Chapter Eleven
Everything changed that night in Denver when the country’s so-called angel acted a little more like the devil, beating some stupid shmuck senseless. In a discussion around the lunch table in Kansas City, Howie had made an excellent point that even though the guy in Denver was a creep, the fact of the matter was, he was still an innocent man. He’d committed no crime other than being a lousy boyfriend.
Mac was driving herself nuts over the whole incident for a number of reasons. As ridiculous as it may be, she blamed herself for Barry Walters’ attack. She knew she had been a little relaxed about the case lately and told herself it was because she was still adjusting to her new lifestyle, but now she had to admit that somewhere along the way she’d become more worried about Baylee than the wannabe super hero. She was even starting to be swayed by all of Nick’s rants about the sheer awesomness of the guy and was highly amused by all the comics he drew on the subject; especially the fact that he always chose to draw her as the nosy reporter trying to catch the Avenging Angel. Mac despised reporters, but still, he wasn’t that far off.
But Nick’s defense that the vigilante went out of his way to be nonviolent, polite even, and the fact that he’d never broken any laws other than possibly fleeing the scene of a crime were shattered, and Mac now remembered why this case had been so important to her to begin with. And especially now, with Jake and the rest of the FBI on his case, Mac had a new sense of urgency to solve the mystery and do it fast.
She’d been highly annoyed that she wasn’t able to interview the Denver witnesses, but Jake promised to give her a full report just as soon as he talked to them, so she decided her best bet was to find substantial evidence against the man she was sure was guilty of donning the costume. But much to her dismay, the Avenging Angel failed to make any appearance the night the tour stayed in Kansas City.
Mac actually had a nice evening in Kansas City with Brian and Baylee watching The Lion King and then when it was over she used her excuse of the gym to try and follow Jeff some more. She found him eventually and tailed him for a while, but he’d given her the slip and then there were no AA sightings that night. Mac was worried that Jeff might be on to her so, while very frustrated about it, she decided she needed to back off for a while. She tried to find out more about him from a different approach and once they reached the venue in Saint Louis, Mac decided that she would study him from another angle.
There are always a couple hours between morning rehearsals and sound check that Brian had free and he usually liked to use that as good father and son time with Baylee. Today he’d taken Baylee out to see the trademark Arch that makes the city of Saint Louis so recognizable and while they were gone, it was the perfect opportunity for Mac to do some real digging.
The guys may have had the time off, but the majority of the crew still had a lot of work to do preparing for that evenings performance. Mac Began her interrogation with the security team, asking them random questions as if she were only trying to get to know them a little. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to know much about Jeff Saunders. No one really had any problems with the guy, but he wasn’t exactly wining any popularity votes while on tour either. In fact he just sort of blended into the woodworks and no one really gave him any thought. It was the perfect cover, Mac thought, but the guy was too good. There was literally no evidence pointing to the man except for the fact that he looked a little shady and had a tendency to disappear into the night. “Nope, tailing him is the only way.” She mused aloud as she finished writing notes in her journal about talking to the security team.
She sighed thinking that she was simply going to have to hone her skills in the snooping department and catch the criminal in action. As she tossed the journal on her bed, one of Nick’s latest AA comic strips came flying out from between the pages. Mac laughed at the drawing and then, as she flipped the book open to Nick’s page to set the picture back in its place, she noticed exactly what the picture was a drawing of. Mac, as always, was a reporter and this time she was being attacked and the AA was swooping down to rescue her.
Mac slipped the cartoon back in the journal and shut it quickly, laughing at the absurdity of the idea. It was ridiculous. She couldn’t possibly. That only worked in the movies. “Although,” she said, talking to herself again, “Super Heroes are only in the movies too and yet here I am. It’s not like I can’t take care of myself, and coming face to face with the Avenging Angel would make this case as good as solved.”
Mac had always had a bit of a reckless, aggressive streak in her, which is why she excelled so quickly within the bureau when most women failed, and it only took thirty seconds to convince herself that staging a meeting with the dreamy-eyed caped crusader was the best idea she’d ever had. Or rather, the best idea Nick ever had, but he didn’t need to know that. “He’s already got enough of an ego.” Mac laughed.
Mac took a deep breath and for the first time since Denver, was able to truly relax. All she had to do now was wait. The tour was leaving Saint Louis directly after the show, and doing the same the following nights in Indianapolis and Green Bay. But they were staying over in Michigan the night after that and surely the AA couldn’t resist such temptation as the evils of Detroit.
