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“You’re going to regret this, Willa. I’m going to make sure of it.”
Mac raised his hand, and at the first blow, he heard her inhale sharply and could just see her bite her lower lip. The second strike made her yelp, which only served to inflame him. He increased the tempo and the strength of the swats. She struggled, but his superior strength and the anger that fueled it were more than enough to thwart her efforts.
Mac rained blow after blow over her rear end, ensuring when he was done, her backside would be red, swollen, and painful. She thrashed, but it did nothing to improve her position or dissipate his anger as he spanked her hard and thoroughly. When every inch of her luxurious bottom was covered in handprints, he moved down to catch her sit spots, then to the tops of her thighs.
“Mac, please!” she cried out. “I’m sorry. I learned my lesson. I won’t do it again.”
“Oh, I’ll make damn sure of that. Keep in mind, Cowgirl, I warned you what I’d do to you if you misbehaved…” He swatted her twice more, then allowed her to gain her feet.
“Get dressed. The chopper should be here any time.”
As he finished speaking, he heard the distinctive sound of helicopter blades as it crested the butte, landing nearby. John arrived at their destination before they did.
“Mac. Don’t do this,” she begged.
“We can follow the tire tracks without you, and this way, I won’t have to worry about you.” He turned to John. “Take her to the safe house in Chandler. Put together a full detail—two men on, two men off, and someone to monitor the security cameras. If Eastwick has become more mobile, I want to make sure she’s protected.”
“I’ll keep her safe, Mac.”
Mac drew her roughly into his embrace and kissed her thoroughly.
“Now, get on that chopper and go to the safe house. If you behave, we’ll call it done. If not, I swear I’ll make you wish you had.” He helped her in and buckled her seat belt. “John, can you sit with her? She doesn’t like helicopters, so tell the pilot to take it easy.”
“I’ll take care of her, Mac. You catch Eastwick, then come take care of your cowgirl.”
Mac backed off, holding the reins of all three horses, and watched the chopper lift off. Willa raised her hand to wave to him, and he did the same. As it flew out of sight, Gus rode up.
“Your boys are breaking camp. Where are we headed?”
“Tire tracks. Willa says Eastwick has ditched the horses, which makes some sense. I sent Willa and John to the safe house. She’s going to learn to mind, Gus.”
“If anyone can manage that, Marshal, it’s you.” The old man clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s get to camp and have something to eat before we head out.”
The chopper put more distance between Willa and Mac. Her emotions were all over the place. On the one hand, her ass hurt, and she was angry with Mac for spanking her. On the other, she wasn’t all that sure, from his point of view, it wasn’t deserved. And if she’d had a third hand, she’d use it to enumerate being concerned he was out chasing down a fugitive who had already murdered two people.
John reached over and squeezed her hand. “He’ll be all right. He warned you what he’d do if you didn’t mind him.”
“That’s not it. I’m not happy about it at the moment, but I’m mostly worried about him. Eastwick is a killer.”
“He’s good at his job, Willa. Fact is, he’s the best at what he does. The SOG’s success rate has skyrocketed with Mac at the helm. There’s been a rumor floating around the agency, they may be moving their base of operations from Louisiana. My guess is that was going to be Mac’s first move toward getting you back.”
She returned his smile. “He intimated to me this thing with Eastwick had accelerated plans he’d been making.”
“You are happy about this, right? I mean you and Mac?”
She nodded. “Not sure I’m happy about the current dynamic in our relationship…”
“Behave yourself, and it won’t be much of an issue,” he teased.
“Can’t you protect me at home?”
“Nope. You’re a material witness. That means a safe house. Come on, the house in Chandler isn’t bad, and I’ll make sure the teams are made up of folks you’ll like.”
“And I’m stuck because Mac says so.”
“I’m afraid so. He’s not taking any chances with your safety, and I don’t blame him one bit. We’ll take the chopper to Mesa, where the detail will meet us with two SUVs to take us to Chandler.”
She sighed and settled in for the ride. When they landed, Willa was impressed with the low-key efficiency of the marshals assigned to her detail. At the house in Chandler, one SUV was parked inside the barn, hidden from sight, the other left out where it could be seen.
