Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(127)

Theo wasn’t sure that Case Taggart was really his twin. After all, he was way more attractive.

But he definitely liked Mia. She was sweet. He wasn’t attracted to her on any level. She felt like a sister. Which was good because according to the reports he’d been given, she was about to be his sister-in-law.

He’d always said he had a type. When asked to describe his type, he’s always said he would know her when he saw her.

Of course his version of “always” apparently was about a year.

His life was kind of confusing.

“Yes,” his twin said, slapping the bar with his hand. “You like beer. And bourbon, but we’re going to start with beer. From what I can tell it’s been over a year since you had alcohol so we’re starting light.”

Robert had already hoisted his glass and taken a drink. “I do like it.”

He felt better with Robert around. He knew somewhere deep inside that he’d killed Victor. He’d been taught that Victor was his brother, but he’d always known there was a darkness in that * that went way beyond brotherhood. No amount of drugs and torture could make him think that Victor was a reasonable human being.

He’d read the reports of his torture, too. Apparently under hypnosis he talked a lot. He had a whole life that had been taken from him. Kai had told him that. He was learning to trust the dude with the ponytail. He was pretty cool.

Kai had told him he didn’t need to follow Mother’s orders anymore. He didn’t have to follow anyone’s order according to Kai.

He both liked that idea and was totally terrified by it.

New experiences. He needed them. The last few days had been illuminating. He was remembering more and that felt good. According to Kai, his memory should get better every day. Maybe in a few days he would remember his own f*cking name and Tomas…Theo…was calling it a damn win.

He stared down at the amber liquid and made his decision. Decision. It was kind of cool to make a few of those himself. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d made his own decisions.

Shouldn’t he make his own decisions about food and whether or not he wanted a beer?

It was stupid, but it stressed him out.

Still, he was going in. It was time. He was a freaking man and he wanted to see if he liked beer.

Why was one beer such a damn hassle? Robert seemed perfectly happy. He was following Case and the other Taggarts around like an overgrown puppy.

Drink the damn beer.

He took the tankard in hand. It was cool, the glass nice under his skin. He brought it to his lips and took a sip.

Not bad. He could get used to it.

Case was staring at him like he was a toddler taking his first steps.

Theo nodded. “It’s good.”

Case hopped off his barstool. “I told you.”

He would have said something, but he caught sight of someone he hadn’t seen before. His twin was a massive man and he tended to take up all the space. Now he saw what Case’s big body had covered up.

A woman sat at the end of the bar, a glass in front of her. Fiery red hair curled around her shoulders and she was wearing a white tank top and jeans.

Oh, that was his type. Fuck, yeah.

“I’m going to make sure the car is on its way,” Case said. “You ready to head home?”

He was going back to Dallas. Why could he remember Dallas and not that he’d lived there? He could get a picture in his head of a house with a fire pit and comfy chairs, but he couldn’t say he’d lived there.

He was all kinds of f*cked up.

He gave his twin a smile that didn’t reach anywhere close to his soul. “Sure.”

Case took a deep breath. “Don’t run away. I’ll be back.”

“Where does he think we’ll go?” Robert asked as Case walked out.

Theo understood the issues. “I think he worries we’ll run out because we want to get back to Moth…Hope McDonald.”

Robert shivered. “I don’t want to go back to Mother. She was mean. Best thing I ever did was get shot all to hell by your brothers. They’re nice. And I totally like beer. And Xbox. War is way more fun in a video game.”

He heard his brother, but his eyes were on the girl. He had no idea why he was different. Victor and Robert had been sex crazed. They’d been utterly desperate to have a woman, but Theo hadn’t felt the pull.

Until now.

“Holy shit,” Robert whispered. “She’s nice. I think I’m going to go talk to her. We have an hour or so.”

Rage welled. He wasn’t sure where it came from but he had to tamp it down because he suddenly wanted to rip Robert’s throat out. “No. I think that one is mine.”

Robert’s eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

Such a pretty girl…

The words swept over him and he shivered for a moment, a memory shimmering like a ghost he couldn’t catch.

He shook it off. The dude with the ponytail had told him that for now he shouldn’t try to remember. For now he should try to find the present. There would be time enough to find his past.

That girl at the end of the bar looked like a damn fine present.

“Yes. I’m calling dibs.” He grabbed his beer and tried to find his swagger. He moved down to the seat next to hers.

Red hair, pretty skin. She looked a little lonely. Maybe he could fix that. He gave her what he hoped was his brightest smile. “Hi, my name is…Theo.”