Oh, but working for the FBI had been so much better for her mental health?
“I’ll figure it out. Just taking a break right now.”
“Normally I’d say that was a good thing since I know how hard you work. But you’re an Andrews. We don’t know how to take a break, and you’re as much of a workaholic as the rest of us.”
“Just leave it be, Travis.”
“You ever talk to anyone about it?”
“About the Latin Lothario?” she asked.
“Yes, and about Brax’s death.”
She sucked in a breath. “We don’t talk about that.”
“Maybe we should.”
He couldn’t have shocked her more if he’d gotten out a baseball bat and smashed her car window.
“It happened twenty years ago. I’m fine.”
He snorted. “Darling, you can’t lie worth a damn.”
“I’ve talked to someone about it, Travis. I’m a trained psychologist. I worked through all that stuff before I graduated.” Or she thought she had. Sometimes, it still reared its head. She glanced back at the house. She could still hear her father screaming at her that it was her fault. Her fault. How was it possible for old memories to still hurt so much?
“I have a job for you.”
“What?” The abrupt change in subject brought her out of her memories.
“A job. I have one for you.”
“I’m not working for you, Travis.” She adored him. She’d do anything for him—except work for him. Because she knew she’d suffocate slowly under his protective love.
“I could use someone with your skills on my team.” Travis owned a security firm that mainly took overseas jobs, escorting rich businessman into risky places or guarding shipments through dangerous territories.
“Uh-huh? And say I did want to work for you what exactly would I be doing?”
“We could discuss that.”
“Right. So, fetching coffee, answering phones, and general office stuff.”
He narrowed his gaze. “I never said that.”
“Are you saying you’re going to let me out into the field? Because if you are, then I’ll actually consider it. But I know you, Trav. I’ll say yes, then you’ll find excuses to keep me nice and safe in some office.”
He looked away, and she knew she’d hit the nail on the head.
“Thanks for the offer, but I have to decline. I love you, but no.”
He looked slightly irritated, but he nodded. “I figured as much. The job isn’t with me. It’s for Black-Gray Investigations.”
She frowned. She’d heard of them before. “As in Hunter Black? Aren’t they based in Dallas?”
“Yeah. They’re looking for a profiler to add to their team.”
Interest stirred, and she squashed it. She didn’t know anything about the job or Hunter Black, other than . . .
“Didn’t he steal a job out from under you once? You swore about him for months.”
Her cousin’s face darkened. “Yep. That asshole undercut me. That’s when I decided to aim for the overseas market. The US just isn’t big enough for the both of us.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You work out of New York, and he’s in Dallas.”
“Yep. And he’s got an ego the size of Texas.”
He wasn’t the only one.
“And you want me to work for him? As what? A spy?”
He grinned. “Interesting thought. I could get him back at his own game.”
Exasperated, she put her hands on her hips. “I’m not playing spy for you, Travis.”
Funny, she’d never thought of her cousin as a man who would pout. But it was the only word she could think of to describe the way he now looked.
“Fine. I guess that would be too obvious anyway since he knows you’re my cousin.”
“You talked to him about me?” Jesus, she knew Travis was an interfering bastard, but he was really pushing things now.
“Of course not. I don’t speak to that asshole. I spoke to his woman.”
She ran her hand over her face. “Travis, you can’t call her that.”
“Why not? That’s what she is. You know I’m no good at remembering names.”
That was a lie. He remembered everything.
“So, the two of you don’t speak to each other, but you think he’s going to hire me?” she asked, incredulously.
“Of course, he will.”
“Even though I’m your cousin.” And I’ve basically been fired from the FBI for being a complete fuck-up.
“Even then.”
“You didn’t bully him into giving me an interview, did you?”
“Nope. They’d be lucky to have you and they know it.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “This is the name and number of Black’s girlfriend. She said to call her, and they’d work out when to meet up with you. It’s a formality, the job is yours if you want it.”
“I know nothing about the job. Plus, I’d have to move to Dallas.”
“That a problem?”
A problem? Nope, not really. In fact, it would be a relief to leave her apartment in Stafford and all the memories it now held. She hadn’t even stayed there since she’d been released from the hospital. Instead, she’d taken a cheap room in a motel that rented by the week. It was tired and dirty, but she felt safer there.
“Indie lives in Dallas.” Indie was her closest friend from college. Actually, she was pretty much her only friend. Lacey’s drive to succeed hadn’t left her a lot of time for a social life.
“Yep.” Travis rocked back on his heels, looking far too satisfied with himself.
She rubbed her thumb over the card. She should say no. Find a job on her own. But this meant getting away. It was an escape. And if she didn’t like the job she didn’t have to take it. Perhaps it was time for a change because the way she was doing things right now really wasn’t working.
“Just go to Dallas and meet with them. If you don’t like them then don’t take the job. But you won’t know until you go.”
He was right. If this job didn’t work out, well, maybe it was time to move further afield.
She’d heard Hawaii was nice this time of year.
“This is in your field of expertise. It pays well. It’s based in a city where you already know someone, and they’re desperate.”
