Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(89)

“So I take it I won’t be getting that finder’s fee after all?” Ezra had a self-deprecating smile on his face.

She wished she was alone. She needed time to mourn him. How fast could she pack when she got back to Austin? She’d already texted a couple of past editors looking for a job that would take her anywhere but Texas. She would still be back in time for the StratCast job, but she couldn’t sit in her condo and think about Case. “The job my brother needs is delicate and Taggart’s been working on it for a very long time.”

“The job where he takes down Castalano, Stratton, and Cain?”

Ezra knew a lot for a man who’d only been hired a few days before. “He’s already told you?”

“Unlike Case Taggart, I do my research when I…well, when I find a woman I like.”

She felt herself flush. “Ezra…”

He held his hands up. “I’m not going to try anything. I realized very quickly you didn’t have the same feelings for me, but I still like you as a person, Mia. I wanted to know what was going on with your family. It wasn’t hard to figure out that after your parents died you and your brothers got screwed and hard. They took your father’s shares in the company and split them among themselves. There should have been millions left to take care of you.”

So he’d figured out how they’d stolen her father’s money. “It was all tied up in stock and there was a binding partnership agreement between the four of them and it included a morality clause. They used that clause against us, gobbled up his stock, and then sold his intellectual property for millions. We didn’t have anyone willing to fight for us so we all went into the system.”

“And now you’re going to get your revenge. You think your parents were murdered and Taggart is trying to prove it.”

“It’s not my revenge,” she said with a sigh. “But Drew needs it and Ian Taggart is his best bet. Sorry about the finder’s fee.”

He sank into the chair across from her. “And I’m sorry Case Taggart is such an ass. You know, he’ll probably come around. I don’t think he’s got a good hold on his temper.”

She wasn’t so sure. He’d told her in the beginning he wouldn’t be able to trust her again. He’d told her to stay away. She’d only fooled herself. When the chips were down, he’d shown his true colors.

He thought she’d had sex with him in order to get her way. How could he love a woman he thought so little of?

“It’s over. It doesn’t matter now. We’re stuck together for a while. At least until Drew figures out the kidnapping thing was a one-off.” It had only been a week or so since someone had attempted to kidnap her. Drew needed time to forget. “I’m going to travel for a while. I’ve been wanting to do a story about the women’s movement in India.”

“Curry. Sounds awesome.” Ezra buckled his seatbelt. “I suspect you’ll also be trying to get in contact with Santos again.”

“Of course.” Just because Case was a jerk didn’t mean she would stop trying to help Erin and TJ. “He won’t talk to the Taggarts. Only to me. When I get the information, I’ll send it on to them and then I’ll be out of it.”

“Sure you will. I’ll believe that one when I see it.” He yawned and stretched out.

She was going to stay out of Case Taggart’s life from now on. Maybe in a few years she would even be able to forget him.

She was sure going to try.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN





“You know you’re a dumbass, right?”

It was a question he’d heard about five hundred times in the last week. He’d heard it from Ian, from Michael, from Charlotte. From pretty much anyone who found out he’d broken it off with Mia. Now he was getting it from Erin.

“So I’ve been told.” He took a long drink of his beer and wished he was back at his place.

He stared at the woman his brother loved. Erin stepped into her small kitchen and moved straight to the fridge. Her hair was up. She was dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans and looking calmer than he could ever remember seeing her.

Motherhood looked good on Erin. She smiled more in the last week than he’d seen her smile in a year. When she was holding TJ, she seemed centered, at ease.

He didn’t feel at ease, hadn’t since the last night he’d spent with Mia when she’d cuddled up in his arms and slept, her head on his chest.

“You want to tell me what really happened?” Erin pulled out a pitcher of what looked like lemonade.

“Don’t you have a party to throw or something?” He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be sitting in his apartment, staring at the computer and waiting for some new information to come through. Instead, Ian had ordered him to come over to Erin’s where Ian was currently flipping burgers on her grill and Charlotte was cooing over TJ. It was just Taggarts tonight. Sean and Grace had brought along Carys, who was playing with the twins.

And Case was still thinking about the Taggart who wasn’t here.

And Mia. God, he was thinking about Mia.

It had only been a week and he missed her. He hated himself for missing her, hated how easily she manipulated him. She’d caused him to lose Theo and Hutch and he couldn’t get her out of his head. Even standing here with Erin—who’d lost more than anyone—he could still hear Mia’s words.