Macey
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, DALLAS informed Payton and me that the immediate threat was over, and it was time to go home.
“Bummer,” Payton droned. “I was so loving not seeing the water in the morning.”
Dallas chuckled. “When you’re packed, Jax and I’ll take your bags.”
“Thanks.” Payton headed off to her room and I followed Dallas to ours.
“Can we go home for good?” I asked as I packed my bag for the third time.
“We got the guy who left the note, and we’re watching Mona and those close to her, so yeah, we’re optimistically expecting it will be for good.”
“What about Mona? What exactly are you watching?”
“Babe, I can’t tell you that.”
“Oh, right.” I wrinkled my nose. “But you’re sure it’s okay.”
“Sure enough to let you go back to work, yes. Sure enough to let you go back without a detail? No. You’ll have one on you for a while.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And the hospital’s okay with that?”
“Babe, I don’t give a rat’s ass what the hospital’s opinion is, it’s gonna happen. Alec will run interference if need be.” Dallas tugged me away from my packing and cupped my cheek. “You gonna give me grief?”
I laid a hand over my heart. “I would never.”
He chuckled, and I relaxed. His smile had been hard won this weekend, and I found I craved it. “I will try not to make this harder,” I promised.
“I love you,” he said, and kissed me.
“I love you, too.”
“Ready?”
I nodded. “Are you really okay with me taking my shift tonight?”
“In theory.”
“Are you going to give me grief about it?” I retorted.
Dallas dragged my suitcase from the bed and shook his head. “As long as you do what you’re told, no.”
“Story of my life,” I grumbled.
“I’m not with you tonight, so please don’t give whoever it is a hard time.”
“I won’t.”
Dallas gripped my chin. “My idea of a hard time, not yours.”
I smiled. “Honey, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”
He kissed me quickly. “Thank you.”
“Am I going to see you tomorrow?”
“No.” He cocked his head. “You’ll see me after your shift.”
“But I’m on until three a.m.,” I said.
“I know. I’ll pick you up.”
“When, exactly, will you sleep?” I stressed.
He dragged my suitcase into the front room. “When you do.”
“Dal, you can’t keep going like this. You’ll burn out.”
“I’m fine.”
I wanted to argue, but I knew he wouldn’t “hear” me and it would probably just piss him off, so I stayed silent. I’d figure it out later when I could make sure he slept for a few days, even if a couple of my muscle relaxers had to find their way into a beer.
* * *
I threw my purse into my locker, keeping my cell phone with me, knowing Dallas would want me to. I fired off a quick text to let him know what I was doing, receiving a quick ‘TY’ from him. I smiled and headed to the nurses’ station.
I was in the ER again tonight. No surprise there, since Alec was on shift. I also had my little tail. A very cute, very young agent who went by the name Marx. I was uncertain if that was his first name or last, but I supposed it didn’t really matter. He seemed serious about his job and managed to be wherever I was, without being obtrusive.
“Mace, we have a motor vehicle collision with motorcycle on its way in,” Alec said. “The kid on the bike is still breathing, but barely.”
“Kid?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s nineteen.”
I nodded. “Okay. Where do you want me?”
“With me.”
“Got it.”
The rest of my shift flew by in a haze and by the time three a.m. hit, I was nearly asleep on my feet. We’d managed to save the kid on the motorcycle, but he was still in surgery in an effort to save his leg. Come to find out, the kid was a new recruit for the Dogs of Fire MC, which we discovered when we removed his leather jacket and vest. We now had about twenty, badass bikers in our waiting area, waiting for an update on their friend.
Dallas arrived to pick me up a few minutes early, his eyes dark from lack of sleep, and a day’s growth of stubble covering his jaw.
“Baby, you look exhausted.”
He nodded. “Which is why we’re going back to my place to sleep.”
“Good.” I grabbed my purse and jacket and followed him down to his awaiting SUV.
He drove us home and quickly locked up the house once we were inside. I felt suddenly wired, which usually happened after a late-night shift. I’d gotten a second wind, but knew it would fizzle pretty quickly if I forced myself to relax.
Dallas stripped down to nothing, leaving his clothes where he’d dropped them and fell into bed. I on the other hand, took time to wash my face, brush my teeth, and grab one of his T-shirts to sleep in, before picking up his clothes and dumping them in the hamper. I turned off the bathroom light I’d kept on for guidance and climbed in next to him.
He was asleep. I could tell, but I still grinned when he rolled over, tugging me against him, something he did if I moved too far away from him. “Love you, baby,” I whispered, and closed my eyes.
I was drifting in and out of sleep when I heard something. I sat up and listened. Nothing. I glanced at Dallas, he was dead to the world, so I snuggled back against him closed my eyes again.
A rattle in the backyard made me jump, but the sound of a barking dog and hissing cat put me at ease. Figuring it was probably the neighbor’s lab protecting his territory, I closed my eyes again, but couldn’t fully relax. Even with Dallas sleeping soundly beside me, I was unsettled. I chalked it up to being overtired, but at this point, I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I sat up again.
“Babe,” Dallas grumbled.
“Sorry, honey. Go back to sleep.”
