Riches and Romance (1001 Dark Nights)

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Five days later, JT stopped before the big circular drive where there would almost certainly be a valet waiting to take his truck. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Am I okay that the last of the prep time for the op we begin tomorrow is being taken up by a sham, hastily thrown together party for a fake engagement? Of course I am.”

She was not. Even he knew that. “I’m sorry. My mom thought this would be the best way to help with our cover.”

His mom wanted to get a look at Nina. His mom had likely talked to Michael, who would have told her he was in way over his head, and she knew the only way to take control of the situation was to force him to come home.

They’d spent days going over and over their cover so they would have the same story of where they’d met, what their first date had been, how he’d proposed.

At a conference in London. Dinner in the West End. He’d flown into London after a month in the Middle East and asked her right there in her office.

He’d wanted something more elaborate, but she’d insisted simpler was better.

He’d taken a crash course in Nina and he was way better at studying her than he’d ever been in school. He knew she loved the color blue in all its shades. She found it soothing. She listened to a wide variety of music. She loved it when he nipped the back of her neck. It got her hot and ready in seconds.

He hated the fact that their days together were almost over. Despite the fact that he’d gone into the office, she’d joined him every day for lunch, and they’d made a couple of memories on his desk. He wouldn’t ever be able to sit there again without seeing her there, her head thrown back in pure ecstasy.

But today, something had shifted and he’d begun to see more of the operative than the woman. He felt a distance opening between them, and he didn’t like it one bit. “I know you wanted to talk to Big Tag. I made sure he was on the invite list. We’re also bringing out some of the leadership team.”

“I’m sure that will be helpful for your stock,” she replied, staring at the big house ahead of them. “It’s a mansion. You said it was a ranch house.”

“It’s on a ranch. It’s a house. To me that’s a ranch house.”

“How many rooms?”

“Ten bedrooms. Sixteen bathrooms. You’ll get a whole tour,” he promised.

“Your mom understands what I’m here to do, right?”

His mother probably understood far too much, but he was taking things slow with Nina. Not physically, of course. The better phrase was likely he was laying low when it came to his future plans. As far as Nina understood, they were having fun, getting comfortable with each other for the sake of the op. She didn’t know he never wanted her to take off that ring. “She thinks we’re a real fake engagement. She doesn’t know we’re a sort of dating fake engagement.”

That earned him a chuckle. “It’s a bit confusing.”

“Well, my mother’s a lovely lady.” He’d managed to avoid the introductions due to his father’s health issues. His dad was stubborn as the day was long, and he’d decided he knew better than the doctors. He’d attempted to help some of the ranch hands and torn one of his incisions slightly open. His mother wasn’t allowing him to leave the house until he was completely healed. “My father can be intimidating to a lot of people.”

“I can handle your father. I worry this is going to be too much for him. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”

“I assure you he won’t do anything he’s not supposed to now,” JT said. “He tends to learn from his mistakes. It’s my brother I’m more worried about. Mike doesn’t think I can hack this. He’s probably going to take you to the side and try to convince you to trade us out.”

“I won’t do that. I promise you. I’m not going in without you no matter what Michael says. I trust you.” She glanced at the porch. “Who is the woman?”

He watched as a diminutive figure stepped onto the porch.

“My mother.” He loved her, but she was going to meddle. He could feel it from here. “She tracks my phone, too.”

Nina’s hand slid over his. “It’s good to have people who care about you.”

“Yeah, well it can be hell on a man’s ego when his momma calls because she’s tracked him down to a bar on the other side of the world and she wants to make sure he’s safe.”

Nina sighed. “I’m not close to my family at all, though I do care about them. I suppose we lost touch somewhere along the way. Go on, then. We should meet her. She’s right about the party. It’s going to be helpful. It gives me a reason to see Big Tag. I couldn’t exactly go up to the office since we were worried about being followed. I’ll get to spend time with our suspects before we’re with the whole leadership team. I’m sure Big Tag can tell us if it was your assistant who hired the PI.”

He took his foot off the brake and started for the house. “I know it was her. I’ll have to fire her when this is over. I hate that.”

“If she’s not the spy, you don’t have to fire her.”

But he did if she was setting private investigators on his girlfriends. He had to wonder if she’d done it before. He’d never had a girlfriend who would pick up on a tail. “We’ll see.”

“JT, you don’t have to do anything at all. You understand that, right? You don’t even have to do this mission if you would rather not. I don’t want the Agency to push you into something you feel uncomfortable with.”

Did she not think he could do it? “I’ll be fine. I want to catch this person more than anyone. This is my company and I worked on that prototype, but there’s more. I’ve got skin in this game because Bill was my friend no matter what dipshit thing he did.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m a bit worried about you. You’re a good man. Sometimes this is a rough business on a good man.”

“You’re not exactly bad.”

“No, but I think I likely have a more flexible sense of morality.”

“What is that supposed to mean? I don’t understand what’s happening here. We’ve had a great week together, but I’ve felt you pulling away all day,” he admitted. “If it’s not about the job, then it has to be about me.”

For a moment he thought he’d pushed her too far. She stared straight ahead and he worried she would simply open the door and leave him sitting there. But then she turned her head slightly. “It’s not about you. There are things I haven’t told you, things you should know. I’ve been used before. You should understand that the reason I work for McKay-Taggart and Knight is because I was fired from my last job. I was involved with a man I worked with.”

There was a knock on his window. The valet was smiling at him.

