Submission Impossible (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 1)

“Don’t kill him,” Tag said, looking down at his nose. “It’s not even broken.”

It was good to know someone didn’t underestimate him.

“Damn, what happened?” Mitchell Bradford walked in the door. “Fuck. That had to be Kyle. He’s psychotic, you know. There’s something wrong with him. From what I can tell he started at least two fights and then told me how fun his night had been.”

“Yeah, the kid’s got issues,” Tag agreed.

“Is this still my op?” Hutch asked.

Tag frowned. “Man, she’s pissed. I don’t know that you want this op anymore.”

“I want it.” And he wanted her.

“All right. How do you want to play this?” Tag asked.

Mitch groaned. “I don’t need to hear this, do I? Because if it involves holding a woman against her will, then I should go back to the dungeon. You know that place where illegal stuff doesn’t happen?”

“You should definitely go.” Because Hutch had no plans to let Noelle ditch him tonight.

Or ever.

* * * *

Noelle had to force herself to sit across from the woman who’d been her first real friend in Dallas. She figured if she could get through that last meeting with Hutch, she could handle one more liar.

“I need you to understand that I never thought you were truly involved in what I believe Jessica Layne is doing.” Cara leaned forward. She sat beside Chris, and Noelle had to admit they made an attractive couple.

“Were you lying about knowing him from before?” Noelle asked the question, the words feeling numb in her mouth. That was a problem because she couldn’t seem to make herself feel anything. She’d watched Kyle hit Hutch and emotion had swelled inside her, and then it had gone out like a flame snuffed.

Maybe she had lied and Hutch had broken her.

Cara stared at her like she didn’t want to answer the question at all. “We were engaged two years ago. I left DPD to join the FBI, and we broke up shortly after that. This assignment was the first time we’d seen each other in a while.”

“Noelle, we never meant to hurt you.” Chris was out of the suit he wore for his cover job. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, his dark hair slicked back. “You unfortunately got caught in the middle of a long-term covert investigation. What happened tonight was not something we were aware of or we would have found a way to shut it down. No one on our team wanted you arrested.”

“Yeah, well, your team needs to do better because we made you the first day we walked in the door.” Kyle settled in beside her.

If that punch had been any indication, Kyle hadn’t been in on Hutch’s plans either. She’d wanted so much to go to Hutch. When he’d wrapped his arms around her, she’d wanted nothing more than to hug him and cry against his shoulder. The impulse had been right there to believe everything he said and let him handle it all.

She couldn’t because letting him handle it had cost her everything.

Why had he downloaded her work?

“You didn’t make anyone.” MaeBe looked up from her laptop. “I did. I remembered you from a conference about a year ago.”

Cara turned his way. “And you didn’t remember the young woman with purple hair and a nose ring?”

Chris shrugged. “She looks like every techie in our department, to tell you the truth. Or CSI. I won’t even go into the women who work in the morgue.”

MaeBe frowned. “I take exception to your attack on my individuality.” She focused her gaze on Noelle. “Are you all right?”

“Why would you care?” This wasn’t her. She wasn’t cold and unfeeling. MaeBe had been doing her job, but it felt personal.

MaeBe’s eyes widened, and Noelle realized she wasn’t wearing her normal makeup. She wasn’t wearing any at all, and her eyes were slightly puffy. Had she cried it off? “I absolutely care. I’ve been worried about you and Kyle.”

“Then perhaps you should have given me a heads-up that I was about to get arrested,” Kyle replied, his voice cold as ice. “Instead, you calmly saved your boy and let Noelle and I give him cover.”

“That’s not what happened. When that woman broke in and she used Noelle’s keycard, I thought my heart was going to stop. I haven’t been calm since the moment I realized the whole thing had gone to hell.” MaeBe’s face had flushed.

The door came open and Big Tag and Hutch walked through.

“What woman?” Noelle had stuck on that part of MaeBe’s story. “I thought Hutch had taken my keycard.”

Hutch’s nose was slightly swollen, but it oddly didn’t make him any less attractive. “I don’t need your keycard, Noelle. I wouldn’t have done that because that would have left a footprint in the logs. Which is exactly what the woman who did use your card wanted.”