Jobe: Alvarez Security Series (6 page)

Arriving an hour
early, Mackenna was pleased that she had been able to fly through her appointments. She only went to one high school, but set up a time to talk to all of the high school counselors and social workers at one of their meetings next month to discuss identifying young girls that might be lured into the gang life.

Armed with three bags of groceries, she made her way into the kitchen. Carla and Jenita took them from her and began putting them away.

“Ladies, I’ve got an agreement with one of the churches down the street that we can have some of their food that does not get eaten after they have their Wednesday night meals. That would provide supper for you all for at least a couple of days and stretch our food budget.”

“Perfect,” Carla said, putting away the vegetables that were brought in. “And before you ask, Gabby is doing great. She settled in last night and this morning was eager to start the Microsoft Certification program, so Rose already has her in the education room with the others.”

Sighing in relief, Mackenna smiled. “So how’s the job hunting going for you, Jenita?”

The young woman grinned her reply. She had been at the center for over two months and was ready to graduate out into the world, standing on her own. “Well, this morning the doctor’s office where I interviewed for the receptionist position called back…and they offered me the job!”

With a whoop of joy, Mackenna hugged her. “That’s fabulous! When do you start?”

“I begin next Monday and I’ve been looking into the roommate sharing program you were telling me about. I figure that I will need at least a month of working and then I can transition to a shared apartment. I’ve found one that will be available next month and it’s a three bedroom apartment that I’ll be sharing with three other women. Two are sisters and they share the large master bedroom with its own bath, so I’ll have my own bedroom that will share the hall bath with just one other person.”

The three women continued to hug as Mackenna realized what a monumental moment she was experiencing. She felt it every single time. When someone who three months ago left a gang in the middle of the night determined to change the course of their lives and was now doing just that…
amazing. Absolutely, fucking amazing!

Smiling as she stepped back, she remembered the afternoon’s appointment. “Ladies, in about an hour we’ll have some visitors. There will be someone here from a security agency to assess what we need to make sure our building and its occupants are as safe as they can be.”

Carla nodded, admitting, “I’m glad. That car has been by again this morning. I’m worried that it may be here for Gabby.”

A flash of anger flew through Mackenna’s eyes. “I was afraid that because she’s pregnant, it might be a problem. Those goddamn fuckers come back, I swear I’ll kick their asses!”

“Um, I hate to bust your badass bubble, but girl? You’re not big enough to take them on and you’d be foolish to do so,” Jenita said, knowing that Mackenna had a penchant for acting on instinct at times.

“Yeah, well, I just refuse to let them hurt her,” was the only reply. “Let’s go upstairs and make sure the rooms are ready in case the visitors need access to the whole building.” With that, the three women headed out of the kitchen.

*

The Alvarez Security
men drove down the street toward their destination in two of the company SUVs. Eyes peeled, they each expertly surveyed the area. It was in an older section of town with a mixed community of stores and brick buildings. Several old churches dotted some of the corners and while there was a hum of daily activity, it was not difficult to imagine that it would be easy pickings for someone with nefarious intent.

The New Beginning’s building was unassuming, located in the middle of the block and set back slightly from the street. A small placard was on the door, but other than that there were no other distinguishing features. Jennifer was just pulling up in her car at the same time and walked over to greet the men, moving straight into Gabe’s embrace.

Jobe’s gaze immediately took note of the problem areas.
Little front lighting. No peephole in the door. Unlit walkway from the street to the front stoop. No security bars on bottom floor windows.
As he stepped out of the vehicle, he saw Tony shaking his head.
Yep, he sees it too. A fucking security nightmare for these women.

“We’re a little early,” Jennifer said, “so let’s go around the back and you can see the whole outside of the building.”

The men made their way around the perimeter, noting the narrow space between the center and the buildings on the sides. There, a small courtyard held a picnic table and umbrella, an old grill, and off to the back were the trash cans that were next to the fence leading to the alley. Again, Jobe’s eyes quickly assessed.

