Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(92)

Bertha was Erin’s precious Berretta M9. Ian’s lips curved up slightly. “I appreciate that.”

Erin wasn’t finished. “And don’t think I’m going to strap on and go after him myself. I have to think about my son. I can’t risk my son’s welfare. But I will be involved. You’re right. I am the smartest operative you have and I know that woman. I’ve killed her a thousand times in my head, but more than that, I’ve dreamed of how I would catch her. I’ve come up with a million ways to ensnare that particular fly in my web.”

“We’re going to look for him,” Case promised. “We’ve got every intelligence agency who owes us looking.”

Erin threw Ian a look. “Is he really that na?ve? Or does the drug not work?”

“The drug works,” Ian replied. “It’s even worse than you think though. Apparently McDonald’s run afoul of her former employers. Even The Collective is after her. I haven’t talked to him about it because he’s had enough to deal with.”

“What?” He hated feeling like he was the stupidest person in the room.

“Everyone will be looking for Hope McDonald,” Erin said quietly. “Everyone. If Ian’s been using contacts, they’ve been using him, too. That drug can be a weapon. Her conditioning techniques can be used to build operatives from the ground up. Theo is so strong. If he could, he would have found a way to come home. She’s broken a piece of him, the piece that was loyal to his family. Do you understand how valuable that could be to a government? She can suppress his memories and give him new ones. The Agency will want that drug. So will every government that hears about it. So will every terrorist group. Imagine being able to wipe the minds of a thousand men and convince them they want to blow up a building. Men who fit no profile. Women. Children. We wouldn’t see them coming. True sleeper agents. Any agency who says they’ll help us is lying. They’ll tell us what we want to hear and then follow us to the prize. The prize is Hope and her research but if they can’t get her, they’ll take Theo. They’ll study him and try to figure out how she did it. We can’t trust anyone. Anyone.”

“What do you know about the man who left with Mia?” Ian asked.

“You let her leave with another man?” Erin shook her head. “What the hell kind of Taggart are you?”

“She needed a bodyguard.” The nature of her brother’s wealth and influence guaranteed that. Her high-risk job doubled the need. “Hutch checked him out. Beyond being a massive douchebag and working for Ferland, he was okay.”

“I’ll have Adam look into him, too. And Mia’s informant. I’m trying to leave Chelsea out of this. You understand what could happen to her if she’s caught feeding us information,” Ian said.

Treason. Chelsea Weston worked for the CIA.

Erin nodded. “She could be arrested.”

“Or any of the other nasty stuff the CIA can do to an employee.” Case hadn’t even thought about that. “So the Agency will be watching us.”

“Everyone will be watching us,” Ian corrected. “The Agency, the NSA, hell, I’ve heard a rumor there’s a f*cking Magellan Billet agent searching for Hope McDonald. They’re the worst of the worst. Lawyers with guns. Makes me want to shoot myself. God, I hope it’s the old dude and not the one who looks like Ten. He’s obnoxious.”

“But Theo’s alive.” Erin stood in the middle of her kitchen, tears pouring down her face. “Let them come after us. It doesn’t matter because Theo’s alive.”

Mia had been right. Erin wasn’t tortured with thoughts of what was happening to Theo. Oh, that might come later, but the joy and light in her eyes…that was worth it. This was her life. Theo was her life. She deserved to wish and pray and work for his return.

“I need to see my son.” Erin walked to the door. “Talk some sense into that one. I’ll work on it from my end.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Case asked as he was left alone with Ian.

“It means she’s going to meddle in your relationship and she wants me to do it, too.” He sighed as he opened the fridge and grabbed one of the beers he’d brought in with him. He flipped the top and poured it in with his lemonade. “I’ll do it because I owe her one.”

“You’ll do it because you’re a shockingly gossipy old maid.”

Ian didn’t argue. He merely stared Case’s way. “You f*cked up with Mia. You should have done as I asked, taken a break and then dealt with her fairly. You went in half-cocked and now she won’t talk to you. Have you considered the fact that she brought you valuable information, information that got us closer to Theo than I could have imagined? Have you considered the fact that she might get more intel and not bother to send it our way because she’s pissed at you?”

“Mia would never do that.” If Santos contacted her, she would call him. Maybe not him, but she would call Ian or Sean. “She would give us everything she had even if it hurt her to see me.”

Ian pointed at him. “Finally you speak some f*cking sense. Mia did what Charlie would have done if she’d truly believed I could die. She did what I would have done if I thought Charlie was in danger.”

“She won’t talk to me.” A sick feeling opened in the pit of his stomach. This wasn’t some childish argument they were in. He’d f*cked up. He’d made her feel like she didn’t matter.