by Cynthia Eden
“And that,” Brodie added, his glittering gaze on Mac, “means she’s still in danger. You’re really going to let her just waltz out of here?”
Mac opened his mouth to reply.
But Elizabeth waved her hand in front of Davis and Brodie. “Hi, there! Over here! Remember me?”
The twins looked at her, frowning.
“There you go,” Elizabeth said, her smile stretching. “That’s me. The woman who gets to make decisions for herself.” Her hand lifted and touched Mac’s chest. “Mac is awesome. A fantastic PI and a great guy, but he doesn’t decide what I do or what I don’t do. I decide that.” She squared her shoulders. “And I’ve already decided that I’m not going to be hiding out here. Grant was hurt protecting me. No other McGuire is going to be targeted.”
Brodie’s brows climbed. “But we’re used to being targeted.”
“It’s kind of our thing,” Davis added. He almost sounded disappointed.
Mac sighed.
“Nobody else in your family is going to be hurt,” Elizabeth said determinedly. “I needed a place to crash, so I came here. But I’m not hiding. I’m not ever hiding again.” Her chin notched up as she focused on Davis. “You said the guy in custody wasn’t talking? Well, maybe he’ll talk when I’m the one in the room with him. Because I think I deserve some answers, and I’m going to have them.”
Davis’s gaze seemed to measure her. Then he glanced back at Mac and ordered, “Marry her.”
He wanted to kill his brother.
“Now,” Davis added, nodding. “Before she has the good sense to get away from you. Seriously, marry this woman.”
Mac looked over at Elizabeth and saw the horror on her face. In that instant, he truly wanted to punch Davis.
“It’s not like that,” Elizabeth blurted. “We’re not— It’s not like that.”
Well, hell.
“We’re not serious.” Elizabeth looked rather frantically at Mac. “I just hired him. There aren’t any ties between us.”
The hell there weren’t.
“Oh, man, look what you’ve done,” Brodie muttered. “Seriously, I bet Mac wants to beat the hell out of you right now.” He shoved Davis back. “The guy lacks tact. He just meant that he liked you,” he hurried to explain to Elizabeth. “Pretty much the only person he can talk sanely with is Jamie. Everyone else doesn’t get him. He is so lucky he found that woman.” His breath heaved out. “Davis and I just came by because we wanted you to know that you could count on us.” His voice had softened. “We’re up to speed on your case. We know what a nightmare it’s been, and if you need us, we’re here.”
Davis nodded. “Right. Um, we’re here.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth told them.
She didn’t realize what was happening, but Mac did. His brothers were taking her in—the way they would family—extending their protection around her. He might still want to punch them—particularly Davis—but he knew their hearts had been in the right place.
They usually were.
“How’s Grant doing?” Elizabeth asked as worry flickered over her face.
Brodie smiled. “He’s in fighting form, don’t you worry about that. The docs stitched him up, and Scarlett is making sure he takes it easy. If anyone can get Grant to follow a doc’s orders, it’s her.”
“That’s good,” Elizabeth said. “When that guy came into Mac’s house—”
“Grant said you stayed cool,” Brodie added. “And that when the time came for you to pull the trigger, you didn’t even hesitate.”
Her gaze lowered to the hands she’d twisted in front of her. “I didn’t realize he was wearing a bulletproof vest.” Her voice had gone hollow. “When I fired, I thought I was killing him.”
And she still didn’t hesitate.
“I had to protect Grant.” She glanced over at Mac. “And I wasn’t ready to die.”
He sure as hell hadn’t been ready for her to die. He never would be.
“I want you to take me to the police station,” Elizabeth said to Mac. “I need to talk to the man in custody. I have to find out why I’ve been targeted.”
Like he could refuse her anything. Mac nodded.
Her breath expelled in a relieved rush. “I’ll get my bag from inside. That way, you don’t have to bring me back later.”
Oh, bringing her back was definitely still on the table.
Elizabeth glanced at his brothers. “It was...interesting to meet you. Something I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.”
Brodie laughed. “I see why he couldn’t stay away from that library. You don’t take crap from anyone, do you, Ms. Snow?”
“Not anymore,” she said firmly.
Then she hurried inside the guesthouse. When the door closed behind her, Mac glowered at his brothers. “You guys don’t even understand the meaning of subtle, do you?”
Davis winced. “Sorry. I just think you need to grab that woman—and hold tight.” His face sobered. “You were laughing, man. Laughing. Do you know how long it has been since I heard you laugh? You looked at her, and your whole face lit up.”
He hadn’t realized...
“Maybe she doesn’t see it when she looks at you,” Brodie cut in. “But it’s obvious to us because we know you...you’re in deep with her.”
In deep. Drowning. But she thought... There aren’t any ties between us. She was wrong, and he’d prove it.
“We know something bad went down with you and Sully years ago,” Brodie said, his voice quiet. “You think we couldn’t tell the change? It was like a light switched off inside you.”
Because he’d lost his parents and they’d come close—far too close—to losing Sully. His brother had nearly died right before his eyes. His world had been full of fury. Hate. He’d had to fight his way back to normalcy.
His brothers had helped him. His sister had been his light.
