Spy With Me

Book 5: Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits

by Lexi Blake

Genres: Military Romance; Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Zach Reed had two objectives when he joined the CIA team led by Ian and Charlotte Taggart. First, he needed to get close to Cooper McKay. Second, he needed to sideline or dismantle their operation. Getting to know Cooper was even better than he expected, but amongst the team he discovered a family he'd always dreamed of and a woman he wanted to spend his life with. Caught between his mission and his friends, his secrets are exposed, and his only choice is to run. He hopes someday he can make it up to the team and the young woman he's fallen hopelessly in love with.

Devi Taggart thought she finally found the man of her dreams. Spending a long weekend with Zach filled her soul and satisfied all her deepest desires. But dreams turned to nightmares when she discovered he betrayed his team, including her brother. When Zach disappears, Devi swears to turn her back on the man forever. Unfortunately, the real bad guys have figured out she is Zach's weak spot, which makes her a major target.

With Devi in real danger, Zach takes the situation into his own hands and offers her a place to stay with him. An offer he's not about to let her refuse. As they navigate a criminal underworld, Zach is committed to showing Devi he's the right man for her. If only they can survive his family.

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Release date: September 16, 2025

Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC

Print pages: 348

Sample

Chapter One

 

Zach Reed loved The Hideout. At first he’d come to the BDSM club because it was part of his job.

Scratch that. He was trying to be honest with himself since he couldn’t be honest with anyone else. He’d come because he wanted to know what made Cooper McKay tick.

His brother.

He was with his brother. The brother he hadn’t known existed for the longest time. The brother he never intended to do more than look up, make sure he was doing okay. He definitely hadn’t meant to become his brother’s military liaison on a CIA team. Hadn’t meant to hang with him at a sex club. Nope. Not on his life plan.

He liked it. It helped that his brother was fairly private about his play.

“Well, I’m surprised Kala’s standing after that kick to the…” Dare Nash settled the vest over his chest and gave his aforementioned brother a pat on the shoulder. “Does she have a piercing there? That’s the rumor. Has anyone checked to make sure she’s okay? You know. Down there.”

Cooper snorted. “She’s fine. Trust me. It’s not the first time she’s taken a hit downstairs. My baby likes to get into fights. Also, maybe don’t tell her I call her my baby. She would take offense.”

His brother was madly in love with Kala Taggart, the single deadliest operative he’d ever worked with. He wouldn’t cross her if he didn’t have to.

He’d started to wonder if they ever needed to know the truth. He’d managed to hide working with Tristan Miles to bring down the infamous Jester.

Who he’d actually killed first, and for his own reasons. He’d sent in an asshole for Tristan to murder and let him think he was in control. Yeah, they didn’t need to know that either.

“At some point you have to make a move, right?” Dare asked. “I can’t imagine being close to Tash and never making a move.”

Oh, Zach could. He’d been rather enchanted by the lovely Tasha Taggart since the minute he met her, but she was on his team and honestly, he never felt like it was the right time to see if she was interested. First she’d had a fiancé, and then she’d needed space. Then she met Dare, and he no longer had any kind of a shot.

He’d come to believe it wasn’t love. It was more like wanting to belong. He might have started all this because his bosses at the CIA wanted shit on Ian Taggart and his unique team, but the truth was Taggart was a better man and better operative and ran a better team than any of those assholes ever could.

Would they cut him loose if he didn’t come through with something? Anything? Would they decide he was on the wrong side now and ship him straight back to the military where he wouldn’t be part of this family he found himself in?

He had to give them something or he was going to get cut, and right as he was finally getting close to his younger brother.

His brother was saying something about Kala needing time, but Zach’s head was on all the balls he was juggling.

Lying about why he was on the team. Lying about who his mother was—well, he hadn’t truly. He simply hadn’t mentioned that she was the elusive bombmaker everyone was hunting. Lying about who Cooper was to him. Lying about what he knew about Huisman.

That was the one he was least proud of. He could give them good intel, but it would mean blowing his cover.

“I think Zach is distracted,” Cooper said with a chuckle.

He needed his head in the game. He hated that. Hated that he couldn’t simply relax because the game never took a break. It was waiting to expose him. He shook his head and stood, stretching. “Zach is tired because he was on a red eye from DC this morning after someone’s dad pulled strings and forced me to leave my hermit house.”

Cooper shut his locker and leaned back against it. “I’m sure that was fun for you. Did Adam call, or Jake? Is it true that they bound Tristan in plastic wrap in order to force him to attend a family brunch?”

That plastic had been surprisingly effective. Also, Tristan’s mom, Serena, made a hell of a Bloody Mary. “Yeah, I got to witness part of that come to Jesus. They did not hold back. There were tears and everything. Those were from Serena and Bri. Adam used logic. Jake growled a lot. Does that dude talk?”

“I don’t think he has to. Adam talks enough for both of them,” Cooper explained. “And I’m happy someone finally knocked some sense into Tris. He’s been in love with Carys forever. If Aidan and Carys got married without him, he would regret it.”

Dare put up his hands as though ceding the fight. “I live in this world now. This world where it’s perfectly normal for two dudes to decide to marry one girl. I do not get it, but they seem happy. Adam and Serena and Jake, that is. Tris, Carys, and Aidan are a mess.”

