From Sanctum With Love (Masters and Mercenaries Book 10) (39 page)

Jared went pale as Rush continued to Mirandize him. As they hauled him out, he looked back Kai’s way, his eyes wide. It was the same damn look he’d had on his face the day Kai had driven away and not looked back.

Desperation and then acceptance. Jared’s face went blank as though he knew Kai wouldn’t help him and he was alone.

Fuck. Kai strode out the door. “Don’t you say a fucking word, Jared. I’ll have a lawyer here as soon as I can. Not a word to them. Do you understand me?”

He didn’t respond, but suddenly his brother’s spine straightened and his head came back up.

“I’m going to need to talk to Harrison.” He had no idea who had said what or why the police thought his brother had done this, but he knew one thing. He wasn’t walking away this time.

“He’s still here,” Erin said. “I talked to him on my way in. He was planning on talking to you. He isn’t only here for Case. I sent him for all of you. It’s what Big Tag would want, if he wasn’t busy fucking his wife. He’ll likely get my texts soon and he’ll be in here like an angry bull, so enjoy the calm now.”

Two things. He knew two things. He was going to save his brother and he was going to take care of Kori. No matter what. “Will you take Kori back to your place? I fucked up with her, Erin. You have to talk to Case about what we were doing, but Kori overheard something I said and now she thinks our entire relationship was about an op.”

“Girls get pissy about that. It’s why honesty is always best.”

“I couldn’t.” He couldn’t say anything. His hands were tied. “Please take care of her.”

Erin nodded. “All right, but only because I’m tired and I can get a couple of tacos on the way home. I throw up all day and I’m hungry all night. Pregnancy sucks.” She stepped out into the hall. “And tell Case that we’re not through. I’ll figure it out in the end.”

Erin walked away and Kai started looking for the lawyer. It looked like they were definitely going to need him tonight.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“So, I’m betting I get the couch.” Hutch frowned as he locked the door behind them.

“I think one of the girls is taking the couch,” Erin said, pressing the buttons on the control pad for her home security system. “You should feel free to sleep in a corner, or you could go home, buddy.”

Kori watched them, taking in the byplay as she set her purse down on the table while Mia and Sarah did the same. Kori had tried to argue for going home, but Erin had stood pretty firm. Erin could be scary when she stood firm.

Apparently they weren’t allowed to be murdered by a serial killer. No one cared that the cops were looking into it so any serial killer with sense likely would be laying low. That bit of reason hadn’t worked. And it didn’t matter that Hutch was going to lose his bed.

Hutch shook his head and yawned. “No way, sister. My spinal column will fare better against your floor than it would Big Tag’s hands. I think he could do that
Predator
thing where he pulls it right out and hoists it over his head like a trophy. I’ll grab one of the sleeping bags I saw in the hall closet. Thank god Theo liked to camp.” He stopped and went still. “I’m sorry.”

Erin stared at him, arms crossed over her chest. “That Theo liked to camp? Or that he liked to collect piles and piles of crap that I now have to deal with?”

Hutch sighed. “Night, Erin. Yell if you need me.”

From what Kori could tell, Erin hadn’t dealt with anything of Theo’s. Theo’s clothes were still hanging next to Erin’s, his shoes on the floor, his toothbrush still in a cup in the bathroom.

Kai had brought a toothbrush over the second night he’d stayed at her place. Before they’d left, he’d run upstairs while she talked to Jared. Kai had come down with an overnight bag and not even a good-bye for his brother.

Had he been acting the whole time?

One thing was for sure, his toothbrush would not be staying at her place. She would toss it and everything he’d left right in his face when she quit. Without notice. He could keep his own appointments and stock his own groceries and shove all his Zen and calmness right up his muscled ass.

“I still don’t understand anything,” Sarah complained. “I don’t understand why we can’t go home.”

