by C. M. Steele
I closed the distance between us as I shook my head slowly. “You’re not silly. You are perfect. I love you, Macy. I know it’s soon, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” I dropped down on one knee and opened the box I’d been holding in my pocket all day.
“You want to marry me? I can’t believe it. Yes, of course, yes. I love you, too, Sean.” I stood up after sliding the two-carat diamond onto her finger and lifted her into my arms. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her mouth found mine.
“Fuck, shit, I love you, Macy.”
We were making out in celebration when a cough came from the realtor. I totally forgot about her, but I was grateful that she didn’t interrupt my spontaneous proposal.
“Sorry, but I have another client to meet with today, and I’d hate to make him wait.”
“No, we understand completely. This is the place we want. Can you put a bid in?”
“Absolutely. I’ll have your request sent over tonight.” We shook hands and left the building.
“Now it’s time to celebrate,” I remarked.
“I want to squeal. I’m so happy,” Macy cheered. After getting her in the truck, we drove back to my place. I had a lot to tell my family, but the news could wait. I wanted to properly make love to my fiancée.
“I know we’re moving fast, but I’m so excited,” she exclaimed.
“Fuck, I’d marry you tomorrow if I could, but I know that it’s not what we should do. Hell, I haven’t even met your mother.”
“Um. That’s not going to happen, so that’s not a big deal.”
“Why not?” I asked. She’d met my family and knew we had assholes too. I got that her mom wasn’t the best, but she was still her mom.
“My mother and I haven’t spoken since the day of my attack.”
Fuck, I thought she’d called her. She told me she would the last time I brought the topic up. “I thought you called her.”
“Her phone number was disconnected.”
“I still think I should meet her,” I argued.
“Please let me win this. I don’t want to see her ever again,” Macy proclaimed, coving her face with her hands.
This couldn’t wait until we got home. I had to deal with this now. I pulled off to the side of the road and undid Macy’s seatbelt, lifting her onto my lap. “Baby, what happened?”
She shook her head, refusing to tell me, but I couldn’t let this go. We were a team, and I hated that she was in tears. “She was so stoned that she didn’t even hear her husband threatening to rape me. That night I swore I was never going back there.”
Oh, fucking hell, no. “What the fuck? Are you serious?” I roared, squeezing her tighter than I meant to. She yelped in pain. I released her arms and begged her to forgive me, “I’m sorry, baby. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Oh, I know, I know. It’s nothing but a red spot.” I kissed her softly, then kissed her arms right where my hands had been holding her too tight.
I lifted my head, looked into her pretty, sad eyes and promised, “You’re right. You’re never going to see them again.” I couldn’t touch the bastard because I wasn’t going to risk going to jail for a piece of shit, but I’d find something on him to send his ass away for the rest of his life. Fuck, she’d barely escaped two disgusting men in one night. One was probably out looking for her.
“How about we go and tell your parents? I can’t wait to tell your mom. She’s the best mother a kid could want.”
“Well, she’s yours now too.”
“Woohoo. Shall we go?”
“I’m all for it.” I helped her back into the seat, and we pulled a U-turn and headed to tell my parents and brother.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Macy
“Ugh,” I groaned, feeling the burning acid in my throat as I sat back down behind his desk. We’d been working really hard to get the paperwork squared away for the company. It was a lot more work than he’d expected, but within a few months, he’d be open for business.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking up from a pair of sexy reading glasses. I didn’t know he needed them, but damn, I loved them. Although, at the moment they were the furthest thing from my mind.
I groaned and sputtered out, “I have some acid indigestion or something. Too much chile on my food.” I had a feeling I could be pregnant, but I didn’t want to say anything yet until I was sure. We hadn’t talked about all of that, but we’d had unprotected sex for the past month.
“Is there really ever enough chile?” he teased.
“I guess so.” I reached for my water bottle, but he popped out of his chair and snatched it out of my hands.
