On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(25)

“I actually hoped we could talk.” He had just been an *, but he’d always been possessive. She was willing to give him a little leeway. The first time she’d caught him hugging another sub, she’d wanted to snatch the woman’s hair right off her head. “Do you have time for dinner?”

He stopped, his eyes widening. “You want to have dinner with me?”

“Yes. I think we should talk.” They rarely spent time together that they weren’t working or doing exactly what Ian had accused them of—having empty sex. It had been a very long time since they just sat down and talked, and she knew that had been her fault. “How about Thai? My treat.”

His jaw squared and a stubborn look came into his eyes. “I have to work. I really want nothing more than to take you up on that and I will eventually, but I have a case I’m looking into and timing is of the essence.”

“You need me to run the background check on the girl?” Simon asked. She hadn’t noticed him leaning against the bar. “I can certainly handle finding out if the girl is who she says she is. Now making sure she’s got the connections to Evans is another story entirely.”

Eve felt like the ground shifted underneath her. “Evans?”

It was a common name. It could be anything because there was no way Alex would get involved in any case having to do with Michael Evans without letting her know what was going on. He wouldn’t do that to her. Not again.

The flush on his face told her a different tale. His whole stance stiffened as though he’d just gone on the defensive. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, Eve. I’m going to Florida for a couple of weeks. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

He walked out of the dungeon toward the lobby, and Eve sank into a chair, her hands shaking. She’d been ready to start again, but nothing had changed.

Nothing at all.





Chapter Four


Alex stalked out of the dungeon, cursing under his breath. Why the f*ck had Weston felt it necessary to mention Evans’s name? He was a f*cking idiot who had just screwed up everything.

“Hey!”

Alex stopped in the middle of the lobby but didn’t turn around. He knew exactly who was coming after him. Weston wasn’t the only idiot Euro he had to deal with. “I don’t need to hear from you, Liam.”

“I bloody well think you do,” Liam shot back, rounding on him. “What the f*ck was that about?”

When Liam was angry, his Irish got up and his statement sounded more like “wha de fook was dat aboot?” Yeah, he was pissed. Alex filled his lungs with air and prayed for a little patience because he was the one who had handled that poorly. Weston had spoken out of turn, but had he really expected that Eve would never find out? He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Eve had picked the worst possible time to decide to relax the rules a bit.

“Would it do me a damn bit of good to point out that it’s none of your business, O’Donnell?”

“She asks you to go and have dinner with her and you turn her down over a case?” Liam shook his head. “I’ll handle the bloody case. Just give me the details and stop acting like an ass. Eve’s got some things to talk to you about.”

“It doesn’t matter. She won’t talk about it now.” What the hell did she want to discuss? Was she finally going to tear up their contract and split them up permanently? Bitterness welled up. It would just have to wait.

What the hell was he going to do if Eve finally let him go?

Liam calmed a bit. “She will if you just apologize. Just walk back in there and talk to her, mate. You can’t imagine how hard it was for her to do this. Just walk back in and take her out to dinner. You can still make this right.”

But he couldn’t. He’d lost that chance a long time ago. “I can’t, Liam.”

Eve walked by them. She’d replaced her shoes and put her jacket back on. Just for a brief moment, she’d been as soft as she was all those years ago. It was why he’d nearly taken his best friend’s head off. She’d looked soft and sweet in Ian’s arms. There had been none of the coldness of the last few years, and he’d ached that the warmth hadn’t been for him.

Except it had been there when she’d asked him to dinner. Her eyes had lit up with a spark he hadn’t seen in forever. Had she met someone? How would he take that? Could he watch her be happy with someone else?

“I would like a ride home, please.” Eve didn’t look back, merely went to stand by the door. It was obvious that all of her softness had fled the minute she’d heard Evans’s name. He’d been right to keep her out of this. He just wanted to protect her. Why couldn’t anyone see that?

Liam stepped up. “I’ll run you back to the office then, love. Alex, stay with Ian until I can get back.”

Eve held a hand up. “I would like Alex to take me.” She turned, and he’d been right about the softness. There was none of it now. Her face was a careful, perfect blank. “I think he can manage to drop me at my car before he goes back to work. You are going back to the office, aren’t you?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, merely stepped out into the afternoon light, moving toward the parking lot.

“I’ll handle her,” Alex said.

“She was going to ask you to revise your contract,” Liam said with a frown. “Why would she be so upset about you working? Can’t you put if off for a couple of hours?”