* Please Review! Sorry it took so long!*

Mac took a hold of her forearm and started leading her through the canyon. Neither one was saying a word. Mac was confused, and angry...and confused. He needed answers but he wasn't sure of the questions he should ask. He kept glancing at her, his eyes going to her left cheek where a dark bruise was forming. That pissed him off more.

He didn't let her go until they reached his truck. He opened her door, waited until she slipped in then shut the door. He jogged around the truck, threw open his door and got in. But he didn't start it right away. He stared straight ahead of him. He was torn. He wanted to touch her, to reassure himself she was right there and fine. He didn't want to touch her because he hated feeling scared and needy but that was what he was.

" Mac." Aaliyah said softly.

He shook his head but reached out to her. He took a hold of her left arm and pulled her across his bench seat. He then took his hand from her to start his truck. Once it was running, his arm went around her shoulders. He tugged her against him. Aaliyah settled in with her right arm around his waist. She sighed, putting her head against his chest.

Neither one spoke as they drove back to her place.

Once they walked into her apartment, Mac shut the door and locked it. When he faced her again, he held his hand up to silence her. She had opened her mouth to start explaining but shut it right away. He frowned and sighed but came forward to her. His hand came up and brushed his knuckles against her injured cheek. She was looking at him but he refused to meet her eyes. He was watching his hand.

" Where did you get tased?" He was surprised at how rough his own voice was. Her hand came up to touch her ribs on the right side. His frown deepened. He took a hold of her shirt and gently guided it up. She lifted her arms to let him pull it completely off her. He dropped it to the floor then took a hold of her hips. He guided her to turn so he could see her side better. The taser marks were angry and red. He bit down hard as he touched them. " Stupid, ass, mother fuckers." He muttered.

" It's okay now." Aaliyah said softly.

" It's ain't okay. Your cheek got a bruise and you have taser marks on you." He said, hard.

" It's not the first time I have taken a hit. I doubt it will be the last time." She said.

" No one is ever gonna lay their hands on you again." He growled out. Aaliyah smiled, glad to see that he cared about her.

" I should explain some things." She said. Mac's hands dropped from her and he stepped back.

" Yeah, you should." He said.

" Maybe we should sit down." Aaliyah suggested. Mac leaned down and snatched up her shirt. He handed it over to her before he moved to her couch. As Aaliyah dressed, he sank down and put his arms across the back of the couch He brought his legs up and let them rest against her coffee table, crossing them at his ankles. She walked over to him and sat down slowly. " I didn't know Walter was your dad."

" He was my sperm donor." Mac corrected her. " I don't want to talk about him, Lee. I don't have any love lost for him."

" Lee? Did you just give me a nick name?" She asked with a smile.

" Doesn't matter. I want to know what has been going on." Mac snapped. Aaliyah's smile faded but she nodded.

" Okay. Here is everything..." She started.

She explained to him how she had started selling drugs in college to pay for her schooling but she had had made so much money that she dropped out. Nick had the drugs, Jonathan delivered them, and Aaliyah collected the money. They worked together for years and then Nick moved out west. He found Red Canyon and brought Aaliyah out to him.

" So you were following me around?" Mac asked.

" I did." Aaliyah said. " I learned who your customers were, who your whores were and finally where you made your Meth. We were going to push you out and take over."

" So why did you start fucking me?" He asked.

" I needed to get closer to you." She said. Mac shook his head and pulled his arms away from the couch. He put his legs to the floor and leaned forward. His forearms came to rest against his knees. "Mac, I..."

" Don't." He said as he started at her coffee table. " I need a minute." He said. Aaliyah bit into her bottom lip as she watch him process what she had told him.

Mac sighed hard as he frowned. He wanted to be mad. He wanted to be pissed. But he wasn't, not at her. She had done what he would have done had he wanted to take over some one's place in the drug world. She sold Meth and she wasn't sorry about it. She had fucked him to fuck with his mind and honestly, that was something Mac wouldn't have put past himself to do. He'd been fucking people over since he was in his teens. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

" What do you want from me now?" He asked without looking at her.