“No, that’s going to make it worse.” He walked around the desk and sat the bottle on it. “We need to get you some milk or some Tums.”
“I’ll go get some from the kitchen,” I told him, starting to get up from my seat when he raised his hand to stop me.
“I can get it for you, baby. Relax, and I’ll be right back.” He kissed the top of my head and left the room. I grabbed my pink legal pad and looked over all the types of employees we would need even for a very small business. There was only so much I could do because I wasn’t qualified to handle many of the financial aspects of the company, so I needed someone for payroll and expenses.
I heard him go to the front door, which meant probably someone in his family stopped by. I got up to greet them when I listened to the voice.
It was him.
My attacker.
“What’s up, Elroy? How did you get past my gate?”
“I have my ways. Besides, I had no idea you owned this place. How the fuck did you pull that shit off?”
“It was an inheritance,” Sean lied. I had to get Sean out of here and to safety. First thing, though, I called McManus.
“Hello, this is Macy Garcia. I’m at the old Cotswold Mansion with Sean.”
“Why are you whispering?”
“He’s here. The attacker. It’s the Elroy guy. I remember his voice.”
“Does he know you’re there?”
“I think so, but he hasn’t seen me. He’s making small talk with Sean. I’m hiding in the study.” The door just closed, and I added, “Hurry. I have to go.” I couldn’t leave Sean unaware or unprotected. I ended the call and reached in Sean’s drawer, pulling out a small revolver. I went over to the coat rack and slipped on his zip-up hoodie, stuffing the gun in the pocket. I didn’t know how to shoot a gun, but the bastard didn’t need to know that.
I stepped out in the hallway and walked right up to them. “Sean, I wondered what was taking you so long. Who is this?” I said with a smile, squinting. “I lost my contacts and left my glasses under a stack of papers in your office.”
“My former partner, Detective Elroy.” He looked at Elroy and said, “This is my assistant, Macy.”
“You can call me Justin. Wow. Damn. How do I get an assistant like that? I have to work with Ross, but she’s not worth the fuck.” I choked back the vomit. He was truly disgusting.
“Well, if you’ll excuse us. We’re in the middle of a meeting,” Sean said, shaking his hand and closing the door behind him. As soon as he locked it, he whipped his head toward me. “Give me my gun. It’s him isn’t it?”
“Yes, I called McManus in your office. He should be on his way.”
“Good, baby. You fucking did excellent.” He walked to the window and looked out to see if Elroy had left, but he hadn’t. A loud boom blew a hole through the door handle. Sean was on me in a second, cradling my back and leading me from the room. “Hide,” he whispered.
This place was a maze, and there were several places to hide, but I didn’t want something to happen to him because he was protecting me from Elroy.
“Oh, come on, now. Do you think I’m stupid, Sean? I know you were onto me, and so was your pretty little thing. She should have been my treasure, but she misbehaved, and well, I’m ready for round two.”
“Get t
he fuck out of my home,” Sean roared.
“Not until she pays for what she did to me. I may never have kids,” he exclaimed with self-righteous indignation. I couldn’t hear them anymore, but I heard the shotgun go off again. Then I heard a gunshot. Fuck. A groan ripped through the house, and I ran to find Sean standing over Elroy with the gun pointed at his head. “I could do it so easily. I could end you right now.”
“No, you won’t,” McManus’s voice came from the doorway. “We’ll take him into custody, Sean. We need to question him.” McManus and Malone were standing there with their guns trained on Sean and Elroy.
“Then get him the fuck off my property right now before I shoot him again for trespassing,” he warned McManus while lowering his weapon.
Malone tucked his gun away and bent down to check his vitals. “I’ve already called for a bus. You’re going to need a new gate. That shit was busted open.”
Sean pulled me into his arms. “I want this piece of shit to fry; this fucker is her attacker. He admitted it after he blew a hole through my front door.” Even though he was holding me, I knew I was the one holding him back. The wild tension in Sean seemed ready to break free.
