Charmed: A Masters and Mercenar - Lexi Blake Page 0,25
her and Nick’s daughter would be joining the boys.
She liked the daycare, liked having the children close.
“Mrs. Taggart, he woke up hungry.” A young woman strode in carrying a tiny bundle in her arms.
“He’s always hungry.” Big Tag held out his arms and took the baby. “Come on, son. Let’s go to my office. I’m not going to miss a chance to see your mom’s boobs. Now remember, you’re only renting. I bought.”
Charlotte laughed as she followed them. “Have fun. I’ll expect all the Pretty Woman-like details the next time we talk.”
“Yeah, I suspect we’ll definitely have a talk very soon.” Michael was watching his brother like he didn’t want to let him go.
But she rather thought JT’d had enough of his brother’s opinions for one day. She reached for his hand. “We should probably get used to showing each other some affection in public.”
His fingers immediately tangled with hers, sliding in like they were puzzle pieces. “Yeah, we should. I’m known for being pretty affectionate with my girlfriends.”
“You are?” Michael’s brow had risen.
He squeezed her hand. “I am. You’re not around much so you wouldn’t know. Come on, baby. I’m going to call you baby.”
It’s what he’d called her the night before when he’d held on to her so tight she thought he would never let go. Just the word coming out of that man’s mouth sent a shiver of desire through her.
“Ms. Blunt, could I have a moment of your time?” Drake asked.
JT took a step back, and she hated that she felt colder without his hand in hers. “I’ll go pull my truck around. I’ll meet you out front.”
Michael followed his brother and she was left alone with the CIA agent.
“I know I’m young, but don’t underestimate me.” There was a hint of steel in Drake’s gaze. “This is my op. I don’t care what Taggart says. If I’d had my way, I wouldn’t have called any of you in, but Malone wouldn’t work with an Agency team.”
“Good for Malone.”
“I have to wonder about that. Given that his son used to be on an Agency team, I would have assumed he understood, but we all make do with what we have, I suppose. I checked into you.”
She stood up a little straighter. “I would expect nothing less.”
“I read about the situation that led to you leaving Interpol. I will assume you’ve learned from your mistakes.”
“I hope so. If you have a real problem with me, I can get on a plane back to England this evening.” It might be for the best. But she also hated the idea of JT going in alone. He was obviously out of his depths, and one person had already been killed over that prototype. JT wanted to believe in his people, and he would need someone to look out for him.
It had nothing to do with the fact that she could feel his hands on her body.
“Not at all.” Drake was roughly six foot four, with a muscular build that hadn’t completely filled out yet. “I prefer to work with experienced agents, and there’s no better experience than failure. At least that’s what everyone tells me. I think a woman who’s been burned before likely will play a relationship cover with care. She won’t get caught up in a handsome face and miss the clues.”
“Clues?”
“JT Malone was in Houston, too,” Drake pointed out. “JT Malone is the only one I know of with the mechanical expertise to have done the job on the engineer’s car. It was quite a professional job. I doubt the admin would know how to do more than hook up her smart phone.”
“Why would JT do something like this? It’s his company.”
“And he feels trapped. He blames his brother for leaving him behind. I’ve made a study of the man,” Drake stated. “I believe this could be some revenge on his part. This would be the ultimate betrayal of his brother’s beliefs.”
“Do you have any family?” Despite the fact that he was an operative and obviously brilliant, he was still only twenty-three. She had to treat him like the young adult he was, and that meant educating him when he needed it.
“No. I’m an only child.”
“Then you can read all you like about JT Malone, but you can’t understand him in this. I can. I have a younger sister. She’s horrible. I mean she’s the worst human being on the face of the planet. And if someone tried to hurt her, I would stand in their way.