JT stared and the man backed off.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“No. You should understand before going in with me. It’s a simple story.” Her voice had gone wooden. This was a story she’d likely had to tell far too many times. “I fell in love with my partner. We worked for Interpol. We had been partners for several years. I thought we would get married and have a family. He thought I was excellent cover for his real job, which was taking care of his drug lord employer so his crimes never came to light. Despite the fact that I turned him in, they were right to sack me. I was lucky Damon was willing to take a chance on me. So that’s why I don’t sleep with clients or coworkers. But we weren’t coworkers at the time. At least we didn’t know it.”

He was glad it had already gotten dark or she might have seen him flush with shame. He’d known. “Nina, this is not the same. And you’re not using me. I know you think I’m na?ve, but I know damn well when a woman wants something out of me. I’m sorry I pushed. I like you a lot.”

She smiled weakly. “I like you, too.”

“And that’s part of the problem.”

“It is.”

So she’d gotten burned and didn’t trust herself. He had no plans to use her at all. Yes, he should have backed off when he’d figured out she was his contact, but she didn’t have to know he knew. Some things were better left unsaid. He could be good for her if she let him. But she needed to make that decision for herself. “Are you asking me to back off? Are you saying you’ve decided you don’t want us to go any further?”

He wasn’t sure what he would do if she said yes.

She sighed. “I don’t know. I wanted you to understand. I’m not telling you no.”

“You’re not telling me yes, either.” He didn’t say it with any kind of accusation. It was merely the truth.

“I’m saying I would like to think about it. What we have is very new. It’s fragile.”

“And I don’t want to break it.” He put the truck in park.

Her hand went over his. “Can’t we just live in the moment?”

He wasn’t good at that. “Sure.”

Her hand tightened around his. “I don’t have to pretend like I want to spend every minute of the night looking at you. I’m afraid it’s going to be far too easy to look like a woman who’s crazy about a man.”

She knew how to ease him. He brought her hand to his lips. “I’ll give you all the time you need.”

He let her go and got out of the truck to face the music.

Nina decided that JT’s mother must be the queen of entertaining since as far as she knew this small party to celebrate a very fake engagement had been thrown together hastily. She’d had mere days, and yet everything was lovely, from the gorgeous flowers in the foyer to the champagne fountain that was set up in what someone had called the grand salon.

The rich were truly different.

But then her son worked fast, too. He’d only had five days, but he’d managed to work his way into her life. Five days of being close to him had made her like him so much. Five nights in his bed and she’d come to crave him. They hadn’t exactly played yet, though there was no question he was dominant in the bedroom.

What would he be like in a club? What would it feel like to scene with him?

She had such dangerous thoughts.

“Nina, dear, it’s so good to have you here.” Ava Malone was a gorgeous woman who looked far younger than her sixty-five years. She wore a chic cocktail dress that showed off toned arms and a trim waist. “Finally. When Deanna told me your truck was pulling up the drive, I was so excited.”

She pointedly said JT’s assistant’s name, and sure enough, the woman was already here, a frown on her face and a drink in her hand. She was staring their way.

JT slid in behind Nina, his hand on the small of her back in that possessive way that made her melt for the right man.

She’d thought Roger was the right man. It was good to remind herself of that.

“I’m thrilled to be here. How is Mr. Malone doing? Is there any way I can help you?” The poor woman hadn’t asked to be brought into this situation.

She caught a glimpse of Michael Malone and realized that she probably had been asked. Michael had a look on his face that made her suspicious this party might not have been Ava’s plan at all.

Ava Malone waved her off. “Not at all. I could use a distraction from that ornery old man. My husband is a bear when he’s sick, though you should know he’s feeling much better this evening. Although I haven’t told him about the new diet yet. And you look stunning. Don’t worry about a thing. JT, could you please come with me to make sure he hasn’t bullied the waitstaff into giving him Scotch? Nina, love, I’m going to borrow JT for a moment if that’s all right.”

Ah, so she wanted to talk to JT alone. Or perhaps not totally alone since she could see Michael beginning to make his way over.

JT looked her way, uncertainty plain on his face. “I don’t know that I should throw Nina to the wolves.”

Oh, but wolves were her specialty. She thought she might have more of a chance to get a real impression of some of her suspects without JT there with her. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll have him back before dinner,” Ava promised.

JT stared back at her before letting his mom lead him away.

It was obvious JT had trouble telling the women in his life what to do. That was likely because he’d been raised by an alpha female and taught to respect feminine authority.

Except in the bedroom. There he had no trouble mastering a woman.

JT was a nice guy. She had no doubt that he could run his business, but they were dealing with her business now, and perhaps it was time to be a good partner to him.

She stepped in front of Michael Malone before he could follow his brother and mother. “A word please, Mr. Malone.”

Michael was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt, his dark hair slicked back. “I need to talk to my brother, Nina.”

“Oh, I think you need to leave your brother alone. If you push him, you’ll upset him, and I need him calm and ready to work. I understand that he’s your family but for now he’s my partner.”

Michael stepped back, his shoulders relaxing as though he understood he wasn’t going anywhere until she was satisfied. “He’s not up to this assignment. You should let me go in with you. I can get you my dossier if you need it.”

“You’re Michael Malone. You grew up wealthy, went to the best schools. You attended the University of Texas Austin and received a degree in management while your brother studied petroleum engineering. Shortly after your graduation, you signed up for the Navy, much to the shock and surprise of your family. You rose quickly through the ranks and became a SEAL within three years of your commission. You served honorably around the world before you were recruited by CIA operative Tennessee Smith to his private elite team. Though you were never formally CIA, you worked exclusively for them for a solid year before Mr. Smith was fired. You chose to leave the Navy and begin employment with McKay-Taggart where you’ve worked the last several years. Did they offer you a position in the Agency?”

