Spy With Me (Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits #5)

Chapter One

Zach Reed loved The Hideout. At first he’d come to the BDSM club because it was part of his job.

Scratch that. He was trying to be honest with himself since he couldn’t be honest with anyone else. He’d come because he wanted to know what made Cooper McKay tick.

His brother.

He was with his brother. The brother he hadn’t known existed for the longest time. The brother he never intended to do more than look up, make sure he was doing okay. He definitely hadn’t meant to become his brother’s military liaison on a CIA team. Hadn’t meant to hang with him at a sex club. Nope. Not on his life plan.

He liked it. It helped that his brother was fairly private about his play.

“Well, I’m surprised Kala’s standing after that kick to the…”

Dare Nash settled the vest over his chest and gave his aforementioned brother a pat on the shoulder.

“Does she have a piercing there? That’s the rumor. Has anyone checked to make sure she’s okay? You know. Down there.”

Cooper snorted.

“She’s fine. Trust me. It’s not the first time she’s taken a hit downstairs. My baby likes to get into fights. Also, maybe don’t tell her I call her my baby. She would take offense.”

His brother was madly in love with Kala Taggart, the single deadliest operative he’d ever worked with. He wouldn’t cross her if he didn’t have to.

He’d started to wonder if they ever needed to know the truth. He’d managed to hide working with Tristan Miles to bring down the infamous Jester.

Who he’d actually killed first, and for his own reasons. He’d sent in an asshole for Tristan to murder and let him think he was in control. Yeah, they didn’t need to know that either.

“At some point you have to make a move, right?”

Dare asked.

“I can’t imagine being close to Tash and never making a move.”

Oh, Zach could. He’d been rather enchanted by the lovely Tasha Taggart since the minute he met her, but she was on his team and honestly, he never felt like it was the right time to see if she was interested. First she’d had a fiancé, and then she’d needed space. Then she met Dare, and he no longer had any kind of a shot.

He’d come to believe it wasn’t love. It was more like wanting to belong. He might have started all this because his bosses at the CIA wanted shit on Ian Taggart and his unique team, but the truth was Taggart was a better man and better operative and ran a better team than any of those assholes ever could.

Would they cut him loose if he didn’t come through with something? Anything? Would they decide he was on the wrong side now and ship him straight back to the military where he wouldn’t be part of this family he found himself in?

He had to give them something or he was going to get cut, and right as he was finally getting close to his younger brother.

His brother was saying something about Kala needing time, but Zach’s head was on all the balls he was juggling.

Lying about why he was on the team. Lying about who his mother was—well, he hadn’t truly. He simply hadn’t mentioned that she was the elusive bombmaker everyone was hunting. Lying about who Cooper was to him. Lying about what he knew about Huisman.

That was the one he was least proud of. He could give them good intel, but it would mean blowing his cover.

“I think Zach is distracted,”

Cooper said with a chuckle.

He needed his head in the game. He hated that. Hated that he couldn’t simply relax because the game never took a break. It was waiting to expose him. He shook his head and stood, stretching.

“Zach is tired because he was on a red eye from DC this morning after someone’s dad pulled strings and forced me to leave my hermit house.”

Cooper shut his locker and leaned back against it.

“I’m sure that was fun for you. Did Adam call, or Jake? Is it true that they bound Tristan in plastic wrap in order to force him to attend a family brunch?”

That plastic had been surprisingly effective. Also, Tristan’s mom, Serena, made a hell of a Bloody Mary.

“Yeah, I got to witness part of that come to Jesus. They did not hold back. There were tears and everything. Those were from Serena and Bri. Adam used logic. Jake growled a lot. Does that dude talk?”

“I don’t think he has to. Adam talks enough for both of them,”

Cooper explained.

“And I’m happy someone finally knocked some sense into Tris. He’s been in love with Carys forever. If Aidan and Carys got married without him, he would regret it.”

Dare put up his hands as though ceding the fight.

“I live in this world now. This world where it’s perfectly normal for two dudes to decide to marry one girl. I do not get it, but they seem happy. Adam and Serena and Jake, that is. Tris, Carys, and Aidan are a mess.”

