by Lexi Blake
“Did you send Li in because Erin’s sidelined?”
Ian opened the folder. “Li asked to go in. I had Adam on the hunt, looking through documents and records of anywhere she might have gone. He heard some rumors on the Dark Web about some crazy doctor trying out a memory drug in South America. While Adam was working his magic, Li went back down to the Caymans.”
“To look for Theo’s body?”
“He had a theory,” Ian explained. “He wanted to test it.”
“What theory?”
“You know I found bloody sheets in the room where Ten was held.”
Case had walked into it himself. He could still see all that blood. So much of it and most of it had been his brother’s. He’d stood in the place where his brother had died. It was marked with his blood and then a trail that led inside the building where Ten had been held. “Yeah, but they wouldn’t have taken his body away in bloody sheets. They likely used a tarp or something.”
“Liam found Des’s body.”
That was news. Desiree had been the other operative they’d lost during that terrible night. She’d worked for Damon Knight out of London. “What? So did you find Theo’s, too?”
“Liam tracked down one of McDonald’s security team.” Ian’s voice was low, almost intellectual, as though he was just a CO going over a mission report and not talking about his dead brother. “He admitted that they’d disposed of Des’s body, but not Theo’s. According to that asshat, once McDonald was dead, they fled.”
“But Theo was killed before the assault on the compound. He died the same night as Des. If they got rid of her body, why wouldn’t they do the same to his?”
“The security team wasn’t allowed in that building that night. They were issued specific orders to stay out. At first Li thought it was to protect Hope’s experiments. Now he thinks something different.”
A chill went through Case’s body, causing the hairs on his arm to stand up. Hope McDonald had been a brilliant surgeon. Erin had told him how Faith had pleaded with her sister to come out and save Theo.
Hope McDonald had been obsessed with Theo.
“You think she saved him.”
Ian nodded. “Li does and I’ve learned to never doubt his instincts. He found surgical equipment in the base. It had been locked in a room, but it had also been used. We typed the blood. It matched Theo’s.”
Shouldn’t he have felt something? If Theo was alive, shouldn’t he know it deep down in his bones? “He could still have died. According to Faith, she lost him in the field. You honestly believe one surgeon working alone could have brought him back?”
“Li thinks so.” Ian turned the folder around, sliding it across the desk. “He found evidence of an unscheduled flight landing in Havana that night. The storm was going to the west so Mexico wasn’t a possibility.”
His heart was starting to race. “Did Li check the hospitals?”
“Of course, and there was zero record of any American having surgery that night or being admitted at all.”
“But?” There had to be one.
“Li checked the deposit records of the doctors and staff in the closest hospital. Several members deposited decent sums of cash within a week. All American dollars.”
“It’s still thin.” That could be for anything.
“Yes, which is precisely why I didn’t say anything until now. I haven’t even told Sean about this yet, and I certainly wasn’t going to get your hopes up until I had a decent lead. Liam greased the wheels a little. He finally managed to get a nurse talking. It cost us a pretty penny but the nurse says that in the early morning hours there was a surgical room used that wasn’t on the books. She got us a list of what tools were ordered and the type of blood they used to transfuse the patient who she claims was a large blond man.”
“Theo’s blood type.” Could it possibly be true?
“Yes. According to what Li discovered, the patient was stable when he was taken out a day later. The nurse wasn’t sure where he went, only that no one was allowed to discuss it or to speak with the patient. From there we lost track, but I’ve contacted the FBI and Ten’s gotten in touch with some of his old coworkers at the CIA. I’m reluctant to work with the Agency, but I have to. They might know something. This is delicate, Case.”
His brother might be alive. “You said something about a private island in Argentina.”
“Off the coast,” Ian confirmed. “We’re unsure of the location of the building. It’s apparently well concealed. I’m trying to figure out a point of entry. I’ll try to get in that way, but I have confirmation that they received a drop shipment from Kronberg. It contained everything she needed to formulate the time dilation drug.”
