Strong Reflection: Book 2 of the Dark Series Trilogy

by Mckoy, Cate

  Strong Reflection:

  Book 2

  CATE MCKOY

  Copyright © 2014 Cate Mckoy

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1494247560

  ISBN-10: 1494247569

  DEDICATION

  To my wonderful kids. Thank you for always helping and supporting me in my dreams. Cassie, Shelby, Robby, Kerra and Connor, Mom loves you!

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  i

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To the city and town of Newburgh for giving me a glimpse of your Best and Worst.

  Chapter 1

  Kyle Strong surreptitiously observed Ashley Mackenzie. She looked good, beautiful in fact. Her jet black hair hung loose, looking full and shiny. Her smooth, unmarred, brown skin was lovely as ever. He couldn’t see her equally beautiful curves in her business suit, but even hidden, they too looked wonderful to his eyes. He shook his head once again noting that she did not look like someone who had undergone major surgery, had numerous tubes coming out of various areas of her body and had a machine breathing for her and had been in a coma only a few months ago.

  “Was there anything else you needed to add, Director Strong?” Lisa Minor, his administrative assistant asked.

  Kyle was abruptly torn from his musings. The department’s monthly staff meeting was over and he had spent most of it woolgathering and sneaking looks at Ashley Mackenzie. “No that’s it. Thank you all.”

  As the group of ten agents stood to leave Kyle couldn’t stop from speaking, “Agent Mackenzie, a word please.”

  She broke off her walking conversation with Agent Sanchez—my, haven’t they gotten chummy—turning to face Kyle with questioning eyes.

  “Mack, I will see you later.” Sanchez said, continuing out the door. Kyle clamped his back teeth. He hated that so many people addressed Agent Mackenzie in masculine form. He didn’t know why it irked him so, only that it did.

  “Yes sir?” Her voice had a raspy quality that always had Kyle wishing they were alone, in front of a fire, naked and she was saying his name.

  He indicated with his hand that she should precede him to his office. “Please sit, Agent Mackenzie. How are you feeling today?”

  “Director Strong you can stop asking me that every day. I’ve been back for ten days now.” Ashley plopped down in the guest chair in front of his desk like an antsy teenager. “I think it’s safe to say I am healed.”

  Kyle regarded her silently, wondering if she were truly all healed and without pain. “You have no residual pain from your surgeries?”

  “I was sleep for most of my healing. My hair had even grown back some from where they shaved it off to do the burr hole to relieve the intracranial pressure. Thank God that wasn’t necessary and the swelling went down with the aid of the drug induced coma. And, I had little pain from losing my gall bladder aswell. Good thing the Newburgh Slasher didn’t hit anything vital with his one good stab. I just lost a lot of blood. The docs think that is part of the reason I didn’t wake up from their drug induced coma when they wanted me to. My body needed the extra time to heal.”

  “And, your memory has that returned fully?”

  Mackenzie sighed. “Not fully, it is slowly coming back to me via dreams a little at a time. But no I am no further along than when I spotted Anderson. I know I wanted to tail him but then it gets real fuzzy. I have no idea why I wanted to tail him.”

  “Well don’t hurt yourself trying to remember. It’s quite common for victims of head trauma to never recover the moments directly before the incident or even days before.”

  “So I’ve been told Ad nauseam.” Mackenzie couldn’t hold back a bit of annoyance.

  At her tone, Kyle quirked an eyebrow, “And that means…?”

  “I may have shown a little frustration in my therapy session last week over the fact that I can’t remember what happened and therefore totally useless when it came to wrapping up the details of the Newburgh Slasher case.”

  “Uh, huh, was this ‘frustration’ displayed in a physical manner?” Kyle tried to control the smile that automatically wanted to form on his lips.

  “My therapy bill might be a little higher for last week. I threw a little statue.”

  Kyle’s eyes popped, “Ashley, you what?”

  “It was a stupid thing-a-ma-bob anyway. Who puts mini statues with sharp edges in a psychiatrist’s office? I mean, really, don’t they know crazy people go there?”

  Kyle couldn’t stop his laugh. “Apparently, they do now.”

  When she crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him Kyle lost it, giving a roar of laughter. “Well, now, what is all this merriment going on in the FBI BAU/HCD?” Only one person used all the acronyms in a row like that.

  Both Kyle and Ashley rose from their seats. “Director Mackenzie, sir, I didn’t know we had a meeting?”

  The distinguished elder gentleman, with graying blonde hair and gray eyes, standing 6 feet tall waved them both back in their chairs, hitching his hip on one corner of Kyle’s desk. “Your memory serves you fine, Assistant Director Strong. We have no scheduled meeting. I didn’t get to come by until now to welcome back S.S.A. Mackenzie.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Mackenzie’s animation completely left her face. Her posture became stiff, ramrod straight. Both her lips and eyes stopped smiling. Her voice was direct without any inflection.

