Page 4 of Mac's Vow

Chapter One

Present day…

Mac walked into Leo’s Bar with one purpose: get drunk as hell and forget about his latest client. God, humans were a disgusting lot. He knew getting into the business of private investigating wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. He also knew he’d have to deal with the shittier side of life. Men and women cheating on their spouses. Assholes abusing the elderly. Folks fleecing their loved ones out of their hard-earned money. Hell, he’d grown up around those types, but somehow it never ceased to amaze him the horrible things human beings were capable of.

His latest client had been a mother and father concerned that their nanny was abusing their little two-year-old boy. Turns out their fears were valid. Saint Investigations and Security had spent two weeks getting enough proof to take to the police. Jesus, he was never having kids.

He sidled up to the bar and pulled out a stool, then waved Frances over. She smiled at him, flashing him her one lone front tooth. She was a sweet seventy-six-year-old and she’d worked at Leo’s since it had opened in the early seventies.

“What can I get you, sugar?” she asked as she gave him the once over. “You look like you need a double.”

He shook his head. “You know I don’t touch that shit, Franny.” He couldn’t stand the smell of hard liquor. It always reminded him of his stepdad. Russell had drunk it by the bottle, then he would spend the rest of the night knocking him and his mom around. That lasted until Mac had hit a growth spurt at sixteen and started hitting back.

Franny winked, dragging his attention back to the present. “I admire a man with your self-discipline. It’s rare as hell.”

He chuckled at her obvious attempt to get a bigger tip out of him. “Quit flirting and bring me a light beer, woman.”

She reached under the bar and brought out his favorite brand, popped the top and slid it over to him. “Can’t blame a lady for trying.”

“No, you can’t.” He peered around the bar and noticed it was already hopping. “Busy tonight, huh?”

She leaned her elbows on the bar top and moved closer to him. “Yep, and there’s someone here you might want to talk to.”

He frowned. “Yeah?”

Franny nodded to the far side of the room. When Mac searched in the direction she gestured all he saw was a wall of dancing bodies.

Franny placed her hand on his forearm, gaining his attention. “Alyssa’s here.”

What the hell was Alyssa doing at Leo’s? She never frequented bars. His gaze swept the room again. This time he saw her huddled in a booth in the corner, nursing a beer. What the hell was that about? Mac stood, but Franny stopped him with a tug on his arm. He turned and stared at her. “What?”

“She’s…she’s been roughed up, Mac.”

Every muscle in his body stiffened. “What are you saying?” No fucking way did he hear right.

Her gaze turned sad. “She ain’t talking, but I think that ex-boyfriend of hers might have gotten a bit carried away.”

Mac stood so fast that the stool fell backward and hit the floor. A few bodies quickly jumped back, but he didn’t give a shit about that. His entire focus was now on reaching Alyssa. He heard Franny shouting at him from the bar, but he ignored her. In a few long strides and several shoves, Mac was next to the table where Alyssa sat. She wore a black turtleneck and blue jeans. Her long brown hair hung in a mass of curls around her face. Damn, it was the middle of August and eighty degrees in the shade. Fuck. She was definitely trying to hide her skin. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she didn’t even notice him.

Without thinking it through, Mac reached out and cupped her chin in his palm, urging her face around toward him. When he saw the bruising around her eye and the split lip his rage hit earthquake proportions. Alyssa tried to smile at him, but she winced when the cut on her lip opened up. Mac plucked her beer out of her hand and slammed it onto the tabletop. He took hold of her arm in a gentle hold. He leaned close. “Come on,” he softly ordered against the shell of her ear.

The fact that she didn’t fight him was another sign that she was hurting pretty damn bad. He would kill Cameron. That son of a bitch had to be the one responsible. He was a douchebag who lived off his daddy’s money. His entitled attitude had grated on Mac from the start. Never mind the fact that he was with Alyssa. That alone made Mac hate his fucking guts.

He led her out of the bar and straight to his truck. She put on the brakes when he reached the passenger side of his black one-ton. He quirked a brow at her. “I have my car here,” she explained. “I can’t just leave it.”

“It’ll be fine at Leo’s overnight,” he growled, getting angry by the second as he stared at the marred perfection of her face. “We can pick it up tomorrow.”

She hesitated only a moment before saying, “Okay.” She pulled out her keys and aimed them to the right where her little red sedan sat. She hit the lock button and the car beeped, signaling all four doors were secure.

He swung open the door and waited for her to get in. She tried to lift her leg, but Mac saw her wince. Goddamn, what had Cameron done to her? “Hold up,” he whispered, as he dipped down and wrapped his hands around her waist and carefully lifted her in the air. She sucked in a breath and clenched her eyes tight, but she didn’t cry out. He placed her on the seat and buckled her in. She raised her head, a sad smile playing at the corners over her mouth. “Thanks, Mac.”

He frowned and slammed the door closed, then jogged around the front of the truck to the driver’s side. Once they were on the road, Mac glanced over at her. It was hard to make out much in the dark interior of the car, but he could see the way she held herself. Stiff as a board, as if she were in pain. He made a decision then. “We’re going to the hospital,” he announced, leaving little room for argument. “And I’m calling Jimmy.”

Alyssa’s head shot toward him. “No, Mac. You can’t do that.”

He glared at her. “What the hell for?”

“When the doctor sees me, he will have to report it and you know what that will mean. There will be questions.”

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