Love the Way You Spy
Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits
By Lexi Blake
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Tasha Taggart isn’t a spy. That’s her sisters’ job. Tasha’s support role is all about keeping them alive, playing referee when they fight amongst themselves, and soothing the toughest boss in the world. Working for the CIA isn’t as glamorous as she imagined, and she’s more than a little lonely. So when she meets a charming man in a bar the night before they start their latest op, she decides to give in to temptation. The night was perfect until she discovers she’s just slept with the target of their new investigation. Her sisters will never let her hear the end of this. Even worse, she has to explain the situation to her overprotective father, who also happens to be their boss.
Dare Nash knew exactly how his week in Sydney was going to go—attending boring conferences to represent his family’s business interests and eating hotel food alone. Until he falls under the spell of a stunning and mysterious American woman. Something in Tasha’s eyes raises his body temperature every time she looks at him. She’s captivating, and he’s committed to spending every minute he can with her on this trip, even if her two friends seem awfully intense. He doesn’t trust easily, but it’s not long before he can imagine spending the rest of his life with her.
When Dare discovers Tash isn’t who she seems, the dream turns into a nightmare. She isn’t the only one who deceived him, and now he’s in the crosshairs of adversaries way out of his league. He can’t trust her, but it might take Tasha and her family to save his life and uncover the truth.
“Okay, I am trying to fully grasp what happened here.” Cooper sat back. “Someone piece this together for me because I do not understand.”
Kala’s lips curled up. “Tasha and the new target.” She used her thumb and forefinger to make a circle which she pushed the forefinger of her other hand through back and forth while making squeaking sounds.
Such a bitch. “I didn’t know he was the target.”
“Hey, he wasn’t the target then,” Tristan pointed out.
Zach was staring at his cell, likely reading through the reports Drake had sent. Of all the people in the room, he looked the most grim.
“Tash couldn’t have possibly known,” Lou argued.
“Tasha slept with Darren Nash.” Cooper seemed to need a moment to wrap his head around that reality. “When? I wasn’t aware you were seeing anyone. When did you have the time to meet this guy? Did you know him back in the States? I thought he was Canadian.”
Captain America was in the house, and she wasn’t going to let him make her feel slutty. He didn’t mean it. Coop had been raised like the rest of them to be open about all their needs, but he could also be overly protective. He reminded her so much of his father, Alex McKay. Uncle Alex, though there wasn’t a drop of blood between them. Kenzie had stopped calling him anything but Mr. McKay by the time they were ten and she’d realized the ramifications of the relationship. Like Tash herself, Cooper had been adopted and didn’t look anything like his father or mother, but the gestures were so familiar they didn’t need things like hair color or eye color to make it clear they were related.
Tasha enjoyed being told how like her mother she was. Her mom was the best. Her mom would know how to handle this situation.
“I didn’t know him before. It was a one-night stand,” Tasha explained. “Like you’ve had one-night stands. And the twins have had one-night stands.”
“Mine ended in me stabbing someone,” Kala admitted. “I didn’t know he was a Russian operative. I just thought he was hot. I didn’t actually get to sex, so it was more like a one-night violence. Kenzie is a true-love girl. Zach has had his share, but he’s discreet. Coop is the manwhore here.”
A light pink stained Coop’s cheeks. “I thought we weren’t going to use hurtful words anymore.”
“Well, I’ve never had a one-night stand.” Tristan acted like he was adjusting his halo. “As the purest person here, I’m proud of Tash for getting some.”
“I didn’t say she shouldn’t have a good sex life, but it might have been nice if it hadn’t been with the freaking target,” Coop shot back.
“Hey, it’s not Tash’s fault, and this conversation is doing none of us any favors,” Zach proclaimed.
Kala’s expression had lost its humor, and Kenzie had gone quiet.
“Well, I think I’m probably purer than Tris since I’ve never had a three way.” Lou filled in the awkward silence. “And I’m proud of Tash, too. He seemed like a great guy. I spent a lot of time talking to him. What are these rumors?”
Tasha wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that question, but here she was. “Cooper, can you give us a report on what you know about the target?”
She’d called Dare the target. It made her stomach roll.
But the op was important. It wasn’t terribly dangerous. Not compared to some of the stuff they’d been through, but there was a reason this op had been selected as their first solo mission. It was supposed to be fairly easy, with Kenzie and Kala tag teaming a man profiled for his harmlessness. They were to listen and evaluate relationships. If they had a chance to gather more intel in a safe fashion, they had the go ahead. Easy peasy. In and out.
If this op went well, they would be allowed more freedom.
She might have screwed that all up.