Page 89 of No More Spies

Why was he in a fog?

He reached out. Kala should be close. She rarely got out ofbed unless he was awake. She waited for him to draw her close and make love toher before they rolled out of bed and started the day.

It was kind of his best life.

Fuck, he had a brother. Another brother.

He forced his eyes open. His body felt weighed down.Drugged. He’d been drugged. Zach had shown up and Kala had gotten the truth outof Joyce and he’d been… Fuck, he’d been a dick about it. But damn it, she couldhave handled it differently.

“Well, good morning sleeping beauty,” a familiar voice said.

His father. “Where am I?”

“You’re at Big Tag’s cabin. I flew out as soon as Kalacalled. She thought you would probably wake up before I could get here, but theflight time from Dallas is only two hours. Cooper, I didn’t know.”

He took a long breath, trying to focus. He glanced aroundand saw he was in a bedroom, laid out on a big bed. The blinds were mostlyclosed, but he could see a thin stream of light coming through them. “How longwas I out?”

That seemingly nice old lady had tranqed him. His aunt.Biological aunt.

Zach was his brother, and he’d yelled at Kala. He’d saidsome mean things to her, and she sometimes took things far too literally.

“It’s been eight hours,” his father replied. “Your brotherflew me out here. He’s going to fly the other jet back. We need to talk. I knowthis is a shock, but what did you do to Kala?”

So many things. He forced himself up, swinging his legs overso he was upright. And that felt terrible. He caught sight of a picture on thedresser to his left. Big Tag and Charlotte were in the middle, their armsaround their kids. Kala stood to the side, her face solemn while all the otherswere grinning like mad. “Where is she?”

He should talk to her. He’d been too harsh. Way too harsh.

His father looked tired. He was wearing slacks and abutton-down, proving he’d likely come straight from the office, gotten into theprivate jet, and flew all the way to Colorado. No one ever said Alex McKaydidn’t show up for his kids. “She’s out in the kitchen, I think. She’s been onthe phone with her father or on her laptop. I don’t know what happened. That’swhy I asked. All I know is I haven’t seen her look that hollow in a long time.Hunter offered to fly her back. You know when I was a kid growing up I neverthought having two corporate jets would be so necessary to my existence.”

He tried to stand but fell back on his ass on the mattress.

“Go slow. You took a whole lot of sedative,” his fatheradvised.

“Yeah, from fucking Zach.” It had been on his orders. He wasso angry at Zach he could barely breathe.

“Kala had the doc around these parts come out and check yourvitals. He said you were fine,” his father explained. “I know she was worriedabout you, but she won’t come back here. She said she was planning on headinghome with Hunter. Naturally Hunter needed to go into town for a couple ofthings before he turned the plane around. I’m glad you’re up because I don’tthink I can keep her here much longer. She might try to walk home.”

She wanted to leave him? Damn, had she even blinked when hewent down? Or had she been so far in badass operative mode that the fact he wasknocked out didn’t even faze her? He’d sat by her hospital bed for hours andhours holding her hand, but she was working?

A bitterness welled, an unfamiliar feeling. He wasn’t thisperson, but he couldn’t help it right now. He was sick physically and his headwas still spinning and she wasn’t with him, wasn’t worried about him. “Well, ifshe wants to leave, that’s her prerogative. Where’s Zach? Is he being held atthe sheriff’s department? Or does Big Tag have a lockup here?”

He wouldn’t put it past the man. Was his dad feelingbetrayed? He had a very hard time believing Ian Taggart didn’t know something.

His father shifted, staring at him for a moment as thoughtrying to figure out how to handle him. “I thought the two of you were doingokay.”

“We were.” He sighed. “And we will be. I’ll calm down andapologize. I said some harsh things, but I was in a bad place. A place she kindof put me in.”

“I assure you she didn’t put any of us in this situation.That apparently was the Reed sisters,” his father replied. “Kala wasn’t evenborn when we adopted you. Why would you blame her?”

He understood the logic and yet he still had this feeling.“She figured it out way before I did and instead of letting me in on thesecret, she kept going. I was a complete idiot. I sat there while she playeddetective. I mean, I’ve always known her job came first, but damn it hurt.”

His father’s eyes were steady on him. “I don’t think shemeant to hurt you. I do think she sometimes gets lost in her own thoughts. Youknow this. You know her. What did you say?”

Cooper shook his head. “Nothing that wasn’t a normal,natural reaction to finding out I’ve been lied to all my life.”

His father sighed. “That feels dramatic.”

“Really? You’re not mad?” Cooper asked.

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