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“He’s not going to listen to reason. He got his ass kicked in every way imaginable this evening, and all he wants to do is take a flamethrower to the world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s thinking about getting some revenge on Tasha. You thinking about fucking her out of your system and walking away? I know this sounds like a solid plan, but I’m here to tell you that never works out. I tried and ended up married to the woman who betrayed me and raising five kids with her. It’s better to give up, but I know you can’t think about that tonight.”
The big guy named Ian stood in the doorway. He’d been quiet because Dare hadn’t even heard it open, much less a six-and-a-half-foot mass of muscle come up behind him.
“You’re Tasha’s handler?” Brian asked.
“I do have that job,” the man said with a sigh. “I take it you’re one of Joseph’s.”
Brian stood and held out a hand. “I work under Joseph Caulder. Ben Parker is my real name.”
Well, of course. Everyone seemed to have two names.
“You can call me Ian,” Ian offered, shaking the man’s hand. “And you can call Ms. Magenta off limits. Seriously, stay away from her. She likes to play with her prey before she devours it whole, if you know what I mean.”
“She’s making a name for herself in our circles, and it’s not always a good one,” Bri…Ben pointed out.
“I’ve talked to her about walking out with intel we’ve agreed to share,” Ian replied. “She’ll be helpful in the future. Now why don’t you go find that fuckwit Chet while I have a conversation with our friend here. Tell him I want a sit-down soon. I think I’ll be able to convince Dare to move forward with the op.”
“You won’t.” Dare had to wonder how this man would try to convince him. Was he in for some actual physical torture? Between this guy and Nate, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
And yet he was going to try.
Ian shrugged a big shoulder. “Maybe or maybe not. I can be quite charming when I want to be. Mr. Parker, I’d like to have a conversation with you about your thoughts on Emmanuel Huisman. I talked to Joseph, and he explained that’s why you’re here, why you asked the Agency for backup.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll talk to Joseph and request the reports we have on him.” Ben was all sir, yes sir now and it proved how good the man was at acting because he’d hidden this part of himself for months and months.
Or maybe Dare himself was just shitty and dumb at reading a room.
“Dare, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I truly was your friend.” Ben moved to the door that led out into the club. “I care about you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt, but getting close to Huisman is a bad idea. Manny can’t help but hurt anyone in his circle. He’s a genuine sociopath. I hope you’ll listen. You might be our only hope at finding out their plans before it’s too late.”
He left, and the man named Ian sat down in front of him, his head shaking. “He’s not good at that. He doesn’t want you hurt by getting close to Huisman, but he wants to put you directly in his path. See, the logic doesn’t work out. This is where I would give you a big old speech about duty to your fellow man and how to help your country.” He seemed to think the problem through. “I could go with ‘you’ll feel all manly and women will want you.’”
“I don’t care.”
Ian nodded. “Yes, I thought that would be your reply. Nathan, can we have a moment? You can guard the door and make sure Master Colin doesn’t murder me.”
“He’s a good man,” Nate said to Ian. “Go easy on him.”
“I’m not here to threaten him. I understand fully what he means to my daughter,” Ian said. “I think it’s time for me to play fairy godmother again. I’m pretty good at it.”
Nate turned his way. “Dare, don’t let your anger get in the way of something good. My mum lost years of her life believing nothing good could happen to her. I meant what I said. You’re a good man. You deserve good things. Sometimes those things don’t show up the way we think they should, but it would be wrong to reject them. And think about it, man. You marry Tash and you have this to hold over her head forever. I think that’s what did it for Mum. My dad was kind of an arse and didn’t listen to her voice mails, and now she gets to hold it over his head for all of time. You could have that kind of a beautiful marriage, too, if you like. Also, the family’s pretty cool. I say that because I want a job in Dallas.”
