by Anna Blakely
“The feds?” Mac sounded surprised. “Why would they care if a lawyer took out a local mob guy?”
“Because the lawyer and the dead mob guy were both closely connected to your uncle. Apparently before his death, the FBI was close to making a case against Anthony Moretti. They’d been after him for years, but every time they thought they had an air-tight case, Doyle always managed to find some sort of loophole. According to my contact in the Bureau, this time the charges were actually going to stick.”
“Sounds to me like the bastard got off lucky by dying when he did.” The words were out of his mouth before Coop could stop them. He looked at Mac. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You said exactly what I was thinking.”
“Anyway,” Ryker continued, “because they were already looking into Moretti, along with his close associates, Doyle is still on the FBI’s radar. They’ve decided to work a joint investigation with the Jersey City P.D.”
“Thanks for letting us know,” Trevor told the man on the other end of the line.
“Hang on, I’m not done.”
Mac’s gaze moved from his to Trevor’s before landing on the phone. “There’s more?”
“Don’t worry. It’s good news.”
“About fucking time,” Coop muttered. He saw Mac give him a quick, sideways glance before looking away quickly.
“The feds are at Doyle’s condo as we speak,” Ryker continued sharing what he knew. “They found a camera in a locked drawer in his desk. Mac, there were pictures of you and Coop, including the same ones you received with the threatening note.”
Coop’s eyes shot to hers. She stared back at him a couple of seconds before breaking eye contact. Blinking quickly, she tried to keep tears he couldn’t see from falling.
She was upset because the man she’d thought cared about her turned out to be just like her uncle and all the rest. Coop’s concern stemmed from something much different.
“Ryker, it’s Sean. Is there any way to keep Mac’s personal involvement in this out of public record?” His eyes met hers again. “If her real identity is exposed, it’ll ruin her military record. Not to mention she could be brought up on charges.”
He and Mac may not have a future together as a couple, but he was still her partner. And partners had each other’s backs, no matter what.
Raising a hand to the corner of her eye, Mac subtly wiped away a tear that escaped. The three listened intently to Ryker’s response.
“Already taken care of,” the agent assured them. “Those pictures have all been sent to me, the memory card destroyed.”
Trevor shook his head and grinned. “The things you have the power to accomplish scare the hell out of me sometimes.”
The other man laughed. “You’re welcome. I’ll keep you posted on any further developments. For the time being, I’d say your people can rest easy.”
“Thanks, Jason.” Trevor ended the call and a collective sigh filled the night air.
“So that’s it.” Mac spoke up first. “It’s over.”
Trevor nodded. “I’d say so. You two still need to be careful, though. At least until we know for sure Doyle’s staying put behind bars.”
“He’s right, Mac.” Coop made sure she was listening. “Henry’s in custody, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still send his guys after you. Maybe you should stay with m…uh, someone tonight. As a precaution.”
Shit. He came damn close to suggesting she stay with him.
The disappointed look in her eyes told Coop she knew exactly what he was thinking. “I’ll be fine.”
Sensing the tension between them, Trevor offered a quick, “You can stay with Lexi and I, if you want.”
“Thanks, but once I see Liv and the baby, I just want to go to my own place and crash. Besides, if anyone still needs watching over, it’s Coop.”
Coop’s chest tightened. She was still worried about him, which only added more jagged edges to his already broken heart.
“I’m good.”
“Tell you what.” Trevor looked at them both. “Once we’re ready to leave, I’ll take Mac home. Coop, I’ll have Derek follow you to your place. That way I can at least sleep well knowing you both got home safely.”
“Sure, Trev.” Mac put a hand on the man’s arm. “Thank you.”
“Fine,” Coop begrudgingly agreed.
With a final glance at them both, Trevor nodded. “Good. Now that we have that settled, we should probably get back inside.”
The man had no more said the words when his wife came running through the automatic doors.
“It’s time!” Lexi gave them all a wide, toothy grin. “The baby’s coming!”
12
“She’s absolutely perfect.” Mac’s heart melted as she looked down at the tiny human snuggled soundly between Olivia’s arms.
“She really is perfect, isn’t she?” With her long, brown hair hanging over one shoulder, Olivia looked both tired and beautiful. In awe at the baby she and Jake had created, she asked, “What do you think of the name? Lillian is after my great grandmother on my dad’s side, and Rose was her daughter.”
Mac smiled. “I think Lillian Rose McQueen fits this little brown-haired angel perfectly.”
Glancing up from her daughter since Mac had come into the room, the other woman asked, “Would you like to hold her?”
“Absolutely.”
In the most careful of exchanges, Mac cradled the miraculous bundle into her arms.
“I can’t believe you made something so incredible.”
“Well, I had a little help.”
The two women laughed softly together.
“Yes, I supposed you did. I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for your husband, though. A daughter?” Mac chuckled quietly, careful not to wake the baby. “He’s totally going to be the dad who sits by the door with a shotgun. I can already see it, him waiting for his little girl to come home from her date so he can scare the shi”—she looked down at the baby—“uh, crap out of her boyfriend.”
