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Alex grimaced and rubbed at the outside of his thigh. “I am wounded, Janey,” he informed her. “I might not be your best bet. ”
Her expression was almost smug. “Too bad. ” She turned to Natches. “Do you guys want coffee before you leave?”
Everyone looked back at Alex.
He scratched his jaw and stared back at Janey, eyes narrowed.
“Why him?” Natches turned back to her suspiciously.
“Because I don’t have to put up with all the moaning and groaning at night like I would if it were one of you. ” She rolled her eyes back at him. “Really, Natches, all that marital bliss is too sweet for words. ”
All three of the younger Mackay men developed an almost smug look on their faces as Alex finally winced. He didn’t want to hear about their marital bliss, because one of them was married to his sister.
“I don’t like it,” Natches muttered, plowing his fingers through his hair again. “Damm it, Janey. You need someone around the clock. Not a night watchman. ”
“If anything other than letters happen, I’ll consider it,” she promised him.
The fear was there. Alex saw it, even if she did think she was hiding it from her brother. Those letters had her spooked, and rightfully so. But guts and courage were Mackay traits, even if they were mixed with pure hardheaded stubbornness.
“How long is your leave?” Natches clearly wasn’t happy.
Alex arched his brows. “I have extended leave right now. I’m clear. ”
He could feel the other men watching him closely.
“I don’t like this,” Natches muttered again.
“Look at it this way,” Janey chirped. “You get what you want. ” She turned to Alex, tilted her head, and smiled with a tight little curve to her lips. “And he gets to pay for it. ”
FOUR
Alex followed the others from the apartment almost an hour later, carefully keeping his expression calm and his mouth shut. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to chuckle. And that chuckle could risk his carefully laid plans.
It wasn’t often a man could claim he’d managed to maneuver not just one intrepid little Mackay female, but her brother and two cousins as well. Though, he wasn’t so sure about the cousins. Or the uncle. The
three of them were a little too quiet, and a little too amused.
Mackays could be subtle when the situation called for it. It just had to suit them to do so. Now, Natches, he wasn’t so subtle.
“Touch her. Just one time. Even dare to touch her, Alex, and I’ll cut your dick off,” Natches warned him as they reached the trucks, his cousins and uncle trailing behind them.
Alex turned to him, staring back at Natches’s furious green eyes curiously. “Hell of a warning to give me, buddy,” he snorted. “I’m doing you a favor here, not the other way around. ”
Natches was right up in his face and, under most circumstances,
would have found himself flat on his ass for his trouble. Problem was, if he hit Natches, he would have three others just as mean he’d have to fight, and then all his planning would go to hell.
“You don’t do anyone favors,” Natches informed him heatedly. “And don’t think I forgot how you were watching her six years ago. ” He gave Alex a disgusted look. “She was a baby. ”
Alex stared back at him coolly. Janey had been seventeen at the time, which didn’t excuse him, but she hadn’t been a baby.
“I’ve done the Mackays plenty of favors,” he reminded Natches. “The past six years I’ve busted my ass and my team’s to not just do our job, but cover her when we’re not on assignment. When on assignment, I’ve invariably managed to find backup, Natches. ” He sneered the other man’s name. “That was a hell of a favor, buddy. ”
“From a man lusting after a kid,” Natches charged.
Alex had control. He’d majored in control. He was the king of control. But it snapped. Before he realized what he was doing, he had Natches’s jacket in his fists, throwing the other man against the side of the building.
“Don’t cross the line, fucker!” Alex snarled in his face. “Don’t even cross that line. ”
