Colt did his best to control his anger. He was pissed way the hell off. When he got his hands on this Teddy person, he was going to wish that he’d simply walked away from Macie. Seeing her hunched over in the chair and worried that Truck was going to leave and not talk to her again made him want to punch something.
He didn’t know her parents, but he hated them all the same.
He knew he had to get a handle on his emotions or he was going to worry Macie even more than she already was. He’d talked to his aunt about his cousin’s anxiety issues. There was a lot he didn’t understand, but he did know that this wasn’t something Macie could control. She’d constantly worry about any and everything.
But he had no problem reassuring her when she needed it. Being anxious wasn’t a deal breaker for him. From what little he knew about her, she was an amazing person. He’d looked at some of the websites she’d designed and was highly impressed. She was creative and generous, and he would do what he could to protect her from anything that might cause her distress in the future.
When he’d started thinking long term, Colt didn’t know, but he also wasn’t stressed out about it either. He’d connected with Macie when she’d been at his house after Truck and Mary’s wedding. He’d thought he’d have time to feed her breakfast and get her number so they could continue to get to know each other. At some point, he was going to have to ask why she’d left the way she had…but right now wasn’t the time.
He sat Macie gently on the counter in her bathroom. He leaned close and placed his hands on the cool tiles next to her hips and waited for her to open her eyes. It took several moments, but when she finally brought her beautiful brown eyes up to his, he wasn’t prepared for the jolt of electricity he felt.
Bringing one hand to her cheek, he was encouraged when she tilted her head and rested it on his palm. “You okay?” he asked softly.
She nodded and said, “No.”
He smiled at the contradiction. But he had a feeling she was being completely honest. “Where is your first-aid stuff?”
She lifted her head and gestured to a cabinet behind him.
Colt got to work getting the Band-Aids and hydrogen peroxide ready. When he turned around again, he had to take a deep breath. He’d purposely kept his mind off the fact that she was wearing only a tank top and a pair of short-shorts. But she’d dropped the blanket, and he couldn’t stop his eyes from tracking from her feet up her long legs to her curvy thighs. Her belly wasn’t flat, but she wasn’t overweight either. And her tits were lush and full. Even as he stared at her, he saw her nipples tighten under the cotton.
He finally looked up and saw she was examining him just as openly. Waiting until her gaze had traveled the length of his body, he finally said, “Let’s get you cleaned up so we can get out of here.”
She blushed when she looked up at him, but nodded.
Turning his thoughts away from how sexy he found her—but loving that she seemed to be just as interested in checking him out as he was her—Colt concentrated on cleaning the scrapes on her body. He put the bottle down on the counter and picked up one of her hands. The palm was scraped and red, and he hated knowing it was because she’d leapt out her fucking window into a tree. He hated every single bruise and mark on her smooth skin. Throughout his ministrations, she didn’t cry and didn’t make a sound. He knew he had to be hurting her, but she was stoic and calm as he tended to her wounds.
When he was finally satisfied that he’d cleaned the worst of her scratches, he helped her stand and wrapped the blanket back around her shoulders. “You need help packing?”
She considered his offer for a second, then shook her head. “How long will I be staying with you?”
Forever was on the tip of his tongue, but he held back the word, knowing it would stress her out…and that it was crazy. “At least a couple days. We need to give the detective time to find Teddy and find out what this is all about. The police department will increase patrols of the area, but they can’t be here every minute. Those assholes who were here tonight will probably come back, and I don’t want you anywhere near here when they do.”
“Okay,” she said a bit hollowly.
Colt wasn’t too concerned about her tone; he had a feeling the pill she’d taken earlier was finally kicking in. She walked to the doorway of the bathroom, then turned back.
“Um…while I’m changing and packing some clothes, will you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” Colt said immediately.
That got a smile out of her. “What if I asked for something crazy?” she retorted, with a tilt of her head.
“I’d do what I could to do whatever you needed,” Colt told her.
She shook her head and a small smile curved her lips. He loved that he could make her smile after everything she’d been through.
“What do you need, hon?”
“In my safe room is a box. Will you get it for me? I’d like to take it with me…if that’s okay.”
“Of course it is. Can I ask what’s in it?” He was planning on checking out this safe room of hers anyway. He knew the cops had checked it for anything Teddy might’ve left, but he wanted to look at it himself as well.
“It’s nothing expensive or illegal,” she said. “It’s just a shoebox of keepsakes. Stuff from when I was younger and from college and stuff.” She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, but I’d rather it not get destroyed if those guys come back.”
Colt was curious as to what keepsakes she had that meant so much to her, but he didn’t want to push. “Anything else?”
“Can I bring my computer? And my work files? Oh, and there’s a box of CDs and my headphones in the other room that I’d love to bring with me, if possible.”
