Charmed: A Masters and Mercenar - Lexi Blake Page 0,60
with a sad shake of his head. “We don’t have time for you to bring him around. My contract is with Malone Oil, not JT’s dick. Don’t look at me like that, man. That’s exactly what you’re thinking with, and I’m not judging you for it. You’re in deep with a girl. That’s when your dick takes over. Unfortunately, the Agency isn’t going to wait for Nina to convince you she’s not going to wither and die without a male hand guiding her.”
“That isn’t what I said.” JT was staring at Tag like he might try to take the big guy on.
“I assure you that’s what she heard,” Tag countered. “You’re making a bad play and it won’t work.”
She wasn’t sure exactly what she was hearing beyond JT’s fear. It had been a rough night for him, and if she had any choice at all, she wouldn’t push him. She would go to bed with him and they could talk this out in the morning. She’d made the decision to spend the night alone, but she hadn’t been unaffected by what had happened. She could have lost him, and in the face of that, it seemed silly to need time alone. They needed some time together if they were going to see if this had any chance of working. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on their side, and she had to find a way to make JT see that. “We’re not sure what the Agency will do. That’s what Tag is talking about. We have a duty to your company to keep this operation in our hands. If we pull out, the Agency won’t stop. Right now they’re satisfied we can handle things, but they believe this technology is important. They do not want it in the wrong hands. Malone Oil could find itself in a bad place if McKay-Taggart isn’t handling this mission.”
“Will find themselves in a bad position,” Tag corrected. “There’s no question about that.”
“I agree.” Alex settled in as though he knew they weren’t going to be able to give them the privacy they needed.
She shoved her frustration down. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this. We need it settled because we’re supposed to get on a plane tomorrow and we’re supposed to be engaged. We can’t fight with each other and you can’t be tense. They will pick up on it and change their plans. That can’t happen. We’ve got one shot at this and if we screw up, that prototype will be on the way to North Korea.”
JT seemed to think about it, but the minute she saw the stubborn glint in his eyes, she knew all her patience was going to be for nothing. “I’ll say we broke up. There are already people in place. There are several McKay-Taggart employees already down there on the island. They can do the job. Hutch and Sandra are there, right? And the CIA guy is there. I don’t understand why we need Nina.”
And she was done explaining things to him. It was obvious he wasn’t going to listen and that his fear was worth far more to him than she was. She had to keep a tight rein on her emotions because she really wanted to lose her temper. Or cry. She wasn’t sure if she would be crying because she was so angry with him or because he was marginalizing her. Maybe both. It didn’t matter, though, because she would cling to what she always had—her work. It was time to stop worrying about JT and start doing her actual job. She turned to Tag. “I think we should call Michael in. With a haircut he looks exactly like JT, and I assume he knows something about the business.”
“You fucking will not,” JT shouted. He seemed to realize he’d raised his voice and he checked himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, but you’re not sending my brother in.”
She saw Tag start to address the situation, but this was hers to deal with and she wasn’t hiding behind anyone. “Mr. Malone, I understand that you’re used to being in control, but this is my mission and if you don’t comply, I will be forced to have you taken into custody. At that point I will take your brother with me and we will complete our mission. It would be safer for all involved if you did what you promised to do, but make no mistake. I will be on that plane tomorrow with you or without you.”