“Let’s talk in my office where it’s a little more quiet,”
Grange said, leading them down the hall and into another room.
This wasn’t an office. It was a situation room, filled with maps and charts. Multiple televisions and computers lined the walls on either side of a desk, with long rows of chairs set up classroom style. Mac slid into a chair at the front of the room. Grange turned a chair around to face him and Lily sat in one next to Mac.
“Okay, now tell me what really happened,” Grange said.
Mac filled Grange in on everything he knew so far, from how they met at the museum to all that had happened on their journey, up to and including Lily drugging him and Mac chasing after her last night. Damn, talk about coming clean.
Lily blushed hot as she felt Grange’s gaze on her while Mac recounted that part of the story. But she supposed it was vital that Grange know their entire history. At least Mac left the intimate details of their relationship out.
Mac pulled the vial out of his bag, handing it over to Grange. He took it out of the room and returned a few minutes later, then paused again when a call came in, indicating it was about Tom. Lily grasped Mac’s hand while Grange chatted on the phone. Grange cast his gaze at their hands and shot a sideways look at Mac. Lily felt self conscious about the intimacy of their hand holding, but Mac didn’t seem inclined to let go of her.
She liked that.
“Okay,” Grange said when he hung up the phone.
“Tom’s fine.”
Lily exhaled. “That’s great. What about the gunshot?”
“Superficial wound to his hand. He hightailed it to a safe zone where we have people who patched him right up.”
“So he’s secure,” Mac said.
Grange nodded.
“What’s a safe zone?” she asked.
“We have spots set up around the country. Places our contacts can go where they’re secure, where they can get help if necessary. It’s secure and he’s safe there.”
“Okay. That’s good.”
“Any idea who hit him?” Mac asked.
Grange shook his head. “No. He was on the way back from a meeting when a black SUV pulled up beside his car and started firing at him. Tried to run his car off the road.”
“I thought he took his boat?” Lily asked.
“He took the boat into town,” Mac said. “A rental was waiting for him there. He had government meetings.”
“Oh.” So much she didn’t know about this government stuff.
“They probably thought he had the virus,” Mac continued “Which means they fingered us at Tom’s location and figured him for a contact point.”
“Maybe,” Grange said, then looked at Lily. “Or they were contacted by someone who alerted them.”
“No, man, you’ve got it wrong,” Mac said.
Lily shook her head. “I didn’t contact anyone. I’ve been with Mac since the museum.”
Grange didn’t look convinced. “She drugged you, took the virus and she had access to your cell phone while you were out cold.”
“I also came back with him.” Irritation pricked her nerve endings. She didn’t like being accused. She was here, wasn’t she? “I was with him last night and this morning.”
“You could be gathering information about the Wild Riders.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh for the love of God. Check Mac’s cell phone. The only calls in or out are his calls. Easy enough to verify.”
Mac tossed his phone at Grange.
“Did you check it?” Grange asked.
Mac shook his head. “I didn’t need to. I trust Lily.”
Warmth spread through her. He hadn’t even checked.
God, she loved his trust in her.
“Sorry, but I don’t,” Grange said. He stood and left the room with Mac’s phone in hand.
“Don’t take it personally,” Mac said. “He doesn’t know you and has to be certain you can be trusted.”
“I understand.” She looked down at her hands.
Mac reached for one, swirling his thumb over the center of her palm. The sensation shot between her legs. Even with the tension, their lack of privacy, he could still turn her on. She was amazed by her connection to him. “Thank you for believing in me. And I didn’t use your phone.”
His lips quirked. “I know you didn’t.”
His firm belief in her made her feel guilty that she hadn’t trusted in him all this time. She was almost ashamed for not believing in him when he’d asked her to at the beginning of all this. Then again, there had been mistrust on both sides, hadn’t there? Ten years had separated them, had changed them both in so many ways. She still couldn’t reconcile the Mac she’d known all those years ago with the man who sat next to her now. A government agent. She’d never have thought it.
“Phone’s clean,” Grange said as he came back in. “All the calls in and out were verified.” He handed the phone back to Mac.
“I told you they would be,” Mac said.
“I had to be sure,” Grange said to Lily.
She nodded, not certain what she should say in reply.
He didn’t know her at all, so of course he didn’t trust her. And Mac had violated his oath of secrecy about the Wild Riders and had told Lily all about them. Well, mostly all about them. She really didn’t know everything.
