Derek cursed under his breath. “Fine. But I fucking swear I will have your guts if you’re lying to me and there’s another attack. My ass is on the line here, Tag.”

“So is mine and I can protect it better if we keep this quiet.”

Derek nodded and started for the door. “I’ll leave it be for now. I’m informing my CO.” Derek often slipped into military lingo. “But he’ll be okay with it. By the way, who’s the girl?”

“The girl?” Damn it. He didn’t need Derek looking into her.

“The female you protected,” Derek prompted.

Alex snorted a little. “Ian took a new sub.”

That motherfucker. Ian forced a grin on his face. “Hot little thing. Though I worry she might get scared off. You know, after today. She’ll probably be gone tomorrow. You know how women can be. One little attempted murder and they’re on to the next guy.”

Alex shook his head. “Nah, she’s made of sterner stuff than that. You should meet her, Derek. She’ll be at Sanctum tonight.”

“All right,” Derek said. “I’ll look forward to seeing her tonight. I’m alone so watching the big guy get taken down by a sub might make my day worthwhile.”

Alex had fucked him hard. Ian scrambled. He never fucking scrambled. “I decided to take a couple of full-time subs. She’s just the first. I’m auditioning, if you know what I mean.”

Derek studied him for a moment. “I do. I’m a little lonely, too. I don’t think I could handle two, though. Maybe just one. Hell, maybe you’re right. Maybe I should just start taking applications. I’ve avoided it because I know Amanda would apply. Fuck, man, couldn’t you keep out the subs I have to work with? See you tonight.”

Amanda was the brat bitch of Sanctum. Ian was pretty sure she was nasty to all the other subs, but no one had asked him to take care of her, so he was leaving it alone. Sometimes the subs needed to work out their own problems.

He wondered how Charlie would handle Amanda’s brand of mean girl. That might be fun to see.

Derek strode out the door, and Ian turned on his best friend the minute it slammed shut. “You’re a bastard.”

Alex just smiled. “My parents are still happily married.”

“You know what I mean. What the hell was that?”

“That was about giving you a chance despite yourself. You’re not thinking about this. You need to take two fucking minutes. Your wife came back from the dead.”

“No, according to everything I know she came back from St. Augustine.” He didn’t need this shit. Now he had to take her to Sanctum tonight. He had to dress her up in fet wear and walk beside her and pretend to be her Master. That was Alex’s fault.

Alex ran a hand across his head, obviously frustrated. “She saved me, man. She brought me back together with Eve. Why would she do that? She walked in front of a bullet. I would be dead. That bullet was headed straight for my damn heart. Give me one reason why she would do that beyond the fact that she loves you and she’s trying to make her way back to you.”

He couldn’t even consider that. “Or you’re pissed at me.”

Alex’s eyes rolled. “Why would I be pissed at you?”

He didn’t have a really good answer for that. He actually treated Alex like gold. Alex was his brother the way Sean was his brother. One by DNA and history, the other by sacrifice and blood. “It doesn’t matter now. You’ve set me on a path. I have to take her to Sanctum tonight. The place will probably blow up.”

“I’ll call Ryan and put some security protocols into place.”

Security protocols wouldn’t save Charlie. God only knew how many bullets would be flying her way.

Because she isn’t on the move. Because she’s staying here for you. She took the bullet meant for Alex for you. Why didn’t she kill you before? It would have been more expedient. Why come back now?

His inner voice sucked ass. And was a little naïve.

He set down his coffee and walked to the window. Alex’s office was next to his. They shared a spectacular view of the city. Was Charlie standing next door, looking out at the same set of buildings? Was there really only a wall separating them?

“Hey, I would love to know where your head’s at, man.” Alex stepped up. “You should know I was joking about why we stayed. We couldn’t leave you. I know you’re going to think it’s stupid and it would make you vomit, but I would never leave you alone to deal with this. You might not want my advice, but I’ve watched you mourn her for five years. You loved that woman. I know she betrayed you and if your final decision is to let her go, then I’ll make damn sure she doesn’t come near you again. But I think you need her. You either need to give it another shot or you need closure, and you can’t get that if you don’t talk to her. You might not give a shit that I’m here, but I am here if you need me. Eve is here if you need her. Sean is here. I know you think you’re alone, but you have a whole family around you.”

He was definitely going to vomit. And he felt oddly secure.

Would he have this weird family around him if he’d stayed in the Agency? He doubted it. He would have drifted further and further from them. He would have been forced to hide so much of his life from them that being around them would hold no meaning.

If he’d spent the last five years in the CIA, would he even know his brothers anymore? Or would Sean and Alex have drifted away, their lives meaningless to his plots? He knew himself. He didn’t lie. He’d enjoyed the plots, loved pitting himself against others in a deadly little game. He’d gotten a rush off it. He’d been a little obsessed with it.

Until he’d found something he was more obsessed with. Charlotte. Charlie.

Had she saved him from a life that held absolutely nothing but the game? He would never admit it but he loved Grace. She had rapidly become the heart of his little family. Grace and Sean and Carys. His niece. He liked the way she looked at him, with a little bit of wonder. There was nothing but pure love in his niece’s eyes, and it had cleansed him in a way.

Would he have held Carys in his hands if Charlie hadn’t found her way into his life?

Likely not. She probably wouldn’t exist because he would never have started McKay-Taggart and Sean would never have met Grace.

