From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10) - Lexi Blake Page 0,96

a lot of pressure. I don’t like bringing family members in. Not ever.” Rush ran a hand over his hair as he walked toward the door. “Do what you can. I don’t want anyone dying on my watch. Know that we’ll be sticking close tonight.”

Jared was surrounded by vultures and men who wanted to see him in prison. Once again it was up to Kai to save his brother.

The door closed behind Rush and he was left alone with Case.

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t have to do this. Hell, why don’t I bring along Hutch? I can introduce him as a friend and you can be out of this altogether,” Case offered.

There was a problem with that scenario. “If she’s Collective, then she knows who Hutch is and she’ll likely be vigilant around him. I’m the non-threatening one. I’m the therapist who rarely works for McKay-Taggart and never in the field. If she sees Hutch or Adam or any of the tech guys, she’ll figure out what’s happening and we’ll lose her. This will work because she’ll think you can’t get anything done if you’re out dancing with her. She’ll leave her purse with Kori because she’s Mia’s friend and Mia trusts her, and I’ll very quietly get the job done because we’ll make sure someone distracts Kori. I can get Jared talking and he tends to command the room when he does. We’ll get what we need. I can handle tagging the phone, but Rush is right about one thing. I’m too close to the murder case. I can’t conceive of a world in which my brother is a serial killer.”

“Honestly, having spent some time with him, neither can I. I have to wonder if this isn’t some unfortunate coincidence. I think we should concentrate on the situation with Mia and let the feds do what they need to do. Once you tag this phone, all you need to do is fulfill the contract you have with the studio and you’re out of it. No more spy stuff.”

There was one more matter to settle. “Apparently my brother doesn’t need training. What do you know about that? Is it true? Has Jared been in the lifestyle for a while?”

Case’s jaw tightened as though he didn’t like this line of questioning. “According to the file the feds have on him, he’s been going to clubs for years. He started in his early twenties.”

Had Hannah been the one to introduce him? Wouldn’t that be a kick in the groin? “Thanks for telling me the truth.”

“I think he’s lying because he wants to get close to you and this was a good way to ensure your attention,” Case said. “Look, man, you’ve never been the little brother. I’ve been both. I know what it means to have to look out for your younger brother, even when he was only a few minutes younger than me. Theo was…reckless. I always knew that. In some ways the fact that he was always so reckless made me more careful.”

Kai knew this story. He’d lived it. It had to have been worse for Case since Theo had been his twin. Was his twin. “You had to be his more reasonable half. I was basically Jared’s father figure, so I understand. It doesn’t make it easier to swallow that he’s lying to me again. He made me spend hours going over contracts and talking about different forms of play when he likely knew everything I was saying.”

“Ah, but that’s where I do understand him. Look, maybe I was the oldest growing up, but it’s different now,” Case explained. “I was the leader when Theo and I were young. I was the one who decided to go into the Navy. Theo followed me. I was the one who decided we would join the CIA team. And then I met Big Tag.”

The Taggart brothers hadn’t grown up together. They shared a father, one who had walked out on Ian and Sean when they were young. Papa Taggart had found a new family, fathered Case and Theo, and moved on from them as well. Tennessee Smith had been the one to connect the dots. The brothers had finally met, but it hadn’t been an easy family reunion. “You didn’t like him at first.”

“No. He was a challenge to everything I knew about myself. If it had been up to me, I would have walked away and never looked back. When Ten got burned, I would have