Spark (MacKenny Brothers Series Book 1)

by Kathleen Kelly

I raise my hands in the air. “I have no idea. I can barely use my phone properly. Angus has always had a knack with electronics and computers. I’m more of a muscle man.”

  Cherie grins at me. “All brawn, no brain?”

  I scoff at her. “Nice!”

  “I didn’t mean it. We’re all good at something.”

  “I’m good with my hands, weapons, explosives—”

  “Explosives! What on earth?”

  “I was in the Marines. Joined up straight out of school.”

  “Ahh, makes sense.”

  “So tell me, Cherie, what are you good at?” I tease her.

  Her face clouds over. “I don’t know yet, unless waitressing counts?”

  “I bet you’re good at a lot of things,” I say as I give her the once over. To my surprise, Cherie blushes and looks down. “You look good in my T-shirt, it suits you. If you wanted to stay—”

  “Sean, Cherie… Maddock’s awake and wants to see you.” It’s Kyle, and his timing is perfect.

  I scowl at him as Cherie and I both stand. “Lead the way, brother,” I growl.

  Kyle raises his eyebrows at me and gives a small shake of his head. I need to be careful. Kyle is my brother first and foremost, but he’s also the head of our MC. He won’t stand for any kind of insubordination. He rules with an iron fist.

  We follow him to the surgical suite, and Maddock is sitting up, waiting for us.

  “How are you feeling?” asks Cherie as she takes a seat next to his bed.

  “Better,” replies Maddock as he reaches for her hand. He holds eye contact with her for a moment, then looks to me. “Are Loch and Jamie here?”

  “How’d you know we’d summoned them?” asks Kyle.

  “Angus. He’s been in and out of here ever since you brought me here. The clubhouse has certainly had some upgrades since I was here last.”

  “That’s what happens when you disappear for three goddamn years,” I say a little more forcefully than I intended, but seeing the way Cherie is looking at him and his reaction to her, it pisses me off.

  “It’s a long story, Sean, and I want to tell it but not until the others are here. I want to say this once and answer all the questions. Brother, I thought I was protecting all of you.”

  I can see the sincerity in his eyes. I’ve let the woman cloud my judgment. Nodding, I head for the door, only to have Kyle place an arm across the doorway blocking me.

  “Don’t go far.”

  “I’m not, Prez. Going to check how far away the others are.” Something goes across Kyle’s face at the sound of me calling him Prez.

  He nods once and punches me lightly on the arm. “Good idea.”

  I head back out into the bar area, scanning the room. Diesel and Rocky motion for me to come over.

  “Hey, VP, how’s he doing?” asks Diesel.

  “He’s awake. He’s a tough son of a bitch. Any word on how far away Jamie and Lochlan are?”

  Our family founded this MC. The members know all of us, even those who are not strictly part of it. Kyle has always made a point of getting to know all the families of the brotherhood. As president, he’s made it a point to find out about all of them, to understand them, and to know who can be trusted. Your family says a lot about you and your ability to walk away from them or bring them into the fold speaks volumes about who you are as a person.

  “They should be here by now. Can’t be too far away,” replies Rocky.

  “Beer?” asks Diesel.

  “Got something stronger?”

  “Whiskey?”

  “Now, we’re talking.” Diesel grins at me and walks toward the bar.

  The doors to the clubhouse open, and I look up to see Jamie and Loch walk through them. Jamie has curly red hair and is dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. Loch is tall, well-built, and wearing a suit. You can see they are brothers but from different worlds. Jamie’s hair is a mess, and Lochlan’s is neatly combed. When their eyes lock with mine they both smile.

  “About time you sorry sons of bitches got here,” I bellow at them.

  “I was told it was a matter of life and death, so I’m here,” says Jamie pragmatically. He’s always been the practical one, but after the death of Maddock and Heather, he withdrew from us. It didn’t matter that I could prove the MC didn’t have anything to do with their deaths, he always thought we played a hand in it.

  “It’s good to see you, brother.”

  Jamie nods, and the smile is gone. It’s clear he wants to hear what we have to say and go back to the farm. Lochlan gives me a bear hug, lifting me from the floor.

