Chapter Thirteen

Tris watched as Carys left the room. She’d given him the smile she gave people she hated but tolerated for the sake of keeping the peace. He knew all her smiles, and the one on her face right now was the worst-case scenario when it came to him. Aidan moved in close, watching her, too. His voice went low.

“Dude, she is pissed. What is she pissed… Fuck.” Aidan’s face fell.

“Yeah, I hadn’t mentioned I was going to a club. I honestly didn’t think about it because it wasn’t like I was having sex. You can’t tell her you knew I was going to The Court,” Tristan said under his breath.

“I told your boss I wanted to work with someone else,” Ian was saying and he wasn’t keeping his voice down.

“My boss is more concerned with what’s best for our country.” Ben Parker looked over the room with cold eyes. “You’re not in charge of CSIS. If you don’t want our help, you should feel free to leave. I assure you we can have a team in place quickly. Hey, Lou. How are you doing?”

“Hey, Ben,” Lou replied with a smile, though her boyfriend had taken a place in front of her like she needed to be protected.

“I can’t lie to her.” Aidan had paled, ignoring what was going on around them. “I promised I wouldn’t ever again.”

He’d hoped Carys had missed Tara’s mention of The Court. She was a smart woman who could put two and two together quickly. He was absolutely certain it was what had put a blank expression on her face.

She’d gone cold on him again. She hadn’t demanded they talk.

She wasn’t going to fight him, wasn’t going to ask for explanations. She was going to do what she’d done the first time. Walk away.

“Lou is traumatized,” Kala said.

“Not really,” Lou countered.

Tristan barely heard the argument going on around him. His gut ached with the implications of what had happened. “I’ll talk to Carys, but if she knows you knew, she’ll feel alone again and she’ll shut you out, too.”

“Tristan, are you with us?” Ian stood staring at him, his best dumbass-is-doing-what look on his face.

Uncle Ian had perfected the look, though his dad was also giving him a good approximation.

He forced a blank expression on his face. He had to deal with this. He should be happy Carys was handling the situation this way, but he wished she was telling them all the meeting would have to wait. He would greatly prefer she upend the whole op than write him off so quickly. “Of course. Let’s move to the dining room. I believe we’ve already set it up. Mr. Parker, did Tara send a copy of her report to you?”

They needed CSIS on this or they could get booted right back to the States. And despite what Ben had said, no team they put together would have as much access as this one.

“Do you honestly think I’m happy about working with the woman who recently took the only parachute and jumped out of a plane filled with foreign agents who were going to kill me?” Parker argued.

Ian’s eyes went wide.

Shit. If Ian didn’t know something, Kala was absolutely at the heart of it, and she was about to get in serious trouble. He’d known the team had worked—and he used the word loosely—with the Canadian several times in the last few months, but he hadn’t heard about Kala trying to kill the dude.

Kala shrugged. “You survived, buddy.”

“No thanks to you,” Parker shot back.

Kala’s eyes rolled. “Yes, thanks to me. You’re the jackass who jumped without a parachute. I’m the one who caught you at twenty K and held onto you until we landed safely.”

“And then you dosed me with a sedative and left me in the middle of a rice paddy in Mongolia.” Parker loomed over her like they were about to go at it.

He was yelling at the wrong Kara. Or he was yelling at the right one and putting out sexual tension to the wrong one. Or the whole situation was way more fucked than he’d known. Maybe Parker was a masochist, and then he would do better with Kala, who was never in ten million years going to give him any more affection than a kick in the balls.

He would take a kick in the balls if it meant Carys talked to him.

“I had what I needed. I had the hard drive. I wasn’t about to fight you for it,” Kala said. “Besides, you looked like you needed a nap.”

Parker loomed over her. “There are snakes in rice paddies.”

“There certainly was one when you were there,” Kala replied.

“Kara.” Lou shook her head her best friend’s way and proved how well Ian trained them all. Lou wouldn’t screw up and call Kala by her name. “We should move on.”

Kala looked around and seemed to read the room a little. She shook her now strawberry-blonde hair. Charlotte had disappeared. She usually would be in on all of the shenanigans.

But the twins had dyed their hair to something close to their natural color, which meant they looked even more like their mom. So Charlotte would deny Parker the ability to see them side by side.

Which meant Ian would be even more cranky than usual.

“Does he know?” Parker wasn’t following Lou’s excellent advice. He gestured Cooper’s way. “Does your boyfriend know how you danced with me in Croatia? How you almost kissed me?”

Cooper’s hand came up. “Told you. Not her boyfriend.”

