Marking What's Mine (A Marksman's Tale Book 1) Read online

  “Then tell me what’s bothering you.”

  He turned to me, making no attempt now to hide his sulking. “You might have caused me a relationship with Mac.”

  I choked on the apple juice and developed a coughing fit. “What?” I croaked out, wiping my eyes with the back of my hands. “What are you talking about?” Had Mac already told him the truth about us? Last night when I’d entered the house, Paulie was in his bedroom and we didn’t see each other before this morning.

  “Yeah, you were quite rude yesterday,” he answered. “And spare me the fake story about having to get some stuff. You didn’t get home until Mac was gone. He almost left, thinking you didn’t want him around, but I talked him into staying.”

  “Why are you complaining? I gave you privacy.”

  He scoffed. “Little good that did me. I tried to kiss him, but I think he only allowed it because he didn’t want me to feel bad. He left shortly after, like a few minutes before you walked in the door.”

  I ignored the satisfaction I felt at his words. Mac had been telling the truth that he wasn’t the one who had done the kissing. It was a relief to know he wasn’t the kind of guy who would sleep with two brothers merely hours apart. Some guys would do it if just for the fun. My ex would have done it and felt smug about it too.

  “You just met the guy,” I told him. “Don’t you think you’re expecting too much to happen in such a short time?” Hypocritically, I realized Mac and I had moved faster. We ended up in bed in within an hour after meeting.

  “Hmm, maybe you’re right.”

  “I’m sure I am.” I squeezed his shoulder. “See you later, and all the best in that interview.”

  Although I had the option of using a take-home patrol car, I’d turned down the privilege and drove my own car to work. The police station was located on Magnolia Road, Charlestown just a fifteen-minute drive from where I lived. I’d been working there for almost twenty years since I graduated the Academy the year I turned twenty-one. I had always known this would be my career path. Lately, I had been wondering though if it was time to retire. I still had some years left in me, but my best friend and partner’s death had hit me hard. As a small town, we didn’t lose police officers often and not in such a brutal way. I had only accepted the promotion to Captain because everyone expected it of me, and I tried not to shirk from my responsibilities.

  I parked in my designated spot and entered the main building of the red-bricked structures that made up the police station. I grunted good morning to the officers who were already on duty and didn’t stop for chatter. The officers, all knowing my moods by now, didn’t even pay me any mind. I was more of the silent type, but the station was a relaxed atmosphere where they could run their jokes while remaining in line with our rules. The job was already a stressful one so unwinding was essential. Maintaining a healthy relationship with each other was the best way to get the job done.

  Richard and I would have been the longest serving members working at our precinct. The transfer rate from our small police station was high mostly because there were officers who wanted more excitement of working in big city jurisdictions. I had a brief stint working at the headquarters in Downtown, San Diego just before I was promoted as Captain. As this town became more diversified and more people settled here, we were a long way from the force I had joined nineteen years ago. We now had a drugs problem we were trying to get to the bottom of. Wherever drugs found its way other related problems such as gun violence was sure to follow.

  “Is Davidson in?” I asked, remembering the rookie who would be joining us today.

  “He’s in the breakroom,” Burns, a female officer in her late twenties answered. “You know he can’t miss the coffee and donuts.”

  We all contributed to a fund that took care of snacks in the breakroom. Because of the nature of the job, it could be hard-pressed for us to get away sometimes to eat. Davidson helped himself to more than his share. At first, I thought this would probably draw concerns from the other members of the team, but they were good-natured about it. He always joked that he had to live up to his expectations of a cop with all the donuts he wolfed down daily. To the rest of us, we realized it was his solace after his recent divorce from his wife.

  “Ask him to stop by my office before going out for patrol, please,” I told Burns.

  “Sure thing, Cap’n.”

  After a year and a half, it still sounded odd to hear myself referred to as Captain. I might never get used to it, especially if I followed my gut and resigned from the force.

  Once in my office, I left the door open a crack for Davidson, and with a sigh took my position at my desk. I powered on the computer and waited for it to turn on about four minutes before I logged onto the internal server to check my emails. This was the regular routine for me after a free day, playing catch-up with reports of what happened while I was away.

  A knock sounded on the door, and I glanced up as Davidson entered. I seriously had to have a talk to him one of these days about the donuts. He was putting on weight, and if he added a pound more he would bust out of his uniform. I couldn’t have our team members not in top shape. That could spell potential trouble for all involved. A chain was indeed as strong as the weakest link.

  “Morning, Captain,” he greeted me as he approached my desk. “Burns said you wanted to see me?”

  “Yes, take a seat, Davidson. This shouldn’t be long.” I unlocked my top drawer and removed the brown envelope that had been sent to me of the rookie’s transfer. The seal was still not broken. “I mentioned on Friday that we’d have a newbie on our team today. I am teaming him up with you.”

  “Me?” he asked with a groan. “Come on, Captain. Can’t you pair him off with Miller? I already have a partner.”

  “I was thinking you’d have a good influence on him, Davidson.” I glanced at his hands which still looked sticky from the donuts. He had left the break room straight for my office without making a stop at the bathroom. I tried not to grimace at him touching my desk.