Mac decided that even she deserved a night off once in a while and happily tucked her journal in the bottom of her suitcase. After that she was suddenly in a great mood and left the hotel to go back to the venue hoping she might find some Backstreet Boys to keep her company. When she reached the venue she found AJ flipping through a magazine. She smirked as she entered the room, still a little entertained by the memory of their kiss. “Hey stranger.” She laughed.
AJ couldn’t hide the smirk when he saw her either, but he patted the sofa next to him and Mac happily sat down. They talked for a few minutes until Nick found his way into the room and laughed at the sight of them sitting alone together. “I thought you two were done already.” He said and then looked directly at AJ, “You still trying to score even after what you told me.”
Mac saw the dirty look AJ gave Nick and couldn’t help asking the million-dollar question. “What did he tell you?”
“He said you were a bad kisser.”
Before Mac could raise a brow AJ’s direction, the poor guy was already defending himself. “I did not!” He yelled and then shrugged apologetically at Mac with obvious humiliation. “I just said it was missing something when he asked why we didn’t hook up. I swear. He’s just jealous that he doesn’t know first hand.”
“That’s ok, I told Brian the same thing.” Mac said as she reassuringly patted AJ’s leg and then grinned wickedly at Nick. “Besides, that’s nothing compared to what I heard Paris Hilton said about you in bed.”
Nicks jaw hit the floor and AJ doubled over, clutching his stomach as he tried to control wild fits of laughter. Mac jumped up off the couch and smirked as she walked coolly past a raging Nick. “If you’re going to start it, make sure you can finish it.” She said with a wink.
When she got to the door she turned around to face the man who was still speechless. “And for the record?” She stated matter of factly, “I happen to be an excellent kisser.”
With that she whirled around to exit the room and froze at the sight of Brian and Baylee standing there with identical grins on their faces. “Well now, that little fact is right up there with likes dark chocolate and kills pet fish.” Brian teased forcing redness into Mac’s cheeks.
She wasn’t sure why she was blushing, but for some reason the curious smile on Brian’s face was making her want to crawl into a hole and never come out. “You’re back early.” She said, failing at her attempt to hide how flustered she was.
“Apparently not early enough. Sounds like I missed an interesting conversation.”
“I wish my love life were an interesting conversation.” Mac laughed, finally overcoming the embarrassment. “But if you really want the details, I’m sure Nick will have a mouthful to say after I leave.”
Brian looked curiously at the pout on Nick’s face and then at AJ who was still slightly giggling over the psycho ex-girlfriend crack. When he turned back around to ask Mac another question he was surprised to find her already gone. He and his son gave each other confused looks and then Brian scooped the boy into his arms and went running down the hall after her. “Hey Mac, wait up. You got a minute?” He called just as Mac reached the front doors to the venue.
“For my favorite Backstreet Boy?” Mac replied playfully, “Always!”
For an instant Brian was intrigued by the comment until Mac crouched down and held out her arms. When Baylee ran into them Brian felt stupid, and strangely disappointed, but he was at least glad that Mac hadn’t noticed the look on his face. “I was just going to run to the store real quick before sound check.” Mac explained as she returned to eye lever with Brian, now holding Baylee in her arms. “I’m out of shampoo and the hotel stuff is murder on my hair.”
Brian glanced up at Mac’s beautiful brunette locks that were, no surprise, pulled back in a clip, and smiled at the bangs that always seemed to fall into her eyes no matter what she tried to do with them. “Your hair always looks good to me.” He said and reached up without thinking to push a strand that had fallen loose behind her ear. “Its really soft.” He added fighting the urge to deeply inhale the scent that was quickly becoming very familiar to him.
“That’s because I don’t use hotel shampoo.” Mac laughed, “Do you guys want to walk with me? It’s just down the street, you’ll be back in plenty of time.”
As good as the offer sounded, Brian looked out the tinted doors of the venue where a line of excited fans had formed some time ago and he shook his head. “That’s probably not the best idea right now.”
Mac followed his gaze and smirked. “Oh that’s right. I forgot that you were listed as one of People Magazine’s sexiest single dads. I would hate to send all the adoring fans into a frenzy.”
Brian rolled his eyes at the title, but then his smirk grew even bigger than Mac’s as he remembered the reason he’d stopped her in the first place. “Speaking of adoring fans,” he teased. Mac’s temper flared at the mention of her pesky flaw but her look of annoyance only brought Brian more pleasure. “I have a surprise for you.”
Mac’s anger vanished and her heart began to thump wildly in her chest. “Should I be scared?” She asked trying to play it cool.
“Hey now,” Brian pouted, “I promised I wouldn’t say anything, no matter how much I want to.” He smiled at the dirty look Mac shot him. “I know how to keep a secret. Unlike some people I know.”
