Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(56)

The trouble was his body didn’t want to leave the woman in his motel room behind. It was early afternoon, but Mia was still napping, still readjusting to that first day when she’d stayed up a full day and a half between the flight and the cleanup. His body wanted to be right there beside her, sleeping with his arms wrapped around her and waking up only to make love to her again.

He didn’t try to fool himself. He’d made love to that woman. His woman. Mia was his and she was going to stay that way.

“Should I take your place?” Fain asked, peeling away from the side of the building where he’d been clinging to the shadows like a wraith.

He was good. Case would give him that. Case hadn’t realized he was there. It made him think. He needed to read Fain’s file, figure out what made him tick. If he had any choice in the matter, he would figure out a way to shove the dude out, but he needed backup and the man who had watched his back faithfully for years still wasn’t at full strength. He trusted Hutch, but Hutch wasn’t battle-tested. Fain was former Special Forces and that meant he was a badass.

Of course, being a badass didn’t mean he wasn’t a bad man.

“First off, you’re not taking my place because my place was in bed with her,” he explained in a matter-of-fact voice. “If I catch you trying to take my place, I’ll kill you. That’s not a euphemism. It’s not a turn of phrase intended to make you think I’m rough. It’s the truth, but not the whole truth. I probably don’t need to explain how I’ll torture you if you lay a hand on my girl, but you should know I’ve already got plans. I’ve seen how you look at her. She’s made her choice. You better damn well honor it.”

Fain was wearing sunglasses but Case could practically see those dark eyes of his rolling. “You Taggarts are so very dramatic. You like to play at being cool and icy, but the hotheadedness will be your downfall. It was for your brother.”

Case narrowed his eyes, getting Fain in his sights. It was like that from time to time when he really wanted to hurt someone. The rest of the world faded away and all he could see was his target. “You have something to say about Theo?”

Fain shrugged and if he was intimidated, Case couldn’t tell. “I could actually say it about any of your brothers. Like I said, your family tends to follow their passions instead of sense and logic. I’ve read your files. My boss has Agency connections, too.”

“Files?” He didn’t like the sound of that despite the fact that he knew it to be true. He’d just thought about reading whatever file Hutch had worked up on Fain.

“Of course. McKay-Taggart is closely watched. Like I told you before, after I got out, I went looking for work. Unfortunately, it’s not like your boss takes applications, but I wanted in. It’s why I moved to Dallas a year ago. I was supposed to meet with him eight months ago, but then, well, you know what happened. Big Tag closed all hiring and I landed with Ferland. He definitely keeps watch on you all.”

Maybe there was more to the minor feud between the companies than Ian thought. And he surely knew the event Fain was talking about. Theo’s death. Ian had stopped all hiring and the entire team had pulled in on itself. Theo’s partner, Deke, had been reassigned and they’d moved on very slowly. “What’s he got against us?”

“You make him look bad on a regular basis. He’s everyone’s second choice. He’s the cut-rate version of McKay-Taggart and that bothers him more than you can know. But he is right about a few things and one of them is his assessment of the Taggart men. You’re too emotional.”

Case had to snort at the very idea. “We’re not emotional.”

Taggarts were known for being cold operatives. Fair and smart, but willing to make the hard choices. His oldest brother was a legend in intelligence circles for how quickly he’d moved into the upper echelons. The Agency still called Big Tag when they needed a favor.

“Let’s see, Big Tag screwed up a major op over a woman. Sean Taggart couldn’t keep it in his pants. Ended up shot and nearly dying in the middle of a war he didn’t see coming because he was far too worried about cooking dinner for his target and getting her in bed.” Fain sobered. “And your twin. You have to know he screwed up that assignment. He wanted to show off for his girl. I’ve read the files. His girl should have been the one in charge. Erin Argent was far more qualified to run that op, but again, Big Tag wanted little brother to feel good about himself. I’m not saying this to piss you off. I’m not. I’m saying it because I’m putting my life on the line with you and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes.”

He wanted to argue, but he knew Theo. He knew what his twin had done. Case had gone over and over it with Erin and Ian and Michael. Anyone who would listen. Theo had a reckless streak in him. He’d always been the one who felt more, cared too much, and he’d been so in love with Erin.

Ian had been in love with Charlotte and it had almost cost him everything. Sean had nearly died because he’d been too in love with Grace to see the real traitor in front of him.

Was he making the same mistake with Mia?

Fain held up his hands as though offering to end this particular line of questioning. “Just think about it. I can put one of your fears to rest. I assure you I’m not going to touch Mia. Yes, she’s beautiful and I will admit that when I first met her I thought about hitting on her. But you’re right. She’s made her decision and I think she made it a long time ago. I still hope to make the move over to McKay-Taggart one day so I think f*cking around with the boss’s brother’s girl might not get me on a short list. But protecting her might. That’s what I want out of this, Taggart. I want a shot at the next spot that opens up.”