No lights on the back. A simple padlock on the fence gate leading to the alley.

Jennifer led them through the back door into the kitchen. The area was large, but seemed immediately dwarfed by the four huge men. A woman entered the room from the hall and gave a start. Jennifer jumped in, “I’m sorry. We’re here to see Mac. She’s meeting us to talk about some security.”

“Oh yes, of course. I’m Rose. I teach computer classes to the women in the classroom upfront. I think that—”

Just then, a scream coming from the front of the building startled the group. Jobe, closest to the hallway, sprinted forward as he heard a woman’s voice yell, “Call the police, Rose!” He caught a glimpse of a slender woman’s back, hair pulled up on her head, as she raced down the stairs and made it to the door ahead of him, grabbing a baseball bat next to the door.

Throwing it open, Mackenna charged out onto the stoop, wielding the bat in the air. “I’m calling the police you fuckers. Get outta here,” she screamed at the same low-riding car, this time with the passenger side windows rolled down and several guys hanging out giving her the finger.

“You can’t hide forever, bitch!” one yelled.

“Bring it, you bast—umph,” she grunted as she was grabbed around the waist from behind and lifted off of the ground, her back slammed against a tall, hard body. Her reddish-gold hair fell out of the makeshift twist and tumbled down her back.

“Are you fucking crazy?” asked the enraged voice of the man who had picked her up easily, his arm binding her tightly. “You provoke those bastards and you’re just asking for trouble,” he growled.

Realizing that the front stoop had become crowded with whom she could only assume was Tony Alvarez and more of his men than she knew was coming, she saw Jennifer, wide-eyed looking at her.

“Mac? Are you okay?” Jennifer asked, glancing at Jobe holding on to Mackenna, a strange expression on his face.

“Let go of me, you big oaf,” Mackenna said, struggling against the unforgiving vise grip of the man holding her.

She found herself immediately released but instead of freedom, she was whirled around to face her would-be rescuer. And stared into the face of the man who had haunted her memories. His face, older and harder than she remembered. His build…heavier, even more muscular. And his expression? Shock. Pure shock.

Her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, she pushed against him almost tumbling backward down the front stoop stairs. His hands automatically reached out and grabbed her upper arms, saving her from falling. Not wanting him to touch her, she pushed again.

“Settle,” he growled. “You’re gonna fucking fall if you keep this up.”

Righting herself, she straightened up trying to regain her dignity.
Don’t let him see you stare. Don’t give him that.
Steeling herself, she turned toward the man matching the internet picture of Tony Alvarez and held out her hand.

“You must be Mr. Alvarez. I’m Mackenna Dunn, director of New Beginnings.”

Tony, Gabe, and Vinny stared at her as though she had sprouted three heads. The woman who one minute ago was wielding a baseball bat threatening street thugs was now attempting a composed and serene expression. And for some reason had rocked Jobe’s world by the stunned expression on his face. Then it hit all three of them at the same instance. Mackenna Dunn. The name they had heard over and over when stationed in Afghanistan. At least before…

Tony, quickly recovering, took her hand and shook it gently. “You’re right, Ms. Dunn. I’m Tony Alvarez, but please call me Tony.”

Mackenna nodded, replying, “Mackenna. Although some just call me Mac.” She gave Jennifer an evil eye, but Jennifer only laughed.

Tony introduced the twins, Gabe and Vinny, and then nodded behind her and said, “And this is Jobe. Jobe Delaro.”

She knew she had to glance behind her but for all the world, she could not bring herself to do it.
Maybe he’ll just disappear. Be gone. Maybe he was just an illusion.

“Hello Mackenna,” came the very real voice behind her. His simple words moved over her like lava. Smooth, flowing.
And fucking will burn me if I let them!

Taking a fortifying breath, she turned back around avoiding his gaze.
Show him I don’t care.
She lifted her eyes to his penetrating stare and her mind stumbled as much as the words trying to come out of her mouth.

