To his surprise, she turned to him, wrapping her arms around him. She brought her hands over his chest then up around his neck. As she searched his eyes, she let out a heavy sigh. “That was your boss. What’s happened?”
“First, Gabriel is doing great.”
“Where is he?”
“You asked me to take care of him, remember?”
She hitched a breath. “I trust you with him. That was the only way I could get into that van.”
“I sent him home with my parents.”
“To Maryland?”
“No, actually, West Virginia. My brother built a cabin that not even Ryan can find…that’s not important right now. My brothers, Jared, Noah, and Adam will watch him like he is their own son.”
“We’ve never been apart, not even one night since he was born. What could he be thinking?”
She was clenching her jaw so tightly, he was afraid she would chip a tooth.
“I needed him out of Ryan’s reach. I won’t allow that fucking bastard to use your son against you.”
She swallowed hard, and her fists pressed into his chest. She then rested her head against his heart, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“He doesn’t understand completely, but he knows you love him and miss him as much as he misses you.”
“More. I miss him more.”
Mac cupped his hands around her neck, his thumbs gently massaging the soft skin behind her ears. “I didn’t know what I was up against, and I had to go after you. There is no one I trust more than my brothers to keep your son safe.”
Another tremble rocked her body. He ran a hand up and down her arms, then drew her into him. “I had to choose, and I picked you. I know I should have told you last night. They were in the air within an hour of Ryan taking you from the hospital.”
He could almost hear the battle raging inside her head. Could she trust him or would he screw her like everyone else in her life had?
As much as he wanted to ease her mind and fill in the answers before she had the nerve to ask them, he kept quiet. If they were going to have a chance in hell of making something out of whatever was between them, she had to begin by trusting him. All he could do was hope she came to the right conclusion.
She squirmed from his hold, and Mac let her go. She kept her hand on his elbows as she studied him for what seem like a lifetime. A tear escaped, and she brushed it away before he could.
“I just miss him.” She brought a fist to her heart. “He’s my heartbeat.” A sob broke free, but she brought herself under control quickly. “I could get into that van because if anything… if I never saw Gabriel again, I knew in my heart you would take care of him and love him as much as I do.”
“God, Lexie, don’t—”
“No. I have to get it out.”
Her hand caressed the side of his face, her touch so soft it almost brought him to his knees.
“I knew you would take Gabriel, not because of some promise you made to Rico, but because that’s the man you are. I’ve never met anyone like you before. Too many times over the last three years, I wished it were you that walked into that bar.” In a strained whisper, she continued, “And it was you who sent over that drink for my twenty-first birthday, but without Rico in my life, I wouldn’t have Gabriel, and I can’t imagine my life without my son.”
“Worst mistake I ever made was letting you marry my best friend.”
The room grew still until Lexie reached up onto her toes, circled his neck, and surprised the hell out of him.
“That was yesterday and this is today. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for getting Gabriel out of Ryan’s reach.” She paused and her eyes widened. “Having Gabriel there isn’t putting your family in danger, is it?”
Mac let out a laugh. “You need to meet my brothers. Jared and Noah are unstoppable. And, hell, Adam is an entire army by himself.”
“Then get them here because you’re going to need an army to take down this crazy nut job. In fact, that’s what I think he has—a small army.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You were at the ranch. You must have seen the men with him. They move like soldiers, like they’re all in this together. There are others who are working with him, too, like the man who took the photo of Ramirez with a member of the cartel. Ryan even has surveillance at several border crossings, taking photos of everyone who crosses into the United States.”
“That’s the information we need on him to narrow the search. I told Díaz I would bring you in.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she hugged her waist. “Am I… does he think…?”
“Díaz would like you to work with our profiler. The guy is a trained psychologist who specializes in memory recall. With his help, you might give us more details, especially about what was on that wall of the ranch.”
“Didn’t the law enforcement find the ranch house last night?”
“It was totally engulfed in flames by the time they got there.”
“The sneaky bastard probably had it wired.” She moved away from him and headed toward the row of floor-to-ceiling bookcases that took up an entire wall of the great room. “What happened in his life to make him so paranoid? Whether Ramirez did what Ryan has accused him of doesn’t really matter at this point. Ryan believes he is an avenging angel, protecting the country from the terrors he fought against in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
“What are you looking for?”
“A man without a computer must have a world atlas. This is quite a collection of diverse reading material, McNeil. Makes me think you might just have a brain under that sexy, gun-carrying exterior.”
He reached up to the top shelf and removed his atlas. “Smart ass. I’m not a dinosaur just because I like to read.” He set the atlas on the coffee table.
She flipped through the pages until she found the state of Texas. “This from a man who organizes his bookcase using the Dewey Decimal System.” She marked the page, then found the country map of Mexico.
“There were red Post-It flags at each of the major border crossings: Brownsville, Laredo, and El Paso. The smaller crossings had flags, too, but those three stood out to me because I have been through each of them. What was so confusing was there were also pin flags in the interior of northern Mexico and thick red lines connecting each of those locations with the three major crossings. I asked Ryan about it, but he moved me away from the wall. Maybe the profiler can help me remember the names of the cities in Mexico because I have this horrible feeling its vital information.”
