CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Of all the things Allie had expected when she walked into the war room, it was not that Beth would be sitting next to Jared as if they were best friends. This didn’t feel like an answer session, but rather an ambush.
Her eyes shot to James, and her walls went up. But James continued into the room, dragging her toward the waiting chairs as Jared and Beth stood.
Allie’s emotions ricocheted. Her natural fight-or-flight reaction teetered with the need to either confront Beth or haul butt from Titan’s headquarters. Running would be so much easier, but she would have no answers. Fighting would feel good but would be short lived.
James said hellos, as did Jared. But she could barely gurgle up a decent, polite “hi.” Instead, she waited for Beth to say something. What was the point of introducing herself when everybody else in the room knew far more about Allie than she did?
Nervous and tight-lipped, she broke free of James’s handhold and simply took a seat and looked at Jared. “Thank you for having me.” She paused and tilted her head, finally connecting with Beth’s eyes. “I hope to learn the truth.”
Beth took her seat opposite Allie, while James sat down next to her. Jared remained standing, and he crossed his arms over his chest. She could see why James had warned her about him. His demeanor would have been scary if she’d had anything left to be scared of. His very presence seemed to growl. “Let’s get down to it.”
“Thank you,” Allie said.
“Beth,” he continued, shifting his stance so that he could look at both ladies. “Say what you need to say.”
Allie’s eyes dropped from Jared’s omnipresence to Beth, who looked less like the socialite than she had ever seen. Gone were the perfect outfit, makeup, and styled hair. In their place was a fierce woman who wasn’t necessarily waiting for permission from Jared but rather was genuinely interested in his opinion. Her respect for the man was apparent, just as James’s was.
Allie found that interesting, given how different Beth and James seemed to be.
“I’m sorry.” Beth put her hands flat on the table. “I followed orders. That’s what I do. It’s what we all do. But the orders were wrong on this one, and I owe you an apology.”
A gust of wind could have knocked Allie over for how shocked she was. For whatever she’d thought was going to come out of Beth’s mouth, that was not it.
“Some operatives might disagree,” Beth went on, “about apologizing for a job based on bad intel. They would rather ignore what happened and move forward. I can’t ignore things in the past, so I choose to say… that sucks. I put you in a shitty position on purpose, and I’m sorry.”
Allie didn’t know what she would do in Beth’s position. “You don’t have to apologize. I just want to know who I was—who I am.”
James put a hand on her back. “You know who you are, angel. I think what you’re asking is if Beth can fill in any blank spots of what you were.”
“Yes,” Allie agreed.
“Seems like a fair question.” Jared pulled out a chair and sat down to face Beth. “The cleanup team destroyed all of Allie’s personal items?”
“Sorry.” Beth nodded. “There are things I can share. If you want to go back.”
Jared rubbed his chin. “Here’s the offer: If you want your old job, you talk to Beth, then after you leave here, somebody will find you. Everything will start back up again, and you’ll be back on payroll. Or if you don’t want to, it’s all still okay. Beth will answer a few questions.”
“It’s that… simple?” Allie tried to understand how information she had fought so hard for was now readily available and apparently came with a job offer.
“Hardly.” Jared laughed. “James, you ready for that coffee?”
James pushed back in his chair. “Military guys think they make better coffee than doctors. What kind of bullshit is that?”
Allie turned to James. “You’re leaving?”
He shrugged. “I could stay, and Boss Man over there could regale you with stories of our time in Africa and the Eastern Bloc. Or he tells a hell of a Roman-and-Beth get-together story, but I’d recommend holding out until he’s had a beer or two.”
Jared chuckled. Beth partially hid a smirk.
James joined in the laugher. “That’s when the Boss-Man-esque sage life advice starts to pour out.”
Beth failed to hide a smile. Allie stared at them all, unsure that Jared could give life advice, and she didn’t know what to think about James wanting to abandon her with Beth.
“Titan’s kitchen,” Jared said, “was recently redecorated as part of some environmentalist reality TV headache. I liked the people, not the cameras. Though we did get a top-of-the-line, push-one-button coffeemaker out of it.”
James scowled. “Sounds deceptively complicated.”
“One, we don’t have to drink Rocco’s military mud anymore, and two…” Jared lifted a shoulder. “That’s about it. Rocco can’t make the coffee anymore. One button.”
“It’s a Keurig.” Beth rolled her eyes, teasing Jared. “The way they talk, you’d think they just landed a man on the moon again. It’s great. They love it.”
Allie laughed, softening to the banter.
“We love it.” Jared pushed out of his chair. “Beth, brief Allie. Fill in the holes. Starting with her credentials. Read her in to her old files. The Agency is going to want her reacclimated quickly. Whatever you can do to help with that will be appreciated.”