  For about the millionth time Kyle wondered at the change the Director brought about in Ashley. He first thought it had been a remark the Director had made when Ashley first joined the team. The Director had laughingly introduced Ashley, adding ‘no relation obviously’. Kyle admitted the comment hadn’t sat right with him, but, there was actually nothing overt about it, totally harmless. However, his hackles still rose.

  Ashley didn’t actually look at Director Mackenzie either, not directly. Her eyes always landed somewhere to the right or left of his eyes. It was one of the many puzzling pieces of S.S.A. Ashley Anne Mackenzie. It was a puzzle Kyle found he wanted to solve. His agent was very intriguing.

  The director was now standing with Ashley giving her a formal handshake as a welcome back. “It’s good to have you back S.S.A. Mackenzie.”

  “Thank you sir,” Ashley’s voice was monotone.

  Director Mackenzie took his leave, closing the once open door behind him.

  Mackenzie retook her seat, a frown still disrupting her beauty. “Did you call me in your office for a specific reason or was it for your daily inquiry into my health?” Her voice was now subdued.

  Kyle thought fast, reaching for the invitation that was on his desk. “I received my invitation to AgentLyte’s and Chief Gard’s wedding. Are you going?”

  Her genuine smile returned. “My best friend’s getting married and I am the Maid of Honor. Of course, I will be there.”

  Kyle smiled warmly, “I am the best man. It looks like we will be going down the aisle together.”

  Mackenzie smirked. “Bunny-Honey will have paroxysm.”

  Kyle frowned. He didn’t like it when Ashley threw Bunny Bencroft in his face. Kyle was not proud of his ‘cheating’ on Bunny via his slight obsession with Ashley. He didn’t know what possessed him. Well, actual
ly, he did know. It was Ashley Anne Mackenzie. Ever since that kiss under the mistletoe at his sister’s ‘Christmas in July’ Benefit for a local orphanage, Kyle had been obsessing over Ashley. Actually, it was even before that, it was from the day he had callously but unintentionally hurt Ashley with his words.

  When he first found out that his sister and her kids had become friends with one of his agents, he had wanted to keep a strict professionalism with Agent Mackenzie. So when he found himself having dinnerat his mother’s house with his sister, his niece and nephew and their invited guest, Ashley, he had behaved at his mother’s dinner table as he did in the office.

  After dinner he had been read the riot act from everyone from his girlfriend Bunny; demanding to know why he had been so ‘stiff’ at dinner, to his mother; being disappointed in his lack of manners by not making a guest feel welcome. And, his sister, Nancy wasn’t as nice when she called him a ‘bigot with a stick up his ass.’

  He had tried to explain that he needed to be a professional in front of his agent. His family just called him rude and his girlfriend Bunny had said he must have feelings other than professional since he was trying so hard to be professional. At that little piece of wisdom, Kyle had had enough and said some things he regretted so much. He still cringed upon remembering his words from that day:

  “You obviously have feelings for your agent. Do you want to sleep with her, Kyle? Take a walk on the dark side?”

  “What the hell are you talking about? The only feelings I have for S.S.A. Mackenzie are annoyance and frustration! She defies my orders routinely. She has a freaking death wish or something. I can’t get her to follow policy at all.”

  “Then why keep her on?”

  “Because, barring her stunts, she is a damn good agent, smart as hell. Her solve rate is unbelievable. She got a perfect score on Hogan’s Alley! I know very skillful guys who failed Hogan’s. I know guys who would give one of their nuts to have her skill.”

  “And, you don’t want your nuts anywhere near her?”

  Kyle had pulled Bunny into his arms. “Come on, Bunny, look at her. I like my women curvy, sexy and hot, like you. Agent Mackenzie looks like a guy.”

  Of course this description had been given before he had been privy to the very womanly, lush curves revealed during a subsequent assignment in which Agent Mackenzie had been stripped to her panties by the bad guys checking for listening devices and being douche bags. When he and the cavalry came metaphorically riding to the rescue, Kyle had been floored by what he’d seen.

  His agent was gorgeous! Her hair, for the first time that he ever saw, was flowing free, blue-black and shiny. Although her hair fell several inches pass her shoulders it wasn’t enough to hide her high, full, firm-looking breasts with pert little nipples surrounded by a dark brown areola. There were hints of well-toned muscles seen in her arms, abdomen and sexy legs, when she moved.

  One of the bad guys held Ashley in his tight grip, struggling. Before he could reach them, Ashley had slammed her head back into the guy’s face, twisted his arm and flipped him to the ground. Reaching her, Kyle had taken out his cuffs. With an economy of movements and a breathless, “Do you mind, sir?” Ashley had removed his jacket, donning it quickly. From that moment on his obsession with his agent grew more intense. She was an enigma. She down played both her looks and intelligence daily. The only time anyone saw her full force was when she was on a case.