" I want to be with you." She said. He turned and finally looked back at her.

" Just like that?" He asked.

" Just like that." Aaliyah said.

" And we what? Work for Nick and sell drugs?" Mac snapped.

" And make money." She said.

" And that's all?" He asked.

" Well, we could have sex. We should have sex, and lots of it." She said with a smile. Mac frowned but couldn't deny what she was saying appealed to him.

" I don't get anything of this." Mac admitted. He pushed himself up, making her stand up too. " I need some time to think about shit. Just leave me alone for a while." He muttered before he walked out of her place.

XXXXXX

For three days Aaliyah waited for him. He didn't go to the bar or the garage and she didn't want to just show up at his house. She wasn't sure what to do. She thought he would understand everything, she had done everything the same way he would have do it. At the end of the third day, Aaliyah was pacing through her apartment when her door opened. Mac filled the doorway with a frown set in his face.

" I'm taking over Nick's shit. All of it. All the customers you took from me, I'm taking back. I already talk to him about it and it's happening. You are done doing it. It ain't safe and I'm not having some Meth addict putting his hands on you. You owe me a lot for everything you did to me and you are paying me back now. So get your ass in that bedroom." She started to back away, making Mac walk into her apartment. He slammed the door shut.

" So it's like that?" She asked.

" Yeah, it's like that. This is my town, those are mine customers and you're mine. You belong to me, you got it?" He snapped.

" And what I am supposed to do while you're working?" She asked.

" Wait around naked for me. Be ready for whenever I want to get fucked." Mac said as he stalked her through her apartment.

" That is not going to work for me. I'm not the type to just sit around and do nothing." Aaliyah said.

" Yeah, I know so actually I got a job for you. You are going to work at the bar. I'm going to show you how to mix drinks but you are out of the drug business. It ain't safe to have us both doing it." He said. Aaliyah smiled as she walked backwards into her bedroom.

" You found me a job?"

" I just said that, didn't I?" He snapped as he pulled his shirt off. " And you are moving in with me."

" You care about me." Aaliyah said.

" Yeah and it pisses me off." Mac said through gritted teeth. " I don't care about anything but you come along and fuck my shit up so I'm taking what I can back."

" And what does Nick think about all that?" Aaliyah asked. The bed hit the back of her knees, forcing her to sit down.

" Nick agrees that it ain't safe for us both to do it. As long as I take care of you then he's cool with everything now, get undressed." Mac said as his hands moved to his pants.

Afterwords Aaliyah was curled up against him with Mac's left arm around her shoulders. His hand was moving through her hair. She had her left arm at the middle of his chest. She was running her finger tips down the middle of his chest and stomach then back up again. Her eyes were shut while he was staring at her ceiling. She sighed and squeezed her legs against him.

" That was amazing." She whispered.

" Always has been between us." Mac said.

" You really want me to move with in you?" She asked.

" Yeah, tonight." He said. " You are me, makes sense we should be together."

" I don't want to be with you because it makes sense. I don't want you to want me around because of that." Mac's fingertips found her naked back and he started to stroke her.

" Ain't the only reason." He muttered. " You took over my mind and my life. Now I can't image shit without you." Aaliyah smiled and snuggled in closer to her. " I meant what I said. No one will never touch you again. I won't allow it. I protect what's mine." He turned his head and pressed his lips to her head.

" I like being yours." She said.

" We need to get dressed. I want you in my house."

" So things are just going to go back to what they were before." Aaliyah commented as she opened her eyes.

" No. I'm giving up the whores. There's just you now. Nick's drugs are better than mine and he's going to give me a bigger cut than Walter ever did." Mac said.

" I never expected to fall for you." Aaliyah admitted.

" I never expected to fall for anyone." He admitted softly. She tilted her head up and smiled at him.

" I guess we fucked up each other's shit." Mac gave her a one-sided smile.

" Get dressed. I want to take you home and get you settled it." He said.