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"I'm sure you'll never see it again," she reassured him, as she crossed her arms and rubbed her hands up and down them quickly.
She felt chilled to the bone despite the summer heat. Emotion had forced her to flee, but she knew she should have stayed. She wanted to know what the hell was going on, and why Abram Mustafa, a suspected terrorist sympathizer, was meeting secretly with her fathers as well as with Khalid and Shayne.
She had known Khalid was involved with whatever Shayne was up to. She should have realized it went much deeper than she had suspected. She had assumed he was helping Shayne with his operation, but she hadn't expected her fathers to be in on it as well.
Khalid could claim her. He could fuck her. But he couldn't sleep through the night with her, and he sure as hell didn't bother to talk to her. God forbid that he should have to lower himself so far as to explain his actions to her.
"Shayne and Khalid didn't look happy," Mac commented a moment later, when she said nothing more.
"That so bothers me. " She shot him an instant glare. He was a man, a member of the club, and therefore most likely in on whatever conspiracy was currently ruling her fathers' lives.
"I can tell. " He nodded seriously, as though he weren't being completely facetious.
"You're a member of the club," she stated.
"Not me. " There was a hint of laughter in his voice now. "I was meeting friends for drinks. "
"Only members enter. " She glared at him for lying to her.
At that, Mac shook his head. "Or former members. I was truly meeting friends for drinks, Agent Mathews, nothing more. And ended up playing white knight. " He flashed her what she was certain he thought was a charming grin.
Marty clenched her teeth at the humor. Amusement wasn't high on her list of priorities tonight.
"Let it go, Mac," she warned him. "I'm not in the mood. "
"A white knight's job is never done. " He clucked his tongue as he shook his head and glanced back over at her. "Strange, I didn't imagine Khalid could get himself in so much trouble with you. I think he's been claiming you for so long that he's forgotten what it's like to realize that perhaps you don't really belong to him. "
Marty turned and stared back at him in surprise and anger.
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
For a moment, silence filled the car. Mac took the turn that led to her parents' home and pulled slowly into the drive. Putting the Lexus in park, he turned to stare at her thoughtfully for long moments.
"You were eighteen," he finally said. "Khalid let everyone who could possibly be a threat to his future relationship with you know that he considered your heart his own. He was a much darker person then, Marty. A man with a lot of demons. A man who even your fathers were wary of at that time. "
Marty shook her head. "I don't believe you. "
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Believe what you like. But this one you can take to the bank. Khalid will catch up with you. When he does, he'll show you exactly why he waited until he couldn't wait any longer to take you. He'll show you the demons that fill him. I just hope you're woman enough to accept them. "
"Woman enough to accept the third he wants in that relationship? How about woman enough to figure out when he's fucking lying to me?" She sneered. "Do you have any idea just how pompous you sound right now?"
"Woman enough to see beneath the actions, and to accept the truth of the man who just might not realize that he's given you his heart," he said softly. "And that, Marty, takes a woman who's not just strong but also understanding. I wonder if you can be both. "
She couldn't be both, she thought, as she prepared to get out of the car.
Turning from him, she threw the door open and stalked to the house as the front door opened and her mother stood framed in the doorway.
Her mother was home. Her father must have called her, must have told her what was going on. Virginia looked well rested, but concerned and angry. Her gray eyes locked on Marty as a frown marred her still smooth brow.
Marty wouldn't discuss this with her. Not yet. But she could hide here until her fathers arrived and she found out exactly what they were up to with Khalid and Shayne.
Chapter 12
Khalid remained calm, though doing so wasn't as easy as he had wished it was, while riding in the back of Joe Mathews's limo long minutes after Mac had taken Marty from the club. Joe, Zach, and Shayne were all silent. The silence wore on his nerves, nerves that were never tested this way until this night, until tangling with Marty.
The only man who appeared unaffected by any of this was Joe. He sat back in the leather seat and simply watched Khalid.
"This is a fucking mess," Zach muttered to Joe from where he sat at his side.