Colt smiled bigger now. “No problem. What else?” He actually hoped she’d continue to list her most prized possessions, because the more stuff she moved over to his house, the more comfortable she’d be there. And the more comfortable she was, the less she’d feel inclined to come back to this place. As far as he was concerned, she could move her entire fucking apartment. He had plenty of room for her things. For her.
“Um…” She looked into the bedroom then back at him. “I’m not sure.”
Colt walked up to Macie and put his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever you want to take with you is fine with me. If there’s not enough room in my Wrangler, we can come back tomorrow.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Macie asked, her brows drawn down in confusion.
“Because I like you, Macie Laughlin. You didn’t do anything for this to happen to you tonight. I want to make sure you’re as comfortable as you can be in my house. I know it will be stressful for you, and I want to mitigate that as much as I can.”
“Oh.”
He could tell she was still unsure. So he added, “And because you’re Truck’s sister. And all the men under my command are like brothers to me.”
She nodded, as if that response made more sense than him liking her.
“Go pack,” he ordered gently, turning her around to face the bedroom. “I’ll grab the box from your safe room, which I can’t wait to see, by the way. Then I’ll go and pack up your computer and CDs. You change, and call me when you’re done. I’ll come back and grab your suitcase so you don’t further hurt those hands. Okay?”
“I can carry my suitcase,” she protested.
“Hon, I said I’ve got it. There’ll be plenty of times in the future when I’ll let you carry your own shit, but tonight isn’t one of them. Got it?”
She studied him, but eventually nodded. “Can I ask something else?”
“Of course.”
“Why were you up and with my brother when I called? Did I interrupt something important?”
He had a feeling she’d been worrying about that. “My two teams of soldiers just got back from a mission tonight. We were debriefing.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “I interrupted you working?”
Colt couldn’t have stopped himself if someone had a gun to his head. He leaned down and covered her lips with his own in a brief caress. He rested his forehead on hers and linked his fingers together at the small of her back. He felt his heart jolt when her hands landed on his chest, but she didn’t push him away.
“You didn’t interrupt anything,” he told her. “We were almost done. But even if we weren’t, you’re more important than work. I don’t care what time it is or what you think I’m doing, if you need something, you call. Got it?”
She didn’t answer for a long time, and Colt lifted his head to stare at her. “Got it?” he repeated.
“I can’t promise. I mean, you know how I am. I’ll worry that I’m interrupting you, or that you’ll be annoyed, or that your boss will be annoyed. And that you’ll think I’m being stupid or weak.”
“Macie, I won’t—”
She cut him off. “So I can’t promise to always call, but if it’s a true emergency, as it was tonight, I’ll call.”
Colt wanted to protest. But it was a big deal for her to tell him what she was feeling. What her anxiety made her feel. “Okay, hon. But would you mind if I called you when I needed something?”
“You want to call me?”
“Yeah, Mace. There might be times when I need help with something. But, like you, I don’t want to interrupt you if you’re working or doing something important.”
“You can call me,” she said softly. “I don’t think anything I do is nearly as important as what you do.”
“I’m sure the authors and other people you work for would disagree. I’ve seen some of the websites you designed. That couldn’t have been easy, and I know that you also keep them updated as well. I know that can get crazy, considering how fast some authors write.”
That earned him another small smile.
Forcing himself to step back, he gestured to the bedroom. “Do not carry that suitcase yourself. I’ll be back here in a bit. Okay?”
“Okay. Colt?”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
“Thanks. I was really scared tonight.”
“I’m glad I was there,” Colt said simply, then forced himself to turn and leave her to change and pack. If he stood there any longer, there was no telling what would pop out of his mouth. He was a seasoned soldier. Had seen and done way more shit in his life than anyone should ever have to. He wasn’t proud of some of his actions in the past, but he couldn’t change what he’d done.
But it was the thought of arriving to find Macie dead that haunted him more than any of the carnage he’d lived through did.
He left her in her bathroom packing up her toiletries and made a quick stop to her closet to grab the shoebox she referenced. Her safe room was just what she said it was, a small quiet space with a sleeping bag rolled up at one end. He found the box she wanted and headed out to the living room.
As he began to gather up the CDs strewn around her laptop on her desk in the main part of the apartment, Colt’s mind spun with plans. He wanted to make his house a safe place for Macie. Wanted her to feel relaxed and to do whatever it took to minimize her anxiety when she was there. The safer she felt, the more comfortable she would be. And the more comfortable she was, hopefully the more receptive she’d be to dating him on a long-term basis.
He didn’t know what he’d done the night of Truck’s wedding to make her back off, especially when things had seemed to go so well, but now that he had a second chance, he wasn’t going to blow it.