Captive at Christmas (15 page)

Crouched down in the bushes, he pointed a laser light at what appeared to be a sapling evergreen tree. Mac noticed a few others placed in a square around the building and the lack of snow resting on them – when surrounding trees had at least a light dusting – gave cause for further investigation.

His instincts, as usual, were correct. A red light flashed once, indicating a test in the system. Those four little trees acted as an invisible fence to the perimeter.

Damn but it was hard to concentrate. Everything reminded him of Hannah.

The snow. The trees. The scent of a wood burning stove.

Getting off track now was
not
going to help.

Put your fuckin’ head back in the game, Dunlop!

Instead, he thought about Hannah while she snuck out of the cabin with his gun trained in his direction.

Yeah, better.

Mac let the feeling of betrayal wash away again as he pictured the body behind him. The texts from Wannamaker. Ordering Hannah’s death.

That’ll do it.

Hard edged and fully pissed off, Colonel Dunlop, decorated soldier and expert assassin rose from the flames of fury and vengeance. One last time, he allowed this machine…this monster, to take over his body.

For Hannah.

~~~

Light streaming through the window roused Hannah from a deep sleep. She reached over to curl herself in the warm, strong arms that she had grown accustomed to but found a cold, empty space. Mac wasn’t there. He must have gotten up to eat something, she mused, giggling at his massive appetite.

Slipping out of bed, she left the room to look for him. No one in the small main living area of the cabin. She ran to the bathroom to find it empty as well.

Fear and panic gripped her heart when she didn’t see his toiletries. Hannah rushed to the front door and threw it open to find only one car – hers.

Mackenzie left.

After everything they shared, he left without saying goodbye.

She did not know how to reach him or if she would ever see him again.

He simply left, taking her heart and soul with him.

Falling to a heap in the open doorway, Hannah permitted heartache to consume her. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe. Her throat constricted and she broke down, strangled sobs wracking her frame. She knew this day would come, but they had one left, a full twenty-four hours. They weren’t supposed to leave until tomorrow. He robbed her of this time with him.

Why?

Had she truly meant so little to him?

No, there had to be some other explanation. The man who held her while she cried herself to sleep, who offered so much tenderness…he wouldn’t just use her like that. She had to believe that what they shared meant the same to him as it did to her. She had to believe that he would eventually come and find her again when he was ready. Even if that little voice in the back of her head told Hannah she was crazy to assume something so outrageous.

With Mac gone, she couldn’t face being here alone. Every inch of this place held memories and she didn’t want the bad ones to taint the wonderful ones. Though her eyes were clouded with tears, Hannah pulled herself together and began to pack. She tenderly removed each carved decoration from the tree, needing to keep them as reminders that the time she spent with Mackenzie actually happened. They would be her talismans, guiding her through the days, weeks and months ahead.

By mid-afternoon, she returned the keys to the main office and began her drive home. It was long, agonizingly so and she broke down on the side of the highway more than a handful of times. Hannah didn’t even have a photograph of Mac. If she wanted to see him, she would have to close her eyes and try to picture him in her mind. Since she hadn’t known him for very long, he’d begun to fade even before she crossed the border and arrived at her foundation headquarters where she was staying until she found an apartment.

“You’re back early!” Allyson Fournier announced from the office in the front hall. “I thought you would be staying until tomorrow?”

From the moment Hannah conceived the idea for
Help for Heroes
, her Allyson had been the one to encourage, assist and stand by her. She’d been there for Erik’s death and convinced her to spend some time away, even after Gary broke her heart.

Now, seeing Hannah’s tear-filled eyes, the older woman opened her arms in a show of understanding. Hannah collapsed against her friend and, just as if someone opened the flood gates, she told Allyson everything that happened, omitting certain incriminating events. Regardless of the future, she wanted neither herself nor Mac to have to face up to any charges that might be brought against them.

“Oh God, Allyson …” Quivering against her friend’s silk blouse, Hannah admitted, “I fell in love with him.”

“Honey,” she sighed, smoothing her hands over Hannah’s hair. “You just gotta have a little faith. Maybe once he works out whatever issues he’s got, Mac will come for you.”

Faith. It would take a lot more than just a little of it for the man to come and find her, but Allyson was right. If Mac cared for her as she thought he did, then someday, he might come for her.

“But for now, let’s get this food put away.” Allyson used her sleeve to dry Hannah’s eyes. “Tess can put on some coffee and gather up the troops for a little welcome home gathering, what do you say?”

A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I guess one more butter tart couldn’t hurt.”

“Jeez, if you have been baking, I think I’ll need to go and put on my drawstring pants.” With a wink, the older woman pushed Hannah down the hall towards the kitchen.

It was a very warm welcome back and Tess, their number one volunteer and Allyson’s daughter, already drew up plans for the next fundraising event. She arranged for a few of Vancouver’s professional hockey team members to agree to show up, as well as some local celebrities. They would host a dinner and ball, perhaps even raffle off some dates with said athletes and celebs. All in all, things were running smoothly here. If only she could say the same for her mind and heart.

