Folding the small dishtowel, he hung it near the sink. The safe house was nice, but Noah preferred Mac’s beach house. Mac had hired a contractor via phone to repair the bullet holes and structural damage from the attack. Hopefully, by the time Manning was neutralized, Mac’s house would be ready. If Mac asked him to, and he was pretty sure Mac would, Noah could live here in San Diego and still work with the team.
Mac had fallen silent, almost brooding by the time they reached the safe house. It had taken the man ninety minutes of driving around to finally feel comfortable enough to arrive. Since then, Mac had showered and taken up residence in the overstuffed recliner in the living room.
The man looked startled when Noah, facing him, straddled the chair and planted his ass in Mac’s lap. Lifting Mac’s hands, he brought them to his lips.
“I’m well and truly caught,” Mac drawled sexily, tipping his dark head back against the chair and gazing at him with humor in those incredible, icy blue eyes.
“Yes, you are.” He teasingly scowled down at Mac. “And don’t forget it.”
The smile working at Mac’s mouth caused Noah’s mouth to tip at the edges. Damn, he loved Mac’s smile. The warmth of it swirled in his stomach and sent his pulse thrumming.
“You okay?” Noah asked, trailing a finger down Mac’s wounded arm.
Mac reached up to clasp the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Their lips brushed, parted, and brushed again. Mac laced their fingers together.
“Better now,” Mac said, and Noah snorted a laugh.
“Seriously?”
Mac huffed and dropped his head back onto the recliner cushion. “No, I’m worried.”
“We’ll get this guy.” Noah untangled their fingers and brushed the hair from Mac’s forehead.
“Together.”
“Together,” Noah agreed. The weariness in Mac’s voice drew Noah’s fingers gently through the man’s silky hair, slowly caressing all the scalp he could touch. Mac groaned under his touch, and Noah continued circling, kneading, and massaging. Working his way down to Mac’s shoulders, careful of the side with the wounded arm, he massaged until Mac was putty beneath his hands.
Noah pulled Mac up and eased him onto the large sofa sectional before resuming his touch. With a full belly, courtesy of Noah’s earlier cooking, Mac drifted to sleep. Grabbing a throw off the couch, Noah covered Mac. The sleepy man gave him a brief smile before drifting off again.
Noah sank onto the couch, snatching up the other throw and sprawling back into its warmth. His eyes traced over the sleeping man. All these years later and this man was his. He admitted, he’d been young when they had met. And he’d had a bit of hero worship going on, but now he knew without a shadow of a doubt that they belonged together.
Freshly showered and pulling on a pair of sweats along with a clean tee, Noah heard Mac answer his cell phone in the kitchen. The smell of bacon drifted through the house. It appeared that Mac had started breakfast. Heading down the hallway, he heard Mac talking to Kane, and by the sound of the conversation, Mac was angry.
“Fuck you, Kane, that’s not happening,” Mac growled into the phone. Mac’s eyes cut to him when he entered the kitchen.
Noah widened his eyes and held up his hands. “What? I didn’t do it,” he joked, trying to get Mac out of the mood Kane had apparently put him in.
Mac’s expression didn’t change. It only grew grimmer as he thrust the cell phone towards Noah.
“Kane wants to talk to you.” Mac turned and stabbed at the bacon in the frying pan.
“Why is my boyfriend mad?” Noah asked, and then laughed when Kane made a choking sound over the phone. Mac whirled from the stove with his mouth open, and then snapped it closed.
Noah winked at Mac and waited for Kane to say something. He wasn’t surprised when the shouting came through. “Boyfriend!? What the hell?”
Noah dropped the phone on the counter, jammed his finger at it, and then stalked toward Mac and the waiting bacon. Mac hadn’t yet moved.
“You’re on speaker phone,” Noah called out around a bite of bacon.
“Damn it, Noah!” Kane grumbled and then sighed loudly.
Noah popped another piece of bacon into his mouth and kissed the still-silent Mac on the lips.
