“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.
It’s hers, Case. That’s the mistake you’re making. You think you’re being the white knight, saving the girl from pain, but you’re taking something from her. This is a part of their story. Whether you get Theo back or not, this is hers because he was hers. The pain is hers too. You’re taking her ability to pray for him, to know what he’s going through.
On the plane trip home, the one that had taken place in the same plane he’d ridden out on, he’d talked to Ian about telling Erin, about bringing the entire team in now that they’d lain eyes on Theo.
Ian had told him it was his call. He’d stayed away from the office for a few days, not wanting to hear the lies Ian would have to spread about what happened in Colombia, to explain Hutch’s disappearance.
“I like her.” Erin set the pitcher down.
“Everyone likes her. You’re not the first to tell me how stupid I am.” Not even close. Everyone seemed to have an opinion.
“It won’t take her long to find someone else. Don’t worry about it. I heard Kori saying she and Sarah are going to try to fix her up. Apparently they had a nice long talk before Mia took off for places unknown.”
“She’s working.” He’d already tried to call and been told that she’d left Austin.
“She’s hiding,” Erin corrected. “Ian told me you were over-the-top mean to her.”
Ian was a big old gossip. “I was the exactly right amount of mean to her.”
Except he’d started to wonder about that. He’d been so angry in that moment. Time had given him a little more perspective. He’d started to question what had really happened.
“Ian told me you two had a big blowout over the op in Colombia. He wouldn’t tell me what it was about though.”
Because that would have given up the secret they’d been keeping. The one Mia thought he shouldn’t keep.
Could she have honestly thought Theo would kill him? Had she been terrified for him in the moment? What if all that sweet affection hadn’t been manipulation? What if it had been love?
She’d walked out, not saying a word to him, not defending herself or fighting the good fight. It had been like a light had been snuffed out inside her.
At first he’d called to yell some more at her. The last time he’d called, it had gone straight to voice mail and he’d hung up.
She would come back. She would see he’d had the right to be angry.
“You’re going to let her go?” Erin stared at him.
He shrugged. “We had a fight. I think we both need some time to think.”
“Can I give you some advice?”
“Do I actually have a choice?” He never seemed to have a choice when it came to getting advice from his family.
A smile crossed Erin’s face. “See you can be smart. But mostly you’re a dumbass. Whatever happened, you were wrong.”