“Parker, leave it alone right this fucking second or we’ll pull the op altogether and you can find your own way into Huisman’s,” Big Tag said on a low growl. “There was a reason I didn’t want you here.”

“I’m the expert on Huisman.” Parker seemed to gather himself. He took a deep breath and banished whatever he’d been feeling before. “No one knows him like I do, so you’re not getting anyone else. However, if Maggie can play nice for once, so can I. I’ve decided you’ve got multiple personalities. Could we please speak to the reasonable one?”

The reasonable one was in the attic, probably losing her shit because she wasn’t down here to fight him on her own. Kenzie had been so angry with him after what he’d done to Lou, but Tris didn’t think it would last. There was too much chemistry between them. Kenzie had been the one in Croatia, and she’d come back from the event they’d attended like she was Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.

He was pretty sure Kala had been the one to leave him on the plane. He’d been damn lucky she’d caught his ass.

“Sure thing, sweet cheeks,” Kala said. “Let’s get down to business.”

“I should probably leave the whole relationship stuff out of my report.” Tara watched as they walked into the dining room. “I’m not even sure how to document what just happened. Is it always like this?”

“Pretty much, and I think the big guy would appreciate you not mentioning it in your report,” Zach agreed.

“They do not like each other.” Tara shook her head. “I’m surprised. I’ve always found Kara to be friendly and easy to work with. I’m surprised to see her be so aggressive.”

Because she’d only ever met Kenzie. When they needed someone to walk into Langley and charm the brass, it was Kenzie. Kala got her dour ass benched those days.

“Why does he call her Maggie?” Aidan asked, staring at the group as they walked away. “I thought her name was Kara.”

Aidan was already doing well. He’d put the question in a way that wouldn’t spark interest from anyone listening in. He would need to keep some distance between his subs and Parker, though. It would be hard for them. They hadn’t spent years pretending the way he had. “When he first met her, she called herself Ms. Magenta. He named her Maggie despite the fact he knew we called her Kara. He said it wasn’t her real name, so it didn’t matter what he called her.”

“He wanted a name only he called her. It’s topping 101. Make a connection no one else has. He’s got it bad,” Aidan said quietly. “I feel for the fucker.”

“Yeah, well, feel for me because I have to figure out how to explain why I joined Zach at The Court.” Tris wanted to walk in there and carry her out and force her to talk to him.

“You went because your bosses were at The Court. It’s practically a social event in DC for certain members of the Agency.”

It was good to know Aidan was supporting him, but there was one problem. “You know socializing wasn’t the only reason I went.”

“You were lonely, and you needed to keep one thing from your previous life.” Aidan put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. She’s going to rail and roar, but we can handle it.”

Tris was worried she wouldn’t roar at all. He followed Aidan in and noticed Carys had left a seat. For Aidan. Well, they were the couple for this mission. Still, he knew why she’d done it. To show her anger.

He could handle her anger. But her indifference scared the hell out of him.

“Go,” Tris whispered. “Show her all the affection she needs to get through this. Then we’re in for a hell of a night.”

He didn’t want to sleep outside the door. He happened to know the room they were in was the honeymoon suite and it had a big-ass bed, and he’d prepared for a fun night. They’d spent days reintroducing Carys’s pretty asshole to a plug, and tonight was supposed to be the night when she got reacquainted with his cock up her backside.

Tristan took a place beside Ian, the one usually reserved for Charlotte, and Tara moved in beside him. He kind of wanted to put distance between them because he saw the moment Carys’s eyes narrowed.

Now she probably thought he’d been sleeping with Tara. He wanted to get offended, but he’d put his own damn self in this position by leaving her alone for two and a half years.

“Parker, you know most of the team, but you haven’t met Aidan O’Donnell and Carys Taggart. They’re friends of TJ and Lou, who recently had their wedding wrecked via helicopter attack,” Ian explained.

“Seriously?” Parker huffed. “That’s some soap-opera level shit.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not getting those deposits back,” Carys grumbled.

“Uh, sorry about the wedding. So if TJ was the target then someone still thinks TJ is working with The Jester,” Parker said.

“Duh.” Kala’s eyes rolled.

Ian growled, a low sound that had his daughter sighing and sitting back as though telling her dad she would be a good girl. Or at least a quiet one.

Now he knew how much Tara had left out. He glanced to Ian.

Ian’s head tipped slightly.

It was good he’d learned to speak Big Tag over the years. Ian was leaving the decision to him. He’d been given clearance to bring CSIS fully up to speed if he thought it was necessary. He’d been alone with only Zach and Tara for the longest time. “I’m The Jester. Or at least I have been for several years.”

