Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MACKENZIE WAS A LITTLE LAMB NO MORE
I’m shaking my head as I walk to my car.
That woman is a new contradiction every five minutes.
“Jesus, what happened to my submissive little lamb?” One minute she’s crying about that stupid shit I said, then practically the next minute she’s blowing me like a porn star.
After that, she tries to kick me out and acts like she doesn’t want me to come back.
One thing is for sure, she’s never gonna be boring.
I wasn’t sure what had happened to that quirky little woman I saw on New Years’ Eve, but she’s still there. I grin and shake my head again.
I climb into my car and start it. My mind moves from my girl to the asshole who’s messing with her.
I’m glad she brought up the graffiti. It saved me from having to show my hand.
Something I’m not ready to do just yet. I’m especially glad she didn’t tell fucking Kent.
I hate that guy. Seriously. I know I’m not alone in that.
Everyone else on the force hates him, too.
I much prefer to work with his partner, Hank Flynn.
He’s a little moody too, but he’s always got my back.
“Call Gill,” I say to my car Bluetooth.
“What’d you find out?” Gill doesn’t even wait for a greeting.
“I need a team over at her place in an hour. I want new locks on her door and windows with an alarm. We’re going to put motion sensor lights all around the place and a camera on the back of the house.”
“Okay, boss. I think we’ve got all the equipment here. I’ll get Lewis and Tucker started over there, and I’ll follow.” Switching topics, Gill says, “I’ve almost got that list you wanted from . It doesn’t look like she went out with many of them. She had at least a hundred guys kiss her, though.”
“What? She kissed a hundred of those losers?” I was pissed.
Gill chuckles at my nasty tone. “That’s what LoveBet calls it when someone shows interest on their website. It’s one of their stupid little descriptors.”
I roll my eyes and rub my aching neck. My recent activities with MacKenzie seem to have strained my neck.
I grin again—the strained neck is well worth it.
I turned my attention back to the conversation.
“All right, I’ll see you over there in an hour—I want to personally supervise this operation.
” MacKenzie’s apartment is going to be as secure as technology and I can make it.
I click off the phone and check the time.
I’ve got just enough time to get to my place to shower and change.
If I call in my order to Mama Mabel’s, whatever the hell that place is, I should be able to pick it up on my way back to MacKenzie’s.
I call out to my Bluetooth, “Call Mama Mabel’s.” The phone rings about a dozen times before someone finally answers.
“What?” the woman shouts into the phone. It sounds like a freaking party at the other end.
I shout back, “I need an order to go.”
“You sure about that?” The woman cackles into my ear.
“I’m sure.”
“What you want, sugar?”
“Mac ’n’ cheese and fried chicken. Enough for six people.”
“All righty, be ready in fifteen minutes.”
I get the sense our call is over. “Uh, wait,” I yell again.
“Uh-huh? Whatcha need, sweetie?” She sounds like she’s about a hundred and fifty years old.
“Can you include some sides with that? Biscuits and butter, mashed potatoes with plenty of gravy, a couple of sides of vegetables. Anything you choose.”
“You sure you want all that food, baby doll?”
“I’m sure.” My guys can eat a lot of food.
“Well, best give me thirty minutes for that, sweetie. Gonna cost you. Cash only.” The call ends without another word.
I was hoping she’d tell me how much it was gonna cost me, but apparently not.
“Jesus, how much cash do I need?” At a stoplight, I pull out my wallet and open it.
I quickly count a little over five hundred in cash.
“Surely, that’s enough.” I chuckle at the notion that Mama Mabel’s would cost more than Alinea.
Not possible, because Alinea is really expensive.
I call out to my car again, “Find Mama Mabel’s.” My navigation system lights up, and I can see the place is located in the neighborhood just to the east of MacKenzie’s. I hit the gas so I can get home, shower, change, and get to Mama Mabel’s while the food is still hot.
When I pull up to MacKenzie’s place, I see our van and Gill’s pickup. We all get out at the same time. “Got everything?” I look at Gill.
