“Fucking shitty day,” Ian cursed. “Alex, we’re going to need a flight home. Case just cost us our ride, a million dollar a year contract, and our children cousins since the next time Mia lets him touch her will be a cold fucking day in hell.”
Alex looked grave as Ian strode out, yelling at Li to join him. “Pray Ian doesn’t get stiffed with the bill for this place. I don’t think his heart will be able to take it.”
Case stared at the spot where Mia had disappeared.
In a few days she would be back. She was just playing him again. One more manipulation.
But she would be back. She would.
She had to.
“Are you all right?” Drew sighed and sat down in the chair beside her. “That was a stupid question.”
Was she all right? She was hollow. She was empty.
Case had looked at her like she was a piece of trash. He’d broken that promise to her—that they would talk, that he would stay and fight it out. He’d told her there was no future. He hadn’t even listened to her. He didn’t care that she’d been desperate to save him.
“It’s fine, Drew.” Her voice sounded like a bland monotone. It was all she could do to keep from crying. “I just want to get back to Austin.”
And then she would pack and be gone again. She needed to work. She needed to make things right because Case had been correct about one thing. Hutch was in trouble because she’d chosen Case’s life over his. Hutch had been her partner. He’d been scared. He’d known something was wrong and she’d watched as he walked away and into the trap.
She had to make that right.
“We’ll be there in no time at all.” Ezra sat down beside Drew. “I’ve informed the pilot to get us in the air as soon as possible. And the good news is this pilot checks out. One hundred percent chance of him not trying to murder us.”
“That’s excellent. Could I get a moment alone with my sister?” Drew asked in that polite but firm tone that meant the answer better be yes.
Ezra immediately stood again. “Of course. I’ll go and sit with the pilot. Let me know if you need me at all.”
He stepped away and she was left alone with her brother.
“Mia, I know you loved that man.”
She had, but she should have known. Tony had told her. When the chips were down Case would always choose his family, and she would never be a part of his family. He’d called her princess. Sometimes it felt like a term of affection, but then he was an expert at making her feel good. Even when he didn’t mean a word of it.
But he’d meant it. He thought she was an entitled princess. Poor little rich girl. Who would love her?
“It doesn’t matter.” She stared straight ahead. That’s what she had to think about. Moving forward. One foot in front of the other.
Don’t think about how much she was going to miss him. Don’t think about how he’d looked at her, how he’d hated her.
She’d made the right decision. She’d seen it in Theo’s eyes. He would have done it. He would have killed Case.
Case simply didn’t care enough to stay and fight it out.
He’s very likely hurting Hutch right now. Did you think about him at all? Did you think about what they would do to him? Or were you so fucking scared for yourself that you didn’t give a damn?
He’d thought she’d been considering herself, not him. That’s where his brain had gone. He truly thought she was an overprivileged bitch who only thought of herself. He’d never cared about her. She’d been a means to an end and a convenient lay.
“It does matter, Mia. You matter.” Drew leaned forward. “He’s an ass who can’t see how amazing you are. He was a mistake.”
He hadn’t felt like it at the time. He’d felt like perfection, like she’d finally found the man who fit. “Yes. I’ve proven I have shitty taste in men.”
Maybe she would be better off taking her foster moms’ path. Damn it. Why did she need a dick? Especially one attached to a much larger dick.
God, she was going to miss him. It was an actual ache inside her body. She would feel every mile between them.
“He wasn’t the one for you.” Drew scowled and sat back. “I’m sorry I brought them into our lives.”
She had to clear that up. She couldn’t be the one who cost her brother the plan he’d been working on for years. “You can’t fire Ian Taggart.”
“I already did.”
“Then hire him back. I’ll call him myself. He’s the best in the business and he knows this case like the back of his hand. He’s been working on it for months. Riley’s going to New York soon, or have you changed your mind about taking down Steven Castalano?”
“I’m going to take them all down.” His eyes seemed to go a shade darker, as though the mere act of talking about his revenge could change him from the brother she loved into a predator. “They killed our parents.”
“You can’t prove that.”