“What? Whatever you need to say to me, you say to the both of us,” Noah told Kane.
“Fine.” Kane made a rustling noise. “Mac already knows what I’m going to ask.”
Noah arched an eyebrow at Mac, but the man just crossed his arms across his chest and scowled at the phone.
“I was tossing around ideas of how to draw Manning out of hiding,” Kane admitted.
Noah put two and two together and glanced at Mac.
“And I told him, fuck no,” the marshal growled.
Noah calmly ate another piece of bacon. “You want me to draw Manning out.”
“Yes,” Kane said hurriedly. “You’d have full protection.”
Noah smirked. Like he needed protection.
“You can’t guarantee that he won’t be hurt,” Mac snarled, stepping toward the phone as if he could punch Kane through the airwaves.
Noah put a hand against Mac’s chest, stilling him. Their gazes locked. Noah kept his calm while Mac’s became stormy.
“I’ll do it,” he said.
“Hell no!”
“Mac, it makes sense.” Noah fisted his hands in Mac’s tee and held his lover’s angry and tormented gaze. “It’s sweet that you’re worried about me, but I can handle myself.”
“Sweet? You think this is sweet?!” The man’s nostrils flared. Yeah, sweet was probably not the best word to use.
“We can get him, Mac.” Noah brushed his hands over Mac’s shoulders and down his arms.
“But at what cost?” Mac said through gritted teeth.
“You’re not going to lose me.” Noah searched Mac’s gaze. “Trust me.”
“I forbid it,” Mac snarled, taking Noah aback.
“You forbid it? You seem to have forgotten, I’m not a kid anymore,” Noah pointed out, reaching for patience.
“I know that!”
His jaw clenched. “Then what? You don’t think I can handle myself?”
“That’s not what I mean,” Mac complained, fisting his hands into his dark hair and pulling at the ends.
“What did you mean, Mac?” Noah asked, standing toe to toe, not backing away.
“I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt.” Something dark and strangled filled Mac’s eyes.
Noah’s heart hammered when the man turned and walked out of the room. A moment later, the study door opened and closed.
“Well, fuck.” Noah let out a deep breath, thrusting his fingers through his hair, yanking out the hair tie that held it back.
“Noah?” Kane called from the phone.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Noah said, dropping down onto a kitchen chair. Hoping like hell Mac forgave him for jumping to conclusions. This thing with Manning was stressing them both out. He certainly didn’t want it coming between them. Mac needed to know that in his line of work, Noah had handled far worse situations. Perhaps then, Mac might not worry so much, but probably not.
“Has Mac told you anything about his sister or his history with Ben?” Kane asked.
“A little bit,” Noah said. He knew Mac had been hurt when Ben had so callously deserted him. He also knew Mac felt guilty over his sister’s death.
Just the idea of Noah putting himself in harm’s way had brought out the man’s protective nature. Mac would feel responsible if anything happened to him.
“He doesn’t want to lose you,” Kane said softly.
“I get it.” Noah sighed. “And it sucks, but it doesn’t change anything, Kane. I know what I’m doing and if Mac has a problem with it, then he and I will sort it out.”
They had been through so much, had come so far, there was no going back. They shared the same fear. Each afraid of losing the other. Noah wanted to lock the man up and never let
him step into harm’s way, but he couldn’t do it anymore than Mac could do it to him.
“Listen, Kane, I’ll call you back tomorrow and we will set up the details. My unit needs to be involved. Now, though, I need to talk to Mac.”
“I understand. Take care,” Kane said before he rang off.
Noah headed down the hall and paused outside of the study door. “Mac?” His knuckles rapped gently on the door. “Mac, talk to me.” Noah held his breath. Leaning forward, he pressed his ear to the door and heard the clink of a glass. “Mac, open the door.”
“Not now, Noah.”
The sorrow in Mac’s voice weighed heavily on Noah, but he gave the man his space. He’d planned on following up on a few leads, but with Mac holed up in his study, Noah didn’t want to leave. Leaving now might look like desertion, and Noah didn’t want any misunderstandings between them.