“Yeah, I think so. She knows we’re doing this, right?”
“She knows we’re doing something. I’ll break the details to her gently.” I grab the bags of food from my car and walk around to the back of the house. I knock on the door and wait. I knock again. I wait again. I pull my phone out of my pocket and punch her code.
“MacKenzie. Open the door.” No response from my girl.
“MacKenzie? Open up.” Again, no response.
Setting down the bags of food, I walk back to where my guys are waiting. “Go ahead and get set up out here so we don’t lose the light. I want the motion lights up today. Gill? Camera?” As they disperse, I hear my phone vibrate.
“What are you doing here? I was asleep.” Mackenzie yawns into the phone.
“Open up, sweetheart. I’ve got food.”
I hear a squeal in the house and footsteps running up the steps to the door. “Mama Mabel’s?”
“You bet.”
Wrenching her crappy door open, she hugs me and announces, “I think I love you.” She pulls back and blinks up at me. Her cheeks are deep pink. “Sorry. I get really excited about food.” Almost as an afterthought, she announces, “I do like you a lot, though.”
I have to laugh. This woman is damned funny. “I like you a lot, too, goofball. Now, can I put this stuff down?” I waggle my eyebrows at her as I step past her to place the bags and the large box on the counter.
“I know I said I was starving, but I can’t eat all that. I’ll try, but I think it’s beyond even my capabilities,” Mackenzie says doubtfully.
“I bought enough for Lauren and you, plus my crew outside.” I look around. “Where is Lauren?”
“She’ll be here a little later,” she says absently. Raising one eyebrow, she adds, “Why is your crew outside?”
“They’re getting set up,” I say, attempting to deflect her from that subject.
“Set up for what?” Obviously, Mackenzie isn’t going to let me deflect.
“They’re here to install some motion-sensor lights outside.
We’re also changing the lock on your door.
” I point to the cheap lock. “That lock is all but worthless for providing any security. I’ve also ordered a new steel door to replace the wooden one, but that won’t be in until Wednesday.
This old door of yours isn’t safe; it’s insubstantial and it’s got a flimsy window in it.
Somebody could break that glass easily.” The new door is a Browning six-panel door.
It costs a pretty penny, but it’s the best door for the money.
“Sam, no. I don’t want you to do all of that. I can’t pay…. It’s too expensive.” She looks uncomfortable.
“Everything aside from the door is equipment we have lying around the warehouse. It doesn’t cost anything, so don’t worry about it.”
She studies my face like she’s wondering if I’m lying about the equipment. She sighs. “Okay, fine. But I’m paying for the door.”
“Sure thing, sweets.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Sam? I’d give you hell for this if I wasn’t starving and thought I could make it another minute without food. However, luck is on your side.” She glares at me unconvincingly. She’s damn cute when she’s being bossy.
Turning away, MacKenzie reaches into the box. She pulls out a large tin to-go casserole dish with a white cardboard top. She holds it up like she’s offering a sacrifice. “This innocuous pan holds the world’s best macaroni and cheese, Sam.” She grins naughtily. “It’s better than an orgasm.”
My head rears back. “Oh, sweetheart, there’s nothing better than an orgasm.”
But before I’ve even finished my sentence, she shoves a spoon of the warm, gooey, cheesy pasta into my mouth.
“Oh my God. It is good.” I reach for the spoon.
“Give me that spoon. That stuff is delicious.” I should have guessed from the crowd in the packed restaurant that the food must be good.
I dip the spoon into the pan again while she reaches for a huge spoonful of mac and cheese for herself.
“Just wait. Wait till you try the chicken,” MacKenzie mumbles with her mouth full.
Spooning in another bite, she turns her attention to the rest of the containers, pulling them out of the bags one by one.
She oohs and ahhs at each food container.
Holding another tin pan with a clear top, she looks up at me.
“You got biscuits?” She sighs like she’s won a thousand bucks.
“You’re a wonderful, wonderful man, Sam Stone.
