Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(38)

He came from a long line of men born with very few f*cks to give.

“I’m afraid she’s mine, Michael,” he said, glancing into the cockpit and catching a glimpse of her. She had headphones on and seemed to be swaying to some music.

Hutch looked up from his computer. “Told you he wasn’t that stupid.”

Case had no idea what they were talking about. “Stupid?”

“Michael thought you were a dumbass to let her go in the first place. All that ‘she lied to me’ and ‘she’s just a rich little princess who can’t handle a real man’ shit was just a big old front because you’ve never had a girlfriend before,” Hutch explained.

“I’ve had girlfriends.” It wasn’t like he was a virgin or anything.

“You’ve had Hooters girls,” Michael corrected. “You’ve had chicks you banged for a few months and didn’t think about them outside of banging, and the minute they started to get serious you would apply for the most dangerous duty in the world just to get away from them.”

“That was about protecting my country.” He definitely hadn’t taken that assignment in Fallujah for fun. Though he had to admit, it did get him away from a clingy hookup.

“That was about protecting your ass,” Michael shot back. “I’ve worked with you most of my adult life, Taggart. I see through you. You’ve always needed a woman who can set you on your ass. Soft and sweet wasn’t ever going to do it for you.”

But Mia could be soft and sweet when she wanted to. She could care. Mia might be the exact right mixture of crazy bitch and sweet sub he needed.

“This is exactly what I’m saying,” Fain interrupted. “You care about that woman. So I want to know why you’re letting her go through with this. You do realize she could have been killed.”

He knew that. It would likely haunt his dreams for a while. He would see Mia walking out of her hiding place like a sacrificial lamb, offering herself up to save his friends.

“He knows exactly what happened here,” Hutch snorted. “And he’s not letting her go through with whatever crazy assignment she’s on. Trust me. We’ll land in Colombia and he’ll throw her over his shoulder and haul her straight back to Texas. He’ll tie her up and do some nasty shit to her. I’ve already found a company who can turn this plane around in an hour. I’m still working on what to do with the bodies. Might be easier to leave them in Colombia, but you know Big Tag likes a present every now and then.”

“He’s not planning on turning around,” Fain said with surety.

Fain was sharp.

“Of course he is.” Michael sat back. “He’ll have her under lock and key until he figures out who tried to kidnap her and why. But we’re not going to tell her that. That honey can be a little mean. We’ve got to sneak up on her. Then we’ll rope her and take her down. You think she’s got a sister?”

He was going to be a blast later on. Michael couldn’t handle his liquor and now Case was a man down.

And Case had some serious thinking to do because Fain was right. He couldn’t turn around. In a world where his brother wasn’t being tortured on a daily basis, he would have done exactly what Hutch had said. He would have carted her back home and locked her up until he could figure out what was happening. He couldn’t do that now and his friends weren’t going to understand.

“It’s an important story to Mia. We’re still going. I’m going to need to find a cleanup crew, Hutch, and a quiet one. Moneybags in there can pay for it.”

“What am I paying for?” Mia stepped out, yawning behind her hand.

He reached out, pleased when she slipped her hand in his. He tugged her into his lap. He was done playing the hardass with her. He’d been wrong. She’d been right. They belonged together. She was his natural match and her brother could go to hell. If Lawless cut her off, then Mia would have to learn to live on a budget.

If there was one thing he’d learned from the last few hours, it was that he didn’t want to lose this chance with her. She meant something to him. He could count on her in a way he’d never thought he would be able to count on a lover.

“I need to find someone willing to deal with the bodies, princess.” Yeah, this was not a conversation he’d ever thought he would have with a girlfriend. “That’s going to take cash and we’re going to have to deal with some not so nice people.”

“Cartel would be best,” she said without hesitation. She cuddled down in his arms. She smelled like soap and fresh laundry after cleaning up. He wished he’d been able to squeeze into that shower with her. “They have cleanup crews who’ll know the area and how to avoid the police. They’ll also know which of the police are bribable. They shouldn’t be too hard to find. I’ll call some friends when we touch down.”

“You are not dealing with a cartel.” This would be the problem he had to put up with. Keeping Mia out of trouble would be a full-time job. He let his hand rest on her thigh. “I’ll handle it.”

Was it too soon to coax her back in the bedroom? He’d cleaned up pretty well. They still had a few hours before they landed. He might enjoy violating the pilot before they had to deal with whoever would try to kill them next.

Making love to Mia might let him stop thinking about the trouble his brother was in, might give him peace for a few minutes.