Noah
Putting in another call to Stefano, Noah filled in his commander. “We’ve worked up a plan. We are setting up a sting and hoping Manning takes the bait.”
“What kind of a sting?”
“One where I draw Manning out.”
“Manning wants you dead. Who’s to say he doesn’t just hire a sharp shooter to kill you?” Stefano pointed out, sounding none too happy.
“This is personal. He won’t do that.” Manning would want to look him in the eyes when he killed him. “Plus, I think we’ll do the setup in a busy area. I want to give him the opportunity to approach me, yet make him feel like he won’t be discovered. If I play it right, he’ll think there are enough people around us to not notice if I go missing.”
“And if he opens up on the crowd?”
“He won’t do that. He’ll lose his up close and personal with me, and he wouldn’t want that. I’m hoping he still doesn’t know I’m an operative.”
“Yes, according to the informant, Manning still thinks you’re the troubled WITSEC victim on the run and hiding out in San Diego.”
“And why would he think that?” Noah stood and walked to the window.
“We may have let some chatter slip out.”
“I wondered why he was personally here.” Noah smirked. His commander had a way of working the odds in their favor.
“Well, to catch a mouse, you need to leave out some cheese. And honestly, the chief had a big hand in that. He wants Manning more than you know.”
Noah snorted. He wasn’t sure he believed that, but whatever. “So, how long ago did you let the information out that I was in San Diego?”
“Right after you left your dog at my house.”
“And you didn’t think of telling me this?” Noah rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
Stefano cleared his throat. “I had the team watching your back.” When he remained quiet, Stefano said hurriedly, “I was going to tell you in Montana. But it didn’t seem the right time.”
“A fucking phone call would have done,” Noah muttered.
“You have the element of surprise,” Stefano murmured. “If his men are combing the streets of the city, it should be easier than you think to get Manning to come to you.”
“Because he’ll think I’m a scared kid.” If Manning still thought him helpless, the guy was in for a rude fucking awakening.
“On the run,” Stefano agreed.
“It’s a wonder that none of the team have spotted Manning’s men.”
“Oh, we have found a few.”
“Why am I just finding out about this?” Noah asked, exasperated.
“Because there’s nothing to know.”
“Bullshit. I want to question them.”
“I said the team found a few. I didn’t say they were alive.”
“Fucking Frost,” Noah muttered.
“Mmhmm,” was all Stefano said.
“How long can you hold Ben?” Noah changed the subject.
“As long as we need.”
“After we get Manning, I’ll need you to release him.”
“I figured as much.”
“If the man stays true to form, he’ll do exactly as I suspect.”
The sun dropped over the horizon, and his man still remained in the study. Yawning, Noah stood to scratch at his belly and headed to the room they shared. He had a fleeting thought of sleeping somewhere else, but then ditched the idea. They didn’t need either one of them putting separation between them. When Mac came out, whenever that was, they were going to talk about this.
Not that Mac was sulking all day. When he pressed his ear to the door earlier, he’d heard Mac on the phone with his office, and later, the man’s fingers typing on the computer.
In the bedroom, Noah stretched out on the bed. Reaching for Mac’s pillow, he tugged it to his chest and yawned. Damn stubborn man. Of course, he wouldn’t change anything about Mac. Noah smiled, drifting to sleep with his face buried in Mac’s pillow.
Sometime later, he felt arms untangle him from the pillow, and then he was gently encouraged beneath the covers. Mac joined him and surrounded him with his warmth.
Noah turned and burrowed closer. “We okay?” he mumbled sleepily.
Mac’s gentle fingers stroked through his hair and Noah closed his eyes.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Mac said, gently pressing a kiss to his temple. Noah slipped back into sleep, holding Mac tightly in his arms.
The morning light had Noah burrowing deeper into the covers with his head beneath the pillow. He stretched, luxuriating in the feel of the soft bed.
