Riches and Romance (1001 Dark Nights)

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

“The truck is stolen, but then we really should have expected that especially if we’re dealing with a pro.” Ian Taggart paced the big suite, still dressed in the button-down and slacks he’d worn to the party. “According to the police report, it went missing earlier this evening. I had Derek contact the local police. They believe it was someone who stole it and was driving drunk. It’ll get buried really fast. You two did a good job talking to them. I don’t think they’ll follow up.”

“Adam will see if he can do anything with facial recognition.” Alex had been waiting with Ian when JT had handed off his truck to the valet downstairs, who hadn’t said a thing about the dents and deep gouges to the back. “The police out in Parker County have already found the vehicle. We’ll let you know if they find any prints, but I suspect they won’t.”

Nina had been relieved to have a distraction since the hour-long drive to Dallas had been almost completely silent.

Silent, and not comfortable. She could practically hear the wheels in JT’s head grinding, and they weren’t coming up with anything Nina thought they should. She was afraid she was about to be introduced to the JT who’d lost his closest female friend. She understood, but she couldn’t allow it to derail the mission, and she worried that’s exactly what JT would try to do.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get a better shot of him. My impression from the brief glimpse I got was of a male. Not that it tells us anything. I would assume this person was hired.” She stood by the window where only days ago she’d been with JT, letting the night cradle them, pretending nothing in the world could get to them.

She’d known it was a pretty lie even before she’d realized who her new lover was. She’d known her time with him was probably short.

They’d stolen a few days, but now she wondered if it was coming to an abrupt end. She was surprised at how far she might be willing to go to not allow that to happen.

JT stood across the room from her, still quiet, but she could sense the boiling emotions threatening to bubble over. His tension was etched in the hard line of his expression. He might have faced down pirates before and lots of scary situations, but she doubted he’d done it when he was with someone he deeply cared about. It was a different kind of anxiety, and she didn’t think he was handling it well.

“I’m happy you thought to try to get us a picture of the asshole at all. That was quick thinking,” Tag said. “Also it gave me and Alex the rest of the night off. We were pulling into Alex’s driveway to drop them off when we got the call.”

Alex grinned. “I’ve never seen Big Tag move so fast. Apparently the sitter called and told Charlotte that Travis woke up and won’t go back to sleep.”

“Charlie tried to cover it up, but I could hear that kid wailing in the background,” Big Tag acknowledged. “Before you start writing the Am I the Asshole post, I had him all last weekend while Charlie and Chelsea did a sisters thing that I pray was really about massages and mani pedis, because their sister time used to be spent taking over small countries.”

“And I was just making sure Ian doesn’t get in trouble,” Alex added. “It has nothing to do with the fact that we’ll now have to stay over here and make sure no one tries to kill JT again. Nothing to do with the fact that I can sleep in instead of waking up to a dirty diaper in the face because Eve brings the baby into bed with us thinking she’ll be able to sleep a little longer. Vivian never sticks her stinky diaper in her momma’s face. No. It is always mine.”

“Hey, when you and Theo figure out how to breastfeed, that can change for you,” Tag snarked. “But Alex is right. We’re going to bed down here and make sure everything goes smoothly. There’s room service, right? I’m sure this place has killer room service, and I don’t have to fight the girls for pancakes. They’re surprisingly sneaky when it comes to food hoarding. They do not mind licking things.”

Alex had gotten rid of his tie the minute they’d walked upstairs. “And hey, we’ll need to make sure you two make it to the airport. Are you sure they don’t need a bodyguard, because I could use a tan.”

“Nah, we need to play this off like they’re not worried,” Big Tag said. “We’re going with the police line that it was a drunk driver. We can’t let anyone know you’re worried someone’s trying to kill you.”

“Maybe we should talk to the police here in Dallas about the whole case.” JT finally spoke, the words sounding grim coming out of his mouth. He leaned against the pool table. “Maybe it’s time we bring the authorities in.”

She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea. What can the police do? We filed the accident report because that’s a thing people do. If anyone goes looking for it, they’ll find a report that we were hit. But that’s why we didn’t tell them what we suspected. We can’t open that door. We’re leaving tomorrow. The most they can do is exactly what Adam will do, and he’s got better equipment.”

