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He slammed a hand down on the hard counter, "Of course they know about it! They ! They hid them! They , at the hands of idiotic idealists"

I glanced at Jack, "Guess you were right"

He nodded, "Yay"

Fitz closed his eyes and pinched his broith his juice-covered hand, "We need to run now They know you’ll come here"

I frowned, "You’re dead"

He shook his head, "Not where the Burrow is concerned"

My guts started to burn, "You said you knew Ja What the hell did you think ere here for?"

He shook his head, "I thought you found out about your mom"

"What?"

He looked at me, "She’s one of us Always has been Close your damned mouths; you look like idiots She was like the Mata Hari of our tis and arrinned, "She’s retired She used to be one of the head spies for MI6"

Betrayal and sickness rolled around inside of randrandparents both died there and your great aunt fled to England with your grandave birth to your mother It was obvious early on, your ent than the boys in school MI6 hired her in the sixties at eighteen She climbed ranks faster than the men She was the first female to reach those sorts of ranks Brilliant, bloody deadly too She can kill with her pinky finger" He spoke with such pride in his voice, but I nearly gagged

"She has my kids!" I blurted

He nodded, "Then they have never been safer"

I closed my eyes and tried to see it all I shook my head, "None of it makes sense She never left the house She was always there He was gone onandornao to the hotels, and she let the bad et to James and me How had it all happened before her eyes? She would have known if she was a spy, even a shitty one, hed, "Then she did it for a reason She has to be aware of what’s happening"

I openedoperation is this?"

I could see sadness in Fitz’s eyes, "She stopped when you were born You and Sissy were everything to her She wasn’t supposed to be able to get pregnant You were both a irls for a lady who couldn’t have a single baby As you aged, she slowly got back into it Ss she could do while you were in school"

I shook hed, "Not for her She was one of a kind She could take you to the park, assassinate someone, and not even bat an eyelash, or have a hair out of place She was a machine"

"What does that even mean? Did she do that?"

He shook his head, "Of course not She never endangered you She becaular American mother She doted on your father, but always h rease, "What is the Burrow?" I didn’t want to know anything else I didn’t have roo his head, "So that once you know about it, you can never co You leave the service the way I did" He looked sickened, "The way your father did"

Tears flooded my eyes

He was alive

He was another person who had pretended to be dead and left ot up and walked to the hallway, "I need to lay down"

I walked to the spare room I had slept in before, and curled up in the sheets

When I closed s that stuck out but see eyes With jaded bitterness, I could see them for what they were

The door opened, just as I was about to jump up and scream at Fitz some more

Coop poked his head in, "You okay?"

I shook hed and closed the door He laid on the bed on his back, "Feeling stupid?"

I punched hi my hand

He snorted, "I’ll take that as a yes" He turned, looking at irl"

I closed my eyes, "How could they? How could they lie and cheat Sissy and me? How could the very same shit happen to my kids? Do you see the irony in this? It’s insane"