On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(112)

“He’s a weasel,” Serena said. “I’m not voting for him.”

Jake walked up, holding his hand out to his wife. “None of us will be voting for him. Adam is going to dig up the dirt. We just have to be patient. Now, dance with me, baby.”

He led Serena off, but Alex was still thinking about the problem of Senator Petty.

It was the only thing that had gone wrong. Well, maybe not the only thing.

“I also wish I knew where she went.” Alex took a long drag off his ridiculously expensive Scotch. Apparently nearly dying in an alligator-filled bog opened up the purse strings because he’d gotten several bottles of increasingly old Glenlivet as gifts. And the fifty-year from Ian was past heavenly.

“Are you talking about the Kristen girl?” Simon asked. He’d sent a lovely batch of alcohol to Alex’s new house. He would likely start a trend. A liquor bouquet.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t help but wonder where she’d gone. He’d woken up in the hospital, recovering from surgery, and one of the first things he’d felt was a deep gratitude because he could have been shot earlier in that day, before he’d had a chance to defend his wife. Kristen had made that happen. No matter why she’d done it, she’d saved Eve and that meant something to Alex. He’d asked about her just about everywhere he could and he’d gotten nowhere. She hadn’t been back to her condo.

“Well, I’m intrigued. I have to admit it,” Simon said. “Any girl who can wake up from major surgery, pull out her IVs, and walk out of the critical care unit is a female I’d like to meet. Not to mention the fact that she managed to avoid all the security cameras. We should seriously consider bringing her on the team. We need some females.”

Kristen was a loose end, and he hated loose ends.

Alex took a long drink. He glanced around Sanctum, feeling a deep sense of relief. This was his home. He might have screwed up by killing the only two people who could have exposed a conspiracy, but these people had his back. They were his family. “I don’t know about that. I think she might have had ties to Evans.”

God, he hoped he was proven wrong. It was a testament to how much he liked her that he really hoped he was f*cking wrong.

“Alex, I told you that doesn’t fit my profile.” Eve walked up, and his heart damn near stopped. She was so f*cking gorgeous in her leather miniskirt and bustier. She was wearing his collar…and his wedding ring. She was his everything. “Kristen was focused on living a good life, on doing what was right. She wasn’t insane. She knew right from wrong and Evans was wrong.”

Alex pulled his wife close. He had her back. Oh, sure, it had taken a couple of bullets to the chest, but she was in his arms and legally his, and he was f*cking keeping her. His wife. His sub. His forever. “Sure, baby. If she comes back, I’ll welcome her with open arms.”

It wasn’t an untrue statement. He still had no idea why Kristen had done what she did. After the events of alligator road, as Alex called it, Kristen had disappeared from the world. He’d tried to find her, but had not an ounce of luck.

And Eve had been so disappointed that she couldn’t invite her to their second wedding.

If he did find out she was involved with Evans, he would do what he needed to in order to help Kristen get over her mental problems. He would support her because deep down, she was good.

Eve wrapped her arm around his waist. “I’m so happy to hear that because I know we’re going to find her. She needs a family. Like Jesse.”

Alex frowned, staring out at the dungeon Ryan had managed to turn into a dance floor. This was the second of two weddings he’d facilitated in his time here. Avery and Liam had been joined here as well. Jesse Murdoch was doing some sort of standing, jerk-every-now-and-then dance with one of the subs. He was still a puppy dog with really sharp, slightly rancid teeth. But he’d taken out everyone in that hanger and allowed Jake and Sean to save his life, so Jesse Murdoch was one of the team for now.

Oddly, Simon had taken a shine to the kid and was showing him the ropes. They were two outsiders, clinging to each other just a little.

“I just hope we can find a way to prove what Eddie did.” He’d known he would sacrifice justice to save his wife’s life, but damn, he wanted both. He looked over the club and wished Ian hadn’t walked out right after the marriage ceremony. He’d stayed just long enough to pass Alex the ring. Ian and Sean were his family. He needed to be stronger. He wouldn’t let Ian pull away anymore. He would be a pain in his ass until they were close as hell again. He and Ian and Sean. They had grown up together.

When the bullets had hit him, he’d found an odd calm. He’d known that Ian and Sean really would take care of his wife because they were family.

He’d realized that his love for Eve spanned more than a lifetime.

He’d known that his love for her was endless and so was he. More than death. More than life. His love for her would last beyond anything so simple as breathing. He would find her again and again. She was his destiny.

“Hey!” Adam ran up, a brilliant smile on his face. “I have good news and bad news.”

Serena and Jake were right there with him. Serena wrapped an arm around her man’s neck. “The good news is gooder than the bad news is bad. Yeah, I’m a totally awesome writer!”

Jake gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We’ve all been desperate. Every computer in our house has been focused on one thing.”