“Hey!” Baylee protested when he realized his father was talking about him.
Mac laughed, but when Brian held out an envelope she set Baylee down and shyly took it. For some reason Brian was so excited for her to see what was inside that he couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. “I’m giving you the night off.” He explained eagerly as Mac stared in confusion at the front row ticket in her hand. “I can’t let you go the entire tour without seeing a show from the front of the house, the way it’s meant to be seen. Geneen said she’d watch Baylee for us tonight.”
“Uh!” Baylee grunted in disgust, “Mac’s not gonna stay with me?”
“I think you can survive without her for a couple of hours.” Brian laughed.
Mac looked again at the ticket in her hand, she’d always wanted to be in the front row, and for a moment she was so excited that she startled Brian with an enormous hug, barely containing the giddy squeal that rang in her mind. Brian was surprised not only by the hug itself, but by how good it felt and how easy it was to wrap his arms around her in return. And even more startling was how hard it was to let go of her when she finally realized what she’d done.
Mac pulled back completely shocked by her own behavior. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just went all fan-girly on you.” She cringed as her face turned beet red, “Excuse me while I go die of embarrassment.”
Mac turned to leave and Brian gave a hearty laugh but pulled her hand into his before she could walk away from him. “You can’t die on me.” He laughed, not once thinking of Leighanne as the words escaped his mouth, “Baylee’s grown way too attached to you and I think my tour manager would kill me if she had to watch him for more than a few hours.”
Mac was captured by his sparkling blue eyes and finally regained her composure. Realizing what a truly sweet gesture it was, she smiled graciously and gave his hand a gently squeeze. “Thank you, Brian. That was incredibly thoughtful.”
“Well you’ve been such a life savor for Baylee and I since you got here, it was the least I could do.”
Things got quiet for a moment as Mac and Brian continued to smile at one another and only Baylee realized that they were still holding hands. The adults were broken from the moment when Baylee huffed dramatically. “What’s wrong with you squirt?” Brian laughed as he tousled his son’s curls.
“You’re stealing Mac!” Baylee frowned, “She’s gonna like you more than me now.”
Brian was horrified when he felt the heat in his cheeks, but again Mac didn’t notice him because Baylee had her full attention. “I could never!” She gasped as she feigned heartbreak and scooped the child into her arms again. “You know you’re the only man for me.”
Baylee held his pout like a pro and it tugged horribly at Mac’s heartstrings. “I’ll make you a deal, you be good for Geneen while I’m gone tonight and after the concert we’ll do something special, just me and you.”
“You promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
***
Mac loved every minute of the concert that night, but it was quite the different experience than any one she’d previously been to. Aside from the fact that she saw the Boys more as people now than performers, and couldn’t help the giggling whenever Nick or AJ tried to act all sexy up on stage, things felt different because she couldn’t let herself scream and cheer along with all the fans around her. Being right on the front row and slightly left stage, she was standing basically ten feet from Brian most of the night and there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her groupie side.
Not to mention that throughout the night Nick, Howie and AJ had all noticed her standing there and either waved or made strange faces at her. Mac had patronized them all with waves back and didn’t think much of it until she noticed the young girls next to her watching her every move. She ignored them just fine until their conversation turned to Brian and for some reason she couldn’t help but soak up every word. “He’s doing awesome tonight.” One of the girls said, making Mac smile proudly as her eyes drifted back to Brian.
“Yeah, it’s like he’s the old Brian again.”
Mac watched him carefully as he bounced energetically around the stage, and the girls were right. He was nailing every dance step and his voice sounded like that of an angel. She’d seen so many rehearsals and watched the concerts from backstage more than enough to see that there was definitely a change in him. She was curious how he’d managed it, but she was grateful to see it because this change wasn’t only happening up on stage. Something about him was just different now. He wasn’t the man she expected him to be at all and Mac’s instincts about people were rarely wrong.
Mac continued to watch Brian, analyzing his every move, never noticing the way her heart sped up every time he opened his mouth to sing or sent a quick glance her direction. For a while she was caught up in her own little world until she noticed the girl next to her glance quickly at her again and then lower her voice to her friend. The conversation was quiet, but Mac still heard every word. “Is it just me, or does Brian keep staring at the girl next to me?”
“Ohmigod! I totally noticed that too!” the other girl whispered.
“Do you think they’re together?”
“No way!” the other girl hissed even quieter now, “He would never replace Leighanne so soon. He loved her so much. Besides, she’s not even cute. He could do so much better.”