Allie broke out in a full-body shiver. The Agency wants her…
“And Allie?” Jared leveled his Boss Man stare at her, and she understood why James had issued all the warnings. It was as intimidating as it was supportive. “Now it’s up to you.”
“It is?”
“You have an apology from Beth. You and I will probably be seeing each other again, considering”—he tilted his head toward James—“he and I are friends, and you and he are… friends. You need to decide how you want to take the next step.”
All the answers to her future were in this building. She knew it.
“Do you want to talk to James about it in private?” Jared asked. “Beth and I will step out. It’s a big life decision.”
“My options are I continue as a work-from-home Internet marketer…” Or not. Adrenaline pumped into her blood vessels at the possibilities of her conversation with Beth.
“She knows which way she wants to go.” James stood to leave with Jared for coffee.
How was he so certain when doubt crept up on her so suddenly? The CIA had sold her down the river, written her off, and tried to kill her. She knew it all but wanted every last detail confirmed. And the job? Yes, please. “I’d like to talk to Beth alone.”
James stood up and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Enjoy yourself.”
When both men had left and the door clicked shut, Allie could hardly breathe for the anticipation.
“Welcome back to the CIA.” Beth focused on Allie. “Your real name is… Corinne.”
EPILOGUE
Two Years Later
“Get Cat out of there!” Corinne hung up her cell phone, tucked the knife’s blade between her teeth, and hurried into the back room of a Titan safe house. And as their safe houses went, this one was nice.
Caterina Savage had no idea what she was about to walk into, and the woman was very pregnant. It wasn’t so much that Corinne was worried for Cat; she was more worried that this wrong place, wrong time was about to get ugly. Her phone buzzed, and Corinne saw she wasn’t the only one worried. The screen showed a text from Rocco. She swiped it open.
ROCCO: DID CAT JUST WALK IN???
Well, yeah, she did. This wasn’t good. There was a reason the plan had been scripted the way it was. Corinne’s phone rang, the screen display showing BETH. Oh, for God’s sake. She swiped the screen to answer. “Hey—”
“Is that Cat—”
“Yes.” Was everyone in Titanlandia going off their meds today? Could no one just grab the wom
an and get her out of the danger zone? “Can you—”
“What are you going to do about it?” Beth snapped.
“What am I? Beth, get her yourself.”
“Hey.” Rocco popped back through the door. “Are you coming down already?”
“Get your wife,” Corinne shot back.
“I’ve got it covered. James is on it.”
“What?” Her head was going to explode. “Why’s he here now?”
Rocco glanced at the serrated blade as she sheathed it onto her hip. “What are you doing, anyway?”
“I needed another box of…” She looked around, positive that Beth had said she put the “extras” bag up in the back room, which in this monstrosity of a house might as well have been three doors down.
“Point to the box. I’ll get it. And the knife?”
Corinne gave him a side eye. “Why do people have knives?”
“To wound, maim, or kill. Which you look ready to do.” He grabbed what looked like an out-of-place box. “This?”
“No, there’s nothing back here that we need. I don’t know where the other box is. Doesn’t matter; let’s go before Caterina figures out what’s going on.”
Rocco grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
They made their way toward where Corinne had last seen Caterina on the video feed. Thankfully, that was nowhere near the location of the surprise “sprinkle” party.
“Seriously, though? The knife?” Rocco asked again.
“I was cutting string for the balloons.”
“With an eight-inch serrated blade?” He laughed. “Drop the Spooks and team up with Titan.”
“Maybe one day.” It was her standard answer. One that she’d considered more and more, especially as she saw Beth and Nicola enjoying the best of both worlds.
“There you are,” Caterina said as she walked into the large living room opposite Corinne and Rocco. “We’ve been all over this house, looking for you two.”
James stood behind Caterina, and the two men switched. Corinne tried to give them both a quick eyeball, signaling that they needed to get Caterina out of the house in a different direction.
“Hey. We were in the back somewhere. Planning this job is a huge headache. Thanks for your help.”
“Sure, no problem.” Cat’s beautiful voice made the simplest words sound like fun. “I was just telling your man it’d be a shame to accidentally blow this place up.”
Corinne could barely contain her grin. Cat didn’t have any idea. “Which is why we’re trying to make this op as safe as possible.”
James and Rocco turned the wrong way. If they walked down that hall, Caterina would walk into a room full of people still hanging balloons, and half of the guests hadn’t even arrived. Mia hadn’t even brought in the cake yet.
“This way, right?” Corinne said, trying to redirect the men.
Rocco charged forward. “No, I think it’s this way.”
“Hey.” Corinne cleared her throat. “No, I don’t know, guys.” They were about to blow everything. “James, I think we’re turned around.”