“So much better,” Alex agreed. “Also, calling in the cops would probably be akin to calling in the press. The minute a reporter gets a whiff that a Malone heir might be the target of an assassin, that story goes everywhere and then we scare off our spy.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” JT said. “We scare off the spy and then we’ve got more time to figure out who killed my friend. That should lead us to the spy.”

“The more likely outcome is the spy simply changes the time and place for the drop-off,” she pointed out calmly. “We know who the actual spy is. We don’t know who is working for you. This is our best shot at figuring out who your mole is.”

He was quiet for a moment, but his head came up and a steely glint hit his eyes. “You’re right. This is all about my company. I get to make the calls here. I say I don’t care what happens to that tech.”

Big Tag turned JT’s way, his brows drawn together in obvious consternation. “What are you talking about? You do know how much money you stand to lose if someone else gets this tech before the patent goes through? Hell, even with the patent it can be hard to quash outside of the US and Europe.”

“Not to mention the fact that we don’t know what North Korea will do with that tech,” Alex pointed out. “I know it seems like the only applications are in petroleum and gas, but a material that flexible could easily be used on warheads. From what I’ve read you’ve managed to create a new material that doesn’t corrode the way some of the plastics we use now do. That’s very important, JT.”

JT’s head shook. “Bill was the one who developed the actual material. I gave him my ideas on what we need, especially for deep-sea drilling. I did a lot of the testing, but he’s the smart one. The new material will ensure fewer leaks and keep the ocean cleaner. It should do the same thing for pipelines to ensure we don’t pollute ground water.”

“Yes, and I assure you someone will find a way to take that revolutionary thing you’ve helped create and pervert it,” Tag said. “I’ve seen it a million times. We just managed to get a bunch of guys back on track after someone fucked up a medical breakthrough that should have been used for good.”

“What’s going on, JT?” Alex studied him for a moment. “You’re not one to panic. When I realized you were going in instead of your father, I actually was happy about it. Your dad doesn’t take anything very seriously, but you understand what’s on the line. So why are you hesitating now?”

There was a long pause, and she realized the time where her boss didn’t have to know she’d slept with the client was at an end. “He’s worried about me.”

Tag snorted. “Worried about you?” He gave JT a shake of his head. “I know she looks all soft and sweet, but Nina’s solid, man. She might wear frilly dresses, but they hide a multitude of weapons she’s incredibly accurate with. I applaud my sisters for putting those skirts to use. Do you know how hard it is to hide a knife on my thigh? I mean I can get it up there, but getting that fucker out is hell. And her getting a halfway decent photo of the dude trying to run you off the road? Pure gold. That’s why I hired her. Cool as a cucumber.”

“Damon actually hired me,” she said, hoping maybe they would leave it at this. If they thought JT was merely upset that any woman had been put in danger, they might still come out of it with their secret intact. For a little while.

“She could have died.” JT’s jaw had tightened stubbornly. “She took her damn seatbelt off. When I was doing a hundred miles an hour.”

“That’s how she got the picture,” Tag replied as though it should have been plain.

Alex seemed a bit more sympathetic to JT’s problems. “I know it seemed reckless, but Nina knew what she was doing. I would have probably taken the same chance if I’d thought to. Not only does it give us a shot at figuring out if this was one of your employees or someone he or she hired, it also scared the asshole off. She might have saved you a lot more damage.”

“Or I could have lost control of the damn truck and she could have died,” JT insisted.

“But I didn’t and everything is fine.” She wished now they didn’t have company because she needed to calm him down. She knew she’d said she would go to the guest room, but he needed her.

“You could have died.” He shook his head. “No. This whole retreat is off. I’ll call and make an excuse, but I’m not putting her in danger like this. It was one thing when I thought all she had to do was watch for the drop to happen, but no. Someone tried to kill me tonight. I’m not putting her in front of me like that.”

“It’s her job. It’s literally her job to take a bullet if she has to. She did it really well last time. Didn’t even die,” Tag joked.

She appreciated the fact that Tag would never treat her any differently than a male operative working the same job. He would be sarcastic and he would give her all the backup she would need. He would also be absolutely certain she could do the job or he wouldn’t have assigned it to her. “I don’t know, boss. Given the two choices, I might have drank the roofied tea instead. Leaves less of a scar.”

“That’s how you got that scar?” JT asked. “I knew that was a bullet wound.”

