Macey
I STOOD AT the nurse’s station and went through the charts I hadn’t had a chance to file on my previous shift. I was floating today and had been assigned to the E.R., which meant I got to work with Alec again. I had a fleeting notion that Dallas might have made that happen, but quickly shoved the thought aside when we got the call that a multiple car accident meant victims were on their way in.
“Macey and Vicki, you’re with me,” Alec said. “Kelly and Marci, you’re with Dr. Kellar.”
The rest of the day passed in a blur, dealing with six patients at once, all with varying levels of injury. By the time I sat down for my dinner break, I thought my feet might fall off. All in all, however, the day had been a great one, especially considering there were no fatalities.
Alec walked into the staff lounge and smiled. “Great job, today.”
“Thanks.”
He handed me his cell phone.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s Dallas.”
I rolled my eyes and put the phone to my ear. “Hi, honey.”
“Where the hell is your cell phone?” Dallas snapped.
“Probably in my locker.”
“I have been trying to get hold of you for two hours.”
“Dallas, I’m working. You know I don’t carry my cell phone with me on the floor. You could have called the nurse’s station.”
“I did, Macey. I left four messages. If Alec didn’t pick up, I was gonna come down there and fucking drag you out of there.”
“You were not.”
He didn’t respond.
“Dallas, are you being serious right now?” I ground out. “I have a job. You can’t go all cave man on me because I’m not at your beck and call twenty-four, seven.”
“Macey, there is someone stalking you. I need to know that you’re okay.”
I frowned when Alec stepped outside to obviously give me some privacy. “No one is stalking me at work, Dallas. Alec is close, and by the way, don’t think I don’t know you made that happen. I have been alone so far for all of six minutes in order to eat something, so I’m fine.”
“I’m not arguing about this with you, Macey. Get your phone and keep it on you.”
He hung up.
The fucker just hung up on me!
I let out a frustrated growl and rose to my feet. Pulling open the door, I handed the phone back to Alec with a huff. “Your brother is a pain in the ass.”
Alec chuckled. “He certainly can be.”
“Sorry you got stuck in the middle.”
“I facilitated a phone call, Mace. It’s not a problem.” He guided me back into the break room and poured himself a cup of coffee. “What’s this about a stalker?”
“Some jerk left a note on my car.” I sat back in my seat. “Not sure it is a stalker yet, or if it’s just someone messing with me. You know Dallas, he jumps to the worst-case scenario.”
Alec wisely didn’t say anything as he sat across from me. He took a sip of his coffee and then pulled his phone out of his lab coat pocket and read the screen. “Dallas would like me to remind you to get your phone.”
I dropped my face into my hands with a groan. “Just ignore him.”
Alec chuckled as he fired off a text. “If only that were an option.”
“Macey Gilbert, please call the fourth floor nurse’s desk.”
“What now?” I complained as I picked up the phone in the break room.
“Fourth floor, this is Vicki.”
“Hey, Vicki, it’s Macey. Someone paged me.”
“Oh, yeah. There’s a Bruce Daniels here to see you. He’s down at reception. You also have a few messages from Dallas.”
“Thanks, Vick. I’ve talked to Dallas, so you can chuck those. I’ll call reception and find out what Bruce wants.”
“Okey dokey.”
Vicki hung up and I dialed reception. “Reception.”
“Hi, this is Macey Gilbert. I understand someone’s waiting for me.”
“Yes. Sheriff Daniels is here.”
“Could you tell him I’m on shift and can’t have visitors right now, please?”
“He says it’s urgent and it looks like he might be here on official business.”
I sighed. “Okay, I’ll be down in a bit.”
I hung up and faced Alec.
“What does your ex want?” he asked.
“How did you know he was my ex?” I held up my hand before he could answer. “No, don’t bother.”
“Dallas just wanted me to keep an eye on you.”
“Yeah, figured that out, Alec. And in answer to your question, I don’t know what he wants. Apparently, it’s urgent.” I grabbed my half-finished food and put it back in the refrigerator. “Why he didn’t just call me…”
“You don’t have your cell phone,” Alec pointed out.
