Free You Only Love Twice by Lexi Blake Page B

thunderous look
clouded his boss’s face, but Jesse was ready to throw down with whoever he
needed to. This was his op and his…fuck, he didn’t even know what to call her,
but Phoebe was his.
    Ian stopped in front of them. “Take her to your office. Do
what you need to do but keep it down. Apparently we’re still having a baby
shower and I have to attend or risk having my balls ripped off my body. I like
my balls, Murdoch. Keep her quiet. Charlie’s serious about this party thing.
When did I fucking lose control? She’s not even an employee here.”
    “No. I’m part owner,” Charlotte said, her voice a sharp
instrument. She was a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair. She rested
her hand on the bump on her belly that seemed to get bigger every day. “Eve and
I own half this company, you know. And we have all the boobs so try getting
around us. Phoebe, I swear to god if I find out you’ve done one thing to put
this company and our people in danger I will take you apart myself. Is that
understood? You better hope you can prove you weren’t going to hurt Jesse. He’s
one of my men and I will deal with you.”
    Phoebe’s head came up again. “Your men? That’s a little
presumptuous, isn’t it? You treat him like a puppy you can pat on his head and
send away. He isn’t yours and if you think you can take me, you’re wrong.”
    Charlotte’s lips curled up and Jesse realized Phoebe had just
fallen into a trap. “She doesn’t like the fact that I said you’re mine, Jesse.”
    Big Tag was frowning at her. “I didn’t either.”
    She waved him off. “I meant as a friend and employee, but
Phoebe’s brain goes straight for the sexual. I wonder why. Li’s right. You’re
going to owe him a hundred bucks at the end of this thing. She’s all
Stockholmed out. Who wants cake?”
    Ian’s eyes narrowed as his wife strode off toward the break
room. “Handle her, Murdoch. Any way you can and keep it the fuck down. I still
haven’t heard back from Ten.”
    He felt Phoebe’s whole body go stiff at the mention of Ten’s
name. “I still think she works for him.”
    “Ten knows when a game is up. He would have told me.”
    “Or he would just burn her,” Adam mused.
    That was a more reasonable explanation, but Ian seemed
unconcerned. He strode off after his wife and Adam sighed a little and then
followed them.
    No one was going to save Phoebe from him. No one would try
to come between them. Satisfaction settled in his gut. At least his brothers
recognized he had a claim on her.
    “Jesse, you should let me go. I’m not a threat to you.” She
sounded so reasonable. “Honestly, I’m not a threat at all, but you are still in
danger. If you let me go, I’ll tell you what I can.”
    So she still thought he was an idiot. He walked down the
hall and opened the door to his office. He slammed it behind and locked the
door. The office was full of well-meaning busybodies, and he wasn’t about to be
interrupted.
    He set her down and then took a deep breath.
    She leaned against his desk, needing it to balance her. Her
manicured fingers gripped the edge of the desk, tension throughout her body.
“Can we talk?”
    “Who do you work for?”
    “I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that someone sent
me that kill order and they won’t just shrug and walk away. You’re in danger,
Jesse.”
    At least they’d gotten past one thing. “So you’re dropping
the whole ‘I’m just an accountant’ act?”
    “I am an accountant,” she replied beseechingly. “I have a
degree from Georgetown. Not everything I said was a lie.”
    Just the little things. “Oh, I think it’s safe to say you
lied enough. What’s your name? I think I should know the name of the woman who
made me a fool.”
    She flushed. “I didn’t, Jesse. Damn it. It wasn’t like that.
And my name is Phoebe. You know it’s easier to work with something similar. A
partial truth is easier to sell than a lie.”
    “Yeah, well, the partial part