Page 35 of Rescuing Macie

“I don’t suppose you’ll let me drive to Lampasas and pick it up for you?” he asked.

Macie sighed. “I would, but I honestly don’t know where the drive is. I know I put a bunch of stuff in my front closet, but with the police being there and looking through things to try to find what had been disturbed, plus those men rifling through everything, it could be anywhere by now. I’m not sure you’d be able to find it, especially when I don’t remember exactly where it should be in the first place.”

“I’m on my way. Do not leave the house before I get there,” Trigger ordered.

“Of course not.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes or less.” And with that, he hung up.

Macie sighed and clicked off her phone. She wasn’t happy about needing to go to her apartment. The place gave her the creeps now, but she did need her old files.

Macie pushed back from the table and stood—then stilled as something occurred to her.

If she moved in with Colt permanently, she wouldn’t have to worry about needing things that might still be at her apartment.

The second the thought crossed her mind, she realized just how much she wanted that.

Things between her and Colt had happened fast, but she couldn’t deny there had been something between them at her brother’s wedding. There was no way she would’ve stayed the night with him if she hadn’t felt it. And she never would’ve gotten up the courage to leave him her number either. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t seen it; the fact that the spark had still been there a month later was enough for Macie to realize he was different from any man she’d met thus far.

Then her shoulders slumped.

She’d never bring it up with him. No way. She wasn’t brave enough. She’d never force herself on him. She fought a constant war in her head that things weren’t the way she imagined they were. And it would kill her if she brought up moving all her things into his house and Colt vetoed the idea.

Taking a deep breath, Macie did her best to stop her line of thinking before it went any further. She knew she wasn’t the best bet when it came to a partner. She’d take more than she’d give. But Colt had said he loved her, and she’d said it back, and the Earth hadn’t stopped moving.

She ran upstairs and changed into a pair of jeans and put on a bra before going back downstairs and tidying up her work area. Just when she was about to go crazy from waiting, she heard a knock. Checking the peephole and seeing it was Trigger, she opened the door. “I’m ready,” she told him.

Trigger was good-looking. As far as she could tell he was a couple years older than her and even taller than Colt. He had dark hair and an intense look in his eyes that Macie figured someone would take one look at and back off. But, because of Colt’s little speech the other night, Macie wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t particularly worried about what he thought of her either, mostly because of Colt, but also due to how friendly and open Trigger had been when she’d first met him.

“The faster we go, the faster we can get back,” Trigger said.

Macie eyed him and asked, “Do you think it’s too dangerous? I’ll wait for Colt if you think it’ll be safer. The last thing I want is to put you in danger.”

“I can handle your ex,” Trigger said with a hint of disgust in his voice. “And I didn’t mean anything by that statement. I just know you’re more comfortable here than in your own place. And it’s hot as hell out here today.”

Macie smiled. Texas always seemed to be hot, but today was oppressive even by Texas standards.

She set the alarm by punching the code into the box on the wall then shut and locked the door. She followed Trigger to his vehicle, a sleek black Porsche, and smiled when he opened her side of the car for her. When they were on their way, she asked about the sleek sports car.

Trigger shrugged a little self-consciously. “I’m single and have saved up a lot of money. Why not?”

“I like it,” Macie reassured him. “Have you guys found out anything else about Teddy or who he had break in?”

Trigger sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Not as much as we want. Brain has tracked down a few leads, and we’ve passed them on to the detective in charge of your case, but either Teddy is the luckiest son of a bitch alive, or he’s gotten help from someone we’ve missed.”

“I think it’s probably the latter. I mean, I’m not that confident with people, but something about him made me put down my guard faster than I normally would. I have a feeling he’s conned a lot of people.”

“I know you’re right,” Trigger said. “And you shouldn’t feel bad about dating him. Some people just have more charisma than others, and if he chose to use it to be an asshole, that’s on him, not you.”

Macie nodded, not completely convinced. The rest of the trip, she worried about why Teddy had singled her out. Did she look that gullible? She tried to remember when she’d first seen him in person, and couldn’t. That said a lot about how she really felt about him.

She could remember the first time she saw Colt. It was in Ford’s hospital room after he’d been injured at the holdup at Mary’s bank. She’d felt the chemistry between them then, but it was at Ford’s wedding when she really took notice of him. He was sitting near the front of the church in his dress blue Army uniform. He had a half smile on his face the entire time.

Macie remembered thinking that he looked like a man a woman could count on.

And she hadn’t been wrong.

“We’re here,” Trigger said, snapping her out of the mini trance she’d been in. “I’m going to come around and open your door for you.”