Submission Impossible (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 1)

“I’m going to take you up on that beer someday,” Kyle said quietly.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Hutch promised.

It was what family did. They were there when a man was ready to change.

Noelle’s hand reached out to find his.

He squeezed it and let himself rest.

Epilogue

Papillon, LA

Six months later

Michael Malone looked out over the patio of the bed and breakfast where Hutch’s wedding reception was taking place. He felt that familiar sense of joy with a twinge of regret that he got every time he’d gone to a wedding in the last five or six years.

A lot of his friends had gotten married. His twin had married years ago. JT and Nina had two kids Michael adored. Everyone was settling. Even his ex-fiancée. He’d gotten that invite in the mail and wondered why he’d made the freaking decision to stay friends with her.

Because she was a good woman who deserved all the happiness in the world. She simply hadn’t been right for him, and he hadn’t been the man for her.

He was starting to think there wasn’t a woman in the world for him.

“Hey, did you try the punch?” Big Tag moved in beside him. He’d ditched his jacket and tie and seemed more relaxed for it. “There’s a lot of rum in this sucker.”

“Yeah, it’s an interesting place. And Hutch’s new inlaws seem cool.” They were all out on the dance floor, swaying to the music and enjoying the evening. Hutch was in the middle of it all, his new wife in his arms.

“Oh, this whole place is insane,” Tag said with a smile. “I like it.”

Tag always had loved some well-intentioned chaos. “Did you like the gator? They act like run-ins with large reptiles are no big deal.”

Tag shrugged a big shoulder. “Hutch says his name is Otis and he’s kind of the town’s mascot. I thought he smelled like ass, and he made me happy my girls are content with Bud, who can be easily groomed.”

Maybe he should get a dog and forget the whole wife and kids’ thing. He and Fido could live happily until Fido died and he had to start over again.

He was getting maudlin in his old age.

“You okay?” Taggart asked him the question like he was worried.

When the boss got worried, he tended to do things. Like set a man up. Michael smiled what he hoped was his brightest smile. “Of course. I’m at a wedding. There were some pretty cute bridesmaids.”

Tag’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, you’re really into the mid-twenties set. All of Noelle’s friends are babies.”

He hadn’t noticed. He didn’t notice much of anything these days. He worked a lot. He sat through family events he didn’t truly feel a part of. He was drifting and completely unsure how to get back on track. “It’s probably better that way. Hutch can be surprisingly mean when it comes to revenge. Or pranks. Adam is still talking about the colonic his smart toilet gave him.”

That got Tag laughing. “Ah, good times, man. Good times.”

He took a sip of his punch and then put a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael knew that shoulder pat. It was Tag’s I-need-a-favor shoulder pat. “What is it?”

“Am I that easy to read now? Well, it’s probably true. I’ve got a job for you when we get back to Dallas.”

That wasn’t anything new. “I figured you would. You keep us pretty busy.”

“It’s a job of a sensitive nature,” Tag allowed.

“Okay. What’s it involve? The Agency? Are we still looking for the woman who set Noelle up?” He’d like to find her. “Is it about Kyle?”

“I’m not worried about Kyle anymore,” Tag admitted. “He’s a good kid. He’s got some shit to work through, but who doesn’t? No. It’s more about the client than anything else. The job itself is pretty straightforward. I’ve got a client who’s worried about his business. He thinks he might have a corporate spy in his midst, and he needs someone to get close to the woman to find out what’s going on.”

Close to meant he might have to romance someone. The thought made him sigh. “Tag, I don’t know that I’m the right agent.”

“It’s Vanessa Hale.”

He turned to Tag. “The film star? She’s in Dallas?”

Tag nodded. “She’s left the industry entirely. She was raised here. Her mom died recently, and she moved home. She’s living in the house her mom left her.”

Vanessa Hale had made a splash a decade ago when she’d first shown up on-screen. She’d been declared a rising star, but somewhere along the way she’d gotten off track. He didn’t follow the Hollywood gossip, but even he had heard about the starlet’s scandals and her marriage that had everyone labeling her a gold digger.

“Isn’t she married to a billionaire?” She’d married some old man and become a trophy wife and sparked a million tabloid stories.

“Oh, he died last year and her husband’s son took her to court, and she got left with nothing. She was given a pittance, and that was sucked up by legal fees,” Tag explained. “She came home with very little.”