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She turned on her boss. “I think I can handle this.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can, and I can’t leave until we figure out what we’re going to do,” Tag announced with a sad shake of his head. “We don’t have time for you to bring him around. My contract is with Malone Oil, not JT’s dick. Don’t look at me like that, man. That’s exactly what you’re thinking with, and I’m not judging you for it. You’re in deep with a girl. That’s when your dick takes over. Unfortunately, the Agency isn’t going to wait for Nina to convince you she’s not going to wither and die without a male hand guiding her.”

“That isn’t what I said.” JT was staring at Tag like he might try to take the big guy on.

“I assure you that’s what she heard,” Tag countered. “You’re making a bad play and it won’t work.”

She wasn’t sure exactly what she was hearing beyond JT’s fear. It had been a rough night for him, and if she had any choice at all, she wouldn’t push him. She would go to bed with him and they could talk this out in the morning. She’d made the decision to spend the night alone, but she hadn’t been unaffected by what had happened. She could have lost him, and in the face of that, it seemed silly to need time alone. They needed some time together if they were going to see if this had any chanceof working. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on their side, and she had to find a way to make JT see that. “We’re not sure what the Agency will do. That’s what Tag is talking about. We have a duty to your company to keep this operation in our hands. If we pull out, the Agency won’t stop. Right now they’re satisfied we can handle things, but they believe this technology is important. They do not want it in the wrong hands. Malone Oil could find itself in a bad place if McKay-Taggart isn’t handling this mission.”

“Willfind themselves in a bad position,” Tag corrected. “There’s no question about that.”

“I agree.” Alex settled in as though he knew they weren’t going to be able to give them the privacy they needed.

She shoved her frustration down. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this. We need it settled because we’re supposed to get on a plane tomorrow and we’re supposed to be engaged. We can’t fight with each other and you can’t be tense. They will pick up on it and change their plans. That can’t happen. We’ve got one shot at this and if we screw up, that prototype will be on the way to North Korea.”

JT seemed to think about it, but the minute she saw the stubborn glint in his eyes, she knew all her patience was going to be for nothing. “I’ll say we broke up. There are already people in place. There are several McKay-Taggart employees already down there on the island. They can do the job. Hutch and Sandra are there, right? And the CIA guy is there. I don’t understand why we need Nina.”

And she was done explaining things to him. It was obvious he wasn’t going to listen and that his fear was worth far more to him than she was. She had to keep a tight rein on her emotions because she really wanted to lose her temper. Or cry. She wasn’t sure if she would be crying because she was so angry with him or because he was marginalizing her. Maybe both. It didn’t matter,though, because she would cling to what she always had—her work. It was time to stop worrying about JT and start doing her actual job. She turned to Tag. “I think we should call Michael in. With a haircut he looks exactly like JT, and I assume he knows something about the business.”

“You fucking will not,” JT shouted. He seemed to realize he’d raised his voice and he checked himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, but you’re not sending my brother in.”

She saw Tag start to address the situation, but this was hers to deal with and she wasn’t hiding behind anyone. “Mr. Malone, I understand that you’re used to being in control, but this is my mission and if you don’t comply, I will be forced to have you taken into custody. At that point I will take your brother with me and we will complete our mission. It would be safer for all involved if you did what you promised to do, but make no mistake. I will be on that plane tomorrow with you or without you.”

His stare threatened to burn a hole through her. “Your way or the highway, huh, Nina?”

She hated the fact that she had to fight back tears. “In this, yes it is. I believe we agreed to that when we began. When we realized the situation we were in, I agreed to try a relationship with you only because you agreed that I was in charge of the mission. You should understand I never would have touched you if I had realized who you were for this very reason.”

His expression had softened and there was a clear look of panic on his face, as though he finally realized he’d gone way too far. “Hey, I wasn’t pushing you away. Damn it, Nina, I’m doing this to protect you.”

Tag’s face had darkened, the first time during any of this that she’d been worried about what her boss would do. “Did he tell you he didn’t know who you were that first night?”

“He didn’t.” She didn’t want to explain this, but she owed her boss something. “I still thought I was going in with his father, and I honestly hadn’t studied up on the rest of the family. I knew David Malone had two sons and Michael worked with the Dallas team, but I hadn’t met Michael. I probably should have read a dossier on him when I agreed to the mission. I have now.”

“Why would you?” Tag countered. “He wasn’t part of the mission. I’m not accusing you of anything. You were doing your job and you had every right to sit in a bar when you weren’t working and hook up with whoever you liked. But I assure you JT knew exactly who you were. My assistant even told him where you were staying. I asked Genny to bring him up to speed because I knew we didn’t have much time. She sent JT a dossier on you. I waited to send you his until I knew he was going to do the job. You’d had a long flight. I assumed you would be asleep, which is why you didn’t get that info until the morning. But he knew.”

He couldn’t have. “I only gave him my first name. I came on to him.”

“I wanted to talk to you,” JT said, not quite meeting her gaze. “It had been a rough day and I needed to meet you. And then you were sitting in the bar and you were so beautiful.”

Her stomach sank. “You knew who I was when I hit on you.”

It wasn’t a question. It was blatantly obvious she’d been had. He’d known exactly who she was and he’d lied to her.

It was the one thing she’d asked him not to do. Well, that and treat her less than she was.

“I knew we had chemistry, and you wouldn’t have given us a chance if you’d known,” he said quickly. “Nina, baby, you hit me like lightning, and I know you felt the same way. The job didn’t matter.”

“It mattered to me.” She needed to get out of here. She knew it wasn’t professional, but she had to get away from him, had to think her way through this.

It was happening again. She was trading her job, her reputation, for some good sex and a modicum of affection.

She wasn’t ever going to learn.

“Ian, I’m going to do some prep work and write up a report of my observations of our suspects. Should I do that while I’m watching the client or were you and Alex serious about staying here?” She didn’t even look JT’s way.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. We should all get some sleep. I’ll let Michael know to be on standby,” Ian replied. “We’ll stay here but you have to stay here, too. I’d love to get you another room or let you go to the office, but we don’t know who’s watching.”

She wanted to be away from JT, wanted some time alone to mourn what had just happened, but she understood what Ian was saying.