The Boss

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I need you to know. That bastard.” She grabbed Vic’s shirt.

  Vic took hold of her hand and rubbed his thumb over the top of it. “We got him, babe. Don’t worry. Cops have him right now, and Tessa is bringing her FBI pals in to take over.”

  “That’s good. Really good.”

  “MacKenzie, I am going to give you something for the pain.”

  She nodded, then felt the surge of warm comfort in her veins.

  “Don’t go.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Love you.”

  Then everything faded.

  …

  Vic paced the ER waiting room, irritated they would not let him in the back. It had been over an hour since a very nasty nurse had chased him out of the room, telling him he wasn’t family. Damn woman.

  “Grumbling under your breath isn’t going to help, you know,” Rock said.

  He glared at his friend, then continued his pacing. “It’s helping me.”

  “How is it helping you?” Jay asked.

  “It’s better than yelling at everyone and fighting to get in the back. They told me the last time I argued with them that they would call the police on me if I didn’t back off.”

  “You were keeping them from doing their job,” Millie said, the admonishment easy to hear in her voice. The ER docs had looked at her, and other than the burn she had on her neck from the Tazer, she was fine.

  He said nothing.

  “You are just mad at yourself, and you’re mad at MacKenzie.”

  He stopped and looked at her. “What?”

  “You’re mad it went down like that, and you’re mad you didn’t make the connection earlier than you did. Because of that, you feel guilty.”

  “Yeah?” he asked, his voice deathly soft. Most people who knew him knew to avoid him when he used that tone. Millie didn’t know any better.

  “Yeah, and you want to yell at MacKenzie because she left without telling you. You can’t vent your frustrations, and it’s making you a pain in the ass.”

  Her voice had risen loud enough to attract attention. Most of the other people had moved away from them, mainly because he was sure he scared them. Still, a few people glanced over in their direction, including the guard.

  “Is that a fact?”

  She nodded. “Yes, which you have no one to blame but yourself. Well, part of it is her, too, but seriously, I have never seen two people who avoided discussing their relationship more than you two.”

  “And you learned all of this in less than a week?”

  She snorted. “Please. Freud would have a field day with both of you. Good lord, how many times have you both gone to bat for each other, but you can’t grow a set to tell her you want to marry her?”

  He heard Jay snicker, and he shot his brother a warning glance. Jay smiled. “She’s right, bro.”

  “We aren’t ready.” Okay, that sounded lame.

  “Really?” Millie asked. “Well, I’ll put it to you this way. If you’d gotten a backbone and married her months ago, you would have access to the information about her now.”

  Dammit. Their client had turned into one pain in the ass, but he hated that she was right. That is why he had left six months ago. He had wanted more, and instead of facing it head on, he had started an argument about the damned government contracts. He hadn’t expected it to end the way it had. They both did that. Fight, make up, get back together, then fight again. Neither of them had been able to let go, but they hadn’t been able to face their feelings. But this time, they had gone a little too far with the argument.

  “So, here you stand, growling at us when you are really mad at yourself.”

  “Millie,” Rock said, his voice a warning, but she ignored him.

  “Yeah, what? Do you all take this abuse all the time when these two break up? Both of you are as much to blame.”

  “So, it’s our fault now?” Jay asked.

  “Yes, it is. You’re his brother.” She pointed at Jay. “And you’re his best friend. You should tell him to just marry her and get it over with. Good lord.”

  She sat back in her chair.

  “She still shouldn’t have gone in without backup,” Vic said.

  “True, but you know why she did it.”

  “I don’t care what her reasons are.” He realized he was close to shouting, but at the moment, he didn’t give a damn. “She should have never gone in without me.”

  Millie stood up and stepped closer to him. Damn, this was not the little woman they had been helping. This was… Well, someone scary. He had about a foot on her in height, and she had to tip her head back to meet his gaze, but damned if she didn’t do it. She settled her hands on her hips.

  “The woman felt she needed to fix things because that crazy bastard had done this because of you. Ah, I see that you didn’t know that. Imagine that. The all-powerful Vic Walker didn’t know something. She did it because Simon wanted to impress her. She had turned his marriage proposal down, and he thought if he could be like you, if he could give her the excitement you do, that she would just marry him.”

  “That’s stupid.”

  “Yeah, it is. She doesn’t love him. She loves you. Although, I have no idea why, because I would definitely want to shoot you if I were involved with you.”

  He opened his mouth to respond, but Tessa interrupted him. “I think we can all agree to that.”

  He turned around and found the FBI agent standing behind him, her arm in a sling. The ER docs had taken a look at her gunshot wound when she arrived. After cleaning the wound, the docs had said that Rock had done a pretty decent job of it. Then men in dark suits had arrived and gone back to speak with her. It was the first time they had seen her since they had arrived. She was wearing a pair of blue scrubs now.

  Rock was up and by her side in a second. “Hey, you should be resting.”

  She gave him a look that Vic had gotten a lot from Mac.

