“Tasha’s got a secret phone and we’re not supposed to talk about it, and I overheard her tell Kenzie that she was going to fix everything and save Mom and Dad from Roman’s mom because she’s here to hurt them.” Seth couldn’t talk fast enough.
Kala rolled her eyes. “We are never telling you anything again.”
“What do you mean she’s going to fix everything? Why would Tasha think Kim is here to hurt your mom and dad?” Kim had told him she felt like Tag’s eldest daughter had something against her. “Where did they go?”
Kala’s arms went over her chest.
But Kenzie had obviously had enough. “She’s been talking to a kid whose dad knows her bio dad. He used to work with him in Russia, and he has proof that Kim is the one who gave her dad over to the same crazy lady who nearly killed Uncle Theo.”
He couldn’t believe the kids had this drama going on for months and no one had heard about it. “Kim didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“She’s the only reason we found Tasha in the first place.” Tag stood up and he had his hands on his hips as he loomed over his kids. “She’s our friend, which I would have explained to Tasha if any one of you had done the right thing and told me what was going on.”
“She’s our sister,” Kala shot back. “We have to protect her.”
“And you have to know when to turn her in to protect everyone,” Tag said, his jaw tight. “The man who has been catfishing your sister is the man who killed her father. He might not have pulled the trigger, but he primed it and let it go off. Now he’s going to kill your sister because he won’t leave her behind to tell the truth.”
Kenzie started crying and even Kala looked shaken.
“Ian!” Charlotte strode into the room.
Ian took a long breath. “I’m sorry. But this is a dangerous situation and honestly, they’ve been acting like they’re ready to take on adult decisions, so they should damn well understand what could potentially be the outcome.”
“Someone’s going to kill Tasha?” Travis looked to his mom as tears started to stream down his face.
Charlotte wrapped her arms around her youngest child and sent Ian a death stare.
Seth stood beside his brother. “Dad will take care of it. I knew we should have talked to him.”
“Tasha’s been talking to Levi Green?” His gut clenched.
“She wanted to know more about her dad in the beginning,” Kenzie said through her tears. “It started about a year ago. She met him online playing this game we all play.”
“She didn’t want you to know because she thought you would be mad she was trying to find out about him—her dad.” Even Kala looked shaken now. She stared up at her dad. “She thought you would think she didn’t love you. We just wanted to protect our family.”
“Where would she take Kim?” There was no question in his mind that Kim was out there with Tasha, and that Levi had set it all up.
Was he already too late?
Kala finally started talking and Beck got ready. He was going to finish this. No matter what it took.
* * * *
Kim looked out over the water and had to admit, the kid had a point. It was a spectacular view. “It’s lovely.”
“It’s my favorite place out here. I like being in the boat, but the pier is my favorite.” Tasha’s long dark hair was up in a ponytail and she was dressed in cutoffs and a T-shirt, sneakers on her feet. “It’s usually peaceful here. Dad and Uncle Sean bought three lots so we would have some distance from the other houses. I love my family, but there’s not a lot of quiet. Kala’s quiet, but that’s usually a bad sign.”
She’d been surprised when Tasha had asked if she would help her grab some stuff from her dad’s boat. She’d explained that she wanted to take some of the younger kids fishing, and the equipment was still on the boat from the last time they’d gone out.
But it also gave her a chance to talk to the girl. She’d been awfully nice to Roman, but there was still a chill coming off her.
“I was hoping we could talk, Tasha.” They were standing within the shade of the trees. It was a bit of a hike to the lake from the house, but it was worth it for the view.
Tasha turned her way and her mouth firmed. “Yes, I think we should. I want to know why you hated my dad so much.”
She hadn’t expected that. “I don’t hate your dad. He’s sarcastic, but I actually think he’s pretty funny. I owe Ian a lot. Why would you think I hate your father?”
“I’m talking about Oleg Federov.”
Kim went still. “I didn’t hate him either. I didn’t know him very well. I only met him a couple of times. Who told you I hated him?”
“A friend of mine.”
“A friend from school? How long have you known this person?” She glanced around because she was starting to get the feeling that this was a setup.
This was starting to feel like something Levi would do.
But he was in custody. He wouldn’t survive long if Big Tag found out he’d catfished his daughter. It explained why Tasha had a problem with her. If Levi had been feeding Tasha a line of crap about how Kim had hurt her father, of course Tasha would hate her.
The teen’s shoulders straightened, and Kim wondered if Tasha knew where she’d gotten that stubborn stance. That stance was pure Ian Taggart going into general mode. “His name is Lev. He’s Russian. He’s the son of a man who used to work with my dad. He reached out
