You Only Love Twice (Masters and Mercenaries #8)(16)

The man he wanted to be was good, even to his enemies. But damn, she didn’t feel like an enemy cuddled so close to him.

Her eyes were dazed, and it was so obvious she was fighting the drug with everything she had. “You need to hide. Don’t know who the order came from. Promise me you’ll hide.”

“Who are you working for?” Tag asked.

The interrogation wasn’t starting now. No way. “Back off, Ian. I get why you drugged her, but you’re not going to use it to manipulate her. I won’t f*cking have it. If this is how you do business, then you should let me out here and now and I’ll take her with me. She’s my problem. Mine.”

Taggart sighed. “No one lets me torture anyone anymore. Fine. We’ll wait until she’s awake. And I can figure out if she’s one of Ten’s really fast.” He slid his finger across the face of his cell and put it to his ear. “Hey, Ten. I have a serious problem. I need to borrow Chelsea. Yeah, Adam’s getting his hair done. I need her to find out all she can about Phoebe Graham. Yes, my accountant. I’ve got her in custody. That’s really not your business. It’s got nothing to do with the Agency. This is personal and I’ll handle it. She won’t be a problem after today. Sure. Thanks.” He hung up. “She’s not Ten’s. He would have fessed up because the last thing he’s going to want is me looking into her background. Ten knows when to fold his cards and he didn’t.”

Jesse wasn’t so sure.

“Am I going to Sanctum, boss?” Simon asked.

Tag let his head hit the side of the van a couple of times. “Damn it, no. We can’t go to Sanctum. The cleaning crew is there and they would definitely have questions. Besides, Charlie texted me. She ate all the ice cream. We have to pick some up for the shower.”

“Are you serious?” Jake asked. “We’ve kind of got a situation here.”

“And my pregnant wife running out of ice cream is a situation, too. We can sneak her up the back and question her in my office. Once the women leave, we can move her until Chelsea comes up with something. The good news is now she can freely use Agency resources, and we should have a real name soon.”

Would Ten leave his agent behind if she was compromised?

Phoebe’s eyes fluttered open. “Jesse, I’m scared. Jamie died.”

Who the hell was Jamie? “Hush, sweetheart. There’s no reason to be scared. Sleep it off. I promise no one’s going to hurt you.”

“Jamie died. Can’t lose you, too.” She closed her eyes and went still.

Who was Jamie and did it even matter?

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Tag said quietly. “But we need to find the truth. This is your op, Jesse. You call the shots. Don’t f*ck it up.”

As the van moved down the freeway, Jesse prayed he wouldn’t.





CHAPTER THREE





Phoebe came awake slowly to the sound of screaming. Someone wasn’t happy. It sounded far away, like there was a door or two in between her and the source of the shouts. Female. The voice she heard was definitely female and definitely pissed.

She kept her eyes closed because she knew she’d been drugged. Likely with a sedative that also erased short-term memory because she couldn’t remember what had happened.

Jesse. She’d gotten a kill order on Jesse. She remembered that. She knew she hadn’t gone through with it. And then she’d run. It came back in bits and pieces and then she’d felt safe and secure.

That had to be a dream.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you bringing a prisoner up the service entrance? Who do you think I am? I might be pregnant, but my instincts are still good. You thought Eve’s baby shower was the best time to interrogate a suspect? Are you kidding me?”

Ah, Charlotte Taggart, and she only ever screamed at one person that way. Ian. Shit. She was back at the office. They’d managed to get her from the hotel all the way back to the office. Everyone knew she’d betrayed them.

Phoebe shoved that thought aside. Concentrate. There might still be time to get out of this, but not if they knew she was awake. Charlotte’s anger at Ian was something she could use.

She quietly checked her hands. Tied behind her back. It felt tight and plastic. Zip tie. Her ankles seemed to be the same way. They were serious about her not going anywhere.

Now she had to figure out how to get out before she missed her check-in with Ten. She sent him a text every night to let him know she was safe. If she missed he would likely rain hellfire missiles on someone. She had to talk to her brother. She had to figure out why he would put a kill order on Jesse. Whatever evidence he had, it was wrong. It had to be.

But all hell would break loose if Ten thought she was compromised and captured. Luckily, she had some time. She could still get out of this without giving up Ten.

She heard something moving and shifting, like something was on the carpet, slithering her way. Her heart started to race and she couldn’t keep her eyes closed. She would be giving up her best defense, but she couldn’t help it. Something was coming at her.

Something pushed at her left arm, seeming to climb up her body. And then it bounced and she felt something wet hit her skin as a cooing cry of triumph could be heard.

She opened her eyes and looked right at a diaper.

“Tristan?”