He shook his head, missing every cue. If looks could kill, her fiancé would have been a dead guy. He was about to walk Cat into the surprise sprinkle way too early.
“He’s got it, angel.”
“This place reminds me of a place on Cribs,” Rocco said, catching Cat’s eye.
“Ay Dios mio.” She rolled her eyes. “Everything’s a reality TV show.”
Rocco put his arm over Cat’s shoulders, turning them toward a sunken living room, and—
“Surprise!” Voices overwhelmed Corinne from all sides.
James wrapped his arms around her. “Surprise to you too.”
“Wait. What?” Corinne blinked, staring at only half the decorations she recognized and a room full of people she loved. They were staring at both her and Caterina, and Cat seemed just as shocked as she did.
Two signs hung on the wall:
Happy Sprinkle, Rocco and Caterina! Congrats on Baby #2!
It’s a Wedding Shower! James and Corinne, Get Ready to Say I Do!
“Um…” She turned to James. “Did you know about this?”
Corinne roughly translated the same words coming out of Cat’s mouth to Rocco, but they were making out too much for her to catch most of the Spanish.
“I did, angel.” James’s eyes beamed. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes romantic suspense, military romance, new adult, and contemporary romance. Readers voted her onto as a Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.
Connect with Cristin: Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Team Titan
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What to read next? Keep reading each exciting Titan World story! For more information, check out the books, authors, and websites below. There is no reading order, and each book can be read as a standalone in both authors’ worlds.
Titan World Series:
TITLE: Flightpath
AUTHOR: Amber Addison
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Going Under
AUTHOR: Anna Bishop Barker
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Where I Belong
AUTHOR: Claudia Connor
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Bullets and Bluebonnets
AUTHOR: Jessie Lane
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Edge of Temptation
AUTHOR: Gennita Low
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Downtime
AUTHOR: Karyn Lawrence (aka Nikki Sloane)
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Target of Mine
AUTHOR: ML Buchman
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Never Mine
AUTHOR: Megan Mitcham
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Twisted Desire
AUTHOR: Sharon Kay
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
TITLE: Rescued Heart
AUTHOR: Tarina Deaton
Grab more info on the Author’s Website HERE.
Did you enjoy this Titan World stories? Discover the series that inspired the World!
The Titan Series:
Book 1: Winters Heat
Book 1.5: Sweet Girl
Book 2: Garrison's Creed
Book 3: Westin's Chase
Book 4: Gambled
Book 5: Chased
Book 6: Savage Secrets
Book 7: Hart Attack
Book 7.5: Sweet One
Book 8: Black Dawn
Book 8.5: Live Wire
Book 9: Bishop’s Queen
Book 10: Locke and Key
Book 11: Jax’s story
The Delta Series:
Book 1: Delta: Retribution
Book 2: Delta: Revenge
The Delta Novella in Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie Family Collection:
Delta: Rescue
The Only Series:
Book 1: Only for Him
Book 2: Only for Her
Book 3: Only for Us
Book 4: Only Forever
Each Titan and Delta book can be read as a standalone (except for Sweet Girl), but readers will likely best enjoy the series in order. The Only series must be read in order.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Simply, this project could not have been pulled off without the talent of the authors in this world. Thank you to Jessie Lane, Karyn Lawrence/Nikki Sloane, Gennita Low, Amber Addison, Anna Bishop Barker, Megan Mitcham, Tarina Deaton, M. L. Buchman, Sharon Kay, and Claudia Connor. Word
s cannot express how much your professionalism, dedication, spirit, and spunk mean to me. For that, I will be forever in your debt.
Readers, this project is nothing without out. #TitanStrong. LYH (and if you don’t know what that means, come over to Team Titan, and we’ll tell you!)
A tremendous round of applause is due to the team that made this book shine! Especially to Red Adept for editing and proofing, All About the Edits for proofing, Hot Damn Designs for the cover design, and InkSlinger’s Tara Gonzalez and Amber Noffke for getting the word out.
As for the Titan World project as a whole, again, another huge thank you to InkSlinger and also a tremendous thank you to Nicole Kuhn at N K Author Services for generating all of the excitement. Also, there are not enough kind words for Amy Atwell of Author EMS for her share of heavy lifting on this project. The woman is simply amazing.
To the authors that inspire and mentor me, those who know how much you mean to mean and maybe who I still need to tell: thank you.
Thank you to the retailers who are willing to try untested ideas. I won’t name you but hope you know who you are.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2017 Cristin Harber
All rights reserved. No part of this book may not be reproduced, transmitted, distributed (including emailing, photocopying, recording, or other methods) or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author and publisher except for the use of brief quotations used in book and critical reviews and other noncommercial uses as permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, media, incidents and events portrayed in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
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