“Smart ass,” I droned.
“It’s a Stone family trait.”
“Yeah, picking up on that,” I agreed with a smile. “If I’m not back in fifteen minutes, send out a search party.”
I arrived at reception and Bruce walked toward me, his smile slow and calculated. We hadn’t had much contact since the incident. He called more often than I liked, but I didn’t typically answer. I’d answered his last call, mostly to ask him to stop calling, and it had not gone well. He’d said he’d never give up on our love and I’d been so creeped out by him, I told him to lose my number and never bother me again. He didn’t listen.
“Macey, I’ve been calling you for weeks. Why aren’t you answering my calls?” he demanded.
I wondered how I ever thought I could love this man. I supposed it was because he was from such a different world than mine. Son of a prestigious judge, his life of privilege was fascinating to me. His appointment to sheriff probably bought, or so the rumors flew. He was tall and muscular, his blond hair long and styled professionally. I once thought he was gorgeous, but now he didn’t even rate. Especially not next to Dallas.
“I told you after our last phone call to lose my number. And in my official, written email to quit harassing me. Now you’re coming to my place of business? Not cool.”
He grabbed my arm, pulling me off to the side for a modicum of privacy. “I have to talk to you.”
I pulled out of his grip. “I’m working, Bruce. Why does nobody seem to care that I have a job today?”
“If I need to make this official business, I will.”
“What’s this about?”
He glanced around nervously. “I can’t discuss it here.”
“Bruce, I’m not going anywhere with you unless you tell me what this is about.”
He settled his hand over his holstered gun. “I can add obstructing an officer to the charges, Macey.”
“Add them?” I asked, my heart racing. “Am I being charged with something?”
“Macey?” Alec said as he walked up to us. “I need you back on the floor.”
“Macey needs to come with me, Dr. Stone,” Bruce countered.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Alec said.
Bruce smiled smugly. “Nevertheless, I know who you are.”
“Apparently.” Alec crossed his arms. “Why does Macey need to come with you?”
“That’s confidential.”
Alec raised an eyebrow. “Is she under arrest?”
“Not yet.”
“What?” I squeaked. “What do you mean, ‘not yet’?”
“We can avoid all of this, if you’ll just come with me,” Bruce said.
“How about this?” Alec said, ignoring me. “Dallas will bring her down to the station when he gets here.”
“When he gets here?” I asked.
“She’ll come down to the station now,” Bruce said.
“Well, if you two are going to talk about me like I’m not here, I’m gonna head on back upstairs.”
Alec took my arm gently, still focused on Bruce. “Macey’s going to wait for Dallas.”
“She needs to come with me.”
“Macey’s going to make her own decisions,” I grumbled, attempting to pull away from Alec. He glanced at something over my head and I turned to see Dallas, Brock, and Jaxon stalking toward me. I threw my hands up in the air. “Well, this is just great.”
Dallas scowled at Bruce as he pulled me behind him. “Bruce.”
“Dallas,” he said.
“Something you need?”
Bruce nodded. “I need Macey to come down to the station.”
“Why?” Dallas asked.
“That’s above your pay grade,” Bruce said with a sneer.
“You fucking piece of—”
“Dallas,” Jaxon warned, and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“You do realize I’m FBI, right?” Dallas asked.
Bruce’s face got red and he focused on me again. “You need to come with me.”
“Macey’s not going anywhere with you,” Dallas said. “You need to talk to her, you’ll do it with me in attendance.”
“You’re not a lawyer,” Bruce pointed out.
“I need a lawyer?” I squeaked.
“Then I’ll get her one.” Dallas gave my hand a squeeze. “But you will never… and hear me on this, Bruce… never be anywhere with her alone.”
“Call off your watchdog, Macey,” Bruce ordered.
I gasped, ready to rip him a new one, but before I could respond, Brock shook his head. I wrinkled my nose, not liking his silent censorship, but stayed quiet.
