Mackie's Men (11 page)

Dorian was stunned, not only by the threat of forced retirement. This was the person who saved Eric? The other men were big boys and could take care of themselves, so he had no doubt Liam was exaggerating about her saving their lives. Eric had told him that someone named Mack had pulled his wife and that precious baby, EJ, from the wreckage and then came back for him. This is the Mack he spoke of, the one who had taken a shot trying to keep him safe?

He had helped raise Eric, and the young man was as loved by him as any child he might have gotten from his own wife, had she been able to have children. Now he was going to help Eric and Jenny raise the little one, and planned to tell the doctor tonight that he was leaving his employ and why.

He saw that the woman was sitting up and holding her head in her palms, and tried to formulate the words to thank her for saving his boy, but words meant very little compared to what he was feeling. Liam and Darryl were watching him, and he nodded toward the men before walking over to where John was keeping an eye on her.

“The next time you’re in need of anything, just ask. I apologize for the name calling, but you are part of the blame for this too you know. Since these oversized bears forgot to tell me that you would be joining them for dinner, they can accept part of the blame too. I have things to do, so I will say goodnight.”

He turned to John and told him, “We have things that need to be talked about, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He straightened his vest and left the room.

Darryl grinned, “One of these days that little asshole is going to open his mouth and someone is going to glue it shut. He’s always got to have the last word, and damned if he wasn’t right in a way. He’s probably gonna lecture you on manners again, it was fun the last time from what you told us.”

John shook his head and informed them, “Nah, he has been plotting to leave me and can’t wait to pack his suitcase. He’s planning to be Eric Junior’s nanny, with a lot of encouragement from the baby’s father and grandfather.” He shot Liam a dirty look, after all it was his nephew who was stealing the best caretaker he’d ever employed. “You know how it is, who can resist shitty diapers and being vomited on at three in the morning. I can’t compete with that, so I get left like an old dog at the shelter. The new puppy is more fun.”

Darryl didn’t bother to try to mask his hilarity this time. He laughed out loud and shook his head. “Jealous over a baby? What the hell is this? You were doing fine before Dorian came along, you can always find another housekeeper, you know. Pouting isn’t an attractive look on you, man. You know as well as everyone else does, that man might be little, but he’s as lethal as any pit bull. Given recent events, if it was my kid, I’d be doing the same thing.”

Dorian rushed back into the room with a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for Mackie, and he took it straight to her. “Here, drink up, and then eat something.” He watched as she held the glass to her lips and took a long swallow.

She gave him a small smile and said, “Thank you,” he nodded his head and left the room again without looking at the others.

The sugar and juice perked her up enough to pay attention while the men began dishing up their meal, and she thanked Liam for the plate that he handed her.

“So when are you guys planning on telling me why I’m here? And before you give me anything but the truth, I am out of here if I think you’re full of crap. I can say this much, it’s the strangest dinner date that I’ve ever agreed to.” She took a big bite of the almost cold noodle concoction and waited for someone to begin talking.

Liam finished chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth before saying, “Let’s finish eating first, afterwards we can talk. It’s complicated and you will play a major role if you agree to our plan.”

The room was silent until they began stacking plates on the cart, and Mackie stood to follow John and Darryl into another room. Liam held her back with his hand on her upper arm. “Look, I’m sorry that tonight has been a flat out mess. This is the way life has been for the past few months, and until the reception, we had been looking for you on a strictly personal basis. Afterward, well you’ll hear in a few minutes. So, before anything is said you need to know this.” He leaned down and embraced her and leaned down to touch her lips with his. His tongue coaxed her to open her lips and she enjoyed the feeling of his full out assault on her mouth. By the time he let her mouth go, his hands were full of the cheeks of her ass and she felt his hard cock pressing into her stomach. As kisses went, she’d give that one a ten.

He left his hand on her arm as they walked into the next room to join Darryl and John.
This must be the war room
, she thought as she sat in the chair Liam had pulled from the table. At least the men had manners, they were all nuts, but nuts with manners went a long way in her book. Looking around the room, she could see this was a favorite sanctuary from the worn furnishings and man toys decorating the shelves. Remote control trucks and sports balls shared a shelf, just as a volume of
The Art of War
, and a stack of Super Hero comic books did.

She wondered if the men knew that she was only sitting here ready to hear what they had to say because her sense of the ridiculous was beginning to appreciate the evening’s strangeness, and she was curious to get the rest of the events underway. She was tired, but nothing was going to stop her from hearing them out after Liam’s little teaser. They were all looking at each other, and no one said a word, so she got the ball rolling. “Okay, you have my attention. Let me start by saying you all know how to show a girl a good time, but since it’s already ten thirty, why don’t you just tell me what’s going on and we can go from there?”

Liam gave her a small smile and Darryl nodded his head, John sat with his hands folded on the table and seemed to be watching for her reaction before she’d been told anything.

“This is hard to explain, so bear with me for a minute please.” Liam opened a folder from the stack in the center of the table and started talking.

“Klinger International has their fingers in a lot of venues. We have in our portfolio companies that buy and sell everything, from ice cream to pharmaceuticals. As you know, we also do extensive research and development. What you might not know is that Eric was not being stalked and the attempt on his life had nothing to do with the latest video game, we have developed new drone technology and weapons systems for the unmanned machines. The U S Government is very interested in this and we had kept it under wraps until the negotiations and sale can become final.

“The night of the reception when you saw the intruder, Darryl had one of his suspicions and went to follow up on them. The man is one of a group who wants to stop the use of Drone technology combining several other weapons that are being developed such as lasers and smarter smart bombs. His group has ties to terrorist organizations over seas too.