A single brow had arched over Michael’s eyes. “They did. They offered me Ten’s job, but I would have been working under a man known as Levi Green. I didn’t like him. I also had seen how they treated their operatives. I knew it would be hard to go back to straight military work.”

“You had a taste for the spy life.”

“I had a taste for using my brain and not having to merely follow orders.”

She suspected there was far more to it, but she wouldn’t press him. “Tell me something. Was it expected that you would come home and run the business side of Malone Oil while JT worked the research and exploration side?”

A slight flush to his cheeks told her what she needed to know before he said the words. “Yes. That was the plan. I couldn’t go through with it.”

“So you left JT to handle the whole thing?”

“JT loved the company. I did not. It wasn’t my thing. I get to have a life of my own.”

“Then have it, Mr. Malone, and stop trying to force your brother into the same mold your parents tried to force you into. He’s perfectly capable of following my orders. He’s competent to do this job. Stop trying to treat him like he needs protection.”

“He does,” Michael insisted.

“That’s what I’m here for. If you need me to, I’ll send you my dossier.”

He frowned. “This is the part where I really wish I could bounce that right back at you, but the truth is I didn’t study you. I trusted Ian and Damon.”

She’d rather thought that was the case. “Tell me why you weren’t worried about your father, but you’re terrified for your brother.”

“Because my father would let you do your job. My father would understand that you’re here to protect him. My brother is a great guy, but he’s got a real thing about protecting women.”

“He assures me he’ll be fine hiding behind me if the bullets start to fly.”

Michael shook his head. “He won’t. He’ll jump right in front of you. He’ll tell you what you want to hear. Hell, he might even believe it, but I know him. You’re sleeping with him, right?”

“I didn’t know who he was when I went up to his room that first night,” she began.

Michael held up his hands as if conceding. “Hey, no judgment here. You’re both adults. But you have to know he…” He stopped himself. “JT isn’t the kind of man who has a lot of one-night stands. I often joke that he’s got a biological clock and it’s ticking hard. He can get in deep really fast. Another reason to take me instead.”

Except it could truly hurt JT if she asked him to do it. And there were other problems with that scenario. “You don’t know the business the way he does. You might be able to pretend to be him in a casual way, but what happens when they get down to numbers?”

“I can work my way through it,” Michael insisted.

“I will take care of him.”

“He might not let you.” Michael took a deep breath and seemed to come to a decision. “Look, we had this friend growing up. Her name was Dana.”

Yes, she’d heard the name before. JT hadn’t mentioned her again. They’d talked about a lot of things over the days they’d spent together, but until earlier this evening neither had mentioned prior relationships. She’d been so curious about Dana since the name had been said with deep sorrow. “He loved her?”

“Not exactly, though I think he always figured they would get married one day. She was our father’s best friend’s daughter. We grew up with her. Our parents always talked about Dana marrying one of us and joining our families. JT thought it would be him. I don’t think he ever loved her. Not in an in-love way, but they were close when they were kids.”

She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. There could only be one reason for that aching sorrow she’d heard in JT’s voice. “She’s not around anymore, is she?”

“She was a lot like me. I know I seem hard on my brother, but I know what I did hurt him. Dana rebelled, too. She went a little wild and ended up marrying someone she shouldn’t have. She went missing when we were in college. We’ve never found her, and we’ve had the best in the business look. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth. It affected JT. It affected me, too, but I accepted long ago that I can’t control the world around me. JT hasn’t learned that lesson. He didn’t have to because he does control his world.”

“That’s not fair. He’s had to because he didn’t have anyone to lean on. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not blaming you for the choices you’ve made, but you left him. I suspect up until that moment you did almost everything together. Did you ever talk to him about the fact that all that responsibility, all that destiny, suffocated you?”

“He wouldn’t have understood,” Michael insisted. “He wanted it. He wanted everything our parents had planned for us. He would have tried to stop me, and I couldn’t let that happen. I had to break free. I had to find out who I was without the Malone name behind me.”

“Then you should understand how he feels. He needs to know he can do this. If you force him out, I think you’ll hurt your relationship with him.”

“But your job would be far easier with me.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless there’s a reason you specifically want JT on this. Are you looking to spend more time with him?”

“I think he’s the best man for the job.” She wasn’t about to let Michael put her in a corner. “I think I can handle him. Now that I know what will worry him, I’ll manage him better. I appreciate that information. If you’re questioning whether or not I’ll let some attraction to your brother mess with this op…”

He shook his head. “No. I know you wouldn’t do that. Again, I trust our bosses. But you like him. You like JT.”

She was about to protest that liking JT Malone didn’t matter when a feminine voice broke her concentration.

“I would hope she likes JT if she’s planning on marrying him.” Deanna stood right behind Michael, eyeing them both like she wasn’t sure what she’d walked up on.

Well, it proved that she wasn’t entirely on her game since normally she would never break cover unless she was completely alone. “Michael was making fun of his brother. He seems to do that a lot.”

Michael shrugged and smiled smoothly. “It’s been my hobby since we were kids. I can’t help it. I’m the pretty one and the smart one.”

Nice deflection. He knew what he was doing. “I hardly think you’re prettier than him.”

“He’s definitely not smarter since he walked away from a billion-dollar empire for the military.” Deanna had a glass of red wine in her hand. “And honestly, I can’t tell the difference between the two of them until they open their mouths, and then Michael sounds like he’s a paranoid nut bag.”

Michael frowned her way. “Really?”

“Duh, you’re always going on about spies and stuff. No one is trying to steal our oil rigs. They’re kind of too big to steal,” Deanna said. “But you get JT all riled up and then I have to calm him down.”

