“It’s good you found a woman who knows when to exaggerate to protect your fragile ego.” Alec chuckled.
“Yeah, it is.”
Alec sat back in his chair and let the emotion wash over him. Fuck, but he liked hearing his friend’s easy-going banter and jabs. Follow that with Jameson laughing and the moment reminded him what the love of a good woman had done. Kennedy had transformed Jameson.
“Thanks for the update,” Alec started. “Gotta run, Jonny’s on his way in.”
“Looking forward to getting to know Macy and the kids.” Jameson sobered. “You deserve this. Don’t fuck it up like I did.”
A few weeks ago, Alec wouldn’t have agreed he deserved Macy—he still would’ve gone after her but he’d done it knowing he would never be worthy of her. But after last night he was beginning to believe that he was. Macy wouldn’t have opened up the way she had if she didn’t think there was something good in him, and he knew that down to his bones.
And when she gave him that gift, she was stripped down and raw. She hadn’t held back—hell, neither of them had. It was the most honest he’d ever been with a woman in his life and Macy hadn’t flinched when he told her his secret. She hadn’t tried to placate him with empty platitudes. She simply returned what he’d given her.
Just thinking about it made Alec’s chest burn.
“Worked out in the end,” Alec reminded his friend.
“Yeah it did and I’m damn lucky, way I turned and pushed her away.” Jameson paused and Alec knew he was remembering how badly he’d hurt Kennedy. “Could’ve ended differently. All I’m saying is don’t be a dumbass. You have a good thing, and so does she.”
Jameson had no idea just how good it was.
Better than good, fucking phenomenal.
“I’m a lot of things, stupid isn’t one of them. I know what I got and I’m not letting it go.”
“Good to hear. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, later.”
Alec disconnected the call just as he spotted Jonny parking. He stood from his desk, scanned the park across the street, seeing the big green fountain had been drained for the winter. Fall was fast coming to an end with Thanksgiving right around the corner and he wondered if he could convince Macy and the kids to go with him to Weston and Silver’s for dinner. The whole team would be there, so would Weston’s parents, McKenna’s brother and sister, and Kennedy’s mom.
Big family event.
Alec’s first and he wanted Macy and the kids there with him.
After he talked her around to that, he was going to suggest they host Christmas dinner at their house.
The burn that’d been smoldering in his chest caught once again and it felt so goddamn good he had to grip the edge of his desk to keep upright.
Their house.
That was what he wanted—her and the kids under his roof making a home together—a family.
Alec didn’t just want it—he needed it.
“How’d drop-off go this morning?” Jonny asked before his ass was even planted in the chair in the conference room.
“Good. We took Rory in first, had a word with the principal. I’ll be walking Rory in every morning and I’ll pick her up from the office after school. Talked to Caleb’s school officer, he said you called and briefed him, so he was in on the conversation we had with the middle school administration. Wayne’s out front for both drop-off and pick-up so he’ll keep watch.”
Jonny settled in and Alec debated telling his friend that Jameson had checked in. He didn’t want to keep the man in the dark, but there was only so much one person could take, and Jonny had been taking hit after hit from his brother.
And right then they had more important things to discuss, though Alec couldn’t get the sour in his gut to subside. Something was seriously bothering him about Spencer. Sure the man was a prick, but it was like he gave up too easy. Everything inside of him was screaming to protect Aurora. If Doug was going to make a play it would be for his daughter. And Rory was the most vulnerable, the most trusting, and she wouldn’t understand if Macy or he told her if she saw her father she was to run. No way in fuck would Alec do that to the little girl, even if that was exactly what needed to be said to her.
Fucking hell.
Thirty minutes later, Alec, Jonny, Nixon, and Weston finished up their meeting.
There wasn’t much to go over since Josh Malone had been smart and they had nothing tying him to the shooting. But there was still a warrant for his arrest for assaulting Macy. All they needed to do was hunt him down.
“You know, for such a small fucking town it sure is hard to track someone,” Weston noted and that was the God’s honest truth.
Alec had tracked men down in the city with fifty times the population faster than finding Malone.
“Problem with a small town is, no one talks.” Jonny's face twisted in irritation as he spoke. “As much as they gossip, when shit like this goes down, they shut up. Retribution is handed out quickly and they know it. If not by Malone direct, by his family, or one of his boys. There’s no escaping it. We live in a community where everyone knows everyone.”
“Holden’s still out, but coming up empty,” Nixon added and winced. “He’s sitting in front of Misty Greenbrier’s house now, hoping Malone will stop there.”
Alec had met Misty once but her reputation had preceded her. She was known as the town slut and from what Alec had endured during their encounter, the citizens of Cliff City had it right. The woman had been relentless in her attempt to pick him up. Alec didn’t like aggressive women and figured the way she threw herself at him and was pissed when he’d declined, the men she was used to didn’t share his opinion.
There wasn’t a damn thing attractive about Misty Greenbrier but she put out and she didn’t care who she fucked—married or not, she’d take it. And apparently, she also didn’t mind fucking men who beat women if Malone was a regular at her house.