Erin shrugged as though it was none of her concern. “Because you all signed contracts with Sanctum that state plainly any of the Master Doms can be overprotective dicks about you. The overprotective dick award goes to Kai ‘Hot Buns’ Ferguson this evening. So take it up with him. I’m merely the girl who happened to be there. The guest bedroom is back there. The couch folds out and I would bet Hutch is already asleep in my office. You would think all that sugar would keep him awake, but his body doesn’t work that way. So everyone get some sleep. Except you, blondie. You and me, we’re going to have a talk.”

Mia’s eyes widened. “I think I’m going to break my Sanctum contract. After what happened tonight, I won’t be going anymore.”

What the hell was going on? She’d been a little confused from the moment Erin and Hutch had shown up and hustled them all out of the police station and into Hutch’s SUV. They’d been told they weren’t going home. They needed to stay with Erin because the men had decided they were still in danger.

From a serial killer. That was what Special Agent Rush had described, what he thought Jared Johns was. According to the FBI agent, Jared had killed all across the globe. He’d been vivid in his description.

Kori still hadn’t explained things to Sarah. Mia and Sarah had been sitting on a bench in the station house when Kori had been released by Rush. He’d explained that he had other witnesses to talk to before he made a decision, and he might need to meet with her again tomorrow. She’d slumped down next to her friends and wondered what fresh hell tomorrow would bring.

Obviously tonight wasn’t quite over. Erin could be like a dog with a bone. Kori was done pretending. After what had happened with Lena, it would all come out anyway. “Mia is a reporter. Case was investigating her. I don’t think it’s safe for her to go home since she’s been tracking a serial killer and he struck tonight.”

Sarah gasped. “I heard that rumor but I didn’t think it was true.” She shook her head. “It’s not him. It’s not. I’m going to bed because I’m not going to listen to anyone say he’s a killer. He might be an asshole, but he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Sarah turned and walked toward the guest bedroom.

“Well, I’ve lost enough friends tonight. I’ll call a cab. You won’t see me again,” Mia promised. “I’ll go home and help the police from there. I’m sorry I hurt you, Kori. I never meant to do that. I only meant to honor my friend.”

“Wow, that’s some girl drama there.” Erin stepped in front of the door. “You’ll go and sit down and we’ll work this out like two grown-ass females because the men have fucked up everything, it seems to me. The minute he found out you lied on your application, Case should have sat you down and had a conversation. You’ll have to forgive him. He often thinks with his dick, and his dick is not smart.”

Mia tensed, her body stiffening, and Kori hoped she hadn’t managed to fit her gun in that tiny bag. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I have what I needed. At least the police know what’s going on.”

“Yes, they arrested Jared while I was there,” Erin said calmly. “Did you convince them? I take it this is all about your friend. The one who died in Canada.”

Kori felt her stomach flip. They’d arrested Kai’s brother? Had Kai known what was going on with Jared? According to Rush he’d been involved in this sting operation, but it was hard to believe. If he could give up his brother like that, why did she think for a second he would give a shit about her?

“How did you know?” Mia moved back in the living room.

Erin followed her. “Because I don’t have a dumb dick that makes decisions for me. Case and Kai ran an op tonight. I figured that out because Hutch is the one who programmed that device that downloaded your phone. The minute I told him Case and Kai were at the police station, he gave himself away. That boy can’t play poker to save his life. When he’s trying to lie he frowns and looks totally ridiculous. Lying or subterfuge is the only time that boy gets serious. So when he reacted to Case and Kai getting hauled in for questioning, I knew I was on to something. It was a short hop and a few threats and Hutch was telling me everything. Your brother is Andrew Lawless. He’s the CEO of a company called 4L Software. I think Hutch got a little horny when he said your brother’s name.”

So Kai had definitely been working for Case and McKay-Taggart to figure out what Mia had been up to. Why all the subterfuge? Kori sank down on Erin’s couch. She’d been over here a couple of times, but only once when Theo had been with her. They’d only lived here together a week or so before they’d gone on the op that led to Theo’s death. The way she understood it, Theo had surprised Erin with the house after they’d returned from working in Africa. Kori remembered the night she’d come out with some of the guys who’d installed Theo and Erin’s fire pit. They’d made margaritas and ordered pizza and toasted the new house around the fire they’d lit. Those same guys she’d sat with that night had been in on the plot. They hadn’t thought twice about Kai using her. She’d been a pawn.

