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She blinked. “Er, no. Not really.”
“Which is it? No? Or not really?” He moved, shifting his weight so he was evenly balanced.
He was going to attack her. No. That was stupid. Must be the meds. Why would he want to attack her? “Because you were in on it.” The words came out of her mouth without thinking. Damn meds were making her do stupid things.
His entire body stilled. Then he grabbed her arm and squeezed. “What did he say? What did Ainsley say to you?”
“Nothing. He said you weren’t involved. You couldn’t be. You didn’t have the organizational skills necessary for this kind of operation.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you. What did he really say?” When she just stared back at him, he shook her. “What did he say?”
He leaned over her and got right in her face. His lips had thinned into an angry seam, and the skin around his eyes was pinched and pale. Fear glinted in his stare, and she knew he was going to hurt her. Maybe kill her.
She struggled to free her arm. “He didn’t say anything, but youwereinvolved. You knew what was going on. You’re a traitor and a murderer!” She clenched her teeth and fought to get her arm back. When he reached for her other arm, she smashed his jaw as hard as she could.
He stumbled backward, wrenching her arm in the process. A roar filled the room. She yanked to free herself from his grasp, and he actually let go. But that was because Dane had pulled him away from her. Dane slammed him against the wall and pinned him with a forearm across Cross’s chest.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cross roared.
Dane smashed his fist into Cross’s jaw, and the man wobbled on his feet and then slid down the wall. Dane stepped back. “I’m done with these assholes.” He turned around. “Are you okay?”
Mac ignored the pain searing her shoulders and stared at him. “Um, yeah. I can’t believe you’re here. I… Thanks for saving me. Again.”
He smiled. “I think you had it under control.” He turned his head and started coughing.
“Are you okay?”
“Long story,” he rasped and then coughed some more. He moved around her bed and went to the rolling table where there was water. There were traces of soot under his nostrils. He took a sip but then covered his mouth with his arm as he continued to cough. He was still in his tactical gear and had his handgun strapped to the front of his leg.
“What happened to you?” Mac asked. What was wrong with Dane? Why was he coughing so much? “Are you okay? Maybe I should call the nurse.” She turned as Cross was lifting his gun. She grabbed Dane’s gun and fired.
Her aim was true, and the bullet struck Cross center mass and he went down, dropping his gun beside him.
“Holy shit.” Dane stared at Cross and then at Mac. “Thanks for saving my life.”
She smiled up at him as the door burst open and the world rushed in.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
“French fry?” Dane offered.
“Sure.” Mac grabbed a fry from his plate and bit into it. She turned to admire their surroundings. “You have a great backyard. The view is awesome.” This was the first free moment she’d had since everything had gone to shit, and she’d decided she and Dane needed to talk. Nerves fluttered in her belly as she’d approached his front door, and the soft beat of butterflies had since morphed into raucous, beating crows’ wings.
“Thanks. I was lucky to find this place.” He popped a fry into his mouth.
“How did you find it?” she asked.
He smiled. “Believe it or not, through my mother.”
“Your mother?” Out of all the things he could’ve said, that wasn’t remotely what she was expecting.
He nodded. “A friend of hers retired out here and then decided it was too far away from family. She was homesick. So I asked if I could rent the place, and she agreed. She didn’t want to sell it anyway because eventually, she wants to give it to her kids to use.”
“That’s cool. Do her kids want it? Will they kick you out soon?”
“Her kids live in Switzerland and Italy. They don’t want it as far as I can tell, so I think I’m good for a while.”
She grinned and took a sip of her beer. It was nice to be sitting here in the sun with Dane. It had been a long three weeks of meetings and discussions and debriefings as everyone tried to put together what happened.