“Well, it’s not going to happen.” McManus pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into Malone’s back, sending his body onto Elroy. I screeched, and Sean pushed me behind him then whipped out his gun before McManus could react, shooting the gun out of his hand.
The gun fell to the floor as McManus hollered. In a matter of seconds, the foyer of the house had three bodies sprawled on it. “Baby, aim this gun at him. If he moves even an inch, shoot him.” Sean reached down and grabbed Malone’s cuffs from his waistband and came around to McManus, securing his hands behind his back with a hard knee to his face.
“No ambulance is coming,” Malone groaned out. I rushed to get something to stop the bleeding and pressed the towel to his back.
Sean took out his cell and called. “This is Sean Cavanaugh at the Cotswold Mansion. I’ve got three officers shot. Please hurry with medics and extra armed men.”
The first police cars arrived on the scene after what felt like an eternity. All three men were bleeding out, but we directed the medics to Malone first. He was the only one who was innocent in this case, and I hated McManus even more than Elroy. He got closer to me, trying to comfort me while setting us up.
“Cavanaugh, what the hell is going on?” the Will County sheriff said.
Sean spent the next hour going over the story from the beginning as the sheriff hadn’t heard it before. It seemed that McManus hadn’t kept him up to date on any of it. Once the men were transported to the hospital, the crime scene unit snapped photos. I hated that this was happening in our home, but at least it was over. There was no way that Elroy could get away with it. And I felt the first taste of relief.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sean
I woke up throughout the night, hearing every creak in this place. The threat had been eliminated, but the thought of someone coming after Macy drove me nuts.
Tomorrow everything would be upgraded, including a state-of-the-art gate with added reinforcements. Until now, I never needed the added security, but shit got real, and my Macy meant everything to me.
The company would have to wait until I had everything set up at home. My brother had six months more of service before he could join me as one of the owners of Cavanaugh Security.
“Sean, please go back to sleep. It’s the storm outside,” Macy sighed, grabbing my arm.
I leaned down on my elbow and stared at my future wife. Her eyes were still closed as she smiled up at me, feeling my eyes on her. “I’m sorry, baby. I can’t stop thinking about him coming after you,” I admitted, closing the distance and kissing her.
She moaned and pulled my face down to hers. I growled and pulled the covers off us. She had on a tiny slip of a nightgown that revealed her thighs to my greedy eyes. I skimmed my hands under the fabric, lifting it to see she was naked underneath.
“Macy, you lost your panties.”
“I was hot,” she professed, feigning innocence as she bit her bottom lip.
“That you fucking are,” I growled, pulling off the nightgown, then sliding down her sweet body. I lifted her legs over my shoulders and parted her pussy lips, licking my way to her little nub. She cried out, moaning and rolling her hips upward.
“Sean, oh, yes. Please don’t stop.”
I had no intentions of letting go until she came on my tongue. Every sound from her lips, the way she grasped my hair, tugging and pushing on my head, pulled come from my balls. I was about to come on the sheets. I had to have her, but I wanted her coming first. I reached up and pinched her nipple and sucked on her clit, sending her clenching and coming. I rose up and slid into her pussy with deep and long strokes until we both came.
“Thank you, Macy. I needed that,” I whispered.
“No, thank you. That was wonderful. I’m going to sleep more nights without panties.” She got up and went to the bathroom and when she came out, her hair was tousled, and she looked sexy as hell completely naked. My dick was hard again, but we needed sleep.
***
The next morning, we got up a little late and headed over to my parents.
“Oh heavens,” my mother sobbed, hanging onto me. “You two could have been killed.” I’d never seen her like that before. Mark spent his whole career in the military facing death’s door, daily, and she’d never lost control.
“It’s okay, Mom. We’re fine,” I consoled her, pulling back to wipe her tears.
