Mackie's Men Read online

  “I feel like shit.” Hurrell smiled at her statement. “So did you crack that traitor Edwards?”

  “Oh yes, and his men decided to turn on him with the promise of one life sentence in the penitentiary instead of death. Edwards was in it for the money, he has a few very bad habits, and he planned to live in one of his choice vacation spots after the family had been killed. When they went after you, Mackie, they had no idea about the bunker. They were looking for proof to show their bankers that their mission was complete. They thought that the woman and kids were in the house with you. Edwards tried to say he was checking on you, but his timeline was screwed up and we had him dead to rights.” The Diplomat’s family that was being protected in the bunker was safe and the man could do his job gaining support for an alliance with America now. Neither the General nor Mackie voiced the knowledge that Edwards would never make it to trial. He would probably be found in his cell after committing suicide.

  “They figured that you could be persuaded to tell them where the family was being held if they weren’t at your place. When the house locked down with the steel curtains, they gave up being nice and figured you’d make a run for it. Edwards was very unappreciative of you being such a stubborn bitch. He was in a bit of pain when he confessed to planning a slow painful death for the thorn in his side for too damn long. Meaning you of course.”

  “Isn’t that what they all seem to want to do? What is it about men that have to act like shitheads? It seems every man I’ve met, excluding you and Ishmeal, have the urge to compete with me to show me who wears the balls. Rich men, poor men, it doesn’t matter what the walk of life, if it’s testosterone based, the competition is on.” She remembered Liam Klinger and his butt hurt expression when she told him that he would get his answers from someone else. She knew deep inside that men were capable of just about anything, but why did he have to act like a Neanderthal?

  Thom could only repeat the same thing he always told her when she was feeling low. “Look at you, for Christ’s sake, you look like a Valkyrie, carry your weight like you own it and to hell with anyone who doesn’t like it. You are an attractive looking woman with an air of command, some men like to be dominated by a strong woman. The flip side is that some dominant men want to master a strong woman. The payoff is for the man who respects her strengths, and earns her respect. That man will be allowed to command her pleasure as long as she trusts him.”

  He grinned when the door opened and Laura Downs peeked her head through the doorway. It still surprised him when he looked at the two women in the same room, or standing together. Laura was only an inch shorter than Mackie, but their hair and eye color was the same. Laura had sprinkles of silver running through her light brown hair that was cut in a shoulder kissing length, where Mackie’s hair was longer, reaching past her shoulder blades without the silver. The body style was almost identical too. His wife had hips to fit his big hands and breasts that he enjoyed at his leisure almost every night now that Laura was finishing her last term as a Senator. He hoped she wouldn’t give into the pressure to run for Governor of the state. He planned to retire next year as well so they could live like normal human beings. They had a grandbaby on the way, and it was time to dangle and spoil a new generation.

  Laura came up to the side of the hospital bed to check on her clone. She’d always called the woman who took bullets for her that and had never complained about it. They’d become friendly over the years and she hated seeing Mackie back in a hospital because she defended yet another person. “I see you couldn’t just stay retired from the rescue business, could you?” She leaned down and brushed the younger woman’s hair from her eyes where it had fallen when she tried to sit up.

  Thom had to leave and make sure everything was dealt with in the matter of Edwards, but promised to see them later. He kissed his wife in a way that made Mackie envious of the closeness the two shared. Why she hadn’t found such love and devotion still escaped her, but her life was all right. Lonely, but it wasn’t a bad life.

  Laura grinned at her once the door shut behind her still handsome loving husband. “So tell me, what did you think of Liam Klinger? He is such a dish and those two men with him, oh hell, Mackie, I think I would have locked the door and kept them as sex slaves.” She waved her hand as if the thought of the men made her hot.

