Page 25 of Four Calling Birds

I smirked, wishing that I could have been there to see their faces as each of their warehouses were seized, and every one of them was arrested.

“Merry fucking Christmas, Magnus,” I said with a chuckle.

Mack still snorted. “Is he alive?”

“As far as I know.”

“Then he won’t be for long.” The deadly malice in his voice made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. This possessive, protective version of himself was incredibly sexy.

I leaned back on my elbows, just enough to be able to pull him down for a kiss. Just a quick one. But he stayed close, so that I spoke against his lips.

“You know that the job doesn’t work that way. We follow the law. He’ll be put away.” Of course, that didn’t mean that I didn’twanthim dead.

“In the meantime, he’s going to be gunning for you, huh?” Mack pushed me back down and began to weave his fingers through my hair.

“You’re spoiling me, Mr. McClanahan,” I said with a moan, as I leaned into his fingertips like a cat begging for more scratches.

“I got a call last night,” he whispered. “From your boss.”

I stopped moving, surprised by the abrupt change of subject. He had the weirdest dislike about saying Brett’s name. They had been ranger buddies, but now, Mack couldn’t stand him. He treated the guy like Voldemort. Or Beetlejuice.

“We’re expecting company.” His hand around my shoulder tightened. “Bad kind. People from the Scorpio Network are coming. They’ll probably be here by nightfall.”

I tried to get up. This meant I had to get out of here. Or we had to start preparing. But he wouldn’t let me go. He tightened his grip on me.

“I called the team, and they’re inbound.”

“What team?”

“Taz, Goose, Griff, Veder,” he rattled off the nicknames, knowing that I’d remember every single one of them. “They’ll be here between breakfast and lunch.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Not because I was okay with the approaching hostiles, but because those guys had answered the call. I had thought that after I left Mack that none of them would want anything to do with me. That they’d hate me.

“Do they… Do they know it’s about me?” I whispered.

“Yes,” Mack said, giving a lopsided grin, as his fingered trailed up to my hair. “They came without question. Though, I think you’ll have to smooth things over with Taz. She took you leaving really, really hard.”

“She was always our problem child.” She was also the one that could break my heart.

More than once, each one of those guys had ended up on our couch, or crying in our kitchen, puking out their problems as we plied them with beer, wine, or something stronger. Taz, more than the others. She had eyes for Mack – not in the attraction type of way, but the way a daughter looks up to a dad, begging for his approval, guidance, and hoping for that hint of pride. I had nursed that relationship when I could, because I thought she needed it. Mack did too, I think.

I got up, and went to the kitchen, hoping that the duck and other food was still salvageable. The kids would need to eat when they got here.

Mack’s phone pinged, and he looked at his flipper. “First one’s heading up the road now.”

I was at the oven, applying orange glazing on the duck when the doorbell rang.

Mack opened the door, and the man who stood there was a stranger to me.

He looked thoroughly disgusting. Dirt covered his tan Army boots. His jeans were torn and patched up, and his shirt was missing a few buttons. The big fluffy Army jacket he wore had nothing but the flag. There was a dark green discoloration where the patch of his name tape should have been. Beneath the nest of his uncombed hair and beard were two green eyes that looked at me with a sadness I couldn’t understand.

Did he know me?

“Hey, Top.” Did this homeless man just call my husband by his rank? Sure, Top was short for Top Sergeant, or First Sergeant. It was a common expression. The man could have been guessing. But the way he said it made me think that he knew my husband.

“Hey, Veder.”

I paused, almost dropping the damn bird. I straightened so fast that it pulled at my stitches, and I winced. Mack abandoned the door and ran to my side.

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