by Lexi Blake
Big Tag looked grim as he stepped up. “Could I talk to you alone? Sean, can you make us all some coffee? I think we’re going to need it.”
Ten nodded. “There’s an office back here we can talk in.”
“Good. Hutch, call my wife and let her know we got in all right so she doesn’t have to search the Atlantic for my body so she could pull my balls off and make rattles for the girls. Charlie wasn’t happy about me coming here. She shows her worry through violence.” He stepped away and held a hand out to the Russian. “Nikolai, please accept my profound condolences. I know she was more than a member of your team. Damon is already getting everything settled. Her family will be informed and her cover kept intact. I’m so sorry.”
Nick nodded, his face blank. “I thank you. She was good woman. And your brother will be missed.”
A muscle in Tag’s cheek jumped, the only sign that he was emotional. “Thank you. Ten, let’s talk.”
Ten looked back at Faith, who had stepped away, giving Erin a moment with Case. She looked so vulnerable standing there. “Are you going to be okay?”
Faith nodded. “I’ll help out in the kitchen. Maybe I can convince everyone to eat a little something. Are we still leaving when the storm blows over?”
“Yes.” Ten and Tag replied at the same time.
Tag was about to have his ass and Ten would give it to him. If Tag wanted to beat the shit out of him and leave his body here for MSS, Ten would go along with that plan.
He led Tag back to the office and lit a few candles. Even though there was some light coming in now, it was still dark enough to need them.
“I should have known a little thing like a hurricane wouldn’t stop Ian Taggart.”
Ian sighed. “I have a friend at NOAA. He owed me and when he found out why we needed to get here, he offered us a ride in the big bird.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracked hurricanes and tropical storms. They often flew straight into the storms, taking readings and measurements. “You must have gotten to Miami quickly. And how did you land? God, tell me you didn’t parachute in through a tropical storm.”
He wouldn’t put it past Tag. He was larger than life and could move mountains when he wanted to.
Tag sat down in one of the big chairs, but he looked anything but comfortable. “The storm took a turn to the west. The east side of the island got a little rain but none of the really damaging winds. We were able to land on a private airstrip. There was a Humvee waiting for us. I still have contacts in the Agency. There are people there who are worried about you.”
“Yeah, I bet they are.” He bet they would love to know where he was. Maybe MSS wouldn’t get a shot. Maybe Big Tag would turn him over to the Agency and he could get tortured by someone who spoke his language. That was a plus.
“Tell me what happened,” Ian ordered. “I’ve already read Hutch’s report, but I want to know what happened to my brother. I need to hear it from you.”
Ten leaned against the desk. Despite the sleep he’d gotten, he was infinitely weary as he recounted what happened. He told Tag everything because the man deserved to know exactly how badly Ten had fucked up. He included the idiocy of not answering his damn phone because he was far too busy trying to get Faith in bed.
Though he wasn’t sure if it would have changed anything. Even if he’d gotten the text, he likely wouldn’t have left Faith there without knowing she would be safe.
Big Tag looked up, his eyes grim. “Theo was already in the compound when Chelsea called. According to Hutch, he was given the intelligence that MSS was on their way.”
“He thought he could save me.” Theo had been naïve.
“He should have left you. He should have let them take you.” Big Tag was anything but.
“Damn straight.”
Tag’s eyes narrowed on Ten. “You know why I say that, right?”
“Yeah.” Ten would have done the same thing. Hell, Ten wasn’t even really part of the team.
Tag shook his head. “I’ve kept in touch with my Chinese contacts. I called in several favors after Chelsea told me what was going on. I knew the time and date of your expected arrival in Beijing thirty minutes after Chelsea found out about the auction. I would have had a team in place and ready to take you back, but my brother didn’t call in. He disobeyed direct orders. Tennessee, we’ve had our differences but I made my way down here as fast as I could because I had to settle my brothers’ minds.”
He understood that. “Case. You had to give Case some closure.”
Tag nodded. “Yes. Case and Sean and I need to find Theo’s body. We can’t leave him or Des here. I came here because I thought I would find Erin in a catatonic state where no one could touch her.”
“Faith got to her. Even after everything we’ve done to Faith, she still reached out when Erin needed her.”
“Which is precisely why you should do the smart thing and never let that woman go again.” Tag stood up and put a hand on Ten’s shoulder. “And I came here for you, brother. I came here to tell you that this was not your fault. If there’s one thing I know it’s that you’ll martyr yourself in a heartbeat if I let you. You would never have been okay with a rescue mission. I’m not stupid. Theo planned this on his own. He made a conscious decision to not call in and get orders.”
The thought of Tag blaming his brother made him sick to his stomach. “He thought he was helping me.”
“He was being reckless, and I knew he had that streak in him but I put him in the field as a second. You fought me. You wanted Erin, but I overrode you.” Tag massaged between his eyes. “I wanted to push Theo. Case is solid. He’s an obvious leader, but Theo takes too many chances. God. He took too many chances. I can’t believe I’m referring to my brother in the past tense.” He took a steadying breath before he continued. “Erin would have taken control and called in. None of this happens if you had your choice of a second in command.”