  Kyle was determined to figure her out. He hadn’t known about Ashley’s hidden looks when he had spoken the hurtful words. He had continued to placate Bunny. “In fact, all her co-workers call her Mack. And, my male agents don’t display the gentlemanly manners for her like their other female co-workers.”

  “Like what?”

  “They don’t open doors for her, or pull out chairs. And she is the only female that has a turn paying for lunch once a month like the guys. They don’t curb their language when she is around like they do when other women are around and they shake her hand and slap her back like a guy. Essentially, she is male to them. I am sure it has a lot to do with her physical test scores, ability to shoot and her successful solve ratio. And the fact that Agent Mackenzie obviously shops in the Men’s department.”

  “So, you don’t get any urges when she is around?” Bunny had cupped his cock and started to stroke him.

  “Ha, the only urge I get around Agent Mackenzie is the urge to strangle her for disobeying my orders.”

  “You’ve never gotten a hard on with her.” Bunny asked as she continued to stroke him. “She’s never got to see this monster?”

  “Mmm, of course not, I doubt Agent Mackenzie could get me hard if she stood butt ass naked in front of me and offered to suck my cock. Bottom line, I love women’s sexy curves and feminine looks and Agent Mackenzie doesn’t embody femininity. If I hadn’t been told she was a female when she was first recruited, based on her record alone, I would have assumed she was a man.”

  “Well, it seems I’ve brought up something. Take me to your room and I will see what I can do about making it go back down.” Bunny had laughingly said to him. They had turn to leave the den and came face to face with his sister, Nancy and Agent Mackenzie.

  Kyle had never felt so embarrassed or so small in all his life. His gaze had clashed and clung with Ashley’s. He couldn’t look away. And for the first time since they had met, Kyle had seen emotion in Ashley’s eyes. It was pain. Ashley was hurt. She was hurt by his words.

  The pain in her eyes had shriveled his hard on quicker than a douse of ice cold water. Bunny quickly took her hands off his body.

  “I apologize, Agent Mackenzie. I did not know you were standing there.” Kyle cursed violently to himself, obviously! He was pissed because not only had he hurt a woman with his words, he had given one of his agents the impression that he talked about them behind their backs. And, that just wasn’t the case. He had let Bunny’s insistence push him into speaking carelessly.

  Before he could say more, Bunny spoke, “Well, you know what they say about eavesdroppers?” She shrugged unconcernedly.

  “Mack may not be as slutty looking as you, but at least all her curves are real.” Nancy spoke when Ashley didn’t. Nancy fiercely defended those she loves.

  Bunny laughed. “What curves?”

  “Mack isn’t false in any way and doesn’t need to put her wares on display to get a guy’s attention. She turns down more dates in a week than you could get standing butt ass naked offering blow jobs.” Nancy was in nasty mode.

  Bunny gave a frustrated grunt before reaching out for a little decorative vase on a nearby table and flinging it full force at Nancy. Nancy tried to duck. But, there was no need. Mackenzie’s hand shot out, catching the vase inches from Nancy’s face.

  The two who were not in law enforcement flinched at Mackenzie’s speed. But Kyle hadn’t. He had seen Agent Mackenzie’s remarkable reflexes in various situations. Although he wasn’t surprised, he was still in awe. Once again it made him wonder at the cause that made Agent Mackenzie hone her skills and instincts so finely. Even in a state of relaxing at a friend’s home she still found it necessary to be on alert. What the hell had happened to her?

  When Mackenzie stepped threateningly to Bunny, Kyle stepped protectively in front of Bunny, blocking any access Mackenzie had to her. Their eyes locked in a test of wills.

  After a silent war, Mackenzie had stepped back and with quiet calm replaced the vase back on the table. And, just as quietly, Mackenzie had took a hold of a fuming Nancy’s arm and led her from the den, leaving Kyle feeling like an ass for protecting his girlfriend.

  And it was two days after that encounter when Agent Mackenzie had been standing under the mistletoe in the doorway of that same den. He had just arrived with Bunny to show his support for the orphanage and his sister. He didn’t like it when they were not talking and Nancy had been giving him the silent treatment. Regardless of their difference of opinions concerning Bunny, the siblings were close, loved each other deeply. They wouldn�
�t be angry with each other for long.

  And Nancy being Nancy, she had wanted to express her displeasure with her brother plus her dislike of Bunny all at the same time had laughingly said, “Oh, brother, dear, you have to kiss all the ladies standingunder mistletoe today and donate cold hard cash.” Nancy held up the holiday-decorated metal box acting as the donation bank. “Mackenzie has already caused several men to part with some serious funds.”

  Bunny frowned and said sourly, “Isn’t that called prostitution?”

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes, looking Kyle straight in the eye. “It’s called supporting your community,” Mackenzie raised her brows questioningly, “Or does your girlfriend control whether or not you support your sister’s causes too?”