The Boss

by Melissa Schroeder

  “All this running around. Shouldn’t I just be able to go to the FBI or the NSA or some other letter organization and turn myself in? And what the hell would I be turning myself in for? I didn’t do anything illegal.”

  “You didn’t, but it doesn’t always matter in this game.” Millie opened her mouth to argue, but Mac didn’t have time for it, so she decided to get blunt. “See, we don’t know what is going on. Why were you abducted? I mean, you’re good at hacking, but there are a lot of folks out there like you willing to go along. And why did the NSA call us in and then disappear? This all feels like a setup of some sort, but it just doesn’t make any sense. We need information to give us direction. The accident with your former boss might just be that, and the FBI might be done looking for us. We don’t know, and until we do, we can’t act.”

  “Oh. Hmm, so I guess that’s why you need to go tonight?”

  “Yes. We both know a great number of people on both sides of the ocean, and diplomatic gatherings are good for that. Asking them head on will get us nowhere. Do you understand?”

  Another nod, this time a little more enthusiastic. “I think you should wear the green dress. It sets off your eyes so well.”

  It was what Mac had been planning to wear, and she couldn’t let Millie evade the issue.

  “If you feel guilty about it, maybe you can do some pro bono work for us after this is all done.”

  Millie’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. We always need help with computer skills. You’ve met Rock and Vic. If they can’t make something work, they shoot it. Me, I am all thumbs. Jay is better at the talk than the typing, and he’s been our go-to person for that stuff. It has been a bloody nightmare.”

  Millie’s lips curved into a full smile, revealing a set of dimples she hadn’t seen before. Damn, she hadn’t realized the woman was so attractive. And sweet. Mac couldn’t think of a time she had been this innocent. She knew the last few days had been hard, and some of the things Millie had learned would stay with her. But she wanted to do everything she could to keep as much of Millie’s innocence intact.

  “I would be happy to do it. Anything you want.”

  Mac nodded and turned back to her closet. “Now, the important stuff. What shoes should I wear with my dress?”

  “The silver.”

  She smiled as she spied the strappy heels. “They will look brilliant. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten Vic into a tux.”

  And if there was one man who should wear a tux more often, it was Victor Walker. With his broad shoulders and his lethal stride, he was any smart woman’s idea of a wet dream in the flesh. Throw a tux on him, he was a god.

  “Can I ask you something about Mr. Walker?” Millie asked.

  “Sure,” she said, as she grabbed enough lingerie for the trip. She’d booked them a room at the W for the night under some new identities, or, at least, ones they hadn’t used in the last eighteen months.

  “Are you…well…you know?”

  She glanced at the younger woman and bit back a laugh. Good lord, she felt decades older than the computer expert. She knew Millie was just five years her junior, but she felt close to eighty in experience. She wouldn’t laugh, though. In the last couple of days, Mac had grown a bit fond of her.

  “You know? Do you mean involved?”

  Millie nodded.

  “In a way. We’ve been together off and on for years.”

  “But you weren’t when this started. Or you seemed out of sync.”

  That was a good way of putting it. “In a way, but when it comes to the job, you can count on us.”

  “Oh, I know that. It’s just, I hate to be the reason you have to deal with each other, if you are broken up. It’s always the worst.”

  The tone in her voice told Mac all she needed to know.

  “So, bad relationship?”

  Millie nodded. “It’s the reason I took the job here. It was just better to avoid the mess altogether.”

  “True, but maybe you didn’t love him as much as you thought you did.”

  Millie cocked her head to the side. “That’s actually quite profound.”

  Mac felt her lips twitch. “Imagine that. Me. Profound.”

  Millie had the good grace to blush. “I’m sorry. I am always doing that. It’s one of the things Todd said he hated about me.”

  Dammit. She wasn’t good at this kind of girl talk—or any kind of girl talk, for that matter—but she knew the tone in Millie’s voice and just what it meant. Self loathing. How many times since Vic had walked out the door had she felt the same? Too many to count. Their fights had never had one person at fault, but it didn’t make her feel any better when they were on the outs.

  “Todd?”

  “My ex. He said I used certain words to make myself feel superior.”

  “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

  Millie made a face. “Yeah, well, Todd did. He said I used my brain against people.”

  What a complete wanker. She had been with men like that…had been raised by a man like that. They hated any woman who was smarter than they were and did everything to tear a woman down.

  “I would think if you have a brain, you should show it off. Any man who says those things is threatened by you and your intelligence.”

  “Yeah,” she said, brightening a little. “Mr. Walker seems okay with you being so smart.”

  In the short time she had known Mac, Millie had assessed Vic. Again, it was hard to remember there was a world-class brain behind the big blue eyes. She had been fooled by an attractive man with a quick tongue, but Millie wasn’t stupid. Just a little naive.

  “Yes, and the truth is, in all the years I’ve known him, Vic has always been a man who liked smart women.”

  Millie nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for a response, Jay opened the door.