  “Perhaps you’re right and I should give him to Miller.” For all his cockiness, Miller was a great substitute for Davidson. He would make the new guy feel welcomed. He was a social person and usually well-liked, even with all his cocky attitude. He was rumored to be fond of both men and women although I didn’t give much credence to gossip.

  “Do you want me to send him in?” Davidson asked, getting to his feet eagerly.

  “Yeah, sure. That would be nice.”

  He left grinning, relieved he didn’t have to take on the rookie.

  “Let’s see what we have here,” I murmured and tore the seal of the envelope open. I had just reached inside and removed the documents, placing them on the desk when there was a sharp knock on the door.

  “Come on in,” I answered without looking up, certain it was just Miller. I straightened out the slightly creased stack of papers and took a stock of the name printed in bold at the top of the form.

  Officer Julian MacKenzie

  Frowning, I checked the photo that was pinned to the transfer form, having a sense of déjà vu. Holy shit, and they said lightning didn’t strike in the same place twice! Then what was the possibility of it happening three times?

  “Captain, Officer Julian MacKenzie reporting for duty.”

  I glanced up from the paper to the man who haunted my dreams, my home, and now my office. I almost laughed out at the impossibility of all this happening. How could I end up so unlucky that my Mac from the weekend and my Mac from last night was now standing in front of me dressed in uniform, reporting for work under my command. And he looked damn good too in the dark blue of his tactical gear. Even while being shocked to see him, I was pleased at how he cleaned up and made his uniform presentable. His shirt looked crisp, and the creases in both legs of his pants were sharp. His black shoes were so shiny I was certain if I looked I would be able to see my reflection there.

  I returned my gaze to his face to see if he was dealing with the news better t
han me. He wore a strained smile but kept his posture, proud and erect, his head held high. Good, he was being professional. I had to do the same. I rose to my feet and extended my hand toward him for the third time since we met.

  “Captain Connor Marks,” I formally introduced myself. “Welcome to the Charlestown Police Department.”

  Without so much as a flinch, he gripped my hand in a firm handshake. I kept my face passive and ignored that same awareness that ran through us every time we touched. I had no control over his relocation. Even if I wanted to request that he be transferred, I would be asked to give a valid reason. I didn’t think that mentioning us spending the weekend in bed would help either of our cases. I went outside our town for a purpose, and that wasn’t to make it known how I invited lovers to my bed.

  “Hey, Cap’n!” Miller announced, barging into the office with that confident swagger of his. I immediately released Mac— no, Officer MacKenzie’s hand and I saw them fold into fists at his side. “Davidson told me you wanted me to take on a rookie?”

  I pulled my gaze away from Mac— fuck, there was no way Officer MacKenzie was going to catch on in my head. I focused on Miller to pull my thoughts away from Mac and what his presence meant.

  “Miller, thanks for joining us,” I greeted him officially. “There’s someone I want you to meet, Officer Mac-Kenzie,” I quickly corrected myself and was relieved Miller didn’t notice, but I didn’t dare look at Mac. “Officer MacKenzie was transferred from…” I glanced to Mac for guidance because I still hadn’t read his file yet.

  “Guyston Police Department,” he answered.

  I nodded at him and gestured toward Miller. “This is Officer Miller. You’ll be working with him, so your shift will be aligned to his. Miller, will you show him around and introduce him to the rest of the staff? Get him up to date with our private practices.”

  “Sure thing, Captain,” Miller replied, then grinned at Mac in that lazy way of his he claimed was sexy. “I think first on our stop is the breakroom. If we’re lucky there may still be some donuts left.”

  “Miller,” I called to him when he and Mac were at the door. Both men turned toward me, but I concentrated on Miller. “Remind everyone about the fundraiser, please. It would be good if we can find some ideas to make at least what we did last year.”

  He tipped an imaginary hat and stepped aside to let Mac walk ahead of him. I scowled to find him staring at Mac’s rear. Thankfully, he didn’t look back and see me but continued out and closed the door.

  “Fuck!” I exclaimed, finally able to let out all the steam I had been holding. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Mac was one of my men. How the hell would I go about ignoring the history between us when the history wasn’t even all that long ago? I had to find a way. There could never be a repeat of the weekend or last night. Mac was now under my command. I groaned at the stirring in my cock at the thought. I very much wanted him under my command. In my bed.

  Chapter Nine

  The first person my gaze landed on was Mac as I entered the breakroom where we were having our meeting. It always was Mac. For the past two weeks I had no idea how I kept my shit together while running this police department. I was already running low on sleep which was dangerous in the kind of job I had. He fit in with the other guys easily, his vibrant personality and ready smile earning him friends rather fast.

  I had no complaint with him whatsoever about his dedication to his job. As a rookie, I expected him to mess up, but he never did. As a team, he worked well with Miller and got the job done. His reports were always done before he left for the day. I wished some of the older guys would adopt his work ethics. He didn’t spend a minute over lunch and didn’t complain about staying back to take his part in administrative chores that were passed from one team member to another daily. He took everything in stride, and I loved that about him.

