For a Thursday, the day sucked.
Normally, the day before a Friday was met with happy vibes the weekend was approaching. But of course I had shitty luck. Therefore, after barely sleeping the last four nights, my patience was thin when Doug called to tell me he had to go out of town and wouldn’t be home for “a while.” When I asked how long a while was, he told me to mind my own business and hung up.
I took the call to mean he wouldn’t be taking the kids on his next weekend. That was fine by me. As unpleasant as Doug barking at me was, that was not the shitty part.
No, that came hours later.
And when it came, it rocked me.
14
“Who pissed in your Wheaties?” Jameson joked as he walked into the conference room.
Alec looked up from the report he was reading to see his friend smirking. A lot had changed over the last few years—Jameson smiling was one of them. The man used to wear a perpetual scowl.
“Chasin back from Boston?” Alec asked instead of answering.
“Dropped off the skip in Baltimore. Depending on traffic, he should be back in about two hours. You didn’t answer me.”
“That’s because I’m ignoring you.”
Jameson snorted and pushed. “What’s goin’ on? You’ve been pissed all week.”
Alec studied his friend who had once been an island unto himself, emotionally closed off, and physically distant to almost everyone. But then Kennedy came into his life and the man had changed—completely. Alec was grateful to the woman for showing Jameson there was good in the world.
“Not pissed. Not really, anyway. I thought…fuck, I don’t know what I thought. But it doesn’t matter—shit didn’t work out.”
That was a total lie, it did matter. It mattered a fuck of a lot, but Macy had made herself clear, and as much as he wanted to barge into her life and take her by storm, he couldn’t. He couldn’t get her impassioned plea out of his head.
How many times over the last five days had he heard her whispered words?
You’d build me up. It’d feel so good and I’d be so high, I wouldn’t survive the fall.
Fuck! She slayed him.
He wanted to build her up. Put her up high on a pedestal and erase all the shit her ex had planted. He’d been certain he wanted Macy, but as soon as the words had left her mouth, fear had gripped him—it was the fall that worried him. He didn’t know if he was strong enough to catch her and thinking about leaving her broken paralyzed him.
So he let her walk away. But, he still hadn’t stopped looking into ways to make Doug stop playing his games with his kids.
“What didn’t work out?”
“Nine-one-one call came in,” Nixon shouted jogging past the conference room door. “Macy’s house.”
“Fuck!” Alec surged from his seat and ran after Nixon, catching him on the street. “SITREP?”
“Jonny’s en route.”
Alec jumped into Nixon’s truck, and as soon as Nix pulled away from the curb, he called Kennedy and asked her to go to the daycare and pick up Jocelyn. Once that was taken care of, he turned back to his friend.
“What else did he say?”
“Nothing. We were discussing the recent break-ins, when the call came in. Do you have any idea why Macy’s at home instead of at work?”
“No. Haven’t talked to her since Saturday.”
“What—”
“It’s complicated.”
“The fuck? You said—”
“I know what I said. I also know that it’s complicated and it’s been five fucking days since I’ve talked to her. Further, I know that a nine-one-one came in from her house and I’m fresh out of giving a shit about anything other than getting to her and making sure she’d okay.”
“I take it she turned you down.”
“More like shot me down, closed the door, and bolted it.”
“So you’re down?”
“Christ, Nixon. She made herself crystal clear she’s wants nothing to do with me.”
“Yet here you are, rushing to house.”
“I’m not an asshole.”
“Didn’t think you were a quitter either.”
Damn, that stung but Alec didn’t have time to give his dig any headspace. Not when they pulled onto her street and found three sheriff SUVs with lights still flashing in front of her house.
Nix pulled his truck to a stop and Alec jumped out, meeting Jonny on the porch.
“Where is she?” Alec asked. One look at the other man’s face told Alec it was bad. “Jonny?”
“Macy’s in the house. Rory’s in there, too. She’s…fucking hell…she’s shaken up. More upset that Rory saw.”