  “Hey, you wanker, I could have been naked here.”

  Jay just shrugged. “Vic says he’s ready to go.”

  “And he was too busy to make his way to our room to tell me?”

  “He’s on the phone with Rock.”

  She glanced at Millie. “And this is one of the many irritating traits he has. Like I’m his bleeding employee.”

  She grabbed her stuff with a sense of relief. She was glad to escape the conversation. Talking about Vic with another woman felt wrong, and it could also open old wounds. Focusing on what was wrong with their relationship would get in the way of the job. That could get them killed. Head screwed on tight and feelings shoved down until the job was done.

  But an almost nauseating anticipation coursed through her now. The thrill of the hunt, the fun of deceiving people while pretending to be someone she was not…that was what had drawn her into the game.

  Vic was why she’d stayed.

  She picked up the garment bag and the overnight bag.

  “We will check in when we get there, and I’ll give you updates.”

  “You think this is going to help?” Millie asked. “It has more to do with the company than it has to do with the Russians.”

  “Yes, but we still need to find out who the contact was. Plus, what is the connection between your company and the Russians? We can’t ask anyone at Liberty, so it will be easier to find a Russian and get the info. Whoever is behind all of this is smarter than the people who want the information.”

  Millie nodded. “Okay, that makes a lot of sense.”

  “Be safe,” Jay said. There was something in his voice that had her pausing.

  “Don’t worry. We don’t know how to be regular human beings, but we do know how to do the job,” she said.

  Instead of smiling, as she expected, Jay shook his head. “I’m serious. These guys wouldn’t hesitate to make both of you disappear.”

  “I’ll make sure Vic makes it back in one piece.”

  He sighed. “I worry about you, too, McKenzie.”

  The sweet sentiment, along wi
th the serious expression, had her stomach turning over. Instead of brushing it off, as she normally would have, she stepped closer, giving him a hug and a kiss.

  “We’ll be fine.”

  Embarrassed by the short show of emotion, she released him and rushed down the hall to the back door. Vic, in the truck, waiting for her as he talked on the phone. After hanging the garment bag with his behind the seat, she set her overnight bag on the floor, then jumped up into the cab of the pickup.

  “I appreciate it, Jon.”

  More silence.

  “Okay. We should be there in just over an hour.”

  After he hung up, he started the truck and backed out of the drive.

  “What was that about?”

  “Got us a car for tonight. Needed something that looked more like our cover names. By the way, who are we tonight?”

  “Elena and Devon Smythe.”

  His mouth curved. “Ah, that was a good cover before.”

  “Definitely,” she said, as she noted the way his mouth twitched. They had been in England for the job and had just gotten back together after a three-month separation. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other.

  “Good. I got us in at the W, so we should be good to go for tonight.”

  He nodded.

  “Jay’s worried about you.”

  “I would say he is worried about both of us. He told me when we fought it was like having his parents fight.”

  She frowned. “That’s odd.”

  He shrugged. “Like it or not, he sees us in that role.”

  “Well, he has to be about the only one.”

  “Naw. I think you would make a great mother.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  He glanced at her with a smile, the kind that made his dimples appear and his eyes dance. Oh God, this was so unfair. All he had to do was smile at her, and she wanted to shag his brains out.

  “Really. I could see you keeping everything organized. You’d take over the PTA.”

  She snorted. “Right.”

  “No,” he said, his voice losing a little humor and turning serious. “I think you would be an excellent mother.”

  Those damned tears returned, and she had to blink to keep them from falling. It would not do to start crying right now, especially when the subject wasn’t really that important.

  “Well, thanks.”

  His bark of laughter filled the truck. “You don’t believe me, but it’s true.”

  “What brought on these thoughts?”

  “Brought them on? I’ve always had them.”

  “Rubbish.”

  “No, I have.”

  “I don’t believe you. No one in their right mind would think I would make a good mother.”

  “First, as you have pointed out more than once, I’m not in my right mind.”

  “True.”

  “Second, there is one thing I know you will always do.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “You would kill to protect what is yours.”

  She studied him for a long moment, trying to discover if he was joking. “I would say you were the same way.”

  He flashed her that killer smile. “That would make us a good pair, if you ask me.”

  She wanted to ask more, to push for answers, but she didn’t. Soon, they would have time to hash it out. She would just have to deal with frustration until then.

  …

  Vic had just tied his bowtie when Mac walked out of the bathroom. He dropped his hands and just stared. Damn, the woman was amazing. After all these years, she still took his breath away. It was corny, but it fit. She was always stunning, no matter what she wore. She turned him on in a pair of jeans, but the dress she was wearing played to all the right attributes. The soft green fabric clung to her curves perfectly, with a cowl neckline that dipped low enough for a perfect view of her breasts without showing too much. The jade color was one of his favorites and brought out her eyes. It showed a good bit of leg, thanks to the slit up to her thigh. She was tall, but the heels, along with her hairstyle, added to that. She’d curled her hair and put it up in one of those arrangements that seemed to defy gravity.

