You_Only_Love_Twice_ARE

by Lexi Blake

  “Really? You’re going to play it that way, Murdoch?” Naturally Phoebe chose that moment to walk in. He watched as she moved to the conference table. They were right. She moved with ease and grace now. Had anything at all been real about her?

  He just shrugged.

  She sank into the chair beside him and sent him a stare that every man who had ever been involved with a woman knew meant trouble. “So now I’m the ice queen? Could you figure out which kind of evil I am, please? Because before I was a slut.”

  “I didn’t say that.” He’d never once used that word about a woman. It was ugly. No woman should be made to feel bad about her natural sexuality. He was an idiot, but at least he had a code. “I’m sorry if it came off that way. I was trying to figure out your relationship with Ten. I wasn’t calling you names. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you or anything. I was just trying to see how he reacted.”

  Her lips curled up. “Apology accepted. It was smart, you know. It was a good play. Ten certainly wasn’t ready for it.” She turned to the other men in the room and her face went icy cold. “Who decided it was a good idea to raid an American company on American soil?”

  The three of them looked back and forth, obviously not quite sure how to handle the new girl in the room. Malone finally spoke up. “That was Ten’s call. It’s Phoebe, right?”

  “It’s ma’am to you. I might have spent the last year embedded but I’m still your superior, Malone, and don’t think I didn’t vet every single one of you. Just because you don’t know who I am, doesn’t mean I don’t know who you are. I know your names, your histories, and why you were chosen for this team. I also know that I chose you because you’re supposed to be smart enough to know when the time has come to tell the boss he’s lost his damn mind.”

  She had a really sexy voice when she got all authoritative. He’d never minded a woman being in charge. He totally blamed his grade school teacher, Ms. Tucker. There had been so few children that she’d taught grades one through five, and she’d been the first female authority figure he’d ever had. She’d been sweet and kind, and she knew how to kick a little ass when she’d needed to.

  Malone and the rest of the men sat up straighter. “Look, ma’am, all I know is the boss got on the phone earlier today and when he got off he went into psycho mode. We didn’t even get a mission briefing. All we were told was we had to extract an operative without loss of life. He showed us your picture and gave Ace directions where to set the chopper down.”

  “I damn near shit myself when I realized where we were,” Boomer admitted.

  “Dude, too much information,” Deke said with a shake of his head.

  Boomer merely shrugged. “Big Tag scares me. I know what our Tags are capable of and I think that dude’s meaner.”

  “No, he’s just older,” Case Taggart said as he walked in.

  “I don’t know. I saw what he did to Ten with that stapler.” Theo was right on his brother’s heels. They were twins, but Jesse could tell them apart. Theo had a lightness that escaped Case.

  “Which is why you should probably stay away from him,” Case said with a pointed stare his brother’s way.

  Theo sat down. “It’s just dinner. Our sister-in-law is very persuasive.”

  “Grace is not our sister-in-law,” Case argued. “Neither is Charlotte.”

  “She is and why are you so opposed to having more family?” Theo shook his head. “We don’t have any as it is.”

  “We’ve got each other and the team. That’s all we need.” Case paced behind them as though he wasn’t about to get comfortable. Stubborn. Yeah, he was a lot like Big Tag. “And while we’re on the subject, you should stay away from that red-haired chick. Do you think I didn’t see that? You let her get the jump on you.”

  Theo turned a nice shade of pink. “I’m not used to fighting girls.”

  From what Jesse had seen, he wasn’t very good at it either. Erin had gotten him and good. If Theo was interested in Erin, he might have a touch of masochist inside. Of course, he wasn’t one to talk because just being close to Phoebe was making his dick stir.

  “Where is Tag?” He needed to get this thing moving. The faster Tag showed up, the sooner he could leave and avoid making an idiot of himself.

  “He’s having to haul Ten in. Apparently there’s the issue of someone’s balls swelling,” Jake Dean said as he sat.

