Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(126)

Including the entire board of directors of Kronberg Pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, Hope McDonald wasn’t among them. She’d disappeared off the face of the earth, and that didn’t sit well with Ten. Until he found Faith’s sister, he wasn’t sure she was safe. He kept a watchful eye on his wife. He had to because two weeks into her new life she was chafing and needed something to do. Luckily, Karina Mills ran a community outreach in one of Dallas’s neediest neighborhoods. She provided counseling and services, and now she and Faith were planning a free clinic.

The world needed saving and his fiancée was determined to do her part.

A babbling sound caught his attention and he found himself smiling.

Ten was getting used to having babies invade his space. He glanced up and Adam Miles was holding his toddler’s hand as he passed out the morning’s agenda.

“Sorry. He wanted to make the rounds with me. He’s been clingy lately. I think he’s wondering where Theo went, you know.”

Theo Taggart had left a massive hole in McKay-Taggart. Every single person felt his loss, even the kiddos. “It’s not a problem. You’re welcome here, buddy.”

He didn’t flinch when the toddler crawled up into his lap. Tristan Dean-Miles was a sweet kid with a penchant for climbing things he shouldn’t. At least once a week, the women who ran the daycare had to call one of the taller men in to rescue Tristan.

“Thanks. I kind of thought you didn’t like kids,” Adam said.

“I’m getting used to them. Faith wants a couple.” He put a hand on the toddler’s head and the kid leaned into him. “I think I do, too. And hey, I’m sure I’ll be an uncle soon the way my sister and Jesse go at it. Could you make an announcement at the meeting this morning to lock the doors? I didn’t need to see that.”

Adam chuckled. “I’ll put it on the agenda. Tag wants to see you before the meeting. He’s waiting in the front conference room.”

Ten stood, picking up Tristan as he did. He looked down at the child in his arms. Yesterday, he’d walked in and found Case sitting in the middle of the nursery, letting every kid in the room use him as a jungle gym. Something about the little ones calmed Case, made it easier for him to move through the day without his brother.

He wished Erin would sit with the babies. She came to work and then went back home to the house she’d shared briefly with Theo. She claimed she needed to prep it for sale because she didn’t need or want the space, but as far as he could tell, she hadn’t packed a thing. She hadn’t changed a thing. Theo’s clothes were still in the closet, his coffee mug exactly where he’d left it. Erin was living in a shrine to her lost love.

Ten passed Tristan back to his father. “He’s a good kid. Oh, he’s going to get beat up for that name you gave him, but he’s a good boy.”

Adam’s eyes rolled as Ten passed him. “Hey, it’s a McKay-Taggart thing. We pick weird names. Carys? Yeah, like she’s going to be able to teach people how to spell that. How about Cooper? The kid sounds like he walked out of a Western. I won’t even go into Kala. Still trying to figure that one out.”

Ten stepped out into the hallway. How had Adam—who claimed to be the smartest man in the building—not figured that one out? “Kick A Little Ass. What the hell else would Tag name his kid?”

Adam’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit. You’re right.”

Ten turned toward the main conference room, leaving Adam behind. Tag was standing in the lobby. Up ahead, Ten could see someone was sitting in the conference room. It looked like a man. Ten would guess an older man, and he was with a younger guy. Likely his son. Were they new clients?

“Hey, Adam said you wanted to see me. Do you have any news?”

Tag sighed. Since they’d come back empty-handed from the island, Tag had tossed aside all other cases to follow leads on Theo’s body. “We finally got a trace on his locator signal.”

“I thought they threw it in the trash the way they did mine.” He still had the scar from it.

“We got hits on both Des and Theo’s signals before we lost them. It was a lucky thing. Hutch was actually playing around on the computer when we took a boat from one island to another.”

“They dumped the bodies in the ocean.”

Tag nodded. “I can send divers down, but the likelihood that we’ll find anything is very low. There are currents in that part of the sea that flow out to the Atlantic.”

“I’m so sorry.” It was an ache in his gut that they couldn’t even bury Theo. They’d held a funeral, but the casket had been empty. The London team had been forced to do the same for Des. “I swear the minute I find Hope, I’ll let you know. She can at least tell us what happened after we retreated.”

“Good. Are you sure you want to do this?” Tag asked. “It might be better for you to concentrate on the wedding and settling in.”

“We’re not really settling. Eventually Faith is going to want to go back to Africa. Right now, I want to ensure her safety by finding her sister. I’m not sure anyone is safe as long as she’s out there doing whatever the hell it is she does.” He was going to find her. He was going to question her. He would dig up every nasty secret Hope McDonald was hiding and bring it into the light.

“Despite the loss of Kronberg’s funding, I think she’s likely still working. Adam estimated she got away with roughly fifty million of her family’s fortunes before the feds froze her father’s accounts. She’s a smart cookie. Completely insane, but smart. I have questions I want to ask her about Theo’s body. I have no doubt she was there when they dumped him. I have to make sure. Find her, Ten.”