Michael sighed, obviously unwilling to start this fight. “I think I’ll go check on my dad. Thank you, Nina. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I think you’re going to be very good for my brother.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant by that, or if he was merely playing his part. She only hoped she’d gotten through to the man. “Hello, Deanna. I would have thought you would take the day off since you’ve been around so very often.”

“Expect to see me a lot,” Deanna replied, a smug smirk on her face. “I’m not some nine to fiver. I’m on a path and I’m not about to let anyone push me off that path, if you know what I mean, Ms. Banks from London. You’ve never been married. That’s surprising, given your age.”

She laughed. The queen bee shite didn’t get to her at all. “I’m in my thirties and I’ve had a career. You’re what? Thirty-three at the very least.”

“Yes, but I’ve been married before,” she replied.

“And now you’re divorced.”

Deanna tipped her glass. “Happily. You’re older than JT.”

“Slightly. Or are you one of those people who view women in dog years? Like we’re only interesting when we’re twenty, and every year after that is accelerated rot? Like I said, you’re not that far behind me, darling.”

“No, I’m not far behind you at all, Nina Banks. You should remember that. If you try to force me out, think about the fact that he can’t get through a day without me. You might amuse him in dressing rooms, but you can’t do what I do. I know you’ve worked for some communications company in Europe, but this is America and this is the oil business. You stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine.” She turned and strode away.

Nina really hoped it was Deanna. It would be fun to shoot her at the end of all of this.

“Don’t pay any attention to her.” One of the men she’d met that first morning in JT’s suite approached her, two glasses of wine in his hands. He was dressed in a suit, his hair mussed in that way that was supposed to look casual but actually took quite a bit of work. He offered her one of the glasses. “She’s been angling for JT’s attention since he hired her. If you ask me, she got divorced so she would be available for him. Poor thing.”

Jordy Burton. She took the glass, though she wouldn’t drink a sip of it. “I’m not worried about her, Mr.…?”

Nina Blunt, badass operative, knew everything about this man. Badass operative knew that he’d served on the board of Malone Oil for five years, ever since his father had retired and transferred all that stock to his only son. She knew that Jordy Burton spent the majority of his time mountain climbing or surfing or white-water rafting. He was an adrenaline junkie.

But Nina Banks, sweet fiancée to JT Malone, likely wouldn’t even remember his full name.

Jordy had the arrogance to look annoyed. “Jordan Burton. We met earlier this week.”

She gave him what she hoped was a flustered smile. “Sorry. This week has been a whirlwind. That first morning was difficult. Jet lag and all.”

“Must not travel a lot,” Jordy said with a superior smile. “My body is perfectly used to going from time zone to time zone, but that’s because I’ve trained it well. Proper nutrition and excellent DNA. I recently returned from Nepal. I was going to try Everest, but it’s gotten so touristy, you know.”

She nodded, her brain churning because maybe his dossier didn’t tell the whole truth. Any real climber would know Everest’s summit was only accessible in April and May, depending on the weather. If he recently returned from Nepal, he hadn’t been attempting to summit Everest.

“I prefer K2,” Jordy continued. “It’s actually tougher. Says more about the climber, you know.”

“Have you traveled extensively through Asia? It’s a part of the world I’ve always wanted to see.” As long as she was here, she might as well start asking some subtle questions. If she could find a way to narrow down their suspects, they could focus in. Keeping eyes on one or two suspects would be far easier than three. She was already starting to discount Deanna. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe the woman capable of murder. She seemed cold enough, but she also had shown loyalty to her employer. Maybe it was about wanting JT on a personal level, but women didn’t tend to stab the men they wanted in the back. At least not until they’d been rejected. If Deanna still had hopes of her goal, she doubted the woman would risk blowing it all up.

But the man in front of her was a different animal altogether.

“I’ve been everywhere,” Jordy bragged. “I could show you all the best places in Asia. They’ve got casinos there that make Vegas look like a church preschool.”

“I bet,” she replied with a smile. “Like I said, I’ve always wanted to visit. I have a friend who lives in Busan. She transferred there a few months ago, but I haven’t had the chance to see her new place.”

“Ah, yes, Korea. I’ve been several times. I’ve got friends in all the right places, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t.”

He lowered his voice and leaned in. “I know people in the consulate, if you want to go. They can get you into any place you want. You and JT should think about it for your honeymoon.”

Well, she would certainly think about it. If he had contacts with the South Korean embassy, she wanted to connect those dots and see who else they connected to. “Why don’t you tell me about your friends? I’ve got a couple of friends at the British consulate.”

“Oh, I’m in good with all the politicos. If there was one thing my dad taught me, it was to be cool with both sides of the spectrum,” Jordy replied. “I donate to everyone so they’re all in my pocket. It’s why I keep up all these board positions. I don’t need to work at all, but it’s important to keep friends in high places.”

She would be surprised if this man could keep a secret long enough to be an effective spy. “Yes, I can see where that would be helpful.”

She glanced up and saw a familiar face walking her way. Charlotte Taggart did not look like a woman who had recently had a baby. She wore a killer sheath that clung to her every curve, her strawberry blonde hair in curls around her shoulders.

“Ms. Banks,” she said with a smile on her face. “It’s good to see you again.”

Jordy took a step back, as though he wouldn’t get too close to the gorgeous redhead. “Mrs. Taggart, I wasn’t aware you knew JT’s fiancée. That’s surprising since none of the rest of us did.”

“It’s not surprising at all,” Charlotte replied smoothly. “Who do you think vetted her when she started dating JT? Do you honestly believe JT wouldn’t run a check on someone he’s getting serious about? My husband was in England a few months ago. He was there to ensure that Ms. Banks is exactly who she says she is. A man in JT’s position can never be too careful. Haven’t you learned that?”