“I don’t see why it’s weird,”

Coop admitted.

Dare gave Zach a shake of his dark head.

“Because you grew up around it. Zach and I didn’t.”

Zach shrugged.

“Dude, I grew up in a trailer park. Let me tell you there’s a lot of drama in a trailer park. Honestly, I think there would have been way less if Suzy Nelson hadn’t cheated behind her husband, Gorge’s, back. Not a nickname. The dude was legally named Gorge. If she’d walked to old Gorge and told him she wanted to screw Bubba Ham, maybe they would have tag teamed her instead of trying to shoot each other with BB guns. Also, Bubba was a nickname, but where I come from if you have several siblings, your momma looks around and decides one of the males is Bubba. He’s usually the one who says ‘hold my beer’ a lot. There’s always a Bubba, and if you don’t know which one it is, it’s probably you.”

Cooper grinned.

“I love trailer park stories.”

“It wasn’t all bad,”

Zach admitted. Cooper never had to know that when he told those stories, he was doing it so Cooper knew a little about the childhood that was almost his, too. His mom was awesome when she was around. She was smart and funny. She also happened to be a wanted criminal.

“It was good to have a roof over my head and food in my belly, so I can’t complain.”

Except it would have been better with a brother.

He shook that off. Cooper loved his parents. He loved his life here in Dallas, and the Agency team that took him around the world. If their mom hadn’t given him up, Cooper likely wouldn’t have learned to fly, wouldn’t have had the big found family he’d grown up in. Wouldn’t have fallen in love with the most complicated woman in the world.

And that would be a shame because Kala Taggart was a hell of a woman. Zach genuinely loved her like a sister.

“Well, that sounds more fun than…”

Dare began.

Zach snorted and stopped him since he knew what was coming next.

“Rich boy, I know your dad was a massive ass, but really, let’s not compare childhoods. I would totally win.”

Even if he didn’t tell them about his mom who was in and out of jail, and his aunt who loved him but also had some mental health issues. He had plenty of stories about growing up poor and being called white trash. Dare Nash had a nasty dad who was now doing time in jail—though it was Canadian jail, so there was that—but otherwise the world had been his oyster. And he’d gotten Tasha. And Ian Taggart kind of loved him.

Dare pretty much had everything Zach wanted. He was now the head of sales for McKay-Taggart. He would be part of the family, and no one would ever threaten to take it from him. His place was set.

Cooper glanced down at his watch.

“I should get out there. We’ve got a couple of scenes to run tonight. Julian sent over one of his problem children. Not a real problem. He just hasn’t gotten what he needs, and I don’t think he’s going to find it at The Club. I already set up the space, but I want to walk Kala through it and make sure it’s everything she needs.”

His brother might not be sleeping with the woman he loved, but he knew how to take care of her.

“I wasn’t trying to…”

Dare began as Cooper walked toward the door that would lead them out.

It was awkward to be around the guy who ended up with the girl, but Zach had no regrets. Tash was happy. That was all that mattered.

“It’s okay, man. We all have shitty childhoods. We probably shouldn’t turn it into a competition. How’s the wedding prep going?”

Dare seemed relieved to have something to talk about. It was probably weird to hang out with a dude who used to have a crush on your fiancée. Dare was a good guy. They followed Cooper as Dare talked about venues and how he mostly sat back and nodded and let Tash and her mom pick everything.

He was also a smart man.

“You can totally get Aidan killed,”

Kala was saying as he walked into the hall.

“Like go for it, buddy. But if you think I’ll let you hurt my cousin, you haven’t met me. Would you like to meet me, Tristan?”

So this was going well. He was here for the drama. He used to be the dude who would say he wanted peace and calm, but he was pretty addicted to the scenes they ran at The Hideout, and he wasn’t talking about all the public spankings.

Aidan frowned. The doctor was dressed for play and curled an arm around his fiancée’s waist.

“So says the woman who punched her in the gut not three hours ago.”

The hall was crowded. The ladies had emerged from their locker room as well, and they seemed to be facing off with the guys. Well, except for Carys, who was huddling close to Aidan. Tristan Dean-Miles, however, was staring Kala Taggart’s way. She stood there with her sisters, Tasha and twin Kenzie.