  “Whoa, little brother. You’re stronger than you look.”

  “Weights, bro, weights. The ladies love muscles, and so do the men.”

  “Fuck that,” I say as he drops me.

  “It pays the bills.” Lochlan takes a step back and grins.

  “Heard you were dating some supermodel or some shit?” asks Diesel as he hands me a whiskey.

  “For a while.” Lochlan looks around and stares back at me. “Why were we summoned? I’ve got work in Paris I need to get back to.”

  “Is that what the cool kids call it now?” Diesel smirks.

  “Why are we here, Sean? Loch isn’t the only one who has things to do. I have a farm to run.”

  “We know.” I throw back my whiskey and walk away from them. “Follow me.”

  I don’t turn around, I know they’re behind me. I pause at the door, hand resting on the front of it. “You need to prepare yourselves.” I glance over my shoulder at them. Jamie looks annoyed and Loch slightly bored. Pushing open the door, I go through first.

  Jamie walks in, eyes wide open in disbelief. “Maddock, is that you? Is Heather here?” His eyes dart all around the room taking in everything and searching for our sister.

  “No, Heather is gone. I felt her leave,” replies Lochlan in a whisper. “How did you survive? Angus has been saying you’re still alive but…”

  It was hardest on Loch as he was Heather’s twin. They were inseparable when they were kids, even had their own language. His eyes are filled with tears as he stares at Maddock.

  “No, Heather is dead. I’m so sorry if any of you thought she was still here with us,” whispers Maddock.

  Jamie closes the gap between them, dragging Maddock into an awkward embrace. Mad draws in a ragged breath, and from the look on his face, he must be in agony, but he doesn’t push Jamie away.

  Cherie stands and whispers something to Jamie I can’t hear. He leans back to look at Maddock, nods, and gently releases him. Before she sits back down, she sweeps the hair off Maddock’s face, and with that one gesture, I know she could never be mine.

  “Where’s Angus? We shouldn’t start this without him,” says Kyle as he drags a chair closer to the bed.

  “I’ll go find him.” I cast one more look at Cherie and gladly leave that room.

  Maddock

  Here I am surrounded by family and Cherie. I’ve wanted this for so long, and now I have to confess how I got my sister killed. How I trusted the wrong people and my stupidity got the one good thing in this family extinguished.

  Cherie stands and is heading for the door.

  “Where are you going?” I ask.

  She stops and turns around. “This is clearly a family matter, and I—”

  “Stay,” orders Kyle.

  “You showed up and have looked after him. It’s all we could want. You get to stay,” says Sean, shocking me with his honesty.

  Although I don’t like the way my brother is looking at her. I might have been away for a long time, but I know my brother. Sean likes Cherie, and with my dishonesty, she might be interested in him. She told me from the get-go not to be a jerk.

  Cherie looks at the others, and they nod. She returns to her chair, and I take her hand in mine.

  “This is Cherie,” I say as I hold up our hands, making it clear she’s mine. “She was about my only friend I had in the town I was living in.” I raise her hand to my lips a
nd kiss it lightly, then I turn and look at my brothers. “I discovered Zed Fluid Systems was selling parts through a shell corporation to some groups in Iran. These parts could potentially be used to make dirty bombs. I told Colin Lamond, he’s the CEO of the company. I thought he was unaware of the activity. I was wrong. That’s what got Heather and almost me, killed.”

  “Why was Heather at your house?” asks Lochlan. He’s standing stiffly in the corner, arms wrapped around himself.

  “It was her car. It was making a noise. Heather turned up, and I told her to take mine, said I’d take the bike and look at the car when I got home. It was the morning after I told Lamond about the discrepancies I found in accounting. The FBI was already investigating the company, so they convinced me to go into witness protection. They told me I needed to protect all of you. To play dead. I’m so sorry…” I’m looking at my fingers entwined with Cherie’s, and no one in the room makes a sound. “I know it couldn’t have been easy to bury both of us. The emotional toll on all of you must have been horrible.” I look up searching my family’s faces. “I honestly thought it was the right thing to do.”

