The Single Lady Spy Series Boxset

by Tara Brown

  I nearly ran to the room where I’d slept and grabbed my wristlet. I left the room but he was right there. “That was incredibly rude and I’ve asked you repeatedly not to swear at me.”

  His expression was stormy as I chewed the stolen waffle. “You’re right. These are the best.”

  His mood didn’t improve. “If I tell you what I know, will you stay?”

  “No. I have to focus on my kids and getting my life back. You need me to hate you—well, you know what? I do. My vagina might not hate you, but the rest of me loathes you.”

  A grin toyed with his lips. “You say that word with no apprehension. I find that odd. You are too forward with the things you say.”

  “What word?” Had I sworn again?

  “Vagina.”

  I crossed my arms over my small purse and snickered. “One of my kids got stuck in there for like twelve hours before the doctors figured it out. I was in labor for thirty-nine hours before they gave me a cesarean section. I pushed for two hours and got two—yes two—hemorrhoids, hence the reason I will never have anal sex. I have a deep amount of comfort with the lower half of my body because of it all. I recovered with mineral baths, Epsom salts, and rectal suppositories. I didn’t have sex comfortably for one whole year because of the infection I got from the catheter. Yet I still had another baby. The second was much easier. I just booked the surgery and out she came. And on top of all that, I breastfed both my kids the full recommended eighteen-month minimum, earning me horrid looks from everyone, even other women. I was the pervy hippie who breastfed for too long.”

  He flinched like I’d hit him.

  BAM! I nodded. “And voila, you no longer see me as a sexual object you get to toy with.” I stood on my tiptoes, dragging his cheek down to my level. “Thank you for making me feel things I haven’t felt in a long time, shame and perversion included. And thank you for waking my rage, because I think it might be the only thing that gets me through all this.” I brushed my lips against his rough cheek and strode past him. He was clearly still stuck on the hemorrhoid story. That truly was a cockblocker.

  “Say goodbye to Steve and foxy Roxy for me.” I reached the foyer and strolled out the front door. I had zero idea where I was but the good thing about iPhones (I had decided to steal his) was the map. I didn’t even care if he tracked me down. I was never letting him in my underwear again.

  “Dirty bastard,” I mumbled and turned the phone on as I walked to the gate. It didn’t open. I groaned and turned. Servario was trekking down the lengthy driveway.

  “Great.” My wristlet vibrated at the same time as he shouted something. I ignored Servario and took the FaceTime call. It was Coop who answered, not Jack.

  “We have a problem.” Coop seemed weird.

  “We do?” I gulped at the seriousness on his face. “What?”

  He closed his eyes and pinched between them.

  “What?”

  “The protection team has gone missing,” Coop said. “They have hourly check-ins with someone and it’s been five hours since a check-in happened.”

  My breath was stolen. “Missing? You mean the protection team for my kids? My kids are missing?” My heart leapt into my throat. “Oh my fucking God.”

  He continued, “I know. Your mom more than likely got the kids away but—I still want to know. We need to figure out what happened.”

  It was my worst-case scenario. There was nothing I could do from where I stood. “I need to find them. Come get me.”

  He nodded and the call ended.

  My heart was racing and my face was draining of warmth and possibly color. I spun around toward the gate. There was no way I was climbing over it.

  Nervously, I turned my back and waited for Servario to hurry up and come drag me back. The defeat and fear were all-consuming. How could I find my family if he held me captive?

  Servario chuckled. “You’re taking my clothes again. I think you’ve forgotten the deal we have about you taking the things I bought you.”

  I eyed what I had on. “You didn’t buy this for me. I stole it.”

  “Same thing. It’s mine. You’re mine.”

  “Fuck you, Servario.” I fought the tears in my throat. “Have them back, but I’m not yours. I just want my kids back.” I pulled down the shorts. Luckily, the shirt was long enough to cover my bare ass. A guard in the guardhouse across the huge driveway stared, mouth agape.

