by Liliana Hart
A few pieces of crystal and mid-priced sculptures sat out on pedestals and in niches, and there were a couple of decent paintings, but the overall haul for the entire contents was only a few thousand at best. No, it wasn’t any of those things that interested her. It was the nice big safe in the plush corner office.
The seconds ticked down in her mind as she made her way to the tiny security box on the wall closest to the front door. It was a newer model, one she hadn’t bypassed before, and the thought of being caught made her hands tremble a little as she pulled out wires and started disabling the system.
She had more to lose now than she ever had before. Getting caught wasn’t an option. The thought of what the parents at the PTA meetings might think of her skills, or her boys being whispered about by gossiping busybodies broke her concentration.
“Come on, MacKenzie,” she whispered so the words were only a breath of sound.
Maybe she was a little out of practice, but this kind of work was just like riding a bike. Focus. Concentration. And nerves of steel.
Cat only felt a little guilty for keeping the secret from her husband. But Thomas worried about her, and she’d promised herself that she never wanted to see that look of fear on his face again like he got whenever she left for a job. Sometimes lies by omission were a necessary evil.
A bead of sweat snaked down her spine and the screen blinked green with only a couple of seconds to spare. That had been way too close. It never would have taken that long back in her prime.
From her intel, she knew the safe was in the large corner office that belonged to the president of the company, and it was kept behind a better than average copy of Monet’s Water Lilies, however clichéd it may be.
Breaking into the safe was going to be the tricky part. She didn’t doubt her ability to get it open, but on the lower floor there were security bars on all the windows. There was only one way in and one way out of the room. She hated the feeling of being trapped, but there was no way around it.
Her footsteps were silent as she made her way down another long hallway. The door to the office was locked, but she was inside within half a second with the help of a straightened paperclip.
The room looked just as she remembered from her visit during regular office hours a couple of weeks before. Cat left the door cracked so she could hear if anyone approached and she moved behind the desk. The painting opened on well-oiled hinges and she stared at a black safe with an electronic keypad.
“God bless computers, every one,” she murmured under her breath.
If it had been an old safe with a combination lock, the skill and time it would’ve taken her to open it would’ve been longer, but it still wouldn’t have kept her out. There wasn’t much that could keep a good thief from getting what she—or he—wanted.
Cat opened the wiring box and then attached the handheld device that would decipher the combination. The owner had only programmed a four-digit code. Another mistake on his part. Probably a birthdate or the last four digits of his social security number if he was like ninety-eight percent of the rest of the world.
The safe door opened with a quiet click and she stood back as she swung it open wide.
“Gotcha,” she breathed, her smile satisfied.
“Not bad, MacKenzie. Less than ten minutes from start to finish.”
Cat whirled around, her heart pounding in her chest, and she scowled at the site of her brother-in-law leaning against the doorframe.
“Jesus, Cooper.”
He grinned but didn’t move from his post at the door. His looks hadn’t changed much over the past ten years—the hair at his temples had turned silver and the laugh lines around his eyes had deepened some—but he had MacKenzie blood, which meant he’d always be handsome, no matter how old he got. What had changed about Cooper was his feelings toward her. They hadn’t always seen eye to eye on her… former profession.
“Snuck up on you, didn’t I? You didn’t even hear me coming.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I heard you. You’ve got the subtlety of an elephant in an antique shop.” She’d never admit that he’d gotten one over on her. Either she’d gotten sloppy or he’d gotten much better. She was leaning toward the latter.
“So what do you think about the security?”
“It’s crap. Which you already knew. So why did you have me do this little experiment?”
“The owner didn’t believe me when I told him it was crap. He thinks my position as sheriff makes me look at the worst in things.”
“Of course you look at the worst in things. That’s your job.”
“So I told him. The man’s an idiot, but I’m sworn to protect and serve, so I couldn’t tell him so to his face. I told him I’d get someone from MacKenzie Security to give an unbiased opinion and he agreed.”
“I don’t work for MacKenzie Security,” she said automatically. “I’m just a contractor.”
“Hmm.” Cooper raised his eyebrows but he didn’t contradict her. “Eventually you’re going to have to tell my brother what you’re doing on the side. He’s going to figure it out. And then you’ll really be in trouble.”
“I’ll tell him,” she scowled, shutting the safe with a decisive click and replacing the painting. “But I’ll tell him in my own time. I’ve only done a couple of jobs for Declan. Hardly anything to write home about. And I do plan on telling Thomas. I just have to make him understand that Declan would never send me on any jobs where I’d be in danger. The problem is I don’t know if he’ll believe me.”
“You’re scared. It’s not like he didn’t know who you were when he married you.”
“I know,” she hedged. “It’s just that things are different now. I’ve changed.”
“What you have to ask yourself is if you changed for him. Or for you. Thomas has always loved you just as you are. Tell him the truth. He’ll understand.”
Cat sighed and followed Cooper to the back door of the building. She’d parked behind some trees just outside of town and had walked the rest of the way in so no would see her and accidentally mention to Thomas she’d been in town today. People in Surrender had trouble keeping secrets, no matter how small.
