Page 70 of Eyes in the Shadows

I wince. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. It’s why you’re here now, and I’m a selfish enough bastard that I like that outcome too much to regret what happened to get here.”

I feel my face heating and curse how easily I blush. But the fact that Mac is willing to damn the consequences just to know me? Yeah, I’m fucking swooning. “For what it’s worth, I don’t regret it either.”

He smiles. “It’s worth a hell of a lot to me,” he says softly, then inhales, preparing for the next part of the story. “They moved their shipment out of the warehouse to a storage unit on the other side of town. I was watching the unit in the hopes that Rossi would show eventually, but he never did. So, we had to pivot. We’ve been keeping watch at his house to try to get eyes on him—so far, no luck. He’s slippery.”

“And what’s happening tomorrow night?”

“Rossi sold the weapons, so the contents of that unit are going to change hands at midnight tomorrow night. We’re still hoping he’ll show for the sale.”

“And then what? Everyone there dies?”

Mac nods.

I chew my lip. “That’s the part where you lose me.”

He tilts his head, an unspoken question.

“I get that Rossi is going to die, and based on what you told me about him I don’t think I’ll be too torn up about it. But can you tell me for sure that everyoneelse deserves it, too? You did your due diligence, like you said, and everyone who will be there tomorrow night fits into that same bad-guy box?”

“Most people there will either see the money exchange hands or move boxes full of illegal guns and explosives. They’re not really innocent to the situation.”

“What if someone else is there, just accessing their unit and they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or, what if someone gets dropped off by a driver, and he’s just some guy who works for a ride share app to make ends meet so he can support his family?”

He has the good grace to look uncomfortable when he says, “Leaving witnesses is… not how we normally do things.”

I push away my bowl and sit back in my chair to look him hard in the eye. “I’d never think to tell you how to do what you do. All I’m saying is, if you’d made the same decision that night, I wouldn’t be here right now. Am I the only one who deserves to live in spite of what I stumbled into?”

He sits with that, and doesn’t reply. But it was mostly rhetorical, anyway.

When I move to start upstairs, I pause in the doorway with my hand outstretched. He smiles at me and motions to the sink. “You go ahead; I’m going to do the dishes. I’ll be up in a little bit. Don’t start without me. Actually, wait, do. Just don’t come without me.”

I laugh and head to the bedroom. As I go, I replay our conversation and I’m left with nothing but nervous apprehension—for the bystanders, for him.

For the danger he’s in.

For the danger heis.

26

Mac

Why does it have to be zero sum?

What would have happened if I hadn’t interrupted that night?

I never would have… fallen in love.

I can’t believe I almost told her I love her.

I can’t believe I’m about to try to convince my team to change the plan for tomorrow night because she makes me feel like I could do better. Could be better.

This oughtta be interesting.

I knock on Wes’s door and push it open after his affirmative noise. He’s shoving chips into his mouth, washing it down with an energy drink, and his eyes are glued to his screen. “What’s up, Mac?”

“Team meeting about tomorrow night. Can you get Dimitri on video?”

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