Jordy huffed and turned away, walking toward a small group of men in suits with tumblers of Scotch in their hands.

Charlotte leaned in. “He got taken by a con artist a couple of years back. Wiped out his trust fund. Lucky for him his dad had more money than god and bailed him out. In the last few years his father has had a couple of cancer treatments, and Jordy has taken over the board seats. I fear what happens when the dad dies and he gets control of that cash.”

She started walking the way Charlotte led, glancing back to ensure no one was listening. “He claims to have connections in South Korea.”

“Maybe, but you should know he lies a lot. They all do.” Charlotte led her across the grand hallway and back toward a smaller room. “The board members are a lot like a nest of snakes, but most of them have held their seats forever, so the Malones know how to handle them. Tell me something. Has Deanna shown her claws yet?”

“She’s taken a swipe,” Nina replied. “I’m fairly certain she set the PI on us, though apparently she tracks JT’s phone.”

“They are a little on the codependent side. JT lets her run a lot of his day-to-day life, but he is super private when it comes to anything outside of business.” Charlotte opened the door. “It’s why this can actually work. JT dated a woman from Sanctum up until a few months ago and Deanna never even knew her name.”

He'd had a sub? She wasn’t sure why the thought surprised her. She knew he was a Dom and he had been for a while. Why wouldn’t he have had a sub or two?

She’d never had a Dom. She’d played and had sessions with some of the Doms at The Garden, but she’d never worn a collar.

“That’s good to know.”

Charlotte opened the door and there was already a conversation going on.

“You need to talk to your monster, Ian,” Alex McKay was saying. “She doesn’t have to be mean to Cooper.”

Tag rolled his baby blues. “Seriously? What did she do now?”

“She told their whole class that Coop has cooties,” Alex complained. “He doesn’t anymore. We got rid of the lice, that might I point out, Kala gave him. She was ground zero in that particular outbreak.”

Charlotte leaned over. “Kala might have found a cap in the trash outside of the club. She decided to wear it. Then she took it to Alex and Eve’s and put it on Cooper. It was not a fun time.” She walked fully into the room and addressed Alex. “I’ll talk to her about that. You know I think it’s because she’s got a little crush on Cooper.”

Ian put a hand on his stomach as though something was going to come back up. “No, she doesn’t. The only thing my baby girl is crushing on is life itself. She’s killing it at karate. All she was doing was warning the world that Coop had the nits.”

“Carys told me Coop had been talking to another little girl when Kala made her announcement.” Eve McKay rounded out the foursome, all of them dressed for the cocktail party. It was a bit intimidating to be around Eve McKay. Charlotte Taggart tended to view the world as one big soap opera being played out for her pleasure, but Eve took everything seriously and through a psychologist’s eye.

She hadn’t been at McKay-Taggart and Knight for very long. Was Eve here to ensure she wouldn’t screw things up?

Charlotte nodded as though she’d thought that was what had happened. “Alice Diaz. She’s adorable, and I couldn’t figure out why Kala hates her until now. And she’s definitely crushing on Cooper no matter what Ian says.”

Ian had his fingers in his ears. “Lies. Lies, I tell you.”

Alex stood near Ian. “No one wants that to be true less than I do.” He glanced Nina’s way. “Sorry. The kiddos are starting to show signs of pairing off, and it’s freaking the rest of us out.”

“I thought it was funny when it happened to Sean,” Ian said with a frown. “He’s going to end up with Jake and Adam and Liam for in-laws if he doesn’t shut that shit down. As for my baby girl, Kala will be too busy saving the world ninja style to date. I’m afraid I’ve given up on Kenz. She’s too much like her momma. All I’ve asked is that she bring home an American.” He shuddered. “I couldn’t handle it if she brought home some stuffy Brit or worse.”

“What’s worse than a stuffy Brit?” Alex asked.

“Canadian,” Ian retorted. “With their politeness and weird bacon. I fear the Canadian more than any other.”

Charlotte was the one rolling her eyes now. “Can we cut the kid talk and focus on the actual Brit in our midst?”

Big Tag grinned. “Nina’s not stuffy. I heard she took her last bullet like a champ. Avoided the roofie the bad guy slipped into her tea but took one to the chest.”

“Well if I’d known he was going to shoot me, I would have had the tea,” she admitted and held up the wine she’d taken from one of their suspects. “Speaking of drinks, I’m not about to drink this. It’s probably fine, but once roofied, twice shy and all that.”

Charlotte took the glass from her. “I can find something for you. This house has a bar in almost every room. I’ve always liked the Malones. How is it going between you and JT?”

“We get along quite well,” she replied.

“How was the shopping?” Charlotte asked, expectation in her tone.

“It was fine. We’ve been three times this week. Apparently, I need a lot of clothes.” It had been paradise. Everywhere they’d gone the world had opened up and invited her in. Or rather JT. Back in London, she could barely get the bloke who ran the register at Tesco to look up from his phone. “We got everything we need for the retreat. Well, everything we need that we can get at a shopping mall. I assume Sandra and Hutch have all of our equipment, including my gun. I don’t want to take it with me in case security decides I look sketchy.”

Charlotte studied her for a moment and then sighed. “I hate it when Ian’s right.”

Ian smirked. “I told you she was into him.”

“I’m not into him.” She wasn’t about to tell the man she’d slept with the client all week.

Charlotte shook her head. “If you weren’t into him, you would have been more excited about the shopping. Unlike Alex and Eve, Ian and I have spent time with you. You flipped out when you got to escort that pop star around Harrods, and you didn’t even get to buy anything.”