Alec’s cell rang and he glanced down at the screen to see Macy’s name flashing on the screen.
“Macy?” he answered.
“Alec.” Her voice was flimsy and panicked.
Acid infused his veins and his body locked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Josh called.”
“Come again?”
Out of the corner of his vision, McKenna entered the room, Nix stood and the room went static.
“Just now. He called and said that if I didn’t start making payments I’d start paying a different way. He said next time he wouldn’t miss and he’d be aiming at Caleb.”
Alec heard the hitch in her voice. She knew Malone would make good on his threat. The caustic poison that was pumping through his system turned bitter.
“Where’s Chasin?”
“I don’t know. Downstairs somewhere. Joss and I are upstairs. We were making your bed when Josh called. I called you first.”
I called you first.
Fuck, he wanted to feel that, she was giving him everything he wanted—her trust. But he couldn’t push the biting terror aside.
“I got Chasin on the line,” Weston announced.
“Malone’s location pinged when he made the call,” Nixon told the room. “McKenna’s got a lock on him. Let’s roll out.”
“Babe, Chasin’s being briefed. You’re safe there. The kids are safe. It’s all good. I gotta go, we found him.”
“Please be safe, Alec.”
“Will do.”
“Alec?”
“Right here, baby, but make it quick, I gotta roll.”
“I’m not gonna talk you out of doing what you need to do and I don’t care what kind of person that makes me. Just please make my family safe. But while you’re doing that, have a mind to coming home to us in one piece.”
Fuck, but he felt that. He’d been wrong, her trust meant the world to him, but her plea for him to come home to her, Jocelyn, Aurora, and Caleb—that meant everything.
That fed his soul.
Macy thought she was w
eak, but she was far from it. Doug Spencer didn’t have her cowed, she’s simply allowed her love for her children to cloud what she should’ve done. She’d allowed that too, knowing what needed to be done would end her kids’ relationship with their father—even if that was absolutely the right thing, it would still sting. And Macy was all about cushioning any and all hurt that could possibly touch Caleb and Aurora.
There was nothing weak about his woman. She’d got the hell knocked out of her on a Thursday. Her house destroyed, her children shot at on a Sunday, yet there she was, holding it together even after she was just threatened.
“Be home soon, baby.”
“How fucking long are we gonna sit here?” Alec ground out.
“Until he runs out of ammo,” Weston muttered disgruntledly, repeating what the county sheriff had proposed.
Fuck that noise. He was done waiting.
“It’s been twenty minutes. And I gotta say, sitting on my goddamn hands while taking fire is not something I’m willing to do much longer.”
“I hear that,” Nixon grumbled, not happy about the state of play any more than Alec was. “Jonny asked us to stand down while he had a word with Sheriff Baker.”
Alec glanced around the scene. Pissed way the hell off. Jonny had called in Malone’s location with the specific instructions to hold fast until they could go in soft. An overzealous rookie town cop had fucked their chance of going in and taking Malone by surprise. The cop had gone in hot, lights and sirens. His cruiser was now riddled with bullet holes and he was lucky he hadn’t bought it.
Now blue and red lights flashing from a dozen official vehicles surrounded a one-story farmhouse—albeit from a distance.
Josh Malone was in the house taking pot shots out the window. Stupid fuck. But they didn’t have the green light to enter the house.
Red tape had them sitting there twiddling their thumbs. One of the many reasons Alec had resigned from Homeland. They sat on their asses when they should’ve been moving but couldn’t until some idiot with no tactical knowledge dissected operation reports.
Just like now, his team should be moving around back while Malone was busy shooting at cops from the front.
But that’s not what they were doing.
They were hogtied and he was over it.
“I’m hittin’ the tree line,” Alec informed Weston, Nixon, and Holden. “I’ll follow it around back.”
“Fuck,” Nix mumbled. “I’m coming with you.”
“We’ll cover the front.” Holden looked around before he finished. “Can’t return fire, but we’ll come up with something to keep Malone occupied.”
This was one of those times Alec wished they had the authority to use deadly force. Any one of the four men could’ve easily placed a round into Malone’s forehead. The whole standoff would be finished and it would only take the time the bullet left the barrel to impact—two seconds at most and that included target acquisition and trigger pull. But they’d been ordered to keep their weapons holstered.
Never should’ve called it in.
Nixon and Alec slipped into the thickly wooded area unnoticed, silently made their way to the back of the house, then they stopped and waited.
“I don’t see movement,” Nixon whispered.
Alec scanned the windows one more time. He saw nothing but heard another shot from the front.
“Neither do I.”
“How lucky do you think we’ll get?” Nix gestured to the house.
“None of you fuckers that grew up here lock your doors. So I’d say luck’s on our side. Soon as we breach that door, I’m going in strong.”
“Brother, I think—”
“Just because we don’t see anyone else doesn’t mean they’re not in there. Need you to have my back.”
“That’s why I think we go in soft, poke around, then we can take him down.”
“Don’t know that house. A floorboard creaks, we’re fucked—element of surprise is gone, and he turns his weapon on us. This way, I get him from behind while he’s at the window.”