  Mackie had to laugh, “You are going to hate me for this, my friend, but at the time, I barely remember thinking of sex at all around them. I was working off an adrenalin high while they were in the vicinity. Lucky you, though, I will have to look them up online to see who they are. Not that it matters, from what Thom says, they have the patriarch of Klinger International asking questions and being stonewalled by our good friend Mr. Proper-By-The-Book Ishmeal. I don’t move in the same social circles as the Klingers do either.”

  She was definitely going to do research on the Klinger family though. The reason for someone deliberately trying to kill a young family like that was lame. Eric Klinger was hiding more than just his video games if she was any judge. She knew several things already. One, he had to carry a gun in his vehicle for protection; two, his wife was a new addition to his life and the baby was most likely the reason for the marriage. She also learned that Liam Klinger had the bluest eyes she’d ever remembered seeing.

  Laura smiled and patted her shoulder, “I can see you are tired, honey, I’ll sneak back in here with an IPad and we can drool over their pictures together, how’s that?” Mackie was asleep, and she leaned over to give the girl a kiss on the head before leaving the room. Her mind continued to dwell on the younger woman as she walked through the hospital corridors with her security detail close by.

  Later, at home with Thom, while they ate take-out burgers and fries, she told him what she was thinking. “I want to give Mackie a chance to find a man of her own. I know I was lucky to find you, and men with your tolerance and understanding are few and far between, but she deserves better than life has given her so far.”

  Thom Hurrell knew what she was up to, just not who the sacrificial goat was that she had in mind to feed their young friend. “Look, I want her to find happiness too. You should have seen the way Klinger and his men looked at her, even while she was laid out on the furniture. Men find her sexy, but they also become intimidated as soon as she shows her competence and strength. Remember how you used to drive normally sane men to drink? Now think of you with big guns and toys that blow stuff up. Two things guaranteed to give a man a stiffy. But, sweetheart, the men want to be the ones using the toys while the little lady stands behind him and cheers him on.” He got a French fry thrown at him for being such a downer.

  “I think that I’ll need a female bodyguard for the next few months, you know how busy it gets just before Halloween. So many parties and events I should attend, but you always hated. Mackie can accompany me, and you can wait for me at home with your devilish smile and naked body. Or, you can come with us and steer good looking hard bodied men Mackie’s way.”

  He grinned, “You still think you can stand to see this old body naked?”

  She knew he was teasing her as he stood and clasped her upper arm in his big hand, but that was part of the ritual. As soon as they got near the bed, she began inspecting her old man. She took her time undressing the big man, and his grin inspired her as she went to her knees to place soft kisses on his prick and thighs. “I can’t find a flaw, there is no way you can be as old as you are. Isn’t it nice, junior looks happy to see me.” She palmed his balls and gently gave them a squeeze. “Hello, boys, feeling good here.”

  He shivered as her mouth closed around his prick, and he knew he would never get used to that first little nibble that made him groan every time. He loved the feelings she brought out in him, always had loved them. He loved her, period. And there was nothing he wouldn’t do for his girl, and he knew she felt the same for him. He grunted as she brought him relief, and when he caught his breath, he pulled her to the bed and proceeded to show her who her master was. He knew she love
d having his mouth on her pink flesh, he licked and sucked at her sweet pussy until his prick became long and hard again, before he crawled his way up over her beautiful lush body and seated himself deep inside her clenching flesh.

  She was so beautiful, and she was his.

  Mackie was released from the hospital three days after she was admitted. She no longer had a home to go to, and wondered which motel in the area had weekly rates. Ishmeal waited at the curb for her to be discharged and he seemed in a good mood as he shut the door behind her and slid into the driver’s seat of the Crown Vic.

  “You know, Maxine, you really should think about retiring, and this time actually do it. It’s not personal, but it does get monotonous picking you up from the hospital in various places. Wasn’t the last time in St. Mary’s, and the time before that was in Mexico City if I remember correctly.” He glanced at her before resuming driving through the traffic of downtown Kalamazoo. “I am only saying this because sooner or later, I won’t be the one picking you up. It will be the funeral home director. Because, well, no matter how tough you look and act, there is always someone who is tougher and meaner than you out there. I’ve become rather fond of you and would hate to help bury you.” He kept staring out of the front window while he talked and Mackie felt touched by his speech.

