Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(7)

Bridget Daley’s eyes narrowed. “Really? You think my husband has never had to make hard choices? You know what, Guidry? Fuck you. I love my sister-in-law so much I was willing to offer your ass a hundred grand to protect her while giving her the freedom she needs. Somehow I think I can find someone better than you.” She turned to Taggart. “I want someone else. Someone who’s not an asshole.”

He’d forgotten that sweet-looking woman had some serious claws on her.

She also had serious cash. The Daleys all did.

A hundred thousand. One hundred fucking thousand dollars.

And that money was about to walk out the door.

Not to mention the fact that he didn’t like the idea of some other man watching over Lisa Daley.

Taggart grimaced. “Assholes are all I have. It’s kind of how they end up falling into the job.”

“Then get me another asshole,” Bridget insisted. “A smarter asshole.”

“Look, Mrs. Daley, I’m sorry I offended.” He had to fix this and fast. He’d been rude. He was almost never rude, but the idea of Daley letting his sister run around on her own because he was afraid she’d be mad at him got his back up. Someone needed to take that woman in hand.

She was already standing, but Laurel stood up beside her.

“Bridget, we talked about this. I want Remy to protect Lisa. He’s good. I should know,” Laurel said. “He watched over me. He’s excellent at his job. I wouldn’t have known he was watching me at all if Mitch hadn’t been an overly possessive asshole.”

“Hey,” Mitch started and then kind of sighed and sat back down. “Fine. I can’t help it. And I vote we keep Remy. He did do a good job. He protected Laurel even from me, but this is going to be a different kind of job. He can’t watch her from afar twenty-four seven. He needs to be close.”

“I would agree that this needs to be a close-cover assignment,” Big Tag replied. “Hence the rather large amount the Daleys are willing to pay.”

“But if she thinks you’re there to protect her, she’ll balk at the idea.” Lila pulled her sweater around her like a shield, and Remy wondered what Lisa’s stubbornness was costing her family. Not a one of them looked like they’d had a decent sleep recently.

He added selfishness to his long list of reasons to avoid Lisa.

Except it looked like he wouldn’t be able to avoid her for much longer. Not if he wanted to save his hometown and solidify his future.

Besides, the fact that she was selfish enough to cause this much turmoil meant maybe he’d been wrong about her. Maybe she wasn’t as sweet as she seemed and maybe that hurt he’d seen on her face that day had been shock at not getting her way. If she was some spoiled princess, then as long as he played it right, she would be fair game.

Close cover. Yeah, he might be able to handle that just fine. The woman had plagued his dreams at times. It might be good to get her out of his system before he walked off into the sunset.

“Can we find a female operative? One who could move into her apartment building and become her friend? What about that Kayla person?” Bridget asked. “She’s cool and she’s not an asshole. Didn’t she watch over Mia Taggart while Case was being a massive ass? I don’t know that I want to give this guy my hard-earned cash.”

“You earned that cash by writing about triple penetration,” Tag shot back.

“Do you know how hard it is to make that shit romantic?” Bridget turned on the boss. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to make the act of lubricating various body parts sexy? I am a motherfucking genius.”

“Yes, you do it so well,” Charlotte soothed. “Bridget, Remy is our best bet and I happen to know that the apartment across from Lisa’s opened up last week. I’ve already rented it. It will keep him close to her and her building has security cameras. He can cut into the feed and follow her when she goes out. We also installed her security system, so he would have easy access to that. It’s a perfect setup. He can track her twenty-four seven.”

He might have to be with her for weeks. Months, perhaps. That could be a problem. “I need the money upfront.”

This kind of assignment would be split between McKay-Taggart and the bodyguard. It wouldn’t give him everything he needed, but he could sell his house and that should put him over the top. He would give his cousin the money and his mom and siblings could take over running the place until after the job was done. Well, his sister could. Zep would just as likely drink the bar dry and try to sleep with every woman who walked in.

Now it was Will who looked at him suspiciously. “Why?”

“He’s not trying to screw you,” Big Tag assured him. “He needs the money upfront. He’s trying to save his family business. Did your asshole cousin change the deadline?”

Remy frowned. “How did you know?”

Big Tag shrugged negligently. “I know everything. Also, I was downstairs earlier and speak some French.” He turned to Will. “He’s good for the job. He’ll do it doggedly and he won’t let anyone get close to her. And if it comes down to it, he’ll be the bad guy. You know as well as I do she might need to be protected in a way she won’t like. If Remy makes the call to put her in protective custody, he’ll be the one who hurt her, not you. Your hands will be perfectly clean and you can throw in a couple of punches when you ride in to save her after she’s safe. It’s the perfect solution to your problem.”