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He let her go and got out of the truck to face the music.

Nina decidedthat JT’s mother must be the queen of entertaining since as far as she knew this small party to celebrate a very fake engagement had been thrown together hastily. She’d had mere days, and yet everything was lovely, from the gorgeous flowers in the foyer to the champagne fountain that was set up in what someone had called the grand salon.

The rich were truly different.

But then her son worked fast, too. He’d only had five days, but he’d managed to work his way into her life. Five days of being close to him had made her like him so much. Five nights in his bed and she’d come to crave him. They hadn’t exactly played yet, though there was no question he was dominant in the bedroom.

What would he be like in a club? What would it feel like to scene with him?

She had such dangerous thoughts.

“Nina, dear, it’s so good to have you here.” Ava Malone was a gorgeous woman who looked far younger than her sixty-five years. She wore a chic cocktail dress that showed off toned arms and a trim waist. “Finally. When Deanna told me your truck was pulling up the drive, I was so excited.”

She pointedly said JT’s assistant’s name, and sure enough, the woman was already here, a frown on her face and a drink in her hand. She was staring their way.

JT slid in behind Nina, his hand on the small of her back in that possessive way that made her melt for the right man.

She’d thought Roger was the right man. It was good to remind herself of that.

“I’m thrilled to be here. How is Mr. Malone doing? Is there any way I can help you?” The poor woman hadn’t asked to be brought into this situation.

She caught a glimpse of Michael Malone and realized that she probably had been asked. Michael had a look on his face that made her suspicious this party might not have been Ava’s plan at all.

Ava Malone waved her off. “Not at all. I could use a distraction from that ornery old man. My husband is a bear when he’s sick, though you should know he’s feeling much better this evening. Although I haven’t told him about the new diet yet. And you look stunning. Don’t worry about a thing. JT, could you please come with me to make sure he hasn’t bullied the waitstaff into giving him Scotch? Nina, love, I’m going to borrow JT for a moment if that’s all right.”

Ah, so she wanted to talk to JT alone. Or perhaps not totally alone since she could see Michael beginning to make his way over.

JT looked her way, uncertainty plain on his face. “I don’t know that I should throw Nina to the wolves.”

Oh, but wolves were her specialty. She thought she might have more of a chance to get a real impression of some of her suspects without JT there with her. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll have him back before dinner,” Ava promised.

JT stared back at her before letting his mom lead him away.

It was obvious JT had trouble telling the women in his life what to do. That was likely because he’d been raised by an alpha female and taught to respect feminine authority.

Except in the bedroom. There he had no trouble mastering a woman.

JT was a nice guy. She had no doubt that he could run his business, but they were dealing with her business now, and perhaps it was time to be a good partner to him.

She stepped in front of Michael Malone before he could follow his brother and mother. “A word please, Mr. Malone.”

Michael was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt, his dark hair slicked back. “I need to talk to my brother, Nina.”

“Oh, I think you need to leave your brother alone. If you push him, you’ll upset him, and I need him calm and ready to work. I understand that he’s your family but for now he’s my partner.”

Michael stepped back, his shoulders relaxing as though he understood he wasn’t going anywhere until she was satisfied. “He’s not up to this assignment. You should let me go in with you. I can get you my dossier if you need it.”

“You’re Michael Malone. You grew up wealthy, went to the best schools. You attended the University of Texas Austin and received a degree in management while your brother studied petroleum engineering. Shortly after your graduation, you signed up for the Navy, much to the shock and surprise of your family. You rose quickly through the ranks and became a SEAL within three years of your commission. You served honorably around the world before you were recruited by CIA operative Tennessee Smith to his private elite team. Though youwere never formally CIA, you worked exclusively for them for a solid year before Mr. Smith was fired. You chose to leave the Navy and begin employment with McKay-Taggart where you’ve worked the last several years. Did they offer you a position in the Agency?”

A single brow had arched over Michael’s eyes. “They did. They offered me Ten’s job, but I would have been working under a man known as Levi Green. I didn’t like him. I also had seen how they treated their operatives. I knew it would be hard to go back to straight military work.”

“You had a taste for the spy life.”

“I had a taste for using my brain and not having to merely follow orders.”

She suspected there was far more to it, but she wouldn’t press him. “Tell me something. Was it expected that you would come home and run the business side of Malone Oil while JT worked the research and exploration side?”