Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(68)

“I’m ready when you are.”

He wasn’t ready at all, but she was right about one thing. She’d done the charity event thing more than once. This was her world. “Make sure Hutch doesn’t make a complete idiot of himself. He’s not exactly used to high society. He’s more used to microwaving his supper and playing MMORPGs.”

She waved off the thought. “He’ll be fine. I’ve already written a nice-sized check to the organization. That will buy us an enormous amount of goodwill.”

“I don’t know about that. What if they recognize your name?” He had to stop this bouncing around, looking for reasons to call off the op. His brother was in there. Guilt assailed him. He should do anything to get his brother back. Why was he waffling?

Mia breezed on, luckily not picking up on his inner turmoil. “I’ve got a fund I do charitable work from. It’s the Iris and Ben Fund. I doubt they’ll connect it to 4L and the ticket was issued to Mia Danvers. My legal name comes in handy.”

He’d wondered about that. “Do you miss it? Your name, I mean.”

She sighed. “Sometimes. Don’t get me wrong. I love my moms. They’re awesome. They saved me from a lot of what my brothers went through, but I’m still a Lawless. I’m still my parents’ child.”

“You could change it back.” He wasn’t sure why she hadn’t, except that she’d chosen to honor her adoptive parents.

Of course, he rather thought Mia Taggart was a better name. He didn’t even flinch at that thought now. No waffling there. He wanted her. He would eventually marry her and tie her to him in every way he possibly could. She wasn’t the same woman he’d met. As long as she was honest with him, he would give her everything he had.

“That wouldn’t fit into my brother’s plans,” she said cryptically.

Before he could ask her what she meant by that, there was a knock on the door. It wasn’t the time for long explanations, but he needed to figure out what was going on with her family. Her brothers tended to be quiet around him, but he could tell something was bubbling under their seemingly placid surfaces. Then there were all the secretive meetings with Ian. There would be time later to find out what was going on. He opened the door and his crew strode in, Hutch first.

“Do I really have to wear this thing? It’s scratchy.” Hutch tugged at his brand new tie. He’d gone out with Fain an hour before and picked up the elegant-looking suit.

“I told you, yes. You have to wear it. And it’s not scratchy. It’s an excellent quality suit and we were lucky to find someone who could tailor it in such a short amount of time.” Fain frowned Case’s way. “He’s got problems with focus. He kept wandering away any time I took my eyes off him. Do you normally keep him on an actual leash?”

Hutch groaned. “Looking at suits is boring. Those girls walking around in bikinis were not.” Hutch winked Case’s way. “This country is full of gorgeous women. We should think about spending a little more time here. It’s been a while for me.”

He wasn’t hanging out because Hutch got horny. “We’re leaving as soon as we have enough intel to call Ian in.”

Michael grimaced as he made his way to the lone chair in the room. “We’re leaving? I doubt that. Someone’s hanging out here and keeping an eye on that building. If Theo’s there, we can’t risk losing him. Even in the couple of days it would take to turn this op. They could decide to run again.”

“All right. I should make myself plain.” He’d kind of wanted to avoid this particular conversation for as long as possible, but it looked like his time was up. “We’re doing this job tonight and then Mia and Michael and Fain are heading home. Hutch and I can keep tabs on the situation until Ian can get us backup.”

The sad look on her face was gone, replaced with the warrior princess glare he’d come to know so well. “I’m not leaving. Are you planning on tying me up and shoving me on a plane?”

“Only if I have to.” He was going to be resolute on this. He couldn’t work with her. His logic and decision-making got all f*cked up the minute she walked in a room. If he had time, he would call in another female operative to do tonight’s job, but unfortunately the closest one he knew was a six-hour flight away. He hated to disappoint Mia, but he needed for her to be safe while he did his job. “I thank you sincerely for everything you’ve done and what you’ll do tonight, but I need to bring this down to my team.”

“I’m on your team.” Michael stood up, his face as stormy and stubborn as Mia’s.

Did he have to explain this again? “You’re also incapacitated.”

“I’m fine,” Michael said tightly. “I’ve had worse and you know it. I can still move and I can certainly sit my ass in a chair and watch a building.”

Michael wasn’t seeing the big picture. “I need someone who’s at full capacity. I’m sorry, but you’re out. Ian will bring in his own team in a couple of days. Hutch and I are going to do nothing but monitor the situation. Go home and get well, brother.”

“I’m more than happy to go home.” Fain suddenly looked chipper, the only smile in a crowd of gloom. “I think you’re right. I need to escort my client back to Austin and get started on my new job. Ms. Danvers, I’ll contact the airport and make our flight arrangements. We need a new pilot. I’ll try to ensure that this time the flight crew doesn’t attempt to kill us all. I’ll go and make a few calls while you all work out your issues.”