A long sigh came from Tag, and his stare went right for her. “Seriously? I thought you were my smart one.”

Well, there went the secret. “Guess not.”

Alex looked back and forth between her and Tag as though he didn’t quite understand. “What? I think Nina’s super smart.”

“Not when it comes to fucking the client,” Tag replied with another sigh. “And apparently making the client so happy while she’s fucking him that he can’t stand the thought of losing her. I will admit, though, that you are good at hiding that shit, Blunt. I picked up on him sniffing around you, but not that he’d already had a taste.”

“Hey,” JT said, suddenly standing tall.

It was obvious her billionaire had far too much stimulation for one day. “JT, he’s not wrong, and sarcasm is his love language.”

“He doesn’t have to talk about you like that.” JT’s voice had gone dangerously low.

“He doesn’t mean anything by it,” she tried to explain.

“Stand down, Malone. I’m not impugning your lady’s honor or anything.” Tag didn’t look worried about the potential for JT’s anger. “I didn’t know she was your lady. Normally I have an excellent radar that warns me when my employees are boffing the clients. Like I said, Nina’s really good at covering.”

Alex had folded his arms over his muscular chest. “Yeah, Ian’s excellent at figuring out who’s doing who. I mean who is having what is obviously a deep and meaningful relationship with another person involved in a mission.”

Alex wasn’t bad at snark himself.

It was time to come clean. “Ian, Mr. Malone and I met in the bar before the job started. We didn’t realize who the other was, and one thing led to another. I assure you our physical relationship won’t affect the mission.”

“It’s affecting the mission now,” Ian replied.

“I think I should have some say in how this goes.” JT wasn’t giving up.

Her heart sank. She knew what he was doing, knew why he was doing it, but this was her job. He’d promised her he understood, and the first time she was in danger, he was playing the white knight and not letting her do what she needed to do. Now that she didn’t have to hide their relationship, she could at least try to save the situation the only way she knew how. “I think JT and I should talk about this privately.”

JT stared at her. “There’s nothing to talk about. I can’t believe you did that. I can’t believe you put yourself in that position.”

It had been a risk but a calculated one. “You were handling the situation well. I thought about it and decided to try to get us an edge. You knew the area. You knew your truck. I trusted that you could keep us on the road.”

JT’s eyes had narrowed. “But what if I hadn’t? You could have gone through the windshield. Hell, the way you were sitting, you could have gone all the way through the back of the truck. You wouldn’t have survived that. I do know that road. I know exactly how dangerous it is. Animals cross there all the time, and they pop out of nowhere. Anything could have happened.”

He was definitely feeling the aftereffects of adrenaline. Perhaps if they’d been more secure in their relationship, he would have yelled at her in the truck and they wouldn’t be doing this in front of her bosses. She truly understood why he was upset. He wasn’t a trained operative. He wasn’t used to being in danger. He definitely wasn’t used to the panic that could come with some of the situations she’d been put in. She’d learned how to stay calm, though the instinct to panic had been there. It had been all about him. “I was worried about you too, but we had to do our best given the situation, and we did.”

“From what I can tell, you two made a great team.” Tag was watching them as though trying to figure out how to handle the client.

“Well, I’m not putting my teammate in more danger,” JT insisted. “The mission is off.”

“You can’t call it off. I know tonight was disturbing, but we don’t get to walk away from this. We’re dealing with the Agency. This mission is about far more than Malone Oil.” She needed to get through to him. She crossed the space between them and took his hand in hers. “I understand exactly what you’re feeling, but you can’t make big decisions right now. You need to sleep on it, and I think you’ll find things are different in the morning. You’ll be able to see the situation with more clarity.”

He stared down into her eyes. “You think I’ll care less about what happens to you in the morning? Because I assure you I won’t. I’ll still want you safe.”

He really was heartbreakingly handsome. She wanted nothing more than to brush back that dark lock that tumbled over his forehead and made him look younger than he really was. She wanted to take him to bed and make him forget they’d been in danger at all. “No, I think time gives us the distance we need to properly assess. Right now you’re too close to the fear to understand how well the encounter went. You did a magnificent job. You did everything I needed you to do. I was perfectly happy going into this job with you as my partner before, and the way you handled that truck and the ride back reinforced that belief.”

His shoulders relaxed, and she almost thought she had him.