Parker sat back, his poker face on. “This is new information. Did you kill the original Jester? What have you found out about him? If I’m allowed to know.”

He was a prickly dude, but then he’d had his world tangled up by twins, so Tris was giving him a pass. “I didn’t kill him, though I did kill his assassin. I was lucky Zach came after me because it was a close thing. Zach walking in startled the fucker long enough for me to get a shot in.”

“I didn’t realize Zach was there,” Ian said quietly.

“It’s in the official report, sir.” Zach had his tablet out. “I’ll send it to you. We both wrote up one. Tara and I were in town with Tris. She caught the assassin on CCTV as he was going back into The Jester’s building.”

“He had an Interpol red notice on him. It wasn’t hard to ID the man,” Tara admitted. “I sent Zach in because I thought Tris might need backup. He hadn’t gotten the comms back up at the time, so I couldn’t warn him. There was a jammer in place, and the assassin had knocked out the CCTVs on the actual building. Luckily I managed to slide into the ones on the underground entrance a block away.”

“All right,” Parker said. “So the assassin kills The Jester and then what? Went out for lunch?”

“I believe he probably heard something that scared him off,” Tris explained. “Our theory is he left and when he realized no one had called the cops, he came back to get what he’d really come for. The laptop. It was in a safe. It took me a couple of hours to crack it, and then I got to work on the system itself. I had access to certain things like his basic communication system, but his financial and business records took longer.”

“So you clean up the scene, leave the assassin’s body behind as a fuck you to whoever hired him, and take over The Jester’s online persona,” Parker surmised. “Or was it more? Have you been selling arms?”

“I had to keep up the cover if I was going to find the bombmaker. Over the years I’ve been in contact with the man but only through encrypted messages,” he replied, not wanting to look Carys’s way. Would she understand why he’d done what he’d done? “I also used the position I was in to tip off the authorities if I felt the public was at high risk. The truth is most of the weapons I’ve sold were to cartels or syndicates, and they tend to use them mostly on each other. I’m not proud of what I did, but it was the only way to find him.”

“Except you haven’t found him.” Parker pointed out his failure.

“I think we’ve come close.” He prayed they had. “I had set up a buy for his new version of a dirty bomb. He claims he can do three times the damage with half the nuclear material. I was also supposed to see a test of his new detonation system. According to what we were told it could be used for biological weapons dispersion. But he never showed. And he hasn’t been heard from in six months. Hence the desperation to figure out who’s close to someone who can give any information about the bombmaker.”

TJ raised a hand. “Not me. I know nothing, and it’s how I like it. Though I do wish everyone knew so they didn’t try to blow up my friend’s wedding. We didn’t even get cake. Lou’s mom made this gorgeous cake and no one got a slice. Well, I bet Boomer did. Baby, did your dad eat the whole cake?”

“My brother helped him,” Lou admitted. “But not the point. I have some questions since, unlike some of us, I have gone over the whole report.”

Big Tag’s lips curled up. “You know I’ve had a lot to do. This scenario is exactly why I have a Lou. I can count on you to study everything.”

“I did as well,” Tasha said. “Lou and I talked about it on the plane. Beyond questioning the entire idea that Huisman would send a helicopter to disrupt a wedding of two people he doesn’t know, I have to wonder what he gets out of it.”

Tris had been thinking about it, too. He had a theory. “If he is in touch with the bombmaker, then he might want to get rid of anyone who knows who he is. If he gave the bombmaker enough money, he might want the man to exclusively work for his group, and taking out anyone who possibly knows his identity would protect his asset.”

“Manny was looking for the bombmaker a few weeks ago when he worked with the Germans to kidnap TJ,” Parker pointed out.

“And he couldn’t have figured it out in those weeks?” Kala asked, her tone respectful but with a hint of challenge. “According to you Huisman is a genius when it comes to an evil plan.”

Parker nodded. “It’s possible. And since we firmly believe he managed to get the formula for the new anthrax from Dare’s father’s company, he’ll be looking for a delivery system. So I can accept that if he believed TJ was The Jester or close to him and knew the bombmaker’s identity, it could be to his advantage to take him out.”

“But it wasn’t the best method.” Carys sat up, obviously forcing herself to speak when she probably wanted to blend into the wall and forget she was here. “I don’t understand. There were plenty of places to put a sniper.”

Ian’s head shook. “I assure you I checked them all. I ran the security since several members of my team were in attendance, and I would have found any sniper.”

