“I saw all the guns and money,” she paused, her eyes scanning his, “in your drawers.”
What the fuck? Was she snooping through his shit?
“I was looking for a tee shirt when I couldn’t find mine and came across them. What do you do, Derk?” her voice wavered, and her eyes glassed over with tears she blinked back.
“Shhh,” he said, his gut clenching.
Well, wasn’t that feeling new? He didn’t like seeing Mac upset.
“You do illegal work, don’t you?”
He sighed, resigned. How could he explain without putting her in danger of knowing too much? “I do freelance work for wealthy businessmen. Though I do a lot of work for a man named Derrick Murphy. He’s a very powerful man with many powerful connections. I do things like find information for him online or help escort his wife to places and functions.”
Her brows slid together as she frowned. “You’re a bodyguard.”
Derk huffed. “No. Not even close.”
Mackenzie reached up and ran a light finger down the center of his chest, her feather touch felt like it left a burn in its wake. Torching him to his core. Fuck him.
“Please, Derk, you need to explain,” she said softly. “If you don’t, tonight will be our last night together. I can’t get involved with someone who’s into illegal activities. I can’t go through another relationship where I get hurt.”
“Mac, first, I won’t allow anything to happen to you. Ever. I’ll protect you above anything and everything,” he said and meant it. Never in his life had he spoken those words to a woman. But with M, he’d take a damn bullet for the woman. Another first. She had him in knots and he despised the feeling.
He ran a hand down his face as his mind raced. What did he tell her? What could he trust her with? What could he say that wouldn’t have her hop out of his bed and leave him, essentially putting him through another mind fuck? God, this woman managed to turn his world upside down in the matter of a short six weeks. How the hell had he let that happen?
He sighed and closed his eyes. “Like I said, I do extensive work for Mr. Murphy, in fact, I can introduce you to him this weekend. He’s having a small get together to try and bring his wife out of a depression. Her father recently passed away, and she’s taking it extremely hard.”
“Oh, that’s so sad,” Mackenzie said sympathetically.
“You’ll like Mrs. Murphy, she’s terrific. A great woman, strong as hell. In a way, you remind me of her.”
“I do?”
He opened his eyes and stared down at her. “Yeah, you’re mentally strong, independent, and know what you want.”
“I’ll argue that point.”
“So will I.” He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.
“Do you sell drugs?”
“No.” He didn’t. Drug dealers were small fries for his skill level.
“Do you steal?”
“No.” He only collected what belonged to whoever hired him out.
“Do you beat people up?”
“Only men who owe money. Men who know they owe money and have tried to scam their bosses out of what they borrowed.”
“You’re a loan shark.”
He burst out laughing. “No, honey, loan sharks are minor punks.”
Her eyes grew wide as saucers. “If you’re saying those type of men are nothing, then what exactly do you do?”
She bolted out of bed, her warmth gone with the chilled room air whipping around his skin. He didn’t like it.
Mackenzie paced around the bedroom, scanning for her clothing.
“Mac, get back into bed.” He wasn’t playing around any longer. This game needed to end.
“You….you…” she stammered.
“You have no idea what I do because I haven’t told you shit. I don’t sell guns, drugs, or women. I don’t loan money. I work for successful businessmen who are savvy and you don’t mess with them. Do we live by our own rules? Yes. Do we uphold the law? Not even close. But there’s one thing I can tell you. We take care of our own. Those we’re close to, we protect fiercely. We’re a tight knit group, Mac. We’re a large family. Smith, my partner, is my best friend. I can count on that man to have my back no matter the situation. Mr. Murphy, if I ever needed anything, he’d be there in a heartbeat. Mrs. Murphy would give me blood if I needed it. Every family has their dark secrets. But as opposed to most families, we don’t turn our backs on each. What it means is that we stick together through thick and thin,” he said, becoming a bit irritated with the fact she wanted him to admit to something he could never confess to her.