She blew out a loud sigh then glanced toward the ceiling and nodded. “Got it.”
The next hour consisted of questions and answers and evasions and, on Josh’s part, sometimes all-out lies. After a few frowns in Macki’s direction, she started taking his lead on her answers. The questioning felt the same as it had hours ago in St. Louis when Granger kept badgering him.
Finally, Macki stood, holding her side. “That’s it for tonight. I’m tired. My head hurts. And I need to take a pain pill.”
Cummings ignored her. “Let’s go over this one more time. You met Mr. Slater on D Street because—”
“You heard the lady. She’s done for tonight.” Josh moved to the edge of his seat. “If you need anything else, let us know.”
“I give the orders around here.”
“Come on, Macki.” Josh rose, steadying her as they headed toward the door. “Time to go.”
Cummings stepped in front of him. “I don’t know who you think you are, but—”
“Let’s just say…” Josh had had all he could take tonight. “…I’m the man who only has to make one specific phone call, to one specific person, and you’ll find out what hell’s all about.”
“Is that a threat?”
Sucking in a slight gasp, Macki reached her hands between the two men. “Play nice, guys. Please play nice.”
“No…that’s not a threat.” Josh gently pushed her hands aside then leaned within a breath of his opponent. “That’s a fucking promise if you ever get in my way again.”
Cummings’s phone rang. “Yeah? Of course… Why? But—”
Focused on the call, Josh noticed every inflection, every expression, every word and pause. Orders were being given, and he needed to figure out by who.
“Listen, this is my case and I… No, sir, I… Yes… Yes…” Cummings slammed his phone on the desk then narrowed his eyes. “You two are free to go. Have a good night.”
Not needing to be told twice, Josh steered Macki through the open doorway then motioned her to the wheelchair she’d been in when he pushed her over from ER. He lowered his cheek next to hers as he unlocked the brakes. “I’d give ten years’ pay to know who just told him to let us go. ’Cause I’m sure that room is bugged and someone was listening all the time.”
“You think that’s what happened?” she asked.
Nodding, he navigated the hallways to the ER entrance. This had been a hell of a long night. All he wanted was to get Macki home. Get her settled into bed with her pain meds. And get his OPAQUE security equipment set up. Things were happening. Fast. He needed to stay on top of the clues.
“Mr. Slater?” The ER head nurse waved him in her direction.
He stopped. “Yes, ma’am.”
“There was a phone call earlier. Didn’t want to talk to you. Just had me take this message.” She handed him a sheet of paper.
Welcome to Riverfalls, Agent Slater. Glad you finally got here. I’ve been waiting to start the game till you arrived. Wouldn’t be the same without you.
“This it? Nothing else?” Josh focused on the head nurse’s eyes. They looked truthful.
“Word for word. He even made me read it back to him before he disconnected.” She reached up and tilted the side of his face in her direction. “You might want to have that cheek looked at. Might leave a scar.” She raised her eyebrows. “Of course, it looks like you already have a scar in that location.”
“I’ve got a lot of scars, ma’am. What’s one more? But thanks for the antiseptic earlier.” Josh quirked the side of his mouth. “This message stays between you and me. Right?”
The nurse nodded and walked away.
“What does it say?” Macki asked.
He tucked the note in his pocket. “Just somebody welcoming me to town. Nothing to worry about.”
Chapter Seven
Waking up in her own bed, in her own penthouse, in her own hotel felt like being just this side of heaven. Last night had been one Mackenzie could have done without.
Now, twelve hours later, after numerous police questions and restless hours of sleep, Josh’s words still rang in her mind.
I’m your protector.
She’d heard her father say the same words to her mother years ago.
Groggy, Mackenzie glanced at the clock on the nightstand—three p.m. Had she really slept that long? The pain meds the doctor prescribed had probably zonked her out.
She stretched. Winced. “Well, that wasn’t good.”
After padding to the bathroom, she brushed her fingers against the quarter-sized bump at the edge of her hairline then across her side where a knife’s blade had broken the skin. Thankfully, the cut had been superficial and only a liquid bandage had been applied. A moment of nausea charged her stomach. A splash of water to her face helped the queasiness, but the lump would take a few days to go away. After brushing her teeth, she eased a comb through her hair then flicked on a coat of lip gloss. In her humble opinion, she looked like hell.
Her favorite baseball team’s sleep shirt barely covered the shorty bottoms she’d wiggled into early this morning. And somewhere outside her bedroom door, Josh would be waiting. Should she put on more clothes? No, that would require more oomph than she had at the moment. Last night’s fight to survive—and the pavement—had tested her resilience. Right now, she needed coffee. Coffee and sunshine.
A vague memory of Josh helping her to bed, after she changed clothes, floated in her mind. He’d insisted on her getting some sleep then he’d stepped back into the living room and closed the door behind him. Fine, she’d slept. Now what?
She made her way to the living room and opened the drapes. Last night, early this morning…whatever she wanted to call it…had caught her off guard. First, the woman’s death on D Street. Then her own near kidnapping. Plus, while they had been questioned by the police, word came in that her driver had been found, unconscious, in the trunk of her personal taxi, down by the river.
