The sad look on her face was gone, replaced with the warrior princess glare he’d come to know so well. “I’m not leaving. Are you planning on tying me up and shoving me on a plane?”
“Only if I have to.” He was going to be resolute on this. He couldn’t work with her. His logic and decision-making got all fucked up the minute she walked in a room. If he had time, he would call in another female operative to do tonight’s job, but unfortunately the closest one he knew was a six-hour flight away. He hated to disappoint Mia, but he needed for her to be safe while he did his job. “I thank you sincerely for everything you’ve done and what you’ll do tonight, but I need to bring this down to my team.”
“I’m on your team.” Michael stood up, his face as stormy and stubborn as Mia’s.
Did he have to explain this again? “You’re also incapacitated.”
“I’m fine,” Michael said tightly. “I’ve had worse and you know it. I can still move and I can certainly sit my ass in a chair and watch a building.”
Michael wasn’t seeing the big picture. “I need someone who’s at full capacity. I’m sorry, but you’re out. Ian will bring in his own team in a couple of days. Hutch and I are going to do nothing but monitor the situation. Go home and get well, brother.”
“I’m more than happy to go home.” Fain suddenly looked chipper, the only smile in a crowd of gloom. “I think you’re right. I need to escort my client back to Austin and get started on my new job. Ms. Danvers, I’ll contact the airport and make our flight arrangements. We need a new pilot. I’ll try to ensure that this time the flight crew doesn’t attempt to kill us all. I’ll go and make a few calls while you all work out your issues.”
“What new job?” Case hadn’t missed the smirk on Fain’s face.
That smirk brightened again. “Didn’t I mention that I talked to Drew Lawless earlier today? He called me a few hours ago and we ironed out all the details. I’ve been hired as Mia’s full-time bodyguard.”
Mia’s eyes rolled. “Awesome. No one asked me if I wanted a full-time guard. It’s good to know.”
“You are not staying with her.” Case was going to be the one making those decisions when it came to Mia. He was going to make that clear to her brother as soon as possible. “When we get back tonight and I call Ian, I’ll have him assign her a guard.”
“I’ve been ordered to take her back to Austin myself,” Fain said, his phone in his hand.
“You can escort her home and then my brother will send another guard.” He would rather have her in Dallas, but he had no idea how long he would be stuck here. She would be more comfortable waiting for him at her own place. When he was done, they would sit down and have a long talk about her moving in with him.
“Drew Lawless hired me,” Fain insisted. “I’m not giving up my job. He’s already got someone moving me out of my condo. He wants me to stay close to her.”
“He can move you right back in because you’re not going to be her bodyguard.” He needed someone he trusted to watch over her.
“If Drew Lawless comes to Dallas, can I meet him? Ian always takes Adam with him when he goes down to Austin. I haven’t met him yet,” Hutch said, seeming to not care that the air was thick with irritation on all sides.
“Could Case and I have the room, please?” Mia asked, her voice tight. “We need to be at the party in twenty minutes, but I would like to have a brief word with our leader.”
Well, at least she was going to yell at him in private.
“I’ll drive,” Fain said. “I’ll drop Malone and Taggart off at the surveillance spot and then play chauffeur for our operatives. Come on, guys, let’s check and make sure we’ve got all the equipment we’ll need.”
“Yes, the equipment I bought,” Mia said with a smile that came nowhere near her eyes. “And the hotel room I’m paying for.”
She wasn’t happy with him. That was easy to see. “Sounds good, Fain. We’ll be there in a minute.”
They stepped out and the door closed, leaving him alone with Mia.
“I’m not leaving.”
At least she wasn’t screaming. “Yes, you are. After tonight you will have done your job and there’s no place for you in the field.”
“And if Tony finds out new information?”
“I didn’t need his information.” He’d been happy to discover the address Santos had given her had been the same one he and Hutch had found only hours before. There was nothing her contact could give him that he couldn’t discover for himself.
“And if he finds out who Theo hires to take them out of Colombia?”
“You can talk to him on the phone or he can deal with me. After tonight, I’m calling in everyone I can. I’ll let Tennessee Smith deal with Santos. You’re out of this, Mia.”
“Wow.” She flushed, her arms going protectively over her chest. “That didn’t take long.”