“H…Hi…um…hello, Jobe.”

He stared back into the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her red-blonde hair still appeared to be a lion’s mane. She’d put on a couple of pounds since college but from where he was standing they looked great on her. Light, brown eyes that tried to focus anywhere but at him.
Fuck! Of course, they would want to look anywhere but at him.
His mind locked up, wondering what he could possibly say to her.

“Ms. Dunn?” came a woman’s voice from inside the building. “Are they gone?”

The group in the front turned and saw a young pregnant woman standing in the hallway, fear present on her face.

Mackenna pushed past the others, running into the house, dropping the baseball bat at the same time. Encircling the girl in her arms, she reassured, “Gabby, it’s fine. They’re gone.”

Jenita and Carla came down the stairs, pale but smiling. “You are one badass mama,” Jenita said.

Jobe growled as he followed her inside. “Don’t encourage her. That was a stupid, senseless move and you know it,” he said, punching each word out.

Mackenna turned and stared coldly at him. “I do what I have to do to make sure those punks stay on the street and outta my building.”

“And you think some tiny girl with a baseball bat is going to do that?” he roared. “Fuck, Mackenna, those guys could pull out a gun and shoot you right on the front stoop or jump out and knife you.”

“I’m doing what I can and part of that is letting them know they don’t scare me!” she yelled back.

“They don’t give a fuck what you think, but if you disrespect them, they will come after you!”

Mackenna was shaking with anger and Jennifer grabbed Gabe’s arm, hoping he would stop the screaming match, but Tony beat him to it, taking charge of the situation.

“Ms. Dunn, we’re here to help and so let’s sit down and discuss what your needs are.” Turning to Gabe and Vinny, he said, “You two continue the building inspection and report back here when you have a cursory idea of what we can provide. Jobe, you’ll join me with Ms. Dunn.”

“It’s Mackenna, and why can’t Gabe stay?” she answered boldly, her chest still heaving with exertion.

“My company, my rules, Mackenna,” Tony stated plainly.

The look in his eyes brooked no argument as she drew herself up, the professional façade back on her face. “Of course. If you’ll follow me to the kitchen, there’s a table large enough for us to sit at. Rose, take Gabby back into the classroom. Carla and Jenita, please continue with what you were doing.”

Moving down the hall, she led them to the table where she sat gracefully as though she had not a care in the world. Inside she was seething. And aching.

Heart pounding, Jobe felt out of his element.
And I never feel out of my fucking element!
He noticed that Tony and Mackenna sat across from each other, so he slid into the seat next to her. Better to survey her without having to see the censure in her eyes.

“Okay, first things first,” Tony said. “Never, under any circumstances, run out of here with a bat. That was completely foolish and dangerous.”

Mackenna started to protest, but he interrupted.

“They could have hopped out the car, been up on your stoop in probably five seconds, had that bat out of your hand and beat you to death with it.”

She blinked slowly as her stomach churned.

“You’re working with these girls so you must have done some research about gangs and I don’t care if they’re members of a national gang or some punk-ass local group—respect is their mantra. You disrespect them, they will take you down. Do. You. Understand?”

She nodded, realizing how foolish she had been. “I’m not usually reckless,” she replied softly. “I just got so mad.” She blinked fast, trying to keep from allowing a tear to slip.

Tony’s voice softened. “You’re doing a good thing here, Mackenna. Let’s keep you safe so that you can keep doing it.”

Tony began the conversation about her security needs, but Jobe could not keep his mind on the words that were spoken.
Ms. Dunn. That’s her maiden name.
He quickly glanced at her ring finger and found his breath leaving him as he noted she was not wearing an engagement ring. His palms began to sweat as he thought back to the last letter she wrote after he had ignored all of her pleas to not break up with her…where she admitted he had shredded her but that she would work every day to erase the memory of him from her very soul.
And I let her. What a fucking prick.