she was working her connections to help people who couldn’t help themselves. “Good for her.”
Hutch huffed. “Good for The Collective.”
Ten didn’t want to hear that. The Collective was a group of corporations that seemed to have banded together to practice some of the worst crimes against the public he’d ever seen. The Collective consisted of some of the world’s biggest companies, and they maximized profits at the expense of anyone who got in their way. “Why do you think Kronberg is Collective?”
Hutch’s shoulders moved up and down in a negligent movement that belied the fact that the man never accused without some solid evidence. “You know it’s hard to tell. They don’t publish their rolls or make public their meetings. So we have to look at patterns of behavior and rely on gossip. Damon Knight is the head of McKay-Taggart’s London office.”
“I’m well aware.”
There was a knock on the door and then the man himself was stepping into the room. Damon Knight was a big bull of a man with pitch-black hair starting to gray at the temples. He was a broody son of a bitch. Well, he used to be. Now he was smiling and had a hand out as he stepped into the conference room followed by another man. This man wasn’t smiling. He was leaner than Knight or Tag, built on predatory lines. A hungry wolf with dark hair and a close-cropped beard. He looked over at Ten with icy blue eyes.
“How was your flight?” Tag asked, shaking Damon’s hand.
“It was commercial, you bastard,” Damon shot back with a chuckle.
“Sorry, buddy, I’m not MI6. If you want a company jet, you’re going to have to bring in some more cash,” Tag joked. “How’s Penny?”
Ten was fairly sure Knight was going to break his face if he kept smiling like that. “She’s already found Charlotte. She’s eager to meet your daughters. Especially now that she’s about to become a mum.”
Tag slapped Knight on the back. “Are you serious? You bastard, you didn’t say a thing.”
Knight waved a hand. “We wanted to wait a bit. She’s only a few months along, but it appears everything is going brilliantly. Never thought it would happen. Imagine us. Two old dads.”
They continued on as Hutch leaned in. “I do not get that. In my world, when a chick gets pregnant we all ask the dude how he managed to fuck up that badly. Wow. Erin looks hot. How is that possible? I finally see what Theo sees in her.”
“They are both pretty girls,” a low voice said behind him. A low, heavily accented voice. Ah, Knight had brought the Russian with him.
And the freaking Russian was staring at Ten’s girl. He slammed his laptop closed. His target. Not his girl. Still. He didn’t like the way the big bastard had stared at her.
“Are we breaking up?” Ten asked, well aware he sounded annoyed as hell. This wasn’t a fucking backyard barbecue family reunion.
“Sorry, he’s pissy since he lost his Agency spy decoder ring,” Tag said, gesturing for Knight and the new guy to take seats. “Please join us. We’ll catch up on the real life stuff after the people who don’t actually have one are safely out of here.”
Fuck Tag. Why the hell was he friends with that asshole anyway? Oh yeah, the loyalty stuff. Still sometimes he wished he’d won that fight between them and he still had several free punches left. He would appreciate Tag so much more if he could break the fucker’s nose on a regular basis. “First introduce the Russian and then tell me what The Collective has to do with Faith’s clinic.”
When everyone was settled he flipped his laptop back open. She’d sent another pic, this one of her staring at the camera and blowing him a kiss.
Good night, Sir.
Good night, Faith.
He closed the laptop again, not trusting himself to not stare at her pictures.
Knight sat down beside the new guy. “This is my latest employee, Nikolai Markovic. He’s former SVR.”
“It all still KGB. Don’t let new letters fool you.” The
Hutch huffed. “Good for The Collective.”
Ten didn’t want to hear that. The Collective was a group of corporations that seemed to have banded together to practice some of the worst crimes against the public he’d ever seen. The Collective consisted of some of the world’s biggest companies, and they maximized profits at the expense of anyone who got in their way. “Why do you think Kronberg is Collective?”
Hutch’s shoulders moved up and down in a negligent movement that belied the fact that the man never accused without some solid evidence. “You know it’s hard to tell. They don’t publish their rolls or make public their meetings. So we have to look at patterns of behavior and rely on gossip. Damon Knight is the head of McKay-Taggart’s London office.”
“I’m well aware.”
There was a knock on the door and then the man himself was stepping into the room. Damon Knight was a big bull of a man with pitch-black hair starting to gray at the temples. He was a broody son of a bitch. Well, he used to be. Now he was smiling and had a hand out as he stepped into the conference room followed by another man. This man wasn’t smiling. He was leaner than Knight or Tag, built on predatory lines. A hungry wolf with dark hair and a close-cropped beard. He looked over at Ten with icy blue eyes.
“How was your flight?” Tag asked, shaking Damon’s hand.
“It was commercial, you bastard,” Damon shot back with a chuckle.
“Sorry, buddy, I’m not MI6. If you want a company jet, you’re going to have to bring in some more cash,” Tag joked. “How’s Penny?”
Ten was fairly sure Knight was going to break his face if he kept smiling like that. “She’s already found Charlotte. She’s eager to meet your daughters. Especially now that she’s about to become a mum.”
Tag slapped Knight on the back. “Are you serious? You bastard, you didn’t say a thing.”
Knight waved a hand. “We wanted to wait a bit. She’s only a few months along, but it appears everything is going brilliantly. Never thought it would happen. Imagine us. Two old dads.”
They continued on as Hutch leaned in. “I do not get that. In my world, when a chick gets pregnant we all ask the dude how he managed to fuck up that badly. Wow. Erin looks hot. How is that possible? I finally see what Theo sees in her.”
“They are both pretty girls,” a low voice said behind him. A low, heavily accented voice. Ah, Knight had brought the Russian with him.
And the freaking Russian was staring at Ten’s girl. He slammed his laptop closed. His target. Not his girl. Still. He didn’t like the way the big bastard had stared at her.
“Are we breaking up?” Ten asked, well aware he sounded annoyed as hell. This wasn’t a fucking backyard barbecue family reunion.
“Sorry, he’s pissy since he lost his Agency spy decoder ring,” Tag said, gesturing for Knight and the new guy to take seats. “Please join us. We’ll catch up on the real life stuff after the people who don’t actually have one are safely out of here.”
Fuck Tag. Why the hell was he friends with that asshole anyway? Oh yeah, the loyalty stuff. Still sometimes he wished he’d won that fight between them and he still had several free punches left. He would appreciate Tag so much more if he could break the fucker’s nose on a regular basis. “First introduce the Russian and then tell me what The Collective has to do with Faith’s clinic.”
When everyone was settled he flipped his laptop back open. She’d sent another pic, this one of her staring at the camera and blowing him a kiss.
Good night, Sir.
Good night, Faith.
He closed the laptop again, not trusting himself to not stare at her pictures.
Knight sat down beside the new guy. “This is my latest employee, Nikolai Markovic. He’s former SVR.”
“It all still KGB. Don’t let new letters fool you.” The
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