And her cousin.

Damn, her cousin looked good. Devi. He was pretty sure it was short for Devon. Devon Taggart. He stared at her for a moment. She had natural red hair and the cutest smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. So much hair, and it was curly and wound down to brush the tops of perky breasts. She wore a pair of boy shorts that barely covered her and an emerald green corset that made her skin practically glow. She always wore such pretty fet wear. There were roses embroidered on the corset, like they bound her up in beauty.

How had he never really looked at her before?

Oh, yeah, because she was his teammate TJ’s sister, and TJ might smack him.

It might be worth it. Besides, TJ was totally wrapped up in his girlfriend, Louisa Ward, right now. He probably wouldn’t even notice.

He shouldn’t do this. It was a bad idea. He was a bad bet, and little Devi shouldn’t be in his line of fire.

And yet he wasn’t walking away.

“She’ll back off,”

Tristan was saying.

“Or she’ll meet me.”

Kala had been in the middle of the Tristan/Carys/Aidan drama. It was precisely how she’d gotten kicked in the cootch earlier today. Naturally Kala had taken it like a champ. It looked like Coop’s well-planned-out evening might be in jeopardy.

Cooper groaned.

“She’s wound up enough as it is. Could we notch down the testosterone, please?”

“He’s talking to you, sis,”

Kenzie said to her twin.

He rarely got them mixed up, despite the fact that they were perfectly identical. They worked hard to stay that way. When Kala got a scar, Kenzie made sure she had one, too.

It was a bit disturbing, but he understood. The twins were dedicated to the mission.

A low snarl came from Kala’s mouth. Despite that predatory sound, Zach knew they were dedicated to each other, too.

His brother got into Kala’s space, putting a hand on her back.

“Come on. I’ve got a scene set up for you along with an imported pain slut. Julian sent this guy over because he claims no one can give him what he needs.”

“Sounds like a challenge.”

Kala no longer looked like she wanted to murder someone. She leaned back into Cooper for a brief moment and then straightened up, obviously sinking into top space.

“Are you watching or helping tonight, Master C?”

Cooper only had eyes for her.

“Oh, I think you’ll need help with him, Mistress. Let’s go make sure the space is up to your standards.”

Kala turned to him, her gaze going as soft as it ever did.

“I have no doubt.”

And then his brother was following her out onto the dungeon floor.

Damn, but he wanted that. Not the years’ worth of slow burn. He would way rather get it going. Mostly because he would probably die soon. It was the nature of his business. If his bosses didn’t kill him, then Huisman would, or any number of his mom’s associates.

His gaze went back to Devi. So freaking pretty.

She did something artistic for a living. He tended to pretty much stick to his team, but he had the most insane urge to get to know Devi Taggart. It was a mistake. He was a mess and didn’t have any right to drag her into what might turn out to be a nightmare.

But he could also try to be positive. He’d been with the team for years now. They never had to know he was anything but exactly who he said he was. The truth of the matter was his team was in the middle of something big, and if they delivered Huisman, Taggart would be locked in. There would be nothing those assholes could do to him.

“I wouldn’t hate a session,”

Kenzie announced.

“I think I’ll go see if any of The Club guys are here. Gabe won’t try to get into my thong.”

Tasha sidled up to her fiancé. They made a lovely couple.

“I thought you wanted someone in your thong.”

Was Devi looking for a partner? He seemed to remember the Doms joking about her being a nun. She didn’t play often, but she looked like she was ready for it.

Maybe she wanted a Dom for the night.

His groin tightened in a deeply pleasurable way. It had been forever since he truly wanted someone. Tasha… That was definitely more about how kind she was and how if she cared about him, he would be in.

Devi though… He just wanted her.

Kenzie put a hand on her hip, her magenta-colored ponytail swinging.

“I think I’m choosing sanity for a while. And by sanity I mean celibacy. How about it, Zach? You know you’ve wanted to slap my ass for a long time. I mean that in an I’m-annoying way, not a you-think-I’m-hot way.”