  The rest of the team walked in after Jake, some with cake and punch, and some with ice packs on various parts of their bodies. Ten’s team straggled in with them. Erin looked up, eyeing Theo Taggart like an annoying pest she couldn’t get rid of. Yet she also couldn’t quite keep from watching. Her eyes strayed to him constantly.

  “Are you all right?” Phoebe turned in her chair.

  He couldn’t look at her. “I’m fine.”

  “You have a bruise on your jaw. Should you have some ice on it? I could get you some.” She pushed her chair back. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t.” He practically growled the words her way. She was so much easier to deal with when all she did was stammer and blush and seem to follow orders.

  “Jesse, you’re hurt,” she argued.

  “And I’ll survive. I don’t want any help from you.”

  “Well, that’s too bad because you’re going to get it,” Phoebe shot back. “Don’t think for a second that just because I back off getting you an ice pack means we’re not going to discuss the fact that someone is trying to kill you.”

  “That would be you.”

  She sighed, a frustrated sound. “I told you I had zero idea who that kill order was on before I got to the hotel.”

  “You lined up your shot fast enough,” Simon pointed out.

  “Look, just the fact that you casually say phrases like kill order tells me everything I need to know.” He didn’t want to find her attractive. He didn’t want to look at her. Hell, he didn’t want to think about her because the minute he did, his heart rate ticked up and he lost his damn mind.

  “That’s pretty hypocritical of you.” She turned back in her chair, staring straight ahead. “I was doing my job just like everyone in this room has done their job. Actually, I didn’t do my job or you would be a chalk outline in the middle of downtown Dallas.”

  “I should thank you for that?” There was still that little piece deep inside that wished she’d just done it. It would all be over and he could move on to whatever the hell happened to dead men.

  She frowned suddenly, turning to Simon. “Why were you there? In the alley, I mean.”

  “I made you a couple of months back. We’ve been following you ever since,” Simon explained.

  She flushed slightly. “It was the night The Collective came after you, wasn’t it?”

  He’d been scared for Phoebe that night, but now he knew he should have just taken her with them. She’d likely have dropped a couple of Collective operatives. “Yeah, Simon figured it out and then we found the tracer on my Jeep.”

  “Might I point out that you guys were about to be horrifically murdered when we showed up?” Deke said.

  Malone nodded. “Taggart was running late, cousin. If Phoebe hadn’t set us on your trail, Chelsea would now be in Collective hands and you and Murdoch there would be six feet under.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Phoebe held a hand up. “Yes, I did put the trace on your Jeep. I’ve been filing a report on what happens in this office once a week. I’ve kept in contact with Tennessee, but until today I had not received any kind of orders beyond watching and reporting. Hello, Mr. Taggart, Ten. You both look worse for the wear.”

  Jesse looked up as Big Tag and Ten walked into the room. Limped was more like it for Ten. The right side of his face was swollen and his lower lip had cracked a bit. Big Tag managed to almost look like a man who hadn’t had his balls abused by a pair of cowboy boots. He winced just a little as he eased into his chair.

  “Nothing’s broken,” he said. “Jesse, you okay?”

  “I’m better than mos
t.” His ribs still ached and he had a spectacular headache, but he would live. “Can we get this over with? I’d like to get home.”

  “He’s planning on quitting.” Simon was like a little boy tattling on his brother.

  “No,” Phoebe protested.

  “Who’s quitting?” McKay asked.

  “It better be Phoebe,” Erin said under her breath. There was only one chair left and it was beside Theo Taggart. He tried to hold it out for her but she rolled her eyes. “I’ll stand, buddy.”

  “I’m not your buddy,” Theo warned, his jaw hardening.

  “No, you’re not, kid,” Erin agreed.

  Theo stood, matching Erin’s aggressive stance. “I’m not a kid either.”

  “Oh, is the baby looking for a mommy?” Erin could be obnoxious to say the least.

  “I’ll show you what I’m looking for, sweetheart.” Theo took a step her way.

  “I’m too old for this shit,” Tag groaned. “Theo, dude, she will tear your dick off.”

  “The heart wants what the heart wants, I guess,” Theo tossed back with a smirk on his face.

