by Mac Flynn
Taz curled into a sitting position, his broken nose and bleeding shoulder protesting every millimeter of movement, so he could watch the women. Bianca wasn't about to go assassin on him, even if he wouldn't blame her if she did. It wasn't in her make up, but Amelia didn't know that.
"Your friend." The words rushed out. "I don't know where she is, but I do know some things that may help you find her. They postponed delivery of Genie's Wish, but the testing sessions are still going on. They took her last night, during the party. That's why we had to leave you."
It could be the truth. It could be bullshit to placate the woman holding a gun on her. Still, even if only ten percent was the truth, it was more than they had before, and judging by what she'd said once Oliver showed up with his nine millimeter, she had information to share.
"You said they were targeting Bianca and the women she went to school with. Why?" he asked, ignoring the pain making his body throb with every inhaled breath.
The distinctive blare of law enforcement sirens sounded outside. Vivi promised ten minutes if things went wrong and she hadn't been lying. They'd be here any second.
"I don't know," Amelia cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Get the girls from St. Bernadette's is all he said."
"Who's he?" Bianca asked.
A gunshot boomed in the tiny room.
Amelia went down, a small hole right between her eyes.
Bianca whipped around, her aim true.
"Get down!" Ignoring his own injuries, Taz jumped up, more than ready to take another bullet for Bianca if that's what needed to be done.
Oliver struggled to sit up as blood rushed from the gash slicing his temple. One leg of his pants was pulled up, revealing an ankle holster. He held a small two-shot pistol against his own head.
"We'd die no matter what. At least this way, it'll be fast." He pulled the trigger.
Another loud bang and he crumpled to the floor.
The door flew open. A group of men and one very short woman rushed into the room. Someone yelled, "Federal agents."
Keeping her movements deliberate, Bianca held up her free hand as she squatted down and laid the gun she'd gotten from Amelia on the floor, then stood up again. Standing beside her, Taz lifted his right hand since his left arm was too busy bleeding to cooperate.
"They're friendlies." Vivi kicked the gun away from what was left of Oliver, then gave them both an assessing look before guiding them through the throng of agents out into the hall. "Are you okay? You look like shit."
As if the words were a reminder to his body, the pain crashed into him. He tightened his grip on Bianca's hand but kept his face neutral. After the number of years he'd spent in the ring, he'd learned to deal with pain and get past it. "It was a through and through. I'm fine."
"You sit." Vivi pointed to the nearby bench and clicked on the mic hooked to her Kevlar vest, walking across to stand in the doorway to the room where the agents where taping off the crime scene. "We need a paramedic in here. Gunshot wound to the shoulder, moderate bleeding. Patient alert and a confirmed pain in the ass."
"Yeah, but you're my pain in the ass." Bianca sat down next to him on his uninjured side, her presence doing almost as much as a shot of painkillers to make his world better.
"You know I meant what I said on the stairs outside." Ignoring the hot jolt of pain searing his shoulder, he picked up her hand and kissed the love line dancing across her palm. "I took a bullet for you, Kitten. You better believe I love you."
She sat back. Tears made her eyes glisten but there wasn't an ounce of sadness in them. "And I'd take one for you."
He grinned. He couldn't help himself. Falling in love with Bianca really was the best win he'd ever have. "I'm going to translate that to mean you love me too."
She rolled her eyes. "You're so bossy."
He dipped his head for a kiss. "Just the way you like me."
"No." She met him halfway and brushed her lips across his, a hint of things to come and a promise for the future. "Just the way I love you."
CHAPTER TEN
Bianca almost caught a flash of something through the open spaces between her fingers before Taz put his own hand over hers, effectively creating a human blindfold. After two weeks of watching contractors tromp up to the Devil's Dip Gym's second floor to transform a small corner of the expansive space into her office, she was more than ready for the big--even if it was technically little--reveal.
"I said no peeking," he said, as he pulled her snug against him so her ass was pressed against his rock hard thighs.
The contact sent her body spiraling down familiar territory. Hard nipples? Check. Weak knees? Check. An overwhelming urge to climb him like a jungle gym and ride him until they were both hot, sweaty, and satisfied? Oh, hell yes. In the past three months they'd been insatiable and it hadn't made a damn bit of difference. Every time he walked into the room, her heart went into overdrive. And the rest of her? Well, it went soft, wet, and needy.
"Are you ready?"
In more ways than one. "Yes."
Taz took his hand away from her eyes. She dropped her own and then she lost her ability to be a smartass. The formerly empty entire second floor of the Devil's Dip Gym had been transformed. The vast open space filled with cobwebs, random boxes, and dust was gone, replaced with five large glass-walled offices and a central lobby area. A large window behind a receptionist's desk looked out onto the gym below. A single framed piece of paper was on the wall to her right--her brand-spanking new State of Texas private investigation and security contractor license that she'd gotten the same day she'd gotten her business phone number and set up the company website.
"All of this is mine?" She couldn't keep the excited catch out of her voice.
"Yep." Taz wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the top of her head. "The entire second floor is yours. The only thing above you is our place."