Oh, that was a terrible idea. Wow. Yeah, his dick withered at the thought, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t his type. Kenzie Taggart was a gorgeous woman with a near-perfect body and the sweetest smile. And yet.

“Too much like my sister. Nope.”

Turned out he wasn’t one of those Doms who could simply service any submissive.

Kenzie gave him a flouncy pout.

“Your loss.”

She strode away and then the only one left was Devi. Well, the only one he wanted to spend time with tonight. Carys and Aidan and Tris were still there. But he pretty much only had eyes for Devi.

Zach gave her his bes.

“I’m harmless”

smile. Now that… That was a real lie.

“How about you? You’re Devi, right? You need a scene partner?”

She kind of squeaked and then she was gone, disappearing back into the locker room.

Well, that hurt. First woman he’d wanted in forever and she was obviously terrified of him.

It was a good thing because the truth of the matter was he’d never been into mousy women. He liked a sexually submissive woman, but he pretty much wanted a badass bitch outside the bedroom. He liked a brat.

He’d thought Erin Taggart’s daughter would be both. But then she was also Theo Taggart’s daughter, so there was that.

“I guess that’s a no. Do I smell bad or something?”

He looked to the trio, but they had no advice for him. Tristan was actually laughing. He could handle it. They were friends and friends ribbed each other. It was nice when he thought about it.

“All right. Looks like I’m watching tonight. You three have fun and know you’re going to have to deal with Kala in the field. She’s serious.”

Kala was always serious in the field.

He walked back into the locker room as he felt his cell buzz.

Cell phones were allowed on the floor, though only for emergency purposes. There were a bunch of members who had to be available at all times. CIA operatives. A fed. Aidan and Carys were doctors. Lucas Taggart was at least half of Dallas’s booty call. So phones were a necessary evil. He pulled it out as he walked past Travis Taggart playing Xbox with Hunter McKay.

His brother’s brother. Hunter was a good kid, but Zach felt awkward around him. Cooper loved his brother, was good to him.

Hunter had taken his place, and he couldn’t blame the kid, but he still felt weird about it.

He glanced down at his cell and frowned. Lacey.

Lacey was a contact in his mother’s world. She was the daughter of a woman his mom had met a couple of times over the years, though miraculously, she trusted her therefore would actually talk to Lacey. She was a vegan, tree-hugging near anarchist, but she was excellent at digging up information and had contacts in the underground world his mom occupied that he couldn’t match.

He liked Lacey. She actually kind of reminded him of Kala. But he didn’t want to answer that phone. He wanted to pretend he wasn’t who he was for the night. It would have been perfect to do that with Devi Taggart, but it wasn’t happening.

So he moved past Lucas and Hunter and back toward the showers where he was absolutely certain no one would hear him. He slid his thumb across the cell to answer the call.

“This is Reed.”

Captain Zachary Reed. Soldier. Operative. Liar.

“Hey, Zach.”

Lacey’s British accent came over the line. She’d been born in Liverpool and kept a house there. From what he could tell, Lacey Rook came from wealth, but she’d rebelled against her traditionalist parents and joined all kinds of activist groups.

“I wanted to let you know I got in touch with a contact who swears he’s seen our friend.”

His gut tightened.

“Where was she?”

“He wouldn’t say. I’m working on him. He doesn’t trust me,”

Lacey replied.

“Not yet, but you know I can calm the most paranoid conspiracy theorist. Personally, I think she’s here in Europe somewhere. The man I talked to is what I would call a procurement specialist.”

So he basically worked logistics for underground groups and criminals, which often were a perfect Venn diagram.

“He trying to buy something from her?”

Always her and she. He never said her name or called her mother. Lacey wouldn’t either. He’d been working with her for over a year, and she was the closest he’d come to actually getting in the same room with his mom.

“You know everyone loves her pottery.”

Lacey followed their code words even though he trusted she would be on a somewhat secure line.

“I’m sure he’s trying to make a sale to a high-value client.”

He didn’t want to deal with this tonight. Whenever he tried to handle his mom, he felt fucking helpless. Likely because he was helpless. His mother was excellent at hiding. She was even better at building bombs that could shake the world—precisely the reason Emmanuel Huisman was looking for her.