“I can’t put you in that position again,” he said grimly.

“And that is why it’s a bad idea to get involved with the client.” Tag’s voice was every bit as somber.

Irritation began to war with sympathy. She had to find a way to get him to understand. “JT, this is my job and I’m good at it. You need to listen to me. Imagine me trying to tell you how to work a rig. Or explain engineering to you.”

He shook his head. “It’s not the same. I get that you have a dangerous job, but I shouldn’t make it more dangerous. That doesn’t mean I have to put you in harm’s way. I think what you should do is take a couple of weeks off and spend them here with me. You don’t have to do this job at all. You don’t need it. I can find something else for you.”

Alex stood up. “Maybe we should leave them alone for a while.”

“And miss the show?” Tag asked.

She turned on her boss. “I think I can handle this.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can, and I can’t leave until we figure out what we’re going to do,” Tag announced with a sad shake of his head. “We don’t have time for you to bring him around. My contract is with Malone Oil, not JT’s dick. Don’t look at me like that, man. That’s exactly what you’re thinking with, and I’m not judging you for it. You’re in deep with a girl. That’s when your dick takes over. Unfortunately, the Agency isn’t going to wait for Nina to convince you she’s not going to wither and die without a male hand guiding her.”

“That isn’t what I said.” JT was staring at Tag like he might try to take the big guy on.

“I assure you that’s what she heard,” Tag countered. “You’re making a bad play and it won’t work.”

She wasn’t sure exactly what she was hearing beyond JT’s fear. It had been a rough night for him, and if she had any choice at all, she wouldn’t push him. She would go to bed with him and they could talk this out in the morning. She’d made the decision to spend the night alone, but she hadn’t been unaffected by what had happened. She could have lost him, and in the face of that, it seemed silly to need time alone. They needed some time together if they were going to see if this had any chance of working. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on their side, and she had to find a way to make JT see that. “We’re not sure what the Agency will do. That’s what Tag is talking about. We have a duty to your company to keep this operation in our hands. If we pull out, the Agency won’t stop. Right now they’re satisfied we can handle things, but they believe this technology is important. They do not want it in the wrong hands. Malone Oil could find itself in a bad place if McKay-Taggart isn’t handling this mission.”

“ Will find themselves in a bad position,” Tag corrected. “There’s no question about that.”

“I agree.” Alex settled in as though he knew they weren’t going to be able to give them the privacy they needed.

She shoved her frustration down. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this. We need it settled because we’re supposed to get on a plane tomorrow and we’re supposed to be engaged. We can’t fight with each other and you can’t be tense. They will pick up on it and change their plans. That can’t happen. We’ve got one shot at this and if we screw up, that prototype will be on the way to North Korea.”

JT seemed to think about it, but the minute she saw the stubborn glint in his eyes, she knew all her patience was going to be for nothing. “I’ll say we broke up. There are already people in place. There are several McKay-Taggart employees already down there on the island. They can do the job. Hutch and Sandra are there, right? And the CIA guy is there. I don’t understand why we need Nina.”

And she was done explaining things to him. It was obvious he wasn’t going to listen and that his fear was worth far more to him than she was. She had to keep a tight rein on her emotions because she really wanted to lose her temper. Or cry. She wasn’t sure if she would be crying because she was so angry with him or because he was marginalizing her. Maybe both. It didn’t matter, though, because she would cling to what she always had—her work. It was time to stop worrying about JT and start doing her actual job. She turned to Tag. “I think we should call Michael in. With a haircut he looks exactly like JT, and I assume he knows something about the business.”

“You fucking will not,” JT shouted. He seemed to realize he’d raised his voice and he checked himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, but you’re not sending my brother in.”

She saw Tag start to address the situation, but this was hers to deal with and she wasn’t hiding behind anyone. “Mr. Malone, I understand that you’re used to being in control, but this is my mission and if you don’t comply, I will be forced to have you taken into custody. At that point I will take your brother with me and we will complete our mission. It would be safer for all involved if you did what you promised to do, but make no mistake. I will be on that plane tomorrow with you or without you.”

His stare threatened to burn a hole through her. “Your way or the highway, huh, Nina?”