“I don’t know if he will understand, Coop. I’m not the only one who’s changed.”
She’d seen the way Thomas had looked at her recently. Like he wasn’t sure he was still married to the same woman. They treated each other as polite strangers instead of going head to head as they once had.
She’d resigned her job with the FBI after working for them since she’d been barely more than a teenager. Mostly to make amends for the sins of her father and uncle, who didn’t care who they hurt when they stole things as long as they got their share of the cut. Working for the FBI had satisfied her need for the rush, utilized her God given talents, and made her feel like she was helping in the process.
She’d loved recovering lost and stolen artifacts and returning them to where they rightfully belonged. But the element of danger had been there, and Thomas had known that she could come back home with another gunshot wound like the first time they’d met. Or worse, she might not come back at all. So she’d resigned her position and hadn’t looked back. At least not much.
She’d thought the change would make things easier between them. But if anything, it had driven a wedge between them, as if they no longer knew what they should say to each other. She didn’t know what was wrong—only that something was. There was a small part of her that feared he was falling out of love with her.
“He’s just more serious than the rest of us,” Coop said, squeezing her shoulder. “He’s always liked to be able to understand every problem and wrap his head around the reasons. It’s just part of his nature. But when you drove through our fence that day with a bullet in your leg, you tossed all of that logic right out the window.”
She snorted out a laugh and realized Cooper had said just the right thing. “He does like to plan things to death.”
“You’ll work it out
. Hey, I thought you two were going out of town this weekend. Isn’t it your anniversary?”
“I was all packed and ready to go, but the flu had other plans for Thomas. He’s done nothing but see patients non-stop since yesterday morning. We’ll get around to celebrating eventually.”
At least she hoped they would. She missed the feel of her husband’s hands on her, and she realized it had been almost a month since they’d made love. What had happened to them? They’d once been insatiable. And she felt the raw tingle of lust thrumming just under her skin. Maybe part of it was leftover adrenaline. But most of it was because she missed Thomas’s touch.
She glanced at the waterproof watch on her wrist and saw it was late enough that all his patients should be gone by now. Maybe they could still salvage part of their weekend getaway. Or maybe she’d seduce him before they could make it to the car. The kids were already staying with Thomas’s brother, Dane, for the weekend. Maybe she and Thomas just needed the house to themselves and nothing but a big soft bed.
Cat hmmed in satisfaction at the idea of seducing her husband as she followed Cooper to the parking lot. He opened the passenger side of his police Bronco and her lips twitched at the thought of willingly getting into a cop car. The times had most definitely changed, but one thing was still the same—she still had the hots for her husband. She couldn’t wait to get home.
CHAPTER TWO
Thomas MacKenzie took one look at the full waiting room, and for the first time since he’d taken the position as Surrender’s only doctor, he damned every one of his patients straight to hell.
There was no way he’d be finished in time to salvage what was left of his and Cat’s anniversary weekend. He mentally groaned at the thought of his plans going to waste. All he could hope for now was a night of perfunctory sex they’d somehow manage to fit in between patients.
He’d had big plans for the weekend, and it had included sex—lots of sex—and nothing in his imagination had seen it as perfunctory. He wanted the wild, crazy, anytime and anywhere sex they’d had once upon a time. What had happened to those people?
Life had gotten busy—between his practice and their children, he felt like he and Cat never got to spend any alone time together anymore. It worried him more than he wanted to admit. There’d once been a spark between them that had been undeniable, but the spark had all but flickered out.
For years after they’d married he’d watched as Cat left on occasional jobs for the FBI with worry in his gut that she might not come back at all. But they’d made a deal. She’d been a damned good thief—maybe the best—and when the FBI needed her for something that couldn’t be passed up, she’d take the job. And he’d more than benefitted from the adrenaline she needed to burn off every time she came home.
Just the thought of some of the amazing sexual experiences they’d had after those little stints with the other side of the law had him going rock hard. Jesus, she’d made his eyes cross and every working brain cell he’d ever had disappear—the back seat of the car, coat closets at other people’s houses, and a very memorable time in the middle of the lake where he thought they both might drown. She’d been insatiable.
He moved his clipboard in front of his ill-fitting slacks while he listened to his receptionist say something he wasn’t even remotely paying attention to. But Cat wasn’t insatiable any more, and he was afraid it had been the adrenaline rush of doing the job instead of him that turned her on.
He had no one to blame but himself that their relationship had changed. Cat had known how worried he’d been each time she’d left on one of the jobs she’d been contracted for, even though he never said anything. And two years ago, she’d surprised him by telling the FBI she wouldn’t take any more jobs.
She’d smiled when she’d told him the news, but Thomas had noticed the sadness that had clouded her eyes. Not that he’d mentioned it. He’d been so damned relieved she’d quit, all he could think about was that he’d never have to worry about living the rest of his life without her.
At first she’d kept busy with projects around the house and with their children. She’d taken to experimenting in the kitchen like a mad scientist, and it had turned out she’d been just as good with a recipe as she had with breaking and entering.