“Take her around. Introduce her to the guys. Then rest up,” Grange said. “I need a few hours to get some information.
We’ll reconvene tonight and hopefully have something more to go on after I’ve had a chance to make some calls.”
Mac arched a brow, then nodded. He stood. “Let’s go,”
he said to Lily.
“Down this way are more offices,” he said as they exited Grange’s office. Mac pointed to the right where there were two closed doors. “Mainly tech stuff and storage.”
She felt eyes on her—lots of eyes. When she looked above, she realized why. Several amazing looking men were peering down over the railing at her.
“Dayum,” she heard one of them say.
“Ignore them. You’ll meet the other guys in a minute,”
Mac said, leading her toward the kitchen. “How about something to drink?”
Was he avoiding taking her upstairs to meet the others?
That was…interesting. “I’m not thirsty.”
“Well, I am.”
He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, grabbed a soda and popped it open, offering it to her first. She shrugged and took a drink, then handed it back to him. He leaned against the counter and took a long swallow.
Lily guessed Mac was in no hurry to make introductions. “So tell me about this house.”
“Grange was given this mansion and the assignment to start up Wild Riders after he came up with the idea to steal back vital government property that couldn’t be retrieved under…more conventional and legitimate means.”
“Ah. So this whole thing was General Lee’s idea.”
Mac grinned. “Yup.”
She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and took a seat. “How did he come up with it?”
“Frustration, mainly. He was involved with JAG, and if you think the conventional judicial system is screwed up, the military justice system is even worse.”
Lily frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Everything’s by the book, babe. Especially governmental procedures. When we’re being screwed by foreign countries or even crime on our own soil, and we know damn well who did it and who has the goods, if the system isn’t working in our favor there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
She nodded. “I’ve seen that happen all too often.”
“And with theft, Grange had a genius idea. We might not be able to see the bad guys brought to justice, but we could sure as hell take back what was stolen from us. And there wouldn’t be a damn thing they could do about it.”
She grinned. “Because they stole it in the first place, so it’s not like they could report a theft.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re right. It is genius.”
“And the perfect career for a thief.”
She laughed. “You get to do what you love most and you don’t get in trouble for it.”
“Not as long as we don’t get caught.” He polished off his soda and took her hand. “Let’s go meet the other pros.”
She was looking forward to it. If they were anything like Mac, this should be interesting.
He led her back to the elevators. “You’ve seen the main living area on this floor.” He pushed the buttons. The rode to the next level and exited. “It’s going to get a little crazy.
Prepare yourself, and really, you’ve gotta ignore anything they say.”
“You make it sound like we’re entering a zoo.”
Mac snorted.
In a matter of seconds she understood why. She was swarmed as soon as they stepped out the door. Five men poured out of the open rooms upstairs and descended on her. It was like an invasion of big, beefy testosterone.
And she thought Mac was sexy. She recognized Spence, who she’d met earlier. He was the biggest of the bunch—then again, none of these guys were small.
“Since when does Grange allow us to bring women here?” one of them asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t get the memo,” another said, tilting his head to the side and giving Lily the once over.
They drew closer, giving her a head to toe inspection.
“Would you guys back up?” Mac rolled his eyes.
“Jesus. It’s not like you’ve never seen a woman before.”
“We’ve never seen your woman,” one of them said.
“What’s up with that?”
“Yeah. Introduce us.”
Lily crossed her arms, not feeling the least bit threatened. She knew what this was about. They were testing her, seeing if she was skittish or afraid, if she’d run or hide behind Mac. And Mac was giving her enough space to take care of herself. She appreciated that he was watching out for her, but not immediately coming to her aid.
She was no sissy. She’d weathered a lot worse her first year on the police force. Though lots of women became cops, in many precincts it was still a good ole’ boy network.
Especially in Dallas, where she’d started.
“You can look all you want, guys,” she said, making eye contact as they walked around her. “But if you touch, you’ll be sorry.”
“She’s got a bark,” one said behind her.
“But does she bite?” This from a guy in front of her.
“I might,” she said, quirking her lips.
“I’ve got something you can bite, baby.”
Someone whispered in her ear. She didn’t know which one, and honestly, it didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, but I save everything oral for Mac.”
That set them off and they all started laughing.
“Yeah, she’ll do, Mac.”
He slung his arm around her. “Guys, this is Lily, and if you didn’t know it by now, let me make it real clear. She’s mine.”