Then one day, he’d looked up and seen Elizabeth.
Davis’s hand curled around Mac’s shoulder. “I just want you happy. We’ve all had enough hell. We deserve more. You deserve more.”
But the past wasn’t buried—not yet. Not for Elizabeth and certainly not for him. “We still don’t know who killed our parents or why.” There had been so many false leads and suspicions over the years. At some time or another, all of the brothers had feared they’d caused their parents’ deaths. That the battles they’d fought had followed them home, and their parents had gotten caught in the crossfire.
And Ava had blamed herself. She’d thought that she should have saved her parents. She’d thought that she should have fought harder for them.
But Ava had done all that she could. They all had.
“We know our mother was keeping secrets,” Davis said slowly. “Just like my Jamie, she had to start over with a new life.”
Davis had fallen hard for the local vet, and then he’d learned the dark truth that Jamie had tried so hard to keep hidden. Witness Relocation. Jamie had been given a new identity and shipped far from home. Only that hadn’t stopped the madman after her. He’d tracked Jamie to Texas and almost killed her.
And Davis nearly broke apart.
In the aftermath, though, they’d managed to learn a secret that they’d never expected. Their mother’s name had appeared in an old Witness Protection Program database. Once upon a time, she’d been someone else, too. And then she’d been sent to Texas.
Then she met Dad. She fell in love. Stayed here. And none of her kids ever knew about her past.
She’d just told them that her parents had died in a car accident long ago. She’d said that she had no siblings.
Now they didn’t know what was true anymore.
“Sully called in some of his government contacts,” Davis added. “We’re supposed to be hearing back any day.”
Mac had also called in a contact—one that he hadn’t told his brothers about because that particular contact was tied intimately to Sully. She was the one who could give them the best intel, but he knew Sully would never reach out to her.
Sully hadn’t wanted Mac to ever mention her name to the others. They didn’t know about the pain in Sullivan’s past. The guy had sworn him to secrecy.
The family has enough to deal with, Mac. Sully’s rough voice drifted through his mind. Don’t add this.
“We aren’t going to stop until we give them justice,” Brodie said, his expression determined. “Every day we get a step closer to that goal. We are going to find the people who hurt them. They will pay.”
That desire for justice had gotten them through dark times. It had given them purpose. But lately, Mac had begun to wonder...what would happen when they caught those killers? When they were rotting in prison, what then?
The door opened behind him. Elizabeth stood there, holding her bag. He bent and took it from her. Their fingers brushed. Their gazes held.
What then?
He’d realized that he wanted more than vengeance. He wanted life. He wanted happiness. He wanted...Elizabeth.
Chapter Nine
“You don’t have to do this,” Mac said, his hand gripping the chair behind Elizabeth. “You don’t have to look at that killer again, much less talk to him. The cops can handle—”
“Sullivan said the guy hadn’t spoken a word to the cops and that his prints weren’t turning up in any system.” Elizabeth kept her voice calm, and she schooled her expression. She didn’t want Mac realizing just how terrified she was. “The police captain gave us the all-clear for this. There’s going to be a guard in the room every moment, and you’ll be here.”
His jaw hardened. “I don’t like this. I don’t want you near him.”
Her gaze slid around the small interrogation room. A one-way mirror lined the wall to the left of her. Captain Howard was in there, watching. Waiting. The DA was in there, too. The man in custody had declined legal representation. Then, according to the captain, he hadn’t said another word.
But he was coming into that interrogation room. She was going to face him. And she would be figuring out why he was so determined to kill her.
The door creaked opened behind them. Elizabeth’s shoulders tensed as she glanced back. He filled the doorway. No longer covered in shadows or hiding in the night, he stood in the harsh light.
He looked...normal. Incredibly, perfectly normal. He was tall, with slightly thin shoulders. The guy appeared to be in his mid-forties. He had faint laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. His eyes were a light blue, small, his chin a little weak, and his hair seemed to be receding on the top.
The man didn’t look like a dangerous killer.
He almost appeared to be...anyone. A businessman. A guy you pass on the street. The fellow in line behind you at the grocery store.
There was nothing memorable at all about him, and perhaps that was part of his power. If the guy truly was some kind of hit man, then a nondescript appearance could be his greatest asset.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise.” He wore an orange prison uniform, and his hands were shackled in front of him. A cop in uniform led him across the room and shoved the prisoner into the chair across from Elizabeth. “I certainly didn’t think you’d come for a visit.” He smiled at her.
Again...normal. So scarily normal.
Beside her, Mac snapped, “I see you’ve decided to start talking again...”
The guy straightened a bit and winced. “You know, a bulletproof vest is all well and good, but it still hurts when you get hit.” His head turned toward the one-way mirror. “I think my ribs are broken! I need to go to the hospital!”
“You aren’t going anyplace,” Mac said flatly.
The guy looked back at him. “We’ll see about that.” He smirked. “I have a feeling I’ll be getting to do pretty much anything I want, real soon.”
“Who are you?” Elizabeth asked.
“The Fixer.” His smirk stretched. “At least, that’s what my clients call me.”
He’s a hit man. And the guy just admitted it.
