The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(116)

Adam’s family had declined her calls, but he hadn’t seemed to care.

She looked at him, laughing at something Sean said. This was Adam’s family. This was her family.

And she had both a new name and a new title.

“It was Maureen.”

Jake passed her a fresh margarita. “The new agent?” He motioned for Adam to come over. “What’s wrong?”

Maureen Childress had taken over Lara Anderson’s clients. She’d been friends with Lara and had tearfully asked that she be able to assist Lara’s closest authors. She’d been a rock, handling everything she could from her New York office.

Bridget leaned forward, only wincing a little. She’d lost her spleen and dumped her boyfriend, but she was already on the mend. “Is she fielding those damn reporters again? Tell them to f*ck themselves. Your personal life isn’t their story.”

“Down, Bridget. Don’t pull your stitches. You don’t want to screw up your date with the EMT guy tomorrow.” Chris put a hand on hers.

Bridget smiled. ”No, I don’t. That man is so sexy. I swear I’m getting some hot man ass out of this whole ‘getting sliced up by a psycho’ thing. I have to admit that I understand why the press is sniffing around. Writers get screwed by their agents every day, but we actually almost got murdered. It’s a hell of a story. God, this business sucks.”

Chris shook his head. “And she wouldn’t be anywhere else. She’s already twenty thousand words into a book about an assault survivor and the team of doctors who save her.”

“And f*ck the hell out of her,” Bridget said with a grin. “Mega ménage. Oh, and the doctors are also super-secret billionaires who happen to be werewolves. If I can work a secret baby angle in there, I’ll hit all the tropes. God, I really love being a writer.”

Adam frowned. “You’re not allowed to write mega ménage, Serena. You’re a traditionalist.”

Yep. She slept between the two of them every night. Very traditional. “I’m also a New York Times best-selling author. Their Sweetheart Slave hit the E-list.”

Sure, it had taken the publicity from the whole stalker debacle, but it had happened. A wistful sadness struck her. She wished Lara was here to see it.

But then she was wrapped in their arms, congratulations flowing. Adam and Jake kissed her and then started to bring out champagne for everyone.

Serena laughed, getting caught in the moment. She was surrounded by this mish-mashed family she’d managed to find.

And her happy ending was just waiting to be written.





Hours later, Liam O’Donnell sat in his office, watching, waiting for that one little signal. He wasn’t sure how it would come. E-mail. Internet alert. Phone call from a source.

But he knew it would come. He would find Mr. Black, the man who had almost killed Sean Taggart. The man who had gotten away with treason. He would find him, and he would make him pay. He pretended not to care, but then he pretended about everything. He’d lied for so long, he often wondered if he would recognize the truth about himself if he found it.

But Mr. Black was another story. He stood beside Ian in his quest to take the f*cker down. All it required was a little patience.

“You’re still here?” Eve stood in his office doorway. “I thought you would be home after the party. It was lovely, wasn’t it?”

It had been nice, but not for him. He was a predator, and he always felt out of place in celebrations like the one in Adam, Jake, and Serena’s honor. Still, it was his job to make sure people in love got to stay in love. He’d given up his right to happiness long ago on another continent. Now all he had was the hunt and offering up his protection to the people who were happy. Mr. Black had almost taken that from Sean and Grace, too.

“It was a great party.” The computer pinged, an e-mail coming through. Probably nothing, but he checked anyway.

“Do you want me to set up for a session?” Eve smiled a little.

A single picture came on the screen, cloudy and grainy. A still from a CCTV, but it got Liam’s blood pumping.

Mr. Black—aka Eli Nelson—sat at a small table. Liam wasn’t sure about the restaurant, but he knew the city well. The mighty Thames was behind Black’s body, St. Paul’s Cathedral in the distance.

His heart constricted a little. Too close to home, but he would be there overnight.

“Not tonight, Evie.” Liam stood. “Tell Ian to get me on the next flight to London.”

His time had come.





Coming this fall, the next exciting installment in the Masters and Mercenaries series…





A Dom Is Forever


A Man with a Past…

Liam O’Donnell fled his native Ireland years ago after one of his missions ended in tragedy and he is accused of killing several of his fellow agents. Shrouded in mystery, Liam can’t remember that fateful night. He came to the United States in disgrace, seeking redemption for crimes he may or may not have committed. But the hunt for an international terrorist leads him to London and right back into the world he left behind.

A Woman Looking for a Future…

Avery Charles followed her boss to London, eager to help the philanthropist with his many charities. When she meets a mysterious man who promises to show her London’s fetish scene, she can’t help but indulge in her darkest fantasies. Liam becomes her Dom, her protector, her lover. She opens her heart and her home to him, only to discover he’s a man on a mission and she’s just a means to an end.