“I want you down at the precinct in two hours,” Bruce said. “If you’re not there, an all-points will be issued in your name. Hear me?”
Bruce squared his shoulders and stalked out through the hospital’s front doors.
“What’s going on?” I whispered as Dallas pulled me into one of the offices behind reception and wrapped his arms around me.
“I don’t know, but we’ll sort it out.”
“How? How exactly will you sort it out? He just went off on me in front of a crowded waiting room.”
“Macey, Bruce is messing with you. Everything he did just then was so far out of the scope of police procedure, it wasn’t even funny. I don’t know why he’s doing it, but I will find out. Word on the street is that there’s an investigation into his winning votes.”
“Really?” I stared up at him, trying to stamp down my fear.
“Really,” he said.
“He’s been sheriff for five minutes,” I said.
“And the powers that be are figuring out he may not have gotten the position legally. I have a feeling he’s not gonna have his job for much longer, babe, and even if he does, he can’t hurt you.” His expression gentled and he smiled. “I’ve got you.”
Out of the prying eyes of spectators, I allowed myself a vulnerable moment and laid my cheek to his chest. “I’m so scared, Dallas.”
He stroked my hair. “I know you are, baby. You and I are heading out of town for few days.”
“We are?” I looked up at him. “Where?”
“Secret,” he said.
“I can’t just bail on work, Dallas. That’s kind of frowned upon. Plus, what if Bruce really does put an all-points out on me.”
“Official FBI business, sweetheart. Matt will take care of the A.P.B., and Alec will deal with your boss.”
I rolled my eyes. “Is it really official FBI business or is this unofficial Macey business?”
He sighed. “FBI.”
“Crap, really?”
Dallas nodded. “Bruce is up to something, which is why I need to get you the hell out of here for a while.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
“Meaning, you’re not going to tell me anything else, right?”
“Right. Say nothing to anyone, babe, yeah? You’ll finish out your shift. Payton will pack you a bag and then you and I are heading out without a word to anyone.”
“Which brings up an interesting point, Payton will know.”
“No, she won’t. She thinks I have something romantic planned. She won’t know anything.”
“Safe house?”
He nodded.
I groaned. “Bailey nearly went crazy being locked up with you three. Are you seriously saying I have to do the same?”
Dallas smiled. “She nearly went crazy because she wanted Brock and couldn’t act on it… at least for as long as he kept it in his pants. You and I are going to have some much-needed connection time… mostly alone. Jax will be there from time to time, but only to deliver information. Brock’s staying here to keep an eye on Bruce and his cronies.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know, babe. A week, maybe a bit more.”
“I have some vacation time, but if it goes much longer, I might have to take time off without pay… which means I’ll have to pull money from savings for rent and—”
“Breathe, Mace.” He chuckled. “Rent’s covered. Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, right,” I droned. “I’m a kept woman.”
“You’re my woman… so yeah… I’m keeping you.” He checked his watch. “Shift is over in an hour, right?”
I nodded.
“Okay. Jax is gonna hang out here while I head to your place, then I’ll pick you up and whisk you far, far away.”
I clasped my hands at my chest and said in a southern accent, “Oh, kind sir, please will you save me from the bad, bad world?”
Dallas leaned down and kissed me, pressing me against the wall and cupping my cheek. He waited until I sighed before breaking the kiss and dropping his forehead to mine. “I will save you from the bad, bad world.”
“I want you to do it naked,” I whispered.
He squeezed his eyes shut. “God, babe, you’re killing me.”
I giggled. “Serves you right. You might come in here all, ‘I’m gonna protect my woman, hear me roar,’ but at least I know I can bring you to your knees with a kiss.”
“You can do that without a kiss.”
“I’ll remember that.” I smiled. “I have to get back to work.”
“I’ll walk you up and touch base with Jaxon.”
I almost argued, but knew it would be wasted breath, so I led him to the elevator and enjoyed one more kiss before I went back to work.