Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries Book 11) (46 page)

Great. She was getting left with the serial killer.

Theo was the one who showed up. “Sorry. Hutch is flying the plane and Robert is watching him. I’m afraid the turbulence has affected Victor. He’s busy puking. I can handle one small female.”

Santos stared at him. “You know Mother will be disappointed if you screw this up. She’s going to meet us in a few days. That means you’re under my command. If you think Mother can punish you, you don’t want to know what I’ll do this time.”

“If you’ll send me the report of how I screwed up last time, perhaps I won’t do it again.” Theo stood at attention, his shoulders back, his feet aligned. His handsome face was blank, but his tone firm. He was a soldier seeking orders, wanting guidance.

“Just obey and all will be well,” Santos said with a shake of his head. “Watch her. It’s not like she can go many places. We’ll be touching down in an hour or so. Mother will meet us in a week. She’s got some tests to run. Until then you’re my soldiers. Is that understood?”

Theo nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll sit with her. I don’t particularly like to be around the new guy. His voice makes my head hurt. I want to stay away from him at the new headquarters.”

Santos touched his shoulder. “I’ll see to it. Behave and you’ll see that you can have many privileges, Tomas. You’ll see. Everything’s about to change. Once we sell her back to her brother, we’ll have what we need and Mother will be happy with you. That’s what you want, right?”

“Of course,” Theo replied.

An hour until they reached their destination. An hour until they landed and went to meet the person who would provide them with shelter.

Was that Case’s plan? She knew they’d been going to Sierra Leone. How far ahead of McDonald and Santos were they?

She had to trust in Case. She had to be ready for anything.

Most of all, she had to survive and get back to her man.

Theo sat down beside her, his body stiff.

But maybe, while she was surviving, she could help her man’s brother. She stared at Theo for a moment. He was so rigid, so tense. His jaw looked like it was made of granite.

“You don’t like Hutch?”

He turned, one brow rising over his eye. “He’s annoying to me.”

Likely because he reminded Theo that he wasn’t Tomas. It wouldn’t do her any good to come at the situation directly. If she did that, Theo would walk away. “Does he still like candy?”

She asked the question with a smile, with none of the seriousness of before.

Theo shook his head. “He requested sugar in the beginning. We’re not allowed sugar. It’s not proper in our diets. We have to be in top physical condition to do the work we do.”

That was the company line. She needed to go a bit deeper. She gave him a soft smile. “I like chocolate. I can’t help it. It’s an addiction. But I have a friend who loves lemon. Everything lemon, especially sweets.”

Big Tag was a sucker for lemon anything.

Theo’s lips tugged up. “Like donuts.”

Exactly like donuts. They were Ian’s favorites. No matter what Santos said, Theo was still in there. “Yes, my friend loves lemon donuts. The filled kind. He’s got two baby girls. They’re so cute. Kala and Kenzi.”

Not an ounce of recognition crossed his face. “That’s nice.”

“Have you ever thought about having a family?”

“I have a family. I have brothers and Mother. They’re all I’ve ever known.”

She wanted to argue with him, but that would only make him ache. She needed to get around those harsh barricades the drugs and therapies had created. “I love my brothers.”

And I love your brother so very much.

“You’ll be back with them soon,” he promised. “I won’t allow any harm to come to you. I’ve already spoken to Robert. He understands you’re off limits. But you need to stay away from Victor. I can try to protect you, but Victor enjoys hurting people, especially women.”

Santos was high if he thought he could ever break Theo Taggart. There was a core of honor in the man that no drug could erase.

“I’ll do my best,” she said.

He was quiet for a moment. “Did I know Hutch?”

The hair on her arm stood up and she turned to him. He was staring straight ahead. “The new drugs don’t work any better than the old ones, do they?”

“I have moments where I know I shouldn’t be here,” he admitted. “But don’t trust me. Not for a second. I’m conditioned to respond in a certain way and often I can’t help myself.”