Carys’s shoulders shrugged. “Okay, then why the wedding? Why not learn his habits and do it quietly? If I was going to kill TJ, I would figure out a way to poison the hot dog he gets almost every day from the shady food truck outside the building where Lou works.”

Lou turned to her boyfriend. “You said you were cutting out processed meats. We made a deal.”

TJ went a nice shade of red. “They’re good. I don’t know what they do to make it taste so good. But fine, Carys is right. It probably would be easier to take me out when I’m not in a crowd.”

“But that’s not what Manny would find fun about it.” Parker’s eyes seemed to go dark as he spoke. “I’ve known him since he was a child, and there’s nothing Manny loves more than chaos. He thinks it’s the ultimate shield. It’s where we’ll be able to trip him up. He can’t resist poking a wound, and there’s nothing he loves more than getting revenge on his perceived enemies. I’ve done some research, and I believe the real target wasn’t TJ at all. I believe it was Carys.”

“What?” Tris’s gut turned. “Why the hell would he want to hurt Carys?”

“Because her last name is Taggart.”

The whole room seemed to go still. Ben Parker wasn’t supposed to know he was sitting in a room full of Taggarts. Ian had never told the Canadian operative his real name, and no one else would have. He had a cover in place should anyone go looking for him. So did Charlotte, the twins, and Tasha. Tris himself had worked with Lou to make sure they were solid, and his papa had checked their work.

But they couldn’t do the same for Carys.

And the trouble was while Ben Parker didn’t know Ian Taggart’s real identity, there was someone who did.

Emmanuel Huisman. The doctor had shown up at their Agency safe house in the middle of the Australian op that brought him into their sphere. He’d explained himself and been incredibly helpful.

How much more did he know? If he knew about Ian, did he know about the twins? Ian had told them Huisman had figured out Tasha was his daughter.

Of course at the time he’d had a perfectly reasonable explanation for knowing what only the Agency should know.

“You’re going to have to explain,” Aidan said, his voice tight. He threaded his fingers through Carys’s, offering her support.

“I believe Mr. Parker is referring to the incident leading up to Huisman’s father’s death,” Ian said bluntly. “I’ve already considered the scenario. Mr. Parker, why don’t you give me your assessment.”

“Manny’s father was killed by a CIA operative,” Parker explained as though this was something he’d thought about for a long time. “You have to understand Manny was a kid at the time and he was on the upstairs landing when his father was murdered. He watched it all.”

“I’ve talked to him about the incident.” Big Tag’s hands steepled in front of him, a gesture he used when considering a situation. “In Australia when he figured out where my safe house was.”

Tasha nodded. “We asked him about it. He knows his father was in the wrong. His father had kidnapped Dr. Rebecca Walsh and a man who worked with the McKay-Taggart firm. Neither killed Huisman’s father. It was a rogue CIA operative the elder Dr. Huisman had been working with.”

“And Manny never lies,” Parker argued.

“I don’t see it. Why take your anger out on a family that wasn’t really involved?” Kala asked. “It’s been over twenty years. And why not go after the company? From her dossier, Carys Taggart isn’t even related to the asshole who runs McKay-Taggart. The Taggart one. I’ve heard McKay is lovely. The point being she’s that dude’s niece, not his daughter, and her father is a freaking chef. They have nothing to do with any of what happened way back when.”

“Nicely said,” Adam offered.

Big Tag sighed. “She does have a point.”

“And I’m telling you Manny lied,” Parker insisted.

“It doesn’t make sense,” TJ replied.

“Does chaos ever make sense?” Carys asked. “Mr. Parker said this doctor loves chaos. Watching his father die at a young age was traumatizing. Sometimes our brains make odd connections. Trauma can do funny things to a person. Especially a child. Sometimes revenge doesn’t make sense. Especially if you’re dealing with a sociopath. Throw in some narcissism, and it’s kind of a recipe for fucked-up motivations. The brain can make connections that wouldn’t look rational to the outside person.”

“I’ve read his book,” Aidan added. “He wrote about how his father saw Dr. Walsh as a rival. As the woman who took his job from him. It was precisely why Huisman’s father got involved with the CIA operative. He was jealous of her.”

“And now he works with her from time to time,” his papa pointed out.

“If he’s as screwed up as Mr. Parker says, it could all be a front,” Carys continued. “Or a way to get what he wants. He was a child. I’m sure he believed a lot of what his father said around him. Even though he seems to know what to say, there could be a deep-seated hatred he’s hiding for all the people involved in taking his father from him. He could come after me simply for my name, and before everyone says then I should go to a safe house, shouldn’t we figure it out?”

