Dangerous Love(61)
She hadn’t considered there might be people outside. Watching. And she didn’t know the area well at all. She hadn’t bothered to familiarize herself with her new surroundings yet.
“Okay,” she choked on her whisper.
“I have to call some people, Mackenzie. The phone’s on silent, right?”
“Vibrate.”
“Good. I’ll call right back. It’ll only be a minute,” he assured her.
“Please hurry, Smith,” she sobbed. “Please.”
She didn’t know if he disconnected before she begged or if he’d heard her. She prayed Smith came to their rescue.
***
An eternity passed before Mackenzie heard anything. Smith hadn’t called her back like he said he would, and when she tried to call him, it went to voicemail. The clock on the phone ticked by at an achingly slow pace. She hadn’t moved since Smith told her to stay put. She knew where she was, toward the end of the house, which meant there had to be either hidden steps or a slide or a drop that went to ground level in order for her to get out of the house. Should she make her way out? Should she listen to Derk or Smith? If Derk told her to leave their home, he meant it for her safety.
She was about to continue her progression that led outside when the crawl space bedroom door opened and a burst of light bathed the entire space.
“Mackenzie?”
She remained as quiet and still as a petrified, cornered animal. Because that’s exactly what she was. The blinding light backlit whoever was at the door, and she had no idea who called to her.
“Mackenzie, it’s Smith, honey. Come here.”
She couldn’t tell if it truly was Smith. A dark shadow hid his features. When she didn’t budge, he came in after her. She remained cemented in place, unable to move. Fear gripped her.
When he was directly in front of her, her vision grew clear. She broke down and sobbed, tossing herself into Smith’s arms. He held her tight for only a moment.
“Let’s get you out of here, Mackenzie.”
“Derk?”
“He’s on his way to the hospital. I’ll take you there,” he said as he awkwardly crawled out of the space with her on his lap.
“Is he all right?”
“Did you find her?” another strong male voice yelled from inside the bedroom.
Smith didn’t answer either question.
When he finally reached the bedroom, Jack appeared and crouched down, held out his arms to help her out.
“Come on, Mackenzie. We need to get you to the hospital. Derk’s going batshit crazy worrying about you,” he said.
“He’s okay?”
“He needs to get into surgery, but he’s too much of a bear and is fighting everyone. We need you to calm him.”
She scrambled to her feet and rushed out of the room. Before she flew down the steps, she was grabbed from behind and spun around. Carl shook his head. “I’ll take you out of the house, honey. But you have to bury your head in my jacket and close your eyes. Get it?”
Oh God, what was down there that they wanted to shield her from?
“What happened?” she whispered.
“Your boyfriend fought like hell, that’s what happened. And he came out the victor. That’s all you need to know.” A tiny smile played at his lips.
“What is so funny?” she snapped. “Our home was invaded. They wanted to kill Derk.” Her body started to tremble again.
“Shhhh,” he said and patted her back. “I’m not laughing, sweetheart. I’m in awe of your crazy ass boyfriend.”
Oh.
Her puppy was going nuts downstairs, his high-pitched bark filling the entire home. “Bob.”
“Who’s Bob?” In a nanosecond, Carl changed from lighthearted to a man ready to go Rambo.
“My dog.”
“He’s fine.” He shook his head. “Let’s go, Mackenzie. We can’t waste anymore time.”
With that, she buried her head into his chest and closed her eyes tightly. Next thing she knew, she was lifted into the air and placed into a car. She prayed Derk calmed down enough to allow them to fix him. She prayed whatever was wrong was able to be repaired. She prayed she didn’t lose him, just when he’d found her.
32
Derk tried like hell to dislodge himself off the gurney, but security and hospital staff had put him in restraints. If someone didn’t get him to his girl, he was going to put a cap in everyone’s asses as soon as he freed himself. And he would. He’d already managed to escape one of his confined legs.
His stomach burned and a searing pain ripped through him every time he moved an inch, but he used that pain to keep himself alert instead of succumbing to the blackness that called to him. He needed to get to Mackenzie. He needed to save her. No one could tell him if she was safe, without a scratch or hair out of place. Not a single person he knew came into the room to give him any information. And the fucking hospital staff could give a shit less, all they worried about was getting him under the knife. As if one knife to the gut wasn’t enough.