The thought made him a little sick. “She’s using it on Theo.”
Ian held a hand up. “We don’t know that.”
It was the only answer. “Otherwise, he would have found a way to contact us.”
“Case, I need you to stay calm. He would still be recovering. We don’t know anything except there’s a chance he’s alive and I’m going to do everything I possibly can to ensure that if he is alive, he comes home as soon as he can.”
So many things fell into place. He’d been wondering about Ian’s decisions in the last few weeks. “That’s why you’re allowing the feds to run an op at Sanctum.”
“Yes. It’s also why I’ve allowed a new member to join despite the fact that she lied on her application and I believe she has ties to The Collective.” Ian’s voice had gone softer. Way softer than it usually would when he was talking about someone invading his club and potentially betraying them.
His brother’s eyes connected with his in nauseating sympathy.
“Mia.” It was the only possible reason his brother was looking at him like he’d lost his best friend. “You think it’s Mia.”
“I know it’s Mia. Whoever did her paperwork is good, but Adam’s better. He’s very likely giving Hutch a serious dressing down for missing the parts of her story that didn’t hold up.”
“Hutch is great if you give him very specific orders. He has to know exactly what you want from him or he cuts corners. I trained him in combat, but his skills are primarily on the computer. Don’t get me wrong. He’s brave. He’ll charge in if he has to, but he can get lazy, too.” Mia. Mia. Mia. Her name was playing through his head like a song he couldn’t stop hearing.
“She neglected to give us her actual occupation,” Ian continued. “She’s a reporter. Freelance, but her real connections are to a company called 4L Software.”
“Okay.” He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that. He felt numb, dumb even. He’d been dumb to think she was real. What was she doing here? “I think I’ve heard of them. What’s a reporter doing working for a software company?”
“She doesn’t work for them. She owns a nice chunk of the firm. She’s worth a hundred million dollars because her brother created the company and gave his siblings each a piece of his incredibly rich pie. Her real name is Mia Lawless and I think she might be here to spy on us for The Collective. Case, I’m sorry. I knew after tonight I had to tell you why I’d let her in.”
His brother was treating him with kid gloves. He could tell Ian was about to bench him again. Ian would do it because he thought Case couldn’t do what needed to be done. He didn’t do undercover the way Theo had.
“You want me to figure out why she’s here?”
Ian’s jaw tightened. “I’ll deal with it.”
That was another kick to the gut and one he was done with taking. “There’s nothing to deal with. You’ve got two choices, brother. You can let me figure out what Mia’s doing here or you can send me with Li to find Theo.”
Ian took a deep breath and sat back. “Or I can ask you to do your job and go to Houston with Michael.”
Case wasn’t about to let that happen. He stood, unable to handle being still a moment longer. “That’s a simple job and Bear can do it. I was wrong. There’s a third option. You can accept my
resignation and watch me walk the fuck away. I’ll find my brother on my own.”
Ian’s hand hit the desk with a slap and he cursed under his breath. “Sit down, Case. This is exactly why I didn’t tell you in the first place.”
“Because I can’t handle it.” Maybe he would resign no matter what Ian said.
“No. Why the fuck would you say that? You’re emotionally involved and I’m worried about you. I’m emotional, but I’ve got Charlie. You’ll go out and you’ll put yourself on the line and I can’t lose another brother. Fine. Fucking fine. If I have to pick, you’ll stay here and figure out if 4L is coming after us. They could do it in a hundred different ways. Adam is stripping every system we have of their software right now. No backdoor action for that motherfucker.”
“What makes you think he’s with The Collective?” He eased back into his chair. Work. He needed to focus on work.
If Mia Lawless thought she could get one over on the dumb cowboy, she was in for a surprise.
Ian seemed to calm, sliding a folder Case’s way. “A couple of things. They’re all there in the report. I’ll forward everything we know about her. She’s your target and you make the decisions when it comes to her. I think the first thing we need to do is tag her phone. I want to figure out a way for you to stay close to Kai. He’s having to work with the feds on his brother’s case. I want to keep this as quiet as possible. But she’s a trainee. Kai doesn’t deal with trainees after the initial consult.”