She hated the fact that she had to fight back tears. “In this, yes it is. I believe we agreed to that when we began. When we realized the situation we were in, I agreed to try a relationship with you only because you agreed that I was in charge of the mission. You should understand I never would have touched you if I had realized who you were for this very reason.”

His expression had softened and there was a clear look of panic on his face, as though he finally realized he’d gone way too far. “Hey, I wasn’t pushing you away. Damn it, Nina, I’m doing this to protect you.”

Tag’s face had darkened, the first time during any of this that she’d been worried about what her boss would do. “Did he tell you he didn’t know who you were that first night?”

“He didn’t.” She didn’t want to explain this, but she owed her boss something. “I still thought I was going in with his father, and I honestly hadn’t studied up on the rest of the family. I knew David Malone had two sons and Michael worked with the Dallas team, but I hadn’t met Michael. I probably should have read a dossier on him when I agreed to the mission. I have now.”

“Why would you?” Tag countered. “He wasn’t part of the mission. I’m not accusing you of anything. You were doing your job and you had every right to sit in a bar when you weren’t working and hook up with whoever you liked. But I assure you JT knew exactly who you were. My assistant even told him where you were staying. I asked Genny to bring him up to speed because I knew we didn’t have much time. She sent JT a dossier on you. I waited to send you his until I knew he was going to do the job. You’d had a long flight. I assumed you would be asleep, which is why you didn’t get that info until the morning. But he knew.”

He couldn’t have. “I only gave him my first name. I came on to him.”

“I wanted to talk to you,” JT said, not quite meeting her gaze. “It had been a rough day and I needed to meet you. And then you were sitting in the bar and you were so beautiful.”

Her stomach sank. “You knew who I was when I hit on you.”

It wasn’t a question. It was blatantly obvious she’d been had. He’d known exactly who she was and he’d lied to her.

It was the one thing she’d asked him not to do. Well, that and treat her less than she was.

“I knew we had chemistry, and you wouldn’t have given us a chance if you’d known,” he said quickly. “Nina, baby, you hit me like lightning, and I know you felt the same way. The job didn’t matter.”

“It mattered to me.” She needed to get out of here. She knew it wasn’t professional, but she had to get away from him, had to think her way through this.

It was happening again. She was trading her job, her reputation, for some good sex and a modicum of affection.

She wasn’t ever going to learn.

“Ian, I’m going to do some prep work and write up a report of my observations of our suspects. Should I do that while I’m watching the client or were you and Alex serious about staying here?” She didn’t even look JT’s way.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. We should all get some sleep. I’ll let Michael know to be on standby,” Ian replied. “We’ll stay here but you have to stay here, too. I’d love to get you another room or let you go to the office, but we don’t know who’s watching.”

She wanted to be away from JT, wanted some time alone to mourn what had just happened, but she understood what Ian was saying.

She almost prayed they ended up taking Michael with them. If they managed to convince JT to go through with the mission, she would have to hold hands with him and look like they were in love.

It would be torture.

“I’ll take the smaller bedroom.” At least they were in a ridiculously large suite and she had options.

“You can have the master,” JT replied.

“Thank you.” She turned away because she wasn’t about to argue.

JT stared out over the lights of Dallas and tried to find any beauty at all in them. It was three in the morning and he hadn’t found a second of peace since that moment when he’d realized someone was trying to kill him and that person might get Nina instead. It was hard to believe he’d stood in this same spot mere days before and thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. But then Nina had been here with him.

“I would tell you to move away from the exposed window anyone could snipe you from, but I suspect you wouldn’t hate that at this point,” a familiar voice said.

He wished the voice wasn’t so familiar but was at least relieved it wasn’t Tag. He turned from the floor-to-ceiling windows with a sigh and took in Alex McKay, who was down to his slacks, undershirt, and socks. The sight of McKay’s gun in a shoulder holster reminded him why McKay was here, and it wasn’t simply to avoid stinky diapers. “Sorry. I’ll keep away from the window, though I don’t see how anyone could get me this high.”

McKay glanced out. “I’ve got four perches I could use, and then there are always helicopters, though those will give you a bit of a warning. You would be surprised how many people don’t take a good warning though.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He crossed to the bar and poured himself a Scotch. It was his first since Nina had looked at him with wounded eyes. He’d forced himself to stay away from it because he’d needed to think. He was tired of thinking. Thinking got him nowhere. Thinking had left him with nowhere to sleep. “Tag kick you out of bed?”

