Page 33 of Mac (Demented Souls #7)

After making his way to the opening, Mac listened a moment. There seemed to be only one person moving around. That would help but didn't reassure him. too much as for all he knew, the intruder had an automatic weapon with enough rounds to cut him and Elyse both in half.

A faint squeak and the light disappearing told Mac whoever was in the kitchen had closed the fridge. Now was the time. He needed to take every advantage he could. Mac made his move now, while whoever was in the kitchen's vision was compromised from the light.

Mac moved quickly, wishing he'd had time to call or to wait for backup, but Elyse was in danger and he couldn't wait.

He rounded the corner into the kitchen, careful to keep his back pressed against the wall, his weapon at the ready.

Until he knew exactly where the intruder was.

It didn't take him long to spot the man near the counter and quickly made sure there was no one else in the room.

"Freeze," Mac growled.His finger hovered along the edge of the trigger guard as he sighted along the barrel at the intruder's chest. "You chose the wrong house to rob, asshole." Mac stayed where he was. He needed to figure out if the man was armed and what he wanted before getting any closer.

"Rob?" the voice sounded confused. "I'm not robbing the place. Why would I rob it? I have a key."

Mac used one hand to flip on the lights while his other held the pistol steady on the intruder. They both blinked without moving for a few seconds as their eyes adjusted. After he could see clearly, Mac spoke again.

"Keep your hands where they are and turn around, slowly. No sudden moves."

The man in front of him did as he was told, slowly turning in place until he faced Mac. They intruder's eyes went wide as he spotted Mac, the pistol aimed at him. Mac didn't flinch.

"Who are you and what are you doing here at—" Mac glanced at a clock, "three in the morning?"

"My name is Dave. I had a late flight and just got back to town. I came to see my sister."

"Who's your sister?"

"Elyse Porter. She's been living in this house, with this furniture for almost a year."

Mac narrowed his eyes. He had been living next door longer than Elyse had been here.

He didn't recall ever having seen this man but hadn't been watching her place closely for most of that time.

She had said she had several brothers, including one she was particularly fond of, but he couldn't recall any of their names.

"A thasgaidh! " Mac shouted, "Come on out here.

" He would have gone and gotten her, but he didn't want to leave the stranger alone.

Not before he'd verified he was in fact Elyse's brother.

He hoped she would realize he wouldn't use the endearment unless it was safe for her to come out, otherwise he'd have to go get her.

That would mean taking the man with him and Mac didn't want to do that.

A few moments later, Mac heard the soft shush of her bare feet on the carpet. He hoped she'd thought to cover herself, but it was too late to say anything now.

"Dave, what are you doing here?"

"This is your brother then?" Mac didn't glance at her; he wasn't taking his eyes off the intruder until he was certain of who he was.

"Yeah. This is Dave, he's the next oldest." Her hand appeared on his arm, tugging it down gently so Mac no longer aimed his Glock at the intruder.

"Thanks for that." Dave was visibly relieved. "Now you think you can put some clothes on?"

Mac glanced down at himself and shrugged. "You don't want to see all of me, don't break into a house when I'm asleep." He shrugged and turned to go in the bedroom. "I'll be right back," he said to Elyse as he dropped a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

In the bedroom, he pulled his jeans on and put his pistol into the holster in the small of his back then called that good enough and went back out to join Elyse and her brother.

"Since when do you have someone sleeping over?" Mac heard Dave ask as he approached the kitchen.

"Since whenever I want. I am an adult, Dave, and not even a new one. I've been paying my own bills and doing what I want for a long time now."

"I know you have. But—" he cut himself off and shook his head as Mac stepped back into the kitchen.

"He's saying he doesn't approve of the old, tattooed biker who holds a gun on him."

"I didn't say that." Dave flushed but he also didn't say he hadn't meant it either.

Mac didn't blame him. If he had been in Dave's shoes things probably wouldn't have ended so calmly, then again, Mac had never had a sister to protect or not, much less several siblings. How could he know how he would react not knowing what kind of relationship they had?

"Back off, Dave." There was no arguing with Elyse's tone. She'd had enough and that was clear. "Hey," She stood and kissed Mac's cheek. "Thanks for trying to protect me, even if it was only my bonehead brother coming in late after forgetting to let me know he was coming."

"I said I was sorry." Dave at least had the grace to look guilty. "How was I to know you had an armed guard in your bed?"

Elyse laughed. "Maybe if you called once in a while, you would know what was going on in my life."

Dave frowned and took a bite of something. He'd taken something from the fridge before Mac had come into the room, but other than making sure it wasn't a weapon, Mac hadn't bothered to give it any attention. He must have heated it up while Mac changed because now it was hot and steaming.

"Mom called. Said something was wrong. Told me she'd talked to you, but you sounded off. Then she'd tried to call you at work, and they told her you'd called in. After that she called me, convinced you were dying or already dead. She insisted I come check on you."

"Because it makes perfect sense for you to fly in from out of state to check on me when she could drive a little over half an hour across town and check on me herself, especially after they’ve just returned from a trip where they drove all over the country to see the sites and visit their other children.

" The bitterness was clear in Elyse's voice.

"I get it. You know how Mom is. Never do for herself what she can bully someone else into doing for her."

Elyse shook her head and glanced at Mac.

He wasn't sure if it was to look for sympathy or just to see if he was watching her.

He was and he couldn't help but feel a little lost. His own parents had been gone longer than he'd had them and the last time he'd had to deal with family dynamics felt like a lifetime ago.

The closest he'd come was the relationships he'd formed with his brothers and some of the girls who hung around with the Souls.

He knew it wasn't the same, so he didn't try to offer advice.

If it was sympathy she was after, he could do that.

He glanced around for a chair, but her table only had two seats and between Elyse and her brother, they were both taken.

Elyse stood. "Here, you take mine."

Mac shook his head. There was no way he would take her seat and leave her standing.

Then he had an idea. Pushing the chair back a little so they had more room, he sat then wrapped his hands around Elyse's hips and tugged her down onto his lap.

She twisted around and gave him a look he didn't understand then turned back to her brother and kept talking.

Dave shot him a brief scowl then turned his attention back to Elyse, making a point to ignore where his sister sat.