  Servario shouted at him, “Take a break and turn off the cameras!”

  The guard closed the blinds.

  I lifted the shirt up. It was pulled down hard and fast, dragged against my skin. His huge hands pinned it to my sides. “Stop that,” he scolded.

  “No.” I got in his face. “I see it now. Your role in this from the beginning was to distract me. Tell me the truth. My kids and my mother are missing. You tell me the goddamned truth.” I was shaking from the bad things rolling through my mind. "Did you do this? Did you take my kids and my mom?"

  I turned to the massive wrought-iron gate that dwarfed even him.

  His words came slowly, “You were so wrapped up in them at first, it was easy. You missed so many things, running here and there and everywhere with the kids.”

  I glanced back at him, shoving him. “WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY KIDS?”

  He placed a grim kiss at the top of my head. “The secret must be kept at all costs.”

  "Oh my god." It hit me like a ton bricks. “You’re the Master Key—” The words left my dry mouth. It was what I’d pondered, but I had convinced myself there was no way.

  He nodded against the top of my head. “Who better to save the world than a man suspected of a thousand bad things?”

  14

  Why, Mommy, what BIG shoes you have!

  We hadn’t spoken in hours.

  He wouldn’t answer a single question or tell me where we were going so it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to talk unless it was Q&A time and he had answers about my kids.

  My foot tapping was getting on his nerves. I could tell by the way he kept shifting and sighing.

  I surveyed the outfit I was wearing. “Why don’t you have normal clothes for women on the jet?”

  “You’re the only normal woman to ever come on here. You could have stayed in the other outfit. Lord knows, all you care about is comfort.” His tone was mocking, like normal was a bad thing.

  “Yes, maybe if you could’ve found me a piece of cord to hold the shorts up. You know, I don’t dress like I’m homeless, not all the time.”

  “Right.” He coughed. “But you aren’t exactly a sex kitten either.”

  “The other outfit would’ve suited the house slippers of yours I stole.”

  “You make sure those get back to the house. They were a gift from my mother.” He was being serious.

  “I don't even know how to answer that.”

  He acted hurt. “What? My mother bought them for me.”

  “Have you heard anything about the kids?” I muttered, tapping my heel and trying not to stare down at the sexy stiletto or think about the fact that they were the spiciest shoes I’d ever donned. I wished the tight pants were half as comfortable, but they cut fiercely into my slight mommy tummy.

  “No. I know they’re safe. Stop asking,” he whispered back.

  Steve was stern. “For the love of God and all things holy, stop tapping your damned foot.”

  “No.” I scowled back, challenging the large man.

  Servario snorted. “We land in eight minutes, children. Shut it.”

  Steve scowled and angled back around.

  I wanted to tap louder. My nerves were on fire. I needed to hold my babies.

  “Why are we always flying? Is this really how you live?” I twitched my foot and sighed.

  “You are driving me insane.” Servario groaned. “Yes, this is how I live. I must keep moving. I can’t afford a mistake right now.” And that was it.

  We landed and I forced Steve and Servario to rush to the car. Well, as fast as m
y heels would go. The salty smell of Boston Harbor relaxed me a bit as if my kids would be waiting at home for me.

  I watched out the window while we drove to wherever we were going.

  “So, you called young Cooper and explained we would meet them tomorrow?” he asked distractedly. "On that phone I gave you."

  “Yes,” I ensured. “I gave them my word that you meant them no harm and were not working with the military or the government. I told them you simply wanted the thing everyone else wanted.”

  “Good.” He chuckled.

  My stress levels were too high. I didn’t want to listen to him speak, but I needed answers. “Where are my children?” I asked again.

  He was adamant, “I’m not in the position to tell you that.”

  “No one is ever in the position to tell me anything.”

  “Right.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Do you know much about your mother, Evie?”

  “A bit.” I swallowed and focused back out the window.

  He laughed. “You do know. I was wondering when they’d let it spill. Now that you know, I can tell you your children are safe. I can also tell you, no one would care for them the way your mother will.” His eyes sparkled. “She has kept you alive.”

