For a moment he thought Tash and his former friend were there to save Maggie from him.
“Hey, Kara,” Tash began. “I’m afraid I need to talk to you. I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have a situation.”
Ben stood. Situation?
Maggie joined Tash, while Dare moved into Maggie’s now empty seat.
“Hey, it’s work. It’s nothing to worry about, but Kara needs to deal with it. I thought we should talk since it looks like we’re going to be something like family.” Dare sat back. “We were friends, right? I know I’ve pushed you away, but I need…either some closure or to forgive you.”
Ben felt his heart clench. What he’d done to Dare… Well, he regretted it deeply. “We were friends.”
“I’m sorry, but I need to go,” Maggie said.
“You okay?” He wouldn’t make a big deal. He understood what it meant to work in intelligence.
“Something’s come up with Zach,” she replied.
Ah, Zach Reed. He’d gotten some intel on the man. Zach had walked away from his team during the same mission in Toronto that had caused Maggie so much pain. “Go. We’ll talk later. I’m in town for a couple of days.”
She gave him a smile. “Have fun with Dare.”
She walked away, but Ben was feeling lighter than before.
* * * *
She was going to have a seriously long talk with her sister.
Kenzie followed Tasha out of the private dining room. “Is Kala at The Hideout? I know Mom and Dad are worried, but she’ll be there.She’s hiding from Cooper and probably pissed at me since Ben showed up and she had to handle him. Did you know she cupped his ass? Next time I see Coop, I’m planting my hand right on his butt.”
See how she handled that.
Of course, Kala had made a major sacrifice for her today. She’d allowed Ben to kiss her and that had likely set her twin off on a desperate attempt to get rid of the cooties. Hopefully someone had found the bottle of vodka they left in the bar. It was a good antiseptic.
It was like her mother said.
Vodka reshayet vse problemy.
Then she remembered how worried he’d been. Because the kiss hadn’t been good. He’d known. Deep down, his soul had known the woman he was kissing wasn’t his.
His mate. They were like fated mates in a werewolf story. Ben would be such a hot werewolf. He would look amazingly sexy with his clothes ripped off and his pure predator form unleashed. And he would know his mate.
Tash turned, her face paler than before. “I was lying about Zach. I had to get you out of there because I couldn’t tell you that Kala’s been taken. The shrink the Agency sent was working for Huisman. He’s got Kala and Devi.”
Well, that made all thoughts of Ben Parker as a hot werewolf flee. “What the hell? She was at The Hideout and Devi has a bodyguard. Fuck. Tell me Landon’s okay. Is he dead? Does Dad know?”
Tasha took her hand. “Landon’s fine. Devi got away from him. She intentionally snuck away, and Dr. Gallagher caught her and used her to get Kala to give herself up. She shot Aunt Eve.”
Tears filled Kenzie’s eyes, but she felt resolve harden inside her.
It was time. Time to take down Huisman and finish this, and then she could go after her man.
She followed her sister, ready for battle.
Chapter Four
Nepal
Four weeks later