Josh had been right—calling the police had opened a can of worms. She’d watched him easily outmaneuver Detective Cummings’s questions. Always walking a thin line between truth and lie, arrest and release. The scrape on his cheekbone hadn’t been there when she went into the hospital, but she didn’t dare question what had happened. When she’d brushed her fingers against the welt, he’d jerked away with a look that said keep your distance.
The smell of brewed coffee enlivened her senses, so she pulled her favorite mug from the cabinet and poured. Savoring the warmth of the cup through her palms, she sipped. Gagged. Bitter…bitter and strong. It tasted freshly made, but the maker seemed to be in stimulus-needed mode.
“How are you feeling, Macki?”
She jerked in the direction of Josh’s voice. Had he been watching her? She tugged at the bottom of the shirt. “I’ve been better.”
He nodded, and she noticed the scrape on his cheekbone had darkened.
A distant ding from the guest room caught her attention.
Josh motioned toward the sound from down the hall. “I have Drake on the system. If you feel up to it, we’d like to hash some things out. Get you some answers.”
He sounded so bright and chipper…so damn in control.
“What system?” She vaguely remembered pointing him to one of the penthouse guest rooms once they’d gotten home. There wasn’t a computer in that room, so where had the ding come from?
“You’ll see.”
When they’d gotten to Hotel MacKenzie, he’d lugged three heavy-looking, oversize totes from his truck and slung them on a luggage cart. He’d shaken his head at the bellboy’s offer of help, and when the valet had tried to hand him a parking receipt, Josh had told him the truck would stay right where it was until he came back down to move it to her personal, private garage. Period. She’d agreed.
Crossing the lobby, his left hand had stayed at the small of her back. His right pushed the cart but stayed low, near the gun clipped at his belt. At one point, a plainclothes hotel security guard had started in t
heir direction, but she’d waved him off with a smile and their physical signal that everything was okay. Considering Josh had looked like a man not taking any questions, the hotel staff had given them a wide berth.
That was then. This was now. Now she wanted answers.
“Guess we might as well get this over with.” She followed him to the guest bedroom.
“How’s my niece?” Her uncle’s voice met her before she made it through the doorway.
“Ask her yourself.” Josh stepped to the side.
Mackenzie set her cup on the chest by the door. The room had gone from a classy retreat for guests to a covert-op setting. One wall of the room was filled with a mini-computer, scanner, printer, and contraptions she didn’t have a clue about, none of which were part of her usual decor. Neither were the small video cameras that clung to each corner of the ceiling.
A couple of high-powered rifles stood in the corner, their cases scattered on the bed, along with scopes and boxes of cartridges. She’d stepped into a different world. One she didn’t travel.
Drake’s image watched her from an ultra-thin trifold monitor, his expression serious. “How you doing, sweetie? Heard you were injured.”
She swiped her hair down to hide the bump. “It’s nothing. How are you?”
“Fine.” He nodded with that jerk she’d learned long ago meant he was anything but fine.
A touch of gray at the temples gave her uncle an edgier look. Fierce. No-nonsense. His stare zeroed into your soul, and his blue eyes held the same intense look as Josh’s. Through the years, she’d seen people intimidated by nothing more than his don’t-mess-with-me expression.
Today, he looked tired. Or stressed. But she’d bet money he was still on top of his game. She’d expect nothing else.
Josh hovered by the door, outwardly nonchalant, inwardly anybody’s guess. Drake glanced back and forth between the two of them as the silence loomed. If either one of the men thought she’d ask for an explanation, they had another think coming. She deserved answers and they should offer them—willingly.
Drake cleared his throat. “You know, you might want to wear a few more clothes around the house.”
“I’ll wear what I want.” She knew she should have gotten dressed.
“I just meant since Josh is staying there—”
“Get one thing straight, just because I let him bring me home from the hospital doesn’t mean he’s staying.” That idea zinged her with a thousand tiny no way in hell twinges—followed by a sensible maybe. “In fact, if I don’t get some answers, he’s out the door the minute this conversation ends.”
Her uncle sighed in exasperation. “Josh will be staying. And damn it to hell. Wear more clothes.”
Josh grabbed a smaller individual panel of what appeared to be another viewing screen. Instantly his image popped into the upper corner of the main monitor.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
He pointed to the video cameras then motioned to another panel for her. “If you use that, you won’t be tied to the chair to be seen. Try it. You’ll catch on quick.”
She raised another screen. Now all three of them appeared.
“Time to talk, Mackenzie.” Her uncle’s set-in-stone expression sharpened his words. “You won’t like what you hear, but you’ll face it and move forward. Face the facts. Face your fear. Face the future.”
Heaven help her, she was surrounded by alphas. Alphas who talked in circles and gave pep talks like they were charging into battle.
“Good. Last night needs to be straightened out.” She had accepted the fact the attack on her wasn’t random. Would even admit having Josh there had been the only thing that saved her. Even with all her previous law enforcement training, the attackers had been one step ahead.
“I’m afraid it’s about more than last night. In fact, we’re going to start over ten years ago.”