“I don’t see why it’s weird,” Coop admitted.

Dare gave Zach a shake of his dark head. “Because you grew up around it. Zach and I didn’t.”

Zach shrugged. “Dude, I grew up in a trailer park. Let me tell you there’s a lot of drama in a trailer park. Honestly, I think there would have been way less if Suzy Nelson hadn’t cheated behind her husband, Gorge’s, back. Not a nickname. The dude was legally named Gorge. If she’d walked to old Gorge and told him she wanted to screw Bubba Ham, maybe they would have tag teamed her instead of trying to shoot each other with BB guns. Also, Bubba was a nickname, but where I come from if you have several siblings, your momma looks around and decides one of the males is Bubba. He’s usually the one who says ‘hold my beer’ a lot. There’s always a Bubba, and if you don’t know which one it is, it’s probably you.”

Cooper grinned. “I love trailer park stories.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Zach admitted. Cooper never had to know that when he told those stories, he was doing it so Cooper knew a little about the childhood that was almost his, too. His mom was awesome when she was around. She was smart and funny. She also happened to be a wanted criminal. “It was good to have a roof over my head and food in my belly, so I can’t complain.”

Except it would have been better with a brother.

He shook that off. Cooper loved his parents. He loved his life here in Dallas, and the Agency team that took him around the world. If their mom hadn’t given him up, Cooper likely wouldn’t have learned to fly, wouldn’t have had the big found family he’d grown up in. Wouldn’t have fallen in love with the most complicated woman in the world.

And that would be a shame because Kala Taggart was a hell of a woman. Zach genuinely loved her like a sister.

“Well, that sounds more fun than…” Dare began.

Zach snorted and stopped him since he knew what was coming next. “Rich boy, I know your dad was a massive ass, but really, let’s not compare childhoods. I would totally win.”

Even if he didn’t tell them about his mom who was in and out of jail, and his aunt who loved him but also had some mental health issues. He had plenty of stories about growing up poor and being called white trash. Dare Nash had a nasty dad who was now doing time in jail—though it was Canadian jail, so there was that—but otherwise the world had been his oyster. And he’d gotten Tasha. And Ian Taggart kind of loved him.

Dare pretty much had everything Zach wanted. He was now the head of sales for McKay-Taggart. He would be part of the family, and no one would ever threaten to take it from him. His place was set.

Cooper glanced down at his watch. “I should get out there. We’ve got a couple of scenes to run tonight. Julian sent over one of his problem children. Not a real problem. He just hasn’t gotten what he needs, and I don’t think he’s going to find it at The Club. I already set up the space, but I want to walk Kala through it and make sure it’s everything she needs.”

His brother might not be sleeping with the woman he loved, but he knew how to take care of her.

“I wasn’t trying to…” Dare began as Cooper walked toward the door that would lead them out.

It was awkward to be around the guy who ended up with the girl, but Zach had no regrets. Tash was happy. That was all that mattered. “It’s okay, man. We all have shitty childhoods. We probably shouldn’t turn it into a competition. How’s the wedding prep going?”

Dare seemed relieved to have something to talk about. It was probably weird to hang out with a dude who used to have a crush on your fiancée. Dare was a good guy. They followed Cooper as Dare talked about venues and how he mostly sat back and nodded and let Tash and her mom pick everything.

He was also a smart man.

“You can totally get Aidan killed,” Kala was saying as he walked into the hall. “Like go for it, buddy. But if you think I’ll let you hurt my cousin, you haven’t met me. Would you like to meet me, Tristan?”

So this was going well. He was here for the drama. He used to be the dude who would say he wanted peace and calm, but he was pretty addicted to the scenes they ran at The Hideout, and he wasn’t talking about all the public spankings.

Aidan frowned. The doctor was dressed for play and curled an arm around his fiancée’s waist. “So says the woman who punched her in the gut not three hours ago.”

The hall was crowded. The ladies had emerged from their locker room as well, and they seemed to be facing off with the guys. Well, except for Carys, who was huddling close to Aidan. Tristan Dean-Miles, however, was staring Kala Taggart’s way. She stood there with her sisters, Tasha and twin Kenzie.

And her cousin.

Damn, her cousin looked good. Devi. He was pretty sure it was short for Devon. Devon Taggart. He stared at her for a moment. She had natural red hair and the cutest smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. So much hair, and it was curly and wound down to brush the tops of perky breasts. She wore a pair of boy shorts that barely covered her and an emerald green corset that made her skin practically glow. She always wore such pretty fet wear. There were roses embroidered on the corset, like they bound her up in beauty.

How had he never really looked at her before?

Oh, yeah, because she was his teammate TJ’s sister, and TJ might smack him.

It might be worth it. Besides, TJ was totally wrapped up in his girlfriend, Louisa Ward, right now. He probably wouldn’t even notice.

He shouldn’t do this. It was a bad idea. He was a bad bet, and little Devi shouldn’t be in his line of fire.

And yet he wasn’t walking away.

“She’ll back off,” Tristan was saying. “Or she’ll meet me.”

Kala had been in the middle of the Tristan/Carys/Aidan drama. It was precisely how she’d gotten kicked in the cootch earlier today. Naturally Kala had taken it like a champ. It looked like Coop’s well-planned-out evening might be in jeopardy.

