“No idea, man. I think that’s the problem.” He was ready and he also wasn’t ready. He was still a big old mess, and that meant he wasn’t good for anyone.
Still, she was pretty cute, and Charlotte was usually right about things. After all, she’d been the one to tell him she didn’t think Katy could give him what he needed.
Katy had managed to give some dude named Bowen what he needed. Lots of times. Mostly in their bed, and he was pretty sure once in his car. He sighed.
“Come on,” Michael said with a chuckle. “I think we should order pizza and watch the late game. Come Monday, you’ll meet this Noelle and see if there’s anything beyond the job.”
“I am not being set up.” He was absolutely certain about that. “I’m done with the vanilla world. I need to get back in the swing of things and find a sub and settle down.”
Settling didn’t seem like a terrible thing to do. It might be nice. And now he had a house to offer a woman. He had a good job and lots of friends who were like family.
“So you want to go to the club?”
No. He really didn’t. Hutch groaned. “Nah. Order a pizza. Let’s watch some football.”
Mindless entertainment. That was what he needed. It would get his mind off the fact that he had an empty house to go home to, with no real prospects on the horizon.
Because he wasn’t getting set up.
She was more than cute. She was smart, and she had to be tough to get through what she’d been through. He admired that.
He caught sight of a picture of Michael and his former fiancée. They were smiling and seemed happy.
Nope. He wasn’t going there. He moved into the living room and found his seat, trying not to think about the fact that Charlotte thought the cute nerd might be a match for him.
He liked cute nerds.
But again, he wasn’t going there. He sat back and tried to relax as the game came on.
It would be a long weekend, but they all kind of were now.
He didn’t see that changing any time soon.
Chapter One
Hutch hustled into the McKay-Taggart building on Monday morning and groaned at the security line. Someone had set up two high-tech scanners and a barrier that would keep anyone from getting to the elevators without going through the tech. The scanners would not only detect weapons, they would also send facial scans upstairs to Miles-Dean, Weston, and Murdoch, who would weed out anyone who might be coming in to blow up the building.
He got into line because something had obviously happened since this wasn’t normal security protocol.
A man stood in front of him wearing a dark collared shirt and slacks, his dark hair still cut in military style. Kyle Hawthorne had a soft leather briefcase in his hand. Hutch happened to know that particular brand was normally used to carry laptops and cell phones and tablets, but Kyle used it to carry around his personal tools of the trade.
Weapons. Lots of weapons.
“Any idea what’s going on?” Hutch asked.
Kyle turned and nodded a greeting. “I think MDWM has some big politician coming in, and they’re trying to make sure no one assassinates her on property. You should have heard the lawyers on ten arguing that they didn’t sign up for this. Someone offered to let them talk to Big Tag and they got quiet quick.”
It was good to know his boss was still feared by many. Or they knew Ian Taggart was an immovable object and they could get to work way quicker if they let security do its job. The company started by former McKay-Taggart employees was famous for working missing person cases and finding criminals on the run.
“I would bet all this security is also to protect Adam’s tech.” If someone from the government was coming in, they would be careful. The company worked with the government but hadn’t shared their wildly successful software with them.
“Good for Adam.” Kyle settled the long strap of his briefcase over his muscled shoulder. “He should protect himself because those bastards would steal anything he had and not blink an eye.”
That was Kyle. He’d come into the company paranoid, and that was usually something that happened later. But Hutch was working with the guy, and that meant trying to get along with him. Kyle was an odd duck. He didn’t spend a lot of time with the single guys, though they’d invited him to hang out plenty of times. He seemed to prefer the company of his brother and some of the guys who worked for Top, the restaurant his stepfather ran.
Something seemed to be happening up ahead in the line that had it at a standstill.
Hutch needed coffee. He’d overslept and barely managed to catch the train at the Royal Lane Station. Normally he rode in with Theo when he didn’t drive in himself, but he’d woken up and realized he hadn’t charged his freaking car. He’d let it sit for way too long, and now he was probably looking at battery damage he couldn’t afford. So he’d taken the train. And that sucker had been packed.
It had put him on edge, and he needed some coffee with cream and sugar, and he prayed someone had brought muffins or something. Otherwise he would be eating his breakfast from the vending machines, and they were mostly fruit and protein bars since Charlotte was on a health kick.
His cholesterol hadn’t come back bad. Why was he being punished for Big Tag’s LDL levels, and he kind of hated the person who’d invented at-home blood tests.
“You read through the case?” Kyle asked.
He looked back up and the line had moved a bit. Kyle was slightly ahead of him, and there was a woman in front of Kyle. A woman with a nice shape to her. That was a pretty backside, and she had a ton of dark brown hair curling down almost to her waist. He forced himself to focus. “Yeah. It seems pretty straightforward. Chick works for high-end firm. It’s a pretty impressive think tank. Her dad is a crazy, paranoid guy, and now we get to babysit.”
Kyle frowned. “You’re not taking this seriously, are you?”
“You haven’t been around long,” Hutch replied. “You don’t know the signs.”
“There are signs?”
He was going to have to explain and hope he didn’t sound like a complete asshole. Kyle should know that this was a setup going in. He still wasn’t completely sure which of them was the target. He’d had all day Sunday to wonder why Charlotte would think he needed a girlfriend—besides the obvious lack of companionship, lack of motivation, lack of dishes in his brand-new house. “This is a case Big Tag took strictly because he knows this chick’s dad. He’s some sheriff in a town where there’s more gators than people. He’s probably one of those people who thinks his baby girl will immediately be murdered when she steps foot in a city.”
“I have known the type,” Kyle allowed. “But that doesn’t necessarily rule out a serious problem. He can be both paranoid and right. I’ve known that type, too.”
Kyle kind of was that type. But he didn’t understand Charlotte Taggart’s hobbies. “Look, there’s a reason we’re on this case.”
“Yes, you’re here because it involves some high-tech stuff, and I’m good at not letting the people around me die,” Kyle replied as they moved forward again.
“We’re also single, and apparently this young lady is looking for a husband.” He wasn’t sure Noelle LaVigne knew Charlotte was setting her up, but it was smart to go into the situation thinking everyone else was in on it.