Mac pulled on her hand, drawing her spine against his front. “This isn’t all on you, Lexie. I don’t want you to beat yourself up if you can’t remember everything.”
“I really only got a glimpse, and whatever he gave me that knocked me unconscious kept me from focusing. I can’t remember the name of the man in the photo with Ramirez either. It’s all a blank, but this guy is connected to one of the border cartels and responsible for smuggling al-Qaeda operatives into the United States. At least, that’s what Ryan believes. It’s scary as hell trying to figure out what is real from what’s just inside Ryan’s head.” She glanced between them and a slight blush rose in her cheeks. “Before I go anywhere, I need my clothes. I can’t wear this.”
“I think you look great.” His hand slid under the thin undershirt and caressed her hip as he took her lower lip between his teeth, then rained one soft kiss after another from the corner of her lips down to the underside of her jaw. The fear in her eyes morphed into desire.
“You don’t like my T-shirt?” he asked.
A hint of a smile crossed her features as her eyes flashed to the windows. “Don’t you dare.”
With one sweep, he had his shirt over her head and tossed across the room. “You’re right. I like this much better.”
He lifted her in his arms and headed toward the sofa.
“Mac, we need breakfast and Díaz is waiting…”
“The damn world can wait.”
&nbs
p; Twenty-Two
Lexie hated the traffic on MoPac expressway with a passion. It should have cleared out by the time Mac headed toward the FBI building, but it still was just as congested as during rush hour. What she wanted to do more than anything was disappear into Mac’s bedroom and lose herself for just a little longer. The guy had moves she never knew existed, and it was more than just the most fantastic sex she had ever experienced. Mac made her feel―wanted, like she was the only woman on the planet for him. In his arms, she was cherished.
And that feeling might soon be a distant memory. She had a decision to make and dreaded it like a plague. If only she could let things lie until Ryan was out of their lives, but her heart wouldn’t let it rest.
If all she had to think about was herself, she could live with things as they were with Mac and see where this new road took her. But it wasn’t just her. She had to put Gabriel first.
The vow she had made for her son hit her once she put a little distance from Mac’s testosterone sphere. The only men in her life since Rico were Cole and Marcus. How could she develop a relationship with Mac and still maintain her vow to Gabriel?
Mac was nothing like her mother. He was the most honest, moral man she’d ever met. He would never mistreat Gabriel. But what happened if they didn’t work out? How could she bring Mac into Gabriel’s life knowing he could walk away, leaving Gabriel rejected?
And Lexie really hated what he did for a living. Being a federal agent wasn’t a nine-to-five job. That she could deal with. It was the danger in the job that scared her shitless. She loved Rico, and his death dug her into a place she never wanted to revisit. And with Mac, it was so much more intense. Standing at his grave would destroy her, and then what would be left over for her son?
Mac’s identity as an agent was as much a part of him as his eye color, height, or even the trust he insisted she place in him. Asking him to quit would rip him in two. She could never do that.
She had only two choices: let him go or accept all of him. If she accepted who and what Lucas McNeil was with her whole heart, she had to live with what that meant. After last night―and this morning, walking away was impossible. Just thinking about their time together sent heat up her neck into her cheeks.
Don’t you dare blush.
She shot a glance at Mac. Thank God his attention was on the road. She consciously relaxed her fingers clenched together in her lap and looked out the passenger window.
The traffic grated on her nerves, or maybe it was the dark SUVs that flanked Mac’s truck as soon as they entered the expressway. It was as if they popped out of thin air in front and behind them.
Mac reached for her hand and placed it in his lap. “Relax. They are just here to escort us in.”
“I don’t see why that is necessary.”
“Crazy lunatic on the loose, remember? Díaz is being extra cautious. We have underestimated Ryan one too many times.”
Lexie lifted the hand Mac held. “Speaking of your boss, maybe you don’t want to do this kind of thing when we are in the building.”
He shot her one of his famous intense glares. Shit, what did she do this time?
“Are you ashamed of being seen with me, Lexie?”
“Of course not. It’s just that your boss doesn’t like me very much. I don’t want to cause you any problems with him. He may not like one of his agents in cahoots with me right now.”
“Joe Díaz is my supervisor, not my mother. And before you go there, she thinks you are wonderful. Any mother who can successfully teach a two-year-old to say thank you and you’re welcome in her book is a saint.”
Warmth settled around Lexie’s heart, and she relaxed her hand in his. “So, this really is just me helping you guys out?”
“Yup.”
“And Ryan will not break in and try to blow us up?”
“The most-wanted bastard in the country is not walking into my building again without cuffs.”
“Okay, one more,” she said, letting out a noisy sigh. “Díaz will not drill me about why I left with Ryan?”
“We’re all on the same page now. Sarah never doubted you for a second. In case you didn’t know it, you have a good friend in her.”
“I have a good friend in you, too, Mac.”