  He wanted to just chuck the objective and take her to bed. He wanted to take his time peeling that dress off her body and losing himself in bed for a week with her. Then he remembered whom they were meeting up with at the party. He frowned.

  “Well, that’s a nice face you have there, Walker,” she said, with a smile.

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “What? My dress. It’s perfect, and you know it. The slit in the side works for the job at hand tonight. I might not be able to take a weapon, but it allows me to kick and run.”

  She didn’t understand his meaning. She never understood his irritation with St. John. “No. I hate dealing with that man.”

  She dismissed his comment with a shake of her head. “You need to get over the fact that I had a relationship with Simon before I met you.”

  “And after.”

  “Yes, and who were you with at the time?”

  No one. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. Every time they had broken up, he had thrown himself into work. He might have had a one-night stand here or there, but he hadn’t really been involved with anyone else since meeting Mac. He just couldn’t think of another woman for the long term other than her.

  “No one we are working with tonight. I can promise you that.”

  She made a face, and it didn’t make her any less attractive. It just made him want to coax a smile from her.

  “I don’t understand why you have this issue with him. He’s happily married.”

  “That’s an oxymoron.”

  She chuckled as she approached him and made a show of adjusting his bowtie. How many times had they been in this exact position? Too many to count. It gave him a sense of comfort he hadn’t felt in months. Getting ready to do a job with Mac was better than hours of foreplay with another woman.

  “If you say things like that, you’ll make me think you don’t believe in happily ever after.”

  He said nothing, and she looked up at him. “I believe in it. I’m not sure we’re built for it.”

  She studied him, as if trying to discern if he was lying to her. “Probably not. So maybe we need to tear it down and start over with our own version of it.”

  His breath clogged his throat as he searched for something to say. He couldn’t think of anything. If he opened his mouth now, he knew he would use the wrong words. It was too perfect a statement, and he didn’t want to screw it up. Before he formulated a response, she shifted away.

  “We should get going. It would be best to get in and out as fast as we can.”

  The urge to pull her back into her arms was too great. He grabbed her by the hand and reeled her back in.

  “What?”

  “Just know when this is done, we will figure this out. I promise.”

  She searched his eyes. “Do you really want to?”

  “I always wanted to. I just didn’t know how.”

  She studied him for a long moment. “Okay. Just remember, if you change your mind, let me know. I don’t want to be left here wondering what the hell happened, again.”

  He said nothing, but he nodded and let her go. Yes, they would figure this out as soon as they solved the issues around the case.

  Then, maybe, they could work on them.

  Chapter Eight

  Women are always better at spying at formal events. They do everything men do, but they do it in high heels and stockings.

  —Vic Walker

  Mac wasn’t surprised when they walked into the event without a problem. Good documents, a great cover story, and confidence worked anywhere, even an embassy. Mac and Vic were experts at the game. He seemed to come by it naturally, while Mac had had it drummed into her almost from birth.

  After making their way through security, Mac and Vic strolled into the ballroom. The music was at a respectable level.
Nothing too fast or too slow, and definitely not any good rock. The few times she’d heard a rock song played by the band at any event, it had been a Rolling Stones song, and they had botched it. Soft pop was as crazy as the music usually got.

  These events were a gold mine in the spy world. Everyone knew something. Diplomats could mingle without being deemed suspicious. Most of the conversations were legitimate, but there was an underbelly to the diplomatic corps. There was always someone willing to sell secrets and always someone there to pay for them.

  When Mac had joined MI6, she had used diplomatic gatherings to dig for information. Growing up in this world made it easier to operate in it. Add in the fact that she was able to dress in her favorite shoes and formal dresses, and it was a winning situation all around.

  It had been over a year since they had mingled in this crowd. Their last few cases hadn’t had a diplomatic link. Once Vic had left, Mac had avoided them. Without him by her side, she always felt exposed and vulnerable. She had missed this, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of the job or because of the man walking beside her. Probably both.

  “Damn, I hate this.”

  She glanced at him. He scanned the crowd, looking for anyone who might recognize them and blow their cover. He was always looking for threats. There was no doubt there was someone who wanted to kill one of them. Or both of them. But she knew his comment spoke to something that was bothering her, too.

  “I know what you mean,” she murmured, as she, too, studied the crowd.

  They were flying blind. In the world of spies, information was your trade. Not knowing who was after Millie and, to a lesser extent, them, wasn’t good. Going into a group like this was always dangerous. Not having the intel to keep an eye out for your enemies made a spy jumpy. They might run a security firm, but old habits were hard to break—especially for the two of them.

  “There has to be another way.”

  Now, she knew he had changed the topic. The fact that they were going to have to owe Simon was another thing pissing Vic off. She didn’t really like the idea, either, but she knew she could trust his information. During this case, trusting someone outside of the core group was going to be hard. And while she was sure Simon might stab her in the back, she knew his intel would be decent.