Ah, but he knew something Ian obviously didn’t. “Mia’s gotten tight with Kori. You know damn well Kai’s going to be all over Kori if he thinks there’s danger.”
Ian sat back, his lips curling up in a weary smile. “It’s the only upside I see to allowing this clusterfuck to happen here. Kai might get off his ass and get his girl.”
But Case wouldn’t get his girl. His girl had turned out to be a liar and possibly a traitor.
He could still feel the warmth of her body as she pressed against him, her mouth opening for him. She felt so right in his arms, so trusting and sweet.
She’d known exactly how to play him. She’d probably studied him beforehand and carefully come up with a plan. Her every word and soft look had been crafted to ensnare him, to bring him in so he would trust her. “If she’s with The Collective, she’s probably here to ensure we don’t find Theo.”
That was what killed him. She’d sat there and listened to him tell her about their childhood. About the crappy trailer they’d grown up in and the room they’d had to share. About how weird it had been to not share a room with his brother once they’d joined the Navy. About how he’d been jealous of Theo’s relationship with Ian and Sean and even Erin. For so fucking long Theo had been all he had. It had been the two of them against the world, and then Theo had bonded with these other people and Case had felt like the world was collapsing. She’d listened and the whole time she’d likely known Theo was alive and being tortured by Hope McDonald.
“Case, are you sure you want to do this? I saw you with her tonight. I know this has to sting.”
Case felt himself go cold. Actually, it was kind of nice. Numb. Cold and numb. She’d made him feel so much, but now she was the one who’d managed to make him freeze over. Theo needed him to be icy. He didn’t need some lovestruck asshole who had the worst taste in women. He needed Case to think of nothing but finding him, taking care of Erin and his child. He’d been selfish to think of himself.
“It’s fine. She’s pretty and I’m going through a dry spell.” The words came out. He felt a little like a puppet. He heard himself talking, but he couldn’t feel shit. He’d flipped a switch off. “It’s not a big deal. I’m the best man for the job since she obviously thinks I’m the one she can get to.”
Because he was too stupid to see through her. She’d decided to go for the dumb grunt. He could respect that. The easy kill.
Ian stared for a moment as if deciding his fate. “I don’t feel good about this. I don’t like feeling shitty, Case.”
“I told you. I’m fine. I’m better than fine. Theo might be alive. That’s my only goal now. Bring my brother home.”
“And the girl?”
Case forced himself to laugh. “Isn’t my type. She’s not even a redhead. Everyone knows Taggarts only marry redheads.”
Ian huffed. “Damn. I never thought about that. We have a type. Red headed and a little mean.”
So lying and blonde and traitorous didn’t fit into his family. “I’ll be fine, Ian. Forget about the girl. I’ll deal with her and I won’t even have to fuck her.”
He wouldn’t touch her. Not again. He would come up with any reason not to get his hands on her.
Because he wasn’t sure if he did get his hands on her that he would ever be able to let go.
“I’m not telling Erin, Case.”
That was one decision Case agreed with. “We can’t tell her until we’re a hundred percent sure.”
She couldn’t lose her love twice. He had to make sure Erin and Theo had a happy ending.
It didn’t look like he was going to get his own, but then he should have always known that.
He opened the folder and began to prepare for his mission.
CHAPTER ONE
Dallas, TX
After a whole bunch of stuff happened in From Sanctum With Love…
Mia Danvers stood outside the building that housed her target and shivered a little. Not because of the cold but because of what she was about to do.
Moth to a flame.
Or rather very stupid woman to a freaking gorgeous, two-hundred-pounds-of-muscle cowboy commando.
Why him? Why did it have to be Case Taggart? He was so far from the men she normally dated as to be ridiculous. She liked smooth men, polished and a little on the metro side.