  Tag stared at his brother. “Then your heart really needs to have a long discussion with your dick because again—she will rip it off. It’s why I hired her. Please, can we stuff the sexual tension down where it should be? Like deep down. I don’t want to hear about anyone’s fucking feelings or dark desires or childhood anxieties. Shove it down like a man and yes, I mean you, Erin.”

  She sat down with a sigh. “I’m not the one with a case of the feels, boss. Your little brother has obviously never been around a girl before.”

  “I take it back,” Case said, smiling for the first time. “I like her.”

  Ten shoved a hand through his hair, a weary look in his eyes. “My men better stand the fuck down. I might have broken a couple of ribs, but I can still shoot you. Sit and behave. We have a problem.”

  “A major problem. Turns out the kill order didn’t come from Ten,” Taggart announced.

  “What kill order?” Boomer asked. “Hot new boss lady said something about it and then Murdoch looked all sad and shit. I still don’t get why we’re here.”

  Ten looked at Taggart. “He’s actually the single best sniper in the country. All right, let’s go over some things. I sent Phoebe in when it became apparent that Taggart was going to get involved with Jesse Murdoch, a man who has been on several watchlists since he was rescued from a jihadist prison.”

  “Lots of people got taken,” Li said, sitting forward. “Most of them are welcomed back. I know what happened with Murdoch was unusual, but why wasn’t he given the benefit of the doubt?”

  “Shortly before we found Murdoch we received intel that an Iraqi psychologist was working with a jihadist group to try to turn American soldiers and then release them back into the military,” Ten explained.

  “From there they were supposed to become sleeper agents, waiting for a time and place to strike,” Taggart continued. “Given what Jesse said about his captivity, the government and the Agency came to believe Jesse had been in that particular program.”

  “Shit, that’s very Manchurian Candidate,” Simon said under his breath.

  “But if he’d really been turned, he likely wouldn’t have mentioned the psychological torture.” Phoebe didn’t look his way, but he could tell she was aggravated by the way her fingers drummed along her thigh. She kept her hand under the desk as though she didn’t want anyone to know.

  He wanted to reach out and still her hand, to give her some comfort.

  “Or he could tell us exactly what he told us because it would throw us off the scent,” Ten argued. “You know as well as I do that the best covers always contain a grain of truth.”

  “He’s not a traitor. Do you even read the reports I submit?” Phoebe sent Ten a stare that would freeze lava.

  “It doesn’t matter now.” He could easily put an end to this argument. “I quit. So you don’t have to worry about me tainting McKay-Taggart anymore. I’m going back to Wyoming. I’ll keep a low profile and I won’t try to lose whatever tails you feel necessary to set on me.”

  “No.” Taggart took a sip of the ridiculously strong coffee he liked.

  “You can’t stop me.” He should have known his boss would make things difficult.

  “Yes, I can. And so can Ten. We’ve agreed to a few things. Mostly we agreed to beat the shit out of each other again at the first convenient time, but we also agreed that something is wrong here. Phoebe, you’re the first person in a very long time to fool me.”

  “I wasn’t trying to fool you, sir. I was trying to do my job,” Phoebe pointed out.

  “Nonetheless, you have my respect. Unfortunately, you also have my distrust and bitterness, and don’t discount those. I have to say the over-the-top scaredy cat shit threw me off. And the Harry Potter crap was a nice touch. I don’t think there’s been a spy in the history of time who hid behind Harry Potter bobble heads. Adam, call Guinness.”

  “On it,” Adam replied with a grin.

  Did anyone give a shit that he kind of had every right to quit? He was about to say something to that effect when he saw Ten’s skin pale and he turned to Phoebe.

  “You brought them here?” Ten asked. “You brought the bobble heads into this office?”

  Phoebe looked down at the table. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

  Taggart’s eyes went from one to the other, his brain obviously working overtime. “All right then. Who has the number to her Agency phone?”

  “Just me. This wasn’t exactly a normal assignment. I’m given a lot of leeway in how I run my department. Black ops within the Agency are taken pretty damn seriously. I answer only to the head of the CIA. I recruit my own men and I tend to run my own missions.”

