The tears that suddenly sheened her eyes damn near killed him. “I didn’t know where else to go. I really don’t have another place here in Texas. I’ve never been on my own before. I can pay you.”
Oh, he could come up with a hundred different ways she could pay him, none of them having a thing to do with money. “We’ll talk about that later. You look pale. Have you eaten?”
“No. I found the stupid bomb this morning when I got home from the airport. I’ve been running all over Dallas ever since. I rode the train for hours. I actually went to Fort Worth and came back here to make sure I wasn’t being followed,” she said as she turned and started to walk into his living room. Bloody hell. His cousins were still here. The minute she’d shown up, he’d forgotten all about them.
They’d shown up this afternoon because he hadn’t been out to see them in months, and now he had to find a way to get rid of them.
“Hello, pretty lady,” a low voice said. Damn it. JT pretty much hit on anything with breasts. Chelsea could take flirting poorly. She’d been physically abused by her father, and from what her sister had told him, she was afraid of men. His cousin could be a bit over the top.
He hurried behind her in an attempt to put himself between the two.
“Hi.” Chelsea’s voice came out a little breathy.
“I’m JT, Simon’s cousin, and this is my far less attractive brother, Michael.” JT was on his feet, his hand held out.
Chelsea giggled. She actually giggled. She never, ever giggled. Laughed at him from time to time, but this was a girlish, flirty sound he’d never heard from her before. She stepped up and placed her hand in JT’s. “He looks like he’s your twin.”
“I’m definitely the prettier one.” Brooding Michael was on his feet, too, giving Chelsea a charming smile.
Chelsea turned and shook Michael’s hand as well. If she was scared because there were two massive walls of masculine flesh surrounding her, he couldn’t tell. She simply flashed a gorgeous smile and looked between the two of them. “Uhm, identical, much? Sure I see that JT has longer hair, but I think that’s because he was smart enough to avoid the Special Forces.”
Michael chuckled, absolutely unperturbed. “Hey, I can’t help that I’m a military man. Big brother there was always too fond of cow shit to leave the ranch.”
“That’s no way to talk about the future CEO of Malone Oil,” Chelsea chided.
JT’s grin faded. “How did you know that?”
Michael shot his brother a superior look. “Because she has way more in common with me, brother. She does her homework. It’s nice to meet you, Chelsea Denisovitch. Or do you prefer Dennis? Or The Broker?”
Simon stepped in. “Do you want to explain how you even know that term has any correlation to her, Michael?”
Chelsea had stiffened a bit, and Simon was deeply satisfied with the way she stepped back toward him. “I think I was right about the Special Forces, but it looks like your cousin is involved with the Agency, too.”
JT tilted his head, obviously not following the conversation. “I’m a little confused.”
Because he was the smart one who hadn’t gone into the intelligence field. Michael had mentioned earlier in the evening that the CIA was sniffing around him, but if he knew who “The Broker” was, it was more than a quick sniff. “You’ve been working for Tennessee Smith. He wouldn’t have talked to you about her if you hadn’t already said yes to him. He’s the devil, you know.”
Maybe that was laying it on a bit thick, but he didn’t like the fact that Ten was still thinking about Chelsea, still wondering if she or Charlotte had been the powerful information broker who had been responsible for taking down numerous arms dealers and human traffickers. Charlotte had attempted to take all the credit, but Simon knew it had always been Chelsea. Tennessee Smith was what the Agency liked to call “a handler.” He was the man who recruited and sent agents out into the field. He’d been Ian Taggart’s handler, and roughly six months before he’d made an attempt to bring Chelsea into the fold.
If Chelsea went into government intelligence, she would be lost forever. She was an addict. She craved the power she got the minute she touched a computer. If she got a whiff of the kind of power Ten could offer her, she would be lost to a world Simon wouldn’t be able to rescue her from.
Michael stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest in a show of defensiveness that came right out of their childhood. Michael had never taken well to having his actions questioned. “Just because it didn’t work out for you with MI6 doesn’t mean I have to sit on the sidelines, cousin. You can keep your opinions about my career to yourself.”
And there it was. He was a fuckup. He screwed up everything. He’d mishandled an operation and that was why he no longer worked intelligence.
“Didn’t work out with MI6?” Chelsea looked up at him. “What is he talking about?”
Michael seemed to understand he’d stepped over a line. “Nothing. I didn’t mean a thing.”
“He’s referring to the fact that I mishandled a case and got myself reprimanded. I chose to quit rather than wait for Damon to fire me. Luckily Tag needed someone with British connections.” Cold. He needed to remain utterly cold. His cousin was right. It wasn’t his business and no one wanted his counsel.
Chelsea turned on Michael. “Are you trying to imply that Simon did something wrong on the United One Fund case? Because you’re wrong. I’ve read that case and he did everything he could. How the hell was he supposed to know Charlotte faked her death? All he had was the fact that Ian Taggart’s wife had died and there was a massive cover-up around it. If you had that information, wouldn’t you act on it? It’s damn easy for a green agent to question the actions of a superior one, but you better back down because Damon Knight would never have fired him. He’s not a stupid man. Your cousin, on the other hand, can be a bit of a drama queen.”
Simon frowned. She’d read the reports about the UOF case? And she was defending him? And what the hell did she mean by drama queen?
JT grinned as he sank back into his chair. “I would watch it, Mike. She looks like she’s ready to take you down. I wouldn’t insult Simon there when he’s got such a fierce protector.”