Olivia snorted. “Shotgun, my ass. Jake will probably have a freaking Uzi pointed at the poor boy.”
Another round of soft laughter filled the room as Mac sat in the chair next to her friend’s bed, keeping Lillian’s sleeping form protected as she moved.
“You’re pretty good at that, you know,” Olivia commented. “You should think about making one of your own soon. Maybe with that handsome partner of yours?”
It wasn’t the first time Olivia had mentioned how she and Coop should be together. It was, however, the first time Mac’s heart felt heavy at the thought, rather than skipping a beat.
Thankfully Jake had insisted on treating everyone to a meal at the facility’s twenty-four-hour cafeteria, giving Mac some much-needed time with her friend.
“Uh, oh.” Olivia frowned. “What happened?”
Mac shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, right now. Your focus should be on this beautiful little baby. Not my problems with Coop.”
“Problems? That suggests drama.” Olivia’s lips curled into a knowing grin. “Things have to happen in order for there to be drama.”
“Yes, but they aren’t things a woman who gave birth less than two hours ago needs to worry about.”
“I think that woman should get to decide for herself. Come on, Mac. It’s been forever since you and I have had a chance to really talk.”
She’d promised herself earlier she wasn’t going to mention anything about Coop or what had transpired between them. This day should be about Olivia, Jake, and Lillian Rose. Not her. On top of that, Mac’s private life had always been just that—private.
Maybe that’s something that should change. The thought gave her pause.
For years, Mac had mostly kept to herself. Sure, Olivia and the other R.I.S.C. wives were her friends, but they didn’t know everything.
If she wanted her life to be differen
t, she needed to start making different decisions. Starting with letting those closest to her in.
In spite of her reservations, Mac gave in to her friend’s round, pleading brown eyes. “Fine. But you can’t tell another soul. And you have to swear you won’t tell Jake the stuff about me and Coop.”
“Ooh. A secret from Jake? This must be extra juicy.” Olivia carefully scooted herself up into more of a seated position. “I promise. Now, tell me everything.”
Twenty minutes later, Mac had spilled it all. Her true identity, her family history, and everything that had happened between her and Coop. Including the proposal.
“Holy shit.” Olivia blinked several times. “I-I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you don’t hate me for lying to you about who I really am.” Mac held her breath, waiting for her friend’s response.
The other woman made a motion with her hand as if she were shooing away a fly. “I don’t care about any of that. I mean, obviously I care because you’re my friend, and it totally sucks that you had to go through all that. But I completely understand why you’d keep it a secret from everyone.”
An unexpected tear escaped the corner of Mac’s eye, but she caught it before it could fall. “Really? You’re not mad?”
“Please.” Olivia frowned. “Have you forgotten Jake kept a much bigger secret than that from me for ten years?”
“To protect you.”
“You were doing the same thing. Only you were trying to keep yourself safe. No one can fault you for that, Mac. Least of all, me.”
Drawing in a shaky breath, she gave her friend a watery smile. “You have no idea what it means to hear you say that.”
“What did you think I’d say? You’re my friend, Mac. You were there for me when I thought my whole world was falling apart.”
“Thanks, Liv. I hope you aren’t mad at Jake for keeping my secret from you, too.”
“Actually, I’m proud of him for keeping it. Because that meant he was protecting you, too.”
Mac let out a long, loud sigh of relief. “I thought I was going to lose everyone once you all found out.”
Olivia gave her a mom-look she’d somehow already perfected. “Don’t think you’re getting off scot free.”
With a set of deer-in-the-headlights eyes, Mac asked, “Um…exactly which part of what I shared made you mad?”
“Seriously? The man you are completely in love with asked you to marry him, and you said no? Are you crazy or just plain stupid?”
Mac choked out a laugh. Olivia never had been one to pull any punches. It was one of the reasons she loved her.
“How could I say yes?” She tried to make her friend understand. “We’ve only been together in that way for a little over a week. Not to mention, the danger my past put him in.”
“But that’s over now, right? You said that Henry guy was in jail?”
“He’s been arrested, but nothing’s set in stone, yet.”
“But Trevor and Ryker both seem to think that’s the end of it, right? That you and Coop are safe, now?”
“From the way Trevor talked, yeah.”
“Okay, next.”
Mac scrunched her brows together. “Next? What next?”
“What’s your next excuse for running from Coop? It can’t be because you don’t know him well enough. You two are as close as most married couples I know.”
“I’m not running, Liv. I’m trying to keep him—”
“Safe. Right, I got that. Except, you just said he’s already safe. And honestly, none of us are ever truly safe. Not a hundred percent of the time.”
“I know that.”
There was a moment of pause before Olivia said, “It’s simple. Do you love him?”
Mac looked down at the sleeping baby and back up to her friend. She nodded.
“Then what are you waiting for? Because I can tell you from experience, if you’re waiting for the perfect time to come along, it’s never going to happen. Lex, Charlie, and Brynnon would all three tell you the same thing. So would Jake.”
“You don’t think he’ll split us up as partners on the team?”
