You Only Love Twice (Masters and Mercenaries #8)(108)

“I’m worried about you going to DC.” She wasn’t sure what waited there for him.

He shrugged. “What are they going to do to me? At least they’re bringing me home if they’re burning me.”

Disavowed. Alone. She hated to think about it. The Agency had been Ten’s family for a very long time. But being burned wasn’t what scared her. “And if they’re bringing you home to do more than fire you? Ten, we don’t know what we’ve stepped into.”

“Assassination? Nah. It’s easier to discredit me. I have too many people who would give a shit if I died.” He stopped for a moment, a huff coming out of his mouth before he laughed. “Holy shit. That’s what he was doing. That old son of a bitch. I always wondered.”

“What?”

“Dad. I always wondered why. He wasn’t tasked by the Agency to find young recruits. He did it on his own. He grew up without a family. His parents died when he was in high school and he didn’t have siblings. It was precisely why he was recruited. Smart, excellent deductive reasoning skills, and no ties. It’s why we were told not to talk much about considering each other family. He didn’t want them to know we had too many ties. He took three kids who had no one and nothing and gave them the only world he understood. But he didn’t put us in there alone. He gave us each other.”

“The Agency would have written Jamie off.”

“I couldn’t because he’s my brother. And they won’t kill me because you would never let it lie.”

Because her love would protect him. “I’m not the only one. Taggart, for all his flaws, would take on the Agency for you. You’re the only one who ever thought you were alone. You had a whole family standing around you and you’re right. Dad gave us that. He’s still protecting us even after he’s gone.” She reached out and took Ten’s hand. “So don’t tell me you don’t know how to be a dad. You learned from the very best.”

“We’ll get through this, Phoebe. I’m going to make sure this goes away one way or another,” Ten promised.

There was the sound of a crack and Phoebe whipped her head around.

Ten stood. “That was a semi.” Ten reached behind his back and came up with a SIG Sauer in his hand. Her brother was never unarmed. “Stay here.”

There was another volley of gunfire and then the sound of a woman screaming. Ten opened the door to the hallway and disappeared, his lean body moving against the wall.

“What the f*ck?” Hutch had his boxers on and seemed to have only stopped long enough to grab his weapon. And he’d been having a nice dream, so it seemed. Or the sound of gunfire in the middle of the night got him hard. It could be either with him.

Theo was right behind him, though he’d managed to put on a pair of sweats. “It’s coming from Kamdar’s room. We need to move. You have a piece?”

She hadn’t brought her gun out when she’d come to talk to Ten. She’d thought she was safe in this ridiculously expensive hotel, but naturally she was proven wrong. “No.”

“Take my backup.” Because Theo apparently slept with two guns. He handed her a semi and then he and Hutch started for the door. She followed, grateful that Jesse was a heavy sleeper. No matter what she said, she hated the idea of him being in danger. She wouldn’t ask him to quit. It was a part of who he was, but she would definitely use any excuse she could to let him sleep so he didn’t have a chance to get shot.

The outer room was complete chaos. There was smoke and suddenly the detector went off.

“Everyone calm down!” Ten yelled.

Erin was in the middle of it, waving her hand to disperse the smoke. “Some * set off a smoke bomb outside the king’s room.”

Theo’s gun came down at his side as he stared at Erin. “What were you doing in his room?”

Kamdar stood in the middle of it all, his big chest on display. He wore nothing but a towel wrapped around his lean hips. “She was protecting me from harm. This is all a ridiculous prank. Everyone get back into their beds. It’s too early to deal with protesters.”

“I heard gunfire.” Simon joined the group. He’d pulled on a pair of slacks and his dress shirt was open. Like everyone else, he was carrying a gun. It was likely the best-armed floor of the hotel.

“I heard it, too. What happened? Did someone take a shot?” Ten was down on one knee, inspecting the box someone had left outside Kamdar’s door.

“One of Kamdar’s bodyguards got a little freaked out. I think he thought it was a real bomb or something biological,” Erin replied. “And I wasn’t sleeping with Kamdar. Not that it’s any of your business, Taggart.”

“She is right. There was no sleeping involved,” Kamdar said with a solemn look on his face.

“And this was definitely biological.” Ten grimaced as he stood back up. “It’s shit in a bag someone lit on fire. What the hell is going on?”

Kamdar shook his head. “The oilmen, they do not like me. I’m too handsome, far too smart. They think they can scare me off with their shittings, but they are wrong. I will simply take their biological waste and use it to power my vehicles. That will show them. Come along, beautiful. Let’s celebrate our victory over their waste.”

Erin’s face went as red as her hair and she started in on the king. “Listen here. I don’t care how royal your ass is…”