He didn’t like the feeling that he owed Charlie anything at all. It wasn’t like she meant to keep him from a family-less life.

“Do you want another donut?” Alex stared out, not looking at him. His hand was out, a sugary bit of confection sitting there.

He took the fucking bait. “I don’t want to talk.”

“Cool.” Alex nodded. “We can just stand.”

Ian stood with his best friend.

Maybe he wasn’t so alone.


* * * *


Charlie let the chair twist to the left and then the right. It was a big leather chair, solid and well built, like the man it belonged to.

Was it brutally pathetic of her that it had been worth it to be nearly murdered because she’d been in his arms for a few seconds? She hadn’t even thought about it, hadn’t reacted herself. She’d just trusted him.

Was he about to toss her out again? Her phone rang. She looked at the incoming number before answering. “What’s up, Chelsea?”

“Okay, it’s official. Yuri Zhukov’s in town. He’s traveling under a Polish passport, but I found the fucker.” Her sister sounded almost chipper, like finding out a highly paid Russian assassin had found them was a thing to celebrate. God, she was so tired. So fucking tired.

So at least she knew who was taking shots at her. “I’m glad you found him, but you were a little late.”

There was a pause on the line. “What happened? Fuck. The shooting downtown that turned out to be a car backfiring? That was about you?”

So that’s how Ian had played it. She’d wondered exactly how he was going to keep the cops out of it. “It wasn’t a car. I’m pretty sure it was Zhukov, but Ian took care of it.”

“How did he take care of it?”

“He threw his body over mine and then handled the cops.” Which was a really good idea because if he hadn’t, there was every likelihood that her face would have gotten into the system and the minute that happened, she would have more than Zhukov on her ass.

“We need to move,” Chelsea said.

Yes. That was the protocol. The minute they even had a hint that someone from the syndicate knew where they were, they left town. Sometimes they left the whole damn country. But she’d known the minute she’d started the St. Augustine op that she wouldn’t be leaving again. She would fix the problem and get her husband back or the fuckers could take her down. She was done. That didn’t mean Chelsea had to be. “I want you to go. Head to the islands for a while. You like it there.”

“You want me to leave you here? That’s insane. Charlotte, that man is going to get you killed.”

“That man” was right behind her. Oh, he moved silently, but she had years of practice in making sure she always knew if someone was stalking her. Her teen years had been one long lesson in always knowing her surroundings, in memorizing and cataloging anything that could help her to survive. The memory of his scent had helped her to survive these last few years. He still used the same soap, clean and masculine. She breathed it in. She turned and her heart skipped a little beat. It was still amazing to be in the same room with the gorgeous bastard. Her eyes held his as she replied to her sister.

“You’re probably right, but I’m going to take the chance. Chelsea, you knew this was where I was going. I never lied to you about what I wanted. I love you. Leave me a note if you’re heading out.” She clicked the phone off over Chelsea’s vigorous protests.

She turned it off because there was no way her sister didn’t call back.

“Your sister?”

Charlie nodded. “Yes. She thinks it was a man from my father’s syndicate.”

“Zhukov or Sobrev?”

Charlie frowned. “Zhukov. How did you know that?”

Ian shrugged a little. “Maybe I’m the one who hired him.” He set the coffee down on his desk as she gave him her best stare. “Fine. I happen to know that the syndicate has two long-term assassins they use. I made a study of your father’s organization after they became involved with my Irish operation.”

Liar. He’d made a study of her father’s syndicate after he thought they killed her. But she was going to leave him his pride. “Zhukov arrived at DFW under a Polish passport.”

Ian grunted a little. It was his preferred method of communication. She’d learned to interpret his many guttural, caveman-y sounds. This one was his agreement grunt. “Not surprising. He’s the senior of the two. They must really want you dead.”

It was time for some more honesty. “I’m surprised. I thought they would nab me, not just kill me. I know a couple of things they would probably really like to get the lowdown on.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did you steal money from the Russian fucking mafia?”

She really wished she could say she hadn’t. “I thought of it as my inheritance.”

“Goddamn it, Charlie.” When he growled at her like that she actually felt cared for. She was so fucked up.

“I could give it back. In the years since I took it, I’ve made ten times that.”

“Do I dare even ask how you managed that? Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

Because he knew her really well. Again, something that gave her hope. But she didn’t mention all the information she’d sold over the last couple of years. She’d tried to do good with it, but she wasn’t sure Ian would see it that way. She was absolutely certain that the world’s intelligence agencies didn’t see her as a force for good. She’d heard they had a code name for her—The Broker. Hopefully, Ian never had to find out about that. “Did you have a hard time with the police?”

“I have contacts. It’s fine. You’re in my chair.” Ian frowned down at her.

She gracefully stood. “Of course, Master.”

Ian tossed his big body into the chair and flipped open his laptop. “I have Simon working on who took that shot, but I need you to keep your head down. He’ll try again.”

So he wasn’t going to toss her out. Wasn’t that interesting? It would have been the easiest thing to let the police take her. Once she was in the system, it wouldn’t be long before someone came calling. There were several governments who would love to get their hands on her. He wouldn’t ever have to deal with her again. So he’d made his choice.

But then she’d made hers, too. She would deeply prefer to stay with Ian and that meant following protocol. She sank to her knees. “Yes, he will try again and likely soon. Zhukov is very impatient. I guess they’ve decided to cut their losses and take me out.”