Mac had to hold back a laugh at the petty insult, but she couldn’t get what they said about Brian out of her head. She hadn’t noticed him paying her any extra attention, but when she looked back up to stage, she noticed he was looking her direction. For a second she wanted to blush, but she could feel the extra eyes on her again as the girls next to her scowled and she couldn’t resist blowing Brian a big dramatic kiss. When he laughed, kissed his hand and waved back, Mac could practically hear the shock of the two girls next to her and she spent the rest of the concert being extra flirty with all of the boys, simply to drive them crazy.
***
There was a lot of energy in the locker room after the show that night, the way there always is when they’ve put on a great show, but tonight was especially interesting because everyone had noticed Brian’s amazing performance and were every bit as thrilled, and relieved, about it as he was. They all congratulated him and laughed and joked together and it was just like old times again. It was so nice in fact, that Brian took a moment to himself to get hold of his emotions when no one was looking. Tonight had been the first night back on tour where he honestly felt that maybe he could continue on being a Backstreet Boy and feel completed by it they way he used to. Singing tonight was just fun and it was like he’d finally found his voice again.
After joking around with the guys, Brian was anxious to get back to his bus and share his excitement with Baylee and Mac. And though he wouldn’t admit it to himself, he was kind of glad that they were leaving tonight instead of staying the night in a hotel. He bounded aboard the bus, still humming to himself and kissed the top of his son’s head as he walked past to put his stuff away. “Are you still up?”
“Mac promised to play with me after the concert tonight!” Baylee chirped, excited that she’d kept her promise. “Look! She bought a new game for us to play on the bus!”
“Trouble?” Brian questioned seeing the game set out in front of them, “That sounds about right for you.”
Brian threw his duffel on his bunk and then moseyed over behind his son, “Looks like fun. Can I play?”
“No!” Baylee practically growled, “Mac promised to play with only me tonight.”
Brian laughed and threw his hands up in defeat as he retreated to the couch. “Ok,” he sighed, exchanging smiles with Mac, “I guess I’ll just stay over here… All by myself… Watching boring old tv…”
Brian’s guilt trip had zero effect on the possessive child, but it worked wonders on Mac whether he meant it to or not. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he blatantly pouted on the other end of the bus. She kept playing though, knowing that Baylee was definitely the one in charge of the situation. As they played Brian would occasionally sigh and flip through the channels as if he were completely miserable and it was so cute that Mac didn’t realize it was her turn. “Hello??? Earth to Mac???” Baylee squawked.
The whining made Brian look up and the smile on his face made Mac finally sigh. “I don’t know Baylee,” she said, “Your dad looks awful lonely over there. Maybe we should let him play, just for a little while.”
“Fine.” Baylee sighed after eyeing his dad suspiciously. “But only if you promise to read me a story before bed.”
“I suppose I could manage that.” Mac said and laughed when Brian was huddled around the game board claiming to be blue before he was even technically invited to join them.
Neither Mac nor Brian realized how much fun the game of Trouble could be, but they had a blast until Baylee was finally so exhausted that he simply couldn’t keep his eyes open. Brian laid him on his bunk and even though he was half asleep, Baylee still insisted Mac read him a story. As she did, Brian fell to the couch and let the soothing sound of her voice bring him down from his adrenaline rush. “He is so precious.” Mac laughed once Baylee was asleep.
“I think you mean possessive.” Brian teased. “You’d better be careful or he’ll be sabotaging your dates next.”
Brian was surprised at the way his whole body tensed up when Mac sat down next to him. His thoughts automatically focused on her smell, and the feel of her hands when she touched him, and his heart suddenly began to pick up its pace.
“Aw,” she said, interrupting his thoughts, “It’s gotta be hard having to compete with the four of you all the time.”
“Not as hard as you’d think. He’s got more charm than all of us put together.”
“Don’t I know it!” Mac laughed, “And I’m the biggest sucker of ‘em all.”
“That’s why he likes you so much.” Brian said, failing miserably to keep his attention focused. Her voice was so soft, and the smile it came from was so captivating. And her lips…
Brian’s gaze fell to her soft, warm, inviting lips, and when he realized how eager he was to feel them against his own he nearly panicked. Not once since the day he’d met Leighanne had he desired to know what another woman tasted like. And he didn’t just want to kiss Mac; he needed to. Desperately.
Brian could feel his desire growing by the second and the longer he sat there with her; the more he couldn’t deny his feelings for her. He was suddenly filled with a hundred different emotions that he neither understood nor had any clue how to control, so he rose to his feet, gave Mac a weak smile, said goodnight, and then disappeared into his bunk, leaving Mac alone on the couch to wonder what on Earth just happened.
Author's Chapter Notes:
yay! glad to see people still taking interest in this story! Thank you all for the fun reviews so far!!! We love you all!!!