She let go and dragged Macy into her arms. “We could have lost you when my baby just found you,” she exclaimed, hugging Macy so tight.
“Maggie, come here, woman.” My dad took her and wrapped her up in his arms, whispering softly to my mom. He kissed the top of her head and added, “You need to get a grip. The kids are all right.”
We stayed at their house for an hour while we waited for a decent time to go to the hospital. Macy and I wanted to check on Malone.
“I hope he’s going to make it,” Macy choked out.
I grabbed her hand and intertwined our fingers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but all we can do is hope for the best.” I raise her hand to my lips and kissed it, then set our hands back down on the center console where it belonged.
When we arrived at the hospital, they directed us to his floor. The hallway was full of agents talking to his family.
Since the family had been busy, we waited our turn. The outpouring of love for Malone showed how much he meant to people. It made it so much worse because we had been a part of the attack. One of the agents informed us that he was still in a coma, breathing with the help of a ventilator. Several of his family members came and went as we waited to see him.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Malone,” Macy apologized to the woman.
“You’re the young lady he was helping, right?” she asked her.
“Yes, ma’am. I never meant for this to happen,” Macy broke down.
The elderly woman ended up hugging Macy. “Sweetheart. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. You were the victim, and he had no idea the predator was with him the whole time. If he didn’t catch on, there was no way for you to know. Some people are good at hiding their evil.”
Macy stepped back and wiped away her tears. “Still, I’m sorry that he had to get involved.”
“It’s his job. He loves it, and he was hoping to catch Elroy. He’s going to pull through. I have faith.” I watched as the women hugged. I came up and shook her hand.
We left the hospital only to encounter the press who had a hundred questions. I wasn’t going to answer any questions yet.
I took Macy back to my parents’ to discuss the day and relax with my family because we didn’t feel like going back home just yet. We just needed some semblance of peace and some actual sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sean
We entered the Will County Sheriff’s station to
a round of applause. It had been two weeks since Macy and I had managed to catch the Hill Road Murderers. The name came from the road Macy had been attacked on.
John McManus and Justin Elroy had been under our noses the whole time, deflecting attention from each other as they took turns selecting victims to rape and murder. We had been fortunate that Macy was able to fight her attacker, but it killed me to know that McManus was behind it all.
Their homes had been full of surveillance photos and videos along with gruesome images of the women in the moments after their death. Today, Elroy was coming in to confess. He wanted to be spared the death penalty. All of the victims’ families agreed as long as they received the locations of their precious girls.
“Cavanaugh! Way to go!” I waved to those cheering, and we were led into the viewing area. Macy shivered in my arms at the sight of him. He had seen better days for sure. His eyes were dead, and his beard had grown out wildly. He didn’t look like the clean-cut asshole I worked with who thought he was special.
“We don’t have to be here,” I told her, rubbing her arms as I stood behind her.
She took a deep breath and stated with finality, “No, I want to hear every word. Last time we took information from Elroy’s accomplice. I want it straight from his mouth.”
He smirked at the window like he heard her. If the door had been open as we came in, he might have heard everyone cheer for us, which meant that he was gunning to do as much damage to her as possible.
“So, Elroy, let’s start at the beginning.”
He winked at the window and blew a kiss. With a chuckle, he began, “McManus was the original mastermind.” He laughed again, getting a kick out of this whole thing. “I happened to stumble onto the scene of one attack while I was getting high in the woods. I told him I’d make a deal if he let me have her too. I took the broad on the ground. Susie Hernandez, a pretty little Hispanic girl with tits that a guy could worship.”
He sat back in his chair like he’d was reliving the scene. Damn, he made me sick. It pissed me off when no one believed me about his stops, but he had a way to con everyone, and he had McManus on his side. “That was my first taste. I demanded more, so he got me on the force. My partner was the best at the job, which left me time to scope out potential women. None of them really hit the spot, but after the fourth, I spotted my favorite one.”