Cooper groaned. “She’s wound up enough as it is. Could we notch down the testosterone, please?”

“He’s talking to you, sis,” Kenzie said to her twin.

He rarely got them mixed up, despite the fact that they were perfectly identical. They worked hard to stay that way. When Kala got a scar, Kenzie made sure she had one, too.

It was a bit disturbing, but he understood. The twins were dedicated to the mission.

A low snarl came from Kala’s mouth. Despite that predatory sound, Zach knew they were dedicated to each other, too.

His brother got into Kala’s space, putting a hand on her back. “Come on. I’ve got a scene set up for you along with an imported pain slut. Julian sent this guy over because he claims no one can give him what he needs.”

“Sounds like a challenge.” Kala no longer looked like she wanted to murder someone. She leaned back into Cooper for a brief moment and then straightened up, obviously sinking into top space. “Are you watching or helping tonight, Master C?”

Cooper only had eyes for her. “Oh, I think you’ll need help with him, Mistress. Let’s go make sure the space is up to your standards.”

Kala turned to him, her gaze going as soft as it ever did. “I have no doubt.”

And then his brother was following her out onto the dungeon floor.

Damn, but he wanted that. Not the years’ worth of slow burn. He would way rather get it going. Mostly because he would probably die soon. It was the nature of his business. If his bosses didn’t kill him, then Huisman would, or any number of his mom’s associates.

His gaze went back to Devi. So freaking pretty.

She did something artistic for a living. He tended to pretty much stick to his team, but he had the most insane urge to get to know Devi Taggart. It was a mistake. He was a mess and didn’t have any right to drag her into what might turn out to be a nightmare.

But he could also try to be positive. He’d been with the team for years now. They never had to know he was anything but exactly who he said he was. The truth of the matter was his team was in the middle of something big, and if they delivered Huisman, Taggart would be locked in. There would be nothing those assholes could do to him. 

“I wouldn’t hate a session,” Kenzie announced. “I think I’ll go see if any of The Club guys are here. Gabe won’t try to get into my thong.”

Tasha sidled up to her fiancé. They made a lovely couple. “I thought you wanted someone in your thong.”

Was Devi looking for a partner? He seemed to remember the Doms joking about her being a nun. She didn’t play often, but she looked like she was ready for it.

Maybe she wanted a Dom for the night.

His groin tightened in a deeply pleasurable way. It had been forever since he truly wanted someone. Tasha… That was definitely more about how kind she was and how if she cared about him, he would be in.

Devi though… He just wanted her.

Kenzie put a hand on her hip, her magenta-colored ponytail swinging. “I think I’m choosing sanity for a while. And by sanity I mean celibacy. How about it, Zach? You know you’ve wanted to slap my ass for a long time. I mean that in an I’m-annoying way, not a you-think-I’m-hot way.”

Oh, that was a terrible idea. Wow. Yeah, his dick withered at the thought, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t his type. Kenzie Taggart was a gorgeous woman with a near-perfect body and the sweetest smile. And yet… “Too much like my sister. Nope.”

Turned out he wasn’t one of those Doms who could simply service any submissive.

Kenzie gave him a flouncy pout. “Your loss.”

She strode away and then the only one left was Devi. Well, the only one he wanted to spend time with tonight. Carys and Aidan and Tris were still there. But he pretty much only had eyes for Devi.

Zach gave her his best “I’m harmless” smile. Now that… That was a real lie. “How about you? You’re Devi, right? You need a scene partner?”

She kind of squeaked and then she was gone, disappearing back into the locker room.

Well, that hurt. First woman he’d wanted in forever and she was obviously terrified of him.

It was a good thing because the truth of the matter was he’d never been into mousy women. He liked a sexually submissive woman, but he pretty much wanted a badass bitch outside the bedroom. He liked a brat.

He’d thought Erin Taggart’s daughter would be both. But then she was also Theo Taggart’s daughter, so there was that.

“I guess that’s a no. Do I smell bad or something?” He looked to the trio, but they had no advice for him. Tristan was actually laughing. He could handle it. They were friends and friends ribbed each other. It was nice when he thought about it. “All right. Looks like I’m watching tonight. You three have fun and know you’re going to have to deal with Kala in the field. She’s serious.”

Kala was always serious in the field.

He walked back into the locker room as he felt his cell buzz.

Cell phones were allowed on the floor, though only for emergency purposes. There were a bunch of members who had to be available at all times. CIA operatives. A fed. Aidan and Carys were doctors. Lucas Taggart was at least half of Dallas’s booty call. So phones were a necessary evil. He pulled it out as he walked past Travis Taggart playing Xbox with Hunter McKay.

His brother’s brother. Hunter was a good kid, but Zach felt awkward around him. Cooper loved his brother, was good to him.

Hunter had taken his place, and he couldn’t blame the kid, but he still felt weird about it.

He glanced down at his cell and frowned. Lacey.

Lacey was a contact in his mother’s world. She was the daughter of a woman his mom had met a couple of times over the years, though miraculously, she trusted her therefore would actually talk to Lacey. She was a vegan, tree-hugging near anarchist, but she was excellent at digging up information and had contacts in the underground world his mom occupied that he couldn’t match.

