Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(10)

“I thought you didn’t know much about her.” He found he didn’t like the idea of Hutch getting such a personal look at Faith McDonald when all he had was a few reports from Erin and a folder detailing Faith’s life.

Hutch shrugged in a way that let Ten know Hutch was more invested than he would like to be. “I find her interesting. I kind of wonder if it’s right to use her like this.”

Hutch was asking him that? Hutch, the former black hat hacker. Hutch, who had hacked literally thousands of people’s lives? Hutch, who would likely be in jail if the Agency hadn’t recruited him. “Do I need to remind you how many people died because of her father? They didn’t simply die. They were tortured in horrific ways. Hank McDonald doesn’t give a shit about the Geneva Conventions. He cares about money and if we don’t shut him down, more of our servicemen and women are going to fall to his greed.”

“We have no reason to believe she knows anything about her father’s dealings,” Hutch argued.

“We do know she’s the only way in,” Tag said, his voice deep with authority. “Do you think I didn’t look at every angle? When Ten brought me this plan and asked to use my people, I analyzed it and found every single hole I could. This is the best plan of action, and Ten will ensure the girl doesn’t get hurt. Well, physically hurt. It isn’t our fault she was born the daughter of a monster.”

“If we don’t act, those deaths are on us.” Case closed the file in front of him. “We’ll all watch out for her. I know Theo really likes her.”

It seemed Faith was good at finding friends. For Ten it was suspicious. No one was that good, that pure. Especially no little rich girl. He was already certain Hope McDonald was dirty. She was a doctor as well, though she hadn’t gone the same route as her sister. Hope worked for a large pharmaceutical company. And there were hints she liked to test in non-FDA approved ways.

So why would Faith be different?

“I want everything you have on her. I want to read her e-mails. You said she recently broke up with her lover?” He needed to know everything about her. Not because he wanted to. No. His fascination with her was all about the op and nothing more.

“The dude was a dickwad who wanted a maid more than a lover,” Malone said. “Faith knew him before he got into the lifestyle. He was a doctor she knew from her residency at a Houston hospital. They were lovers, though it seemed to be more of a thing of convenience than true love. After she started going to Africa on a regular basis, they got together when she was home. She’s the one who got him into the lifestyle, though he seemed to take to it more fully than she did.”

“How so?” From what he could tell, Faith was fairly into the lifestyle. She had a few months off every year and she spent them practicing D/s with her chosen Dom.

“Faith seems to use D/s almost as a relaxation tool.” Once again it annoyed Ten that Hutch seemed to know more about her than he did. Hutch continued. “The way she describes it in her e-mails to friends is that she has to make so many decisions in her work, she prefers to leave it to someone else when she’s home. But her ex took it further. He now has a twenty-four seven slave who lives with him and is dependent on him for her every decision. Faith wouldn’t have been able to live like that.”

Ten was used to Big Tag’s version of D/s, which was really nothing more than a side dish while the relationship was the entrée. While Big Tag’s wife submitted to him sexually, she would likely shoot his ass if he really ordered her around.

His life would be easier if he could have more control over Faith. She wanted him to make the decisions about things like where they would eat and what they would do, but he wanted to ensure she obeyed him when the bullets started flying.

“Forward me everything you have on her including her e-mails, and watch her accounts. Now that she’s out of Liberia, I want her watched constantly. If she’s got any contact with her father, I want to know about it.” Faith was the key. She was the one who would get him on the inside. Ten stood up. “We’ve got a couple of weeks. We’ll watch her and continue to try to get some kind of line on McDonald. He seems to like the ladies. Let’s see if we can find a pro who wouldn’t mind planting a couple of bugs for us.”

Case nodded. “I’ll call some people I know in DC. That could work.”

“Good. I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.” He took his papers and stepped out.

McKay-Taggart made him nervous. The minute he stepped out of any room there was always someone waiting to wave at him. This time it was Grace, a lovely redhead who was married to Tag’s younger brother, Sean. She was the receptionist and general office manager at McKay-Taggart. She held the keys to the kingdom. No client got through without being vetted by Grace Taggart.

“Hey, Ten. How are you today?”

“Good.” He always kept his answers short and sweet with her. It was funny because he used to flirt with every woman at Langley, but the women of McKay-Taggart were different. If he showed any weakness at all to them, he would find himself at some family dinner or set up on a horrifying blind date because these were women who took an interest in a single man, and Ten wasn’t talking about his penis. These women wanted every damn man alive to be some sort of family member, and he didn’t play that way.

“Any chance you can join us at Top tomorrow night? Sean wants to experiment with lamb lollipops.”