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I lean down, kiss the big forehead her mom gave her, and murmur per the norm, “I’d die for ye, Mia.”
I stop from heading back to the garage where there’s blood and more DNA evidence in the trunk of my Audi.
“Dinnaepush it, Leith.” The deid lad will have to wait until later.
I head into my room for the shower. We live in a smart house with all the luxury we never needed. Rain spills in the massive shower.
As an application and software developer, I can buy pretty much anything my family needs. But my hen rarely asks for much. When Chevelle got pregnant, I got greedy, sought nothing but the best for our wee bairn.
In the snow, I’m numb to the perfect temperature. Massaging shower heads pelt down from all angles.
“Incoming call from Leith Mackenzie’s cellphone. Confirm action?” the virtual assistant announces through a speaker along the shower walls.
“Whose ringing?”
“Unknown.”
“Where is Mrs. Mackenzie?” I inquire.
“Mrs. Mackenzie’s status is on the rooftop of the Mackenzie home.”
“Answer. Volume low. Cut call if Mrs. Mackenzie enters house.”
Gritting my teeth, I jab the button to turn off the water. With the steam continuing to bellow into the shower, I settle on the Venetian plaster, legs planted wide.
A voice scrambler comes in loud and clear. “You got your hands bloody, Leith. I knew you had it in you.”
“You dinnae know shite about me,” I growl.
“When you took a position at Infinity Corp, I assumed it was to align your interests with mine for the sake of your family.”
The hot steam surely does not exceed my internal core. “Ye assumed I was operating on behalf of my clan. I’m a man apart from them.Dinnaethink that makes me weak or someone you can threaten.”
“Threatening you wasn’t my intention, Mr. Mackenzie. Though, I’m not a fan of assumptions, you’re right. I presumed you created an app for Infinity Corporation to have a bit of fun. We have access to so much data. All the power in the world is at the tips of our fingers.”
“I’m a good lad.” I grit every word. The steam not as hot as my internal temperature. I still feel the tips of my fingers pushing down the eyelids of the deid eejit from earlier.
The caller laughs at my hypocritical statement. “Sure. However, now I understand. You keep your families separated. The big, powerful one from the tiny, intimate one you have there.”
“You dinnae speak of them!” I snarl so hard spittle flies from my clinched lips.
“No. I shouldn’t have. We are now connected in so many ways. Me and a Mackenzie. Who would have thought it? Forgive me.”
“Leave me the feck out of it. I’m parting ties with ye.”
“You’re dissociating yourself with me? Tell me, Mr. Leith Mackenzie, what’s my name?”
My eyelids twitch, fingers clamp along the edge of the shower seat. The name behind the automated voice is beyond me.
“I take it you’re not aware of who I am?” A clipped snigger comes through the line.
I bite my tongue, let ‘em keep talking, and he does.
“That’s okay, Mr. Mackenzie. My identity isn’t important. Earlier, you were quite the hitman. You may have thought that nobody was around.”
“Next, yer gonna say that yer bloody everywhere?” I snort.
“Everywhere that matters. I saw your patience when you attempted to deescalate Mr. Morimoto. You had no idea why he was angry, then you defended yourself as is your right as an American citizen. First shot to his kneecap—such a courtesy. But the one straight between the eyes, priceless. I can appreciate a person who knows their way around a gun.”