  “Yeah, into my fucking office. You’re paying for that carpet. And for the chair Dean broke on Boomer’s head. That was a good chair.”

  “Well, I wasn’t aware you’d turned the whole place into a nursery, Tag. I kind of thought you ran a security agency. Now I can see you’re all far too busy talking baby talk and drinking fucking tea.” Ten shook his head like that was the worse thing a person could do.

  “It was punch, boss. And it was really good. You see they made it with sherbet…” Boomer stopped. “Is this one of those times when I shouldn’t talk?”

  “Yeah. Most of the time you shouldn’t talk, buddy.” Ten’s eyes closed and he took a long breath. When he opened them again, he turned to Taggart. “I’m sorry, Ian. She’s my sister. When you said she wouldn’t be a problem anymore, I lost it.”

  “And are you sorry for putting a spy on me in the first place, asshole?” Tag asked.

  “Nah, I had good reasons and I’m not apologizing until you apologize for Chelsea. I’m not stupid. I know why she took the job. Now let’s get down to business. I did not send that message,” Ten said.

  Phoebe sat up straight. “Then who did? Is there any way it could have been a drill?”

  “I don’t know.” Ten nodded. “I’m going to look into it. So everyone can stand down for now. This was all one huge mistake and I sincerely apologize for bringing you into it. I’m going to figure this out and someone is going to pay.”

  “Yes. You will. I’m billing your ass,” Taggart said with a long eye roll. “And we’re not friends anymore.”

  “Like I said, I’m sorry about a lot of things.” Ten stood on shaky feet. “My team, let’s get up to the chopper. Ace is waiting for us there. I’ve got one more thing to say to Taggart, but I’d like to say that in private. Go on. We’ll talk more about it back at base. We head back to DC in two weeks and have an assignment the day after that. Get some rest and heal up. We’re going to be on the move for a while.”

  Ten’s men proved just how well trained they were by leaving without another question.

  That wasn’t the way McKay-Taggart worked.

  “A drill? Are you fucking kidding me?” Dean glared at Ten.

  “If you think
you can cover this up, you’re wrong.” Adam Miles was already on his computer.

  Taggart held a hand up. “Out. Everyone. Now.”

  “I’m not going anywhere until I get an explanation.” Simon didn’t move from his chair.

  “You’ll get explanations later. I promise,” Ian said. “Just give us the room. I will handle the situation.”

  Slowly, they all got up. Jesse figured he was the only one who was happy this clusterfuck seemed to be over. He started to move, but Tag held a hand out.

  “Not you, Jesse. You and Phoebe stay.” Tag looked up at his partner. “Alex, could you make sure no one disturbs us?”

  The door closed and he was left alone with Tag, Ten, and Phoebe.

  Naturally he was the one who got to stay. “I told you there’s no need. I’m leaving on the first plane out of here. I don’t give a flying fuck what kind of mistakes were made. If Ten’s worried I’ll sue the Agency or something, he can bite my ass.”

  “I didn’t send the kill order,” Ten said.

  “I get that it was a mistake.” He was tired and just wanted to get out of here.

  Phoebe turned her face up to him. “It wasn’t a mistake. I know what I saw. Who has the phone?”

  “Adam,” Tag replied. “He’s going to fill in the rest of the team. He’s working with Chelsea—who was planted in your organization for just this reason.”

  Ten slammed a hand down and then winced. “Motherfucking shitty day.”

  Shit. There was something he hadn’t mentioned, hadn’t really even thought about. Damn it. He was the Boomer. He was the dumbass. “They sent me a text. I wasn’t in that alley by coincidence. Simon and I were supposed to wait outside the hotel.”

  “Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that, dumb…” Tag began and then Phoebe leaned forward. “I mean we should have a discussion where I remind you that I am actually the boss and you should follow my orders.”

  Phoebe sat back.

  “Dumbass.”

  When Phoebe started this time, Jesse held a hand out to stay whatever she was about to say. “It was a stupid move and Tag calling me a dumbass is the equivalent of him saying he gives a shit.”