It had been such fun to watch the young woman shop. She’d been bright and peppy and kind. She really should have enjoyed the shopping more, but every time they went to a store her mind had been on JT. “I’m not into him.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you were,” Eve said from her place next to her husband. “JT is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. Knowing what I know about him and what I know about you, I would say you’re a decent match on paper.”

“I’m still confused about how we went from Nina going in as an assistant to fiancée. I get that she couldn’t go in as JT’s assistant, but fiancée is a big leap,” Alex said.

Ian waved that off. “I can tell you what happened. JT saw her and decided he wanted in her pants. Excuse me. Knickers. He got all flusterpated, and next thing you know they’re engaged. Is everyone buying it?”

“They seem to be,” Charlotte replied. “Ava is selling it, though you should know they’re talking about you being a gold digger.”

She shrugged. “That was inevitable. It’s good because at least they’re not talking about me being a former Interpol officer. Is my Nina Banks ID holding up?”

Big Tag seemed to get serious, and he crossed to the bar where he opened the bottle of Scotch. “So far it’s solid, but Adam is worried because someone used that name on the Deep Web. He’s got some contacts he keeps up, and someone is looking to break your cover. They don’t have anything yet, but it definitely goes beyond what the PI did. From what I can tell he ran a skip trace on you and spent that first afternoon tailing you. Has he followed you since?”

“I haven’t seen him again,” she promised. She didn’t like the idea that someone was going deeper. “It could ruin the whole op if they connect me to Interpol.”

“Yeah, well I have no one else to send in,” Tag said, offering her a glass. She took it. This one she would drink. “Everyone knows Charlie and Eve, and Erin was willing to go but Theo was a whiny manbaby.”

“She just gave birth, Ian,” Charlotte pointed out.

Big Tag’s lips quirked up. “Two weeks ago. She’s already bugging me to send her on assignment. You can’t keep that chick caged, but she’s got a problem. Unfortunately, despite his maternal nature, Theo can’t actually produce breast milk, though he’s got some solid B-cups after all that sympathetic eating.”

The women all frowned Tag’s way, but Alex had a solid laugh.

“Sorry,” Alex said in a not-sorry way. “Theo was insufferable. It makes me almost glad he was dead the first time around.”

Eve rounded on her husband. “Too soon, Alex. It will always be too soon to joke about that.”

Alex held his hands up like he was warding off an attack. “I said almost. Come on, angel. Theo’s been obnoxious. He was a walking, talking encyclopedia of pregnancy, and he lorded it over everyone. Like the rest of us haven’t been around pregnant women. I had to deal with your surprise pregnancy and we had an infant. There’s barely nine months between Hunter and Vivian.”

Eve’s lips curled up as she turned Nina’s way. “I didn’t think I could get pregnant so we adopted two boys, Cooper and Hunter. A couple of days after we brought Hunter home, I found out that miracles happen, and that’s how we ended up with three kiddos when we were pretty sure we wouldn’t have any.” She shifted back to her husband. “And Erin was in the same situation. Give them a break. It’s perfectly reasonable he would be a little obsessed.”

Alex waved her off. “Well, he’s still obsessed. You watch it. He’s going to be the ultimate helicopter parent to that little girl. But seriously, Erin would have been wrong for this particular job. She would have threatened the suspects until they all confessed and we wouldn’t be any closer to figuring it out. Also, she would have driven JT insane. Don’t worry about the Deep Web inquiries. They won’t have time to figure out who you really are. Adam worked with Hutch on the construct. It’ll hold.”

She hoped it would. “Everyone’s in place at the resort?”

“Hutch and Sandra are already down there, and apparently Drake flies in tonight,” Tag replied. “Watch him. I don’t trust anyone in the Agency after what happened with Solo. Try to remember who Drake’s working for.”

No one she trusted. “I will.”

“And don’t forget about fake pregnancies,” Tag continued.

She groaned and thanked fate Tag wasn’t coming along.

“She’s lovely,” Ava Malone said as they walked toward his father’s study. “According to Michael she’s very competent. He says she’s former Interpol.”

JT sent his mother a frustrated glare. “We don’t exactly want anyone to know that.”

She waved him off. “No one can hear us in this hall. Trust me. I know every inch of this house and how sound reverberates. Your teenage years taught me that.”

He had the grace to wince. He and his brother had been good at sneaking out. Not so great at sneaking back in. “How is Dad?”

She stopped in front of the big portrait of his great granddad. She put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s fine. He’s quite healthy. I’m not worried about him except for the fight we’ll have the next time he orders chicken fried steak. I’m worried about you. My darling, have you thought about this?”

His heart sank a bit, though he should have known this was coming. “I’m not going to let someone get away with stealing from us.”

His mother’s jaw tightened. “It’s more than that and you know it. Someone killed William Murphy. Mr. Taggart is certain of it.”

He wasn’t going to have this conversation twice. He pushed through the door that led to where his father was sitting in his big comfy chair, his massive German shepherd at his side. The poor dog had whined and cried when his master had been in pain, and he’d been miserable to be apart from him.

Maybe he should get a dog. The dog would love him and not question his every move. The dog might have faith that he could handle himself.

Nina seemed to think he could.

“JT, you need to tell your mother I’m not some old man who can’t do for himself,” his father said.

“Mother, he’s not some old man who had surgery a few days ago and needs someone who loves him to take care of him. Let him die.” His father responded best to tough love. Lord knew the old man could dish it out.

“That is not what I said,” his father insisted.

