“Why did you bring it?” He’d been a little surprised she’d had a designer dress in her small bag. “I thought we were only supposed to be here for a few days.”
Her lips curled up in a sexy smile. “Same reason I put that lingerie on the plane. I was determined that you were going to fall right into my web.”
Oh, he was in her web. Crazily caught by her. Which was exactly why he’d made other plans he hadn’t yet talked to her about. He needed to enjoy the calm before the storm. “I think you can safely say I’m caught. Come here.”
She moved toward him, her every curve on display. The dress she wore was black and slinky, and he wished he was getting ready to shove his body into an uncomfortable suit so he could take her out on the town. Instead, he was dressing for an op. All black. His only accessories would be the Bluetooth devices they would use to communicate and his SIG. Well, and various other weapons, but the SIG was the main one. He felt naked without the SIG. God, she looked good naked. She looked good clothed, too. Way too good. And those heels made her legs look long and lean. They would look good wrapped around his neck.
He couldn’t do it. “I’m going with you. I’m not letting you walk around looking like sex in black saran wrap without a proper guard.”
Her eyes rolled and she sighed as she moved in, setting herself on his lap. “You can’t and you know why.”
Because he looked too much like his brother. Because if Theo was there, it could get dangerous. Even getting caught by a stray security cam could torpedo their mission and send his brother running. There was zero shot of Hope McDonald not knowing who Case Taggart was. She would recognize him and there was no magical Mission: Impossible mask hanging around to change his face.
But she wouldn’t know Mia and she’d never met Hutch. God, he was actually sending his girlfriend on an op with Hutch as her backup.
What the hell was he thinking?
A hand smoothed over his forehead. “I’m going to be fine, Case. It’s a nothing job. I’m going to a charity party. Do you think I don’t do that twice a week when I’m at home? I’m practically the 4L ambassador since Drew’s a recluse, Bran’s a head case, and Riley’s a manwhore. I’m going to distract security in order to let Hutch sneak back to the office section of the building and download any files he can get. Easy peasy. We’ll be in and out in less than an hour. I don’t suppose you actually went into the building.”
He hadn’t been able to risk it and Hutch didn’t speak Spanish. He’d watched people come and go. One of them had been American, well built. He’d had the right frame for the man in the mask beside his brother in the picture Santos had offered them.
He’d thought about tailing the man, but the key card in the dude’s hand made him think he would come back to this place. Case had been right. The dude had showed back up not thirty minutes later with a sack of groceries in hand.
They might be living in the large industrial space.
“Hutch pulled up some records about the building.” He turned his laptop around so she could see the blueprints. It might have been easier to set her down and show her, but he liked her in his lap, loved being able to smell the scent of soap and the faintest hint of sex she couldn’t seem to wash away. Likely because he’d joined her again in the shower. He’d picked her up, pressed her back to the wall and let his dick have its way.
Mia leaned forward, studying the plans. “So the charity is one small part of the building? There are no other businesses? This place is pretty big.”
“Ten thousand square feet. From what we’ve been able to figure out the charity itself only takes up three thousand. It seems to only deal with poverty outreach. The group that funds the charity is small.”
“Do they have any connection to Hope McDonald or Kronberg? Though if what Tony said is true, she likely would avoid anyone connected to Kronberg.”
“Not that I can tell,” he admitted. “Hutch is working on it. I suspect they have more local ties.”
Her eyes lit with understanding. “Ah, cartel. That would make sense. They would find it amusing to cover their deals with a charity project. They would even see the fundraising as an alternate way of making money.”
“Or they really do community outreach as a way to have a whole neighborhood where they don’t have to worry about police.” Case had thought this through. Colombia had cracked down on the cartels, but they’d merely gotten better at hiding their purposes. And a smart mobster knew that loyalty worked even better than fear at times. “Hutch got on the Deep Web earlier today and heard some rumors about a doctor working with a cartel to enhance some of their product.”
“Ah, so our doctor found a new sponsor.”
It looked like it. She would also be well protected. He might be walking into a war, and that was another reason he needed to get her out of harm’s way. “The cartel could be very effective at protecting her as long as she’s giving them what they want.”