Oh, she liked the sound of that.
“Lily, these are the guys. Biggest bunch of smartasses you’ll ever meet, but also my best friends. My brothers.”
She sobered as she heard the sincerity in his tone, and shook hands with each of them—AJ, who was just as tall but not quite as broad as Spencer. His hair was darker, with eyes that looked like the sky before a summer storm. Paxton, lean, spiked dirty blond hair and chiseled features that belonged on the cover of a magazine. Rick, quiet, with bedroom eyes that were dark to match his tan, unruly, thick black hair and the kind of body a woman could run her hands over for hours and simply get lost in. And finally, Diaz, with dark good looks, perfect white teeth and lips made to do sinful things to a woman’s body. His smile was devastating.
All of this male beauty surrounding her, and she could think of only the man whose arm hung over her shoulder, whose finger toyed with her hair, whose body pressed close to hers.
Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t tease him.
“So, is there a community sleeping area?” she asked.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Mac said, grabbing her hand. “I’ll show you where you and me will sleep.”
He dragged her down the hall in a hurry. She waved to the guys over her shoulder while they all laughed and walked away, heading into their own rooms. Mac’s room was at the end of the hall. He opened the door and let Lily walk in, then closed it behind him.
Nice sized room, double bed. Nothing fancy, but it was well kept. As far as décor, there wasn’t any. Bed, dresser, a desk and a closet. That was about it.
“There are bathrooms in each room, he said, pointing to the partially open door at the corner of his room. Plenty of bedrooms too. “The guys stay on this side of the corridor, girls on the other side.”
“Girls?” she asked, arching a brow.
“Jessie, mainly, since she hangs out here sometimes.
Trust me, nobody brings girlfriends or dates or any women here. Grange would blow a gasket.”
“You brought me.”
“You’re special,” he said, his gaze dark with intent.
“Ah.” She turned away to hide her smile at his comment, gazing out the double windows. The fence line indicated Grange had a sizeable amount of property. Shrubs and a ton of tall, thick trees littered the land, which provided good cover for the house. She saw AJ heading outside and toward the garage. Shortly thereafter she heard the sound of a rumble, and saw a bike heading down the long drive. Lily watched until it disappeared into the trees.
Grange said, leading them down the hall and into another room.
This wasn’t an office. It was a situation room, filled with maps and charts. Multiple televisions and computers lined the walls on either side of a desk, with long rows of chairs set up classroom style. Mac slid into a chair at the front of the room. Grange turned a chair around to face him and Lily sat in one next to Mac.
“Okay, now tell me what really happened,” Grange said.
Mac filled Grange in on everything he knew so far, from how they met at the museum to all that had happened on their journey, up to and including Lily drugging him and Mac chasing after her last night. Damn, talk about coming clean.
Lily blushed hot as she felt Grange’s gaze on her while Mac recounted that part of the story. But she supposed it was vital that Grange know their entire history. At least Mac left the intimate details of their relationship out.
Mac pulled the vial out of his bag, handing it over to Grange. He took it out of the room and returned a few minutes later, then paused again when a call came in, indicating it was about Tom. Lily grasped Mac’s hand while Grange chatted on the phone. Grange cast his gaze at their hands and shot a sideways look at Mac. Lily felt self conscious about the intimacy of their hand holding, but Mac didn’t seem inclined to let go of her.
She liked that.
“Okay,” Grange said when he hung up the phone.
“Tom’s fine.”
Lily exhaled. “That’s great. What about the gunshot?”
“Superficial wound to his hand. He hightailed it to a safe zone where we have people who patched him right up.”
“So he’s secure,” Mac said.
Grange nodded.
“What’s a safe zone?” she asked.
“We have spots set up around the country. Places our contacts can go where they’re secure, where they can get help if necessary. It’s secure and he’s safe there.”
“Okay. That’s good.”
“Any idea who hit him?” Mac asked.
Grange shook his head. “No. He was on the way back from a meeting when a black SUV pulled up beside his car and started firing at him. Tried to run his car off the road.”
“I thought he took his boat?” Lily asked.
“He took the boat into town,” Mac said. “A rental was waiting for him there. He had government meetings.”
“Oh.” So much she didn’t know about this government stuff.
“They probably thought he had the virus,” Mac continued “Which means they fingered us at Tom’s location and figured him for a contact point.”