Nixon’s face went tight but he had no argument. Alec was right. They needed to rush Malone and be done.
“Let’s do it.”
The two men hit the back door. Nixon turned the knob and smirked.
Unlocked.
Malone was an idiot.
Good news for them.
Alec cleared his head and readied himself for battle. Same thing he did each time he breached a house. He pushed everything but the immediate from his mind and prepared his body to go into autopilot. He’d done this very thing hundreds of times, and each time it was no less dangerous. There was a man with a gun on the other side of the door and he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Alec jerked his chin up and Nixon slowly opened the door, giving them the quiet they needed for as long as he could. Both men glanced into the house, only having a second before Malone registered the cold outside air blowing into the house.
Perfect timing. Malone was dropping a magazine and preparing to reload.
Alec took off in a full sprint. Malone shifted, his eyes went wide, but it was too late. Alec collided with the man. The force of impact propelled them through the window, the glass gave way and shattered around them.
With a bone-jarring thud, Alec landed on top of Malone now on the front porch. And in one smooth, well-practiced move, Alec’s forearm went around Malone’s throat in a headlock.
Alec added pressure and listened to the sweet sound of Malone’s gurgled protests.
“You don’t wanna do that,” Weston said from his side.
“The fuck I don’t.”
“Right. But you’re not. Stand down.”
Rage and retribution warred inside him. Then Macy’s soft request came to him, make my family safe. He’d done that. Then he remembered the rest, come home.
Alec released Malone and stood.
29
“He’s really good,” Kennedy noted.
We were standing in her dining room looking out the window into her backyard. There was a large area of grass before the lawn gave way to rows of crops. And Caleb was throwing a football with Alec.
Rory was racing around the yard, Tank running circles around her being a puppy.
Everyone was smiling.
Everyone happy.
“You’re shaking, Macy, what’s wrong?”
She was right. I was trembling and I wasn’t sure why. It was over. Josh Malone was in custody, Alec told me Jameson found Doug, had a word, and there’d be no more issues from him.
So my troubles were…over.
“Alec took down Josh Malone,” I announced.
“Know that, honey. Jonny arrested him. You guys are safe.”
“Yeah, Alec did that, just like he promised he would.”
“Okay…” Kennedy drew the word out like I was a little nutty.
“Jameson told Doug not to come back to Maryland and he agreed—no problems, no fight, just acceptance I was taking his kids away from him.”
“Macy, if you’re feeling bad about—”
“I’m not. It’s the right thing. He’s done enough damage to our kids. I tried, I know I did. One day when my kids are older I can look at both them and tell them honestly I did the right thing. I don’t feel bad about protecting them.”
And I didn’t. I was relieved Doug couldn’t hurt me through them anymore. My kids were free of Doug’s dysfunction and malice.
“Then why do you look so unhappy?”
My gaze locked on Alec nudging Caleb’s shoulder as he spoke to my son through a smile. I watched Caleb’s face light up and nod.
Picture perfect.
Happy.
“I think I’m scared.”
“You think?”
“I don’t know what I’m feeling. Everything’s done, we’re all safe, now what?”
“Mama!” I looked down at Jocelyn who was standing in front of me. Her pudgy baby hands held onto my legs as she bounced.
I f
elt the wet hit my eyes and I started blinking back the tears.
“Now everything goes back to normal,” Kennedy carefully told me.
“Right. Normal.”
That was my problem. I didn’t want normal. I wanted Alec. I wanted Jocelyn. And I wanted my kids to have them too.
But it was too soon. I’d gone from pushing Alec as far away as I could to pulling him close. We’d spent one night in his house and I never wanted to leave.
“I think you and Alec need to talk. But Macy, not tonight. Give it a few days, let the emotions settle.”
“We’re staying with him,” I told her something she obviously knew so I wasn’t surprised she didn’t have a response. “I’m gonna sell my house. We can’t go back there. My parents are home from their cruise in a few days. We can stay with them until I find a new place.”
“Um, Macy, I think that’s one of the things you need to talk about with Alec.”
“Why? Do you think he wants us to leave tonight?”
Shit, I hadn’t thought about that. The only reason he’d brought us over was because Josh was on the loose.
Last night was…brilliant. Beautiful. Extraordinary.
This morning he seemed happy we were there.
But now I doubted everything.
“No. He does not want you to leave tonight. As a matter of fact, I’m thinking you’re in for an argument when you tell him you’re gonna go stay with your parents.”
“Why?”
Kennedy blew out a long breath and looked out the window.
I picked up Joss, needing a distraction because Kennedy was freaking me out. And when she turned to fully face me, I was beyond freaked.
“Alec is the kind of man who knows what he wants. So is Jameson, Nixon, Weston, and Chasin. Holden is that, too, but different.”
“Okay.”
“Silver moved into the farmhouse during her situation and didn’t leave until she and Weston bought the house next to Nixon and McKenna. When she suggested she find an apartment, Weston lost his ever-loving mind. And as you know, he knocked her up before she could blink. He knew want he wanted.”
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