McKay chuckled and sat down at the bar. “His snoring sure did. Let me tell you I do not miss having to share a room with the big bastard. When we first started the company years ago we did it on a shoestring budget and had to share hotel rooms, and they did not always have two beds. The funny thing is he’s completely silent when we’re on surveillance. I swear that man can sleep with his eyes open and not make a sound. But when he’s comfortable, he can scare off an elephant. I don’t know how Charlie does it.”

“It’s good that he’s so comfortable. I could have been comfortable if he’d kept his mouth shut.” Nina hadn’t given up on him until Tag had outed his tiny omission of truth.

Alex slid him a sidelong glance. “I doubt that. I don’t know what conversation you were having last night, but it was not going well.”

“I could have saved it. I could have made her understand, but Tag had to open his mouth. I tell you I was disappointed. I kind of thought we were friendly. I didn’t expect he would out me like that to Nina.” It had bugged him all night. She never had to know how they’d met. It didn’t change anything.

Alex chuckled and poured himself a couple of fingers of the excellent Scotch the hotel stocked for the Malones. “Oh, that didn’t surprise me at all. Look, Ian’s got a code and he’s got a bunch of circles with which he applies that code. And he would blow a whole lot of that code up if he thinks a guy is fucking a woman over.”

Then Tag didn’t know him at all. “I am not trying to hurt Nina. I am trying to keep her safe.”

“You started the relationship by lying to her. That was always going to come out. You’ve been lucky so far. I assure you at some point Genny would have asked Nina about you and it would have come out. But you can’t expect Ian to pick you in this fight. She’s his employee, and he takes that seriously. Also, I know Ian seems like he’s all about protecting the women, but half the time he’s got a woman watching his back. He’s kind of surrounded himself with badass women, and he doesn’t like it when they get marginalized.”

What the hell was Alex talking about? “I wasn’t marginalizing her. I was trying to put her first. That’s what I don’t get. I’m literally willing to give up millions of dollars so she can be safe and somehow I’m the bad guy.”

This was what he’d been up thinking about all night. He had no idea how he’d been on the losing side of this fight. He was putting her first, putting her above money, the company, hell, according to Tag and Alex, he was putting her above the country. He didn’t get what he’d done so wrong, why she’d looked at him like he’d torn her apart.

Alex’s expression turned slightly sympathetic. “I wouldn’t say bad guy exactly, but you’re definitely the asshole. You’ve been around Nina for a week now. I would assume you’ve talked to her. Or have you just spent time in bed?”

He’d spent more time with her in the last week than he’d spent with anyone in years. “Of course I’ve talked to her. I’ve gotten to know a lot about her. You might think I’m an asshole, but I care about her. I care about her more than I would have expected. Hell, I’ve spent days trying to figure out how to keep her here with me after this mission thing is over.”

“Then you should know about her last job.”

He sighed in pure frustration. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the asshole who’d gotten her fired from Interpol. “I’m not using her. I’m not lying to her to try to get something out of her. I know I didn’t tell her I knew who she was, but I saw her and I wanted her more than I’ve ever wanted a woman in my life. I asked myself why it mattered that we would be working together.”

“Then shouldn’t you have made that argument to her?” Alex asked.

He’d thought about this, too. “I didn’t want to risk it.”

Alex nodded as though that was exactly the answer he’d expected. “Then you lied to her because you wanted to manipulate her into doing something. Namely you.”

“It’s not the same.”

Alex took a short drink and seemed to savor the Scotch. “Okay. Well, then you’re in the right and she’s overreacting.”

JT sank onto the seat beside Alex. “That’s not what I’m saying either.”

“Then you should say what you mean to say.”

Wasn’t that the problem? “I don’t know what I mean to say. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I wanted to be with her. That was all.”

“But her job is a big part of who she is,” Alex pointed out. “This isn’t an office job she chose because there wasn’t anything else out there. She trained for this. She puts her heart and soul into this job, and she’s had it all ripped away from her before.”

“I wasn’t trying to take her job away.” But he could see how it might look that way from her perspective. “I was trying to keep her safe.”

Alex put the drink down. “She’s not safe. That’s part of who she is, and you’re rejecting that part of her. How would you respond to a girlfriend who attempted to talk your father out of sending you out to check on rigs?”

