She would read every report. Case was sure of that, but he was also certain she would need to hear it from him. “Very healthy.”
“But his aim has turned to shit,” Ian added. “He tried to kill Case. Only managed to clip him. When he comes back I’ll have to send him through BUD/s again. Do you think the Navy will let me do that?”
“He shot you?” Erin’s eyes went wide.
Did Ian have to mention that part? What the fuck was wrong with him? “He pulled his shot. He wasn’t trying to kill me. When he had the chance to kill Mia, he didn’t take it either.”
Erin walked around the island and slapped a hand to his chest. “Theo shot you because he knows you’re a dumbass, too.”
He was still recovering from that particular injury. He groaned, but put a hand up to hold hers to his chest. “He was alive, Erin. He was so close and I lost him. That’s what Mia and I fought over. He took Mia. He and his little group. He’s not the only one she’s experimenting on. Theo took Mia and then got away through a secret door. She let him go. She lied to me and Theo got away. I’m so sorry.”
Erin nodded and stepped back, looking over to Ian. “So basically Mia got caught during the op. Dumbass here ran in and got himself shot by my memory deprived but ridiculously hot boy. My man still has enough Theo left in him that he wouldn’t kill Mia, but he very likely threatened Dumbass. Mia loves Dumbass and didn’t want Dumbass to die, so she protected him. When Dumbass found out, he screwed everything up with her.”
Ian shook his head, obviously impressed. “She really is the smartest operative I have. And to think I hired her as muscle.”
“Mia let Theo go.” Was he so wrong on this?
Erin wiped her eyes. “She saved you and him. Because he can live with shooting you. He could never live with killing you. Mia talked to him?”
He hadn’t thought about that. He’d been so sure that he could have handled the situation. What if the roles had been reversed? What if it had been him on that floor and someone after Mia? “Yes. She said he recognized her lotion or something.”
A brilliant smile crossed Erin’s face. “Milk and honey. He bought it for me as a gift. He said I was the promised land and I should smell like it. He’s alive. Theo’s alive.”
There were a few things she wasn’t thinking about. “He’s alive, but he’s not in Colombia anymore. We don’t know where he is.”
“But he’s alive,” Erin said through her tears. “So suck it up. He’s alive and we’re going to find him.”
“Erin,” Ian began.
She put a hand up to stop him. “No. You’re not leaving me out. I get why you’ve done it up until now and that’s the only reason I’m not grabbing Bertha and using your massive body as target practice.”
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.