"Our place?" Sure, she spent six nights out of seven there and had her own key, but it wasn't like she had officially moved in.
His laugh rumbled in his chest. "You did take over three-fourths of the closet."
"It's a small closet." Walking out of his hold, she did a quick spin to take in her new space.
"It's a walk-in the size of Rhode Island," he teased.
Sending him a flirty look, she sat down on the edge of the receptionist's desk, making sure that when she crossed her legs her skirt hem crept dangerously high on her upper thigh. "Isn't that just like a man to exaggerate the size of something?"
Something dark and possessive glimmered in his eyes as he stalked over to her, every inch of him predatory, hot and too wild to ever be tamed--which was good because she had no intention of trying. He was a fighter, her fighter, and together they'd always fight for each other. By the time he'd stopped in front of her, the rest of the world had ceased spinning because the only thing that mattered was the man in front of her. The one she loved and who loved her back.
"Kitten..." His gaze fell to her parted lips as he uncrossed her legs, stepped between them and dipped his head so his lips practically touched hers. "You know I don't exaggerate when it comes to size."
Then his mouth was on hers and his hands were on her hips, pulling her to him so she could feel for herself just how he didn't embellish the size of some things--not even a single solitary inch in length or diameter. More than ready to christen the office of her yet-unnamed company, she squeezed her hands between their bodies and went straight for his zipper. She had it halfway down before he broke the kiss and stepped back, leaving her gasping for breath and hungry for more of him.
No doubt knowing exactly what kind of damage he'd just done to her panties, Taz grinned and pulled a small stack of small, rectangular cards from his pocket. "Now are you ready for the surprise?"
"This isn't it?" she asked, trying to process the jarring change from hot, take-me-on-the-desk-now making out to what sure looked like business cards in his hand.
"Nope." He handed her the cards. "T
his is."
BIANCA SUTHERLAND, FOUNDER AND CEO, B-SQUAD SECURITY AND INVESTIGATIONS.
Underneath were business cards for Vivi, Lexie, and Elisa--a former DEA agent, a computer expert, and a thief. She'd gotten the band from St. B's back together--except for Gidget, whose disappearance haunted Bianca. They'd find her. They'd spent the last three months looking and she wasn't about to give up on Gidget or figuring out who was behind Genie's Wish and why they were focused on the girls from St. B's.
She clamped her jaw tight to try to stop the tremble of her chin that always preceded tears. But, unlike when she'd been eleven years old and on that flight to St. Bernadette's, these weren't tears because she was scared about what was coming next. It was because she couldn't wait for what was next--with the business, with her friends, and with Taz. The Sutherland family she'd been born into wouldn't understand, but the one she'd created always would.
Sucking in a deep, calming breath, she read the card again. "The B-Squad?"
Taz brushed a thumb across her check, wiping away the tear she hadn't been able to stop. "You all survived St. B's and you were in the B squad dorms together. I figured it fit."
"Everyone will think it's for the Bitch Squad, which still totally works." Laughter bubbled up inside her, spilling out. It was a little sad, a little happy, and a lot oh-my-God-this-is-awesomely-nuts excited. "We're really going to do this."
"What do you mean going to? You're already working your first case. You'll find her. I know you will." He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.
No doubt, he'd meant to be reassuring, but it still left her half-stupid with lust. "Damn, I love the way you kiss."
Another soft, too-brief kiss. "And I love you, Kitten."
Her heart hiccuped. "Love you too."
The phone on the receptionist's desk rang, the foreign sound echoing in the carnivorous space.
"You gonna answer it?" Taz asked. "There are underdogs out there who need you."
Her hand hovered over the phone and she hesitated, nerves keeping a solid two inches between her palm and the receiver. This was it. She'd walked into the Devil's Dip Gym almost a year ago determined to change her life and make a difference in the world. Now she really was, and best of all, she was doing it with Taz and her created family by her side. It didn't get any better than this.
Grinning, Bianca hit the speakerphone button. "B-Squad Security and Investigations. We're here to help."
"B? It's Gidget." Her panic came through loud and clear even over the snap, crackle, and pop of the shitty phone connection. "I got out, but they're close. Please, you've got--"
The line went dead.
For half a second all Bianca could do was stare at the now silent phone. Then her fingers sped across the number pad.
Lexie picked up on the first ring. "What's up, B?"
"Can you track down the phone that just called this number?" Her voice shook with excitement as she looked up at Taz and saw the same hell-yeah look that had to be plastered across her face.
"Do really hot shoes make your feet hurt like hell?" Lexie deadpanned.
"It's Gidget." It was the break they'd been waiting for. Finally. "She made contact but the phone cut out."
"I'm on it." Lexie hung up without a good-bye.
Bianca didn't care about polite sign-offs. What mattered was finding Gidget.
Taz's arms were around her before she'd finished processing what had just happened. "Don't worry, you'll find her."
"Yes." Bianca firmed her shoulders as she faced the man she loved, the one who would always be at her side. For all the I'm-only-in-it-for-myself image he'd projected, she knew better now. He was in it with her. "We will."
