The Dom Identity (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 2)

Kyle’s head shook. “I don’t have to go behind her back, man. I’ll say it to her front. She’s not cut out for this job, and she proved it today. She didn’t take out the bad guy. She got hurt. She needs to stay behind a computer screen. Hell, she needs to find another job altogether. Now get out of my way because I’m going to check on her.”

Michael stepped in front of him. “You can’t. Vanessa is in there.”

Kyle’s jaw tightened. “Then you should take her home because I’m going to see MaeBe.”

“I’ll have her out in half an hour,” Michael promised. “She’s talking to MaeBe. They seem to be getting along.”

Kyle’s eyes flared. “You’re getting her in deeper.”

“They’re talking. That’s all.” He didn’t see what the problem was. “And you know what? She was good in the field. She didn’t panic. She handled the situation, and she protected the target.”

“She shouldn’t have to protect your target, Michael,” Kyle shot back. “She’s barely healed from what happened to her when she was kidnapped.”

A lightbulb went off in Michael’s head. This was what the problem was. MaeBe had been kidnapped by a woman who’d wanted to use her to find Hutch’s wife, Noelle LaVigne. She’d been beaten, and Kyle had been there. He’d watched the woman he so obviously loved be hurt, and he couldn’t stand the thought of it happening again.

“She’s all right. I’m not putting her in any more danger,” Michael promised. “She’s done what I needed her to do. She’ll monitor Vanessa’s phone and let me know if anything interesting happens. I didn’t mean to put her in danger in the first place.”

Kyle let out a long breath and stepped away, pacing across the carpet. “It fucking follows her. I swear. That girl is so much fucking trouble. Only she could walk into a knife.”

He could see plainly that MaeBe was trouble for Kyle. “She was a hero today.”

“I don’t want to hear that shit,” Kyle replied. “She could have died.”

“But she didn’t.” Deke sat down, signaling he thought the threat had passed. “She’s smart, and she’s well trained. Man, it’s so clear you’re into her, and she’s crazy about you. Are you hiding the relationship for some reason? No one cares about office relationships. Obviously. Michael’s tanked, but most of them seem good.”

He resented the “tanked” comment. It hadn’t tanked. It had faded into nothingness. Sometimes he thought he was in the process of disappearing, too. “If he wants a relationship with MaeBe, this isn’t the way to go about it. I get that you’re scared for her, but she’s serious about this job. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”

Kyle’s eyes came up. “She’s just a friend. Nothing more. She can’t be more.”

“Then you back off because you’re acting like an angry husband.” He had no idea why Kyle wouldn’t admit he was crazy about MaeBe. Emphasis on the crazy. All he knew was Kyle’s damage was threatening his op, and he couldn’t have that.

“You’ve got thirty minutes to clear your girl out,” Kyle said in a flat, done-with-all-this-business tone. “After that, nothing is going to stop me from seeing MaeBe. I’m not leaving the op, but you should understand that I will sacrifice the whole fucking job if MaeBe is in trouble again. You’ve put her close to the target. There’s probably no way to pull her out now, but if she’s on the team, then I’m in charge of her.”

Kyle strode away.

Deke sighed. “Did Grace beat him as a child? Or lose him in the forest so he was raised by wolves?”

He was getting a headache. “No idea, man, but he is trouble. If I could, I would send him right back to the bodyguard unit. But he’s known at The Club. There would be gossip if he wasn’t there. And someone took that schedule.”

“The one that plainly states Kyle is working this weekend,” Deke agreed. “Yeah, you can’t get rid of him without tipping off whoever took that schedule.”

He wished he could. Kyle was a wild card. “He’s right about one thing. MaeBe’s part of this now. She and Vanessa clicked.”

“I don’t get what he’s upset about. I mean, I get he doesn’t want her hurt, but sometimes that’s part of the job.” Deke stood up. “She’s good. I watched her through the security cameras. She did an excellent job of swiping the phone. She was patient. She got it back quickly.”

“You were watching the cameras?”

Deke held a hand up. “Yeah, but I wasn’t when the incident happened. When you went to the bathroom, I left the van and got ready to deal with our photographers if I needed to. I got a flash of the guy as he ran back out, but nothing else. As soon as I can, I’ll find him on the security cams and get a work-up going for you.”