“Taggart’s working on the proof.” Drew sighed. “He was working on it.”
Three people had benefited from their parents’ deaths. The same people who had paid an assassin to kill them and cover it all up so they could cash in on Benedict Lawless’s brilliance. “Ian was the one who found the assassin. You can’t fire him. Call him now and offer him the plane I came in on. It’s still here. It can take him and his crew back to Dallas. He’s too good. We need him despite the fact that his brother is a massive ass.”
She wasn’t going to send Riley in without the best backup possible and that was Ian Taggart and his crew. No amount of pride was worth risking her brother’s life.
“Ezra’s old boss can do the job,” Drew said stubbornly.
“There was a reason we didn’t hire him. Drew, I’m willing to put up with Ezra when I go on assignment, which I will be doing the minute we get back home, but on one condition. Rehire Taggart. I assure you he’ll keep Case far away from us.”
“He better. I’ll make the call if you’re sure.”
She was sure she didn’t want to fuck anything else up. She heard her brother begin to speak but looked out the window. There was no Case rushing to catch up with the plane. He wasn’t going to show up this time. He’d gotten what he’d wanted out of her and then she’d become an inconvenience.
Some Dom he’d turned out to be. One mistake and she was out.
Had she been wrong? In the heat of the moment, all she’d wanted was to make sure Case was safe. She’d seen him shot. He couldn’t have taken another bullet.
“So I take it I won’t be getting that finder’s fee after all?” Ezra had a self-deprecating smile on his face.
She wished she was alone. She needed time to mourn him. How fast could she pack when she got back to Austin? She’d already texted a couple of past editors looking for a job that would take her anywhere but Texas. She would still be back in time for the StratCast job, but she couldn’t sit in her condo and think about Case. “The job my brother needs is delicate and Taggart’s been working on it for a very long time.”
“The job where he takes down Castalano, Stratton, and Cain?”
Ezra knew a lot for a man who’d only been hired a few days before. “He’s already told you?”
“Unlike Case Taggart, I do my research when I…well, when I find a woman I like.”
She felt herself flush. “Ezra…”
He held his hands up. “I’m not going to try anything. I realized very quickly you didn’t have the same feelings for me, but I still like you as a person, Mia. I wanted to know what was going on with your family. It wasn’t hard to figure out that after your parents died you and your brothers got screwed and hard. They took your father’s shares in the company and split them among themselves. There should have been millions left to take care of you.”
So he’d figured out how they’d stolen her father’s money. “It was all tied up in stock and there was a binding partnership agreement between the four of them and it included a morality clause. They used that clause against us, gobbled up his stock, and then sold his intellectual property for millions. We didn’t have anyone willing to fight for us so we all went into the system.”
“And now you’re going to get your revenge. You think your parents were murdered and Taggart is trying to prove it.”
“It’s not my revenge,” she said with a sigh. “But Drew needs it and Ian Taggart is his best bet. Sorry about the finder’s fee.”
He sank into the chair across from her. “And I’m sorry Case Taggart is such an ass. You know, he’ll probably come around. I don’t think he’s got a good hold on his temper.”
She wasn’t so sure. He’d told her in the beginning he wouldn’t be able to trust her again. He’d told her to stay away. She’d only fooled herself. When the chips were down, he’d shown his true colors.
He thought she’d had sex with him in order to get her way. How could he love a woman he thought so little of?
“It’s over. It doesn’t matter now. We’re stuck together for a while. At least until Drew figures out the kidnapping thing was a one-off.” It had only been a week or so since someone had attempted to kidnap her. Drew needed time to forget. “I’m going to travel for a while. I’ve been wanting to do a story about the women’s movement in India.”
“Curry. Sounds awesome.” Ezra buckled his seatbelt. “I suspect you’ll also be trying to get in contact with Santos again.”
“Of course.” Just because Case was a jerk didn’t mean she would stop trying to help Erin and TJ. “He won’t talk to the Taggarts. Only to me. When I get the information, I’ll send it on to them and then I’ll be out of it.”
“Sure you will. I’ll believe that one when I see it.” He yawned and stretched out.
She was going to stay out of Case Taggart’s life from now on. Maybe in a few years she would even be able to forget him.
She was sure going to try.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN