“Mac.”
“Just hear me out, okay?” She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “This isn’t me being stubborn or pigheaded. If we want our guy to make a move, he’s not going to do it with you two nipping at my heels. Besides...” She licked her lips. “I’d really like a few minutes to say goodbye to old ghosts, and I need to be able to do that alone.”
Coop looked like he wanted to argue, but Trevor didn’t give him the chance.
“She has a point.”
Coop looked over at their teammate. “Seriously, man. Positiveandagreeable?”
Trevor held up his hands. “Hey, man. I’m only agreeable when I agree with something. In this case, I agree with Mac. If our target is watching her, they’re not going to do shit while we’re around. There’s a set of coms in the car we can use. That way, she can holler for help if she needs it.”
“I don’t know.” Coop’s stare became uneasy. “I saw pictures of Moretti’s house when I was looking him up. It’s pretty big, and if she gets into trouble—”
“I won’t hesitate to use my weapon,” she assured him. “Or, if I can’t, I’ll call for backup immediately. Come on, Coop.” She tightened her hold again. “This is no different than any other undercover op.”
“You know that isn’t true.” He squeezed her hand back.
Trevor put a hand to Coop’s shoulder. “I think we need to trust her on this one.”
A muscle in his handsome jaw twitched. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. But so help me, something happens—”
“I’ll be fine.” Mac put a hand to his chest. “I promise.”
Minutes later, Mac was turning into the familiar drive. She put the car in park as she reached the closed gate and sat there, staring up at the beautiful house of horrors.
It was ridiculous how sick she felt simply from being on the property again. This wasn’t like when she was younger. Her uncle was gone, and she didn’t see any other cars.
Plus she had a gun and her training backing her up.
That’s not all you have.
The tiny voice was right. She had Coop and Trevor. They weren’t just part of her team. They were part of her family.
“You okay, Mac?”
Coop’s voice hit her ear, and Mac realized she’d been staring for a full minute. Blinking away the bad memories, she rolled down her window and entered the code. “Yeah. I’m good.”
When the gate began to open, she slowly rolled the car forward, parking directly in front of the home’s elaborate entrance. With the keys in hand, she walked up to the large, double doors and lifted her trembling hand to insert the key.
She’d read once that the sense of smell was one of the strongest triggers for memory a person had. In that moment, she knew this to be true.
Smelling the familiar scent of stained wood and dirty money, Mac forced herself to take steady breaths as she made her way across the marble tiles. Like the rest of the house, the entryway had always seemed so cold and uninviting.
Probably a purposeful touch designed by her coldhearted uncle.
For the first few minutes inside, she simply walked around, going from room to room as a way of facing those demons she’d mentioned earlier. As suspected, the house appeared to be empty, which allowed Mac the ability to take her time and move at her own pace.
Everything looked and felt the same. It was almost as if time had stood still, almost like the world had stopped for the house and everything in it as it waited for her return.
“We’re in.” Coop spoke through the com. “Front’s clear. Checking the perimeter.”
“Copy that,” she responded. “So far, the house is clear. Heading upstairs now.”
“We’re here if you need us.”
Mac smiled as she made her way down the upstairs hallway and into her old room. With a turn of the knob, she opened the door, a sense of unsettling nostalgia hitting her as she realized it looked exactly as it had the day she left.
In all these years, her uncle hadn’t changed a single thing. Her old notebook and pen were still on her nightstand where she’d left it. She used to doodle in it when she couldn’t sleep.
