Devoted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella Read Free Page B

he poked at it. “Now you want to play spy?”
    “I’m not the one who likes to send in the spies. That’s her MO.”
    “That was her father’s MO,” Mitch corrected, gently shifting his son so tiny fingers didn’t go up his nose. “He and your dad apparently liked to go at it hard. Our dad. Sorry, it’s still hard sometimes.”
    “It’s okay.” He’d gotten used to Mitch distancing from their father. In some ways, it was a miracle they were so close. Mitch was hard to get to know, but he was loyal once a man was in his circle.
    Flynn had earned that. He’d changed his nephew’s diapers on occasion. That had to buy him loyalty. Johnny was a cute thing, but he was squirmy and did not skimp on the poop. He was also going to drive his father crazy. Flynn stood and held his hands out. Johnny gleefully went to him.
    “I hate that it bothers you,” Mitch said, turning back to the dishes and finally making some headway with them. Laurel was working late and Mitch had planned a nice evening for them that included his wife not having to clean the kitchen. “You know I consider you and Chase family. Not consider. You are my family. It’s just weird to have gone from having no family to kind of being surrounded by it twenty-four seven.”
    “Is Daddy feeling suffocated?” Flynn asked Johnny, who drooled and looked ridiculously adorable.
    “No,” Mitch said with a sigh. “I’m not very good at the advice stuff.”
    Flynn kept his eyes on the bundle in his hand and shook his head. “But Uncle Flynn didn’t ask for advice.”
    Except he kind of needed it.
    “Oh, you asked for it by being a dumbass. I know that much. I’ve been around enough brothers to know that the first rule of brotherhood is to not let your brother make an ass of himself,” Mitch explained.
    He had to admit, when Mitch used that tone of voice, he really did feel like the little brother. Sometimes it made him feel oddly welcome. Today it put him on edge. “If she’s so innocent, why did we catch a Slaten employee trying to hack into our system?”
    Mitch stopped and turned, drying his hands on a towel. “You can prove it?”
    Beyond being his brother, Mitch was also a hawk of an attorney. He liked to fly around, looking for places he could swoop in and sue.
    “My CEO says he believes it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but you know I can’t sue them. I can’t even bring the cops into it.” The weight of the baby in his arms was soothing. He found himself bouncing on the balls of his feet as Johnny yawned and laid his head on his shoulder.
    “Because your stock would tank and we would be viewed as soft.” Mitch hung up the towel. “I’m surprised she would do that. You know I advised her on the takeover. I can’t talk about it, but I liked her. She seemed very stable and unlike her father. Are we certain this isn’t her father still trying to cause trouble? He would likely have people on the inside at Slaten.”
    Flynn knew well enough that a woman wasn’t always as she seemed. “All I know is in the last year, Slaten has come after us and hard, so I find it interesting that a woman who, according to rumors, hates me and my company would end up as my training partner. Oh, but she’s not using her real name and she doesn’t know I know what she looks like. Does she know I’m your brother?”
    “I don’t think it’s been brought up,” Mitch replied. “She only recently moved here and she hasn’t done much socializing. Laurel met her briefly at her wedding, but I don’t believe they’ve talked since. Laurel isn’t particularly close to Bridget, though they’re friendly. We see her at holidays. I assume we’ll see Amy with her this year. We’ll certainly invite her, but I doubt she’s been told anything about you by Laurel.”
    But Amy knew something. It was the only explanation. “I think this is all one big plan by Slaten. They haven’t gotten what they want and now they’re sending in the big guns.”
    “You think