Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(61)

Her brother’s silky voice came over the line with the soft growl of a predator. “It’s time to explain why my airplane apparently carried three corpses in it.”

Damn the freaking cartel. Why could no one offer good service these days? Three little bodies. It was all she’d asked. Except she hadn’t actually asked. She’d let the boys handle it. She should have damn well known that cleaning up after a couple of murders was definitely woman’s work. “It was no big deal.”

Sometimes when Drew was quiet, there was a silent scream in the air. This time it was nearly deafening. It was a relief when he finally spoke again. “No big deal?”

She knew her brother well enough to hear the threat behind those quiet words. “Drew, it was fine. A couple of your employees turned out to be kidnappers. That’s all. Case took care of them. I took care of the plane. And that was days ago. We’ve had zero kidnapping attempts in a whole four days. So it’s no big deal. But the Morel Cartel is getting a hearty bad review on their cleaning services. Surely there’s some kind of Deep Web Angie’s List and I’m trashing them there.”

Sometimes the best way to deal with overprotective men was to brazen right through.

“Put Case on the phone,” her brother commanded.

“He’s not here.”

There was another pause. “All right. I’ll be down there in roughly ten hours. I’m calling the hotel and sending a security detail.”

Score one for Case Taggart and his horrible taste in lodging. “I’m not at the hotel and I’m not alone.” She yawned and stretched, her every muscle a little sore because Case believed in a certain athleticism in his lovemaking. Days of being Case’s lover had turned her into a satisfied kitten. “And you are seriously killing my buzz, big brother. I should be lying in bed thinking about how amazing this morning was, but no.”

“I don’t even want to know what you mean by that. Mia, this is serious.”

She put him on speaker and found her robe, wrapping it around her body. “I know, but Case and his team are working on it. I’m safe. I’ll be home as soon as the job’s done. I’ll have Case send you a report on what happened on the plane. I suspect it was nothing more than a plot to get money out of you. It wouldn’t be the first. I’m sorry it scared you. I did intend to get that cleaned, but apparently the job got screwed up. Should I be worried about the authorities? Did the airport call them in?”

That would be a problem.

“No, your cartel connections were quick. I tried to contact the pilot a few hours ago to ensure you had everything you needed and that the plane was getting a thorough inspection before you came home. I couldn’t get him on the line, so I called the airfield and talked to the manager. Funny thing was, he said he’d never seen the pilot I hired. He described the pilot as a pretty blonde girl who brought in a bunch of suspicious-looking men and he was worried you’re in over your head.”

“Not at all. I performed admirably.” It had been a while since she’d landed a plane. She needed to fly more often. She was getting soft at 4L. At least she knew the bodies wouldn’t be a problem. “I’ll have Case and the team send you the names of the people who got past your human resources. They’ve already got the identity of the flight attendant and her long-standing criminal record.”

“Damn it.”

She felt bad playing on his guilt, but sometimes she had to use every tool in her arsenal. She moved to the window and drew back the heavy curtain, peeking out. Light streamed through but she saw exactly what she’d expected. The small courtyard had a couple of tables and chairs close to the tiny swimming pool that might or might not serve as its own unique biosphere. Ezra sat with Michael. They’d found a deck of cards and seemed to be passing the time in a leisurely fashion.

“It’s all right, Drew. I’m meeting with my contact sometime in the next couple of days. I’ll be home after that and we’ll talk about it. Until then I’m going to let Case call the shots.” When it made sense for him to.

“Case isn’t there.”

“No, but I’ve got two bodyguards on my ass. When Case gets back, I’ll have four. Four big, strong, well-trained men and I’m sleeping with their leader.”

“And Ian Taggart knows about this mission of yours?”

Sometimes her brother made her feel like a lying five-year-old. “He knows where we are and that Case is helping me out. You can call him.”

“Yeah, well he better not send me a bill. That * charges through the roof. I did not sign off on four full-time guards. Do you have any idea how much Taggart would bill for that?”

Thank god. If her brother was bitching about costs, he wasn’t thinking about screwing up her life. “It’s cool. I’m paying for the whole thing with my body.”

Her brother groaned. “I did not need to hear that.”

She saw a man moving in the background, walking from the office toward the rear of the west building. He wore a hat low on his head and walked with slow grace. Ezra’s head came up, looking at the man, but he turned back to his card game. Drew continued to rant about not hearing about her sex life.

The man’s face turned slightly and she recognized him.

Tony. Tony was here. The time was now. Somehow he’d located her and this might be the only shot she had at getting him to talk.