He reached for my hand. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Come here.” He tugged me onto his chest and kissed my forehead. “Sleep, baby.”
I nodded against his chest and closed my eyes again, but when another crash sounded outside, Dallas was up and out of bed, searching for his discarded jeans. “Shit!”
I scrambled from the bed. “Sorry, I put your stuff in the hamper.”
He grabbed a pair of sweats from a drawer and unholstered his gun, safety off, holding it down by his side as he moved to the door. “Stay here.”
I nodded, even though he didn’t look back at me, but I did don a pair of pajama bottoms and head for his gun safe. He’d bought me a Sig P239 with a laser sight and kept it at his home for when I wanted to practice. I thought having my own gun was a little overkill, but now I realized I liked the idea of having it handy.
It took me two tries to scroll through the combination with shaky hands, but I did it, opened the safe, grabbed my gun, and loaded it. Again, it took a little effort because I could not stop shaking, but after a few deep breaths, I was ready.
I heard Dallas swear, then a thud, and my heart raced as I positioned the pistol by my side, my finger off the trigger, but near it, and tiptoed to the bedroom door.
I tried to stay in the bedroom, but when Dallas swore again, and the pop of a gunshot echoed through the house, I rushed through door and sprinted down the hall. Dallas struggled with a man dressed in black, his gun lying useless by the back door. Dallas feigned left. The intruder struck out. Dallas blocked and countered the attack. The intruder spun and kicked. Dallas pulled back, keeping himself between the intruder and his gun.
I hid in the shadows, afraid to draw Dallas’s attention. Dallas swung, connecting with the intruder’s jaw. A glint of metal waved in front of Dallas. He jumped back, but not before the intruder’s blade bit into his arm.
“Drop the knife!” I demanded, aiming the laser at the man’s heart. “Drop it, or I’ll shoot.”
“Fuck, Mace,” Dallas snapped.
The intruder lunged at Dallas. I fired, winging the man’s arm. The intruder grabbed his arm, and Dallas jumped down and retrieved his gun, leveling it at the man.
“Don’t move,” Dallas demanded. “You’re under arrest.”
The intruder moved.
Dallas fired. The intruder fell backwards. Blood gushed from a bullet wound in the middle of his forehead. The gun he’d been reaching for clattered to the ground.
I squeaked, falling against the wall in an effort to stay standing.
Dallas rushed to me, tugging the gun from my hand, setting it on the floor, and wrapping a hand around my neck. “I told you to stay put.”
I nodded. “I know.”
He pulled me against his chest and kissed my temple. “I need you to stay here. I have to call the team and check this guy out.”
“Let me see your arm.”
“It’s fine, babe.”
“Let me see.”
With a sigh, he turned so I could examine his bicep. “You’re right, it’s nothing. We’ll put a bandage on it when you’re done.”
“Told ya,” he said, and smiled gently. “Don’t move, okay?”
I swallowed, but managed a quick nod.
“Don’t lose it just yet, baby. You can in a minute, okay?”
I nodded again.
“I’m gonna let you go.”
“’K.”
He released me, grabbed his phone, dialed, balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, and then checked the intruder’s pulse and rifled through his pockets, pulling out his wallet.
Dallas slipped into technical language, giving numbers and details I couldn’t follow. I sat against the wall, my knees pulled up to my chin and my arms wrapped around my legs. I watched with a strange detachment as blood pooled around the intruder’s head. Sirens blared in the background, coming even closer. Then blue and red lights flashed through the front window.
When the police arrived, I was photographed, my hand swabbed for gunshot residue, checked over by the EMTs, given a sedative by said EMTs, and then a nice female police officer walked me back to the bedroom and insisted I lie down and not leave the room. I was fine with that. Especially since the sedative meant I fell into oblivion and didn’t wake for several hours. When I did, I was alone in bed with a killer of a headache and feeling as though I had cotton balls in my mouth.
I rolled over to discover a glass of water and an open bottle of ibuprofen sitting on my nightstand, so I took two pills and gulped down the water, grateful for Dallas’s kind forethought.
“You’re awake,” Dallas said from the doorway.
I turned toward the sound of his voice and nodded. “Are you okay?”
He’d changed, now wearing a pair of faded jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. His feet were bare, but he walked into the room and rifled through his drawer for a pair of socks. “I’m fine. How do you feel?”
“Headache,” I said. “Thanks for the painkillers.”
Dallas nodded.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Noon.”
“Crap. I have my shift in two hours.”
“You’re not going to work today, Mace.”
I slid off the bed. “I can’t keep taking time off. I’m going to lose my job.”
Dallas crossed his arms and leaned against the bureau. “I don’t really care about your job right now, honey.”
I frowned. “You’re mad?”
“I’m not mad, Mace,” he ground out. “I’m fucking pissed. You could have been hurt.”
“Um, excuse me, but you could have been killed, Dallas!”
He dragged his hands through his hair. “I had everything under control. This is what I’m trained for.”
“He had a knife… and a gun,” I countered. “And yours was on the opposite side of the room.”