“I’m pretty sure you just insulted me,” she said dryly.
“All I meant was that you shouldn’t feel like I got you this job. There aren’t many people with your skill set who would be willing to work for Black-Gray.”
Why not?
“Why? What’s this Hunter Black like?”
“He’s an asshole, loud, obnoxious, and rude.”
Perhaps she should have led with that question. “Well, he sounds fun to work for.”
“Oh, I think you can hold your own.”
She looked him over. “Yes, I’ve certainly had a lot of practice dealing with arrogant males.”
He just grinned. “Hunter’s good at his job, and he looks after his own. I wouldn’t send you to him if I didn’t think you’d be taken care of.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Travis. I’m not a child who needs looking after.”
He grinned and stepped closer, squeezing her nose the way he’d always done when she was a kid. “I’ve changed your diaper; you’ll always be my baby cousin. That means I get to protect you no matter how old you are.”
“You never once changed my diaper, idiot.” She punched him lightly on the arm. “And I don’t need taking care of.”
He gave her nose another tap, then stepped back. “You can sneak off now.”
“I wasn’t sneaking off,” she gave a half-hearted protest. But she inched her way closer to the driver’s door.
“Lacey.” She paused with the door open. “If you ever need to talk about it, I’m here.”
“I’m fine.”
He just stared at her.
“All right, fine. If Mr. Black is as difficult as you say he is th
en I’ll call you for help.”
He grimaced. “Hell, no. I don’t want to deal with that cantankerous bastard. You need any help with him, then talk to Gray Mathers. He’s the only man I know with enough patience to deal with that asshole.”
She looked up at the house once more, knowing she probably wouldn’t come back. Coming here just made her angry and sad.
“Funny, isn’t it? I’ve tried all my life to be noticed, to be acknowledged. And now, I’d give anything just to blend into the background. To never be noticed again.”
Chapter Two
Gray was going to kill the bastard.
He rested his head against the back of his chair and stared up at the ceiling, while Hunter paced back and forth across his office.
“I can’t believe you hired someone without consulting me.”
Gray winced, the headache pounding at his temples wasn’t helping his patience. Normally, he’d be able to see the amusing side of one of Hunter’s tirades, let him vent until he wound down enough to be reasonable.
Well, sort of.
Then Gray would counter with all the reasons why hiring Lacey Andrews was a sound decision. Hunter would sulk for a while, probably threaten to kick his ass, then he’d give in. Not very graciously.
But today, Gray was short on patience and reason.
“I haven’t hired her. Not officially, anyway. We still have to meet with her. But she’s the best candidate for the job. So, stop getting your knickers in a twist over nothing.”
Hunter stopped and turned to him, raising his eyebrows. “What the hell has gotten into you lately?”
“What? Because I’m not catering to your hissy fit something has to be wrong with me?”
“Hissy fit?” Hunter half-shouted.
The door to his office suddenly opened, and Cady stormed inside. She shut the door then glared at them both. “What is going on in here? I can hear you out in reception. And if I can hear you so can Mrs. Stepman, who has come in because her son has been missing for five days and nobody is helping her. So you want to tell me what the hell is going on so I can knock some sense into both of you?”
“Hunter objects to us hiring Lacey.”
“Us?” Hunter turned to Cady. “You knew?”
Gray winced. Whoops. Cady sent him a look, and he shrugged apologetically.
“Yes, I knew. We need someone with profiling experience. She has it. She was available. So I sent her information on to Gray. He said to ask her in for an interview, so I did.”
“What?” Hunter placed his hands on his hips and loomed over his small fiancée. “How come she came to you? Have you met her? What happened to hiring that guy with the CIA?”
“She didn’t come to me. No, I haven’t met her, and I called that guy and told him sorry, the position is filled.”
“What made you think you had the right to do all that without speaking to me?”
“She talked to me,” Gray said quietly.
Hunter turned back to him, fury filling his face. Gray sighed. He’d known Hunter was going to blow up after finding out about Lacey. But experienced profilers were few and far between. And that guy from the CIA was a real dick.
“Have you even done a background check? Do we know anything about her?”
“Lacey Andrews. Thirty-five. Graduated high school at sixteen. Has an MA in forensic psychology. Worked as a counselor in state prisons until the FBI recruited her as a profiler. Quit the FBI two months ago and is now looking for a job.”
Gray paused and looked over at Cady who shrugged. “Better tell him all of it.”
“Tell me what?”
“She’s also Travis Andrews’s cousin.”
“What?” Hunter roared. “I’m not having some relative of that bastard work here. What if he’s sent her to spy on us?”
“He’s not sending her to spy on us,” Cady said with exasperation. “And I happen to think he’s a good guy. A straight-shooter.”
“You spoke to him?”
“Yeah . . . well . . .” she glanced over at Gray.
“Don’t look at me for help.”
Gray didn’t have any energy left in him to help anyone. He’d been woken up by his mother at four this morning, in hysterics because his youngest sister hadn’t answered her phone in twenty-four hours and the police wouldn’t go around to her apartment to check on her.