Heat flushed her face. That long ago would mean before her parents died. “I’d rather not go back that far.”
“Like it or not, the story starts there.” Josh braced his arm against the window frame. “I’ve faced the storyline and survived. So can you.”
Survived what?
Focusing on the screen in her hand, she stared into the image of Josh’s steel-blue eyes. He seemed distant. Expressionless. From the recesses of her mind, she realized she’d seen that look once before. Ten years ago. The day he’d said goodbye and walked away. That outer shell of a look had haunted her all these years. It appeared he’d mastered the trait.
He raked his hands through his hair, and she noticed the rapid pulsing of the veins in his neck. He might be able to hide his emotions from the world, but not from her. She knew his tells, and right now he was working overtime to control whatever his Achilles’ heel might be.
“Sweetie, I haven’t been completely honest with you.” Drake’s tone was somewhere between fact, compassion, and unknown territory. “I guess I should start at the beginning. Trouble is, there are a lot of beginnings and—”
“What does OPAQUE do?” Mackenzie crossed her arms in front of her chest. She knew the basics, but wanted more.
“We protect people.” Josh turned to face her.
“From who?”
“Mainly a ruthless organization known as Coercion Ten. Sometimes others.”
“So your job is to…”
“Think of OPAQUE as that middle ground between right and wrong.” Josh tilted his head to give her his full listen-to-me expression, one that said been there, done that. “I do what’s necessary to keep the innocent alive.”
His look dared her to ask if he’d ever failed. A good interrogator would ask. She didn’t. Somewhere deep inside, she didn’t want to know, didn’t want to hurt him if he had.
Drake cleared his throat. “What Josh means is—”
“Okay, I get that the good guys are you all.” Mackenzie focused back on the screen. “So exactly who are these Coercion Ten guys? Why do they want me? And don’t give me that because-I’m-rich story.”
“You’re right, money isn’t what they’re after in this case.” Drake nodded at her. “With CT, anyone can be a target. You. Me. The guy at the bus stop. The waitress at the corner diner. The CEO on vacation in the Bahamas. Almost everybody on this planet has something or someone that can be used as leverage against them.”
She’d used it on the force to gain information, sometimes broker a deal. This sounded more ominous. “Meaning?”
“Some people in this world control others by blackmail. But, blackmail doesn’t always work. That’s when Coercion Ten resorts to unpleasant tactics. The OPAQUE group levels the playing field. Decimates the odds.”
She frowned. “You make it sound like a commercial for a new interactive game.”
“Not hardly.” Josh gulped the dregs of his coffee. “OPAQUE agents put their lives on the line to save another life. Being someone’s protector isn’t a game you switch on when you’re bored and off again when you’re tired.”
“I didn’t ask you to protect me.” Slamming herself into the desk chair, Mackenzie’s defiant look glared into his own.
“No, but your uncle did.”
Drake cleared his throat. “Hey! You two need to settle your differences. Or, at least, put them on the back burner for now. We’ve got to work this out. Together. Got that?”
“I want Josh out of Riverfalls on the next plane.” She’d already faced the fact that part of her could still be moved by merely the sight of him. Being in the same place might prove more than she could handle. “Send someone else.”
Josh leaned toward her. “Not possible.”
“Why?”
“Because you need me.”
“Didn’t stop you from leaving the last time.” Her voice trembled with anger. “I needed you then, too.”
Chapter Eight
The room stilled. What could Josh say? Macki was right.
Last time he’d run. Erased his feelings for her, along with the life he’d had before. Thi
s time, he couldn’t afford to take the easy way out. Her life was at stake.
He raised the screen. “I’ve got this, Drake. You can disconnect.”
“You sure?” The boss steeled his expression. “I can—”
“I’ll tell her everything she needs to know.” Josh pushed the disconnect button, and the screens went blank.
She swiveled the seat around as he sat down in the corner chair.
Elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of him, he stared at the floor. “Do you think I want to be here any more than you? I could have turned Drake down when he gave me the assignment, but I didn’t. I came back to protect you, Macki. I owe you that much.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I can always call Grey or Cummings or a zillion other Riverfalls police if there’s a problem.”
He jerked his head up to face her. “You can’t call anybody. You can’t trust anybody. You can’t believe anything others tell you.” His tone might be harsh, but lives were on the line. “Like it or not, I’m who you call. I’m who you trust.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” She eyed him with suspicion, but at least she didn’t turn away.
He raised his hand, motioning for her to hear him out. “Yesterday your name showed up as leverage on the target list that Coercion Ten puts out.”
“Leverage against who?”
“I’ll get to that later.” Josh leaned back in the chair as if he were simply watching a movie on television. “By the time I got the equipment set up early this morning, Coercion Ten had put a price on you.”
“Dead?”
“No. Alive.”
“That’s good. Right?” Her voice softened in trepidation.
What should he say? Alive means you can be used. Alive means you can feel pain. Alive means you’ll see a lot of good men die trying to save your life.
He blew out a cheek-puffing breath. “Alive is always good. Gives OPAQUE a chance.”
Rising to her feet, she laughed deep in her throat. “Well, I hope I’m a six-figure target. Not some cheap—”
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