You’re going to make someone an excellent wife someday. ”
I nearly choke on the bite of mac and cheese filling my mouth.
“A wonderful wife? Did you just say that?” I laugh heartily and pat her on the cheek.
“MacKenzie, where have you been all my life?” Putting my spoon down, I walk around the counter and pull her into my arms. “Seriously? Where have you been?” I lean down and kiss her cheesy lips.
I’d like to lick her lips, but I’m afraid she’d punch me for taking her cheese.
But she’s forgotten about the food. “Right here,” she whispers. “I’ve been right here.”
I kiss her lips again, gently. “I know. It took me a long time to find you.”
She pulls away from me, looking nervous. I think she’s feeling anxious about the serious turn the conversation has taken. Looking in the last bag, she says, “So, what else did you get? OMG. You got apple pie? Mama Mabel makes the greatest apple pie.”
I didn’t know I’d bought a pie, but maybe Mama Mabel threw it in as a bonus. I’m pretty sure the prices got marked up when she saw me get out of my SUV. This spread cost me $250. Plus, I tipped her another fifty—maybe that paid for the pie.
“Try this,” she says, jamming a piece of fried chicken into my hand. I take a bite and chew. I feel my eyes roll back into my head.
“Holy hell. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place. You’d think it would be on a list of Chicago’s best eateries. Or maybe the Midwest’s.”
“I know, right?” She takes a big bite of chicken, and before she’s done with that, she’s bitten into a buttery biscuit. I take the biscuit from her and do the same.
“Okay, the chicken and the biscuit together are the best flavor yet.”
She smiles at me between bites. I love that she’s comfortable eating in front of me.
I’ve always hated eating with women who are obsessed about their weight and total caloric intake.
It’s no fun to take a woman to dinner who picks at a tiny house salad while I devour a steak and baked potato.
Actually, it’s annoying as hell. I grin happily as I look over at her.
I’m so glad she’s a foodie. I am, too. Something we have in common.
Without thinking, I blurt out, “I love that you eat like a man.”
She stops chewing. Her face turns dark pink and her eyes glisten. Shit. I said the wrong thing. She turns and tosses her half-eaten chicken and biscuit into the trash. She doesn’t look at me. Wiping her fingers with a napkin, she walks into the living room. Her back is to me and she’s dead quiet.
“MacKenzie?” I ask as I put my own chicken on the counter.
“No. Don’t say anything. I’m embarrassed—I was eating like a pig.” She finally looks at me, but her eyes are wary. “Go tell your guys to come in and eat before it gets cold. I’ve got to, um, go do laundry. I’ll get out of your way so you can get your work done.”
“Babe?”
“Please, Sam,” she says softly. “Don’t.”
I nod at her but shake my head at myself as I watch her walk into her bedroom. “I’m such an idiot,” I mutter. I pull my phone out of my pocket and text my guys. Food.
In seconds, the door slams open and all three guys scramble down the steps. Only one hits his head on the pipe. That should teach him to miss it the next time.
“Boss, dude. This food is fantastic,” Tucker exclaims.
“Better than my mom’s,” adds Lewis.
MacKenzie returns to the main room with a basket of laundry. “Hey, guys,” she says with a smile. “I’m MacKenzie.”
“Hey, MacKenzie,” they all say in chorus.
“Thanks for doing all of, um, whatever it is you’re doing. I’ll feel a lot safer now.”
“Our pleasure,” replies Gill. “Your place is really cool, MacKenzie. Did you do all this work yourself?”
“No, my grandfather did it.” She smiles tremulously and takes a deep breath. “I’ll see you guys later. I’m going to throw this laundry in.”
I nod and smile at her, but she avoids looking at me.
I don’t ask where the laundry facilities are—since I’m the world’s biggest ass, I guess I’d better keep my questions to myself right now.
As MacKenzie heads up the stairs, I shake my head at myself.
I am the world’s biggest asshole. Definitely. No doubt. A world-class asshole.