“Please don’t blame him. He was a kid trying to do what he thought was right.”
“I know. I wasn’t blaming him. I blame me. This is on me, Ten. I need you to understand that I don’t blame you. I know what you’ve been thinking. I knew it from the moment you called and told me the news, and I knew I had to get down here before anyone did something stupid. Including you, Ten.”
He couldn’t quite be offended by the remark. After all, Tag wasn’t punching him in the face and he still had a few of those left. “I’m shipping everyone out tomorrow. I’ll handle things from here. I’ll help you get our people back and then you’re out of this. I’ll come at the problem from a different angle. I need to figure out where the money is and how he’s scrubbing it.”
Tag chuckled. “You think you’re in charge?”
“I think this was my mission and I’m taking it back.” He wasn’t going to risk anyone else.
“No.”
Ten frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s generally accepted as a way to communicate negativity. Your torture seems to have rattled your thinking process, though it was always a little off, brother. No means fuck no, you’re not in charge.”
So arrogant. “I get that you want revenge.”
“I don’t want revenge. I want justice. And that’s where we differ. That’s why I’m staying in charge and your ass is going to be on a plane back to the States in a few hours, so start packing.”
“You can’t dismiss me, Tag. You’re not my boss.”
“No. I’m your family and that means making decisions for you when you’re incapacitated. You recently came out of thirty-six hours’ worth of torture. You watched two team members die. You’re not capable of thinking straight. That’s the very definition of incapacitated, and if you don’t agree with me, I’ll take it a step further. I’ll hold you down, dose you up—yes, I brought sedatives—and you’ll still be on that plane. Charlie’s waiting for you. She’s got the guest room all set up.”
Ten felt his jaw drop. “Are you tryi
ng to tell me you would hold me hostage?”
“I prefer to think of it as giving you time to come to the proper conclusions about the rest of your life. Don’t discount the guest room. It’s got a really nice bed and I’ve been told the restraints don’t even chafe.” Tag turned to him. “Or you could do the right thing and take door number two.”
Ten knew he should be pissed. Tag was taking control where he shouldn’t.
Or should he? If Tag actually cared about him, maybe this was his place. Ten wasn’t stupid. He knew what door number two was.
“I don’t have anything to offer her.”
Tag’s lips quirked up in a sad smile. “That’s the funny thing about women. The good ones don’t require anything.”
This was the part Ten didn’t understand. “I don’t get it. I don’t get the exchange. I know I can make her orgasm. She can pay for that. I don’t trust the rest of it.”
“Ask her. Ask her what she wants from you. Tell her what you need from her. I think you’re going to find you have what she wants.”
He didn’t see how. “I don’t even have a job.”
“The good news is she does,” Tag replied. “She’s way smarter than you.”
“That she is. She deserves better.”
Tag’s face twisted in a grimace. “Don’t tell her that. Women don’t like that shit. Let me give you some advice. ‘Yes, baby.’ That’s all you need to say when you’re not on a dungeon floor. Now when you’re playing, feel free to get as nasty and caveman-like as possible, but in the real world, our two words for survival are ‘yes’ and ‘baby.’ Tell her yes, Ten. Walk away from this. I need one fucking good thing to come out of this. Look, if you don’t love her…”
“I love her.” He wasn’t going to hide the fact. “I didn’t know what it meant until I met her.”
Tag sighed, a weary sound. “Then that’s my one good thing. Because you know this is really all about me.”
It was never about him. It might seem like it, but almost everything the man did was about helping someone else. “I don’t understand you.”
Tag stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to. All you have to do is follow my advice. Take your woman. You think you need revenge, but justice is so much more important. A really smart woman taught me that. Go home with Faith and we’ll handle McDonald together. We won’t let him get away with it, but we need to do this in a way that won’t get us killed and bring more grief to the people we love. I’ve got Li on the money trail. We put together a solid case including the corporations funding him, bring in the press, and take them all down. Once McDonald is in prison, well, karma tends to take over there.”
Karma being Big Tag. “I thought this wasn’t about vengeance.”
“Justice first, and then a little revenge is good for the soul,” Tag said. “But nothing is more important than her. It can’t be if you’re going to be her husband.”
Faith’s husband. The idea that he’d once thought of proposing to Dawn turned his stomach. It was nearly sacrilegious to think of another woman. Faith was the one. It was stupid, and before he’d met her he hadn’t believed in “the one.” Probably no man did until he found her.
“I don’t deserve her.”
“I don’t deserve Charlie and yet I have her and I’m grateful for her. So be grateful your lady has no taste and marry her before she changes her mind. Marry her and know that no matter what happens, you both have a home in Dallas.” Tag was quiet for a moment. His voice was hoarse with emotion when he spoke again. “I can’t lose another brother, Ten.”
And that was reason enough. He owed Ian Taggart the world. He owed Faith his devotion. “I’ll come home then and I’ll bring Faith with me. Tag…I would do anything for you.”
Ian gave him a manly hug. “Stand by me while I bury Theo. It’s going to be a rough couple of months. I have to watch after Erin and Case.”
“I’ll be there.” He realized something. He wasn’t the only one. “We’ll be there.”