“Do you remember Erin?” She wanted to tell him that his brothers—his real brothers—were on their way. She wanted to promise him it would all be over soon. But he was right. She couldn’t trust that any lucidity would last. He’d shot Case without a second thought. Just because he seemed to understand something was wrong now didn’t mean he would remember it later.

His face went tight and he had to put a hand on his head again. Theo’s skin flushed to a deep red and he bent over, though he made no sound at all.

She reached out, putting a hand on his leg. “I’m so sorry. Forget I said anything. Let’s talk about something else.”

Thinking of Erin physically hurt him. God, she had to pray that would go away once the drugs were out of his system. How would Erin handle the fact that just the thought of her made Theo ache?

He reached out and she thought he would push her away, but his hand came over hers and threaded their fingers together, holding her tight as he seemed to ride out the end of the wretched episode.

She held on to him, giving him as much comfort as she could.

When he sat back up, he was a little pale, but he took a long breath and a smile went across his face. “That was a rough one. I get bad headaches. Mother gives me medication for them though. I’m glad to have her. I have no idea what I would do without someone watching out for me.”

Her heart sank. It was like the previous moment hadn’t happened.

“Yeah, you’re lucky.” She didn’t want to cause him more pain. When she tried to pull her hand away, he squeezed it, holding her tight.

“I don’t love landings. Do you mind?”

Despite the scar on his face, he looked so much like her Case in that moment that she couldn’t do anything but hold on to him. “I don’t like landings either.”

“I feel oddly comfortable with you. Don’t think I’m trying anything. I’m not. It’s weird. It’s like we’re connected, but I don’t know you.”

Case had talked to her about those weird twin things. Somehow, someway, Theo was still connected to his brother. Theo could feel Case’s connection to her. “I feel the same way.”

“I’ll protect you. It’s going to be all right. What was your name again? I’m bad with names. I have short-term memory problems. Long-term ones, too. I hit my head one too many times on missions I think.”

She didn’t argue with him. He’d been through enough. She simply sat there and held his hand and swore that she would protect him, too.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Case looked at the woman standing in front of him. They were in the office of the small private airfield outside of Freetown, Sierra Leone. She was a petite woman who he knew was thirty but somehow managed to look like she should be in college partying with her sorority sisters and cramming for midterms. Dr. Stephanie Gibson had her hair up in a ponytail, her face makeup free. She was wearing a Captain America T-shirt and jeans.

He hoped he wasn’t about to get her killed.

“You sure you’re up for this?”

Her brown eyes lit up. “For the whole spy thing or for getting potentially shot by super soldiers with memory issues?”

“I think the spy thing leads into the getting shot thing,” Ten said with a nod as he set down a duffel bag that Case was pretty sure was filled with weapons. “So you should make sure you’re ready for both. Though being bad at the spy thing could make getting shot inevitable.”

“Don’t scare the doc,” Ian said with a frown as he strode in.

“Or I’ll have to take you out meself.” Liam O’Donnell followed Ian. The Irishman got a big grin on his face as he caught sight of the doctor. “Hello there, darlin’.”

Stephanie smiled and practically ran into his arms. “Li! It’s so good to see you. How is Avery? And the baby? She told me Aidan was having trouble with ear infections.”

Li hugged her and then stepped back. “Aidan’s fine. He’s growing like a weed and Avery’s already on me about giving him a sibling. She’s going to be here in a few hours with Erin and Charlotte and Kai. I’m sorry we had to move things up on you. And Case is right to be worried. This is dangerous.”

She held a hand up. “I know. I have already been lectured on what I’m supposed to do. I walk in, let them see me, maybe make some small talk, and then I hide behind my bodyguard. I’m going to be fine. You know I would do anything for Avery. Anything.”

A moment passed between Li and the doctor, one Case could only guess about. Stephanie had been a kid when she’d caused the accident that had killed Avery’s young husband and baby. From what he understood, the woman standing in front of him had gone into a deep decline, her guilt nearly causing her to take her own life. It had been Avery herself who brought her back, Avery who found forgiveness for a girl who’d taken everything from her.