He liked Lacey. She actually kind of reminded him of Kala. But he didn’t want to answer that phone. He wanted to pretend he wasn’t who he was for the night. It would have been perfect to do that with Devi Taggart, but it wasn’t happening.

So he moved past Lucas and Hunter and back toward the showers where he was absolutely certain no one would hear him. He slid his thumb across the cell to answer the call. “This is Reed.”

Captain Zachary Reed. Soldier. Operative. Liar.

“Hey, Zach.” Lacey’s British accent came over the line. She’d been born in Liverpool and kept a house there. From what he could tell, Lacey Rook came from wealth, but she’d rebelled against her traditionalist parents and joined all kinds of activist groups. “I wanted to let you know I got in touch with a contact who swears he’s seen our friend.”

His gut tightened. “Where was she?”

“He wouldn’t say. I’m working on him. He doesn’t trust me,” Lacey replied. “Not yet, but you know I can calm the most paranoid conspiracy theorist. Personally, I think she’s here in Europe somewhere. The man I talked to is what I would call a procurement specialist.”

So he basically worked logistics for underground groups and criminals, which often were a perfect Venn diagram. “He trying to buy something from her?”

Always her and she. He never said her name or called her mother. Lacey wouldn’t either. He’d been working with her for over a year, and she was the closest he’d come to actually getting in the same room with his mom.

“You know everyone loves her pottery.” Lacey followed their code words even though he trusted she would be on a somewhat secure line. “I’m sure he’s trying to make a sale to a high-value client.”

He didn’t want to deal with this tonight. Whenever he tried to handle his mom, he felt fucking helpless. Likely because he was helpless. His mother was excellent at hiding. She was even better at building bombs that could shake the world—precisely the reason Emmanuel Huisman was looking for her. “Is it for the Canadian gallery? I know she wasn’t interested in showing there.”

His mother was terrified of Huisman, hence her going to ground for the last couple of years.

“I can’t be sure. It was a hurried conversation,” she replied. “When do you think you can get back across the pond? There are a few spots I’m looking at that might be a better fit for her.”

So she had some places to check out. The problem was if he left now, it would be noted. “I’m afraid I’m pretty deep in the weeds at work. I’ve got a new project. I’ll be in Canada next week.”

Aidan O’Donnell had been invited to a medical conference by one Dr. Emmanuel Huisman. Aidan was a resident in trauma surgery, and the Huisman Foundation sponsored a whole lot of research in the medical world. Unfortunately, they also sponsored terrorism.

“Then I’ll check it out myself,” she replied.

“Hey, you need…” he began.

“I’ll be careful. And you do the same. I’m worried about some movements I’ve seen recently, but we can talk about that later. I’m sure it’s late where you are,” Lacey said.

“It’s almost dawn where you are.” If she was in Liverpool, it would be five in the morning. “Are you up early or late?”

A husky laugh came over the line. Lacey was a gorgeous woman with long hair she changed as often as the twins did. The last time he’d seen her the long tresses had ended in a beautiful jade green color. And yet he didn’t feel a pull her way. They’d worked together for months, and he’d never made a move on her. He wasn’t even sure she liked guys, but it was weird he’d never felt anything for her when she was very much his type.

A vision of Devi brushed across his brain.

Maybe she needed to get to know him better. Or she didn’t want to get involved with a guy who worked with her brother. He couldn’t fix that. He might be able to convince her though. He just had to get some time with her.

Why was he thinking about this when he should be getting dressed and heading back to Cooper’s, where he was staying for the week? He could get on his laptop—the encrypted one—and get some work done. Maybe track down some of the leads Lacey was offering.

But he wasn’t going to do that. He was here. He was going to spend a couple of damn hours being the man he wanted to be. And if Devi wouldn’t play with him, maybe she would let him buy her a drink at the end of the night. There was so much to catch up on. He’d missed the wedding where helicopters sent by Huisman nearly took out the wedding party. All he’d gotten was a stupid report that left out all the fun stuff. He would bet Devi had some stories.

Yeah, that might be his in.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, mate,” Lacey said over the line. “Well, I’ll let you know if I come up with a workable plan for our friend. Until then, keep me up to date on whatever I need to know. If you find yourself in Liverpool, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“I’ll keep you to that,” he replied. “Bye, Lace.”

He hung up.

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” Hunter McKay stood at the end of the lockers. He was a couple of years younger than Cooper, and while they didn’t look a lot alike, they both held themselves in similar fashions. His shoulders were straight, his arms crossed over his chest and a judgmental look in his eyes.

“I don’t.” How had he missed someone walking up on him? Devi. He’d been thinking about Devi. Another reason to take her rejection as the good thing it had been. She made a smart decision. He needed to make his own by not pursuing her further.

She would be one more person he had to lie to.

Maybe he got to the other end of this and he could have some kind of a life, but for now he had to be happy just getting to know his brother.

And praying Cooper never found out he was his brother.

Cooper’s adopted brother stared at him warily. “I suppose it’s none of my business.”

“It’s not.” It was clear the kid had some serious instincts. He would bet Hunter wasn’t quite sure why he didn’t like Zach, couldn’t put his finger on it, but the distrust was there. “However, if you need to know, I was talking to Lacey. She’s a friend of mine in England. She’s looking to help one of my relatives with an art showing.”

