The Boss

by Melissa Schroeder

  “Yeah. I could see that. It would definitely put more pressure on her. Plus, if he’s doing something illegal, it gets the attention off him.”

  “He could have killed Blake. Either way, he can use it to put pressure on Millie.”

  Rock grunted and looked out the window again. Great, now she had two brooding men in the car with her.

  “Maybe we can have her work out a deal,” Vic said. They were the first words he had said in almost twenty minutes.

  “What kind of deal?” Rock asked.

  Vic shrugged. “Maybe some kind of exchange of information. Lord knows, Millie probably has tons of it in that brain of hers. You mentioned having leverage.”

  “That would leave her out to dry, Vic,” Rock said. “I’m not sure if that’s the best course.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not like we have any other choice,” she said. “Bloody hell, it’s the only thing we have to offer.”

  “I don’t like it,” Rock said.

  “I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Vic said, his voice cold.

  Rock’s expression hardened, and he opened his mouth to argue, but Mac didn’t think that was a good idea. Everyone was on edge, and fighting was just going to make it worse. If she was the person who was thinking rationally, they were definitely in trouble. Still, she needed to try to make it a better situation.

  “I think we just say something to Millie, get her take on it,” Mac suggested. “This is her life, and she has to make the decision.”

  Neither man said anything to that. More silence.

  “Listen, you wankers, I need your full attention. I don’t need the silent treatment as if you are trying to blame me for this mess.”

  “Jesus, Mac, I don’t blame you. I don’t really blame anyone except whoever planned the original abduction and all the idiocy that followed,” Rock said.

  “Well, thanks for that. Vic?”

  Vic glanced at her. “Stupid question.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She thought she heard Rock mutter under his breath, but she didn’t pay attention.

  “I said it was a stupid question. This wasn’t your fault, and I don’t blame you. Satisfied?”

  “Actually, yes.”

  She just hoped her ideas were sound, or they might all be screwed.

  …

  Vic turned into the driveway that led up to the back of the farmhouse, feeling ten years older than when they’d left the night before. He had thought they would gain more information about the situation, but now they had more unanswered questions. It was frustrating as hell.

  The newest irritation brought to them by Walter George was just another layer in the shit sundae they were building. He could take the stress, but what Vic hated was not knowing who was behind it. If it were a simple case of political intrigue, he could handle it. But nothing was adding up, and when it came to things like this, Vic considered himself an accountant. All the accounts needed to match for him to be satisfied.

  Jay was out of the house and heading toward the car before Vic had put it in park. When he opened the door, Jay was already talking.

  “It took you long enough,” he said.

  Vic was too damned tired to argue. It wasn’t as if he and Mac had had much sleep last night. Add in that he hadn’t had a real night’s sleep in the last six months, and he felt like a cast member of The Walking Dead.

  “It’s a long drive from D.C. when you’re trying to avoid people who want to kill you,” Mac said.

  He half expected his brother to bitch back at her, but Jay just nodded.

  “Millie is really nervous.”

  “I’m not nervous,” she said from the doorway. “I’m pissed.”

  He studied the militant expression on her face. This was not the poor little waif he had seen the day before. The woman was furious, and he didn’t blame her. She had been abused first by her boss, then by the bastard who had tried to sell her to the highest bidder. Now, her life was complete crap all because she just happened to be smart. Being smart made her a target. She had come to D.C. probably thinking she could change the world while hers got turned upside down.

  “Everyone, get inside. Standing out here leaves us all targets,” Vic said. Millie did just as he ordered, turning tail and going back into the house. The other four stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

  “What the bloody hell was that for?” Mac asked.

  He smiled and shrugged. “Got her in the house, didn’t it?”

  She chuckled. “Of course.”

  She grabbed her bag and started into the house. He tried to take it from her, and she gave him a disgruntled look. “I can handle it.”

  “I know you can.”

  She gave him a strange look, then turned to go into the house—still holding her bag. Damn woman never gave in. One of these days, her refusal to accept his help would be the death of one of them—or both of them.

  “What was that about?” Rock asked.

  “Butt out.”

  “Sure. It’s just that you sounded…”

  He stopped walking and looked at Rock. “Like what?”

  “You sounded like an irritated husband.”

  Great, now his friend was apparently okay with the renewed relationship between Mac and Vic. “Get bent, Rock.”

  His friend laughed. “Sure, sure.”

  As soon as they stepped into the kitchen, Rock’s phone buzzed.

  “About damned time.”

  Rock answered the phone and walked into the living room. Vic left him to sort it out. He didn’t want to deal with it right now. He knew the discussion he was about to have with Millie wasn’t going to be easy, on either of them.

  The situation wasn’t of his making, but his inability to discover just what was going on was putting them all at risk. He ground his teeth together. Even right now, he had no way of knowing if he could trust anyone outside of his team. Millie had an asterisk by her name because her trustworthiness went hand-in-hand with how much she needed them to keep her safe. Of course, she could be playing them all, but he was about 99 percent sure she was telling them the real deal. He needed to talk to her, console her, but he didn’t feel like doing that. Right now, he wanted to see Mac.