Men who didn’t make her heart pound just by walking in a room. Men who didn’t make her insane.
Her cell phone trilled and she practically jumped at the chance to not walk into that building. She glanced down at the call. Her brother Brandon. Her sweet brother, the one she was closest in age to.
The one who could turn violent so quickly. The one she worried she would lose one day.
“Hey, Bran. What’s up?” She was supposed to be in Austin. This trip to Dallas and then on to South America was completely unscheduled and very secretive, and she was hoping to keep it that way. Oh, her oldest brother would figure out something was up eventually, but she’d given the pilot of one of the smaller corporate jets her best sob story and a bottle of expensive Scotch. Surely Drew wouldn’t miss one little tiny luxury jet. 4L Software had several.
“Why are you going to Colombia?”
Damn it. Did they have a locator chip on her? Or maybe they had a psychic on hand to always guess where she would get into trouble next. She wouldn’t put it past them. “What? Why would I go to New York? I don’t have any friends at Columbia University.”
A deep chuckle came over the line. “Oh, baby sis, you know how I love your plotting and I so enjoy watching you make Drew crazy, but I also love you. And keeping you alive is important to me. So I’m going to ask again and be more precise in my language. Why is there a corporate jet headed for Cartagena, Colombia? You know, it’s that place in South America. Supposed to be lovely. Also the site of many corporate kidnappings, which is why we have to have insurance for anyone who heads down there. Are you chasing a story?”
She was chasing a ghost and she needed Bran to keep his mouth shut or big brother would be chasing her. “It’s sensitive, Bran, and I need you to not tell Drew about it.”
“All right.” Her brother sounded calm and collected, but then he almost always did. Bran appeared to be the most laid back of her brothers. With his charming manner, it was an easy mistake—right up to the moment he went berserk. Never on her. Never on any woman. Bran loved women of all shapes and sizes and ages. He was the man most likely to drop whatever he was doing to make sure an old lady crossed the road safely, but when it came to othe
r men he could get nasty. Especially if he thought one was mistreating a female. Naturally he chose to hang out in strip clubs where he could get his rage on regularly.
She often wondered if Bran’s volcanic anger went back to that moment when they’d been children on the run. To that one moment in their shared childhood when they’d been so brutally separated. She didn’t remember as much about the time their parents had been killed as her brothers, but that one memory was stamped on her brain.
Please, Bran. Please, don’t leave me.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut with Drew as long as you stop back here and pick me up,” he conceded. “I have no idea what you’re up to. I’ll let you do what you need to do, but you have to have backup.”
“I’m getting it right now. I’m meeting with Taggart in a couple of minutes.” He just didn’t know they were meeting. According to her source, Case wasn’t home. She was going to do a little breaking and entering to prove to that infuriating man that she was more than some crazy rich bitch.
The trouble was she was fairly certain he didn’t mind two of the three descriptive words in that sentence. She could remember him vividly grinning at her and calling her a crazy bitch. He’d given her the hottest, sexiest smile and he’d almost kissed her.
It was the rich part that seemed to bug him. It didn’t matter that it was her brother who was insanely wealthy. All that mattered was he apparently thought she was spoiled and entitled, and all because she might have lied to him the slightest little bit. It had been a teeny tiny lie that had nearly gotten his friend’s brother incarcerated for several murders he hadn’t actually committed, but she’d meant well.
“You’ve got a bodyguard?” Bran seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good. That’s exactly why we’ve been in talks with McKay-Taggart, but you do understand Drew’s trying to keep that under wraps, right? He and the big, scary Taggart are working on something. I’m not sure what.”
She knew. They were working on trying to find a woman named Hope McDonald. Once Ian Taggart had figured out that her brother wasn’t working for the shadowy group known as The Collective, he’d enlisted Drew as an ally. Unfortunately, she was fairly certain they were looking in the wrong place and she had contacts that might pan out. One of them had sent her a photograph a few hours before.