“Maybe,” Grange said, then looked at Lily. “Or they were contacted by someone who alerted them.”
“No, man, you’ve got it wrong,” Mac said.
Lily shook her head. “I didn’t contact anyone. I’ve been with Mac since the museum.”
Grange didn’t look convinced. “She drugged you, took the virus and she had access to your cell phone while you were out cold.”
“I also came back with him.” Irritation pricked her nerve endings. She didn’t like being accused. She was here, wasn’t she? “I was with him last night and this morning.”
“You could be gathering information about the Wild Riders.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh for the love of God. Check Mac’s cell phone. The only calls in or out are his calls. Easy enough to verify.”
Mac tossed his phone at Grange.
“Did you check it?” Grange asked.
Mac shook his head. “I didn’t need to. I trust Lily.”
Warmth spread through her. He hadn’t even checked.
God, she loved his trust in her.
“Sorry, but I don’t,” Grange said. He stood and left the room with Mac’s phone in hand.
“Don’t take it personally,” Mac said. “He doesn’t know you and has to be certain you can be trusted.”
“I understand.” She looked down at her hands.
Mac reached for one, swirling his thumb over the center of her palm. The sensation shot between her legs. Even with the tension, their lack of privacy, he could still turn her on. She was amazed by her connection to him. “Thank you for believing in me. And I didn’t use your phone.”
His lips quirked. “I know you didn’t.”
His firm belief in her made her feel guilty that she hadn’t trusted in him all this time. She was almost ashamed for not believing in him when he’d asked her to at the beginning of all this. Then again, there had been mistrust on both sides, hadn’t there? Ten years had separated them, had changed them both in so many ways. She still couldn’t reconcile the Mac she’d known all those years ago with the man who sat next to her now. A government agent. She’d never have thought it.
“Phone’s clean,” Grange said as he came back in. “All the calls in and out were verified.” He handed the phone back to Mac.
“I told you they would be,” Mac said.
“I had to be sure,” Grange said to Lily.
She nodded, not certain what she should say in reply.
He didn’t know her at all, so of course he didn’t trust her. And Mac had violated his oath of secrecy about the Wild Riders and had told Lily all about them. Well, mostly all about them. She really didn’t know everything.
“Take her around. Introduce her to the guys. Then rest up,” Grange said. “I need a few hours to get some information.
We’ll reconvene tonight and hopefully have something more to go on after I’ve had a chance to make some calls.”
Mac arched a brow, then nodded. He stood. “Let’s go,”
he said to Lily.
“Down this way are more offices,” he said as they exited Grange’s office. Mac pointed to the right where there were two closed doors. “Mainly tech stuff and storage.”
She felt eyes on her—lots of eyes. When she looked above, she realized why. Several amazing looking men were peering down over the railing at her.
“Dayum,” she heard one of them say.
“Ignore them. You’ll meet the other guys in a minute,”
Mac said, leading her toward the kitchen. “How about something to drink?”
Was he avoiding taking her upstairs to meet the others?
That was…interesting. “I’m not thirsty.”
“Well, I am.”
He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, grabbed a soda and popped it open, offering it to her first. She shrugged and took a drink, then handed it back to him. He leaned against the counter and took a long swallow.
Lily guessed Mac was in no hurry to make introductions. “So tell me about this house.”
“Grange was given this mansion and the assignment to start up Wild Riders after he came up with the idea to steal back vital government property that couldn’t be retrieved under…more conventional and legitimate means.”
“Ah. So this whole thing was General Lee’s idea.”
Mac grinned. “Yup.”
She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and took a seat. “How did he come up with it?”
“Frustration, mainly. He was involved with JAG, and if you think the conventional judicial system is screwed up, the military justice system is even worse.”
Lily frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Everything’s by the book, babe. Especially governmental procedures. When we’re being screwed by foreign countries or even crime on our own soil, and we know damn well who did it and who has the goods, if the system isn’t working in our favor there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
She nodded. “I’ve seen that happen all too often.”
“And with theft, Grange had a genius idea. We might not be able to see the bad guys brought to justice, but we could sure as hell take back what was stolen from us. And there wouldn’t be a damn thing they could do about it.”
She grinned. “Because they stole it in the first place, so it’s not like they could report a theft.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re right. It is genius.”
“And the perfect career for a thief.”
She laughed. “You get to do what you love most and you don’t get in trouble for it.”
