You Only Love Twice (Masters and Mercenaries #8)(9)

And he was so done with her. “You shoot her and we’ll have a f*cking problem, Erin.”

“Is that right, Murdoch?” She got right in his face. “You think you can take me?”

He felt his blood pressure rise, his hands turn to fists. He didn’t fight with women, but then Erin liked to play with the boys. If she threatened Phoebe, she would find out that he could put her on her ass. “I know I can.”

“Down, both of you.” Tag turned to his latest hire. “Look, Xena, I know you want to prove you’re some kind of female warrior or some shit but that dude right there occasionally loses his damn mind and rips people’s throats out with his bare teeth, so back the f*ck off him.”

Erin looked him over. “Actually that kind of makes me like him more. Fine. I won’t touch the klutz. To tell you the truth, I’m kind of on Murdoch’s side here. If she’s an operative, I’ll eat some of Li’s haggis.”

Liam shook his head. “Damn me, girl, but we’re going to have to give you a geography lesson. I’m bloody Irish, not Scots. Why da f*ck would I eat haggis?”

She shrugged. “They all sound the same to me.”

Ian pulled his phone out and whatever was there made his jaw tighten. “We need to move. She’s on Main but she’s walking. We can catch her.”



Ten minutes later, Jesse found himself on Elm waiting for a signal. It didn’t get past him that he was right where that text had wanted him to be. Someone wanted him in that walkway, but he couldn’t figure out why. He had to wonder if that someone who wanted him to learn the truth would care that he’d brought company along. Simon stood beside him. Jesse inhaled deeply, the smells of Italian and Mexican food filling his nostrils and reminding him he hadn’t eaten. Campisi’s was to his back, but he knew if he walked down the little alley that connected Elm to Main he would find Sol Irlandes. He’d taken Phoebe there a few weeks back. They’d had a nice meal and questioned the artistic value of putting a giant eyeball in the middle of downtown Dallas. The massive “work of art” sat across the walkway from the restaurant and overlooked Main Street. It was surrounded by a little park of perfect green grass. It was weird and he kind of found it fascinating, but Phoebe said it creeped her out.

“What are we waiting for?” He was impatient. He wanted this all over with so he could shoot everyone the finger and get back to the baby shower. He wasn’t so much interested in watching Eve open gifts, but he definitely had plans for the appetizers Sean had cooked. His stomach rumbled. He shouldn’t have to go through all this stress on a freaking empty belly.

“The all clear signal. Be patient.”

“She’s in the hotel. Adam, can you get into the CCTV at The Joule?” McKay’s voice came over the comm in his ear. They’d all put them in so they could talk to Jake and Adam.

“Already there,” Adam replied. “She’s at the front desk.”

“I have eyes on her,” Jake said. “I can’t get too close, but I won’t lose her.”

What the hell was she doing at a hotel? Was she meeting someone? “Do you think she has a boyfriend?”

He asked the question of Simon, not bothering to click the button that would send his voice to the rest of the team.

“I don’t think this is about a hidden lover, Jesse,” Simon replied. “Wait for it to play out.”

The Joule was right through that alley. All the answers were right there. It was one of those swanky places he always felt uncomfortable in. If she was meeting a lover there, he likely had money because a place like that didn’t come cheap.

Why would she lie to him? Why would she go out with him if she had someone else?

It explained a lot when he thought about it. She wouldn’t go to bed with him because she had someone else. The bigger question was why she wouldn’t just tell him. Maybe her lover had been the one to send the text.

“She’s moving to a room. I think it’s on the fifth floor,” Jake said. “Adam, get me a number. Tag, you can move in.”

They were all moving in, all playing a part in catching his girlfriend cheating on him. The humiliation didn’t seem to stop. The minute he thought he was fitting in and his life was moving in the right direction, he got this shit.

Jealousy burned in his gut, but more than that, he was mad. All she’d had to tell him was she wasn’t interested. She could have been honest, and then they wouldn’t have this god-awful scene that was playing out.

“I’ve got the room number. 512. Adam, can you get me in?” Jake asked. “I’ve got Tag and Alex with me. We’re getting in the elevator now.”

He was done. He touched his comm and started walking. He turned right down the alley as he spoke. “Don’t you get it, guys? She’s f*cking someone in that room. Leave her be. I’ll sit in the lobby until she comes down and we’ll have a talk about what it means to string a guy along.”

“Jesse!” Simon yelled, the sound coming from both his comm and behind him.

He was so f*cking done with this. She was cheating on him. Not really since they’d never actually had sex, but he’d kind of thought they were involved. It went to show how stupid he was. He was going to look even stupider if Tag took down Phoebe and her boyfriend in the middle of their afternoon delight.