“Are you kidding? My husband has been rooting for you two to get together as long as I have. He can’t tell you that, though, because he’s your boss. It would probably go against some sort of stupid HR rule or something.”
Mac started to laugh when the door to Olivia’s room opened and the rest of Alpha Team and their wives rolled in.
“I hope Bravo Team isn’t too upset they missed all the excitement,” Brynnon, Grant’s wife, commented as they entered the room.
“Nah.” Olivia shook her head. “Jake called Gracie and told her to spread the news. Gracie and Kat are going to come by tomorrow, and Bravo’s on assignment overseas for Homeland. We’ll invite them all over to see Lillian when they get back into town.”
Mac kept ahold of the baby, and before long, the others began saying their goodbyes. When it was Coop’s turn, he looked over at Mac with an almost pained expression before congratulating the blessed couple and walking out the door with Derek.
Almost as an afterthought, Jake turned back around and hollered, “Hey, Coop! Wait up a sec.” To his wife he said, “I’ll be right back, sweetheart. I promise.”
“Take your time.” Olivia smiled at Jake. “I’ve got this little girl to keep me company.”
With a wink, Jake took off down the hall to catch up with Coop and Derek.
Handing little Lillian Rose off to her mama, Mac gave Olivia a tight squeeze. After telling her how happy she was for them again, she started to pull back, but Liv held her there.
Whispering low enough only Mac could hear, Olivia said, “Life’s too short to wait, honey. If you want him, go after him.”
With a tight smile, Mac told her friend she’d see her tomorrow and headed for the door. She started to open it but stopped.
Knowing Trevor was about to follow her so he could drive her home, she asked, “Could you give me and Coop a second? I need to talk to him about something before he leaves.”
“Sure. He should still be out there. I know Jake wanted to run something by him, too.”
“Thanks. I’ll be quick.”
She told the others goodbye and gave one last glance in Olivia’s direction. The other woman was watching her with a smug, knowing grin.
Giving her friend a single nod, Mac left to find the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
Enough with all the waiting and worrying. Coop had been right all along. If they wanted to be together, there was no reason they shouldn’t go for it.
She scanned the hallway as she walked but didn’t see him. Picking up the pace, she made her way to the large, glass doors, not bothering to wait for them to open completely before squeezing herself through to the outside. With her head on a swivel, Mac scanned the secured parking lot.
When they first got here, she’d been pretending to sleep. Juvenile, yes, but she simply couldn’t bear to face him after ruining his sweet proposal so spectacularly.
By the time they arrived, her focus had been split between putting some space between them, and Olivia being in labor. She hadn’t bothered to notice where they’d parked.
Feeling as though she was walking around aimlessly, Mac’s heart pummeled her ribs when she finally spotted Coop standing next to his truck with Derek and Jake.
“Coop, wait!” she hollered out as she got closer. The three men turned to her.
“You got a second? I really wanted to talk to you before you leave.”
He hesitated. “Sure.”
“I’ll take these inside and give them to Trevor,” Jake offered. “Coop said Trev was driving you home.”
Mac glanced down, only then noticing the suitcase and shoulder bag she’d taken to Coop’s parents’ house were both sitting on the ground next to her boss’s feet.
“I can get them.” She gave her boss a smile. “You get back to that beautiful new baby of yours.”
If t
hings went according to plan, those bags would be going right back in the cab of Coop’s truck.
Jake’s crystal blue eyes beamed in the light of the lot’s nearby security lamp. “Thanks. And thanks again for coming. I know Olivia really wanted you to be here.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
After giving her boss another quick hug, he said goodbye and headed back inside to be with his new family.
“I’m gonna go try to pull Charlie away from that baby.” Derek pointed to his truck a few rows over. “We’re parked right over there. Shoot me a text when you’re ready, and we’ll follow you out.”
Coop gave the other man a curt nod.
“Night, Mac.”
“See ya, D.”
Before he started to walk back inside, Derek gave her a funny look. Almost sad, or maybe disappointed? She wasn’t sure, and before she could figure it out, the blond SEAL was gone.
“It’s been a long day, Mac.” Coop’s gaze danced around them, looking everywhere but at her. “What did you want to talk about?”
Swallowing her pride, Mac took a deep breath and went for it.
“Ask me again.”
His eyes flew to hers, his brows raised with surprise. It was the exact look she'd imagined as she’d played the scene in her head as she’d been rushing out here.
This was it. He'd ask her. She’d say yes. He’d take her in his arm, and—
Coop shook his head. “Sorry, babe. Been there, done that. Still got the ring to prove it.” He turned away, pulling his keys from his jeans pocket.
Okay… Not the reaction she'd been expecting, but it was definitely one she deserved. She’d hurt him, and to pay her back, he wanted her to grovel.
It sucked, but she got it.
“Listen, Sean.” She grabbed his arm and pulled so he’d face her again. “I’m really sorry about before. You took me completely off guard, which you know I don’t handle well, and I got scared.” She licked her lips nervously. “I got scared and…I panicked. I’m sorry.”
He stared down at her for several seconds before pulling his arm free from her grasp. Without saying a word, he turned his back on her and walked around his truck toward the driver’s side door.