“Not as long as we don’t get caught.” He polished off his soda and took her hand. “Let’s go meet the other pros.”
She was looking forward to it. If they were anything like Mac, this should be interesting.
He led her back to the elevators. “You’ve seen the main living area on this floor.” He pushed the buttons. The rode to the next level and exited. “It’s going to get a little crazy.
Prepare yourself, and really, you’ve gotta ignore anything they say.”
“You make it sound like we’re entering a zoo.”
Mac snorted.
In a matter of seconds she understood why. She was swarmed as soon as they stepped out the door. Five men poured out of the open rooms upstairs and descended on her. It was like an invasion of big, beefy testosterone.
And she thought Mac was sexy. She recognized Spence, who she’d met earlier. He was the biggest of the bunch—then again, none of these guys were small.
“Since when does Grange allow us to bring women here?” one of them asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t get the memo,” another said, tilting his head to the side and giving Lily the once over.
They drew closer, giving her a head to toe inspection.
“Would you guys back up?” Mac rolled his eyes.
“Jesus. It’s not like you’ve never seen a woman before.”
“We’ve never seen your woman,” one of them said.
“What’s up with that?”
“Yeah. Introduce us.”
Lily crossed her arms, not feeling the least bit threatened. She knew what this was about. They were testing her, seeing if she was skittish or afraid, if she’d run or hide behind Mac. And Mac was giving her enough space to take care of herself. She appreciated that he was watching out for her, but not immediately coming to her aid.
She was no sissy. She’d weathered a lot worse her first year on the police force. Though lots of women became cops, in many precincts it was still a good ole’ boy network.
Especially in Dallas, where she’d started.
“You can look all you want, guys,” she said, making eye contact as they walked around her. “But if you touch, you’ll be sorry.”
“She’s got a bark,” one said behind her.
“But does she bite?” This from a guy in front of her.
“I might,” she said, quirking her lips.
“I’ve got something you can bite, baby.”
Someone whispered in her ear. She didn’t know which one, and honestly, it didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, but I save everything oral for Mac.”
That set them off and they all started laughing.
“Yeah, she’ll do, Mac.”
He slung his arm around her. “Guys, this is Lily, and if you didn’t know it by now, let me make it real clear. She’s mine.”
Oh, she liked the sound of that.
“Lily, these are the guys. Biggest bunch of smartasses you’ll ever meet, but also my best friends. My brothers.”
She sobered as she heard the sincerity in his tone, and shook hands with each of them—AJ, who was just as tall but not quite as broad as Spencer. His hair was darker, with eyes that looked like the sky before a summer storm. Paxton, lean, spiked dirty blond hair and chiseled features that belonged on the cover of a magazine. Rick, quiet, with bedroom eyes that were dark to match his tan, unruly, thick black hair and the kind of body a woman could run her hands over for hours and simply get lost in. And finally, Diaz, with dark good looks, perfect white teeth and lips made to do sinful things to a woman’s body. His smile was devastating.
All of this male beauty surrounding her, and she could think of only the man whose arm hung over her shoulder, whose finger toyed with her hair, whose body pressed close to hers.
Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t tease him.
“So, is there a community sleeping area?” she asked.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Mac said, grabbing her hand. “I’ll show you where you and me will sleep.”
He dragged her down the hall in a hurry. She waved to the guys over her shoulder while they all laughed and walked away, heading into their own rooms. Mac’s room was at the end of the hall. He opened the door and let Lily walk in, then closed it behind him.
Nice sized room, double bed. Nothing fancy, but it was well kept. As far as décor, there wasn’t any. Bed, dresser, a desk and a closet. That was about it.
“There are bathrooms in each room, he said, pointing to the partially open door at the corner of his room. Plenty of bedrooms too. “The guys stay on this side of the corridor, girls on the other side.”
“Girls?” she asked, arching a brow.
“Jessie, mainly, since she hangs out here sometimes.
Trust me, nobody brings girlfriends or dates or any women here. Grange would blow a gasket.”
“You brought me.”
“You’re special,” he said, his gaze dark with intent.
“Ah.” She turned away to hide her smile at his comment, gazing out the double windows. The fence line indicated Grange had a sizeable amount of property. Shrubs and a ton of tall, thick trees littered the land, which provided good cover for the house. She saw AJ heading outside and toward the garage. Shortly thereafter she heard the sound of a rumble, and saw a bike heading down the long drive. Lily watched until it disappeared into the trees.
