Page 31 of Seizing Mack
Chapter Fifteen
~ Nick ~
The morning after theirnon-meet, Nick got up extra early with a plan in mind. He hit up Ground Zero and bought two coffees with the intention of giving one to Mack as a peace offering. With any luck, they could share a few moments together before he went into work. Not only did he want to apologize in person, but he also wanted to explainwhyhe’d been late. Jesse’s call was a direct result of his involvement with the teen program, and since Mack had been instrumental in making that happen, he wanted her to feel good about that.
Mack wasn’t manning the front desk when he entered; a fresh-faced young woman sporting a healthy tan was. He didn’t need his shield to deduce that she was the eloping receptionist. Her radiant glow said it all.
“Hi! I’m Chrissy. Welcome toSeize!” She spoke quickly and with a natural ebullience.
“Good morning. Is—” He didn’t get the chance to ask if Mack was around before she barreled forward.
“You’re Nick Benning, aren’t you? I saw your file. Your two-week trial is just about up. How do you like it so far? You love it, right?”
“Yes, it’s—”
“It’s awesome, I know!” She grinned, showcasing a set of deep-set dimples. “Ooo, is that from Ground Zero? They have thebestcoffee. I stopped on my way in this morning and got their Morning Motivator with an extra turbo shot. It’s a real eye opener!”
No kidding, he thought, fighting the urge to chuckle. “Is Mack around?”
She looked from his face to the cup and back to his face, her eyes acquiring a knowing (and approving) gleam as realization dawned. “She was just here a minute ago. Want me to page her?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.” He grabbed a felt pen from the desk and wrote “Do over?” on the side of the heavy paper cup, then handed it to the young woman. “If you see that she gets this, I’d appreciate it.”
Chrissy looked at what he’d written, her smile growing to epic proportions. “I will.”
Leaving a “gift” for Mack at the front desk was a risky move, but the starry-eyed newlywed receptionist might provide the extra nudge that would get Mack to agree to give him another chance.
...Or it could backfire in a major way.
Regardless, Nick’s instincts told him he’d have to step up his game if he wanted to get to know the enigmatic owner better, and he did, so...
Sipping his coffee (which was pretty damn amazing), he drove over to the station. He’d already started compiling dossiers on members of the Necromancers MC, but he didn’t recall coming across any information on a “Zeke”. Then again, most of the information was from a few years earlier and sketchy at best. When he questioned Kent Emerson about it, Emerson shrugged and said there was no need because the club kept a low profile.
Nick wasn’t sure if that mindset was rooted in naivete, ignorance, or just plain laziness. Regardless, his opinion of Emerson dropped another notch. If the guy put as much time and effort into his work as he did into chasing tail, he would have recognized the threat the Necromancers posed.
Of course, it helped when one knew what to look for. With a few targeted searches, Nick was able to gather enough information to suggest the club was more than an isolated, small-town operation. Within a couple hours, Nick had compiled a list of possible connections to some big names, names that he knew from his stint in Chicago and before that, Seattle.
He shared some of what he found with the chief, who agreed that the club warranted a closer look. Before he left, Sam commended him on bringing about a peaceful resolution to the Jesse Walker situation.
“That could have been a real shit show,” Sam told him candidly. “Jesse’s been trouble for as long as I can remember,” adding, “I’m glad to hear his son is taking a different path.”
Nick was, too.
After putting out some calls, Nick was surprised to see how much time had passed. Once he started digging, he often lost track of time. He stood up and stretched, wincing when his joints protested with audible pops. While he was waiting to hear back from his contacts, he figured it was as good a time as any to check in with the kids and squeeze in a quick workout. And this time, he would make sure his path crossed with Mack’s.
The leggy blonde — Delilah — was at the reception desk when he entered. Nick had seen her aroundSeizeseveral times; she seemed to gravitate toward areas with a heavy concentration of men. He tried to avoid her whenever possible, but like the proverbial bad penny, she kept showing up.
Today she was wearing her usual scowl, paying more attention to her phone than the customers coming and going. He thought he’d be able to slip by unnoticed, but in a classic case of bad timing, she looked up as he was making his way across the lobby.
“Detective!” she purred. She rose from the chair in a move of smooth, feminine grace. Her eyes burned with predatory interest as she leaned over the desk, showcasing her low-cut, skin-tight top. “It’ssonice to see you again.”
‘Nice’ wasn’t the word he would choose. She reminded him too much of Eve Sanderson. Not just in physical appearance, but in behavior as well. She had the same calculating gleam and used her feminine assets to get what she wanted.
Based on what he’d heard, she often did.
In fact, Delilah was a common topic in the men’s locker room. He wasn’t the only one she’d flirted with. Several had openly wondered why Mack — who reputedly had zero tolerance for that kind of thing — didn’t fire her outright. That was when one of the guys revealed that Delilah was actually Mack’s stepsister, and the only reason she kept Delilah around was as a personal favor to her father.
Nick felt a flash of irritation on Mack’s behalf. If that were true (and he had no reason to believe it wasn’t), that was a hell of a situation to put someone in, family or not.