  They got on 131 and headed east. “Thank you for your concern, I didn’t deliberately set out either of those times or this one, to rescue anybody. I was sitting in the house minding my own business when the car crash happened. You would be shocked to know I was reading an erotic romance at the time, and just as they were getting into the good squishy, mushy stuff, the crash interrupted the fantasy, the noise was pretty loud. It kinda pisses me off, now I’ll never get to finish that book.”

  Ishmeal laughed, and Mackie was startled to hear the sounds coming from him. She had heard his quick chuckles over the years, but never a full blown laugh like this. She couldn’t help but smile at him, Ishy was usually easy to rouse into his pissy mode, but now she knew his secret, he could laugh. “So where are you taking me today? Because the last thing I remember is that I no longer have a home, clothes, or even a mailbox.”

  Chapter Six

  It didn’t surprise her when they pulled into the circular driveway at the Senator’s home. Thom and Laura had become the best friends a woman like her could possibly have. Ishy had an indulgent look on his face when Laura ran down the steps to greet her, and the look made Mackie realize the man had it bad for the Senator. Talk about defeated before beginning, geez, as far as she knew Ishy had been with the General since birth, or whatever the pecking order of the Army’s assignments were. It stood to reason he would become fond of the people he was around everyday for years, but the look he was sending toward Laura, if Thom ever saw it, the younger man would be in trouble, big trouble.

  Laura’s voice made her turn and pay attention to what she said. “I am so glad you’re going to be my protection detail from now on, at least until the end of the holidays, with you around I can have some fun.”

  Mackie returned the tight embrace and had to smile. It would have been nice if someone had asked her if she had any other plans for the next few months, but truthfully, she was happy. She always stayed at the Senator’s place when she was assigned to provide protection for her, but since she had retired from the job, “I’m not objecting here, but you do realize that you’ll be footing the bill for me as a private bodyguard right? Even with the family discount I’m not cheap.”

  That statement got her a scowl from Ishmeal, but Laura laughed. “That’s not a problem, Mackie, as far as that goes, you are a tax deduction, ta da, problem solved. Believe me, you will be earning your pay, no one is trying to kill me as of right now that I know about, but you get to play dress up with me and go to the forty plus parties I am scheduled to attend between now and New Years.”

  It was Ishy’s turn to grin when she scowled at her assignment. She wanted to stomp her foot and say ‘Hell NO’, but she wasn’t going to and they all knew it.

  John was ready for the reception. His suit was hung up and he’d just finished taking a long hot shower. He reached for his boxer briefs, when Darryl walked into the room with his shirt in his hand and somewhere along the way he must have shed his shoes, because he was barefoot. He hadn’t seen John yet, and was working on unbuckling his belt and dealing with the zipper on his jeans, when he looked up to see John staring at him.

  “Hey, I know Liam’s going to kill me for making us late, but I needed to check on some information on our mystery lady.”

  He dropped his pants and John could see that Darryl wasn’t wearing underwear, as usual. The mention of Mackie got his attention away from Darryl’s tattooed muscles, and he asked, “What have you found out about her? Liam said the General refuses to talk to him, and even his family name isn’t getting the information he wants.”

  Darryl didn’t want to tell his friend that he had very little to tell him, and walked over to the bed where John was sitting.

  He sat down next to him and put his arm around John. “We’ll find her, there can’t be that many women like her with the same name and abilities. If all else fails I’ll put a couple of men on to do surveillance of the Senator’s place. Senator Downs is married to our friend the General, and from what little I found out an hour ago, that’s where the gunshot wounds came from. She was the Senator’s bodyguard when she was shot. It stands to reason the General would put Liam in his place when he was busy worrying about a woman that saved his wife’s life.