Cooper leaned forward. “I still think it was TJ if Huisman was behind the helo attack. It makes the most sense, and don’t they have a saying in your profession, Ms. Taggart?”

“Yes. When you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras,” she replied. “And it’s good advice for the most part.”

“But sometimes we do get zebras,” Aidan added. “And if you stubbornly refuse to see it for what it is, you can lose the patient.”

“I was going to argue against bringing in civilians Manny might have something against, but now I think they might be ready to do this.” Parker sat back, obviously impressed. “You’re sending them in with bodyguards? I can’t imagine Manny invited them for any other reason than their close ties to that firm.”

“I’m going in with them,” Kala said. “So is Tris, and we won’t let them out of our sights. The helo attack made it so he couldn’t refuse the very reasonable request.”

“He didn’t like the idea of me not coming.” Aidan sighed. “Guess it wasn’t my brilliant paper after all.”

Carys squeezed his hand. “It is brilliant, and you’re going to use this time to meet doctors who can actually help you.”

“Or Huisman will ruin me as a way to get to you and your family,” Aidan posited.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Big Tag said. “But we should consider what could happen.”

He’d thought about it constantly. “There are eighty people attending this thing. I’m not going to let Aidan be alone with the man, and Kara will do the same with Carys. He cares about the foundation, right?”

Parker sighed and nodded. “From what I can tell. It’s mostly about the access it affords him, but I’ve seen some odd things happening in his financials lately. He’s moved quite a bit of money around. Even in the last few days.”

“He’s a businessman, too.” His father was studying Ben Parker like he was a puzzle he needed to figure out. “I know a forensic accountant if you would like to consult with her. She has Agency clearance.”

Aunt Phoebe. She was excellent at what she did. And he was sure Aunt Chelsea was consulting, too, in some way. It was why he felt like they could solve the case this time. Because his whole family was behind him now.

“I’ll talk to my boss about sending her what we have,” Parker allowed and then turned to Tristan’s father. “Mr. Miles, do you honestly believe you can hack into Manny’s systems? I’ve been trying for years. My tech is excellent, but we can’t get past his security.”

“Your tech might be excellent, but Mr. Miles is beyond anything you’ve worked with before,” Big Tag said, closing the cover of his tablet, signaling he was going to shut this particular part of the meeting down. “We’ll get in. We’re going to figure out exactly what this fucker is doing, and then we’ll know how to bring him down. Canada, why don’t we take this into the office and let my team get some rest? They have long days ahead, and Aidan and Carys and their guards need to get into the city. They’re supposed to spend the first night at a luxury hotel to keep up appearances. Mr. Miles can join us, and perhaps we can conference your colleague in. I know of Mrs. Murdoch. She’s a wily one. I wouldn’t underestimate her.”

Parker stood. “Excellent. I know my boss would love an update, too.” He turned toward Ian. “I do appreciate you taking this seriously now, sir. Despite the problems I have with certain members of your team, I do know how effective they can be.”

“Like I could effectively put my foot up your ass,” Kala said under her breath.

Ian’s eyes narrowed on his daughter. “Ya razberus s toboy pozhe.”

“Ya v etom ne somnevayus,” Kala growled back. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. Lou, is my pack ready to go?”

Lou would have stuffed both their bags full of anything they could need. From granola bars to glasses that relayed information back to base, Lou would make sure they were kitted up.

She probably wouldn’t have anything in those bags for handling a pissed off sub. He would be on his own for this battle.

Tris took a long breath and prepared for the fight of his life.

* * * *

Aidan closed the door behind the bellman and waited for the fireworks to start.

The honeymoon suite was large and luxurious, and none of it seemed to touch Carys.

He had to find a way to make her understand.

“So is anyone going to address the whole Tris has been playing behind everyone’s back thing?”

Unfortunately, they had an audience.

After the near-silent drive, Tris had handled the check-in while Kala had walked around looking for things that might kill them all. She was such a fucking delight.

Carys had sat there, her jaw tight. She’d held his hand and told him she wouldn’t talk about it until they were in the room.

Well, they were in the room now.

“Did you think no one caught Tara saying you and Zach are horndogs who cheat not only on your girlfriends and your Aidans, but also on your home club?” Kala continued.

“There was no fucking cheating involved,” Tristan replied, his jaw tight. “And we should shut up until we…” He gestured around the room.

Aidan had no idea what it meant, but Kala seemed to. She sat back on the lush couch and propped her combat boots on the antique coffee table. “Already ran a check. No bugs. No cameras. I don’t think anyone cares about who’s fucking who. Or is it whom? I don’t care. I do care about you playing around on my cousin.”