Hannah escaped the madness of her party around nine that night, walking the short distance through the snow to her bookstore. She paused on the corner where Erik was killed and the memory assaulted her brain. But the sense of loss that washed over her – it always did – was not the same. This time, instead of just grieving for her brother, a torrent of despondency filled her heart from losing Mac as well.

It took the concerned questioning of a passer-by for her to come to her senses and leave the intersection. During her hiatus from the shop, Allyson and her daughter ran things at the foundation and here at
Magnus Books
. Hannah checked over the sales and the shop before locking up and wandering the streets of Vancouver aimlessly. Eventually she ended up at a small, dark English pub and found an empty chair near the fire.

With a whisky in hand – not her drink of choice, but it reminded her of something that Mac might drink at home – she lost herself in the flickering flames. Hannah swirled the spicy amber liquid in her tumbler, watching the reflected light scattering around the room like a prism would do.

I miss you so very much, Mackenzie
, she sighed. All she could do was hope that he was alright and pray that he would come for her someday soon. With any luck, he wouldn’t take too long. But knowing
her
luck, the man she had well and truly lost her heart to would not be crossing the border to find her.

For the next five days, Hannah immersed herself into her work. During the day,
Magnus Books
received her full attention and in the evenings she helped Tess and Allyson put the final touches on the latest fundraiser for
HFH
. Then at night, she crashed on the sofa in her office, dreaming of Mackenzie. It didn’t seem to matter that she tried to push him from her mind. He snuck back in, haunting her, as if the memories of their short time together weren’t painful enough.

She woke each morning, more exhausted and aroused than she could ever recall. All of her defenses had been shattered and try as she might, Hannah couldn’t seem to build any of them back up. Mac changed her, somehow he altered the very core of her being from the inside out. Somewhere along their short journey together, she blossomed into this
hungry
woman. Without Mackenzie, there was no sign of release in sight.

Walking into the damned airport was hard, but after spending time with Hannah, being in public didn’t feel as bad as it could have. And at least Kayla stood near the exit with her luggage on a trolley, all ready to go. Christ, she looked just like her mother but with his dark hair and stubborn expression.

His teenage daughter scanned the arrivals, looking for a man she’d never met, while remaining alert. She observed everyone around her like a potential threat. It amazed and saddened him that she’d inherited those traits.

When her eyes landed on him, Kayla tilted her head to the side in question and he nodded in response. Relief flooded her expression and she pushed her luggage towards the exit. Mac followed, wondering if he should say anything to her. What the hell could he say in a situation such as this? Although she was just fourteen, Kayla held herself like an adult. It crushed him that she never had a normal childhood.

“So, uh …” He raked his hand through his hair, taking the trolley from her. “How was your flight?”

The same hazel eyes he’d known decades ago looked up as they crossed the road to the parking structure. “Bloody long,” Kayla sighed. “Never been so shattered in my entire life. Feel like I could sleep for a week.”

“Well, I uh, I got a room made up for you. When we get home, you can rest up before we decide what to do about everything else. You know, like school and uh, the other stuff.” What other stuff? Shit, he didn’t have a clue what kids did.

“First, what should I call you?”

They took the elevator down three levels and he pondered her question. To be honest, he doubted either of them would be comfortable with ‘Dad’ any time soon. “Well, I guess it’s up to you. If you want to start with Mac, that could work.”

“Alright.” Kayla squared her shoulders, watching the numbered lights above the elevator doors. “Next, tell me why you look like you’re about to crash and burn. I’ve seen the look before, in Mum, when she came back from a job and then …” she choked but recovered herself quickly. “When she told me she was sick.”

“Aw hell, Kayla.” He wanted to go to her, to comfort this girl who’d had to deal with far more than any kid deserved, but he didn’t know how. She knew things about the world that even a lot of grown men and women couldn’t fully believe or weren’t able to comprehend. It wasn’t right. Hell, it wasn’t even fair.

“You’re not sick, are you?” This time, her voice didn’t hold the same steeled edge. Her wide glassy eyes filled with tears. She looked terrified.

“No, I’m not sick. Finished the very last job I’ll ever do,” Mac decided it would be best to tell her the truth about everything. “I didn’t want to take it on, but I did it to protect someone important to me.”

They walked to his SUV in silence. Mac glanced around out of habit, immediately wishing he was someone else. And not for the first time in the past few years.

Once inside the vehicle, Kayla turned to him. “Is this woman at your place?”

Perceptive girl, he chuckled. “No.”

“Where is she?”

“Jesus, Kayla! What is this, twenty questions?” He caught her glowering stare as he pulled onto the freeway. If he was going to have a real, honest relationship with her, the best thing he could do was tell the truth.

“She lives in Canada,” he began, telling Kayla about the time he and Hannah spent at the cabin. Mac left out a few key things, like the self-defence murder, but included how he felt about her. When he finished, Mac risked a glance to the right.

“Mum told me what a prick you could be,” Kayla sighed, turning to stare out of the window.

Supressing a grin, he raised his brow and glanced at her before giving the icy road his full attention again. The girl certainly had a lot of her mother in there, but he started catching glimpses of himself as well. “Did she now?”