by D. Camille
“I don’t want to get caught up with one of your other dudes.” He kissed her, biting on her lower lip.
She grabbed his head. “My ‘other dudes’ are my business. Tonight you’re my pleasure…” she said attacking his mouth.
“Just tonight?” he asked when he could breathe again.
“We’ll see,” Patrice said removing her robe.
Ethan watched her. “So we just gone hit it right off the bat huh?”
Patrice paused. “What else do you want to do?”
“I mean I haven’t seen you in a few months?” he pointed out. “Can a brother get a how you been doing?”
Patrice studied him suspiciously. “What? Since when did you want conversation?”
Ethan realized he’d gone too far and backtracked quickly. He gave her a sexy grin. “I’m just messing with you girl; you know I came to hurt that ass.”
When she relaxed, he breathed again. “Don’t play like that,” she admonished with a smile. “I thought you were here trying to peep me or something?”
“Peep what?” he asked. “You hiding something?”
Patrice lowered the strap to her nightgown baring her breast. “Not from you tonight.”
Ethan stood and lifted her into his arms. “Let me put you to sleep girl.”
“Then you can wake me up for round two,” she told him grabbing the bottle off the table before he walked to the bedroom.
I’ll wake you up…right after I see just what the hell you’re up to Patrice, Ethan said to himself as he laid her on the bed.
Chapter 18
Mac awakened the next morning refreshed and secure, wrapped in a pair of strong arms. She smiled as she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She’d slept the entire night with pleasant dreams, a first in a long time.
“Good morning Mackenzie.” She heard the rumble of the deep baritone in her ear.
“Good morning Brandon,”
Mac snuggled closer, pressing her ass back against him. “I can’t believe how rested I am,” she said grinding against his lower body.
“I can see that,” Brandon commented rubbing a hand along her hip.
She closed her eyes. “What is your schedule like today?”
“Paperwork, early meetings, court and then campaign duties this evening,” he replied.
Mac frowned. “I’m really not getting any, am I?”
Brandon kissed her neck. “No.”
“That’s so mean,” she pouted.
He smiled. “I’m going to start to think you only want me for what I can do in bed.”
“I do.”
His smiled faded as he clamped an arm tightly around her waist. “Really?”
Mac laughed softly and placed a hand over his arm, gently stroking the strong cords. “That and the fact that you’re fine, you have those beautiful eyes that stop me in my tracks, you’re ridiculously brilliant, and although most people think you’re staunch and unyielding, you’re actually very kind and compassionate.”
She turned in his arms. “And I’m so in love with everything about you…but yeah, what you can do in bed definitely tops the list.”
Brandon smiled softly at her. “You like to play with me.”
“Oh, so much baby…” she whispered staring into sleepy green eyes.
“We’re going to need to get married soon,” Brandon told her and she looked confused.
“Why?”
He moved to her ear and whispered. “Because we’re going to be making a baby in the near future and your mother would die if you were pregnant and not married.”
Mac blinked at his words, then pulled away to look at him. “Huh?”
Brandon explained. “It won’t be long, especially with you waking me up in the morning rubbing your ass against me because all that does is make me think about is releasing deep inside of you.”
“We use protection,” she reminded him quietly.
He shrugged. “One thing, I’ve learned from Orion and his family is that intention is stronger than anything.”
“You want to get me pregnant?” Mac asked in amazement.
“Of course.”
Mac looked at him. “Brandon, I swear…”
“I’m warning you this time.”
She sat up in the bed and stared at him. “Are you serious?”
Brandon laid back against the pillows. “You know I don’t play games Mackenzie.”
“Do you just think of ways to knock me off balance?” she asked.
He looked at her and smiled. “I think of ways to love you.”
Mac put her hands to her head. “Can we at least take care of all this surrounding us and discuss a wedding before you go putting out your baby ‘intentions’?
Brandon sat up and removed her hands. “You’re going to be such an incredible mother. Our children will be amazing.”
Mac stared into eyes that were looking at her as if she was the most marvelous being he had ever seen. She looked away and took a breath.
“You make me want things I’ve never even thought about before,” she confessed. “Because I never thought I could have them.”
Brandon stroked her temple softly. “With me, Mackenzie, you can have anything you want baby.”
Returning her gaze to his, her eyes watered. “I believe you.”
He gathered her into his arms and held her close as Mac laid her head on his shoulder. Brandon pushed her dark hair away from her face and kissed her temple. They sat that way until Mac’s alarm went off and she moved away to silence the sound. Shyly she turned back to him lying on the bed with his bare chest and sultry eyes and all she could think about was him releasing deep inside of her.
“Thanks for the warning…” she whispered.
******
Patrice awakened refreshed and invigorated, good sex would do that to a woman every time and Ethan delivered as usual. He’d put her to sleep then awakened her in that special way that he could for Round Two. She’d shown him out around four am and then collapsed in bed.