“I didn’t cheat, Mistress Kala,” Tristan said, standing in front of Carys’s cousin. “You should understand better than anyone D/s doesn’t always involve sex. I shouldn’t have to continue to say it, but I have had one and only one lover my entire life. Now will you go down to the bar or something while I talk to my subs?”

There was a bit of sympathy on Kala’s face when she shook her head. The set of glasses she’d put on seemed slightly too big for her and they moved with her head. He’d been surprised by the glasses. Kala had never worn them before, so they must be some kind of disguise. She’d toned down her usual gothness and changed into white denims and a flouncy top. It made her look more like her twin.

She did kind of blend now.

“No can do. I’m supposed to guard you and be ready to call in the troops if everything goes to hell, and my father would say I can’t do my job from a barstool. He would be wrong. Maybe he can’t, but he’s old and doesn’t have my skills.” She winced as though something hurt all of the sudden. “Look, Tris, my dad is already mega pissed about the whole leaving Parker behind to die thing. I can’t leave this room. You can go in the bedroom. There’s a door. I probably won’t be able to hear.”

“I’m not going in a bedroom with him,” Carys said quietly.

“Carys, will you please let me explain?” Tris returned. “I’m not going to attack you.”

Her chin tilted up stubbornly. “I would rather my cousin was here. She’s my bodyguard, after all.”

“Your cousin is currently wearing glasses that connect her to base. So it’s not merely your cousin. It’s Kala and probably Lou,” Tristan explained. “They’re smart glasses. Lou modified them in a very espionage-friendly way.”

It was cool. Aidan would like to examine those. He could think of several ways to use them. “So if, say, someone was in the field and wearing the glasses, another more experienced doctor could see what his hands were doing and walk him through the procedure?”

Kala nodded. “Absolutely. But dude, read the room. This is not the time to forward your career. And it’s not just Lou. She made a couple more sets of glasses, so we’re kind of on a four-way call.”

“So Lou and all my cousins,” Carys said. “Yes, I don’t mind if they listen in.”

Kala winced. “I mean not Tash because Dad stole Tash’s, and from what I can tell he got away from her and he’s barricaded himself in a bathroom. He’s dedicated to the drama.”

Tristan held up his middle finger right to Kala’s glasses. “Fuck you, Uncle.”

“That just makes him stronger,” Kala advised. “Since no one wants to talk, I will. So how did you end up at The Court, Tristan?”

“I don’t care,” Carys said. “He lied to me. Again.”

“I didn’t lie. It didn’t come up,” Tristan tried. “We’ve had more important things to discuss.”

“I think we should do this Kala’s way.” Yeah, Aidan was surprised the words had come out of his mouth, but it kind of made sense. Kala wanted to set up Tris’s reasons so maybe they were easier to understand and Carys could forgive him. Them. Because he couldn’t lie to her again. No way. “We’re going to be straightforward and to the point. Carys, I knew he was going and I didn’t have a problem with it. I understood why and what it meant to him.”

Carys stood, moving away from him. “Well, of course, you did. I mean why didn’t you take a little vacay and join him?”

“Because I got what I needed from The Hideout,” Aidan replied. “But I think what Tris got from The Court was different. He went with Zach, but he spent a lot of time with people who are influential at the Agency there. He told me Drake and Taylor Radcliffe are members.”

“Drake is who got me and Zach in,” Tris admitted. “I never touched a sub in a sexual fashion, but I did use the place for stress relief. I…I grew up around it. It’s a part of me. Sometimes I felt like it was the only place I could breathe.”

“You could have breathed at home,” Carys shot back. “But this isn’t your home anymore. DC is. When we’re done here, you should go back.”

“You and Aidan are my fucking home,” Tristan replied. “And Aidan’s right. We did a lot of business in the lounge there. It’s a safe place to talk. Sometimes it’s not even safe to talk in the office.”

“Think of it like golf for a businessman,” Aidan attempted.

Kala snorted. “Yeah, he actually said that.”

“Golf?” If Carys had lasers in her eyes, he would have been cut in half. “Spanking a woman is like fucking golf?”

Tris gave him a what-the-hell look. “Are you trying to help me or bury me, man?”

“How much business gets done at Sanctum?” Aidan pointed out. “How many things do we decide sitting around in the lounge at The Hideout?”

“Dad says good point. He takes back his previous dumbass comment,” Kala supplied helpfully.

