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His lips twitch when he lowers them to mine again.
“I love you,” he murmurs there.
“Love you, too.”
After a short kiss, he stands back up and turns to leave.
“Be careful, Mac.”
“Always am, Pix.”
And then he’s gone. I hear the beeping noise of the alarm being set and then the click of the door.
I get up out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. It’s still too early, but I decide to brush my teeth anyway. Nothing’s better than having fresh breath.
After dressing, I look at the clock and see it’s only been ten minutes since Mac left. I decide to put on a pot of coffee, figuring we’re in for a long night. I’m almost to the kitchen when I hear a knock at the door. I change directions and head that way, knowing it’s Nick.
I stop at the alarm panel and put in the code. After unlocking the door, I pull it open.
“Hey, you got here faster—” I stop midsentence when I see Tessa standing on the other side.
Of fucking course. My stupid ass plays the typical girl who thinks she knows who’s on the other side of the door because she’s expecting someone and doesn’t check the damn peephole.
Before I get a chance to slam the door in her face, she brings her arm up, carrying a weird-looking gun. I realize just what type of gun it is when she pulls the trigger, and my body goes into convulsions as electricity shoots through my body. The bitch shot me with a fucking Taser. Holy mother of God, that hurts.
My body falls to the floor as I spasm and shake. Right before I feel a kick to my face, I hear Tessa say, “Lights out, bitch.”
That’s the last thing I remember.
29
Mac
Her quirks…
IPULL UP TO THE OLD abandoned barn on Highway 88 and switch my engine off. I open the glove compartment and reach inside for my flashlight. Ready to get this done and over with, I slide from the truck and pat my side, ensuring that my gun is still secured there. I hate leaving Mia at the house by herself, even if Nick is on his way.
It’s not unheard of around these parts for random gunfire to be heard. After all, we do live in the country, and the country folk around here like their guns. We have a couple shooting ranges in the area, but many people just put up targets in their backyard. It’s highly unusual for a house to not have at least one gun in it.
What is a little strange is for someone to hear gunfire at three in the morning. It’s happened before, but not so often it doesn’t warrant a look-see, just in case. Hunting season isn’t for another few months, so it shouldn’t be an impatient hunter trying to get ahead start. It’s probably just a couple of younger folks out messing around.
Shining the light on the ground to illuminate my way, I walk toward the barn. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. The crickets are chirping just as they should be, and there’s no suspicious noises or movements. I decide to check out the inside of the barn before walking the property, just to be on the safe side.
I creak open the old, worn wooden door and step inside. Shining the flashlight throughout the structure, all I see is a bunch of rotted wood and older than dirt useless tools. There are stalls off to the sides, but most of the walls have broken and fallen over. I walk down the center of the barn, flicking my flashlight from side to side.
Nothing. There’s nothing unusual about the place.
I make my way back to the barn door. Just as I reach it, I hear something off to my left. I turn my head and flashlight in that direction, reaching for my gun at the same time. I’ve learned over my years as a Sheriff to never take unnecessary risks. If there’s something suspicious, then take all precautionary steps. Nothing should be in this barn at night, and with the shit that’s been going down with Mia, I’m not taking any chances if I don’t have to.
I have my gun in one hand with the flashlight in my other. The safety is still on, but with one little flip, that’s taken care of.
From out of the blue, I hear a shuffle behind me. I quickly turn to swing my gun and flashlight around, but before I get a chance, something hard and heavy hits me on the back of the head.
I drop like a fucking sack of potatoes.Son of a bitch, that hurt!Whoever hit me feels like they used a fucking cast-iron skillet. My vision is blurry as shit, and my eyes feel heavy. I try reaching up with my hand to feel the back of my head, but my arm doesn’t want to work. I know damn good and well that there’s a knot there the size of a fucking softball. Just as I feel black overtaking my vision, a large shadowed form looms over me.
I WAKE UP WITH A pounding headache and wonder what the fuck happened. My head is slumped forward, and when I try to lift it, the thumping pitter-patter in my head gets worse. The memory of being hit over the head rushes back to me, and I groan and force my head up through the pain. My neck is stiff from leaning forward for so long, so I move it back and forth, trying to loosen the muscles there. I’m in nothing but my boxers, tied to a chair.
When I open my eyes, they clash with Mia’s frightened dark blue ones. She’s sitting across from me tied to a chair, just as I am. However, whereas my mouth is uncovered, hers has a piece of duct tape across it. Her arms are tied behind her back with rope, and her legs are strapped to the front legs of her chair. We mirror each other. However, what has me pissed off and straining in my seat, is that Mia is sitting there in nothing but her bra and panties, with a big-ass bruise on her cheek.
