The sweet girl shook her head and smiled. How wonderful it would be to see that smile turn into a scream.
“Just the front. Carlotta usually keeps only a cook and a waitress during slow hours. Mackenzie should be here in another thirty minutes.”
Half listening, he reached for her hand, imagining how easy it would be to crush the usefulness out of her fingers for life. Of course he didn’t. Had to keep up appearances. “Don’t work too hard.”
“Thanks. I know you’re the bank president of Wilde, but you don’t work too hard either, Mr. Winters.”
“Call me ‘Malcolm.’ I’ll try.” But he knew that was impossible. Loose ends needed to be tied up.
“Okay, Malcolm.”
He reached for his wallet and pulled out a bill. “Here. That should cover my ticket.”
“Let me get you some change,” she said, taking the Benjamin.
“No change, sweetheart. The rest is for you.”
She gasped. “You only had coffee.”
He leaned in and inhaled her innocent scent. How he wished he had more time to take her to his basement. His latest diversion wasn’t going to
last much longer. But time wasn’t a luxury he had. “The best cup of coffee I’ve ever had, Danielle. The best.”
She turned a bright shade of pink and looked down. His cock hardened as he pictured her locked away in his special place, with eyes full of pain and hopelessness. Too bad the clock was against him.
“Thank you, Mr. Wint—I mean Malcolm. Thank you.” Danielle turned and went to the two other customers left in the place.
He stood and headed out the door to the bank.
Angry drug lords weren’t his only troubles right now.
The goddamn Wildes were just one of his loose ends, Austin Wilde in particular. God, he hated that fucker.
The goddamn Strongs were another loose end he would have to wrap up. He’d been able to leverage the interest on the loan on their ranch to finance some of his activities.
The worst of the loose ends was one of the waitresses at Norma’s—Mackenzie. It might be best to take the bitch down to his basement for some fun. Turned out that Mackenzie was Kristen Mackenzie Green, investigative reporter from one of Denver’s most prominent newspapers—and the sister of Trent Green, the troublemaker Lester had brought him a few months ago.
Chapter Nine
Wyatt sat in the booth at Norma’s watching Mackenzie whirl around waiting tables. The place was packed, and she and Danielle, the other woman working the floor, were moving at a brisk pace. He and Wade had made a pact that one of them would keep an eye on Mackenzie at all times. It was too dangerous to leave her alone in town with a possible kidnapper on the loose in Wilde.
She looked directly at him with no-nonsense eyes. Clearly, she knew the score and wasn’t happy about it. To tease her, he held up his empty tea glass. He really didn’t want any more. Hell, he’d consumed so much tea in the past two hours, he gave some credence to the possibility his bladder might burst. But he wasn’t moving from this booth until Mackenzie was finished with her shift. Then, and only then, he would take her back to his and Wade’s place and take a long-overdue piss. Her safety was all that mattered to him now.
She shook her head and continued working her tables.
Crazy how protective he’d become with her. His norm usually bordered on bastard according to some of the subs he and Wade had shared. More than a couple had told him he didn’t even have a heart. But apparently they were wrong. His heart was thudding in his chest, readying his entire being to pounce should danger appear near Mackenzie.
Mackenzie grabbed the pitcher of tea and headed his way. Her slightly swaying hips mesmerized him like they’d done for the past two months. His lust for her was unimaginable and more powerful than ever, but his need to keep her safe was even more mind-boggling and so very potent.
“Any word from your brother about Austin?” she asked quietly while pouring more tea into his glass.
“Not yet. Relax. Wade knows a thing or two about the guy. Austin won’t be tipped off. You’ll see.”
The lie didn’t feel right on his lips. Lying wasn’t something that came easy for him unless necessary. Now it was definitely necessary. Mackenzie was putting herself in danger just by being here, especially if her suspicion about her brother was correct. Why was lying to her so hard? He didn’t want to lie to her. Ever. But now it was too important not to. She was not thinking clearly. Her brother was in danger—or dead.
“You know you don’t have to keep watch over me, Wyatt. I’m a big girl.”
He smiled and to tease her, dropped his gaze to her very ample and beautiful chest. “I can see that.”