VEXED

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He's a former CIA operative, who faced off against the Aryan Brotherhood.
She's former Homeland Security, now with the FBI, determined to keep us safe.  
Undercover, they're UNSTOPPABLE.

VEXED
Freelancing for the Invincibles gives me the high I love, and the adrenaline rush I crave. But, being undercover with the sexiest agent ever. sent me into overdrive. Fabricating a relationship opened my eyes to what I really want, what I really need, and I want her. But now that's she's been framed for murder, I know she needs me just as much as I need her.

SCOTTIE
After months undercover, it’s no surprise that I’m still thinking about him. But, I have to keep my head in the game and not on the irresistible operative who makes me tremble. Except, when someone kills my high school sweetheart and frames me for the crime, I know the only person to prove I'm not guilty, the only person I trust, is him. But, if I rely on him, I know I’ll fall even harder. My desire for him has me completely VEXED. 

CHAPTER ONE

Spending Christmas at home. Talk next year.

I reread the message I’d received from McKenna “Scottie” Walsh, aka the woman I thought I was in a relationship with. The same woman whose bed I’d rolled out of this morning, promising I’d call after the meeting I had scheduled with Fury, my partner in the Unstoppables, the new Invincibles team.

Scottie hadn’t mentioned being gone for Christmas then or last night, or any of the five nights before when we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

“Are you okay?” asked Fury.

“Yeah. Uh, sorry. Let’s get started.”

She leaned against the back of her chair. “You’re distracted. Tell me what’s going on, or there’s no point in even having this meeting.”

If anyone besides Fury had spoken those same words to me, I would have assured them I was, in fact, paying attention and asked them to get started. She knew me too well for me to get away with such bullshit. We’d worked together on several assignments before she quit the agency and got her law degree. The mutual respect between us was strong. In fact, we often joked we were more like siblings than coworkers.

“Scottie is spending Christmas at home. Without me,” I confessed, holding up my phone. “This is how she told me.”

“Did you just receive her message?”

I nodded.

“Odd.”

“I’ll say.” I had no doubt Fury knew Scottie and I were seeing each other, but she might not know how seriously. “We’ve been together every night since we returned from Spain last month. She spent Thanksgiving with our family.”

“Have you talked about Christmas?”

“Indirectly.”

Fury raised a brow. “What does that mean?”

“We didn’t talk about spending it apart.”

This time, she rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry to hear she won’t be at the party this weekend.”

I was too. Decker Ashford and Rile DeLéon had organized a joint Invincibles and Unstoppables Christmas party. Not only were we celebrating the holidays, but it marked the first time all the partners of both units, as well as the employees and contractors, would be gathered together in one place. Attendance was mandatory, barring an emergency, either for one of the guests personally or a mission.

Since Scottie worked for the FBI rather than either firm, I’d invited her as my plus one. “That’s another thing,” I muttered.

“What?” she asked.

“She was supposed to be my date for the party. ‘Talk next year’ sure makes it sounds like she won’t be.”

“Are you sure you didn’t have some kind of disagreement?”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. “You may think I’m a Neanderthal, but I think I would know if we’d had a disagreement.”

“How did you leave things with her?”

I raised a brow, also like she had a few minutes ago. “You sure you want to hear the details?”

Fury closed her eyes and plugged her ears. “No! I definitely do not. I won’t be able to unhear whatever it is.”

“So, yeah. Not a disagreement.”

The calls I’d made and texts I’d sent to Scottie over the next two days had all gone unanswered. If the party tonight hadn’t been mandatory, I certainly would’ve been a no-show. Instead, my also-dateless brother and I went together.

“Can you at least try to have a good time?” he asked when we walked into the Long Branch, where the festivities were taking place.

“Fuck off,” I muttered, walking over to the bar to order a drink.

“Everything’s on the house tonight, sir,” said one of the special-event bartenders the owners had brought in just for this occasion. When I slapped a buck on the bar for a tip, he slid it back to me. “Tipping’s not allowed either.”

I shoved the money in my pocket, leaned my back against the bar, and took in the crowded scene. While I recognized almost everyone here, there were a few I didn’t. Most appeared to be either spouses or dates of team members, but some were probably contractors I hadn’t met yet. Not that I was in the mood to meet new people.

“There he is,” I heard Tres, Fury’s husband, say. “Looking as grouchy as my wife warned me you’d be.”

“Let him be. You’d be grouchy too if I wasn’t here,” said Fury to Tres before reaching up to kiss my cheek. “Have you heard from Scottie?”

I shook my head. “Not a word.”

Fury’s eyes scrunched. “Something’s up. Have you tried calling?”

“Only about once an hour. I’ve even considered catching a flight out tomorrow and confronting her in person.”

“That’s what I’d do,” said Tres as he nuzzled Fury’s neck. I was about to suggest they either get a room or, at least, go dance when my cell vibrated.

I pulled it out of my pocket and swiped the screen. “It’s a message from Scottie.”

“Is everything okay?”

I looked up from the phone and shook my head. “It says she’s been arrested.”

Releases October 26, 2023 | Kindle | Other eBook Retailers