“Is it for the Canadian gallery? I know she wasn’t interested in showing there.”

His mother was terrified of Huisman, hence her going to ground for the last couple of years.

“I can’t be sure. It was a hurried conversation,”

she replied.

“When do you think you can get back across the pond? There are a few spots I’m looking at that might be a better fit for her.”

So she had some places to check out. The problem was if he left now, it would be noted.

“I’m afraid I’m pretty deep in the weeds at work. I’ve got a new project. I’ll be in Canada next week.”

Aidan O’Donnell had been invited to a medical conference by one Dr. Emmanuel Huisman. Aidan was a resident in trauma surgery, and the Huisman Foundation sponsored a whole lot of research in the medical world. Unfortunately, they also sponsored terrorism.

“Then I’ll check it out myself,”

she replied.

“Hey, you need…” he began.

“I’ll be careful. And you do the same. I’m worried about some movements I’ve seen recently, but we can talk about that later. I’m sure it’s late where you are,”

Lacey said.

“It’s almost dawn where you are.”

If she was in Liverpool, it would be five in the morning.

“Are you up early or late?”

A husky laugh came over the line. Lacey was a gorgeous woman with long hair she changed as often as the twins did. The last time he’d seen her the long tresses had ended in a beautiful jade green color. And yet he didn’t feel a pull her way. They’d worked together for months, and he’d never made a move on her. He wasn’t even sure she liked guys, but it was weird he’d never felt anything for her when she was very much his type.

A vision of Devi brushed across his brain.

Maybe she needed to get to know him better. Or she didn’t want to get involved with a guy who worked with her brother. He couldn’t fix that. He might be able to convince her though. He just had to get some time with her.

Why was he thinking about this when he should be getting dressed and heading back to Cooper’s, where he was staying for the week? He could get on his laptop—the encrypted one—and get some work done. Maybe track down some of the leads Lacey was offering.

But he wasn’t going to do that. He was here. He was going to spend a couple of damn hours being the man he wanted to be. And if Devi wouldn’t play with him, maybe she would let him buy her a drink at the end of the night. There was so much to catch up on. He’d missed the wedding where helicopters sent by Huisman nearly took out the wedding party. All he’d gotten was a stupid report that left out all the fun stuff. He would bet Devi had some stories.

Yeah, that might be his in.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, mate,”

Lacey said over the line.

“Well, I’ll let you know if I come up with a workable plan for our friend. Until then, keep me up to date on whatever I need to know. If you find yourself in Liverpool, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“I’ll keep you to that,”

he replied.

“Bye, Lace.”

He hung up.

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

Hunter McKay stood at the end of the lockers. He was a couple of years younger than Cooper, and while they didn’t look a lot alike, they both held themselves in similar fashions. His shoulders were straight, his arms crossed over his chest and a judgmental look in his eyes.

“I don’t.”

How had he missed someone walking up on him? Devi. He’d been thinking about Devi. Another reason to take her rejection as the good thing it had been. She made a smart decision. He needed to make his own by not pursuing her further.

She would be one more person he had to lie to.

Maybe he got to the other end of this and he could have some kind of a life, but for now he had to be happy just getting to know his brother.

And praying Cooper never found out he was his brother.

Cooper’s adopted brother stared at him warily.

“I suppose it’s none of my business.”

“It’s not.”

It was clear the kid had some serious instincts. He would bet Hunter wasn’t quite sure why he didn’t like Zach, couldn’t put his finger on it, but the distrust was there.

“However, if you need to know, I was talking to Lacey. She’s a friend of mine in England. She’s looking to help one of my relatives with an art showing.”

Cover was a good thing. Keeping it was even better.

Hunter caved. Zach would bet it would be hard for the kid to stay mad or suspicious of anyone for too long. Hunter McKay was too happy to hold on to the more bitter emotions.

“Sorry. I’m just… Well, I was worried, but my brother says you’re a good guy so I’ll let you know that someone is waiting for you in the hallway. I guess she changed her mind.”

Devi.

Every single reason he had to take that rejection like a champ flew straight out of his brain, and he couldn’t get to that door fast enough.

It was a bad idea. A horrible mistake.

And he was making it.