Page 7 of Mace

I stated chipperly, “Thanks for talking to me. Your son seems really sweet, I’m sorry if I worried you, I just wanted to be sure.”

Before they could get worked up again, Mace cut the call.

I told him, “You’re absolutely shameless, but I believe you.”

“That’s strange. They seemed a little more crazy than convincing just now,” he said with a grin.

“La familiais everything. Your mother and grandmother seem really spirited. I like that. What about your father? Where is he?”

“My birth father died when I was twelve, but my stepdad is in his man cave if he’s smart,” Mace quipped.

“I’m sorry about your father.”

Mace’s lips quirked in a wry smile, “I miss him, but my old man would be proud that I went and rescued such a bonnie wee lassie.”

I raised my eyebrow, my English was excellent, but I wasn’t sure what that meant, hopefully it was something complimentary.

“My dad was Scottish, that means a pretty young woman,” he explained with a grin.

I smothered back a smile. This man was a strange mixture of brave, smart, and clearly had a quirky sense of humor. “Okay, if you want, we can go to the underground bunker. I just don’t want to be locked in.”

“I wouldn’t lock you in unless we were surrounded, and I needed to maintain security. As long as you keep your word to help us get rid of your father’s gang, I’ll prioritize your safety above my own.”

My mouth fell open in shock. Was that really necessary? I blinked and then blinked again, thinking it over. I guess in a dangerous situation, someone had to risk themselves for the safety of all. It hurt to think this handsome, funny man might get shot or killed protecting me. After talking to his mother andgrandmother, I knew they’d be devastated if anything happened to him.

I stammered, “Maybe I should just go, so you won’t be in danger. If you take me to the nearest city I could head to LA or something.”

“We’re already in danger with your father and his gang so close. You leaving doesn’t change that.”

I frowned. “I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

He sat his glass down and looked at me intently. “You didn’t seem all that bothered that Alejandro got shot.”

My expression turned cold in an instant. “I’m okay with the bad guys getting shot, just not innocent people.”

Mace came to his feet and shot me a dark look. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

I opened my mouth to object, but he turned his back and started washing the dishes, leaving me to deal with my own inner thoughts about who I was okay having violence visited on.

Chapter 4

Mace

After washing up, I headed to my room to contact Storm. I needed to tell him what had gone down. While it wasn’t club business, if someone was setting up camp near our cabin then it was rapidly becoming our business. Especially if that someone looked to be involved with the cartel.

He picked up on the second ring.

“Hello Mace. Are you have a nice time on your vacation?”

“No so much as you would think. Look boss, I ran into some trouble up here in the forest,” I decided not to beat around the bush, our president didn’t like wasting time.

“I’m putting you on speaker phone. What kind of trouble?”

“I was exploring near our cabin when I heard a woman screaming.”

“Shit, don’t tell me we have another guy taking women out into the forest and dropping them.”

“No, Prez. It’s nothing like that. I followed the scream and discovered she was scared by a snake.”

---