Cover was a good thing. Keeping it was even better.

Hunter caved. Zach would bet it would be hard for the kid to stay mad or suspicious of anyone for too long. Hunter McKay was too happy to hold on to the more bitter emotions. “Sorry. I’m just… Well, I was worried, but my brother says you’re a good guy so I’ll let you know that someone is waiting for you in the hallway. I guess she changed her mind.”

Devi.

Every single reason he had to take that rejection like a champ flew straight out of his brain, and he couldn’t get to that door fast enough.

It was a bad idea. A horrible mistake.

And he was making it.

 

* * * *

 

“How about you? You’re Devi, right? You need a scene partner?”

Devi Taggart felt like a deer in the headlights. Zach. Zach Reed. Captain Zach Reed. The single most gorgeous man she’d ever seen had asked the question, and she was standing in the middle of the hallway wearing fet wear and generally hanging out like a creeper gathering information for her besties. She had meant to find out what was going on with her cousin, Carys, and those two men of hers, not get an invitation to play with that glorious hunk of Dom.

He was one of the spy guys. Oh, she was well aware there was a part of the membership of The Hideout that called the group the spy kids, but this was not a kid. Zach Reed was all man, and her whole body clenched at the thought of being a badass bitch and claiming him for herself. She was Erin Taggart’s daughter. Badass bitch was in her DNA.

Except she flaked. She meant to say something, but she kind of squeaked and then felt herself turn a brutal shade of red—another DNA gift from her mother was pale skin that hid nothing. And then she ran.

She slammed the locker room door behind her, barely breathing.

Not her finest moment.

Her two best friends were standing in the lounge portion of the women’s locker room. Daisy O’Donnell was studying for some kind of test, but she was scheduled to address the new training class at some point this evening. Devi was pretty sure the studying was for a college entrance exam. Bri was hanging out working on the plot for her latest story. Daisy usually played on Saturday nights, but her Dom was on assignment as a bodyguard for McKay-Taggart.

“You okay?” Bri was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her golden brown hair piled high atop her head. She’d been scribbling in a notebook, a sure sign she was plotting and not writing since she did that on her laptop. Sometimes Bri’s room was covered in sticky notes covering all aspects of her stories, from characters to plot lines to dialogue she wanted to put in a future story. She loved being around Brianna Dean-Miles and her glorious brain. And Daisy’s kind heart.

They were her closest friends since before they could remember anything.

So it was okay to tell them how idiotic she’d been. “No. I am not okay. I am… I don’t know what I am. I might need a drink. Don’t the twins keep cold vodka magically around at all times?”

Daisy stood. “Was someone mean to you? Was it a Dom? Because I can call Nate. He’s had to work with my dad all week. He would love to beat someone up for you.”

“Or we can be women and beat him up ourselves,” Bri said with a nod like she was giving herself badass affirmations in her head. It came from being around her cousins too much. “We might have to find a way to drug him and then tie him up and then do something to counter the drug because we want him to be awake for his torture.”

Daisy stared at her for a moment. “You need to get out of the house more, sweetie.”

“We’re not beating anyone up.” She loved her friends, but they could go off on tangents. “No one was mean to me.”

“Then why aren’t you out on the dungeon floor? You said you were determined to play tonight, and you didn’t care if your brother had to bleach his eyeballs,” Bri pointed out.

She had a plan for that. She and her brother had done what other siblings did. They carved up the club, and that map was sacred. Besides, she was pretty sure TJ would take his girlfriend Lou to a privacy room, so he wouldn’t have to bear witness to her glorious, slutty night. Because while she’d told her friends she only wanted to play to blow off some steam, she intended for all that steam to blow her straight into some hot dude. She planned to ask one of the baby Doms if they were interested in a lesson.

Then Zach Reed showed up and her nipples had gone all perky and her libido went super charged.

He worked with her brother. He couldn’t possibly be interested in her.

“Do you think she’s okay? Do we need to find a way to reboot her?” Bri asked.

“I think that’s what the vodka’s for,” Daisy whispered back. “I know it seems like vodka follows the twins, but I think it’s just up in the bar. Should I go get some?”

Why had she done that? Devi crossed to the comfy couch and sank down. She should get dressed and run. All the way to New York. Where she didn’t have a job or a place to live or a future since she didn’t get any of the jobs she applied for there. She hadn’t even told her parents. Or TJ. Only Bri and Daisy knew she was coming out of what should have been an extraordinary internship, and she had no offers.

LA. The LA design houses hadn’t replied yet.

They would likely be the same. She was going to end up answering phones at McKay-Taggart, and there wasn’t anything wrong with that, but it wasn’t her passion. It wasn’t how she wanted to spend her life. She’d wanted to design clothes since she was a kid and she used scraps of fabric to make gowns for her dolls. It wasn’t the end of the world. She could still find a job. She simply had to work harder.

“I think she’s thinking about the jobs,” Bri whispered.

“She’s definitely thinking about the jobs.” Daisy sat down beside her, putting a hand on her arm. “Honey, it’s okay. You still have all the LA houses and Paris.”

She wasn’t getting a job in Paris. Or London. They thought she was pedestrian. It was what one of those fuckers had called her work. They had mostly been polite and said she didn’t fit their aesthetic, but a couple had pointed out that her work lacked sophistication.