He needed to make a few things plain, and very quickly. “Dad, you let your health get away from you. Your doctor has been telling you for years this would happen. You were lucky it was your gall bladder and not your heart. We thought we were going to lose you, and not a one of us has gotten over that yet. You sit in that chair and you do everything the docs and Mom tell you to do because we love you. Because you love us, and you know we need you to be safe.”

His father’s expression softened. “All right.”

He turned to his mother. “You take care of Dad and stop worrying about me. I’m not Michael, but I’m not some wilting flower either, and I’m sick of being treated like the delicate one in this family. You trust me to run this business?”

“You know I do,” his mother replied.

“Then you let me run it, and that includes protecting it from spies. I do not want anyone to try to talk me out of a fight I need to have.”

His mother’s manicured hands came up in apology. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I can only use the same excuse I use on your father. I love you. I’m worried about you.”

“Were you worried about me when I was on a rig in the middle of the Arabian Sea?”

“Absolutely. Every single day,” she assured him.

“She was a mess the entire time you were gone,” his dad agreed. “She doesn’t think you’re incapable, son. She’s your mom. She’s always worried about you.”

It was worse than he’d thought. “She’s not worried about Mike.”

His dad snorted. “Are you kidding? You do know your mom has your brother’s partner’s phone number, right? She gets updates when they’re on assignment. It isn’t hard. When he’s working with that Bear fellow, she intimidates him.”

He could guess what she used on the other guy Michael routinely worked with. “She sends Boomer food.”

“Mr. Boomer is a very reasonable lad.” His mother fussed over his dad, straightening his blanket and making sure his feet were covered. “I send him a few treats and he gives me updates.”

It was good to know he wasn’t the only one his mother treated like a child.

Maybe it was time to accept that the worry came with the love.

He would worry about sending Nina to deal with the spy. Yes, she was competent and capable, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry. “All right. Know that I promise to be careful. Dad, you’ve had time to think about this. Do you have any ideas who this could be? I know the list of suspects, but I have trouble believing any of them would steal this way.”

“You’re too trusting,” his father replied. “Honestly, it could be any one of them. I would hate to find out it’s Deanna, but she lied about being in Houston.”

“There could be reasons for that,” he countered.

“I don’t understand the appeal.” His mother shook her head and walked over to the small bar. She poured two glasses. “She’s a harpy.”

“Yes, so JT doesn’t have to be.” His dad frowned as his mom passed one glass to JT and kept the other for herself. “If Michael had taken his place in the company, he could have been the bad guy. Someone has to be.”

“Good god, are we on this again?” Michael walked into the room, straight past JT to the booze.

“Hey, son,” his dad began.

“Nope.” Michael poured out a single glass. “I’m way more scared of Mom than you, and has anyone considered the fact that I didn’t go into the family business because I was tired of always being the bad guy? Also, I never considered myself the bad guy. I was the rational, logical guy. When you think about it, it all worked out because Deanna loves to be the bad guy. She’s good at it. As for her being our spy, I doubt it. I know my initial instinct is that I don’t like her so it’s probably her, but she’s been loyal to the company.”

“She didn’t have a reason to be in Houston,” his mother pointed out.

But he could think of a few. “Have we checked to see if she interviewed with any of our competitors?” It was something he’d been pondering since the moment he’d realized her name was on that list. Houston was the headquarters of many an oil and natural gas company. “She’s getting impatient. When she started with me, she told me her five-year plan was to move into management. It’s been seven years and I haven’t moved her where she should be for the simple fact that I need her. She does exactly what you said she does. She’s a brick wall between me and the hard decisions.”

“Well, I never said she wasn’t smart.” His father frowned at him. “You need to find a place for her. She’s valuable and she knows the business every bit as well as you do.”

“I can’t stand that woman.” His mother took a long swallow, proving she’d learned how to drink like a true Texan.

“You don’t have to like her to admit she’s effective.” He couldn’t see this being Deanna, though she had set a PI on him. “She hired a PI to follow me.”

Michael huffed a laugh. “She doesn’t need a PI to track you. No one does. Deanna was tracking Nina. She’s trying to prove she’s not who she says she is. And she isn’t, so that’s a problem. Tag is probably talking to Nina right now about the fact that we’ve got a real pro looking into her cover.”

His gut tightened. “Another investigator?”

Michael shook his head. “Another spy. Likely the one we’re dealing with, the man who’s planning on turning over your prototype to North Korea.”

The one who had probably killed Bill. He was looking into Nina.

Michael pointed his way. “This. That right there. That’s why I think you should back out of this op. You think it’s because I’m worried you’ll fuck it up, and you’re right. But you’re wrong about the why. I don’t think you’re incapable. I think you’re in too deep with Nina and that will put you both in danger.”

“In too deep?” His mother had perked up considerably. “With that lovely British girl?”

“She’s hardly a girl, and this is none of Mike’s business.” The last thing he needed was his mom to start getting visions of grandbabies in her head. He was trying not to scare Nina off.

“It is exactly my business since she’s my team member,” Michael insisted.

“I thought you never met her.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s not on my team. I know this business, brother. It can be hard to have a partner in danger, much less someone you have a romantic attachment to.”

“Romantic attachment?” His mother had forgotten about the Scotch. “I thought you only met her recently.”

“A man knows when it’s right,” his father declared, reaching for her hand. “I knew the minute I met your momma that I would marry her. Where’s my future daughter-in-law? I want to see her.”

JT sent his brother a stare that he hoped properly expressed how much he wanted to murder him. “I wasn’t planning on telling them Nina and I are seeing each other.”

“Are you? Does she know?” his father asked.

“How can she not know?” His mother had taken his father’s hand, as though awaiting some tragedy. “JT, you have to tell women you like them. You can’t expect them to read your mind. Flowers work.”

