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

“She’s not a spy.”

Tag’s head fell back and he groaned.

He was going to lose his job, but he had to do what was right. He knew how it felt to be falsely accused. He knew how it felt to have absolutely no one in the world who had his back. He’d gone back to his hometown and they’d turned on him.

He wasn’t going to leave her alone.

His phone buzzed. Text. He thought about ignoring it since almost everyone who would text him was in this room, but as his friends started arguing, he decided it was a good way to not have to listen for a moment.

He didn’t recognize the number.

If you want to know the truth, meet me in the walkway between Elm and Main Street. 10 minutes. If you aren’t there, I won’t bother you again.

The truth? The truth about what? He didn’t have time to deal with any mystery text. He needed to deal with Phoebe.

The door to the conference room slammed open and Liam O’Donnell strode through followed by his new partner. Erin Argent was the newbie at McKay-Taggart, but Jesse was pretty sure she already fit in better than he did. Tag sent her out into the field without a qualm. She’d already run an op on her own, taking down a ring of corporate spies with the ease of a woman who had spent half her life in the military, and not at the grunt level Jesse had been at.

“She’s on the move,” Liam said, his voice tight. He was carrying a shoulder holster complete with a SIG Sauer that he handed over to Tag.

“She walked out of here about three minutes ago,” Erin explained. There was no way to miss the anticipation in the woman’s voice. Erin was a full-on adrenaline junkie. The minute an op was over, she requested another one. While the rest of McKay-Taggart seemed to be settling down and having babies and buying houses, Erin spent her off time base jumping.

He didn’t like the thought of someone as competent as Erin going after Phoebe. Phoebe was an accountant. She had no idea how to handle seasoned operatives.

Jesse stood up. Something was going on. If his apartment was bugged, then someone was watching him, but he couldn’t accept that it was Phoebe. Maybe it had something to do with that text. He knew he should say something about it, but the situation with Phoebe took precedence. “Fine, I’ll follow her myself. This is stupid. She’s probably going out to pick up something for the party.”

“I don’t think so,” Li said. “She told Grace they had everything ready and then she slipped out.”

“She was actively trying to not be seen.” Erin grinned a little. She had a wealth of fiery red hair she kept in a neat ponytail and freckles across the bridge of her nose that proved all that red was natural.

He wasn’t sure Erin didn’t have an overactive imagination. She seemed to fit right in with Tag and O’Donnell. She went to the worst possible case scenario just like Tag and she could down beer like O’Donnell, though he’d slowed down since having a son.

“I’m going to follow her.” Jesse was sick of this shit. He was sick of feeling like the only person left out of the joke.

“Adam and Jake are tailing her.” Ian looked down at his phone. “They’ve got her. She walked into that fast food place up the street two minutes ago.”

“See. She’s guilty of being hungry and not wanting a salad.” They were all paranoid.

Tag pocketed his phone and nodded to Li and Erin. “Li, would you please set up a nice place where we can spend some time talking to our accountant?”

“You’re setting up a f*cking interrogation room?” It wouldn’t be comfortable. It would be a room where Tag would hold her until he got the answers he wanted. Tag would scare the shit out of her. Phoebe already got nervous around the man. This would send her over the edge.

Tag turned his way, and this wasn’t his friend. This was his boss, his CO. “You will stand down, Murdoch, or I swear I will have you in lock-down until this is over. If you can’t handle this, tell me now and I’ll make sure you don’t move an inch out of this room until this is all over.”

He couldn’t let that happen. “I’m cool.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Tag said. “You can observe, but nothing more. This is not your op. Simon, you keep a leash on him. He watches from a distance. Is that understood?”

“Yes, boss.” Simon put his suit coat back on. “We need to hurry if we’re going to catch her. Tell Adam to keep close watch. I used to use public loos to change clothes and lose a tail.”

Tag slipped the shoulder holster over his massive form and checked the clip on the SIG before holstering the gun. “Alex, you don’t have to go. Eve will likely kick your ass if you miss the shower, so please feel free to coo over baby gifts while the rest of us take care of business.”

McKay sent his best friend a happy middle finger. “Fuck you, Ian. I’m not staying here and might I say, I can’t f*cking wait for Charlotte to have that baby so you can join the rest of us.” He turned to Erin. “Let me borrow your piece.”

“I swear I will beat the shit out of you if you hurt her, McKay.” Erin seemed unnaturally affectionate toward her Berretta M9 which she’d named Bertha. Jesse really thought it looked more like an Agnes. She handed the gun over, handle first. “I don’t see why I’m stuck here. She knows me the least. It would be very simple for me to take her out. I promise I won’t even feel bad about it. All that weak shit gets to me. I believe in Darwin, so I could shoot her very easily.”