Well, she showed them. Yeah, she’d shown enormous sophistication when she’d squeaked like a mouse and run like a rabbit when Zach Reed showed the slightest bit of interest in her.

“Damn it. I am not this girl,” she said with conviction.

“Which girl? Because if it’s the girl who downs vodka from time to time, you are definitely that girl,” Daisy countered.

Bri chuckled and sat on Devi’s other side. “She’s freaking out because she got turned down by the New York houses. She’s taking everything they said and making it really big and insulting and wondering if she even has a shot at this. And yes, I know because I do it all the time. Every rejection I get makes me wonder if I’m good enough or I’m wasting my time and I’m going to end up sitting at the reception desk at MT, waiting for the next time something explodes or they get raided—which happens more often than you would think.”

“I almost got there,” Daisy said with a sigh. “I was going to work, and that was when the assassins came and then Da wouldn’t let me work and he locked me up in a BDSM club with the man of my dreams. Good times. But I still think I would have been good at answering the phones. I even worked on my phone voice. McKay-Taggart, this is Daisy. How can I save your life and-or introduce you to the bodyguard of your dreams?”

“I don’t think Uncle Ian would let you say that,” Bri pointed out. “He has a strict script.”

Devi waved that off. “When I used to answer the phones on summer break I said some crazy shit and Uncle Ian fist bumped me as he walked by. Said he had enough business as it was, and I was giving him nap time. And yes, I’m thinking about the jobs, but I’m also thinking about the fact that I made a complete idiot of myself in front of Zach.”

Her besties gasped in perfect harmony.

“What happened?” Daisy asked. “Did you fall? I fall a lot. Nate thinks it’s cute. If Zach doesn’t think it’s cute, he’s being a jerk. You know clumsy is totally in these days.”

“I didn’t fall.” It might have been better if she had, but no, she was good in five-inch heels. To her mother’s never-ending dismay, she’d started wearing them at thirteen, and she could jog in those fuckers. But still, if she’d broken a leg, it would have been less embarrassing.

Bri stood, tears in her eyes. “You asked him and he turned you down. You got all of your courage together to ask the man of your dreams to simply play with you in the sex club you both belong to. And he brutally turned you down. He wasn’t even polite about it. He probably laughed.”

Okay, sometimes Bri’s imagination took over and Devi could see she was playing the entire scenario out in her head, and that was bad for Zach. Bri was usually quiet and private, but when she felt like a woman had been dealt an injustice, she could build an army. Prom night had been a real revelation.

She couldn’t have Bri rallying the subs against poor Zach. The man might be in the military and on a CIA team, but somehow she didn’t see him fighting back against that. “He didn’t laugh. He asked me.”

Daisy sat back up. “He asked you what?”

“He asked if I wanted to play,” Devi admitted.

Bri sat back down. “Well, that changes things. Why are you here and not getting your ass happily spanked by the military hottie?”

“You do not look thrilled to get what you’ve wanted for months,” Daisy pointed out. “Was he rude about it?”

“Not at all.” She was starting to calm down, but the lack of flight or fight adrenaline was also making her feel more like a moron. “He was… I don’t know. He was casual about it. I think he wanted to play and I was breathing.”

“And?” Daisy asked.

Bri huffed. “Come on. You know how you would feel if Nate had looked at you and been like sure, you’ll do. She’s crazy about Zach.”

“I don’t know that I would say crazy.” Except she kind of was. It had been lust at first sight, but she didn’t want to be the kid sister who pined for her brother’s friend. Although it wasn’t like they were close. TJ hadn’t been working on the team for long, and he spent most of his free time with a hot dog in one hand and Lou’s boobs in the other. They really should be more circumspect. Uncle Ian might deserve to walk in on them doing it in a conference room, but she’d been a good sister, damn it.

Daisy stood, brushing back her dark hair and pacing as though thinking through the problem. “You have talked about that man since the day he walked into this club. You practically drool when he’s around. I don’t get why you would say anything except Sir, yes, Sir. And Nate kind of did. He didn’t even know it was me. If he’d known it was me, he would have run the other way, so I don’t get why Devi doesn’t want to shoot her shot. I mean at least you would know. And if it doesn’t work, you got some hot sex out of it. I’ve heard rumors. He’s kind of hard core. Is that what you’re afraid of?”

Zach wasn’t a big player, but he had spent some time with several of the subs here at the club. Usually outside of his friend group. He’d played with a couple of the subs Gabriel Lodge had brought in, and some of the hostesses/servers from the restaurant group. They had seemed deeply satisfied with his services.

She didn’t want to be serviced.

Except that was exactly what she’d been planning for the evening. She’d planned to do what he did—go outside her friend group, pick a Dom, ride him to some sweet stress relief.

“I’m not worried that he’s hard core. I like it rough,” she admitted. She was known as one of The Hideouts hard bottoms. It took a lot to make her cry.

Some Doms liked a challenge.

“Then why?” Daisy’s head shook. “Okay. I know why. You’re being cautious. It was okay for the sex to be casual if you didn’t care about the guy.”

“Yes.” Bri nodded vigorously as though happy Daisy had gotten it right. “She’s half in love with him.”

She wouldn’t say that. “I don’t know I would use the word love yet.”