“That would be ridiculous.” Half his job was making sure the rigs were properly working.

“Why? It’s dangerous. It’s precisely why you have security on every one of those rigs, and even then, bad shit still happens.”

“Yeah, well I’ve never been shot.” He winced. “But I have been in dangerous positions. Damn it. I didn’t mean to make her feel like she’s less. She’s starting to be everything to me.”

“Do you want my advice? From a man who lost his wife because he didn’t understand or appreciate how strong she was? I ask because I really will back off if you don’t want my opinion. Unlike Ian, who would just plow through.” Alex got a whimsical smile on his face. “I often think he does that because he never really fucked up before. He can be that arrogant because he was mostly right.”

“That’s the not the way I heard it.” JT had been told a lot of stories about Big Tag. “I heard he was a complete ass when his wife made it back to him.”

That comment elicited a full belly laugh from Alex. “Yeah, he was, but that lasted a whole three days. She put him through hell for five years. When you really look at it, he blustered briefly, and there was never a question in my mind what the outcome would be because he loved her. Because I watched for years as he mourned her. I sometimes wonder if he gave in so quickly because he’d seen how badly I screwed up.”

“You and Eve were divorced, right?” He’d heard a bit about it from his brother, but he knew far more about the younger guys Michael worked with on a regular basis. Not that they had a bunch of romantic entanglements. Well, Boomer had that sandwich he was in love with…

“For years.” Alex’s face lost the whimsical expression. “She was assaulted while I was working a case and I treated her like she was made of glass. I was so afraid she could get hurt again, that I would hurt her again.”

“It’s not the same.”

“You keep saying that, but it is,” Alex insisted. “I wanted to wrap her up and never let anyone touch her again. It hurt her. It killed my marriage the first time around. I often think the world would have been very different if Charlotte hadn’t died. Faked her death. I wonder if I would have made the same choices with Ian and Charlotte as my guide. I’ve heard some stories about them before they got married. They got into some crazy stuff. One time apparently they were after the same guy, like assigned to assassinate the same dude.”

“He was a mobster,” a deep voice said. “She was assigned to kill him because he was going to turn on her syndicate. I was supposed to do it because he had killed an Agency operative and stolen valuable intel.”

Alex looked up as Tag walked in. Unlike Alex, he’d shucked his clothes and wore one of the hotel’s super-plush robes over what JT thought was likely his boxers. “I thought you would sleep.”

“I did for a while,” Tag said with a yawn. “Then I had a shitty dream and when I woke up I remembered there’s Scotch. It’s funny because I always think I’ll sleep better alone, and then I never do. I get cold without her. Now you were telling the story of me and Charlie and Russian No Balls. I call him that because Charlie shot his balls off before she put two in his chest. That woman is so sexy when she’s working.”

“You let her take your job?” It seemed inconceivable since what he knew of Tag was that he was a control freak.

Tag grabbed a glass. “I sat my pretty ass on the bed and watched her do it. I ate some very delicious chocolates because we happened to be in Belgium, and I made sure she was totally loose. Being loose is important when you’re sniping someone, and it’s a totally different experience than when I did it in the Army. In the Army they shove you in camo, give you a couple of MREs you can’t heat up, and tell you to lie in position for hours, sometimes days, at a time. That was not the way Charlie played it. No. She got a suite in the nicest hotel in Antwerp.” Tag snorted. “Antwerp…”

Alex groaned. “God, it’s like you’re still twelve. How about we skip how you kept Charlotte loose and get on to why you let her take out the bad guy?”

“She won rock paper scissors dick,” Tag replied. “Seriously, when you’re playing that don’t pick dick. Everything hurts dick. Despite what our culture says with all its man-up talk, dicks are seriously delicate. I should never have let her add that in. I thought dick could pee on paper, but she offered to paper cut my dick and I then handed that rifle over.”

“Ian,” Alex prompted.

Tag’s lips curled up. “Fine. I let her do it because she’s a better shot than me. I would let her do it today because she’s still a better shot at that range. My wife is one of the best operatives I’ve ever worked with, and there’s no one in the world I want watching my back more.”

“Who would you take in if you couldn’t take your wife?” Alex asked.