  Damn, he was sad. It had been less than two minutes, and he was jonesing to see her again. He heard Millie’s tear-filled voice, the low husky tones. He followed it and found her in the room occupied by Millie.

  “This is just damned stupid. I’m so pissed and embarrassed. I brought this on all of you. You’re working for free, and now your lives are at risk.”

  Mac had never had patience with people. She hated any show of emotion, especially self loathing. She had always said it was a waste of energy. Tears weren’t for her, either, and she hated when they had a client who cried all the time.

  “First, our lives are always in danger. Vic and I were making enemies while you were still in high school. Second, you don’t have to pay us. When we get you through all this, you can do us a favor or two.”

  He blinked. This was not the Mac he knew. She was mercenary and wouldn’t think twice about taking advantage of people. But she never soothed a distraught client. It was why they never let her talk to difficult clients. Ever.

  Her voice was soft and solicitous, as if she were empathizing with Millie. Normally, at least in the past, she would’ve definitely been ready to punch a wall. Or the client. That had happened before, but in that case, the bastard had deserved it.

  Without any warning, Millie jumped up from the bed and hugged Mac.

  “I’ll never be able to do anything to make up for this, but I’ll try.”

  For a long moment, Mac didn’t respond. Then, she lifted her arms and hugged the young woman back.

  “It’ll be okay.”

  “I know.” Millie stepped back, and Mac let her go. Then, she noticed Vic. “Oh, hey.”

  Mac turned around and narrowed her eyes when she saw him. “Did you need anything?”

  He nodded. “Rock jus
t got a call from Tessa. I’m pretty sure we need to discuss our options right now.”

  “Okay. I need to wash up. I’ll meet you out there,” Mac said, not looking him in the eye and brushing past him out the door.

  “She really is sweet,” Millie said.

  He blinked again. “What?”

  “Mac. She’s sweet.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  She frowned at him. “No. She’s been very understanding of it all.”

  “Listen, I love her, but no one has ever called MacKenzie sweet. Not ever. I doubt that even as a baby anyone called her sweet.”

  Millie smiled and shook her head. “Well, she is. You know she is, because I’ve seen you with her. She’s just careful whom she shows it with. I’m pretty sure you’re one of the few people she does that around. And, of course, now me, which is making me feel pretty special.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” In an odd sort of Millie way. He didn’t know her that well, but he was starting to like the younger woman. “We’ll be in the kitchen in fifteen.”

  She nodded. “Thanks, Vic.”

  He turned to go back to the kitchen but stopped by the room he shared with Mac first. He could hear her shuffling around, and in the past, he would have walked on by and down the hall. Emotions never worked with the career they had built for themselves. They made an operative sloppy. And until last night, he and Mac had never had in-depth discussions about their relationship. As long as they had been together, it had never come up. The job had always come first.

  Something told him this time, though, it was different.

  So, instead of walking by, he opened the door and found her looking out the window.

  “Mac? Are you okay?”

  She nodded but didn’t turn around.

  “Are you sure?”

  It took her a long moment to finally answer. “Yeah. It’s just odd.”

  “What?” he asked, not sure if he was missing part of the conversation.

  “You know I have a half sister?”

  “No, I didn’t know that.”

  “Seems Dad married again, and I have this little half sister I know nothing about. She’s only five, and we have nothing in common.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  She glanced back over her shoulder at him with a sad smile on her face. “Oh, but I do. I’ve never fit in with my family. You know that as well as I do.”

  In the past, Vic would have either have come up with some lame excuse to turn away or made a joke. This time was different. The need to comfort her overrode his need to escape. He stepped into the room and started to walk toward her.

  “You never know. There might just be another little MacKenzie, Jr. in the making there. Remember, you have the same father.”

  “That’s true.”

  She turned back around to look out the window. He always knew she had these moments, these downtimes, and he had seen them from time to time. She would brood, and sometimes she acted out. Not now, though. He didn’t know what had brought this one on.

  “Mac?”

  “I’m okay.”

  But she wasn’t. He wasn’t any better at soothing ruffled feathers than Mac was, but he knew this time was different.

  So, instead of walking away, he stepped up behind her and slipped his arms around her. She stiffened just long enough that he almost released her. Then, then she relaxed back against him. They stood like that for a few moments. No talking, nothing other than the comforting silence.

  There was a knock on the door before it opened. They both turned to find Rock standing there.

  “I talked to Tessa, and I think we might be able to work out something with the FBI for protection.”

  “Okay,” Vic said. “Be out there in a second.”

  Rock nodded and shut the door. Vic stepped back, but kept his hands on her as she turned to face him. She looked better than she had just a few minutes earlier. More centered. Calm.

  “Thanks. I needed that.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, slow and easy, more for comfort than seduction. When he pulled back, he smiled.