  “You know my mother?”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  An arms dealer, who was secretly the Master Key for the covert op my father had dedicated his life to, knew my family better than I did.

  “Is my sister safe?”

  He chuckled. “Never. She’s a walking disaster.”

  What didn’t he know?

  The car stopped in a neighborhood I didn’t recognize. The houses were smaller and older. “This isn’t really your type of neighborhood.”

  “It’s not.” He gave me a blank stare. “They’re inside, smartass.”

  “Who?” I frowned, realizing he meant the team. “How do you do it? How do you know everything?”

  “I don't know everything.” He laughed. “I know people who know everything.”

  “Like what?” I crossed my arms and got comfy in the seat.

  “None of your business.” He shook his head. “Go inside and tell them to hurry up. We have ten minutes.”

  “Fine.” Losing all the conversations with him was getting old.

  Unbuckling my seat belt in a hurry, I climbed out of the car and rushed to the front door.

  Luce cautiously opened the door to the dingy house. “How the hell are you here?” She gaped at me.

  “I have no idea,” I explained. “He’s onto your every move. He’s a savage stalker and a master anticipator.”

  “Not as good of an anticipator as you think.” Servario stalked behind me on the gravel driveway. “I never expected you to flee the hotel. I wasn’t aware you’d actually do any of that, not naked anyway,” he said in a flat tone.

  "Whatever." I grumbled.

  Luce took a leisurely stroll up and down his body before she nodded. “Welcome to Casa del Dumpo.”

  We entered and immediately I was hit with the stench of fried food. Servario shuddered.

  Coop came around the corner with a gun out. “What the fuck? You said we were meeting tomorrow.”

  Servario sighed. “Yes, well that was for the benefit of the government agents tracking you with those cell phones you buy illegally. Please feel free to leave those here. We need to hurry. We have four minutes before they arrive. I wanted them to believe we were picking you up tomorrow. They aren’t as smart as they think they are.”

  I glimpsed back. “It was ten minutes.”

  "Let’s move.” He turned his back on Coop, who continued to point his weapon at him, and gave me a look.

  Coop scoffed. “You played right into his hands, Evie.”

  “He knew where you were the whole time, Coop. If he wanted you dead, you would be.” My eyes remained on Servario’s when I spoke to Coop, “He’s all we’ve got right now. I need to find my kids.” I didn’t want to tell them he was the Master Key.

  Servario eyeballed the room. “Well, this is all the poverty I can take. Let’s go, shall we?” He pointed to the doorway. When Coop didn’t speak, Servario left with Luce following him. She smiled back. “He’s sexy. I’m game. It’s better than this shithole.”

  “Yeah.” I scowled at the dingy surroundings. “What is this place?”

  Jack came out with a plate of food. “My old roommate’s mom’s house. She died and he travels a lot so he hasn’t sold it yet. He isn’t here. He’s in Thailand. He said we could stay and, apparently, he’s rented the basement out to a nice couple who have their very own deep-fry machine. It’s in the house. She made fish and chips right downstairs.”

  I laughed and stole a fry. “Those have been around since before you were born, whippersnapper.”

  He beamed. “I’m getting my mom to buy one.”

  “You eat whatever you want and stay skinny, don’t you?” I asked.

  “Yup.” Jack said and took the plate of food to the car. He sat up front.

  Coop still had the gun in his hands but he holstered it. “This is a mistake. Later, when he sells us down the river, you remember I said this was a mistake and that you were thinking with your dick.”

  “I know.” I closed the door behind him, not even touching the “thinking with my dick” comment. “I will. Don’t worry, I already have my apology planned out. Have you heard anything about the kids and my mom?”

  He shook his head. “Nope.” He walked with me to the car. “You okay?”

  “No. I need to know where my kids are and I think he knows so can we play nice until he tells me?" I didn’t trust Servario’s word that they were fine.