Aidan ignored her. “My point is a club like The Court is as much a social club as anything else. Do you remember the week I was in New York for training on robotic surgery? You had a patient with preeclampsia and you almost lost her and the baby and you needed stress relief. You didn’t go drinking with your friends. You didn’t have anyone to sleep with, so you went to The Hideout and Gabriel Lodge took care of you.”

“It’s not the same, and you knew about it,” Carys said with pure stubbornness. “You know what? I think I’m going to bed. This is the last straw.”

And it hit him. What his father had said.

Has anyone talked about what Carys did wrong?

His father had told him they would face this again and again until they all acknowledged what had gone wrong.

Carys wasn’t being Carys. Carys wasn’t willing to fight.

But suddenly Aidan was.

Carys started to walk to the bedroom, but Aidan got to the door before she could, putting a hand on it so she couldn’t open it. “You’re really going down without a fight?”

Her eyes went startled and then stubborn. “What is there to fight about? He lied. You lied. I’m done.”

“Years, Carys. Fucking years I’ve loved you. Did you realize this is our first real hurdle?”

“Of course it’s not,” she argued.

He was right about this. “Yes, it is because we’re still dealing with Tristan making the decision to pursue his own career. I’m going to ask you what if it had been the other way around. What if I had wanted to go into the military with him? Would you have given up your dreams to follow us?”

Her chin came up. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I wouldn’t have given up college to follow you around the world. That’s not what we asked him to do.”

“No, we asked him to stay when we could give him very little attention. We asked him to take a job he didn’t want at the time, to not explore who he is and what he wants,” Aidan said.

“I didn’t ask him not to go into the military. I knew it was something he needed. It was the Agency I had a problem with,” Carys replied.

“And yet not once did you fight with him. You accepted everything with a sigh like you kind of expected it to blow up all along. You fight for everything, Carys. You don’t stand down. You literally kicked your cousin in her pussy because she pissed you off, but when Tris told us to get married, we let him push us into it when we weren’t ready. There’s a time to be a sub and a time to tell our Dom he’s full of shit.”

“Oh, yeah, you should know Dad’s stealing that one. He’s writing a book of helpful advice called Ianspirations,” Kala said.

He was done with Kala. He pulled his cell and hit the number for Adam Miles. “Hey, Ian’s being an ass and listening in on an important conversation and it would irritate the fuck out of him if you turned off their superspy glasses.”

He knew how to get Tris’s dad to do what he wanted.

Kala sat up straight. “Hey, he can’t do that. Can he do that?”

Carys looked over where Tristan stood, staring at the both of them. He had a grave look on his face.

“I didn’t… I wasn’t being submissive,” Carys argued.

“Then you don’t feel the same way I do,” Tristan said. “Because I feel like I’ve been fighting for us for years.”

Carys’s brows rose. “Fighting? Was it fighting for us when the Agency hacked into my socials and took down any reference to you? Did you give Aidan a heads-up at least?”

“I did not because I didn’t know they were doing it. I expected to have some time, though I can see why they did it,” Tris said calmly. “I thought I had another week or so, but they moved quickly after I took over The Jester project. I can imagine how it felt. It had to feel like someone took important time from you. I do have a copy. If I can get out of this, I promise I’ll restore it all.”

She stared at him stubbornly. “Can you restore the last two and a half years, Tristan?”

“What would he have done, Car? Did you want him here getting your coffee while you studied for a procedure?” Aidan knew he was poking a sore spot, but he was suddenly sure his father was right and if he lost this fight, he would lose the war. “He fucked up, but he didn’t mean to. Tris, did you go into the military with the idea it was a way to get out of a relationship you didn’t want?”

Tris huffed. “Of course I didn’t.”

“I think the relationship he wants is with you, Aidan,” Carys said, a hard look in her eyes.

“Oh, yeah. We’re getting to the good stuff,” Kala said and then frowned and took the glasses off. “Damn. Adam’s excellent. Guess I should take notes.”

Tristan looked his way and mouthed thanks. Then he turned to Carys. “I’ve tried so hard to maintain some kind of tie to you. I honestly believed if you thought I was in real danger you would ride in like a fucking Valkyrie to try to save me. I knew Aidan wouldn’t because Aidan would understand his job was protecting and sheltering you. I’ll be honest. If I had to do it all over again, I would have talked to you because I now know I was fooling myself.”

Carys’s index finger came out. “Don’t you fucking dare put this on me. So it’s my fault because I didn’t what? Get on a plane and try to force you to come home? Because I asked. I asked and asked, and then one day I stopped fucking asking because I knew the answer. Don’t rewrite history.”

“All right, I won’t. I was at fault,” Tris conceded. “But please, Carys, please yell at me. Punch me. Fight with me. Fight for us. Don’t walk away like I mean nothing. You might not understand why I did what I did, but do you truly believe I did it to hurt you?”