Daisy pointed Devi’s way. “That’s my point, friend. You’ve spent so little time with him that the guy you like is mostly in your head. You’re not in love with him. You’re infatuated with the idea of him. He’s got a pretty package and seems nice and smart, and you like how he tops a sub. That doesn’t mean you know him. It doesn’t mean you would even like him if you spent time with him, but how will you ever know if you don’t spend time with him?”

Bri frowned. “I don’t like it when she’s all logical. I prefer my Daisy talking about soul mates and true love.”

Daisy took Bri’s hand. “But how can you find either if you don’t try? I know what I felt for Nate as a kid was a crush. Believe it or not I only intended to spend one night with him. One night to get him out of my system.”

“And now you’re engaged.” It was how things went with Daisy. She could walk into a perfectly normal situation and it would upend almost immediately. In this case it led to assassins and being stuck at Sanctum for days, but also with her being engaged to Nathan Carter, who did turn out to be the love of her life.

Had she walked away from her chance to do the same?

“Yup, because when the opportunity presented itself, I was open to it.” Daisy sat back down, looking at Devi with a serious expression on her usually sunny face. “The whole love thing is not for the faint of heart. It doesn’t simply happen. We make it happen. Or at least we open ourselves up to the possibility. We don’t run away from it. Even when you know it can break your heart. You know what our Aunt Grace says.”

“It’s better to have a broken heart than an empty one,” Bri said quietly. “It’s easier on paper. I watch my brother. I love him so much, but he’s screwing up with the two people he’s loved since he was a child. I keep thinking if those three can’t make it, no one can.”

“But they will,” Daisy vowed. “This is a bump in the road. You have that attitude because we’re in one of the hard parts. Note I said one. I’m not so unrealistic that I think it’s easy going from here out, but the beginning is hard. It’s normal to want to protect yourself when you see heartache all around you. When you see how the people you love long for something they think they can’t have. When you watch them screw up again and again and there’s nothing you can do about it. My brother is at fault, too. So is Carys. They’ve all made mistakes, but they’re finally confronting them now. It’s a good thing. It’s why I think Devi should confront what’s really bugging her.”

“I thought it was Zach,” Devi said. “I mean I’ve got a lot going on right…” Damn it. She figured it out. Daisy had been studying way too much. She was going back to college to get certified to work with kids on mental health. “It’s not because I didn’t get the jobs I wanted.”

Bri sent Daisy a look. Like they’d talked about this and came up with a plan to handle it. To handle her.

“Fine.” She sat back with a sigh. It looked like her hot evening was going to turn into a girl-talk session. “My deep desire to get railed by a hot and forgettable Dom tonight does have something to do with the job hunt. Dais, I know you’ve run through a lot of jobs and it’s got to hurt when you get fired…”

Daisy held a hand up. “It does, but I’m not putting my soul into what is essentially art and having it judged by everyone. I know, sweetie. It’s why Bri won’t let anyone but us read her incredible novels.”

“They’re just not ready,” Bri argued.

What wasn’t ready was Bri, and that was okay. She needed to take her time and learn her craft. She could do that because she was a writer. Devi wanted to do the same, but designing clothes wasn’t a solitary job. Not the way she wanted to do it. “You’ll know when they’re ready. But I’m definitely letting the rejections get in my head. I thought I was feeling confident. I walked out that door feeling hot and sexy, and then Zach was looking at me and all I could think about was the fact that I designed this corset and the shorts, and they called my work pedestrian and unflattering and worst of all, safe.”

Daisy and Bri both winced.

Safety wasn’t a bad thing, but none of her friends wanted to be safe when it came to the things they were passionate about. They came from families of spies and military operatives and bestselling authors, and extremely fierce people. Being called safe hurt worst of all.

“You are not safe,” Daisy said. “You make some of the coolest fet wear I’ve ever seen. I would bet you didn’t send them those designs in your portfolios.”

Devi sighed. “Fet wear isn’t exactly what these companies make. But I do get your point. I might have played it safer than I should have.”

“You still have so many applications out there,” Bri said encouragingly. “You’ll find the right place. I just wish it was here in Dallas.”

“We’re not a hotbed of design.” The thought of leaving these two made her heart ache. They’d been apart during college and the year she’d spent in Paris doing an internship. These last couple of years spent at home working on her portfolio and doing custom pieces for weddings and clients in the lifestyle had been fun, and being with her friends inspired her. “But I need to be in LA or New York or Paris if I want to make a real name for myself. London, maybe. You’re right. I let myself freak out over something I’ve wanted for over a year. I should have smiled and had a wild night and walked away at the end, satisfied that I tried.”

Because there was no way they worked. He would end up being cocky and full of himself and into video games and sports ball like most of her brother’s friends. At best they might work as a D/s couple, and not a monogamous one since he was gone most of the time. He didn’t even live here. Unlike the rest of the team, he lived in DC. He was only here every couple of months.

Why hadn’t she leapt in? She was smart and capable and not clingy. She didn’t need a man. Well, to spank her. She couldn’t spank herself, and honestly, she preferred an actual man to a vibrator when it came to sex.

“I blew it.” She’d had one shot, and she wouldn’t get another.

