Dangerous Love(60)

Fucking hell, C.D. Maler came to him. Why the fuck hadn’t he considered this scenario? They all figured he’d go after Murphy. They should have considered Maler would go after Mr. M by hitting one of his closest henchmen. That’s how the man rolled. It was damn brilliant. But fuck him, Derk was in trouble because the man probably knew about Mac.

Mackenzie’s eyes went wide with fear. Derk shook his head. “Stay calm.”

She scrambled off the bed and jumped into her clothes. He yanked her over to the hidden crawl space that came with the house. “You go in there and get out of the house.” He grabbed his cell off the chest of drawers. “Call Smith and let him know what’s going on. Whisper, Mac.”

“What about you?” she cried.

“I’ll take care of myself. I need you to get out and away from the house. Once you talk to Smith, call Mr. Murphy.” The sounds of hard footsteps echoed off the hardwood floors. Closing in. Mackenzie started to shake.

“Go. I’m moving this dresser back in front of the door so they won’t know where to find you.” He kissed her hard then forced her into the space. “I love you, Mac. Be smart.” When he pushed the dresser in front of the small door, he had to trample down the panic that he’d left her alone. But the man who invaded his house knew damn well that coming into his home was an act of aggression and defiance and a challenge. They’d probably been watching his place for days if not weeks. They’d want to get their hands on Mackenzie and use her against him. Hell if he’d allow that to happen.

Luckily the bright night sky illuminated the room where he could easily find his knives and guns and loaded himself up. He stayed in his bare feet, so not to make a sound. Cracking the door open, he carefully eyed the hallway and listened intently. Where are the men that forcefully entered his home?

Slowly he opened the door and crept down the hallway, his back one with the wall, his gun ready to shoot anyone who crossed his path. He was going to murder every single asshole who dared to enter his house. Who scared the shit out of his woman. Fucking hell, this was his karma for flaking on the job. Never leave a stone unturned, yet he had. That fucking snake managed to slither out from underneath and bit him in the ass. His main goal and focus needed to be to behead the bastards and keep his girl out of harm's way. Tonight he couldn’t allow revenge for invading his bubble to consume him. He needed to ensure Mac’s safety.

A floorboard creak stopped his progression. His hearing was phenomenal, always had been. The bottom of the steps, that’s the direction the noise originated.

He made his way to the top of the stairwell, frequent glances over his shoulder to catch anyone who might sneak up on him. His foot landed on the first step and his world went dark.





31



Mackenzie shook uncontrollably as she crawled through the dark space. She desperately tried to remain quiet so she could hear anything, but once she’d entered the space, every noise was blocked. She had zero clue what was happening in the house.

While she scampered down the enclosure, aware of every sound she made, she dialed Smith, just like Derk told her. Thankfully he was at the top of the contact’s list.

“It’s three in the goddamn morning, Derk,” Smith gnarled.

“Smith,” she whispered.

Silence.

“Smith.”

“Mackenzie?” he asked, suddenly sounding awake. “What’s wrong?”

“There are people in the house.”

“Where are you?”

“In a crawl space that leads outside,” she answered. She continued to move forward.

“Do they know where you are?”

“I don’t know.” What if they did find her? What if Derk hadn’t been able to push the chest of drawers back into place? Fear took hold and she started to hyperventilate.

“Mackenzie, calm down.”

“Derk,” she sobbed.

“Derk will be fine, I promise,” he said calmly. Too calm. How could he maintain his composure at a time like this? “But we don’t want him worrying about you, so we need to make sure you’re safe. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“If you don’t hear anyone coming through that crawl space, Mackenzie, I want you to stay there. Do you understand me? Do not go outside,” he said firm. She heard a car door slam in the background of the call.

“But he told me to get out of the house.”

“We don’t know if there’s anyone outside watching the house, honey. Stay there unless your hiding spot becomes compromised.” Smith’s tone grew cold and unyielding. She didn’t know he possessed that kind of harshness.