Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(60)

She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I was mistaken. You look like someone who used to…what is the word? Uhm, he would relax here in the afternoons. He was nice American man.”

And she was into him. It had been there in the way her smile had dimmed when she’d realized he wasn’t Theo. It had always been like that. Women flocked to Theo and his good-natured charm. It was good to know his brother still had some charm, that it hadn’t been burned away by whatever Hope had done to him.

“He was my brother and he and I got separated. There must be something wrong with his cell because he was supposed to meet me at the hotel yesterday, but he didn’t get there. I’m worried about him. He’s been down here for a while, but I just got in. I thought I might find him here. He talked about how much he liked this park.”

The girl blushed and Case knew he had her. She’d had a thing for his sunny, happy brother.

“He’s such a nice man,” she said in her thick Colombian accent, her lips curling up. “I mean he’s not all soft or anything. But was nice to me.” She frowned a little. “I think he might have been involved with someone rough.”

“What do you mean?”

She glanced behind her as though trying to make sure no one was there. When she turned back, her voice was hushed. “He had one friend who seemed nice, but then another one showed up and they argued. The other man was very short with him. I don’t think Tomas wanted to go with him. I didn’t see him again after that. Do you think he’s in trouble?”

Tomas? Was that the name Hope had given him? Kai had warned Case that Hope would likely have tried to rewire Theo’s entire life. Case didn’t understand the technology, but Kai had explained that through a combination of drugs, torture, and reconditioning therapy, Theo would forget his old life and believe whatever Hope told him.

It seemed to Case that Theo was bucking her training a bit, but his brother was definitely in trouble.

He couldn’t scare the crap out of the girl though. “I’m not sure. I need to find him though. Is there anything you can remember? Did he tell you where he was staying?”

“He just said he was staying around. At first I thought he was probably at one of the big hotels, but I saw him on the bus one day.” She blushed.

He couldn’t have her too embarrassed to speak. “It’s okay if you followed him. My brother is a good-looking kid. Rather like myself.” He could turn on some charm. “I’m sure he would be flattered that you liked him enough to follow him.”

“I’m not into guys, but even I know he’s pretty hot,” Hutch said with a grin. He pulled out some cash. “Could I get a cone? Chocolate.”

She laughed, her shoulders relaxing as she went about her work. It was obvious they’d put her back at ease. “Of course. It was a silly thing to do, but I was curious. He got out in an industrial part of the city. I stayed on the bus, but the building he went into looked like a clinic of some kind. He told me he worked security. I assumed he was a guard at the clinic. You might look there. He hasn’t come back here for a week. I think perhaps that bank robbery scared him off. I know I was scared. Please tell him it’s peaceful here again.” She held out the cone. “Sal?”

“Sal?” Hutch shook his head. “Nope. My name is…”

“She’s asking if you want salt.” At least one of them spoke a little Spanish. And Case had listened to a bunch of Mia’s stories in between long sessions in bed. When the group would sit and have meals together, she’d talked about her adventures in South America and a few of the odd things she found fascinating. Mia liked to try the local cuisines and apparently one of the customs here was putting salt on their ice cream. Hutch was not as open to new experiences as Mia. “He’s a pure sugar boy, miss. And I’m going to need you to write down that address for me.”

His heart started to race a little. His brother was here. He could feel it.





CHAPTER EIGHT





Mia glanced down at her cell phone before picking it up. There was no way she could avoid this call. If she did, Drew would send someone after her. She might be able to dodge one, maybe two calls without her oldest brother sending in a security team, but this was his third call in as many days and he would get antsy.

She knew most people would call him overprotective and overbearing, but most people hadn’t been forced to save their younger siblings. Whenever she got frustrated with Drew, she reminded herself that he was the one who’d seen their parents’ bodies, heard the shots that killed them. Drew had been the one who’d come to her room, lifting her six-year-old body up and holding her tight as he guided them out of a burning house. He’d been the one to figure out they’d been locked in. He’d been the one who’d broken through a window so his siblings could live.

It’s going to be okay, Mia. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’m going to keep you safe.

She sighed. Yeah, Drew might remember the horrors of that night, but what she remembered was how brave her brother had been. She owed Drew everything, including being all right with his need to know she was okay. Mia flicked her hand across the screen. “Hey, Drew. Sorry I hadn’t called you back. I was sleeping. Had a crazy day researching yesterday and it went pretty late. The libraries here don’t get great cell reception. What time is it?”