Cherished (Masters and Mercenaries #7.5)(46)

Anger flashed through her system. “He was not. He had nothing to do with those killings.”

He shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. “The press might see it that way. Or they might be open to questions about it. All I’m saying is it would be in his best interest if your sister’s wedding runs smoothly.”

His way or the highway. Or in this case, his way or Will lost his job and got humiliated in the press.

She knew exactly how he felt. Will was private. He would be horrified to have his life spread out like that.

Anger sat in her gut, but she nodded. She’d gotten Will into this. She couldn’t let him get caught up in her father’s crap. “I guess I should wish her a happy wedding then, shouldn’t I?”

“You always were a smart girl. Never used it much, but smart. Now get out of my sight. You’re here for your sister. The rest of the family would rather you didn’t exist.”

She nodded and walked away, but not toward Will. She headed for the beach.

It would be good to remind herself that she was alone. Always alone.





“What kind of protection is that thing supposed to be?” Taggart was asking Jacob Dean as Will approached. He was staring at the baby carrier.

“Well, for one thing, it doesn’t let him slide to the ground,” Dean replied.

Taggart took a swig of the beer he was holding. “It does nothing to stop a bullet.”

Dean rolled his eyes and he patted his son’s back. “No. Surprisingly my baby carrier isn’t made of Kevlar.”

“And that is where you’ve chosen poorly, my friend. Think about it. Baby would be protected and your whole chest area suddenly isn’t a big open target. I’m just saying why can’t it serve two purposes. That baby Charlie’s carrying is getting the full package. She’s thinking jogging stroller, but I think we should go with bulletproof all the way.” Taggart nodded. “Daley, how’s it going? I see Bridget hasn’t killed you yet. I lost that bet.”

“You owe me twenty,” Dean replied.

“No. Bridget and I get along fine. Mitch, what are you doing here?” Will asked, staring at his friend, who looked more casual than he could remember seeing him.

Mitch pointed Taggart’s way. “The big guy called and asked me to come along. Apparently he finally met Slaten and now he’s trying to find a way out of this contract.”

Taggart shook his head. “No. I’m fine with the contract. But I’m probably going to do something really horrible to the man, and I thought my attorney should witness the crime.”

“Actually, that’s a bad idea,” Mitch admitted. “I shouldn’t be witness to any crimes you might commit. But I will look through those documents you asked me to look into. I’m going through some of the corporate bylaws and structure for Bridget’s sister. She had some questions. Ian had concerns and at the last minute, a couple of seats opened up on the plane. Any idea how that happened?”

“Hey, I wanted some alone time.” It had gone spectacularly well. He was looking forward to getting her alone again. Once the family cleared out, they would have a whole week to themselves. Now that he thought about it, he should propose more than a month for their next contract. They could safely sign a contract for six months. That seemed reasonable.

“It’s a good thing Mitch is here,” Taggart said. “Bridget’s dad is such an * that I think I really am going to need a lawyer.” He sobered a little. “Keep her away from him, man. He’s toxic. He talks about both his daughters like they’re property to be dispensed with, and I won’t even go into the man’s sexual proclivities.”

“His sexual proclivities?”

He shook his head as though shaking some nasty image out of his brain. “Hey, I had Li shadow him after we signed him up. I should have done it before, but he kind of dazzled me with the whole signing bonus deal. I got mouths to feed. Li needed a new partner and damn Damon hired some sad-sack Russian. I swear every ex-agent with a sob story shows up on my doorstep.”

He did not need to listen to Taggart complain. The man could do it for hours. “Back to Bridget’s dad.”

“Hey, I have a conscience. I also have a couple of hours of tape on the son of a bitch if we ever need it.” Taggart shook his head. “Trust me. I know who has the best odds for filing crazy lawsuits and not paying up. I have to cut that shit off at the pass.”

“Mitch?” a familiar female voice said.

Will turned slowly, hoping and praying that he was mistaken. “Laurel?”

His eldest sister was holding two glasses of wine and gave him a sheepish grin. “Hey, big brother.”

“Hello, sister. Want to explain why you’re here.” He suddenly figured it out and turned on his best friend. “Are you f*cking kidding me?”

“I don’t think he knew they were screwing,” Taggart whispered to Dean.

“Definitely not,” Dean agreed.

It was good to know they were entertaining someone. “Your opinions are not needed.”

“Don’t think of them as opinions. Merely reactions to the show, buddy,” Taggart replied with a grin. “Continue on. You should definitely mention the fact that Mitch has gone through like five wives.”

Laurel rolled her eyes and got in between Will and Mitch. She proved her moxie by pointing a finger the big boys’ way. “You two, stop being jerks around the baby. Mitch has only been married twice. He has terrible taste in women. And I’m here because I’m working for him. He hired me on two weeks ago.”