. “You helped her.”

“She’s my sister,” Joyce said. “Of course I helped her. I’llalways help her.”

“Do you know where she is?” Cooper asked. Maybe they weregoing about this the wrong way. Maybe bringing in Shannon Reed would tempt Zachto come in and explain what was happening. “The last time I talked to Zach hesaid she disappeared when he was fourteen. He said she’d fallen back in with abad crowd. Was it with his dad?”

“She stopped cooking drugs, if that’s what you’re askingabout,” Joyce replied with a frown. “No. While she was in prison she made otherconnections. I thought the cartel was bad.”

He was interested in those connections. They might tell himsomething about why Zach was doing what he was doing. “If she wasn’t cookingdrugs, what was she into? Zach made it sound like she was still involved withsomething criminal.”

Kala frowned his way. “I’m fairly certain she started makingbombs, Coop. I would bet anything she’s our bombmaker and Zach is trying toprotect her. Now let me ask my questions.”

Damn, it stung when she talked like that.

She softened. “Babe, I’m sorry. I think…I think it’simportant.”

He thought the fact that they might know the name of thebombmaker everyone was looking for was kind of important. But hell, he was justthe dude who carried the backpacks. “Sure. Proceed.”

Kala looked like she wanted to argue with him but turnedback to Joyce. “You helped her pick. You picked the adoptive parents. How didyou do it? Did my father help you? Does he know?”

Something cold snaked up Cooper’s spine. What the hell wasgoing on? He felt dumb. She knew something he didn’t. “Why would your fatherknow about Zach’s brother?”

But Kala could be hyper focused at times. She ignored him.“I need to know, Joyce.”

Tears shone in Joyce’s eyes. “He didn’t. Lord, I didn’t tellhim. I talked to him right before I went out to visit Shannon in prison. Icalled him because I knew I was going to have to get legal custody of Zach, andBig Tag always helped out his old Army buddies. He gave me some good advice.”

Shit. Did Big Tag have something to do with this? Kala wasgoing to be pissed if her father knew something and hadn’t told her.

“You didn’t tell him about your sister’s pregnancy, but hetold you something, didn’t he?” There was a breathless air of expectation inKala’s voice.

A tear slipped from Joyce’s eyes, caressing her cheek. “Hetold me all about his best friend. He said Alex was looking for a kid toadopt.”

The world seemed to slow, time slipping into some weirdplace where he was there and not there.

Alex was looking for a kid to adopt.

He was the kid Alex McKay adopted.

In a closed adoption. His parents didn’t know who the birthmother was, had been told to never expect contact with her. The records hadbeen buried.

“I put you in the safest place I could, Jonathon,” Joycesaid. “That was what she named you. She knew it wouldn’t stick, but it’s whatshe calls you when she dreams about you. Jonathon Michael Reed. You were safe.I made sure you were safe.”

“Babe, are you okay?” Kala asked. “Do you need to…like doyou want a hug?”

He was Zach’s brother. His full-blooded brother.

No. Fucking no. Hunter was his brother. Vivi was his sister.Alex and Eve McKay were his parents.

“Jonathon, don’t be mad at her. She was trying to save you.She knew they would use her babies against her.” Joyce stood up, her armscoming out. “I missed you so much. Zach missed you.”

Zach played some fucking hard-core games. “My name isCooper.”

“Joyce, I think he needs a minute.” For once Kala soundedlike the cool voice of reason.

It wasn’t fair to think it, but he wasn’t feeling very fairin the moment. How could she have brought it out like this? She’d known wherethis was going. She’d used that big brain of hers to pick up on clues he’dmissed, and she hadn’t thought maybe they should have a private conversation?“Did my father know? Fuck. Why did I even ask that question? Of course hedidn’t. My dad is always left out of the spy shit, but I can’t believe for asecond that your dad didn’t realize it. Which means he probably knew mybiological brother wormed his way onto my team. Maybe I should ask if youknew.”

Kala’s face flushed and then became a perfectly politeblank. “If I knew I wouldn’t have asked the questions. I would have brought itin front of the team, and we would have figured out how to handle it. Joycesaid my dad didn’t know.”

Cooper stood. Tag could play some deep games, too. And maybeKala wasn’t the only one who’d never forgiven him for being a dumbass kid.“Sure, he didn’t. Your father is the absolute most paranoid asshole in thehistory of time, with deep connections to people who can find any record theywant to, but he let his best friend adopt a kid without knowing anything aboutit.”

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