After we had devoured our food, we started decorating the tree. Or we tried to. But the thing was massive. And Mackenzie didn’t have near enough lights or ornaments to cover it.
“What am I going to do?” Mackenzie asked quietly after Brinkley had fallen asleep.
“Put the tree topper on and tell her you’re finished. Because, technically, you are until you buy more decorations.”
“That’ll have to work,” Mackenzie yawned and sat down on the sofa. “Because I’m too tired to come up with anything else.”
5
After I left Mackenzie’s, I went home and spent the entire night replaying my favorite moments from the weekend over and over in my mind. And even though I couldn’t stop thinking about her, I was still completely denying the possibility that I could have developed feelings for her in such a short time. It couldn’t be anything more than infatuation. It’d been a long time since a beautiful woman had paid me any attention, and my old ass was likely mistaking her kindness for flirtation.
Even still, I saw no harm in stopping by Mackenzie’s the following day to check on her and Brinkley.
I forced myself to wait until after lunch before I rode over to her house.
And I was far more disappointed than I should have been when Mackenzie didn’t answer the door. Though, it didn’t seem like they were home.
Deciding I would stop back by a little later, I went to the mall to kill some time and get a jump start on my Christmas shopping. Although I had to admit, I was a little excited about being able to choose the presents myself. Leigh had helped me with that task while I was in prison. But this was going to be my first Christmas as a free man. And after spending two Christmas-filled days with Mackenzie and Brinkley, I had every intention of celebrating it to the fullest.
However, three hours later, the general public had damn near killed any holiday spirit I’d found. The customers were rude, and some of the seasonal workers weren’t much better. On top of all that, there was a nationwide shortage of a growing list of items, making a variety of gifts difficult to find.
“Fuck this shit,” I muttered to myself and headed for my bike.
“No!” The sound of her shrill scream grabbed my attention as my stomach filled with dread. I knew that voice. “Stop him! He’s got my daughter!”
I turned to see Mackenzie chasing after a man running across the parking lot with Brinkley in his arms. She was kicking and screaming as she fought with everything she had trying to get away from him.
Without conscious thought, I jolted into action and ran after them, speeding past Mackenzie in a matter of seconds.
“Let her go, motherfucker!” I yelled.
He didn’t. Instead, he picked up his pace.
And so did I. Easily. Because for many years, the only thing I enjoyed and could freely do while I was in prison was work out. And that’s why I was able to catch up to them.
When I was within arm’s reach, I yelled, “Watch out!” He reacted as I’d hoped and turned to look for the non-existent danger, causing him to slow enough for me to close the remaining distance between us.
I reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking hard. When he lost his footing, I held on tightly and braced for impact as best as I could.
We hit the ground with a thud, but the unexpected, piercing scream from Brinkley had me freezing on the spot. It was the scream every parent dreaded to hear. The one that meant your child was hurt. Severely.
I pushed myself off to the side as fast as I could to get my weight off of her, only letting go of the asshole who tried to take her for a split second. But it was all the time he needed. Before I could grab him again, he got to his feet and kicked the ever-loving shit out of me before he took off running.
Groaning, I cradled my side and rolled away on instinct, eliciting another shrill scream from Brinkley as she moved with me. Because once I’d gotten a hand on her, I never let go.
"Brinkley! Oh, baby! It’s okay! I got you."
"Bear!" Drew yelled, running toward us from across the parking lot.
A sharp pain shot through my torso when I pushed to my feet. “Call the club and stay with them!” I shouted, already chasing after the agile motherfucker.
He rounded the corner of the building and dove into the passenger’s side of that fucking white sedan, which was conveniently running and waiting for him.
The moment he was inside, the driver hit the gas and took off, headed straight for me.
“All right, fuckface. Let’s do this,” I said and widened my stance. I’d never lost a game of chicken, and I’d be damned if I’d start with this asshole.
6