  "Fine." Coop muttered, still clearly concerned as he squished into the backseat. I sat up front with Jack.

  “Good God, I wish we’d brought a larger vehicle. That stinks. Please throw it out the window,” Servario snarled.

  "Steve’s eating some now too.” Jack defended it.

  Servario opened his window, making a displeased noise.

  “Is the tartar sauce homemade too?” Steve asked with a big mouthful.

  Jack nodded. “Yes. I watched her make it while the fish was frying. Amazing woman.”

  Coop snorted. “Size of a damned Buick, you mean.”

  Jack glared back. “You hush your mouth. That woman was a chubby angel. She made me homemade donuts yesterday. I’m marrying a chubby woman. I decided this yesterday.”

  “Never trust a skinny cook.” I sighed, watching them eat like everything in the world was fine.

  Steve glanced over to me, “I thought you were a good cook.”

  "Steve!" I beamed. “Are you calling me skinny?”

  “You are skinny. Don’t be one of those skinny girls who doesn’t know she’s skinny.” He retorted sharply.

  "Thanks." I gave Coop a death stare. “It doesn’t help when people call you fat all the time.”

  Coop seemed less than impressed. “I never said you were fat. I said lazy and old.”

  The exact same homicidal look I usually had on my face when I was with him washed over me.

  Servario warned, “Say something rude like that again, and I won’t need to leak your location.”

  Coop laughed bitterly as I sneered. “Look who has the arms dealer on her side suddenly. This old lazy bitch, that’s right.” I attempted the smirk he always had for me.

  Coop’s eyes gleamed with the things he wanted to say. He gave me a grin and a wink instead. I shook my head and turned around. It wasn’t the response I was expecting.

  We drove out of the city to a small private airport.

  Steve parked the car and led the way. I climbed out and followed him. Servario barked, “Quickly. They’re close behind us.”

  “Who?” Coop asked, running for the plane. I cursed my choice of the sexy Christian Louboutin jade-colored patent leather platform pumps.

  “You remind me of a Bratz doll in those shoes,” Luce said with a smile. “They’re amazing but not super practi
cal.”

  “His planes have clothes on them. They’re all designer and incredible. It’s a fun distraction when you’re avoiding him on the long flights back and forth across the country.”

  Her eyes lit up. “What sizes?”

  “Clothes are fours and a couple of things in six. Shoes are all size seven. I can squeak into the fours if I don’t eat or breathe.” I shrugged.

  She wrinkled her nose. “I’m a six for sure but I can definitely fit into the shoes.”

  “You have to sneak them past Roxy,” I leaned in and whispered.

  We were all huffing when we boarded as cars started entering the long driveway to the airstrip. Everyone put on seat belts as the jet took off.

  “Seriously?” I spoke in a low tone to Servario, “How did you know they were coming?”

  “This isn’t my first time smuggling something.” He sighed. “I have a friend. He keeps tabs on the FBI, SS, CI, CIA, MI6, UN, Homeland Security, the works. Thus far, none of them are aware they have a mole and we have them under surveillance.” He motioned his head at Coop, Jack, and Luce sitting up a few rows from us with Steve. “They assume I have you for all the fun I can handle.”

  “So it's true?”

  “Yes, Evie.” He continued, “CI sold you to me for information. James found something linking me to the Burrow so they think I have information. I told them I don't but if they gave you to me, something I'd wanted for a very long time, I’d uncover the information. I don’t know how James did it. The man was a bumbling idiot, but I guess even a broken watch is right twice a day, you know?”

  “What do you mean?” I gulped. “They knew you were asking for me for sexual reasons?” Horror was smeared across my face. “Why not just kill me? Why do this to me?”

  “Luring your dad. I told them the best idea was to offer you to me, and enrage your father to bring him out into the open. I knew it wouldn't. He knows you’re safe with me.” Servario’s expression grew stern. “The only stipulation the CIA had was the fat man and Derringer. They wanted something on you, something they could use against you in case I double crossed them.”