  In the breakroom, he was seated, and a group of guys were around him, chatting and laughing. He glanced up as the door opened and I entered. It was a wonder everyone else hadn’t figured out yet that we had something going on. Despite keeping a professional distance between us, I saw the way he watched me because it was the same way I watched him. The heat that traveled between us threatened never to die and that worried me. How much more of this sexual tension between us could I take? It was either going to end up with us in bed one of these days or one of us would have to quit the office. I even toyed with the thought of asking him to request a transfer although it wouldn’t look good on his record since he just moved here. He just bought a home next door to me. No way was he going to give all that up just because his presence made me uncomfortable.

  I wouldn’t have minded working with him then going home to unwind. Except that wasn’t the way it turned out at all. I went home to a second bout of Mac living next door. Despite him saying he wouldn’t hit on my brother, they got along well. When Paulie wasn’t at his house I would find them at mine. They had bonded over videogames and a love for Sci-Fi flicks. I usually ignored them or tried to.

  I called the meeting to order, Burns took the minutes and we discussed housekeeping matters, the routine stuff. Officer MacKenzie was formally welcomed to the precinct since this was our first meeting since his arrival. I handled that well enough, but being constantly aware of his eyes on me didn’t make my job easy. I found myself fiddling with the top buttons of my uniform as my throat constricted.

  “Lastly, our fundraiser for donations to the children’s hospital,” I said, hoping the relief was kept out of my tone. “Anyone have any ideas?”

  We had some pretty bad ideas from the group which sent everyone guffawing with laughter. I even cracked a smile.

  “How about an auction?” Miller suggested, which was the best idea we had. “We can all chip in and contribute something of our own, properly advertise it to the town, and we may make a lot.”

  “Not bad, Miller,” I acknowledged. “What do you guys think?”

  Everyone was nodding. The entire community looked forward to what we came up with for our fundraiser. We usually had a lot of support, and I’d like to think it made us better individuals for it. It also helped us to interact with the community in another type of service that didn’t include driving fear into the hearts of the people of cops.

  I was about to settle on Miller’s idea when a hand in my peripheral vision raised. I didn’t need to look to tell whose hand it was. I couldn’t ignore him though, so I schooled my features and acknowledged him.

  “Officer MacKenzie?”

  He flushed a little, and my breath hitched. Thankfully, all the other officers were looking at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. Didn’t he know that rookies kept their mouths shut, especially in their first meeting? They observed and learned how things were done. This was not to be the case with Mac. He was a guy who genuinely liked to help.

  “I’m thinking that perhaps we could modify the auction idea a bit,” he answered, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and his eyes full of eagerness. “What if we didn’t sell things?”

  I frowned at him. “Then what would we sell?”

  “Officers.”

  I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

  “I mean, what if we put ourselves up for auction and have members of the community bid on us?” he continued, glancing around him at the other officers who were eating up his words. “I think it’s safe to say that the majority of us would fetch a decent penny. We’d render our services to whoever buys us for a day.”

  Heat filled my face because there was only one service I could see myself buying him to render.

  “I like that idea,” Burns remarked. “I think that may bring in more revenue than the dusty old trinkets of ours that we’d give to the auction to sell. I know a few women who would pay handsomely to get their hands on Miller.”

  Miller preened under the compliment. “I could be persuaded to part with some cash to buy a certain member of our department as well.” He winked at Mac flirtatiously.

  The others laugh
ed but nodded excitedly in agreement. I didn’t like where this was going at all.

  “Do we have enough officers for an auction?” I asked, hoping they would see how nonsensical this idea was. Having officers being auctioned off to the public? Next, they would expect me to volunteer myself for auction. I couldn’t see that happening.

  “Why not ask neighboring precincts if they can have some of their officers to volunteer?” Liam Weatherby suggested. “That way we’ll have some new faces.”

  Just like that he had the problem solved. With everyone agreeing and even looking forward to this new idea, I frowned at Mac. What the hell was he thinking?

  “We’ll need people to ensure the event runs smoothly,” I announced. “Any volunteers?”

  Again Mac’s and Miller’s hands went up. I couldn’t disagree with volunteers, so I nodded. “Fine. I’m expecting a written proposal as to the plan, what we’ll need and a list of those who will volunteer to be auctioned. Burns, can you also work with them?” She was organized and would keep them on track. Miller could be fickle and shirk his responsibilities at times, and Mac for all his willingness was just a rookie.

  “Sure thing, Captain,” she answered.

  I nodded. “Good. Just before we go, there’s one final thing. Southeast Academy is having an assembly on public safety and they would like an officer to make a presentation. I’d like a volunteer to go with me at one this afternoon. If you’re interested, just stop by my office and let me know.”

  I dismissed the meeting and made a quick exit to my office. I glanced at the clock, groaning that it was only ten in the morning. I still had some hours to go before going over to the Academy to speak to the high school children. The Principal, Gerard Green, an old friend of mine had called to request my presence at the school. For this month, officers had been to the school twice to deal with the matter of small quantities of drugs found on students. One arrest had been made after investigations had led us to the distributor, but there were many more out there we had to get our hands on.