Bullet Proof: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family) (12 page)

"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. "This 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."

* * * *

Click
here
to discover more of Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie Family

Sign up
for the 1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

and be entered to win a Tiffany Lock necklace.

There's a contest every quarter!

Click
here
to subscribe.

DISCOVER THE LILIANA HART

MACKENZIE FAMILY COLLECTION

Trouble Maker

A MacKenzie Family Novel

by Liliana Hart

Click
here
to purchase.

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

Click
here
to purchase.

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

Click
here
to purchase.

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.