  “I think I’ll survive, although I will come to collect on that debt you owe me.” She turned to Vic. “She’s in recovery right now. They took her up to surgery about an hour ago.”

  “What the hell? No one told me.”

  “Mainly because you are loud and annoying. They didn’t want you in the surgery area, scaring the other people.”

  He frowned. “They still should have told me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “She lost a lot of blood because the bullet nicked an artery. Nothing that serious, but she bled at a faster rate. Or, at least, that is how they explained it to me.” His panic surged again, and she held up her hand. “Don’t freak out. She’s doing well.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  “Looks like Simon is going to be spending some time with the FBI.”

  “Doesn’t he have immunity?” Millie asked.

  Damn, he hadn’t thought of that. If the little bastard didn’t get put on trial for this crap, he would have to make sure he paid.

  “Stop,” Tessa ordered.

  “What?”

  “Stop plotting on how you are going to kill him.”

  “I can dream.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ve already been on the phone with State. The English government is only too happy to allow him to be prosecuted here.”

  “But he won’t be,” Millie said.

  Tessa sighed. “There’s a good chance he will be seen as an asset.”

  “That’s not right, and you know it,” Rock said.

  “No, it isn’t. And I don’t agree with it. But there is one thing that will come out of this. He is being stripped of his government job, his diplomatic immunity, and the U.S. and UK governments have agreed to freeze his assets. The man will be ruined financially. And I am sure he’ll serve some time for something.”

  “Murder? Because he murdered at least one person.”

  “Two, at least. We know he killed George and a Russian by the name of Dimtri Yohzov. He was the one in charge of the detail after you at the embassy.”

  “And so Simo
n just killed him?” Millie asked.

  Tessa nodded. “Yes, although there are a few things being investigated in the UK. He might go to trial there after we are done with him.”

  “That’s something, right?” Jay asked.

  “No. It isn’t enough,” Vic said.

  “Yeah. Millie needs to be cleared,” Rock said.

  “That will be contingent on one thing.”

  “What?” Millie asked.

  “They want to interview you, and they want help untangling the mess at Liberty. George really did some horrible things there, and they are pretty sure they have scratched the surface of a whole bucket of crap.”

  “I’ll be happy to.”

  “You keep saying ‘they,’” Rock said to Tessa. “You didn’t get in trouble, did you?”

  “No. Not really, although some folks aren’t happy with me. Not my fault a trusted supervisor turned out to be pretty easy for Walter George to buy. No. I get to go back and hide in my cubbyhole while I research freaks for the FBI. It’s my thing.”

  “Good.”

  “Now, I’ve been given permission to get you up to the surgical floor where they will be keeping Mac. Only you, though. And if you carry on like you did here, they will throw you out.”

  “What the hell are we waiting for?”

  …

  Mac woke up several times, and every time, she found Vic by her side. She didn’t always register he was there through sight, but she could hear him murmur or stroke her hair. It had been the one thing that had helped her through some of the worst of the pain. Then she would fall back into the abyss of medication. Now, though, she was awake. She glanced over and found him in the chair next to her bed.

  He was asleep, a big, grumpy bear of a man. He was slouched down in a chair that was definitely too small, and uncomfortable, for him. But, true to his nature, he could sleep just about anywhere.

  He had come for her, and he had stayed.

  Never in her life had she been able to depend on anyone except Vic.

  He didn’t look comfortable at all, but she had never known a human being who could sleep in the most awkward positions. Vic could do that. And there he was. Right by her side.

  He shifted in the chair, and, apparently, it woke him up. She watched as his eyes opened slowly and knew the moment he came into full awareness.

  “Hey,” he said, his voice gruff with sleep. “How are you doing?”

  “I hurt a little,” she croaked out. “Damn.”

  “You need some water.”

  He stood, but as he did, the door opened. A nurse wearing pink scrubs came in.

  “Hello there,” she said, her voice soft. “How are you doing?”

  “Okay. I hurt a little.”

  “Hmm, I’ll make sure to mention it to the doctor.” She went through the process of checking Mac’s vitals.

  “Can she have some water?” Vic asked.

  “Yes, although ice chips might be better.”

  “Water, please,” Mac asked.

  “Everything is looking good, Ms. Donovan. I’ll be back with the water in a sec. The doctor will be in within the hour.”

  “Thank you,” Vic said, as the nurse left. Then he moved back to her side.

  “How are you really feeling?”

  “Like hell.”

  He smiled, and then it faded. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  “But I do. And I don’t think you will ever accept it.”

  Before she could respond, the nurse came back in with water. It took a minute or two before she finally left them alone again.

  “I accept it, Vic. I’m just not good at understanding it.”

  “You worry about me.”

  “That’s different.”

  “How? How is that different?”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it. A few seconds of silence ticked by. She didn’t know how to explain it.

  “Oh, just drink your damned water.”

  He helped her with the bed controls so it was easier to drink.