Now she was up and ready to begin her day. On the agenda was checking up on what was going on with the Negus and Chief Green. The mother passing away had definitely not been a part of the plan, but when reckless teens were involved, one couldn’t always determine the outcome.
The officers on her payroll informed her that Tremaine had been moved into protective custody, which only meant one thing…he’d opened his damn mouth. Patrice shook her head. One thing she hated was being double crossed and made sure people didn’t get away with it.
After dressing, she headed to her office to check in. Being on the city council afforded her a nice salary with many perks, however, being Mayor would give her even more control and nothing was going to foil her plans. Her assistant greeted her as she walked in and she looked at her before walking into her office.
Inside, Patrice sat behind her desk and looked over her calendar. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television mounted on her wall to see the morning local news. When she heard Orion Shaw’s name, she glanced up at the screen.
“Baseball owner Orion Shaw, has offered to pay for the services of Beverly Evans. In a statement from his office, the former Major League player says that this type of tragedy is unfortunate and he, along with his family want to assist the Evans family in any way that they can.”
Patrice frowned. “Those damn Negus, always trying to make themselves look like saviors to the city.”
Picking up the remote, she shut off the program and shook her head. Killing them wasn’t going to be easy and she had to make sure that none of it could be traced back to her. She knew that the Negus wouldn’t wait too much longer to confront the dirty cops especially on behalf of their beloved chief. She laughed softly because they didn’t know what was waiting for them.
For the time being, she still had to deal with that snitch Tremaine. If he was more like his brother, this would have been a piece of cake. Terrance was holed up right now with all the weed and ass he could stand. He woul
dn’t be talking to anybody any time soon and he knew if he did what would happen. Tremaine had broken the code and now he too, had to go.
The plan had been for Terrance to get the drugs from the two little thugs who didn’t want to play the game the right way and had to be shown a lesson. They’d recognized Terrance during the robbery and had retaliated against the family at the party. Terrance going to jail had not been an option, since he was too valuable to her operation so when the chief had suspected Tremaine and put out an APB for him, the new plan was set in motion. Tremaine would take the fall for the shooting and everything else would stay under wraps, but he’d talked and now the whole game was changed. Everyone had to go…
Patrice sighed, now she had to take care of Mac and the Negus or she, herself could be sitting inside of a jail cell and that was not an option. She’d worked too damn hard to get where she was to go out like that. Her road to Mayor had been a shoe-in until that damn Brandon had thrown his hat into the ring. He knew things about her past that no one else knew and she wanted it to stay that way.
Brandon knew about her sleeping with her professor in college. He also knew about her family’s previous connections to drug trafficking back in Toledo, something that she’d promised him she would never become a part of when they were dating. Well, they weren’t dating and she had to make sure her dreams were realized because there wasn’t anybody else who would.
Patrice came back to reality when her phone buzz on her desk. She picked up the receiver to answer her assistant.
“Yes!” she snapped.
She heard the smirk before the voice answered. “The Head Prosecutor is here to see you.”
Patrice’s eyes widened. “Send him in.”
She stood as the door opened and Brandon entered, dressed in a deep blue tailored suit. His cool green eyes pinned hers as he approached the desk.
“Patrice.”
“Brandon, what are you doing here?” she asked.
He lifted a brow. “May I sit?”
She waved at the chair. “If you must.”
Brandon lowed himself into the seat across from her and waited until she took her seat.
“This is a surprise,” she commented.
“It shouldn’t be.”
Caught in his penetrating stare, she looked away. “What do you want?”
“I want to know why you’re doing this.”
She turned back to him. “What? Running for Mayor?”
Brandon shook his head. “Let’s not play games. You know I don’t do that.”
“I don’t know why you’re here,” she said stubbornly.
“I’m trying to give you another chance Patrice although you clearly don’t deserve it. If you’re involved with drug trafficking after all that happened with your family, you’re a fool. You didn’t think I’d remember that?”
“It doesn’t matter what you remember Brandon. You’re the Head Prosecutor, so you know better than anyone, it’s what you can prove.” She told him defiantly.
Brandon nodded. “Okay and when I prove it, I’m sending you away for a very long time.”
Patrice smirked. “You won’t be sending me anywhere baby.”
He leaned forward. “On the contrary baby, your ass is done. There’s no one who can save you.”
“I don’t need saving,” she smiled. “You should save your heroics for your chief. She’s the one going down.”
“Mackenzie isn’t going anywhere except down the aisle,” he informed her.
Patrice lifted a brow. “With who?” When Brandon just looked at her, she laughed. “You can’t possibly be serious Brandon. I mean, I figured you were introducing her to the closet, with all that ass that she has, but marriage?”
“She’s not exactly the type of woman who fits your image,” she finished.
Brandon’s eyes narrowed. “See that’s the difference Patrice, you’re the image of a woman. Mackenzie is the real woman and you can’t touch her on your best day.”
He stood to his feet. “This is your only opportunity at a plea bargain. Come clean now and I’ll try to be lenient.”