“The man’s biggest mistake was in using out of date intel, and not doing his homework. That mansion is a rental, no one lives there. The rooms are there for the event’s use and while it is rented on a monthly basis to some people, our contract was for the weekend only. He thought he could snatch one of our family members to keep us from selling the technology. Darryl found him in the closet of what was once the master suite.”

Darryl took over the explanation when Liam began pouring beverages for all of them at the small table in the corner of the room that was half filled with bottles. He handed her a glass identical to the rest that he passed to the men. Whiskey neat wasn’t her favorite alcoholic drink, but if she was going to play with the big boys, she might as well not bitch too much about the wish for some cola and ice to go with it.

“Last night someone broke into this house, and thanks to Dorian, nothing was tampered with. He woke up when he heard the back door open and thought it was John coming in. Being the evil little shit that he is, Dorian shot the fucker in the kneecap.

“So now we have two would be spies, and more are on their way. According to the first guy, the reward for one of the Klinger’s is high, the reward for some of their close employees and associates is just a small amount lower. The one who broke in here wanted John’s research in defensive medicine stopped.”

Mackie grinned and shook her head. “Do you mean to tell me that you have at least two factions working against Klinger Corporation? It sounds to me like you have more than one security breach, and given the scope of your company’s reach, ferreting out the moles could be close to impossible.” She was quiet for a few moments, before continuing, “So the threats are all geared to stopping the technology, but what if it is just a ruse to keep you so busy guarding your people, that you stop all research and development for a time? Long enough for some enterprising thief to find out where you keep the actual technology and steal it. Which leads me to think your problem is a close advisor and someone you consider a loyal friend.

“I assume tonight’s adventure was a test?”

All three men nodded their heads and Liam rubbed the back of his neck, shot John a look, and turned his head to give Darryl the same look. They all sat down in a cluster with her at the table. Something gave her a warning that she wasn’t going to like what they had in mind for her participation in catching the person responsible.

Darryl again started talking as Liam pushed several photographs toward her. John remained silent, but watched her intently. His perusal made her uncomfortable, but she was certain her discomfort didn’t show. What in the hell were they up to?

“Today we held a conference with four of the top executives at Klinger. I mentioned that I would be there at the Pub tonight and hoped that a certain lady would show up. I never mentioned a name or said anything else about it. In the mean time, Liam was in the corner of the room making plans to meet you tonight. He never told me who he was meeting until we met in the hallway at the condo. I wasn’t aware that he had a date and it was too late to call you and cancel. I was trying to trap our snitch, I didn’t plan to meet anyone. Once we’d established that we were dumbasses, Liam took the passageway into the private room, and as you know, I met you in the bar.

“Taking me out of the picture would be a big blow to Klinger, and now we have four prime suspects. Unfortunately, you are now added in the mix.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “I know it’s fucked up reasoning, but the first thing I thought was that I was thankful it was you. You are probably the most capable woman I’ve met to date, and if anyone can protect herself and others, it has to be you. So I’m sorry you got dragged into our drama, but I swear I’ll protect you with my life, and from the little I do know about you, I’m comfortable with knowing you would kill to protect your allies, and the people that you care about.”

John spoke up, still staring at her as if gauging her reactions were important to him. “You need to know a few other things. The three of us have an unusual relationship. We have also found that the three of us find you attractive. No matter how I put this it is going to sound strange to you, and I don’t blame you if you have a hard time believing me.”

Mackie knew that her mouth was hanging open, but what did they expect, to toss that snippet of information in the works?

“No one is saying that we fell head-over-heels-in love at first glance, that’s absurd. The truth of the matter is that you interest us, and yes, I am speaking for all three of us. There you stood with a gun pointed at Liam and you would have shot him if our guy hadn’t taken you out first. I was semi hard in seconds seeing that 1911 in your hand. I was ready to kill Tyler for shooting you. Liam carried you into the house and helped me undress you. Do you want to know what happened? The sick fucker had a full on hard-on by the time we were done. And I’m not leaving Darryl here out of it. I thought he was going to crawl across the floor and beg the Mistress of Toys that go Boom for permission to kiss your ass. We are all a little crazy, and we’re all different than your run of the mill men. Let’s face it, you are strong, you have guts, and you are an idealist like each of us are, do you have any idea of how attractive that is for men like us? Any man with blood flowing in his veins would be attracted to you.”

He finally smiled and winked at her. She had to look away from that panty wetting grin. That only sent her eyes to see Darryl and Liam both smiling at her as she looked at them in turn.

“The three of us have an intimate relationship, it is a closed group and no other men are allowed, ever. We have intimate relationships with women separately, and we have upon occasion enjoyed passing a night with a woman who liked the idea of having three men to fulfill her fantasies for an evening. There has never been a permanent woman in our lives due to the fact that we have never actually agreed on one woman between the three of us.”

John shrugged and looked away for a second and came back to her with the words that told her this was not a ruse. This was real, and she had no idea how to respond.

“We want you, scars and bravery, gadgets, and bossiness. Even that damned cat will be welcomed if you insist on bringing him along. We will do our best to lure you into our lives and hearts. You will be treasured for the rest of our lives, and if you decide you might like a few little clones running around, well, we will know that their mother will protect them with every breath.”

Good Lord, this was one of her own fantasies come to life, but what on earth were they thinking? Liam Klinger wasn’t exactly low profile, and Darryl Reynolds was well known too. They were almost public figures. John Fielding wasn’t as recognizable, but how in the hell would they pull off sharing one woman between the three of them?