Page 52 of Seizing Mack
“Yeah. It’s been a real blast. Excuse me,” she said politely. The wall of men blocking the doorway parted. She paused, fighting the urge to wipe that smug smirk off of Dee’s face and said quietly, “Find another place to live.”
The flash in Delilah’s eyes was satisfying. Even more satisfying, in a few hours, when Dee tried to return to the house and found her bags packed and on the porch, and the security codes changed, the reality of her situation would sink in.
Her father wanted Princess Dee to learn responsibility? Well, Dee had just been placed in the accelerated program.
Mack kept her eyes forward and her head held high as she crossed the dance floor toward the main entrance. Judging by the number of curious eyes turned her way as she made her way across the floor, Dee’s “challenge” hadn’t been a secret.
Mack refused to acknowledge any of them. Once outside the hotel, she pulled off her heels and rapped on the window of the town’s only cab. As she slipped into the back seat, she thought she heard someone calling her name.
She ignored it, refusing to acknowledge the emotions trying to take hold. She’d deal with those later. Right now, she was in full-on mission mode, creating a mental list of things she needed to do. Giving the driver her address, she sank back into the seat and closed her eyes.
The house was dark when she got there, and Mack was glad for it. She hurriedly stripped out of her dress and went into the bathroom. The pretty woman looking back at her with smoky eyes and stained lips was a stranger. Mack scrubbed the make-up from her face vigorously and brushed out the curls that had taken nearly an hour to create, pulling it all back in a tight ponytail.
She looked again and nodded in approval.Thiswas who she was.
Her phone vibrated again; Jay’s name displayed on the screen. She knew it wouldn’t have taken long for word to get back to him; the whole place was probably buzzing, having a good laugh at her expense.
Jay and Marcus had been at the event, too, but she didn’t believe for a minute he had known. He would have found some way to warn her, or better yet, turn the tables. The last thing she wanted was for him – for anyone – to see her when her emotions were running so close to the surface. She needed a few hours to get her shit together before she did that.
Mack grabbed some garbage bags and went to the guest bathroom. One swipe of her arm was all it took to clear the vanity. A couple of armloads and the contents of the guest closet were gone as well. Feeling a bit like the Grinch, she grinned in satisfaction as she tossed bag after bag to the curb.
Then she went back into the house and reset the security codes, firing off a quick text to Jay with the new numbers. She pulled on cargos, thick socks, and a couple pieces of comfortable, wicking base layers and flannel, then packed her rucksack with the efficiency of a seasoned Marine. Within ten minutes of entering the house, she was leaving it again.
She hopped in her Jeep Renegade and drove up to the state game lands before locking it up and proceeding on foot. Only when she paused at the rock outcropping did she pull out her phone and thumb a quick text to Jay. Judging by the number of texts he’d send in the last thirty minutes, he was worried.
Jay:Where are you?
Jay:Check in, Marine.
Jay:Seriously, Mack, where TF are you?
Jay:Nice lawn decorations, btw.
She snorted, deleting texts sent by anyone other than him; everyone else could go screw themselves as far as she was concerned.
Mack:I’m okay. Really. Back tomorrow, Sunday at the latest. Namaste.
Then she turned off her phone, slipped it into the bottom of her pack, and continued up the rock face.
