On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(43)

“Hey, a girl does what a girl has to do.” Kristen shrugged and got back to her rundown. “The waitresses run the gamut from dumb but well-meaning to annoying. Bunny is exactly what she’s named for. Fluffy and sweet. Karma is all right. I think she’s probably the most self-destructive of the group. Azure is the one who gave you the evil eye as you walked in. But the one you really have to watch out for is Chazz.”

“What’s he capable of?” Eve asked.

“I think he’s capable of anything, and I’m lucky he has a thing for me or I would be screwed. The key with Chazz is to pretend like he’s the shit. The minute he knows you think you’re above him, he’ll slit your throat without a single thought. Never drop the submissive routine. He talks like a dumb shit, but he’s serious, and in his head, you’re a slave and he’s the ultimate Master and he controls everything. If he decides it’s easier to kill you than keep you, he’ll do it.”

He sounded like he had a lot in common with Michael Evans. “How has he gotten away with this?”

“I think he’s got someone on the inside who’s protecting him. A couple of cops come to the club from time to time. Chazz has his connections. Remember that. This isn’t Sanctum. This is Hell, and we all just have to try to survive. They should be done soon. I’m going to go make sure the car is ready. Meet you back at the bar.”

Kristen walked out and Eve deflated.

What was she doing? She wasn’t a field operative. God, had she made a terrible mistake?

She sat down on the bench, trying to process everything the other woman had just told her, but all she could do was think about the fact that “the big boss” would be here in a few weeks. That was what Chazz had said. If Kristen was right, Michael Evans was the boss, and he would breathe the same air as her in a matter of weeks.

You’re just a little whore. That’s all any of you are.

She shivered in the cool of the room and closed her eyes, thinking soothing thoughts. It was the only way to make the bad images go away. She deserved her peace. She deserved to have a life that wasn’t filled with the man who had raped her. She was a damn psychologist. She wasn’t some warrior princess. She’d taken plenty of self-defense classes, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to use them.

She wasn’t hiding. She was helping out. She was here because she was the best person for the job and because Alex was her responsibility.

Her brain floated back to the day she’d told her parents she was marrying Alex. She hadn’t told Kristen what their response had been. They’d been all smiles on the day she and Alex had married, but they hadn’t been happy about it. Her mother and father had planned on her marrying a doctor or a lawyer, not an FBI agent. Alex had been too rough for them, too possessive, too real.

Her parents hadn’t known about the life they’d led. She’d hidden it from them. They still didn’t know.

She wasn’t hiding.

Eve stood up, straightening her clothes. Well, what there was of her clothes. Damn it. Why had she come here?

To make sure Alex survived. That was why she was here. That was why Sean was here. No matter what that Kristen girl said, she wasn’t hiding and she had a purpose.

She glanced at the mirror, smoothing back her hair. Evans didn’t matter. Alex was the only thing that mattered.

She turned. She would figure it out later. Right now, all that mattered was getting through the next couple of hours until she could talk to Alex and make him understand that nothing had really changed between them. She’d thought about changing their contract, but that had been a mistake.

I’ll f*ck you when I want, where I want, how I want, and I won’t listen to your protests. You belong to me. Mine. You’re f*cking mine for however long this lasts.

Nothing had changed? He seemed to think so. He seemed to think she had a real role to play. His sub. His slave. His.

His to command. His to control. His to f*ck and love and satisfy.

It was like a drug she’d managed to kick long ago. Submitting to Alex had always been a high. She hadn’t needed to think about anything when Alex was in control. She only needed to feel, to give over.

And that hadn’t gone well. That had ended in pain and misery.

No. She wasn’t going down that path. Nothing had changed between them. They were still divorced. They still had all of the same problems that had been between them since the incident with Evans. This was just a job.

She walked out the door, determined to put a good face on things, and ran straight into a nicely cut chest. She just about fell back, but two hands gripped her arms, balancing her so she didn’t fall.

“Hello again.” Jesse Murdoch loomed over her, his handsome face staring down. Sandy blond hair and ice blue eyes. He really was perfection with his sensual lips and a strong jaw, but no one had moved her since the moment she’d caught sight of Alexander McKay. No other man would ever make her heart race. No other man would ever force her pulse to pound through her body. She could appreciate them on an intellectual level, but there was no man for her but Alex McKay.

But she had to play a part now. She smiled up at him. He was the one Kristen couldn’t figure out. If there was one thing Eve could really contribute to the team, it was her instincts for the human psyche. But she needed him to trust her first. “Hi. Is my Master finished with the meeting?”