How odd that an act of kindness so many years before would save everything Case loved now. It had been Stephanie’s solid base here that had tempted McDonald to take the bait. Had Avery chosen a different path, they likely would have no chance of saving Theo in the near future.

“I’ll do anything for Avery, too,” Case said quietly. “And you, Doc. You can’t understand how much this means to me.”

Stephanie turned and gave him a smile. “I can and I’m more than happy to help. Besides I’ve liked having the big guy around. He’s taught me some moves I didn’t know and the kids adore him. Though they all swear he speaks a different language.”

“Not me. I’m a right proper speaker, I am.” Brody Carter leaned against the doorjamb. The Aussie was the single biggest man Case had ever seen. He had a good two inches on him and probably an extra fifty pounds of muscle.

He worked for Damon Knight out of the London offices and when they’d decided on this course of action, they’d sent an agent down to train Stephanie and watch over her. He was undercover as her bodyguard. He’d played the heavy on occasion and cemented his reputation with the local bad guys as a man they didn’t want to mess with.

He would make sure the doc didn’t die in the fight they were about to go into.

“Sure you are, buddy,” Ian said, shaking the big guy’s hand. “And I’m not sarcastic at all.”

“Everyone move back.” Sean shook his head, bringing up the rear. He hefted the bag carrying the body armor they would all wear. “Lightning’s about to strike. Do we have any confirmation on when they’re going to land?”

“We’ve got roughly a half an hour to set up,” Brody replied. “I’ve already dealt with the locals. They’ve been paid and they agreed to stay in the mechanic’s office. I pulled all their mobiles and there’s no Internet access. I locked them in with an Xbox and two bottles of rum, so they’re perfectly happy.”

“Smart man,” Ian said. “Lawless will pay for any damage to the structure. You explained that to them?”

Brody nodded. “They’re good. The rest is just me being cautious. We won’t have trouble with the locals. You get the memo I sent?”

Case nodded. Once Brody had been notified that the op was being moved up and changing locations, he’d quickly sent them a detailed report on the small private airport Santos was using to smuggle Mia into the country.

Luckily Brody had known the exact place since he was Santos’s contact. Santos was expecting Doctor Stephanie Gibson and her enforcer to meet them in half an hour. Stephanie was to be paid more for not asking questions about the blonde they were bringing with them.

“Do we have any idea if Theo’s on that plane?” Sean asked.

It was what they’d worried about on the long flight over. They’d taken the 4L jet, which moved far faster than the cargo plane Santos had hired. Santos’s plane had required a refuel. The high-tech Bond Aeronautics jet Drew flew on had not. They’d beaten Santos in, but they’d been forced to come with a smaller team than Case would have liked. Now the plane was hidden in a separate hanger.

“I couldn’t exactly ask him. I only know that he’s bringing five people with him and we needed to provide him with a place to lock someone down for a few days. Where’s the spook? Shouldn’t he have some intel?” Brody asked. “And who’s the suit? I don’t recognize him.”

Case looked out to see who Brody was talking about. Drew Lawless was stepping off the plane. It had been a fight to keep it down to one Lawless brother, but space had been an issue or they would have brought Alex and Jake along with them. Simon would fly them in later this afternoon along with the women and Kai, but hopefully the deed would be done by then.

He prayed it would be done. The alternative was they failed and Santos managed to get away with Mia. He would run with her and possibly decide she wasn’t worth the trouble. He could dispose of her like so much rubbish and try to find an easier mark.

His body ached at the thought of her cold and unmoving. Mia was so alive. He needed to see her again, needed to hold her so he could assure himself she was alive. “That’s Mia’s brother and the CIA asshole is still on the plane trying to download some Agency reports. He said Chelsea was sending him some intel and DC had a message for him.”