A warm body snuggled by his side as Mac slumbered next to him. He shifted the pillow from over his head to rest his cheek on its softness and gaze at the man’s profile.
He’d come a long way from that scared kid Mac had found at the ranch. Events from the past had shaped his decisions, and he wouldn’t change anything. Not really, except for having Mac at his side sooner. It still felt surreal to be laying there next to Mac after having gone for years apart.
“You’re thinking too hard.” Mac yawned and rolled over, flinging an arm across him and sliding closer.
Noah gazed into Mac’s sleepy eyes. “Am I?”
“Mmhmm,” Mac said, nodding. “What was it about?”
No secrets between them. Noah had coined the rule himself. “Of what drove me to become who I am.” Noah reached out and traced a fingertip over one of Mac’s eyebrows.
Mac half-smiled. “And what was it?”
“You.” Noah rubbed at his chin and pushed himself up to sit cross-legged on the bed. “Sort of, but what I wanted above all was to make Stevenson and Manning pay for what they did to my mother.” Noah leaned back with his hands behind him.
“That’s a noble goal.”
“Maybe.” Noah contemplated his next words. “All I know is that I was young and scared and out for vengeance.”
Mac ran a warm palm up and down Noah’s pajama-clad thigh and then spread out on his back, folding his hands behind his head. The man was downright sexy. “And I wanted to do some good with my life,” Noah admitted. “It wasn’t all selfish.”
“I don’t see you as selfish at all.” Mac smiled, and Noah smiled slightly.
“I’m far from perfect.” Noah sighed. “I wanted to do the right thing and save lives along the way. I like to think that my mother had a hand in my decisions.”
Mac reached out and ran a hand down Noah’s arm. “How so?”
“What I know, what I learned of goodness, was from her. She was instrumental in helping me understand the difference between right and wrong.”
“I wish I could have met her. What was she like?” Mac asked, and when he didn’t respond, the man added, “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about her.”
“Oh, I don’t mind.” Noah smiled. “When I was younger, I talked about her a lot in therapy sessions Clair suggested. I just want to give you a real picture of who she was,” Noah explained, collecting his thoughts. When Mac nodded, he scooted closer to lay against Mac before continuing. “She was quiet, not much of a socializer. I remember my stepda
d always had friends over for barbecues, but Mom would take a book and find a corner to read. I was like her, I loved to read and I didn’t have many friends.” Noah set his cheek on Mac’s chest. The memories washed over him. “She was a really nice person. I didn’t know it then, but I think she had a strong sense of justice. I’d like to think that’s where I get mine from.” Noah smiled. “Or at least, I hope I do. I just wish she would have told my father about what we were going through,” Noah admitted, glancing up at Mac.
The man nodded. “He could have helped.”
“I’d like to think so. I’m not sure why he’s stayed away all these years.” Noah sat up and crossed his legs.
“Fear, maybe,” Mac said. “And guilt.”
“Maybe.” Noah wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready to forgive his father for staying away after knowing of his existence.
Mac looked thoughtful, and Noah desperately needed to change the conversation, so he braved a question he’d been wanting to ask Mac for a long time.
“Will you tell me the whole story about Lisa?” Noah hadn’t told Kane the whole truth. He only knew that Mac’s older sister had died, but he didn’t know the circumstances. Mac shot him a quick look. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Noah added quickly.
Swallowing with what appeared to be difficulty, Mac said quietly, “Lisa was a bossy older sister.” Mac snorted a half laugh, and Noah smiled. “But she had the biggest heart in the world. Like you said, we aren’t perfect. I’m not, and she wasn’t, but she loved me unconditionally.” Mac blew out a hard breath.
“I’m sorry,” Noah whispered, linking their fingers.
“My parents threw her out like trash when she dated a boy outside of our religion. Now you know why I don’t keep in contact with my mother.”
It was hard to swallow that people still did that here in America. Some people thought that religious tyranny was something only found in other countries, but they were so very wrong.
“How did she die?”
Ricochet (Out for Justice Book 1) Page 22