Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(7)

“You think she saved him.”

Ian nodded. “Li does and I’ve learned to never doubt his instincts. He found surgical equipment in the base. It had been locked in a room, but it had also been used. We typed the blood. It matched Theo’s.”

Shouldn’t he have felt something? If Theo was alive, shouldn’t he know it deep down in his bones? “He could still have died. According to Faith, she lost him in the field. You honestly believe one surgeon working alone could have brought him back?”

“Li thinks so.” Ian turned the folder around, sliding it across the desk. “He found evidence of an unscheduled flight landing in Havana that night. The storm was going to the west so Mexico wasn’t a possibility.”

His heart was starting to race. “Did Li check the hospitals?”

“Of course, and there was zero record of any American having surgery that night or being admitted at all.”

“But?” There had to be one.

“Li checked the deposit records of the doctors and staff in the closest hospital. Several members deposited decent sums of cash within a week. All American dollars.”

“It’s still thin.” That could be for anything.

“Yes, which is precisely why I didn’t say anything until now. I haven’t even told Sean about this yet, and I certainly wasn’t going to get your hopes up until I had a decent lead. Liam greased the wheels a little. He finally managed to get a nurse talking. It cost us a pretty penny but the nurse says that in the early morning hours there was a surgical room used that wasn’t on the books. She got us a list of what tools were ordered and the type of blood they used to transfuse the patient who she claims was a large blond man.”

“Theo’s blood type.” Could it possibly be true?

“Yes. According to what Li discovered, the patient was stable when he was taken out a day later. The nurse wasn’t sure where he went, only that no one was allowed to discuss it or to speak with the patient. From there we lost track, but I’ve contacted the FBI and Ten’s gotten in touch with some of his old coworkers at the CIA. I’m reluctant to work with the Agency, but I have to. They might know something. This is delicate, Case.”

His brother might be alive. “You said something about a private island in Argentina.”

“Off the coast,” Ian confirmed. “We’re unsure of the location of the building. It’s apparently well concealed. I’m trying to figure out a point of entry. I’ll try to get in that way, but I have confirmation that they received a drop shipment from Kronberg. It contained everything she needed to formulate the time dilation drug.”

The thought made him a little sick. “She’s using it on Theo.”

Ian held a hand up. “We don’t know that.”

It was the only answer. “Otherwise, he would have found a way to contact us.”

“Case, I need you to stay calm. He would still be recovering. We don’t know anything except there’s a chance he’s alive and I’m going to do everything I possibly can to ensure that if he is alive, he comes home as soon as he can.”

So many things fell into place. He’d been wondering about Ian’s decisions in the last few weeks. “That’s why you’re allowing the feds to run an op at Sanctum.”

“Yes. It’s also why I’ve allowed a new member to join despite the fact that she lied on her application and I believe she has ties to The Collective.” Ian’s voice had gone softer. Way softer than it usually would when he was talking about someone invading his club and potentially betraying them.

His brother’s eyes connected with his in nauseating sympathy.

“Mia.” It was the only possible reason his brother was looking at him like he’d lost his best friend. “You think it’s Mia.”

“I know it’s Mia. Whoever did her paperwork is good, but Adam’s better. He’s very likely giving Hutch a serious dressing down for missing the parts of her story that didn’t hold up.”

“Hutch is great if you give him very specific orders. He has to know exactly what you want from him or he cuts corners. I trained him in combat, but his skills are primarily on the computer. Don’t get me wrong. He’s brave. He’ll charge in if he has to, but he can get lazy, too.” Mia. Mia. Mia. Her name was playing through his head like a song he couldn’t stop hearing.

“She neglected to give us her actual occupation,” Ian continued. “She’s a reporter. Freelance, but her real connections are to a company called 4L Software.”

“Okay.” He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that. He felt numb, dumb even. He’d been dumb to think she was real. What was she doing here? “I think I’ve heard of them. What’s a reporter doing working for a software company?”

“She doesn’t work for them. She owns a nice chunk of the firm. She’s worth a hundred million dollars because her brother created the company and gave his siblings each a piece of his incredibly rich pie. Her real name is Mia Lawless and I think she might be here to spy on us for The Collective. Case, I’m sorry. I knew after tonight I had to tell you why I’d let her in.”

His brother was treating him with kid gloves. He could tell Ian was about to bench him again. Ian would do it because he thought Case couldn’t do what needed to be done. He didn’t do undercover the way Theo had.