“I had lots of time to think in here, and I realized... I have a great deal to offer. For the right price, of course.”
She slumped back in her chair. “You think you’re going to make a deal.”
“I think I’m not spending my life in prison. I think I know plenty of things.” He shrugged. “Enough things to get me any deal I want.”
No, no, that couldn’t happen. Panic built in Elizabeth, but she hurried to tamp it down. If the guy made a deal, he could get out—he could come after her again.
She stared into his blue eyes. There was sharp intelligence there, cunning. And evil. “You killed Nate Daniels.”
“Did I?” He lifted his cuffed hands and made a show of scratching his chin. “I don’t remember that. But then, if a deal was on the table, I’d remember a whole lot more.”
“There isn’t going to be a deal,” Mac promised him. “The DA already told me—he won’t offer you anything. You kidnapped a cop. You nearly killed her. You—”
“Nearly?” the man murmured. “Don’t you mean I did?”
Mac stared back at him. He’d been given the go-ahead to reveal some new details as he tried to rattle this SOB’s cage. “Detective Melinda Chafer survived. As of an hour ago, she has positively identified you as the man who kidnapped her and assaulted her. She told us that you stabbed her. That you bragged about being the Fixer while you held her captive.”
Some of the smugness left the fellow’s face.
“It’s easy enough to connect you to Steve Yeldon’s murder,” Mac added.
“The hell it is! There’s nothing tying me to—”
“The DA isn’t going to make any deal with a man who attacks cops. And as for the cops in here—” Mac glanced around, smiling a cold grin “—just what kind of treatment will you be getting from them? You’re moaning about your ribs, but something tells me you might be seeing a whole lot more damage coming your way. Melinda Chafer is a good cop.”
“Is she?” the Fixer taunted.
“McGuire Securities has proof that you put that money in her bank account. Our techs managed to track that deposit. Did you truly think you were the only one with computer skills? You wanted her to look as if she was on the take. Now we know the truth.”
Elizabeth glared at the killer, taking her cue from Mac. If he could play it cool, then so could she. Don’t think about what it was like to be in the dark, waiting for him to attack. Don’t think about it. “You really believe I don’t remember you?” She laughed and was impressed with the mocking sound. “I’ll testify. You won’t see the light of day again. You won’t be hurting anyone else.”
“Sweetheart...” Fury burned in the Fixer’s gaze. “You don’t need to be threatening me. You need to be running. Because I might be in here, but the person who sent me after you? That person is out there, and your death is the one thing that person craves. You aren’t getting away. You aren’t—”
“Who is it?” Elizabeth demanded, her voice low. “Who sent you after me?”
He leaped to his feet. The uniformed officer grabbed his shoulders and held the guy in place. Mac had risen, too, his hands fisted and his body tense.
“You think you knew Nate Daniels?” the prisoner shouted. “You knew nothing. Nothing. He wasn’t up in that Podunk town by chance, but he got distracted by you—you’re the reason he’s dead!”
Elizabeth jumped to her feet. “No, you are. You killed him. You—”
“You changed his plans. Changed everything for him. Stupid kid.” His laughter burned her ears. “Thought he’d found love and that nothing else mattered. He was wrong. So damn wrong. If he’d
just kept going, if he hadn’t stopped for some piece of tail—”
Mac drove his fist into the guy’s jaw. The blow was powerful and it knocked the prisoner back, sending him crashing to the floor.
The guard leaped to act, pulling the killer back to his feet and then holding up a hand toward Mac. “Stop!”
The killer’s nose was bleeding. “Jerk...broke it,” he snarled. “Get me a doctor! Get me a doctor, now!”
Mac stepped closer to the guy. His arm was up, and he looked as if he was ready to pound the other man, guard or no guard.
Elizabeth hurried to Mac’s side. “Don’t.” She caught his fist in her hand. “He isn’t worth it.”
“Arrest him!” the prisoner shouted. “He assaulted me! And get me a doctor!”
The interrogation door burst open. The captain and the DA were there. The DA’s face was flushed a dark red. “McGuire, get out of here!”
“Mac?” Elizabeth whispered.
Mac gave a grim nod. But his gaze was still on the prisoner. “You and I aren’t done.”
Before he could swing again, Elizabeth pulled Mac toward the door.
“Just like the other fool!” the killer yelled after them. “You think she matters. You think she’s what’s important? Look what happened to Nate! He should have just kept driving! Another hour and I never would’ve been able to touch him, but he screwed up. He saw that cheap piece—”
Mac turned back around. “You don’t understand who I am.” He cocked his head and studied the prisoner. “Or just how much I can make you suffer. You think you only need to worry about jail? About being locked behind bars?” Mac smiled at him. “You should have done more research. I’m not some scared kid that you can murder in the middle of the night. I have power and connections that you can’t even imagine.”
The prisoner swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “And you think I don’t have connections? You have no idea who you’re dealing with!”
“I’m dealing with the Fixer.” And Mac didn’t sound impressed. “As far as any connections you have, how do you think your clients are going to feel when they realize you’re in jail? Do you think for even a minute that they are going to help you? Or are they going to want to make sure you never talk, not to anyone, about the things you’ve done?”