Without Fear - Reese Knightley Page 0,36

was see-through and matched the freshly painted fingernails. The small, silver nipple rings showed through the mesh and matched the rings adorning several slender fingers. Macy’s long, dark hair was loose and flowing down his back. He’d outlined his eyes with black and the pink lip gloss made his lips appear fuller, if that were possible.

Logan stumbled to his feet just as Jaxon let out a wolf whistle. He threw a scowl at the man, who held up his hands with a laugh.

Reaching Macy, Logan took the young man’s hand. “You look beautiful,” he said lamely.

Macy’s eyes filled with light. “Yeah?”

“Oh yes.” How could Macy doubt his appeal? Logan wanted to drop to his knees and worship the man’s brains and beauty.

“Some people think it’s too much.” Macy’s teeth tugged on his bottom lip.

“They’re stupid,” he husked, fingering a few of the long strands of dark hair that fell over Macy’s shoulder before taking the black wool coat from the man’s hand and sliding it up his arms.

“I’m underdressed.” He looked down at his blue jeans, gray, long sleeved shirt, and black leather jacket.

“Don’t you dare change clothes,” Macy muttered and moved his hands over where the t-shirt clung to his chest. The silver rings on Macy’s fingers glittered. Logan flexed beneath the man’s touch and nodded.

Fuck. If only this was an actual date. They had never gotten to finish the date they’d started.

After they caught this bastard, he was taking Macy out for real. Perhaps, he’d fly them up to San Francisco and have dinner in his hotel.

“Ready?” Macy said and turned to the team.

Macy

The restaurant was a new one in town, and one that he’d wanted to try for a while. Only, he hadn’t visited the place because it was geared for an intimate date night crowd.

Now that he had a date, he stepped inside and looked eagerly around. He didn’t care if the date was part of a mission. When Logan linked their fingers, it felt all too real to him.

The inside was softly lit with candles flickering and tables draped in red. Scents of spices filled the air and his stomach growled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten.

The waiter sat them at a secluded table at the back. From this spot, both he and Logan could see the entrance.

Hayden, along with Jett, was flirting with the female bartender across the dimly lit room while the rest of the team was somewhere outside. Whip and Stanton were having dinner at a table across the restaurant.

With all the expertise there, it should be enough to take Siegel down. If Siegel showed up. Honestly, Macy wasn’t sure how much longer the bureau would fund the stakeouts.

“Looks like Siegel isn’t going to make his move here.”

Logan’s voice drew his gaze and he sighed.

“Probably not.” He lifted his menu. “And anyway, I hate putting Crumpet in such a dangerous situation.”

“You’re not doing that,” Logan replied with a stern look.

Macy huffed and gave a small grimace.

“It’s true. You didn’t ask for this. Sure, you went undercover to get dirt on the guy, but Siegel’s the one who pulled the trigger.”

And killed Frank. His mouth pulled down. Frank’s funeral was the next day. With no living relatives, Macy had taken responsibility for Frank. He’d found a plot in the small local cemetery. Frank had loved Crumpet. It seemed only fitting to lay him here to rest.

“The crazy part is that Tony thought I’d come back to his family.” He shook his head. “As if. He never imagined that I was undercover.”

“Tell me.” Logan reached and laced their fingers together over the tabletop. “You never told me what happened between you and your stepfather.”

“He used to beat my mother.”

“But she left him, right?”

He nodded. “When I was seventeen, she packed our clothes and moved here to Crumpet. That’s when she changed our name to get away from him.”

“It’s not easy to change a name.”

“My mom had connections in Vegas who helped her.”

“She sounds like a smart lady.”

“She is.”

Logan didn’t ask anything more. The man kept the gentle hold of his hand and took a sip of wine.

Macy took a tiny sip too. They had to keep up appearances of a real date.

“Mom moved back to Vegas when I turned eighteen.”

“You didn’t want to go with her?”

“No. I rebelled when she moved back there.”

“Most kids rebel at some point.”

Keeping his voice low, he whispered, “When Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Channing found out that Tony Siegel’s stepson was in the FBI, he called me to