  Loch scrubs a hand over his face. Sean is looking at the floor, his body is taut, his face is a mask of anger.

  “I knew you were still alive. Witness protection leaves fingerprints on everything if you know where to look. I hoped Heather was still with us, but I couldn’t find anything on her, not a damn thing. Now, at least we know for sure,” Angus discloses with a thick voice.

  Loch stalks out of the room with Kyle hot on his heels.

  I look at Sean questioningly.

  “You gotta know, Mad, he’d take this harder than all of us.”

  “Fuck that! You should have found a fucking way to let us know you were alive. All this goddamn time I’ve been mourning you, I’ve been blaming Kyle and Sean and this fucking MC. I-I’ve been…”

  Sean rises and embraces Jamie. The anger pouring out of him is palpable in the room. Jamie has always been the glue keeping the family together. It’s hard to believe he turned his back on them because of me.

  “Jamie, I was told again and again I was keeping you safe. I had to believe it. You have to know the only thing I wanted was to come home. To see all of you.”

  “We have to let them know where you are,” states Angus.

  Jamie looks at Angus. “Who?”

  “Law enforcement, the Feds, somebody,” answers Angus.

  “Fuck that,” replies Sean.

  “If we don’t, Lamond will walk. Maddock is the only proof they have. He has to go back,” states Angus emphatically.

  “Not unless you get the dirt on Lamond.” All eyes go to Cherie. “Well, it’s true, right? Maddock won’t have to testify if we can get Lamond to confess or at least incriminate himself.”

  Sean grins at her. Angus nods.

  “Whatever you two are thinking, no. I’ll go back. I’ll testify,” I say as I try to sit up a bit further. Pain courses through my shoulders and stops me from any further movement.

  “That’s why we need to do this. What if they come after us next time? It’d be easy enough to drive a truck over Sean or Kyle,” states Angus.

  Sean looks him up and down. “Thanks, brother. Have I told you I don’t like the way you think?”

  “Listen to me. All we need to do is get Lamond on tape or something. How hard can it be?”

  “Right! Like the FBI haven’t been trying for years,” bellows Sean.

  “The guy who tortured me, he said they have the FBI in their pocket, so this may be the reason why they’ve never managed to get anything on him.”

  Angus looks down at the floor. From my bed, I can see his mind working. It’s in his stance and the grim determination on his face.

  “He like women?” asks Angus.

  “Yeah, he does or did. Why?” I ask.

  Angus looks at Cherie. “She could be our decoy. Cherie could go home with him, drug him, and I could tap his phones, bug his home. Easy, simple.”

  “Fuck, no! Cherie isn’t going anywhere near him. Are we clear?” I growl.

  Cherie stands. “Everybody out! No one comes back in here until I say so. Are we clear?”

  Angus and Jamie appear shocked, but Sean looks like the cat who swallowed the canary.

  “Big brass balls, that’s what she’s got.” Sean looks me in the eyes and points at me. “You don’t claim this one, I will. Come on, you two, let’s leave them alone. Something tells me the lady has a lot to say.” Sean winks at Cherie as she ushers them out of the room.

  Cherie locks the door and leans up against it with a smile on her face.

  “Is there something you want to tell me about you and my brother?” I ask.

  Cherie looks taken aback. “What?”

  “I see the way he looks at you.”

  “Un-fucking-believable!” Cherie yells, putting her hands on her hips as she strides toward me. “I travel here, with your brothers, the brothers I knew nothing, absolutely nothing about, for you! And this is how you treat me? Jesus, Eric! No, wait, it’s Maddock, isn’t it?”

  Her outburst makes me ashamed of myself, but damn, if she isn’t the sexiest woman alive.

  “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

  “And…” her hands drop from her hips. “Wait, I’m right?”

  “Yes, you’re right. I’m a dick. I see the way he looks at you and…”

  “Do you see the way I look at you?” Cherie whispers.

  Slowly, she walks toward me. I’m at a loss for words, unsure of her next move or what she wants or needs from me.

  “How’s your leg?”

  “It’s okay, not as bad as my shoulders.”