  “I told you I’ve always got your back.”

  “That’s true. I always know that. In fact, it is the one thing in life I do count on.”

  He didn’t know what to say to that. Did she just say that he was the only person she could count on? It was the closest she had ever come to telling him she loved him.

  “Why don’t you go on? I still need to wash up. Meet you out there.”

  He nodded and kissed her nose before letting her go. He watched her, knowing she knew he would always protect her…always have her back, as he’d said. One of these days, she might just give him her heart.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Being in charge can be exhilarating, but it can also be the death of you.

  —Vic Walker

  Vic took a seat at the head of the table and waited for the others to find their places. It was definitely becoming a habit. Even with all the crap raining down on them, he had to smile as everyone left the seat to his right empty. It was as if they knew it was Mac’s place—even if she hadn’t accepted it yet.

  He looked at Jay, who did not look particularly happy about the situation at the moment. Millie looked the same. Her entire world had crumbled around her, and she had no idea if it would ever be the same. Right at the moment, Vic didn’t have the heart to tell her it wouldn’t. Even if they got it all straightened out, Millie would never look at the world the same way.

  Then there was Rock. He was frowning and had that nasty expression he got when he wanted to maim someone. Vic wasn’t sure if it was their situation or something else that was bothering his best friend. Other than the few short talks he’d had with Rock, they had not caught up on anything going on in Rock’s life, so it could be something else. But, knowing Rock the way Vic did, his friend probably didn’t have anything going on in his personal life. Or, if he did, it would always take a backseat to the job.

  “We first have to talk about the job Millie had at Liberty,” he said.

  Her eyes widened. “I told you what I did.”

  “Yes, but we have a better idea of why you were almost abducted. So now, we might be able to walk through this with you. We asked about job offers. You had one from a Russian corporation?”

  “Yes, about six weeks ago. I think.”

  “You don’t know?” Jay asked.

  She shrugged. “I’m constantly getting offers. Most of them don’t interest me.”

  “But this one did?” Vic asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, it was the chance to travel. And while Russia sounded interesting, I also don’t really like the idea of living in a country where I don’t know the language. I am horrible at languages. Also, the thought of spending a winter in Moscow wasn’t that appealing.”

  He smiled, and then it faded. “See, we found out that you were possibly doing something illegal.”

  Her eyes widened. “I did not do anything illegal.”

  “What Vic means,” Mac said, tossing him a reproving look, “is that George might have had you doing something illegal, and you didn’t know it.”

  “All I did was work on programs to divert cyber attacks. If the federal government needed to take a look, all they would do is request the information. It isn’t that hard.”

  “Yes, but that isn’t what he has been using it for,” Vic said. “He’s been working with the Denkov Corp. Have you heard of them?”

  “Yes. I did a program for them. They’re one of our clients.”

  “Do you know what they do?”

  “One of those big corporations. International, but I think they’re based in Moscow.”

  “The owner of the company is Viktor Denkov. He runs a very powerful crime organization in Moscow.”

  “No.”

  He shared a look with Mac. “Yes, he does.”

  Millie popped up out of her seat and started to walk back and forth. “I thought I was working on securi
ng their financial statements.”

  “You were. But from the authorities,” Vic said.

  She shot him a look of irritation but did not stop her pacing. “I didn’t know that. I mean, I guess he could have used it that way. Another layer of protection, and if he had someone who could finagle the code the right way, it would keep a lot of people out. But he never said the federal government would be kept out of it.”

  “Not just the federal government,” Rock said. “There were some definite criminal activities going on.”

  She collapsed into her chair again. “Great. I’m an international criminal.”

  “No. We can definitely make a case to the FBI for you. And we have Tessa.” Vic looked at Rock. “What did Tessa say?”

  Rock scrubbed his hand over his head, and it was then that Vic realized Rock had changed his clothes. Still looked like hell, but he didn’t smell quite so bad.

  “She said we can definitely do a deal. When she called me back, she had talked to her supervisor, who put her in touch with someone in cyber. She told them I had called her because we’d worked together before.”

  “Which is close enough to the truth to work,” Mac said.

  Rock nodded. “She’s not stupid.”

  “And the cyber folks are okay with a hookup with us?” Vic asked.

  “Yeah. They actually jumped at the chance.” He glanced at Millie. “They really want to meet you.”

  “Can you trust Tessa?” Jay asked.

  Rock shrugged. “As much as you can trust someone in the FBI. And we aren’t going in blind, either. Vic and I know the area well, and add in the fact that Mac has probably handled more of these types of things, and we are definitely covered in that region.”

  “So where is this meeting?” Millie said.

  Everyone looked at her with varying degrees of surprise.

  “What?” she asked, her chin going up slightly. “I want to know the plan. I might not have your experience with intrigue, but I am the smartest person in the room.”

  “And the most modest,” Jay said with a snort.

  She cut an irritated look at his brother. When they finally got things straight, he was going to have to have a talk with his brother and how to handle a client.