“Saw what?” Alec growled.
Alec felt Nix come to a stop next to him and Jonny’s gaze shifted to Nix.
Fuck that.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Alec started to push his way in but Jonny stopped him.
“Brace, Alec. You’re gonna be pissed but you’re gonna have to find it in you to lock it down. Macy’s feeling this deep, and I don’t mean the bruises on her face.
Bruises.
On her goddamn face.
With a lift of his chin, Alec made his way into the house and found mother and daughter sitting on the couch. Rory curled in Macy’s lap, her face rested on her mother’s chest. Macy was stroking Rory’s hair and whispering to her.
Alec sat on the coffee table facing the duo, careful not to scare either of them.
“Macy, baby?”
Cold, listless eyes met his gaze and he had to swallow the bile crawling up his throat. It was not the cuts and bruises littering her beautiful skin, not the dried blood still on her cheek, not even the mussed-up hair and torn shirt that sent white-hot rage sparking throughout his body.
It was her dull stare.
Completely vacant.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.
“Macy, there’s nowhere else I could be,” he told her honestly.
“Please leave.”
“Tell me what happened? Who did this?”
He barely held back asking if her dickface ex had beaten her, but he’d never say anything bad about the man in front of his daughter no matter how badly he deserved it.
“Macy,” Jonny interrupted. “I’m sorry but we need to ask you a few questions.”
“Not right now,” she returned and her eyes drifted to the top of Rory’s head.
“I’ll stay with her,” Alec offered.
“No—”
“Let Alec stay with Rory. We’ll talk in the kitchen you’ll be able to see her.”
With a huff of resignation, Macy leaned back slightly so she could see Rory’s face. “Baby, do you remember Mr. Hall?” she asked.
The girl’s sad gaze flitted to Alec’s before she nodded.
“Would it be all right if he sat here with you while I talked to Uncle Jonny for a minute?”
“My belly hurts,” Rory whined.
“I know it does, baby. As soon as I’m done I’ll get you some crackers and ginger ale.”
“Okay.”
Macy gently set her daughter on the couch and tucked the blanket that had been over them both around the little girl before she stood. Alec stayed where he was, fighting the urge to reach out and take Macy in his arms. He noticed among her other injuries she was holding her right wrist.
Motherfucker.
Guilt slammed into Alec for leaving Macy unprotected. He knew her ex was an asshole, knew he’d been emotionally abusive, but nowhere in any of the reports he’d read had he ever been physically violent. Though Alec should’ve known that not all domestic violence was reported.
Doug would pay for this.
“Are you going to get the bad guy?” Rory asked.
Bad guy? Jonny said Rory had seen the attack. Surely she’d recognize her father.
“Did you see who hit your mama, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” Rory whispered. “He looked mean. He yelled at mama then he
hit her.”
“Do you know him?” Rory shook her head. “Have you ever seen him before?” Another shake of her head in the negative.
Alec wondered if Aurora was in denial that her father would hit her mom. Macy had said that Doug put on a nice guy front when Rory was around. Not to mention the little girl was traumatized and most likely confused.
“Yes, sweetheart, we’re gonna find the bad guy.”
“Do you promise?”
“Yes, Aurora, I promise.”
“Mama says you can’t break a promise.”
Alec smiled as he imagined Macy explaining to her daughter the importance of not breaking a promise.
“Your mom is very smart,” Alec told her. “She’s also right. When you give someone your word you shouldn’t break it.”
“Your word?” Rory’s face scrunched the same cute way Macy’s did and Alec’s smile grew.
“Your word is your promise.”
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Without thinking, Alec scooped up Rory and started for the hall bathroom. They’d barely made it to the toilet before she gagged, then she relieved her stomach of its contents.
“You’re okay, sweetheart, get all the sick out.” Alec had one arm wrapped around her waist so she wouldn’t fall forward and the other held back her long hair.
“Oh, no. Rory baby,” Macy gasped from the doorway.