“I would take you, asshole,” Tag shot back. “You’re my best friend, and for some reason you still want me alive. Now if you and Charlie were out, I know exactly who I’m taking in and that’s Erin. I’m stealing her from Li because she’s smart and mean and doesn’t pull her punches. I can’t help the fact that some of my best employees are chicks. I didn’t hire them for their coffee-making skills. I hired them because they’re good at their jobs and they’re committed to doing what’s right. I’ve sent women into dangerous positions because they were my absolute best bet at getting a job done, and one day it will very likely be my daughters I send in. When they’re ready I won’t hesitate because I won’t ever treat them differently than I would my son. I won’t teach them they’re less. If they decide they want to teach school or cut hair, then good for them. They’ll give it their all, and I’ll do my best to make sure they’re safe. But my girls are probably going to follow in their momma’s footsteps, and that means they’ll throw themselves into the dangerous stuff because it’s their calling. I take it this conversation is about how JT fucked up?”

“Yeah, he still doesn’t understand,” Alex replied.

He hated feeling like everyone thought he was an idiot. “Look, I took all those training classes at Sanctum. I thought we were supposed to protect our subs. I know she’s not wearing my collar, but I want to work toward that.”

Ian snorted. “I don’t think Nina’s going to be that kind of sub.” He sighed and sat back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make fun of you. It’s habit. You seem to have missed the part of class where we talk about there being no one way to have a D/s relationship. I think you’ll find Nina’s on the ‘keep it to the club’ level of submission. Have you not talked about this at all? About how you would behave out in the field?”

He felt himself flush. “I told her I would defer to her since she’s the pro.”

“And then the first chance you get you tell her you’re in charge,” Alex pointed out.

“Dick move,” Ian said. “Remember when I told you dicks are delicate. Yep, you proved my point.”

“Look, man, this would be a solid plan if Nina was your assistant,” Alex said.

“The funny thing is I wouldn’t even have thought of pulling Deanna out.” It was a tough admission to make. “One of the things I like about her is how solid she is. She’s rough and sometimes mean, but I don’t have to worry about her being…fragile. I do treat Deanna like I would any other employee.”

“Nina isn’t fragile either, and I for one wish I was going on this op because at some point in time that assistant of yours is going to get on Nina’s last nerve, and that’s when the wrestling begins,” Tag said. “Have the resort place handy women-sized vats of your favorite gelatin product around the grounds and let them go at it.”

He seriously doubted Nina would lose her cool. Because she was a professional. Because she had a job to do and she took it seriously. “I don’t think I can stand it if she gets hurt.”

Tag took a drink and sat back. “Then you need to find a woman with a safer job.” He was quiet for a moment and then all sarcasm had been purged from his voice. “Is this about Dana?”

JT took a long breath and let it out. “Maybe partly. It gets easier over the years, but then something will remind me that she’s gone and I don’t know where she is. After all this time, I know she’s probably dead, but I wish I knew.”

“Chelsea is heartsick that she can’t find a trace of her,” Alex said. “It was one of the reasons she left the Agency and started this company with Adam.”

“But some people, despite all of our best efforts, are never found. We lose some, and that’s the hardest part of this job. We don’t always win, but we get up the next day and we strap on our armor and go back into the fight.” Tag gestured toward the hall that led to the master bedroom. “That’s what Nina does. You need to decide if that’s what you want. I’m not saying you can’t have an amazing partner if she doesn’t also snipe the bad guys. Avery O’Donnell is one of the finest women I’ve ever met, and she knows to duck when the bullets fly. Her strength is different but no less powerful. Nina needs to do her job to feel whole and complete. She will also need a partner who trusts her enough, who loves her enough, to take those risks with her.”

“And that might not be you,” Alex said with nauseating sympathy. “You should think about it.”

“I really do think Michael can do this.” Tag’s voice was soft, offering him a way out. “And he does need a haircut.”

He shook his head and finally took a long swig of that Scotch. It burned down his throat. “No. I’m going in with her. I’m going to find a way to win her back.”

Tag nodded as though he approved. “Excellent. Then you’re going to need a plan. Now let me tell you exactly how I kept my Charlie loose for her mission.”

Alex groaned and dropped his head down to the bar.

JT only half listened as Big Tag gave him way too much information. His mind was on the mission. His mission.

He was going to win her back. He had to because he’d realized nothing mattered more than Nina. Not even his fear of losing her.