Patrice jumped to her feet. “Get the hell out of my office.”
Brandon shrugged. “I would send you an invitation to the wedding, but you probably won’t be able to attend.”
Patrice watched as he left the office and quietly closed the door behind him. “Sorry Brandon, you won’t be attending either…”
******
Mac spent the morning meeting with the Internal Affairs Division and turning over all the information she had pertaining to the corrupt officers. Now she was meeting with her Deputy Assistant in her office.
“You did well,” he complimented her.
Mac shook her head. “It was difficult. I can’t believe I let this happen.”
“You can’t control people chief, but you’re dealing with it in the appropriate way.”
She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m doing all that I can.”
“You give a hundred percent to this job and the citizens appreciate it,” he told her.
Mac opened her eyes and looked at him. “How many kids do you have?”
If he was surprised by her question, it didn’t show. “Three.”
“How did your wife handle your job?”
“She’s very supportive. She knows the dangers but she also knows this is what I love.”
Mac nodded. “Are your kids afraid when you leave to go to work?”
“I’m sure they are, but I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
Deputy Barnes watched as Mac sat in quiet contemplation. “Is there something on your mind?” he finally asked.
Mac smiled. “Lots of things right now.”
“Well I’m glad they seem like good things from that smile. I haven’t seen that on your face in a while,” he commented.
Mac knew Brandon had put it there even without making love to her. She was so gone…
“I’m surprised I’m smiling with all that’s going on around me,” she confessed.
“That’s the look of a happy woman.”
Mac smiled some more. “I guess I am.”
As the joy bubbled up inside of her, Mac realized that she hadn’t felt this way in a long, long time. Brandon had a way of making her happy in a way that she hadn’t known possible until now. Who would have thought that this man that she’d known for so long, held the key to her happiness within his hand?
When he’d decided to share his love with her, everything had changed in and around Mac. Being the chief no longer felt like it was her lifeline and she was smiling at things like weddings and babies. Criminals and cases were no longer the only things on her mind.
Her phone rang and she looked up at the Deputy. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Mac picked up the receiver. “This is Chief Green.”
“Hello Mackenzie.”
Her smile got wider and she flushed at the sexy voice on the other end. The Deputy stood with a grin on his face.
“Well chief, I have some paperwork to complete so I will check in with you later.”
Mac looked up at him. “Thank you Deputy Barnes.”
She waited until he’d exited before turning her attention back to the phone. “Hello counselor.”
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Brandon asked.
“No, I can talk. How are you?”
“I was calling to see how your meeting went with IA?” He told her. “You okay?”
Mac sat back. “It went how it went. There’s nothing I can do that I haven’t already done.”
“That’s true, I’m glad you’re not beating yourself up about it.”
Mac nodded. “I’ve actually been thinking about you.”
“I hope that’s a good thing,” he chuckled.
“A very good thing,” she confirmed. “You gave me something to think about this morning.”
He quieted for a moment. “Did I scare you?”
“Hell yea
h,” she laughed softly.
“And now?” he asked. “Are you still scared?”
Mac bit her lip. “Actually no, scared would not be the word I’d use.”
“Tell me what that word is,”
“Excited, nervous, anxious, anticipating…”
Brandon laughed. “Okay, you have lots of words.”
Joining him in laughter, she said, “Yeah, I do.”
Mac looked around her office, the room she’d sat in for the last four years. This place had become her living room, dining room and bedroom sometimes. She remembered the first time she’d walked through the door as chief and the elation she’d felt at her accomplishment. She’d vowed to devote her life to this position and she had for over fourteen hundred days and nights.
“Mackenzie?”
Hearing her name snapped her out of her musings. “I’m sorry. I was deep in my thoughts.”
“I was saying that I have court soon, but I wanted to hear your voice and check on you,” Brandon repeated.
“Thank you baby,” she whispered.
“I love you and I’ll see you as soon as I can.”
Mac felt her heart warm. “I love you too and I can’t wait.”
As Mac was ending the call, there was a quick knock on her door. Her assistant entered and announced, “We have a location on Terrance Meyers.”
Mac was out of her seat in a flash and out the door.
******
Mac arrived on the scene to numerous squad cars and an ambulance. Running to the house, she climbed the stairs and rushed inside. Looking around, she saw the young man lying on the floor bloody, beaten and unmoving, surrounded by paramedics.
She put a hand to her mouth then turned to one of the officers at the scene. “Brief me.”
“We got an anonymous call of a body in a house. We arrived and found him right there.” He nodded to where the young man was laying. “Somebody roughed him up real bad and left him for dead. Probably thought he was dead, because when we arrived, we thought the same thing until EMT’s were able to revive him.”
“Anyone else in the house?” Mac questioned.
The officer shook his head. “No, but we did find something.”
Mac lifted a brow as he led her upstairs into one of the bedrooms. “We did a search of the house and it looks like he’s been hiding out here for a while.” The officer led her over to a closet and Mac looked confused.