  He pulled John’s face around to his to kiss his lips. “Liam can wait for a few, what do you think?” He didn’t wait for an answer, his lips were again on John’s and the men eased back on the bed in a tight embrace. Their hard cocks rubbed together and hips moved in an effort to bring pleasure to each other while enjoying the movement of their bodies. Darryl pushed himself up on his hands and trailed his tongue and lips down the middle of John’s chest. “You smell great, man, hmmm.” His fingers held John’s hard cock and when his lips took over the strong massage on the soft flesh covering hard muscle, John gave a strangled groan.

  His hands were busy running down Darryl’s back and grasping a handful of the big man’s thick hair. “Oh fuck yes. Do you have any idea how great that feels?” He ran his hand down to Darryl’s cock and began sliding the shaft between his fingers.

  They were twenty minutes late, but the look Liam sent them made both men smile and laugh out loud once it dawned on him why they had been delayed. He had rolled his eyes and given them the look, and that kept the grins on their faces until he smiled too.

  “You could have waited for me you know, I’ve been so busy with work and looking for our lady that I haven’t had time to do more than drain the pipes in the shower, and let me tell you, it sucks.”

  The five inch heels on her feet did fantastic things for her ego. She stood in front of the full length mirrored doors in her bedroom and checked out her appearance in detail. The small semi-auto causing a slight bulge on her left front side was barely noticeable. The simple black dress showed a small amount of cleavage, and in her opinion, too much leg, but Laura insisted the dress was perfect for her. Her hair had been professionally styled and hung smoothly over her shoulders. She wasn’t crazy about the way the wrist length sleeves of the dress clung to her arms, but she had to admit the person who designed the garment was some kind of genius. This dress made her look almost sexy, which gave her a laugh. She was the least sexually active person she knew.

  Laura looked gorgeous and the General was hovering over his territory with a scowl at any man who he perceived to be a possible threat to his property. Especially after last week when an overzealous activist had crashed the cocktail party they had attended. Mackie had dealt with the man, and since it wasn’t the first time someone had approached the woman they thought was the Senator, she had been able to take care of the situation before many people noticed the man’s rants about the war in the Middle East. She had steered the
guy out into the foyer of the building by pretending to want privacy for the discussion. When the Security Personnel finally realized that there was a problem, they hauled him away from the vicinity.

  This was a bigger party than last week’s had been, and Mackie stayed close to her charge, but not so close that people would remark on the resemblance between the women. She was a decoy, it wasn’t the first time she’d assumed the role, and from the looks of Laura’s appointment calendar, this was just the beginning of the party season. Next week was Halloween, and knowing that one of the parties would be a masquerade would make it even more difficult for security.

  She smiled, remembering how Laura had forced the big bad Army General to sit with them and watch a Bette Midler film about Halloween and witches last night. He’d flatly refused to allow his wife to dress as one of the witches for the masquerade party. Mackie had grinned when he tossed his wife over his shoulder as if they were in their twenty’s instead of their late forty’s, and smacked her on the ass. “You’re enough of a witch without the ugly make-up when you are in a mood. I refuse to allow you to force me to look at the woman I love with a big green wart on her chin, and ratty clothes. Now say goodnight to the nice lady, we are going to bed.”

  Mackie was still grinning at them when Laura raised her head from the middle of his back and waved her way. “Goodnight.”

  Several people approached the handsome couple, and everything seemed to be going smoothly so far. There were several diplomats and plenty of security here tonight, so she should have been able to relax, but for some reason, she couldn’t. She happened to glance up, and saw a man crouched behind a thick newel post at the top of the open staircase. It could be a person from the security detail, but they were normally not as furtive as this figure was acting. Mackie quickly made her way to the General’s side and signaled him with a slight nod of her head. Other than a narrowing of his eyes, he made no sign the interruption of their evening was more than a scheduling problem.