Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(70)

It was just like her. She said she wanted a dominant man, but the minute he did something she didn’t like, he was crushing her soul.

“You think I did all of this because I wanted to f*ck you?” The question came out of her mouth on an incredulous huff.

They didn’t have time for this. He didn’t know how to deal with it. “I have no idea what’s going through your head right now. But every word that comes out of your mouth proves that what I’m doing is right.”

“Yes, I’m sure getting rid of the inconvenient woman you’re done screwing sounds like the perfect plan.”

He stopped, staring at her, trying to figure out what was going through her head. She was angry with him, but beyond that it was obvious he’d hurt her. Getting mad wasn’t going to fix anything. He was acting as the leader of the group and he’d made the decision based on that, but she was still his girl. It was a balance he wasn’t sure he could handle, but he had to try for the moment. It was exactly why he had to send her back home. “I never once screwed you. I’ve played with you and made love to you, and now I’m going to send you away because you’re a distraction I can’t handle right now. I can’t work with you.”

Because the thought of her getting hurt made him insane.

“But you need to. You need to let me help you. I’m not incompetent. I know how to protect myself and I know how to handle a fight.” Her expression turned hopeful.

He had to kill that hope in her eyes. He’d made the decision. He couldn’t allow himself to be swayed. This mission was too important. “You’re not a trained operative and you’re a distraction to me. I don’t have time to deal with you. I need you to go home, Mia. When all of this is done, I’ll come pick you up in Austin and we’ll figure out where we go from there.”

“Which is exactly what you would say to get me to finish out this job.”

He threw up his hands. “All I can do is tell you I want you in my life but not on this job. If you can’t accept that, I don’t know what else to say.”

It took everything he had to remain calm and to not tell her he was crazy about her. If he opened that door, she would use it against him.

“If you wanted me in your life, you would let me stay here and help you. Case, this is your life. This is what you do. This is the most important mission you’ll ever have and I’ve got contacts that can help. I would understand if I couldn’t help, but I can. I have reporter friends who’ve done extensive stories on the cartels. If a cartel owns that building, I can figure out who and possibly get information from an inside man. I have a lot of people in this part of the world who owe me favors.”

“No. You’re going home.” He wasn’t choosing his brother over her. He was choosing to keep her safe while he did what he had to do. And honestly, he needed a little time to figure out how to handle her. He wanted her, but he wasn’t sure he wanted this volcanic emotion he felt around her. Why couldn’t it be simple? Why couldn’t she see it was for the best?

The very fact that she would fight with him like this when they had an op to run proved his point.

“All right. I need a minute to fix my makeup and then I’ll be ready to go.” She turned and walked into the bathroom.

What the hell had just happened? How did she go from arguing with him to politely telling him she needed a moment? Was she f*cking with his head? Was this some kind of manipulation to get him to do what she wanted?

He wasn’t going to be moved. This was what a leader did. He made the call and he stuck by it. Mia was going home and he’d just have to deal with her when he’d gotten Theo back. If she didn’t understand how important that was, then she wasn’t the woman he’d thought.

Still, when she opened the door, for a moment he saw deep sadness etched on her face. Then she gave him a tight smile. “I’m ready. Let’s get this done.”

She walked past him. It took everything he had not to chase after her and haul her back into his arms. He wanted to kiss that look off her face, to promise her everything would be fine.

He couldn’t be certain that wasn’t exactly what she was trying to do—to get him soft so he would change his mind.

He followed her to the SUV. She’d said she judged him by his actions. She would just have to wait and see. When he showed up on her doorstep in a few weeks, she would know he hadn’t been lying.

And then they could really start their lives. This was a minor blip in a brand new relationship. That was all.

He hoped that was all.





Mia forced a smile on her face as she took the glass of champagne from the tray. Not that she would drink it. Despite what Case thought, she had done the undercover thing a time or two before and rule number one was she didn’t trust anything she hadn’t poured herself. Even if she was at a party.

“This is awesome. You should try the little cake thingees. They’re good.”

Her partner didn’t have the same rules. Hutch was like a kid in a candy store or a kid at a well-done buffet. For a group that fed the hungry, they knew how to do gourmet.

“Hutch, how about a little less eating and a little more hacking?” Case’s voice came over the small device she’d placed in her ear before they’d gotten to the party. “You’ve done your obligatory socializing. I think it’s time to get the job done.”