Page 36 of Rescuing Macie

Macie nodded and watched as he unfolded himself from the low-slung sports car and strode around the front of the vehicle. He held out a hand to help her out and stayed right by her side as they walked up the stairs to her apartment.

It was the first time she’d been back in a few weeks. The apartment smelled a bit musty. Wrinkling her nose, she turned to smile at Trigger and say something about how it had smelled better when she lived there—but the words caught in her throat when she saw Teddy standing behind him with an evil smirk on his face.

Macie’s mouth opened to warn Trigger, but Teddy had already reached out and pressed the prongs of a taser to his side.

The soldier’s mouth opened in shock and he fell to the floor with a thump, jerking and moaning.

Chapter Ten

“Trigger!” Macie yelled, then backed up when Teddy calmly stepped over the writhing soldier on the floor.

“You’ve got something of mine, bitch, and I want it back,” Teddy said with deadly intent.

Macie backed up as Teddy kept stalking forward.

“I don’t!” she said, feeling the tell-tale signs of a full-blown anxiety attack coursing through her body.

“You do. Where’s that stupid box of keepsakes you kept in your closet?” Teddy asked.

Macie blinked in surprise. That’s where he’d hidden something? She hadn’t even looked inside the beaten-up old shoebox because it was the last place she figured anyone would hide anything. It wasn’t secure in the slightest, and only held silly, cheap mementoes of her life. Of course, now that she knew that’s where Teddy had stashed whatever it was he so desperately wanted, it made sense.

She couldn’t come up with an answer fast enough, and he reached forward and wrapped a strong hand around her throat and squeezed.

Macie’s hands immediately reached up and tugged at his fingers, to no avail.

She looked into the face, which she had once thought was good-looking, now feeling complete terror. His blue eyes were narrowed in anger and the beard he used to keep trimmed neat was bushy and unkempt. She even saw what looked like food stuck in the hair.

She looked down at the arm she was clawing, still trying to get him to release her, and stared at the tattoo that now adorned it. He hadn’t had any tattoos that she’d seen when they’d been dating, but the new ink terrified her. It was a black-and-white design of a naked woman, with her arms tied together in front of her and a knife sticking out of her chest. Blood dripped from the knife, and the words, Women are like weeds— to be exterminated, were inked in cursive around the frightening image.

“Where. Is. It?” Teddy bit out, leaning into her and squeezing her neck harder.

Macie’s mouth opened and shut, but she couldn’t get any words out.

Obviously realizing he was preventing her from speaking, Teddy loosened his grip but didn’t let go. “I’ll kill you and your little friend right here and now if you don’t speak up,” he threatened.

“Not here,” Macie said as soon as she was able. Tricking him didn’t even cross her mind.

“You better not be fucking with me,” he said.

“I’m not. I took it with me when I left.”

“Fucking hell,” Teddy swore. “Where is it?”

“Killeen,” Macie said. “You can take the keys to the house and go get it. I’ll tell you exactly where it is.”

“Oh no,” Teddy sneered. “You’re coming with me. The last thing I want is your fucking boyfriend to walk in on me in his house. You’re my ticket to making sure I get what I want and get the hell out of there in one piece.”

Macie didn’t want to be his ticket to anything. She just wanted him to take his belongings back and get out of her life for good.

Just then, Trigger moaned on the floor next to them, and Teddy swore again.

He raised the taser he still held in his free hand and pressed it to Macie’s side. “Nighty-night, bitch,” he said, then Macie heard no more as the most intense pain she’d ever felt coursed through her body.

* * * *

Trigger lifted his head and tried to shake off the lethargy he felt. Then he tried to remember where he was and what had happened to him. Everything was confusing at first—until it all came back at once.

He tried to lurch to his feet, but only got as far as his knees before he had to brace himself on the floor and take a deep breath. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, then reached into his pocket for his phone. Thankful it was still there, he swore again when he realized that his keys were missing.