“I’ve got her, why don’t you get a washcloth?” Alec adjusted his hold while Rory continued to heave.
“I can—”
“Washcloth, Macy.”
Behind him, he heard the opening and closing of the cabinet door and the sink turn on. Voices from the living room drifted into the tiny bathroom but not loud enough for him to decipher what they were saying.
“You done, sweetheart? Your mama has a cool washcloth for you.”
“Done,” Rory croaked and Alec gently pulled them to their feet. Once he had Rory settled, he reached and flushed the toilet.
“Let’s go get you into your jammies,” Macy suggested.
“Sorry,” Rory mumbled sounding miserable.
“Nothing to be sorry about, munchkin. Does your tummy feel better?”
Macy’s arm wrapped around her daughter’s shoulder as Rory gave her mom her weight and nodded.
“Good.” Then Alec looked at Macy. “Do you have crackers and ginger ale?”
“No. I’ll go to the store after… when everyone…” Macy trailed off and Alec felt his muscles tighten and did his best to control the snarl from tearing from his throat.
Macy looked horrible.
“You need me to go to the—”
“No. I’m fine. I need to take care of Rory.”
She wasn’t fine, but standing in a small bathroom with her sick child wrapped around her was not the time to argue.
“Thanks for your help,” Macy continued. “I hope you’ll understand if I don’t see you out.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Alec—”
“Go take care of Aurora. I’m gonna talk to Jonny.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
Damn, she was infuriating. Even after someone had attacked her in her home in front of her child she was still trying to deny she needed his help, his protection.
Fuck that.
He’d done that once—backed off and gave her what she wanted and look how that turned out. Macy bloodied and beaten, that was how.
It would not happen again.
“You’ve already said that. I listened and this happened.” He dipped his chin. “Now we do it my way.”
“Alec—”
He didn’t hear the rest of Macy’s argument because he was already on the move. He easily found Jonny among the deputies that milled about in the living room.
“Did she identify her attacker?” Alec asked, not bothering with niceties.
“She did.”
“You gonna tell me who?”
“Not sure.”
Alec’s eyes narrowed on his friend and his anger spiked.
“Why’s that, Jonny?”
“Because you look like you’re losing the last threads of your control. I tell you and you go apeshit, my investigation and arrest will be fucked.”
“Have I ever fucked you over before?”
The answer to that was no. Gemini Group had worked with the sheriff’s department several times as consultants. And never had Alec flubbed up an investigation.
“No. But you’ve also never cared about the victim the way you do for Macy.”
Did he care about Macy? Yes. He’d wanted to explore the off-the-charts chemistry they had. But stupidly he’d allowed fear of future—of the unknown—override what he knew: he wanted Macy.
But right then with Macy’s face looking like someone used it as a punching bag, and Rory vomiting, whether for a stomach bug or the trauma of the day, it wasn’t the time to think about it.
“We got two options. The first, you save me some time and tell me. The second is, you waste time while I investigate. Either way, I’ll find out.”
“Right, but option two buys me enough time to have him behind bars before you go gonzo on the motherfucker and I have to find a way to cover your ass for attempted murder.”
Christ, Jonny was annoying the fuck out of him with these stupid games.
“Where’s Doug?” Alec asked deciding on a different approach.
“He called Macy this morning and told her he was going out of town for a while. She called me immediately because Doug skipping town is never a good thing. I went by his place as his brother, not an officer, and let myself in. He’s not there. He also packed and left in a hurry.”
No, that was not good. Dickhead Doug had bought himself trouble and now he was running.
“Did she tell you her friend Becky Keene called her Saturday night and told her Josh Malone was at Doug’s house? And just to add, Caleb and Rory were there. It was his weekend.”
Jonny’s features tightened and Alec’s whole body went on alert.
“I pulled Josh Malone’s sheet,” Alec told Jonny. “I also did some digging. He and Doug are tight. Gambling buddies. Josh is also known to be a prick when he’s owed money. Word is he’d fuck over his own blood if they went in the hole and couldn’t pay him back on time.”
