Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(83)

“He’s been calling in a lot of favors to get you two out,” Mia said, tucking her head against his uninjured shoulder.

“I spent the entire night waiting at the police station for a lawyer who never showed up,” Alex said, yawning. “I thought it was going to get ugly, but they brought Ian out this morning and said no one was pressing charges.”

“I’m surprised it worked.” Andrew Lawless was standing in the middle of the massive suite. He was still wearing the suit he’d worn the night before, but he was down to the slacks and dress shirt. His hair was messy, his eyes tired. “I’ve been calling in every favor owed me, but I hadn’t gotten a firm answer from anyone yet. I spent most of the night talking to the ambassador. He thought it would take at least a few days to get you two out.”

Fain was sitting on one of the sofas, the one Mia had gotten up from. He looked fresh as a f*cking daisy. “I’m sure your name alone managed to do the trick, boss.”

Such a suck-up. Case looked down at Mia. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Her eyes slid away from his. “I’m just upset that I couldn’t help more.”

He kissed her forehead. “You did everything you could. I take it they got rid of the tracking device in Hutch’s hand?”

Mia nodded, tears flooding her eyes. “I saw him before they took him away. They’d dug it out. He looked like he was in bad shape.”

It made his stomach twist. Not only had he lost Theo again, he’d lost Hutch. He’d done that. It was his f*cking fault because he’d been in charge.

“I need a complete rundown on what’s happening.” Ian had hung up and crossed his arms over his chest, staring Case down. “And on this clusterf*ck of an op I wasn’t informed of until the dude with his head stuck up Lawless’s ass told me.”

If that bothered Fain, he didn’t show it. “Someone had to be sensible and the minute Lawless hired me, my loyalty had to be to him. I might have discussed the fact that this op could go sideways because the men running it were far too close to the target.”

Ian hadn’t spoken a word to him in the car. He’d been on the phone with Charlotte the whole time, calming her down since apparently she’d been informed that her husband had been tossed in a South American jail cell. The next family dinner was going to be so much fun.

He’d lost Hutch and Theo and he’d almost lost Mia. Maybe he didn’t deserve a family at all. “It was my fault.”

“Of course it was your f*cking fault,” Ian shot back.

Mia stood beside him. “It was mine. I wouldn’t let him tell you.”

“Really? You held a gun on him at all times?” Ian stared at Case though his words were for Mia. “You threaten to beat my baby brother up?”

“Hey, let’s leave my sister out of this.” Lawless stepped up to Ian. “I told you I wouldn’t put up with you bullying her.”

“No,” Mia replied, ignoring her brother. “I didn’t use a gun. I used sex and logic. Though mostly it was sex. I wouldn’t put out if he called you.”

Case sighed. He could have told Lawless no one bullied Mia and got away with it. No one but him. The fact that they’d fought before the op weighed heavily on him. “Her informant was touchy about having a bunch of operatives running around. He’s ex-Agency. We talked to Ten about him briefly. Hutch did.”

God, what was Hutch going through? He stepped away from Mia, the guilt beginning to plague him. While he’d been in the car all he’d wanted to do was see her again, but now it came crashing in on him.

He’d put her in danger. She’d handled it all with grace, but she could have been taken, too.

“Why did they leave you behind?”

Mia frowned. “One of the men wanted to take me with them, but whoever’s controlling them wouldn’t allow it.”

“Hope McDonald. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s controlling them all.” Ian started pacing, something Case had noticed he did when he was upset but trying to hold it together. “Mia, I’m going to need a full report.”

She held a hand up. “Liam already took it.”

“I left Li here with the rest of the crew and he and Michael should already have a preliminary report for you. They’re in the office, going over a few things. We’ve already discovered that the building has a path that leads to some hidden underground tunnels and shafts,” Alex explained.

“Very likely the cartel used them to move product around the city,” Mia continued. He couldn’t miss how tired she looked. She was still so f*cking beautiful, but she needed sleep. Would she have nightmares about what had happened? Did she blame him? “As I noted in my report to Liam, Theo himself confirmed that they were working with the cartel. Ezra figured out which one. He’s got a report on that as well.”

“Excellent.” Ian ran his hand over his head. “Alex, I’m going to need you to get in touch with your contacts at the DEA and I’ll call Ten and see if he’s got anything on these guys. Maybe if we lean on a cartel member, they’ll tell us something. I’ll talk to Chelsea and see what the CIA knows.”

“Can we get into those tunnels?” Case asked. His brother might still be there.

“Already gone,” Fain replied. “O’Donnell and I went in early this morning. They’ve cleared out.”