“I think you didn’t think about me at all,” Carys replied, her tone going hollow.

Tristan started to move toward her but stopped. “There isn’t a day in my life I didn’t think about you. Not a day I can remember anyway. Every day I’ve lived had you and Aidan in it.”

Carys’s arms crossed over her chest. “Were you or were you not willing to give us up? You said you would be honest with me.”

“In my darker moments, yes,” Tris admitted. “When I facilitated the sale of a hundred fully automatic assault rifles to a separatist in a small African country and two weeks later the whole place broke out in a bloody civil war, I thought I didn’t fucking deserve you. When I looked at the blood on my hands after I killed a man in S?o Paulo because he’d taken a picture of me and meant to out me as The Jester, I thought there was no way I could ever touch you with those hands again. So yes, Carys, there were times I thought it would be best for both of you if I died.”

What he was saying made sense to Aidan. “It’s why you stood there completely open to the helicopter on our wedding day. Everyone else hid, but you didn’t care.”

“I knew if I died making sure the two of you were safe, I would never have to admit how far I’d fallen.” Tris seemed to falter but kept on. “How much of my soul I’d given away. I know it sounds stupid, but I thought I could fix things. I thought I could be a hero like my dads.”

“Your dads got kicked out of the Army because they slept with the wrong person,” Kala pointed out quietly. She stood up and slid her cell into her pocket. “Our parents are human. Don’t ever tell him I said this but my father is the greatest man I know, and he’s fucked up things on monumental levels. Don’t put them on pedestals, Tris. Don’t put anyone on a pedestal because it hurts so fucking much when they inevitably fall off. And I thank my dad for telling me all the ways he screwed up because he made it okay for me to screw up. Somehow I don’t think any of your parents told you they could only love you if you were perfect, if you never made a mistake. That’s what’s wrong with all three of you motherfuckers. You had it easy. Now it’s hard. You either love each other and you’re willing to risk it all again, or you’re over and then guys, get ready to know what it means to be fucking alone because what you had was epic. You’re never going to find it again. But hey, I know a dude at a shelter. Dogs and cats are great companions, and when they fuck up, well, it can get messy but not as messy as this. Since you ruined our viewing pleasure, I think I will head down to the bar. It’s too hard to watch you disintegrate.”

“I knew they hadn’t meant to leave the Army when they did,” Tris said quietly. “They didn’t hide it from me. I still think they’re heroes.”

“I didn’t know about how rough it was when my parents met, but I still think they’re the best love story I know.” Carys sniffled. “I don’t know what to do. I’m angry and I’m not sure how to not be angry anymore.”

“You don’t have to,” Aidan assured her. “You can be as angry as you want. You can kick us out of bed. You can call us names. What you can’t do is keep walking away when we’re so desperate to have you stay. Unless it’s truly over, and then you should put us out of our misery.”

Carys turned as the outer door shut and locked and they were alone. “I don’t know what I want. Not true. I do, but we don’t have a time machine. We can’t go back and stop Tris from leaving us.”

“No, and I can’t promise I won’t make another mistake in the future, though I can promise I won’t leave you again. I’ll leave the job if I think it’s too dangerous. I promise to put you first,” Tris vowed.

Tris was pushing her too hard. Aidan got into her space. “You don’t have to decide anything tonight. I know what you’re thinking. You have to make a decision whether we get married and start a family, but we don’t.”

Tris nodded, seeming to figure out what Aidan was saying. “You don’t have to decide at all. All you have to decide tonight is whether or not we’re welcome in your bed. We planned a future. I screwed it up. It’s not your responsibility to get us back on track. This isn’t an either-or ultimatum. There’s no ultimatum at all. I know what Aidan said, but if you feel the need to string me along, I’ll take it. I’ll do whatever you need me to.”

“And if what I need is you to go away?” Carys asked.

Tristan took a long breath. “Do you need me to go?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t, and I can’t give you a timeline,” she admitted.

The air had changed. It was still charged, but there was a distinctly sexual aspect to what was between them now. “You don’t need to give us a schedule. And I won’t let anyone push us about the wedding. We’re on our own timeline. I can move back into the house with Coop if you need space.”

A suspicious shine hit Carys’s eyes. “I don’t want to decide that either.”

Tris moved to her side, allowing Aidan the other so they could surround her. “All you need to think about is tonight. What do you want me to order for us? Do you want to watch a movie?”

“What if I want you to kiss me and make me forget everything?”

That he could do.