  Her change of conversation has me confused.

  “Can you handle a little pressure?”

  “I’m not sure…”

  In one swift movement, Cherie gets on the bed and straddles me. “How does it feel?” she asks as she grinds into me.

  “Like one of us has too many clothes on.”

  I have a sheet over my body, and apart from bandages, I’m naked. Cherie, on the other hand, has on a T-shirt and tracksuit pants. I reach up and touch her face, but it causes pain to shoot through me. Grasping my hand, Cherie puts it on the bed next to her leg.

  “Lover, I can do everything. I only need you to lie there. Can you do that for me?”

  My cock responds instantly when her lips press up against mine. It’s a slow, burning kiss which sparks a fire within me. My hands go to her ass, and I move her, and she responds by groaning into my mouth. Her tongue darts in and out causing me to groan. I want more. I want to consume her.

  “Wait, wait, wait. How are you feeling?”

  “Babe, if you can’t feel how I’m doing, then we’re in trouble.”

  “No, I mean your pain levels. How are they?”

  “Tell you what… let’s get you naked and see what happens?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispers as she bites lightly on my earlobe.

  “Blue balls would hurt me.” I chuckle.

  In response, she reaches down and pulls her T-shirt up over her head, exposing her breasts. Leaning forward, I draw one of her nipples into my mouth. Her moan and the way she grinds into me is the only encouragement I need.

  I reach up to press her closer to me, and instead of a groan of pleasure, pain shoots down my body, and I yelp in agony.

  Cherie sits back, looking apprehensive. “Okay, this was a bad idea.” She climbs off me, and I am powerless to stop her.

  “Babe, no way. We need to be a bit more careful, that’s all, and that was all on me.”

  “We can wait till you feel better. Can’t we?”

  Reluctantly, I nod my head. “Yeah, we can.”

  Cherie’s face flushes. “Let’s talk about Angus’ plan.”

  “No,” I say, flatly.

  “Lover, if I can help, I want to.”

  “It’s too dangerous. They’ve tried to kill me once, and in doing so, they killed Hea
ther. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

  Cherie nods and puts her top back on. I realize it must be Sean’s, and I scowl at her.

  “Angus or Sean or one of your brothers will be there to protect me. It’s not like I’m going to be in danger. All I have to do is drug him, and they’ll do the rest.”

  “Is that Sean’s tee?”

  Cherie looks down and nods. “Yeah, I was still in my leathers. He offered to get them cleaned.”

  “I bet he did,” I state roughly.

  Cherie’s eyes sparkle. “You’re not jealous of your brother, are you? That’s, well, that’s ridiculous.”

  “You’re wearing his clothes.”

  “And not two minutes ago I was trying to make love to you. Besides, we were talking about getting evidence, not an imaginary relationship between Sean and me. I want you, only you.”

  I close my eyes. I’m not sure who to thank for bringing her into my life, but I know someone sent her to me.

  “Sorry, I’m an ass.”

  “Yes, you are.” Cherie grins at me. “This plan could work, but I won’t do it unless you say yes.”

  Before I can answer, the door opens, and Angus walks through. We both look at him in surprise.

  “I picked the lock,” explains Angus as he shrugs and sits on the end of the bed pushing his glasses up his nose. “We’ll keep her safe. If things go sideways, we’ll shoot his ass.”

  I glare at him, not happy with his intrusion and the fact he wants to put my woman in danger.

  “No.” I’m angry, and both of them turn to look at me with confusion on their faces. “I’m not putting Cherie in any danger. I’m not… repeat, I’m not… losing her.”

  “Er… Maddock, don’t you see this is the only way we can stop them for good? Honey, you’ll never be able to have a normal life if we don’t do this.”

  “She’s right, Mad,” agrees Angus.

  “They killed a U.S. Marshal. You think they’ll even hesitate before they pull the trigger? It’s too dangerous.”

  Cherie and Angus exchange a look.

  I know I’ve lost.

  “You really think your brothers can’t take care of me? Honey, I’m practically in the MC. All I’d need to do is some form of initiation, and I’m sure Kyle would sign off.”