“I think she can probably read his dick,” Michael said under his breath.

“Nina knows I’m interested in her.” He needed to throw his parents off the scent or they would have his baby pictures out before dinner this evening. “We’re taking it slow.”

“You’ve known her for a week. We’re at your engagement party, brother. You’re not taking it slow. This is a bullet train,” Michael replied. “And I’m worried it’s going to derail if you’re not careful. Mom, can I steal JT for a moment? I heard the housekeeper say dinner was almost ready.”

His mother sighed. “Well, then I should go and make sure the dining room is properly set. Come along, love. I’ll get you settled and we can…talk to some of our guests.”

His father winced as he got to his feet. “I don’t know why I have to go. You won’t let me eat anything.”

“I’ve got a lovely beef consommé for you to start with,” his mother promised as she started to lead him out. The dog followed gamely behind them.

“I don’t even know what that is,” his father complained.

His mother sighed as she closed the door behind them.

“He’s going to make her crazy,” Michael muttered. “It’s soup, obviously. He knows that.”

“You stay out of my relationship with Nina.” He had to draw firm boundaries with his brother. “I don’t know why you’ve got it in your head that you need to stick your nose in this, but I’ve got it handled. I’m not going to screw up this mission.”

“But you are. You already have.”

He wished he’d never agreed to this party. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means this was supposed to be an easy cover,” Michael pointed out. “She was going in as an assistant. We could have found another place for her. She still could have gone in as a staff member. Hell, she could still have gone in as Dad’s assistant. Did you think of that? She could have gone down to take notes for him. No one would have questioned it at all. No one would have even noticed her, but you had to turn a spotlight her way. That’s the worst thing in the world for a spy.”

He didn’t like the thought of Nina being in the shadows. “She’s handling it fine.”

“She shouldn’t have had to.”

“What was I supposed to do? I didn’t plan on Deanna, Jordy, and Patrick showing up on my doorstep,” he argued. “I was out getting us breakfast or I assure you I would have protected her.”

Michael pointed like JT had just made his point. “And she wouldn’t have answered the damn door in the first place if she hadn’t been distracted by you.”

It would have bought her a little time, but Deanna could be insistent. She wouldn’t have left simply because no one answered the door. “I’m sorry you think I screwed this up, but Nina herself told them we were involved. It was the only thing that made sense at the time. I couldn’t say she was a casual hookup and bring her along to the retreat.”

Michael frowned. “And you couldn’t let her not go to the retreat because you couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing her again.”

“Nina made that decision.” He wasn’t about to admit that he would have done anything to keep her close. “You’re not going to get me to change my mind. I’m going to find out who murdered Bill and stole our tech.”

“I thought you were going to let Nina handle everything.”

“I’m going to help her. That’s what I meant. I’m going to give her the cover she needs to figure it out.”

“I wish I could believe you.” Michael was quiet for a moment. “I told her about Dana.”

His heart tightened when he heard her name, but he’d come to an uneasy acceptance. “I know she’s not Dana. I know this isn’t anything like what happened with Dana. Nina isn’t a nineteen-year-old rebel who picks the wrong men. And I hope you didn’t make it seem like I was crazy in love with her. She was my friend, my best friend most of my life.”

Michael seemed to soften. “I know. She was mine, too. I wish she was with us, but we have to move on. You have to move on. I wonder if the reason you haven’t gotten serious is you’re still mourning Dana.”

It was hard to mourn when they’d never found her body. He’d accepted that she wasn’t coming home, but it was hard to never know what happened. “You’re not exactly dripping in long-term women yourself.”

A hint of a smile crossed his brother’s face. “I’m not interested in getting married. But you are. You’re the one who always wanted a family.”

He didn’t see why that was a problem. “I’m not jumping on the first woman I see, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“I know. The truth is I like her,” Michael admitted. “I like the fact that she’s already willing to back you up even when it comes to me.”

“She is?”

“She pretty much told me to mind my own damn business and to stop treating you like a child.”

Good for Nina. “Maybe you should listen to her.” He sighed. He hated that the last few years had been somewhat tense between them. “I really like this woman. I want to see where things can go. I promise I won’t screw this up and I won’t do anything that could put her in more danger. That’s the very last thing I want.”

Michael stared his way for a moment as though trying to figure out how to handle him. “I know that’s your intention. You need to remember that she’s the expert at this. Not you.” He was quiet for a moment. “She thinks you didn’t know who she was when you met her at the hotel. But Genny sent you her dossier and a picture. Genny also told you she’d be at the same hotel where Dad keeps a suite.”

“I knew who she was.” A kernel of guilt formed in his gut, but he didn’t care. He really didn’t. At least he told himself that. “But she didn’t know me. She came on to me and I wanted her. I wasn’t about to shut it all down to explain something that really didn’t matter.”

Michael groaned, a frustrated sound. “It mattered to her. Do you know why she left Interpol?”

He wasn’t buying that argument. “I’m not her coworker. I’m nothing but handy cover. And I’m not using Nina. I’m trying to have a relationship with her. I can’t explain it, Mike. I looked at her and I knew she was something special. I knew I had to get to know her. I still feel that way but times about a million. I can be good for her. I’m going to be good for her, but I need time with her, and I can’t do that if she takes off for London the minute this job is over. That’s exactly what she’ll do if I don’t give us a strong foundation for a relationship.”

“All right, but you should understand that if the truth comes out, she might not be happy about it. Like I said, I like her for you.” Michael put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll back off. Be careful out there and do what she tells you to. She’s smart and she knows what she’s doing.”

JT hoped he knew what he was doing, too.