“Yeah, he got a little jump on me, but again, I had it under control.” He took a deep breath. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that my man was in trouble and he taught me to shoot for a reason, and that reason was standing over him with a knife.”
“I also taught you to shoot to kill, not wing a man. He had plenty of time to shoot back at you.”
“I was aiming for his heart!” I snapped. “He moved.”
Just when I thought the fight was going to escalate, Dallas burst out laughing. “Fuck.”
“I don’t find any of this funny,” I said.
Dallas closed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. “We’re okay.”
I nodded into his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m not going to apologize.”
“I know, baby.”
“Are you okay?”
He stroked my hair. “Couple of bruises, small cut on the arm. Nothing that won’t heal.”
“I think I need more target practice.”
“Probably. We’re also going to move into the Naito condo.”
“Not until after we’re married,” I said.
“Okay, baby.”
“Studies show that people who live together before marriage tend to get divorced.”
“I know, honey.”
“So, we have to get married first and then live together.”
He gave me a gentle squeeze. “Yes, I would very much like to live with you after we’re married.”
I burst into tears. “He had a knife. He was going to stab you.”
“It’s okay, Mace. I’ve got you. We’re okay.”
“He could have killed you.”
“Shhh. We’re okay.”
We stood locked in each other’s arms and I worked out my extreme emotions by soaking his T-shirt while he held me, stroking my hair as I cried.
I didn’t go to work and was glad for the time off. Dallas worked the rest of the day from home, sticking close to me as he took phone calls and typed up notes on his laptop to email to Brock later. I curled up on the sofa downstairs, a blanket wrapped around me, an unfamiliar movie on, while Dallas transcribed written notes, a stack of paper next to one thigh, my feet against his other.
I slipped in and out of sleep, the events of the night running through my mind until Dallas set his laptop aside, and slid behind me, pulling my back against his chest. “We’re okay, honey.”
“Who was that man?”
Dallas sighed.
I craned my neck to look at him. “You can’t tell me that?”
“I can tell you, I’m just not sure I should.”
“Yes, you should.” I rolled over to face him. “I want to know what you know. I won’t tell anyone.”
“I know you won’t.” He slipped my hair behind my ear and stroked my cheek. “Brock and Jaxon are currently speaking to Bruce about what he knows.”
“He was involved?”
Dallas nodded. “In the cover-up. Don, the man who raped you, was Mona’s uncle. Her grandfather’s third wife was younger than Mona’s mother, and they had two kids. Don was ten when Mona was born, so they were raised more like cousins and I guess he and Mona were the closest, but she also knew about his issues.”
“He’d done that before?”
Dallas nodded. “Multiple times. We don’t know whether or not he abused Mona, but I tend to think he probably did, which messed with her.”
“As it would.”
“Exactly. The reason Mona warned you away from Bruce was because Don had you on his radar.”
I stiffened. “What?”
“He saw a picture of you and Bruce somewhere, probably social media, and you became a fixation. By then, Mona had been estranged from that side of the family for a while, but I guess Don reached out to her again. After Brock killed him, Mona manipulated the AG’s assistant to change the file.”
“But why?”
“Because her husband’s running for mayor.”
“So, this was to try to bury the fact her family is totally screwed up. Okay, I guess I get that, but why would she feel the need to attack me? I have done nothing to her.”
Dallas scowled. “She didn’t.”
“She didn’t?”
“No. Bruce did.”
I sat up. “Why?”
“Because he’s an asshole.”
“That’s not the reason,” I snapped. “He’s been an asshole his whole life, Dallas.”
“He was pissed you dumped him and had plans for you.”
“Um, what kind of plans?”
“Not goin’ there, babe.”
I shot off the couch. “Yeah, you are. What did he have planned, Dallas?”
He sat up and dragged his hands down his face. “He thought that he could scare you into his life and then convince you to stay with him.”
“What?” I rasped.
“He’s not right in the head, Mace.”
I nodded, wrapping my arms around myself. “But he knew I loved you. Knew I wouldn’t leave you.”
Dallas stood and pulled me against him. “Which is why he planned to kill me. And if he couldn’t kill me, then he was gonna kill you.”
“No.”
“Mace, it’s okay. He can’t hurt you.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I think this is enough information for right now,” he said.
I looked up at him. “How do you know?”
“The team found plans, photos, and diaries when they raided his place.”
“Ohmigod.”
“He’s been arrested, honey. He’ll be locked up for a long time and unable to hurt you. Trust me on that.”
“What if he gets off?” I asked. “They have that kind of money and influence, Dallas. What if he beats the charges?”
“He won’t.”
“What if he does?”
He didn’t answer.
“Dallas. What if he does?” I pressed.
“Then I’ll kill him.”
I blinked. “You would, wouldn’t you?”
“In a heartbeat.”
I had a couple of ways I could go with this information. I could freak out, make him promise not to do something so reckless, make him promise not to get himself thrown in jail for me. Or…
“Okay,” I whispered, and hugged him. “Okay.”
“Love you, honey.”
“Love you, too,” I whispered.
“Let’s make dinner and then we’ll relax down here for a while.”
I nodded and followed him upstairs, my heart lighter than it had been in a very long time.