Deep Trouble: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family) by Kimberly Kincaid Read Free Book Online

the deed was done, and twenty more had them back in the Challenger, driving away from the blasted bits that used to be Kylie’s cell phone. Devon refocused on the road, figuring he had another hour, maybe two before they’d have to stop for gas, food, and a little shuteye.
    “So private security. That must keep you pretty busy,” Kylie said, and he steeled himself against the curiosity glinting in her eyes. The last thing he needed was to get personal with her, despite the stupid what’s-your-favorite-dinner crap he’d pulled earlier.
    “Uh huh.”
    She waited out the silence for a minute, then two. “Have you been out of the Army for three years like Kellan?”
    “Mmm hmm.”
    Another pause, but still, she didn’t let up. “And you’ve been doing security the whole time?”
    “Yup.”
    Kylie arched a dark brow, turning to peg him with a high-level, no-bullshit stare. “Are you going to be this chatty the whole time we’re stuck together? Because really, all these details are wearing me right out.”
    Whether it was her sassy mouth or his adrenaline finally letting down after being shot at a handful of hours ago, Devon couldn’t be sure. But his words launched out before he could tamp down the urge to give them air time.
    “I’m thirty-one years old, and I’ve lived pretty much all over the map. I went into the Army right after high school, because it was either that or follow in my old man’s footsteps as a career criminal. Became a Ranger three years later, took a few strolls through Iraq and Afghanistan, and now I’m back here stateside, freelancing security gigs, most of them with a private company run by my brother-in-law’s family. Were there any other details you wanted, or did I hit the highlights for you?”
    Her wide-eyed expression combined with her stunned silence to punch holes in Devon’s gut, and Jesus Christ, he was an ass .
    And he hadn’t even let loose the part where he’d foolishly let himself get taken hostage on an ambush, not to mention how her brother had risked his life to save Devon’s about three nanoseconds before some scumbag insurgent buried a bullet in both of their gray matter.
    Devon opened his mouth for a sloppy retraction, but Kylie beat him to the one-two. “No, that’s pretty good, actually.”
    “What about you?” he asked, even as his better judgment howled at him to stand down and shut up. But at least talking about her would be better than opening his yap about the not-so-good old days.
    “Me? I’m pretty much an open book, I guess. Kellan and I don’t have much by way of family, but he’s six years older than me, so he does the protective thing a lot.”
    Devon’s brows climbed upward. “You’re only twenty-five?”
    Kellan had never mentioned the age gap between him and Kylie, and she was tenacious enough that Devon never would’ve guessed it was more than a year or two.
    “Yeah, but I’ve been pretty much on my own since Kellan went into the Army. After high school, I did a semester at community college, took some cooking classes.” She shrugged, although the rise and fall of her shoulders was just a little too stiff to carry genuine nonchalance. “I like to cook, but jobs in the front of the house are easier to get, so I just bounced around waiting tables and tending bar. That kind of thing.”
    “Why stick to waiting tables if what you really want is to be in the kitchen?” It was a flyer, but Kylie’s chin lifted ever so slightly, and bingo. Devon hit pay dirt.
    “Money, mostly. I never had enough to go to culinary school,” she murmured, although her tone said that whatever made up the rest of the reason was responsible for the tension suddenly triple-knotting her muscles against the passenger seat. “Anyway, that’s why I left California last year. I had a bad breakup, lost my job. I wasn’t going to find another one if I stuck around, not to mention having nothing to stick around for. So I headed as far east as I could until I