Page 9 of His Witness To Save

He'd now lost two brothers to them, and he'd be damned if he'd let them go.

He thought of Brie and Rachel, and another tear escaped his eyes. He could not imagine the horrors they'd been through, and it hurt to imagine that he'd put them there.

It felt like he was a beacon for disaster, putting everyone he cared about in danger.

"Never again," he swore out loud. He'd never let anyone get hurt because of him again, even if it meant he had to be alone.

All these thoughts ran through his mind before he closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

CHAPTER NINE

One Month Later

Brie sat on a rocking chair in her parent's backyard in Destiny Falls, absently stroking the cat on her lap as two dogs danced around her legs.

These days, when she thought about the events leading up to her kidnap and rescue, it was with a sense of detachment. She couldn't help but be amazed at everything she'd been through. Sometimes, it felt like they'd happened to a total stranger.

She thought of Mack and winced.

They hadn't spoken at all in the one month since she'd been rescued. She'd tried to reach out a lot of times. The few times she'd called his apartment, he'd hung up the moment he heard her voice.

She'd switched to calling his office, where she was told that he'd been transferred. She suspected it was probably a lie he'd asked his secretary to tell. She'd looked up the Chicago FBI database, and his name was still listed as one of the agents.

Afterward, she'd resorted to calling his apartment again, where she was greeted by the answering machine.

"Hey, it's Mack. Leave a message," his curt baritone said to her over and over.

And leave messages she did. Brie left so many messages she started to repeat herself. It no longer mattered to her what she said; she just wanted to hear him speak. All her messages went unanswered until she'd finally given up last week.

She accepted that he probably wanted nothing to do with her anymore, and she thought she knew why but it didn't stop her from hurting. It didn't stop the pain of the heartbreak.

Every night she'd spent with those monsters, she'd dreamt of Mack finally being in his arms. She'd longed for him so intensely; she couldn't believe he hadn't felt the same.

She replayed all their conversations over and over in her head, wondering if she'd misread his signals. She didn't want to believe she'd misread their chemistry.

She reached up a finger to wipe off a lone tear that had escaped from her eyes and was rolling slowly down her chin when she heardhisvoice a few steps behind her, "Thank you, Mrs. Miller."

Brie nearly toppled out of the chair. She scrambled to her feet and turned around, not quite sure she didn't imagine it.

A part of her was convinced her mind had simply conjured his voice because she'd been dwelling on him for so long, but there he was, standing in her backyard, staring at her so intently her face colored.

He was here in Destiny Falls. Mack was here.

She made a step toward him and stopped, not quite sure of what to do. Her body seemed to belong to someone else. Gingerly, she dropped the cat and shooed the dogs away, all the while thinking of what to do.

She stood up again and looked at him. He was still there, leaning against her backdoor, still so beautiful in the light of the sunset, looking like a men's magazine model.

She took another step toward him and took another before she stopped. She couldn't stop staring at him.

Finally, he moved and walked toward her. She watched him walk agonizingly slow toward her until he was right in front of her.

"I had to see you," he whispered, looking at her intensely. "I couldn't stay away. I needed to see you. Brie, I'm so sorry."

Brie stuttered. She raised a hand to her own cheek and cupped it. Then she placed the hand on his chest and pinched him to convince herself he was really there.

He covered her hand with his and held it there. He wiped away the tears on her cheek and pulled her to himself as Brie started to sob.

"I'm sorry," he whispered over and over into her hair as she cried loudly.

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