Submission Impossible (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 1)

Damn, but she was hot. And now angry with him. Like everyone was going to be.

“I think it’s safe to say she’s joking,” Kyle replied. “And it’s also safe to say you’re about to be off the case. I’m sure MaeBe can handle it. She can go in the field with me.”

May Beatrice Vaughn was another member of McKay-Taggart’s cybersecurity team. In the beginning it had just been Adam Miles, and then Hutch had backed him up for a couple of years. He’d moved into Adam’s old job when Adam had left, and over the years they’d hired a couple of specialists, including the perkiest of them, MaeBe Vaughn.

He and MaeBe were strictly friends. She was like a kid sister. But he also recognized that MaeBe was adorable and had a banging bod. “Did you do all of this to get MaeBe on the team instead of me?”

“Did I set up a scenario where the client showed up and you made an ass of yourself? No.” Kyle pulled his briefcase off in anticipation of the search he was about to go through. “Did I see an opportunity and take it?” He gave Hutch a predatory grin. “Oh, yes. I’ll take Ms. LaVigne upstairs. Don’t worry about her.”

But he kind of wanted to now. He glanced over and she was handing the security guard her cane. She seemed to brace herself and then walked through the scanner to the other side, where she stopped because the guard was examining her cane.

She didn’t want to walk without it. In that moment he didn’t see a potential threat to his own freaking loneliness. He saw a pretty woman who was vulnerable, who was trying hard not to show it, probably because he’d been such an asshole. A woman who’d gone through so much, who still carried the burdens of her past but could smile the way she did.

“Hey, Howard, it’s just a cane.” He knew the security guys. “She’s a client of Mr. Taggart. I don’t think she’s got a cannon in there or anything.”

Kyle was moving through the scanner. Hutch handed over his laptop bag.

“Never can tell these days.” Howard gave Noelle back her cane. “And I don’t know if we should let anyone take a bunch of baked goods up. There’s a senator coming to meet with Mr. Dean. We were told to be extra careful. Miss, I’ll keep these down here for you. If you’ll fill out a form…”

“Do you want to explain to Big Tag why he didn’t get the lemon muffins he ordered?” Hutch was not letting her bag of treats go. She’d made them and carried them all the way here. She got to keep them.

He knew he was doing an awfully fast 180, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d said things she should never have heard, and he felt like crap about it.

“He didn’t actually…” Noelle accepted her cane and seemed to figure out what he was doing. “They’re a surprise. Mrs. Taggart ordered them for her husband. Should I call her?”

Howard immediately handed over the bag. “Nope. If Mrs. Taggart wants them upstairs, then upstairs they go.” He frowned Kyle’s way. “Do you need all these guns?”

Kyle shrugged. “They’re my favorite accessory.” He grimaced when the scanner turned red. “Sorry. I forgot about the knives. Give me a second.”

He moved to the side, and Hutch hoped the man didn’t have to undress to get through security. It gave him a shot at going first since he wasn’t carrying. He stood still and let the scanner do its work. The second guard waved him on, and he grabbed his laptop and joined Noelle, who seemed to be waiting on Kyle.

“Could I carry that for you?” Maybe being a gentleman would smooth things over. “I can walk you up to the office. I’m Hutch. Sorry about the joke I was playing on my buddy over there.”

“Sure. You were joking,” she said, not moving an inch. “Mr. Hutch…”

She had the sweetest accent. It was very Southern and polite. “Just Hutch. My name is Greg Hutchins, but I was named after my dad who was an abusive asshole, so I prefer Hutch.”

“All right, Hutch,” she replied evenly. “Let’s not mince words. You don’t want to do this job, it’s fine. Kyle mentioned someone else.”

“Kyle doesn’t assign agents.” Though apparently he liked to fuck them over.

“I don’t want to cause trouble.” She leaned a bit on the cane. “I’m fairly certain we’re going to find out that this wasn’t worth all the time and effort. If you’ve got a junior team member I can work with, I’ll be happy to make the switch. I was told you’re the top computer guy.”

It was sometimes hard to believe but he’d been heading the cybersecurity unit for years now. “I’m good at what I do. I can figure out if you have a problem. So your dad did Big Tag a favor once?”