Page 44 of The Penalty

I try her cell again. Voicemail.

I head to the restaurant she works at, but she’s not there either.

I drive around looking in every well-lit parking area I can think of because surely she wouldn’t be stupid enough to park in a dark place overnight. I can barely see through the thick sheets of rain, so it’s not the ideal night for a search and rescue.

After another half an hour of driving, I finally pull into the Walmart parking lot closest to the La Vista campus and see her car parked in the very back under a light pole.

I swing my truck next to her car and hop out in the pouring rain. I rap on her window, not even thinking about the fact that I could potentially scare her. She jumps in her front seat and shuts her laptop.

I can’t see her face through all the rain coming down on the window, but when she opens her door, she looks pissed.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“What am I doing? What the fuck are you doing?” Ok, that was harsh. I need to calm down, but my heart has been racing for the last hour since Kylie told me that McKenzie has been regularly putting herself in danger.

“It’s none of your business,” she snaps back.

“Don’t give me attitude. I just spent an hour driving around looking for your ass.” I have to practically shout over the sound of the rain.

“I didn’t ask you to do that!”

“No, but my daughter is worried sick because she knows you’re out here living out of your car, and you’re not responding to texts or calls.”

A bolt of lightning crosses the sky over us, followed by a loud boom of thunder.

She grabs her phone from her cup holder. “Shit, my phone is dead. I didn’t realize. . .”

“Come on, let’s go.” I don’t want to hear her excuses. We both need to get out of this storm.

“I’m fine right here.”

“McKenzie, this is dangerous, and you know it. Get your ass back to my house now.”

“I’m not your responsibility,” she argues back, her voice rising. She’s standing out of her car now. We’re both drenched and look like complete idiots in the middle of this storm. “You asked me to leave, remember? Why are you even here?”

“I’m here because I’m a decent human and don’t want anything to happen to you,” I yell. “I’m here because my daughter is worried about her best friend. I’m here because. . .”

I stop myself from finishing that sentence. She doesn’t need to know my last reason. Admitting that I might have feelings for my daughter’s twenty-two-year-old friend is not something I’m ready for.

“Just get in the damn truck.”

“No.”

I don’t bother with another response. I bend over and put my shoulder into her stomach, picking her up and hoisting her over my shoulder. McKenzie wriggles and shouts for me to put her down, but I tune it out. I open my passenger door and toss her in.

Then I run back to her car, grab her backpack, phone, and keys, and lock her car.

Once I’m in the drivers seat, I crank up the heat. McKenzie has stopped yelling but is now glaring at me.

“You’re insane, you know that?” she asks.

I huff a laugh. “Yeah, I’m truly starting to think that.”

“What is wrong with you? You kiss me, then kick me out of your house. Now you’re forcing me back? What is going on? What am I supposed to think?”

I grip the steering wheel.

“Fuck. I know. I know, McKenzie. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have kissed you. It was a moment of weakness that I wish I could take back.”