Page 22 of Seizing Mack
Chapter Ten
~ Mack ~
Mack hung back, watchingthe detective as he executed a jump shot.Poetry in motion, she thought, quietly enjoying the way he moved, the ripple of muscles from his broad shoulders all the way down to his impressive quads and well-toned calves.
He’d coaxed some of the boys into a pick-up game, taunting them good-naturedly about age and experience trumping youth and agility. The teens were wary but seemed to be responding well to him.
She wasn’t entirely surprised. Nick Benning was a very lickable – uh,likeable– guy.
He had a friendly, approachable manner, but came across as strong and capable too. When Jesse, one of the older teens, challenged him with some attitude, Nick had firmly established himself as the one in charge without embarrassing the kid. That took some skill, and Mack was dutifully impressed.
Not for the first time, she wondered what Nick’s deal was. He projected an air of quiet, capable authority that she found as attractive as his athletic physique, but there was something more there, too. Something in his eyes that suggested he’d seen his share of tragedy, something that attested to a deeper appreciation for life than most. That kind of thing left an intangible mark. She’d seen it plenty of times in her fellow Marines and in those who had faced a big challenge and come out on the other side, intact but essentially changed.
Mack supposed it was only to be expected. Nick was a cop, and if he’d worked in a big city like Chicago, he must have seen his share of bad things. Or maybe it had something to do with the reference he’d made to losing someone.
Though she’d been tempted, Mack refused to stoop to Dee’s level of Googling him. Whatever it was that had marked him, it was his business and none of hers.
Unless, for some unfathomable reason, he decided to share it with her.
And why, a little voice deep in her psyche wanted to know,would he ever want to do that?
The obvious answer: he wouldn’t.
Mack gave herself a mental shake, reminding herself that Nick was a client. Her interest had to remain strictly professional. Which also meant she probably shouldn’t be gawking at him as she was.
Satisfied that Nick had things under control, she wrangled her sudden thirst and quietly slipped away. As nice as the view had been, she had other things to take care of. Like trying to prevent a harassment suit because her man-hungry stepsister couldn’t keep her hands to herself.
“Dee!” she barked, rounding the corner to see her stepsister about to invade the personal space of Harrison Kennedy, one of Mack’s favorite people. The chief loan officer at Covendale Fidelity Bank and Trust, he’d been instrumental in helping her turnSeizefrom a dream into a reality. As a result, he had a lifetime free membership and her infinite gratitude.
Harrison sent her a thankful look and made a smooth getaway. Dee, on the other hand, scowled and hissed, “Now what? God, Mack, you are such a cock block!”
Mack put a pin in the “boundaries” lecture she was going to give Dee — again — to correct her. “Cock block is something guys do.”
Dee sniffed. “He’s got a cock, doesn’t he? And you just blocked me from getting to it.”
Mack grabbed Dee’s arm and pulled her into an empty room. “Harrison Kennedy is a pillar of this community and one hell of a good guy. He’s also very married.”
“So?”
“Back off, Dee. Last warning.”
“Fine,” Dee huffed. “But you know, some guys actually like a little attention. You might try it sometime.”
Mack ignored the jibe and went down to one of the practice rooms and took out some of her frustration on one of the mannequins they used for MMA classes. She would never admit it, but Dee had a point. Most people, men and women included, liked to feel attractive and desired once in a while. Herself included.
Mack pulled on a pair of fingerless, padded gloves and warmed up with a couple of stretches and simple katas. The thing was, Mack was shit at that kind of thing. Honest praise and encouragement, sure — she doled that out like a champ. But flirting? Batting her eyelashes and spewing sexual innuendo? Stuff that seemed to come naturally for most women just wasn’t in her wheelhouse.
Not everyone was cast from the same mold. So she wasn’t a femme fatale, so what? Being selective, not settling for just any handsome face or hot body — there was nothing wrong with that, no matter what Dee or anyone else thought. The few, completely unremarkable encounters she’d had convinced her that she was better off waiting for someone who made her heart beat faster just by looking at her.
Like Nick Benning, for example.
She let out a fierce Kiai, a short shout-out when performing an attacking move, pivoting on her leg and kicking the bag hard. Letting her body take control, Mack lost herself in a series of movements, a dance of her own creation, incorporating a combination of offensive and defensive movements designed to focus the mind and tax her body. By the time she was finished, her body was covered in sweat and her muscles were screaming, but her head was clearer.
Maybe she was overreacting. Projecting her own, deeply-buried sense of inadequacy out on Dee. Most of the guysdidseem to enjoy Dee’s attention. There hadn’t been a single registered complaint, but was that because they really didn’t mind or because they thought Mack would take it personally? She’d just have to stay on top of it and make sure things didn’t get out of hand.
She turned and reached for a towel, only then realizing that a small crowd had gathered. Carl was there, grinning like an idiot. A former special ops man who had spent more than a dozen years deep in the Middle East, he had taken her rudimentary MMA skills to the next level and beyond.
“You okay there, boss? That was a hell of a show.”