“Or you change your mind,” Daisy offered. “It’s been a couple of minutes. I scarcely think he’s already found another sub for the night. Go back out and find him. Tell him you changed your mind and need a good hard session. Have fun with him. He’s not going to judge you.”

“How do you know?” Devi asked.

“Because he’s a dude, and all he’s going to be thinking about is getting into those super-hot boy shorts of yours,” Bri replied, looking lighter than before. “Tell me. Are they tearaway?”

Devi grinned. She did have fun designing fet wear. “Of course. You know I love it when I get my clothes torn off, but I don’t like losing the clothes. So I found a simple solution. I spent a couple of months designing a whole fet wardrobe for Aunt Charlotte. My uncle is tight fisted when it comes to cash, but he opened the wallet for this one. All tearaway. I managed to make the Velcro completely unnoticeable if you line it up properly.”

She’d made a pretty penny off that commission. She’d also made some cosplays and Ren fair costumes, and she was super popular around Halloween.

She designed Carys’s wedding gown and the bridesmaid dresses. That had been fun, too. But was it too safe? She was designing for her family and friends. They wouldn’t tell her if something sucked. They would be gentle and maybe wear it even if they didn’t like it.

She didn’t want to be safe.

Devi stood up. “I’m going to find him and stop being someone I don’t want to be. I’m going to tell him what I want.”

“To marry him and have him love you forever?” Bri asked.

Bri was sometimes way too romantic.

Daisy leaned against Bri. “It does sound nice, doesn’t it? We could have a double wedding.”

So was Daisy. Devi had always known she was the realistic one. “I’m going to tell him I need some stress relief and nothing more. But that doesn’t mean I won’t talk to him and figure out if I actually like him.”

“And then you’ll fall in love and marry him,” Bri added.

Daisy nodded. “This is going to be a beautiful love story.” She sniffled. “Like me and Nate.”

She hoped not. See assassins. Devi just wanted a wild night with the hottest man she’d ever met.

She strode to the door and walked out into the hallway. She was confident and knew what she wanted.

Captain Zachary Reed.

For a night.

Hunter was walking out of the men’s locker room. He gave her a masculine once-over and a big old sunshiny smile. Hunter McKay was slightly older than she was and he’d gone to a different school, but they’d known each other since they were kids. “Hey, Dev. You’re looking good tonight.”

Hunter always seemed too happy to be a Dom. She liked a little frown in her men, and he rarely did. At least not around her. They didn’t spend a ton of time alone together and ran in different groups, but he was like family.

“Thanks.” She looked over his leathers. Which she’d worked on. Everyone at The Hideout came to her when they had wardrobe malfunctions. Hunter had dropped some weight, and she’d taken in his leathers. “They look good on you.”

He grinned and put his fists on his hips. “Yeah, I’ve been working out with the new guy. He’s a great trainer. Luckily, thanks to you, I don’t have to buy new.”

Hunter often worked as the dungeon monitor, and he took his role seriously. Which meant he knew a lot of things and kept his eyes open. “Hey, have you seen Zach?”

Hunter nodded. “Yeah, he’s inside.”

So he hadn’t headed to the dungeon. He hadn’t gotten her rejection and moved on to the next sub. “Could you ask him to come out here?”

A brow rose over Hunter’s green eyes. “He do something I should know about?”

And he could be protective. “Not yet, but if I get my way, that could change.”

“You sure you know what you’re doing? I know he works with Coop and the twins and your brother, but there’s something off about him,” Hunter said. “I can’t put my finger on it, but he’s… I worry he’s not who he presents himself to be.”

“He’s a spy, Hunt. I assure you Kala doesn’t walk into a new situation and punch people the way she does here.” She wasn’t worried about Zach being a spy. Her brother was one, and TJ was perfectly harmless to anything but a hot dog. Or a burger. Or honestly, any kind of food. Her brother had the wildest metabolism. “I know what I’m getting into. It’s nothing more than a fun night.”

Hunter seemed to consider it for a moment and she got ready to go in and get Zach herself because Hunter McKay wasn’t about to make decisions for her. But right before she was about to make her way into that sacred male space, Hunter opened the door. “I’ll get him. You be careful, kid.”

“Kid?” But the door had already closed. He was like a year and a half older than she was and he called her kid. He was a kid. He worked for his dad and everything, and just because he could fly a plane didn’t make him more mature than she was. Kid. He was a kid.

The door opened and a man walked through.

Whoa. Zach Reed was at least six foot four and had broad shoulders and a six-pack to die for. Dark hair and the warmest brown eyes and a jawline cut from granite. And lips. Damn he had gorgeous lips that were curling up. “You change your mind, sweetness?”

The nickname didn’t apply, and yet somehow it threatened to make her toes curl. She moved into his space. He was finally looking at her, and she wasn’t going to waste his focus. She got in close and tilted her head up, looking at that cut jawline and wanting to run her lips over it. “I’m looking for some stress relief tonight, Sir. Do you think you might be able to help me? I’m sorry for my first reaction. It’s been a rough couple of days, but I assure you I’m not normally one to run away from something I want.”

Was that a gun or was he suddenly happy to see her?

He eased back slightly since guns weren’t allowed on the dungeon floor. “That is good to know, and I would be happy to play with you. Let’s sit down and set some ground rules.”

She followed him, ready for her night to begin.

 

Copyright 2025 Lexi Blake