“Yep,” Jonny confirmed. “Josh and Doug go way back. The guy’s a fucking dick. Back in the day, he started with piddly shit betting on football and baseball with his buddies. Once he figured out there was money to be made, he expanded. Kept the sportsbook and let outsiders put down bets. Then he started card games. They used to be once a month. Now they’re weekly.”
“You’re leaving out the loans,” Alec reminded him. “More money to be earned in interest.”
“There’s that, too,” Jonny sighed.
Alec’s pulse pounded as the pieces started to click into place.
“How much does Doug owe Josh?” he asked.
“Twenty-K,” Jonny answered.
“Fuck,” Alec snarled. “And the motherfucker thought since Doug had bailed, he’d come and take his payment out on Macy.”
It wasn’t a question, Alec knew that was what had happened. Macy was unprotected, vulnerable, and Josh Malone knew it. What Josh failed to realize was Doug Spencer didn’t give the first fuck about his ex-wife or his children. Therefore the beatdown Josh had meted out wouldn’t bring Doug running back to save his family. If anything, it would send the pussy further underground.
“Where’s Josh now?” Alec asked barely containing his rage.
“Got deputies and State Troopers out looking.” Jonny paused and gave Alec an appraising onceover. “You gonna hold your shit together or do I need to have Nixon lock you down?”
As if Nixon could lock him down.
“You try that, we’re gonna have problems.”
“You go ballistic and rip this town apart looking for Malone you’re gonna have problems. And those problems might be ones I can’t dig you o
ut of. Something else for you to keep in mind, you care for Macy the way I think you do, you don’t want her seeing a side of you she can’t unsee. She lived with an abusive—”
“Come again?” Alec growled, his temper at an all-time high. “You comparing me to that motherfucker?”
“Christ, brother, cool your tits and listen.” Jonny stepped closer. “She lived with a man who lost his shit regularly and when he did, it spilled out and coated them all. I know her, Alec. I also know you. I know you will not hesitate to dole out the wrath of God in protection of those you care about. But you need to think about if Macy can live with that.”
“She knows I would never hurt her.”
“Does she?” Jonny held up his hand, stopping Alec’s retort. “All I’m saying is, if you want a shot at Macy, you need to concentrate on her and leave Josh to me.”
“I can do both,” Alec argued.
“Maybe. Or maybe you should let me handle the manhunt and you worry about figuring out a way to get close to Macy. And while you’re doing that, you can keep her and my niece and nephew safe.”
“She’s gonna fight me, Jonny.”
“Yep.”
“Saturday she asked me to back off. The way she asked, what she said, made me think I was doing the right thing letting her go.”
“Then I’ll get someone to sit on her house.” Jonny’s disappointment in Alec couldn’t be missed.
“What I’m telling you is, she’s not gonna be happy I’m pushing my way in. Which I’m gonna do, but it’s gonna take time. As much as I want to demand she pack a bag and come move in with me until this is over, I can’t. I have to think about Caleb and Aurora. Jocelyn, too. There are five of us involved—three of whom need to be handled with care. Rory is already freaking out about her mom getting hurt. Caleb is at an age where he understands what his father has said and done to his mother, and I’d gather he’s got some anger over it. I can’t come in making demands. It would scare Rory more and would strip Caleb of even more control.”
“What do you need from me?” Jonny asked nodding his agreement.
“I need someone sitting outside her house. I can take some shifts, but with Joss, I can’t be out there twenty-four-seven. The guys will all fill in where they can, too. But mostly, I need you to let me make the plays I think are right, even if Macy’s throwing a shit fit. She’s gonna throw down, Jonny. She may seem like a pushover to some the way she took Doug’s shit for so many years but under all that kindness is attitude and fierceness. She’s gonna lock me out and you know it.”
Alec's Dream (Gemini Group Book 4) Page 10