But while she kept a smile on her face, he’d watched her carefully as the days turned into a year—and then another—until the spark for life and adventure that he’d first been drawn to was no longer there. It was all his fault. And he was determined to fix things so the old Cat would come back.
But all of the people sitting in the tiny waiting room had other plans for him. He was working shorthanded since it was a Saturday. He normally didn’t have office hours at all on the weekend, but this bout of flu had hit Surrender hard. He’d had to beg one of his nurses and his receptionist to come in and help him out.
“Let’s see if we can simplify this, Janeen, or we’re going to be here all night,” he told his receptionist.
Janeen Mulroney had gone to school with his mother. Thomas had inherited her from Doc Shepherd, Surrender’s previous doctor, and Thomas was pretty sure she’d outlive him to whip the next doctor into shape. Her body was slumped with age and she’d shrunken an inch or two in the last ten years. Her sweater set was hot pink today and her jeans were rolled up to her ankles because she could never find any that were short enough. She’d put a new rinse on her hair that had turned it burnt orange and she wore her glasses on a chain around her neck.
“Give everyone a clipboard and one of the symptom sheets on the off chance someone isn’t suffering from the flu. Margie and I can split them up,” he said, speaking of his nurse. “Give her the patients that are less severe and I’ll take the elderly and the children since they’re more likely to be worse off. I’m going to give a call to the 24-hour pharmacy over in Myrna Springs and see if I can send one of my brothers to go pick up prescriptions. Most of these people will barely be able to get home, much less drive to another town.”
“You got it, Doc.” She held out the bottle of hand sanitizer and waited until he put his palms face up before she squirted the pump. “Your wife put a sandwich on your desk. Make sure you eat something. You haven’t had a break all day.”
The reminder of food made his stomach growl. “Will do. You’re a gem, Janeen. Don’t ever let me forget it.”
“Darn right I am. Remember that when you sign my paycheck next week.”
Thomas winked at her and slipped down the hall to his office. The original MacKenzie house sprawled in all directions, each generation building on to the house until it could hold an army. Or the entire MacKenzie family to be precise. His addition to the house had been to add his practice, complete with a waiting room and three exam rooms, as well as a small lab and x-ray room. It made it convenient to work out of the house, but at the same time, it was difficult to leave work behind when it was always there.
His office was the last room at the end of the hall, and it had a connecting door to the main part of the house so he could come and go as he pleased without having to run into patients all the time. A dull throb had started behind his eyes and he hoped Cat had left a thermos of coffee on his desk along with the sandwich.
He slipped inside his office before anyone could stop him and leaned back against the door with his eyes closed for a few seconds. When he opened them the vision that greeted him made him wonder if he wasn’t beginning to catch a fever himself.
The clipboard in his hands clattered as it hit the floor, and Cat’s seductive smile had his blood running hot in an instant. His cock throbbed and swelled against the zipper of his jeans.
“Jesus, Cat.” His eyes widened in surprise as he took in what she was wearing. Or what she wasn’t wearing. She sat on his desk in nothing but one of his lab coats, a pair of red fuck me shoes, and a smile. Her legs were crossed and she leaned back a little so the coat gaped open to reveal a glimpse of the plump mounds of her breasts. The red of her hair practically sizzled and looked hot to th
e touch as it curled riotously over her shoulders.
“What—What are you—”
“Cat got your tongue,” she purred. “Don’t worry. I’ll give it back later.”
She hopped down from the edge of the desk and he felt his mouth go dry and his lungs constrict in his chest. He’d been wrong. She wasn’t completely naked under the lab coat. She also wore a pair of white panties that were barely big enough to classify as such. He’d seen dental floss that had more coverage.
Cat let the coat fall from her shoulders so she only wore the panties and the shoes.
“I’ve got patients. A room full of them just down the hall.”
She arched a winged brow and smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid someone might catch us? Not the fearless Thomas MacKenzie who once took me in the balcony of an opera house with hundreds of people down below.”
Oh, he remembered. And if possible his dick spiked even harder. But those wild times were so far in the past they were barely a memory.
“I just don’t have a lot of time right now. Maybe we could do this later.”
She put her thumbs beneath the waistband of her panties and pushed them down so they fell to her ankles.
“Or now is fine.”
“You dropped your clipboard, Doctor MacKenzie. Let me help you get that.”
CHAPTER THREE
Cat had almost lost her nerve. The shocked look on Thomas’s face at the sight of her felt like a rejection. She’d never had to talk him into sex before. But whether he wanted to or not, his body couldn’t lie.
If anything over the years of their marriage, he’d become more attractive to her. He was big like all of the MacKenzie men, and his body was muscled from working on the ranch and habitual morning runs around the lake. His black hair was just recently beginning to show the first hints of silver, and after a long day of seeing patients, he had a five o’clock shadow that made him look a little bit disreputable.
She knelt down in front of him, her eyes never leaving his, and she went to work on the buckle of his belt. His hands fisted in her hair and her eyes gleamed in triumph. There was no turning back now.
