Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(85)

That had been his plan all along, but guilt made him back off. Her decisions hadn’t cost them. His had. “I’ll talk to Ian. He won’t send me away. He’ll make me endure a lecture that will feel like torture, but he won’t send me home. I’ll make it clear you stay with me.”

He owed her that. If she wanted to stay, he would make that happen. Ian would take over the op from here.

Her face turned up. “Thank you. Helping you is all I want to do. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

Oh, but he could. He could blame himself for all of it. “I thought if I could get close to him I could break through. I didn’t have the chance to even talk to him. If I’d been able to get close, he would have recognized me, like he knew Erin’s scent.”

“I don’t know about that. He rejected the idea that she even existed.”

“If I’d been able to talk to him, even for a moment, I would have gotten through. He’s my twin. We have a shorthand. We know each other like no one else.” But he’d blown the opportunity. “I just don’t understand how he got past me. I was up and on my feet pretty damn quick. I followed after you. I had to double back to find you but I never saw him.”

She leaned in, gently hugging him to her body. “I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”

“If I could have caught up with him, I had a tranq dart ready.” He’d come prepped.

“You did?”

“Yeah. I knew I would likely have to take him out in the beginning. He got the jump on me. But I was ready the second time. I just…he must have been too fast. It was like he disappeared.” Like his brother was only a ghost and he’d caught a glimpse of him before Theo had faded back into oblivion.

She went on her toes and kissed him briefly. “Please get some sleep. I’m going to talk to Drew and then I’ll join you. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to help you find him again.”

He didn’t deserve that, but he would take it. She’d been everything he could have hoped for in a partner. “All right. I’m sorry about our fight before.”

She nodded. “Me, too. I’ll be back in a bit. Do you need anything?”

Just her. Just for the world to roll back about twenty-four hours so he could have gotten up faster, gotten Theo in his sights.

Mia walked out and he was left alone in the beautiful room. He hadn’t provided her with this luxury. He’d given her a crappy motel room and ordered her around. She’d given him her trust and her honesty and he’d been a bastard.

He sighed as he looked around the room. He should take one of those pills the doctor had given him and go to sleep, but his mind kept churning. How had Theo gotten past him? Where had he been hiding when the police had gotten there?

One minute faster and he could have saved his brother, could have saved Hutch.

What was Hutch going through right now? Would Mia ever be able to look him in the eyes again? She’d been perfectly sweet and affectionate, but he’d felt a distance between them. Had he lost her trust?

He wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Not until she was back with him. He’d talk to her, tell her how he really felt and ask her forgiveness, and then maybe he would be able to sleep with her beside him. He walked back down the hall to where he’d last seen his brother. Yeah, he needed to apologize to Ian, too. And to Li and Alex, who’d had to leave their families on short notice.

He’d f*cked up all the way around.

“Apparently the boy managed to get the cameras up right before he took off after Case.” Liam’s voice was soft, but there was no way to miss his lyrical accent. “I don’t know he even realized it was working at the time. Hutch had set his system up to search for CCTV feeds and record the ones he chose. I’ve been rolling through for hours. You looked good getting hauled out of there, boss.”

“Yeah, that might not have been my first prison rodeo,” Ian was saying. “Has Case seen this yet?”

“I wanted you to look at it first,” Liam replied. “Maybe the boy doesn’t need to see it, if you know what I mean.”

Case watched from the doorway. The screen was pointed his way with Liam sitting in front of the computer Fain had used and Alex and Ian flanking him, their backs to Case as they watched the scene from the camera play out.

“Damn it. There was a hidden door,” Alex said with a sigh. “She didn’t tell him. Do you think maybe she was unconscious and didn’t see Theo get away?”

“Not a chance. She’d seen the others take Hutch that way,” Li pointed out. “And see, she’s moving the minute that door closes. She knew. Poor girl. She had to be terrified. I wish I could hear what Theo said to her.”

“I think we can guess.” Ian’s voice was hoarse. “There’s Case. Damn it. He was seconds behind.”

Seconds behind. He felt a chill go through his body as he realized what he was watching. “Play it again.”

Ian turned, his eyes flaring and head shaking. “Can I have one f*cking thing go right in this cursed day? You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

He wasn’t doing this dance with his brother. He looked directly at Liam, who was frowning fiercely. “Play it again.”

“Now, Case, there’s a reason I didn’t call you in here,” Li began.