Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(63)

Tony looked out of place, his darkness skittering the edge of the light as if slightly afraid of what the sun might do to him.

“Were those two men with Taggart?” Tony asked.

She decided honesty was best with Tony. He was calm for now, but she saw the way his left hand fisted and relaxed, fisted and relaxed. He was always on the edge. It was sad, but he sometimes reminded her of her brother Bran. “Yes. How do you know Case?”

Tony chuckled. “I don’t. I know his oldest brother by reputation only. So you’re sleeping with Taggart the third? I have to number them to keep them straight in my head. The DNA runs true in that group. Whoever is following us is good. I can’t see him. I can feel him though. He needs to stay away. I would hate to have to kill someone on this lovely beach.”

She looked around but she couldn’t see Ezra either. He did blend in. “He won’t approach us. He’s just making sure I have someone watching over me. It wasn’t my choice.”

“Ah, then the Taggart cub is the one with the good sense to protect what belongs to him. Tell me something. Did you like my gift, pretty girl?”

His gift. The picture of Theo. “I did. It’s very important we find the man in that picture.”

“The youngest Taggart. The one who died. I’m sure now he knows there are some things worse than death.”

The words sent a chill through her. “Do you know anything more?”

“I know they’re still here. Still in the city.” Tony stopped, turning and staring out at the beach. “They’ll make a move soon. They stayed too long in Argentina and it almost cost them.”

“Cost them? The authorities almost found them?”

He chuckled, but it was a hollow sound. “Oh, no. The authorities can be handled easily. Trust me. In a few days, the Gringos bandits will be found and put in jail, and soon after they’ll disappear and no one will speak of them again. The wheels are already in motion.”

“I can’t let Theo go to jail.”

“It won’t be Theo or any of the actual robbers. They’re far too valuable, but the organization that their mother works for likes to keep things neat and clean. If the actual Gringos were captured, there would be many questions. Questions about why former soldiers, decorated men, loyal men, would give up their lives to rob banks in South America. There would be questions about why none of the men remember their families. There would definitely be questions about the drugs in their systems. It’s what she didn’t plan for.”

She. “Hope McDonald?”

“Of course. She’s a brilliant doctor. Truly if her mind wasn’t warped, she might have done great things.”

“She’s a sociopath.” Mia always got a little sick when she thought of the woman.

“Yes,” Tony agreed. “She was born with a genius level IQ, but no conscience whatsoever. No empathy for anyone. I often wonder if she thinks she’s normal. Do you ever read fiction?”

“Of course.”

“I like it,” Tony said with a nod. “I read as often as I can. It takes me out of myself. I tend to enjoy thrillers and mysteries. I always wonder though. I wonder about the villains. We see one side of stories far too often. One point of view. We’re trained that way, to see what is in front of us. To see what the author of our lives wants us to see.”

This was pure Tony. He went off on philosophical rants, but if she tried to pull him back, he would get angry. She’d learned it was best to let him follow through. He would get to the point eventually. She was on Tony time now. That meant she could be standing here on this beach talking to him until the sun went down or a bug could fly past his nose, he would decide it was actually a drone, and he would go back into hiding in an instant. “That’s probably true. We see things through the filters of own experiences. It’s hard not to.”

What did any of this have to do with Theo?

“I suppose so. That’s Hope McDonald’s problem. She doesn’t see that she’s the villain of the piece. She thinks she’s the hero. It’s why they almost caught her.”

“Who?”

“The factions who would like to take what she has. There are many. I suspect she thought her patrons would protect her. In some ways, she’s a bit like a na?ve child. She thought things wouldn’t change, that she could control them.”

“Are you talking about Kronberg?”

“I’m talking about the men who control Kronberg, and the men who control them, and so on. I’m talking about anyone with a desire to gain power with the single press of a needle against a soldiers’ skin. Think about it, pretty girl. Think about what she can do. Our armies tend to be limited by the consciences of our soldiers. What if you could wipe that nuisance clean? What if you could build entire armies of men with loyalty to no one but the one who controls the drug?”

“I don’t understand everything about the drug. I read some articles, but they were all theoretical.”

“Because we should be many years away. The things you read about, the future tech, it’s all here. It’s all hidden. Those articles are a way to pave the road to the future, but make no mistake, the powerful of this world already enjoy luxuries and weapons you can’t imagine.”

“Why would Kronberg turn on her?” She didn’t understand what had changed.