That Kyle had never killed a person.
That Kyle hadn’t killed the last woman who’d trusted him.
He jogged to catch up.
Ian stopped in the middle of the hall, whirling around and pinning Kyle with a death stare. “You’re not into my cybersecurity expert, are you?”
That was fast. “We were walking in at the same time. I just met her. And obviously she’s not my type.”
Cool blue eyes rolled. “Sure she’s not. Stay away. She’s a nice kid and you look like a rolling ball of anxiety and murder.”
Kyle felt his jaw drop. “I do not.”
“Get your shit together before you go after her,” Ian announced loudly and then started moving again.
“I’m not going after anyone.” No one in the world could turn him around the way his uncle could. It was oddly comforting. No one would fuck with him in his professional life. Drake might joke with him from time to time, but not in the way his uncle or stepdad would.
“Uh huh. I’ll believe it when I see it,” his uncle countered as he walked past a big office. The door was open, and he stopped briefly. “Charlie, baby, Kyle got a look at MaeBe and his eyes were as wide as mine when I look at a lemon tart.”
Charlotte Taggart was suddenly in her doorway looking chic and perfect in a white sheath dress and high heels, her strawberry blonde hair in a neat bun. “Seriously? I did not see that coming. I’ve been trying to set her up with my yoga instructor.”
“I’m not trying to eat the lady for dessert. I didn’t have a key card. The receptionist wasn’t here yet because I was early. MaeBe let me in. That’s all.” He should have taken another job. Any other job. Something far away from his family.
Except his chest seemed slightly less tight. He’d slept at his brother’s place the night before and listened to David talking about his students and telling dumb stories about the university he worked at, and it had felt normal and sane and comforting.
His aunt gave him a once-over. “Good, because you look very murdery.”
“I do not look murdery. What does that even mean?” He looked regular. He looked like an everyday, ordinary dude starting a new job that did not include gathering state secrets and risking his life on a daily basis. No. Here he would only risk his dignity.
Charlotte waved a hand up and down, gesturing to him. “Look in the mirror, nephew. You should spend some time with Kai before you go after her. Oooo, or I know a nice FBI agent. Should I set you up?”
“Do you want me to quit here and now and go back to the Navy?” He needed to put a stop to this.
Charlotte sighed. “I suppose not. Well, I’ll let you settle in then.”
His uncle kissed his aunt. And kind of started making out with her.
Yep. He was so far from where he’d come.
But closer to home. So much closer.
He wasn’t ready to even consider dating someone. Not close. But he rather thought he would be thinking about MaeBe Vaughn quite a lot. If the heat between them was any clue, she would likely be doing the same.
* * * *
“Did you meet the new guy?” Hutch’s head popped up over the side of her cubicle and he rested an arm there, a Red Vine dangling from his mouth.
That long piece of candy was part of his daily uniform.
Hutch was one of the coolest guys she’d ever met.
Hutch had kind of saved her. He’d definitely saved her from jail, but beyond that he’d saved her from drifting away from herself, from making the kind of choice that might have killed her soul. Hutch had given her a place where she was valued.
“New guy?” She slid her headphones off her ears and onto her shoulders.
“Yeah, Big Tag’s nephew is supposed to start today.” Hutch had blue eyes and a ready smile that she so wished made her heart stop.
It was sad because Hutch was pretty much exactly her type. He liked board games and computers, and they could talk tech all night while they ate pizza and decided which craft beer paired well with cheese.
He was the brother she wished she’d had, a piece of the family she’d lost and now longed for. “Oh, yes. I met him. He seemed nice.”
“Nice? He’s practically a Taggart. Come on. You have to have some intel.”
He’d seemed a bit lost to her. She probably wouldn’t see him again. She didn’t have much to do with the bodyguards. They were pretty self-contained most of the time. Every now and then a laptop went wonky or one of them couldn’t get a game to play and it was MaeBe to the rescue, but she didn’t think Kirk looked like a guy who played a lot of games.
He looked like a sports guy.
“He was a typical ex-military guy,” she replied. “I think he said he recently got out of the Navy. I figured out that he’s Sean’s stepson, and he’s pretty cool with the whole stepfamily thing. He called Ian his uncle but Sean was Sean. Kirk seemed like an okay guy.”
“Kirk? I thought his name was Kyle.” Hutch frowned. “Or maybe Kurt. I don’t know. He wasn’t working here when I hired on, and he’s been gone for years. I think he’s come home a couple of times, but I’ve never met him. I met his brother at a party once. David’s a nice guy. You should meet him.”
She shook her head because she knew what he meant. “I will meet him when you meet my friend from the coffee shop.”
Hutch stepped back and bowed formally. “Well played, my lady. No meetings. I’m done with the whole dating thing. I am happily single.”
He was not. Oh, she had zero doubt that he was happy his ex was out of his apartment and they had cleaned up all the dishes she’d chucked his way. Hutch had promised her he’d managed to duck. It was probably all his military/CIA training. “Are you sure? She’s a nice lady and she makes a killer mocha.”
“And David is a history professor. He’s as geek as you can get,” Hutch countered. “Or I can send you downstairs and you can give Kirk/Kyle/Kurt his system orientation. I was going to send someone from help desk down.”
He was an evil man. “Please send them. I don’t think I have anything in common with that guy. Though like I said, he seemed perfectly nice if you like the type.”
She seriously doubted that man had ever played D&D or spent an entire weekend watching Lord of the Rings. He likely loved Marvel movies but didn’t read comic books.
She’d learned those kind of men never took her seriously. They might think she was good for a night in bed, but they lacked the fundamental thing she required in a relationship—the compatibility to truly be friends with her.
“So you’re not going to be inviting him to game night? You know we could use a fourth for whatever we’re playing on Thursday. Boomer’s out of town for another week.”
And she would miss the big guy, but her prep work for food for game night had gotten so much easier. The Boom man could eat. “Do you think we should cancel? If there are only three of us, it doesn’t seem like much of a party. Ever since the school year started we lost Theo and Michelle.”
She’d formed a game group over the course of her time here. It had started when Hutch had found out she had a European-style board game collection. It wasn’t much since she didn’t exactly have a ton of cash. But she was starting to grow it, and she loved hosting some friends at her place once a week. Hutch had brought along Theo Taggart, Deke Murphy, and Boomer Ward. She’d brought her friends Michelle Johnson and Harry Tanaka. Sometimes there were seven of them. Sometimes it was her and Hutch. Theo’s daughter had soccer practice on Thursdays this season and Michelle’s son had tutoring sessions. Harry had started his residency in pediatrics at Parkland Hospital, and Deke and Boomer’s work often took them out of town.