One more memory ruined.

How many holes could a person have before they weren’t really there anymore? How many pieces could she lose before she simply stopped trying?

“You should know that if anything happens to me, my brother will move heaven and earth to find me.” Mia was still standing like a trapped animal ready to run at the first opportunity.

“Sit down, Mia. She’s not going to hurt you.” Kori was so tired of all the lies.

Erin sat down across from the couch, leaning back. “I wouldn’t say that. If I don’t find out what I want, I might cut a bitch.”

“She doesn’t mean that.” Kori patted the seat beside her. Sometimes she thought Erin had been born to be a Taggart wife. Sarcasm and a little streak of violence had been bred into her DNA.

Mia ignored the couch and stepped up to Erin. Her voice went low. “Don’t let the blonde hair fool you. I’m not about to back off a fight. You want to come at me, we’ll see who wins. My brother might have all the money in the world now, but I didn’t grow up that way. I fought for everything I have and I’ll fucking fight you too, if I have to. I won’t pull hair or try to bitch slap you. I’ll go for the kill and I’ll do it quick.”

“She’s pregnant, Mia.” Kori thought that should be put out there before Erin and Mia started throwing punches. Or stabbing each other. Jeez, she didn’t want to get in between a couple of alpha females. All they needed was Charlotte Taggart to show up and they could start their own wrestling crew.

Mia took a deep breath. “Damn it.” She sat down on the couch. “I could use a good fight after tonight.”

A smile of pure pleasure swept across Erin’s face. “Oh, see, now I like you. You’re going to need that fight if you take on McKay-Taggart. Now tell me why you’re here and why you’ve lied to my people.”

Mia’s eyes narrowed. “So you can report back to them? How deep are you in? You can tell them my brother will never join them. They can block his access to resources all day. He’ll find a way around them.”

Kori saw the moment Erin realized what Mia was talking about and she got a chill. She didn’t understand the spy stuff, but she did know when a moment got real. Really fucking real. She tried to laugh to bring the potential for violence down. “Mia thinks McKay-Taggart might be involved with some weird corporate thing. I think it’s price fixing or something. I told her that’s crazy.”

“The Collective killed my husband. Theo. The Collective killed Theo,” Erin said, her jaw tight. “Are you telling me they’ve come to your brother? Did they try to tell you we’re involved?”

Mia took a moment and seemed to come to some kind of decision. “They approached him a year ago, right after his stock soared. They were quiet about it, but my brothers started to do some digging. I have three brothers, Drew, Riley, and Bran. Riley’s a lawyer. Drew found out where the contact had come from and then Riley connected that man to a couple of companies. Mega firms with so many arms it’s hard to tell who’s who, but Riley managed to make sense of most of it. Then Bran and I ran with it and figured out how they operate. They’re responsible for a lot of crimes. This goes way beyond price fixing. They own politicians and start wars in Third World countries to advance their business and to crush their rivals. Ian Taggart’s name came up more than once. And when I found out the very man I believe killed my friend was tied to this company, I knew they were involved.”

Erin pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. “Tag, I need you to come to my place. Now. I don’t care. Case is a big boy and he can find his way home. Ian, I’m serious. I need you here now.”

She flicked her finger across the screen. Not many people in the world would hang up on Ian Taggart. Erin had balls. She sat forward and looked at Mia. “We’ve been fighting The Collective for years. I wasn’t here in the beginning, but the firm’s involvement goes back to a rogue CIA agent who attempted to use McKay-Taggart to help him steal technological plans for a drone that would have put the US military years ahead of every other country on the planet. He intended to sell them to China. McKay-Taggart stopped him. We’ve been fighting ever since.”