"So what am I, B-Squad adjacent?" he asked as he tucked an errant wave behind her ear, adding a dash of desire to the adrenaline pumping through her system.
"Pretty much," she said with as much sass as she could when he looked at her that way. "So what do you say? Are you in?"
"Kitten..." His eyes darkened as he dipped his head and kissed her. It wasn't soft. It wasn't sweet. It was exactly what she needed. He was exactly what she needed. "I always say yes to you."
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MACKENZIE FAMILY COLLECTION
Trouble Maker
A MacKenzie Family Novel
by Liliana Hart
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Marnie Whitlock has never known what it's like to be normal. She and her family moved from place to place, hiding from reporters and psychologists, all because of her gift. A curse was more like it. Seeing a victim, feeling his pain as the last of his life ebbed away, and being helpless to save him. It was torture. And then one day it disappeared and she was free. Until those who hunted her for her gift tried to kill her. And then the gift came back with a vengeance.
Beckett Hamilton leads a simple life. His ranch is profitable and a legacy he'll be proud to pass onto his children one day, work fills his time from sunup to sundown, and his romances are short and sweet. He wouldn't have it any other way. And then he runs into quiet and reserved Marnie Whitlock just after she moves to town. She intrigues him like no woman ever has. And she's hiding something. His hope is that she begins to trust him before it's too late.
Rush
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Robin Covington
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From Liliana Hart's New York Times bestselling MacKenzie family comes a new story by USA Today bestselling author Robin Covington...
Atticus Rush doesn't really like people. Years in Special Ops and law enforcement showed him the worst of humanity, making his mountain hideaway the ideal place to live. But when his colleagues at MacKenzie Security need him to save the kidnapped young daughter of a U.S. Senator, he'll do it, even if it means working with the woman who broke his heart ...his ex-wife.
Lady Olivia Rutledge-Cairn likes to steal things. Raised with a silver spoon and the glass slipper she spent years cultivating a cadre of acquaintances in the highest places. She parlayed her natural gift for theft into a career of locating and illegally retrieving hard-to-find items of value for the ridiculously wealthy. Rush was the one man who tempted her to change her ways...until he caught her and threatened to turn her in.
MacKenzie Security has vowed to save the girl. Olivia can find anything or anyone. Rush can get anyone out. As the clock winds down on the girl's life, can they fight the past, a ruthless madman and their explosive passion to get the job done?
Delta: Rescue
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Cristin Harber
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When Luke Brenner takes an off-the-books job on the MacKenzie-Delta joint task force, he has one goal: shut down sex traffickers on his personal hunt for retribution. This operation brings him closer than he's ever been to avenge his first love, who was taken, sold, and likely dead.
Madeleine Mercier is the daughter of an infamous cartel conglomerate. Their family bleeds money, they sell pleasure, they sell people. She knows no other life, sees no escape, except for one. Maddy is the only person who can take down Papa, when every branch of law enforcement in every country, is on her father's payroll.
It's evil. To want to ruin, to murder, her family. But that's what she is. Ruined for a life outside of destroying her father. She can't feel arousal. Has never been kissed. Never felt anything other than disgust for the world that she perpetuates. Until she clashes with a possible mercenary who gives her hope.
The hunter versus the virgin. The predator and his prey. When forced together, can enemies resist the urge to run away or destroy one another?
Deep Trouble
A MacKenzie Family Novella
/> by Kimberly Kincaid
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Bartender Kylie Walker went into the basement of The Corner Tavern for a box of cocktail napkins, but what she got was an eyeful of murder. Now she's on the run from a killer with connections, and one wrong step could be her last. Desperate to stay safe, Kylie calls the only person she trusts--her ex-Army Ranger brother. The only problem? He's two thousand miles away, and trouble is right outside her door.
Security specialist Devon Randolph might be rough and gruff, but he'll never turn down a friend in need, especially when that friend is the fellow Ranger who once saved his life. Devon may have secrets, but he's nearby, and he's got the skills to keep his buddy's sister safe...even if one look at brash, beautiful, Kylie makes him want to break all the rules.
Forced on the run, Kylie and Devon dodge bullets and bad guys, but they cannot fight the attraction burning between them. Yet the closer they grow, the higher the stakes become. Will they be able to outrun a brutal killer? Or will Devon's secrets tear them apart first?
Desire & Ice
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Christopher Rice
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Danny Patterson isn't a teenager anymore. He's the newest and youngest sheriff's deputy in Surrender, Montana. A chance encounter with his former schoolteacher on the eve of the biggest snowstorm to hit Surrender in years shows him that some schoolboy crushes never fade. Sometimes they mature into grown-up desire.
It's been years since Eliza Brightwell set foot in Surrender. So why is she back now? And why does she seem like she's running from something? To solve this mystery, Danny disobeys a direct order from Sheriff Cooper MacKenzie and sets out into a fierce blizzard, where his courage and his desire might be the only things capable of saving Eliza from a dark force out of her own past.
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