He would win Faith over. He would keep her. One good thing. It was all a man needed. One good thing could make the rest of life seem not so bad.
He stepped back, giving Ian his space. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to, but eventually Faith’s going to want to go back to Africa.”
Ian nodded. “McKay-Taggart Africa. I like it.”
“Hey, Knight got to put his name on it. McKay-Taggart Smith and you’ve got a deal.”
Tag nodded. “I like to keep it in the family. Now go and get your girl. She’s probably making Sean crazy by now. I want you two out of here by tonight. Sean and I are going to do some recon to find out what they did with our people.”
With their bodies. “Ian, if I can help…”
“You’re twelve kinds of fucked up. Go home and rest and heal. Phoebe’s all freaked out. She’ll be over here if you don’t get home soon. I’m sending you out with Faith, and the rest of us will be back as soon as we can. I’m letting Nick and Erin stay if they want. They deserve to help get their people back. I need Brody with us. You’re injured and Faith’s a civilian, so you two get to go home. Check in on my girls while I’m gone.”
His girls. Ian’s wife and daughters were the most precious things in his world. The fact that he was trusting Ten with them said something. “I will.”
Ten moved to the door with newfound purpose. He had a job to do. He had people to protect. Suddenly, all that revenge didn’t seem so necessary.
All his brother had ever wanted was for him to be happy. Jamie wouldn’t have wanted vengeance. It was past time to honor his brothers. All of them.
“And Ten?”
He turned at the door. “Yes?”
“I’ll take that two grand in cash.”
For the first time since that awful moment in Faith’s bedroom, Ten smiled. Tag had bet him two grand that he would end up married and damned if he wasn’t. “She still has to say yes.”
“Somehow, I think you’ll work that out.”
Ten walked out into the hallway. It would be best two grand he’d ever spent.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Faith looked outside. The storm was abating, the winds dying down. Soon it would be time to leave. She wouldn’t come back to this island again. She would be held at some sort of safe house until McKay-Taggart dealt with her father, and then she would be alone. She likely wouldn’t see Ten again. Even if she did, he would hold her apart. He would treat her like a client because he didn’t think he was good for her.
“Hey, I can’t get anyone interested in food. Do you want some eggs? I think I saw some sausage in there. I can whip up a frittata or some kind of casserole for later, but I could get you something quick now.” Sean Taggart wasn’t as big as his older brother, but he had what she liked to call the Taggart presence. Even in his obvious grief, he was solid.
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I guess I’m with the rest of them. It’s not a long flight back to the States. I’ll get something once we’re there. Besides, I have no idea how good a pilot Nick is. I don’t know how well I do in small planes.”
They would be using a four seater to get to Miami. From there they would catch a commercial flight to Dallas. According to Sean, everything was set up and she had false identification and tickets on a night flight. Once she got to Dallas, she would be staying with Jesse and Phoebe Murdoch.
Surely Ten would come and see his sister after he was done with his mission. She might get to see him one last time.
“It’s about two hours to Miami. You’ll be there in no time,” Sean assured her. “And I think Nick’s staying here. Some of our plans have changed, but you would have to ask Ten about those. He wants to make the decisions when it comes to you.”
“Shouldn’t I get a say in that?”
Sean’s hands came up. “Hey, you always have a say, but I think you should work that out with him. He’s your Master after all.”
He gave that up when he decided to leave her. And the world was
far more complex than some contract she signed long before she knew what was going on—and under false pretenses. Tennessee Smith thought he could have his cake and then not have to eat it, too?
The shock of the events of the previous day was starting to wear off and Faith thought it was pretty good timing. If she waited much longer to confront Ten, he wouldn’t be around to argue with. He would shove her on some plane and tell her it was all for her good and then traipse across the planet on his revenge mission that wouldn’t bring back anyone.
“I think I will,” she vowed and turned to leave the kitchen.
She walked quietly through the living room, not wanting to disturb Erin, who finally looked like she’d passed out on the sofa. Case sat with Hutch at the table, looking over some kind of records.
That was when the door opened to the office and Ten came striding out. Despite everything he’d been through, he looked so gorgeous to her. With his tan skin and golden brown hair, he was the all-American hot guy. All that beauty masked his darkness, his need to stay in the shadows. His eyes caught hers and he stopped, his mouth turning down.
He wasn’t happy to see her? Well, she could make that frown meaningful because he wasn’t getting off so easily. She wasn’t about to be shipped out without having her say. And maybe she wouldn’t allow herself to be shipped off at all.
“Hey, I was coming to find you.” His face softened. “Is everything all right? You look upset. Did Sean say something?”
“Sean said a lot of things that we need to clear up.”
“Okay,” he allowed. “We probably should. Faith, I do have some things to say to you, and you might have a hard time hearing them at first.”
So he was planning on spending their last hours together telling her all the reasons why he was leaving her. “Can your speech, Ten. I think it’s time you listened to me for once.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you forget who’s the top, Faith?”
“Oh, the first thing we’re going to talk about is our contract. Null and void. You voided that contract the minute you started lying to me, so don’t pull the Master crap. Besides, this goes far beyond our D/s play.”