Two hours later, Gray had managed to track Rory down. She’d spent the night at a friend’s house and turned off her phone. Gray wasn’t certain if the friend was male or female and he’d decided there were some things a brother didn’t need to know about his baby sister. Whether or not she was having sex was one of them.
By the time he’d gotten off the phone with Rory then called his mother to reassure her that her youngest baby was fine, and no, she didn’t have to fly out to New York to check on her, and yes, Gray was taking his vitamins and getting enough sleep, Gray had been running late for work.
So, yeah, today he really didn’t have the patience to deal with Hunter’s temper tantrum.
“He called you,” Hunter whispered. “My woman? He called my woman to get around me because he knew damn well I wouldn’t hire his cousin. How come he has to get a job for her, anyway? Can’t she get a job for herself? Did she get fired?”
“She wasn’t fired, she quit,” Gray said tiredly. Although from what he’d heard if she hadn’t quit she’d probably have been not-so-subtly pushed out the door. “But you’re right.”
“I am?”
“He is?” Cady added, looking surprised.
“We should have consulted you. But we knew you’d use her relationship with Travis to say no.”
“Because he’s an asshole.”
“Face it, Hunter. You would’ve used any excuse you could find not to hire her,” Gray said in a reasonable voice. “But she has the credentials we’ve been looking for, and she can start immediately.”
Hunter looked suspicious. “Why’d she quit?”
Gray’s headache increased in intensity.
“She worked on the Latin Lothario case, then quit right after he was killed. I can’t find anything more about what happened.” None of his contacts would give him any details.
“So, she can’t hack it at the FBI but she’s good enough to work here?”
“We don’t know she couldn’t hack it. All we know is she quit suddenly. That case had to be a tough one, and she’s not going to be working cases like that for us. Come on, Hunter. You know you hate the FBI. You must feel some sympathy for her.”
“I hate the CIA more,” he muttered.
“That guy was a complete dipshit,” Cady said bluntly. “I know you have a thing against having women work here, but she’s the best fit for the job.”
He frowned down at Cady. “I don’t like it. But, I’ll reserve judgement until I meet her. However, you,” he pointed at Cady, “are in trouble.”
“Oh, yeah?” she challenged.
“Yes. You kept this from me. That’s not allowed. You spoke to that asshole behind my back. That’s not allowed. Your ass is mine tonight.”
She snorted. “You going to spank Gray as well since he kept this from you too?”
“Hell, no.” He scowled over at Gray, clearly still upset. “But he’ll pay. When he least expects it.”
Wonderful. This day kept getting better and better.
***
“And you know nothing about the job? Travis just arranged it all?”
Lacey looked over at Indie as she unpacked her suitcase. She’d packed light since she still wasn’t certain she had the job. Travis had seemed pretty confident, but from what she’d heard about this Hunter Black, he wasn’t an easy man. So, until she knew for certain, she wouldn’t be sending for the rest of her stuff even though she’d packed it up and given up the lease on her place. She didn’t want to live there anymore, anyway. Too many bad memories. “Yep.”
“You’re a braver person than me.”
Somehow, she doubted that. Lacey ju
st hoped she didn’t wake Indie up with her nightmares while she was here. She was only having one or two a week now at least.
“If I don’t like them or the job then I’ll just look for something else.” She hung a few outfits in the closet of Indie’s spare bedroom. She’d decide what to wear in the morning. “Thanks for letting me stay.”
“No problem. I’ve missed you.”
Lacey gave her a smile. “Me too.”
“And if you take this job we can see each other all the time. You could even move in here if you want.”
That actually tempted her. Maybe she’d feel safer if she lived with someone else. But she’d grown used to being alone and even though she loved Indie, living with her again might be more than their friendship could handle.
“Thanks, but I’ve grown used to my own space. I’d probably drive you nuts now.”
Indie shrugged. “Well, I can help you search for an apartment at least.”
“If I get the job. It’s not a done deal.”
Don’t show any fear. People like confidence. You have this. You can do this.
“Lacey? You okay?” Indie’s hand on her shoulder startled her, and she dropped the skirt she’d been holding. She quickly picked it up, brushing off imaginary dirt. Not that she really cared. She had three other skirts just like this one already hanging up. Each just as boring and sensible as the next.
There were still times she wished she had the guts to run off to Hawaii.
Maybe work on a tan . . . and get skin cancer.
Go kite-surfing . . . and get eaten by a shark.
Try some cocktails . . . and have her drink spiked.
Let’s face it, she didn’t have the guts to do anything crazy. Her job at the FBI had been conducted behind a desk. Nice and secure. She’d gone through basic training at Quantico, but because she’d been recruited by the FBI, she’d never worked as a field agent. Counseling inmates had held some risk, but she’d always had a safety net—someone to call on for help.
Moving to Dallas to take this job was slightly crazy. Normally, she wouldn’t make such a move without careful consideration. But she was desperate to get away from her old life. Plus, Travis was vouching for these guys, and her cousin would never do anything to put her at risk.
“Sorry, I’m fine. Just a million miles away.”
A Taste of Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 6) Page 3