Mackie's Men by Lynn Ray Lewis Page B

down the attraction she was feeling. Obviously he had invited her here for something other than a dinner date, and she would be smart to pay attention instead of mooning over the two handsome men.
    Darryl cleared his throat and reached into the leather file case. He fingered through the files until he picked the one he was looking for and drew it out of the rest. He opened the chosen file and looked at Liam for confirmation. He got the nod and passed the file folder to Mackie.
    “Before we go any further here, we need you to read this and sign it if you feel agreeable to the terms. It’s a non-disclosure contract, and covers any and all information and includes both personal and business confidentiality clauses. If you have any questions, or wish to have your legal representative, then by all means we can reschedule tonight’s date.”
    Oh for Christ’s sake, all five pages of the verbiage did exactly that. She wasn’t to discuss Liam Klinger, his representatives, co-workers, friends of the family and especially family members. Good Lord, it was like the non-disclosures she had signed over and over during her years of security. Only this one extended to family and friends. Once she read it through, she wrote on the bottom of the contract the same sentence she’d written over and again over the years.
    “Agreed with the caveat: Illegal activities in any form will be exempt from contractual obligation.”
    She initialed the handwritten sentence, and signed on the designated line. “Here you go.” She pushed the file back to Darryl, who in turn slid it to Liam who looked at the last page at what she’d written into the contract and nodded his head with a small smile.
    She was ready to get this dog and pony show on the road, she was hungry, and even if curiosity was eating her alive from the inside out, if they didn’t get to the point of this “date” she would be forced to leave and find food.
    Liam answered one of her questions without her having to open her mouth. “We’re just waiting for John to get here, and then we can move this evening forward.” He picked up his cell phone and checked it for messages. “He knew what time to be here, for Christ’s sake, I know he’s been busy, but damn, he could make the effort.”
    The rapping on the door had Darryl moving toward it, with his hand reaching behind his back, and Mackie wondered how she’d missed seeing that he was carrying in the small of his back. She wondered what was going on, but decided to go ahead and play with the big boys for a few. It would take her mind off her stomach at least. She stood and unclipped the beautiful decorative buckle from her belt and calmly walked over to the opposite side of the door that Darryl had silently unlocked. He reached for the doorknob and she shook her head at his gesture.
    She laid the end of the small square on the metal handle, and Darryl pulled his hand back, grinned, and asked, “Who is it?” The answer was muffled and the visitor pounded on the door again. When the handle began to turn, Mackie raised her eyebrow at Darryl. His shrug and free hand gestured for her to go ahead, she pressed the button on the side of the box. An arc of electricity showed on the metal, but the cursing and thud on the other side of the door was what interested her.
    Liam’s phone vibrated on the table, and he picked it up to read the message. He frowned as he read the message. “Fuck, John says he has two flat tires and someone tried to hack his computer. He’s meeting us in ten.” He shoved the file into the case and placed the notebook inside, between the other folders, snapped the clasp, and told the two by the door, “Let’s go.”
    Darryl took her arm and guided her to Liam, while he went to the table and pushed in the chairs and looked at the room with a critical eye to make certain there was nothing to see if the person on the other side of the door was a legitimate lost patron and called for assistance.
    Liam