Case reached out and grabbed Hutch. “Don’t you dare call Ian.”
Michael managed to pull himself up. “If he doesn’t I will. Something’s fishy here and you’re keeping us in the dark. I want to know what’s going on and I want to know now.”
Damn it. He’d meant to avoid this. He wished he could kill the pilot again.
“I have something on him, okay?” Mia put her hands on her hips. Her eyes went steely. “I’ve got something on Case and I’m using it to make him help me. He’s embarrassed so you don’t have to bring Ian into this. And as long as Case there goes along with my plan, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
She was sweet, but he could tell her it wasn’t going to work. “Don’t bother. They know me too well.”
“He would already have you locked up,” Hutch said with a grim smile. “He’s chasing your tail, hon. He can be led around by his dick but he wouldn’t give in to blackmail. Try again.”
“Is this about Hope McDonald?” Michael asked quietly.
“The senator’s daughter?” Fain asked, his gaze sharpening. “You think she killed your brother.”
They’d covered so much of that up. “Theo died while performing his bodyguard duties.”
“Bullshit. Theo Taggart died around the same time as the senator. Everyone in the business knows the senator had Tennessee Smith burned. There is zero chance that Ian Taggart would hire out his brother to protect the man who ruined his friend. Rumor has it the senator was dirty as hell and connected to a group of businessmen who call themselves The Collective.” The words came out of Fain’s mouth like accusatory bullets. “McKay-Taggart isn’t the only group with connections. They’re just the group that doesn’t play well with others.”
So Fain’s boss had his ear to the ground. Case wouldn’t be telling him anything he didn’t know. “Theo was still killed on a job.”
“He was working for Ten Smith. Does this job have something to do with Smith?” Fain asked.
“No.” He didn’t like Fain asking about Tennessee Smith. His old boss kept a low profile. “Ten has no idea what’s going on.”
“I doubt that,” Michael said. “The real question I have is does Big Tag know what we’re doing?”
“He knows exactly where I am.” Case didn’t have to lie about that. He’d told Ian exactly where he was going.
“Then you won’t mind me calling in to let him know what happened to Michael. It’s what we’re supposed to do when a team member is injured. We call back to base,” Hutch said all too reasonably.
When had Hutch gotten so slavish to the rules? “We’re handling it. Erin just had her baby. Everyone’s trying to take care of her and TJ. I’ll put Michael on a plane back and you can join him.”
Mia moved in behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We won’t be more than a few days behind you. No one has to be worried. I’m going to talk to someone, get some intel, and Case and I will fly back. We’ll keep a low profile and everything will be fine.”
“Intel about what?” Fain was ruthless.
“None of your business,” Case replied.
“How about mine?” Michael asked. “I’ve already taken a bullet for this operation but I’m not allowed to know what intel we’re going after? I thought we abandoned the whole following-orders-blindly thing when we left the Agency.”
Michael had been his partner for a very long time. Outside of his brothers, Michael was one of the only humans on earth who could actively make Case feel guilty. They had left behind the lies when they’d quit the Agency, and Case had been the one to convince Michael to come with him. Case sat silent.
“I’m calling Tag,” Hutch said stubbornly.
“Don’t.” He was rapidly losing control.
Hutch’s face was red, his eyes narrowed as he looked down at Case. “No, you don’t get to order me to stand down when it comes to this. I realize that I’m considered the geek of the group and no one thinks I’m good for anything but looking shit up on the Internet. But I know how this should work. I did my time in the Army and there is a chain of command for a reason. I didn’t trust my instincts that night. Erin didn’t either. I will not do that ever again. Not even for you, Case. Fuck, really not for you because I refuse to lose another friend.”
It was so easy to forget how volatile Hutch could be, how deep those seemingly still waters could run. He hadn’t talked much about it, but Hutch had been there the night Theo died. He’d watched as Theo took his last breath and he’d seen the aftermath of Nick losing Des and Erin losing Theo.
Hutch had been the one who followed Theo’s orders, including not calling into home base when everything had gone to hell. The minute Ten had been taken, Theo should have called in and let Ian take over. Theo had been sure he could save Ten and the op.