“I paid her to.”
He laughed, and his mirth made Jane feel warm inside. When she’d first started working for Matthew, she hadn’t liked him. He’d micromanaged everyone. At the time, she hadn’t realized he’d been scrutinizing the team so hard because he suspected one of them of being a mole for a criminal organization.
After catching the spy, he’d eased up. The squad once again functioned like a real team. And then he’d been promoted.
“What’s it like being the niece of the infamous Chris North?” he asked out of the blue, surprising her.
She immediately shot back, “What’s it like being an heir to theRaleway Tech fortune? Or having Senator Ronald Scott as your dad?”
Matthew grimaced. “Fine. I’ll go first. The fortune is on my mother’s side of the family. My grandfather has no intention of dying, ever, so I never need to worry about that business. Besides, I have nothing to do with it. When he dies, because despite what he thinks, he is only human, my grandfather will leave his fortune to my mother, who will then have to fight off her many siblings in order to keep it.”
“Sounds like a mess.”
“Trust me. It is.” He took another swig of his spiced tea. “Senator Ronald Scott is a powerhouse I respect, who also annoys the hell out of me. My dad has his ways of doing things, and I have mine.” His expression softened when he said, “My mother is a lovely woman who has always supported me while doing her best to back my father’s political ambitions.”
She sensed he’d said all he would about his family, which was more than she deserved. “How do you know about my uncle?” Her relation to the leader of Team Ten remained a closely guarded secret, even in the FBI.
Matthew snorted. “Chris North? He’s a legend in many circles. A secret within a secret who can make things happen on a global scale. I’ve been read into a few operations that were successful because Team Ten got the job done.”
Team Ten—Jane’s family. A bunch of ragtag, psychotic mercenaries who’d helped raise her from the time she came to live with her Uncle Chris at the age of four. Black Ops specialists who often balanced worldly scales, they did their best work without anyone but a rare few knowing about it.
“I also had a meeting with Lionel Gambol back when we were dealing with the Mazzuca case. He mentioned your association.”
Lionel Gambol, another mystery man with big connections. She’d worked on one of his task forces not so long ago.
“Uncle Chris is Uncle Chris,” she said. “He’s unconventional butfunny.” She smiled. “He can’t cook well at all. But he makes a mean mocktail, can run a seven-minute mile even in his fifties, and never loses at darts.” Or missed a target when throwing knives. A man of many talents.
Matthew grinned. “Sounds like fun.”
“More like chaotic, but I love him.”
“Yeah. My dad can be a headache at the best of times, but I feel the same.”
They smiled at each other, and Jane saw his expression shift into something more intimate.
“I really was looking forward to our dinner. I’d like to make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know. I want to.”
Jane didn’t like not feeling in control and blurted, “Is this a date?”
He smiled, and once again, she felt a flush of warmth steal through her. “Do you want it to be?”
“I, ah, I don’t know.”
The wattage of his smile turned brilliant. “Why don’t we have dinner as friends? No pressure to do anything but enjoy a meal together. We can talk about books or movies. Or coffee. I do know you like a good bean.”
She smiled at that. “I do. The cheap stuff gives me hives.”
“Literally?”
“No, I just say that so Jenn won’t try to slip me that nasty stuff she buys at the gas station.”
He laughed.
“Do you like your new job?” she asked.
