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BOOK ONE OF THE NOWHERE SERIES.
❝You don't have to say you love me. No one means it anyway,❞ Harr...
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❝If you're gonna be a smartass, first you have to be smart. Otherwise, you're just an ass.❞
☀︎
ZACH BIT ON his lower lip, considering whether or not he should pick up his phone. It was an unknown number yet again. He had already picked up six such calls in the past five hours.
Every single one of them had been from Damien. His concern was understandable considering that his daughter was living with Zach 24x7. But at this rate, he was growing sick and tired of it.
Albeit, the past few weeks had been hell in heaven for him. He had Tia by his side but Anna was somewhere out there, without a tracker, without a weapon. He was sure she could knock out a legion of Florian's men but that was not going to stop him from wanting to protect her.
"Zach! If you don't shut that bloody phone of yours right now, I am going to strangle you with my bare hands!" Tia threatened, her voice ringing above the running water in the shower.
Exasperated, Zach reached out to pick up the call for one last indulgence. This time, he would simply ask Damien to take a goddamn break and step back. He wasn't going to hurt Tia in any way possible. He liked her way too much to be an ass to her.
He slid the phone towards him and swiped the accept option. "Look, Damien, Tia is-"
"Zach, it's me."
Zach stopped and smiled. He'd know this voice anywhere. It was as true as the wind, as familiar as the sky, and as soft as the moon. He had grown used to this voice, ranting to him, jabbing at him, teasing him, and more often than not, consoling him.
"Anna! Thank goodness you called, Damien has been asking about you. Sometimes, at least. Why are you whispering?"
Anna coughed a little on the other line. "Code Black."
Zach sat up straight. Code Black meant nothing good. It meant the supporting agents coming face to face with the target or anyone close to the mission. It could only mean danger and it was to be evoked if the mission was falling apart or if the field agent needed credibility.
He immediately switched into his cover persona, Zavier Davis. Just in case someone was listening in on them, he decided to mention Tia's cover, Tara Cullen too. "Anna, how lovely for you to have called. Tara and I were just thinking about you."
Zach winced at the obvious lie. Anna was no idiot. She'd already caught on to how he mentioned Damien and Tia in the same sentence before. And if he knew her at all, the coldness in her voice suggested he was right.
"Right. Um, Zav, I was wondering-" her voice died down, the line going silent. She hesitated, before picking up her train of thought again. "I just wanted to meet you and Tara. I'll be bringing a friend along. Meet us at IKEA tomorrow at 7?"
