Mackenzie

I don’t know where Moody is taking me, and from the silent treatment he’s given me since I got in his truck, I have a feeling he has no intention of telling me.

We drive past the city borders and he takes the ramp onto the highway. He keeps driving until a fluorescent motel sign appears in the darkness.

“Stay here.” He slams the door and stalks towards the dimly lit entrance.

With my arms wrapped tightly around my chest, I nod. I don’t know what his intentions are, but I know he doesn’t want to hurt me.

Even if I did run, where would I go? We’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest and mountains.

Moody comes back a few minutes later with an old key attached to a plastic yellow tag with the number twenty-one written in permanent marker. We drive around the side of the building, and he gets out, pulling a black duffle bag from the back.

I trudge behind him, up the stairs to the second level, bringing my confiscated army bag with me.

When he opens the motel room, he throws his bag on one of the queen beds, and snarls, “Sit down.”

Tired and weak, I do what he says, sitting on the edge of the other bed.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Pulling what looks like a first aid kit from his bag, he moves towards me, his eyes narrowed.

“Since you didn’t go to the hospital, I’m going to have to do my best to close that gash up.”

“It’s fine.” I reach to touch the wound and he swats my hand away.

“It’s going to get infected.”

I hiss in a breath when he presses a disinfectant cloth against my temple.

“It’ll probably scar,” he says, placing Steri-Strips across the gash.

I shrug. It’s close enough to my hairline that I don’t care.

With a heavy sigh, he applies the last strip, then stands, grumbling under his breath.

“Go have a shower.” He tosses a XXL t-shirt at me. “Just be careful not to get the wound wet.”

“What am I doing here?” I stare down at the club shirt with Theo’s name written in block letters on the back.

He flops on the bed, fully dressed, and crosses one leg over the other, placing a hand under his head. Flipping on the old box TV, he lowers the volume and scans the channels.

“I missed the fight,” he grumbles, stopping on TSN.

I wince, knowing he blames me for it. But I didn’t ask him to come after me.

“Why didn’t you go to Vegas with him?”

He gives me a side glance, then turns back to the TV. “I had a little trouble last time I was there.”

I don’t bother asking him what kind of trouble. It’s none of my business, just like my secrets are none of his.

They’re starting to show the highlights of the fights.

“Do you know how he did?”

“No.” He turns the volume up.

Slowly, I move off the bed, then make my way to the bathroom. One glance in the mirror and I pale. My face is worse than I thought. One eye is swollen, the skin surrounding it a mix of dark purple and red. There’s dried blood caked in my hair and around my ear. When I peel my clothes off, I notice other bruises, too.

Clear fingerprints mark my arm.

I rest my hands on the cold ceramic sink, and a harsh sob rushes past my lips, making my entire body shake. Slipping to the floor, I pull a towel from the rack and wrap it around me.

“You okay in there?”

“Ye-yes.” I crawl to the tub and turn the water on.

I see Moody’s shadow pacing outside the door. Finally, it disappears.

Sinking into the warm water, I close my eyes and try not to think about what’s going to happen when Theo finds out I ran again. When he finds out I was going to abandon Logan.

I don’t know how long I stay in there, but it’s long enough for the water to turn cold.

The TV is off and Moody appears to be sleeping when I come out of the room. I turn the lights off and crawl into the other bed.

My body melts into the lumpy comforter. It’s not the most comfortable bed, but to my aching body, it’s heaven.

Shadows play off the wall, and long moments pass before Moody’s deep voice breaks the silence. “Is it drugs?”

“Yes.” There’s no point lying now.

He curses under his breath. “How much do you owe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Care to elaborate?”

I sigh heavily and stare up at the dark ceiling. I don’t know why, but I feel the need to tell him everything.

“The guy in the parking lot was my mother’s boyfriend. He used to beat the crap out of my mom, especially if I didn’t do small favors for him.”

I hear Moody’s tight intake of breath, and I know what he’s thinking.

“Not like that. It was mostly carrying. He’d give me a bag and have me deliver it, or go to someone’s house for a pick-up. When I got smart enough to say no, he’d take it out on my mom.”

“Shit.”

“I was planning on leaving. Getting my own place. Clair was helping me apply for nursing school. But then…” I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to relive the memories. When I continue, my voice is scratchy, full of emotion. “Someone dropped a bag off at my work. Took off before I could say no.”

I stop. Not willing to share the rest of the night. What happened between Theo and I.

“And?” he presses.

“And I lost it.”

“You lost the bag?” There’s a note of disbelief in his voice.

“I took a cab home. Left it in the backseat.” I shut my eyes for a brief moment and feel the pounding of my heart in my chest. I hate the fear that rises up in me at the memory.

“What happened?” Moody asks, his deep voice calm, but probing.

“Stefano did a number on me when he found out. Threatened to kill me if I didn’t find the bag, or repay him.”

“So you ran?”

I nod.

“Does Theo know?”

I shake my head, then realize he can’t see me. “No.”

He shuffles on his bed, the movement making the springs squeak. “Why not tell him?”

So many reasons I can’t name, but I give the one I know he’ll understand. “Theo was in the cab with me. I don’t know what’s on the police report, but I can’t take the risk of Theo being connected.”

“That’s what the guy has on you?”

“Yeah.”

“Anything else?”

“It’s enough.”

Silence. I see Moody’s shadow as he sits on the edge of his bed, his back to me.

“I won’t tell Theo you tried to run.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not going to do it again. You’re going to stay and figure this out.”

“I can’t. You don’t understand what this guy’s capable of. I can’t risk Theo and Logan’s life.”

“As noble as that sounds, it’s the fucking coward’s approach. And from what I know about you, Mackenzie, you’re no coward.” He stands, rummaging through his bag, then the white light of his cell illuminates his face.

“You don’t know me.”

“True. But I know Theo, and I know he’s willing to fight to his last breath to keep you safe.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” I say quietly.

“You’ve been running from this guy for how long?”

“Three years,” I mutter.

“Don’t you think that’s long enough?” He removes the chain link from the door. “Trust me. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

“Why do you even care?”

I can feel him studying me in the darkness.

He finally answers. “Because Theo’s like a brother to me, which, in my books, makes you family.”

My throat goes dry and I swallow down my emotions.

He opens the door a crack. “I need to make a few calls. Get some sleep.”

When the door closes behind him, I curl into a ball.

His words make me feel things I have no right to feel.

Safe.

Protected.

Hopeful.

But it’s just an illusion, and the nightmares that are already creeping into my mind as I fall asleep prove it.