The vehicle in front of Mac changed lanes and exited the highway. He followed.
“Why are we getting off here?”
“We’re taking a roundabout way into the building.”
A half a block later, a silver Lexus’s left signal blinked. The driver pulled out in front of the lead SUV. Mac slowed.
Lexie shifted in her seat and searched the street. That ‘sitting-duck’ sensation hit her in the middle of her gut. At least on the highway, they had speed and several lanes to maneuver. Being confined by local street traffic didn’t relax her one bit.
“Lexie, sweetheart, you need to calm down. We’ve done this a few times before.”
“I’m a little jumpy. Why aren’t you using your emergency lights? Wouldn’t that keep people like the guy in the silver Lexus from pulling out in front of us?”
“This isn’t an emergency. We’ll be there in a couple of blocks.”
She took in a deep breath and shoved down the dread that had seemed to take up residence in her heart for the last forty-eight hours. If Mac was relaxed, why was she so revved up?
She consciously relaxed her shoulders and leaned her spine against the seat.
The Lexus’s right signal came on, and again Mac slowed. Just as it turned onto one of the side streets, the sound of an engine roaring to life hit Lexie’s ears. She turned toward the source and her scream caught in her throat. A trash truck squealed its tires, heading right at them as Mac slammed on the brakes in the middle of the intersection.
“Mac!”
“Hold on!” He skidded into the SUV in front of him, and at the same time, yanked his Glock from under his sport coat. When the truck didn’t slow, he fired out the driver’s side window. The roar of the gun going off numbed everything, the scene in front of her playing out in slow motion.
Her flattened her hands on the dashboard, and she braced herself just as the trash truck rammed into Mac’s door. A flash of white smoke ignited in the cab. Mac’s shoulder crashed into her left arm as he tried to spin out of the way of the trash truck. Over the stench of burning rubber and whatever chemicals ignited when Mac’s airbag deployed, only one thought cut through Lexie’s foggy brain.
Ryan! He was coming for her and didn’t care how messy it got.
The truck latched onto Mac’s vehicle and hauled it across the intersection. He yelled something, but she couldn’t make out what he said.
Somehow, he controlled the spin, and the sedan broke free. But instead of being in the clear, the momentum sent them sliding sideways out of control until they bounced off a parked vehicle and spun into oncoming traffic. The second FBI vehicle hit them head on, trapping them between the SUV and the trash truck.
Gunfire sounded in the distance as if it were a long way away until the front window shattered. Lexie dropped her body into Mac’s lap. Twisting, she reached for his head, tilted toward his left shoulder. His eyes were closed as blood streamed over his cheeks from a wound in the middle of his forehead and under his left eye. Her heart plummeted.
“Mac?” Lexie screamed his name several times as her hands struggled to unlatch his seat belt. Her only thought was getting him below the dashboard. The sedan rested sideways in the middle of the intersection as a gun battle roared around them.
After several tries, she got the clip undone and yanked hard onto Mac’s blazer and pulled him onto her lap. “What the hell, Mac. Wake your ass up now. You’re not leaving me,” she screamed as she ran her hands over his arms and chest, looking for bullet wounds.
The passenger door opened and someone grabbed her arm. “No, I have to stay with Mac.”
The next yank was hard, her muscles in her upper arm seemed to ripped in two.
“Get out now, Lexie, or I’ll pu
t a slug between his eyes.”
She kicked her legs out, hoping to catch Ryan’s groin. “You bastard! You could have killed him. What the hell is wrong with you?”
He cocked his weapon. “Get out.”
Ryan released her seat belt and dragged her from the cab of the truck, shoving her toward the passenger door of the silver Lexus. A sweltering temper ignited deep within her. She fisted her hand like Rico had taught her and slammed it into Ryan’s nose. “Fight your fucking war without me. I’m not doing this again.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“Damn it, no!” Lexie took another swing.
“I warned you.”
The words registered the instant his fist connected with her right cheek. A piercing pain shot through her head and her knees came out from under her. Before she could scream Mac’s name, everything went black.
Twenty-Three
Mac shot from his seat, knocking his brother’s hand off his forehead. “I need that feed now!”
He wiped the moisture streaming down the left side of his eye. The coppery stench of blood filled his nostrils as the room spun. Overwhelming nausea swept over him. He grabbed the edge of the conference table until he regained his equilibrium.
Jason pressed on Mac’s shoulders hard, shoving him into the chair.
“Mac, if you don’t let me finish dressing your eye, I’m going to get the med team in here. They’ll order you to the hospital, which is exactly where you should be.”
A groan escaped from Mac’s throat. “Careful with my shoulder.”
He glanced at the nail scratches and bruises on the top of his wrist and forearms. Ryan must have grabbed her as she tried to pull Mac out of the line of fire.
And there was no doubt in his mind that this was a kidnapping. Her screams that yanked him back to reality would live with him a long time. Fear ate at his gut, but he couldn’t allow himself to give into it. Lexie’s life was a ticking bomb, and he had to stop Ryan before he lit the fuse.
In the Shadow of Pride Book 4 Page 15