  The cool liquid slid down her throat, and she sighed. She took a few more sips as she watched Vic. He was at the window, staring out. It was gray out, a typical rainy day in the D.C. area.

  “What time is it?”

  “Seven.”

  She frowned. “At night?”

  “It’s the next day. Seven in the morning.”

  He said nothing else and kept looking out the window. She felt something shift inside her chest, something akin to fear. Okay, it was panic. She needed to make him understand.

  “Vic.”

  He turned and faced her.

  “When I woke up, and saw you here, do you know what my first thought was?”

  He shook his head.

  “That there has only been one person I could depend on in my entire life, and that is you.”

  “Great, dependable.” He didn’t look pleased.

  Irritation made her want to get out of bed and kick him. But seeing how she would probably fall on her face, she decided it wasn’t a good idea.

  “Do you know how important that is to me? You know what my life was like growing up. I had not one person I could depend on, and it only got worse when I worked with MI6 for those few years. I know there is only one person who will always put me first, and that’s you. And that makes you the sexiest man alive to me.”

  He blinked, and then his expression lightened. “Yeah?”

  She waved her hand, and he walked closer. She took his hand and held on to it. “I told you I love you, because I do. I’ve known forever, but I’m not good at expressing myself.”

  He snorted.

  “Oh, don’t scoff, love. You aren’t much better.”

  “I told you I love you. And you waited until you thought you were dying.”

  She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.

  “Ha!”

  “This isn’t a game, you stupid American.”

  His smile widened, and it made her heart turn over. “I said it first.”

  “I was afraid, okay? I was worried you would run if I said it.”

  His smile faded. “What?”

  “Listen, you know I have a horrible track record with men. Part of it was my fault, but I just picked bloody awful bastards. So when you came along, I wasn’t sure what you would be like. And when I fell in love with you…I just couldn’t stand the thought of losing you because I told you I loved you. So…I just didn’t say it.”

  He didn’t say anything, so she looked up at him. His smile surprised her, but then so did the laughter that followed. She tried to yank her hand away, but he held on tight.

  “We are a pair. I ran away, and you pushed me away. I don’t think there is another person for either one of us, so we better stick together.”

  “Well, that is bloody romantic,” she said, not trying to hide her sarcasm.

  “Oh, I’ll be romantic when I propose.”

  Her heart stopped at the word propose. “What?”

  “Ha. That scared you. Don’t worry. You won’t be able to say no, but I’m not about to do it now. You’ll blame it on drugs if I irritate you later on.”

  Before she could respond, he leaned down and kissed her. He pulled back. “I love you, MacKenzie Maria Donovan.”

  She smiled. “I love you, too.”

  He gave her another kiss and sat back down in the chair, still holding on to her hand.

  “So, tell me everything that happened since I was shot.”

  With the soft tapping of rain against the window, Vic did just that.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Happily ever after isn’t always happy all the time, but it is better than the alternative.

  —Vic Walker

  “You will stay in bed,” ordered Vic as he towered over her.

  She’d been stuck in the hospital for two days, and then Vic had taken her back to the farmhouse. Three days later, and he still hadn’t allowed her to do anything. The fir
st day, she had been so drugged up that she didn’t care. Day two, she started to get a little antsy. Now, she was ready to scream. All that time in bed, and none of it had been fun. Worse, he said she couldn’t go back to work until the doctor said she could.

  “I don’t like it,” Mac said, earning her another nasty look before Vic moved away from the bed.

  “The doc said two weeks.”

  “He said two weeks resting. He didn’t say I had to stay in bed. And he said nothing about work.”

  The expression on Vic’s face told her he was about to blow a fuse.

  Before he could say anything, Rock said, “I think this is where I leave you two.”

  Oh, bollocks, she’d forgotten he was even in the room.

  Vic glanced at him. “Have you talked to Jay?”

  Rock nodded. “He’s been keeping tabs on Millie, who still wants to work for us.”

  “We have enough jobs on the line that she could help with,” Vic said.

  “What kind of jobs?” she asked, and was ignored.

  “She should be done with the briefings at the end of next week, although she might have to testify,” Rock said.

  “Hey, wankers, I’m right here.”

  They glanced in her direction, then turned away from her. Damn them.

  “As I said, this is where I run away,” Rock said.

  “Coward,” she tossed out at him, as he walked out the door, still ignoring her.

  Vic turned around, crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned down at her again.

  “What?”

  “You have to rest.”

  “I’ve been resting, and I’m not trying to go out on the job. I just want out of bed. Since you won’t join me in it.”

  Heat flared in his eyes, and he looked away. His jaw flexed, and she knew he was grinding his teeth. Interesting.

  “I’m feeling much better, you know,” she said, deepening her voice.

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “I’m riding a thin line right now, and you have to rest.”

  Silly man.

  She scooted to the edge of the mattress and took hold of his hand. He looked at their hands, then up at her.

  “I said you shouldn’t tempt me.”

  Mac smiled as she tugged.

  “Mac,” he warned, even as he joined her in bed.