Page 72 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
“Oh no… No, Cooper,” I choke out, shakin’ my head. My heart begins to pound so loud with fear it’s all I can hear. “He’s here, isn’t he? He’s found me.” My words sound distant to my own ears, like an echo in a tunnel.
Cooper’s expression says it all. Sawyer curses and pulls me against him. Taking deep breaths, I soak in his warmth and fight hard to hold my hysteria at bay.
“What did he do to Mac? Please tell me he’s okay, Cooper?” My stomach twists with terror; thinking of all the terrible things that could have been done to him.
“He’s going to be all right, Grace, but he’s pretty banged up. Mac was at the diner, closing up, when someone hit him from behind with what we assume is a metal object of some sort, maybe a bat or a crow bar? His face was pushed into the floor so he never got a look at the guy, but the attacker was demanding to know where you lived and where he could find you.” He pauses to expel a heavy breath, which has my already-twisted stomach sinking further. “He beat Mac repeatedly when he wouldn’t give him any information.”
“Oh god!” I whisper painfully, as tears begin to stream down my cheeks.
I realize he’s not finished when his expression becomes more regretful. “He then set fire to the diner and left Mac inside.”
“NO!” I cover my mouth as an agonizing sob rips from my throat, and my knees buckle under me.
“Fuck!”
Just before they give out completely Sawyer lifts me off my feet and walks over to a chair in the waiting room, bringing me down on his lap.
I bury my face into his neck and sob, “This is all my fault, Sawyer. I knew it was only gonna be a matter of time before he found me.”
He grabs my face between his hands, forcing me to look at him. His eyes are filled with a rage I’ve never seen from him before. “Listen to me. This isn’t your fault, Grace. None of it, do you hear me?”
Shaking my head, I close my eyes as guilt and despair wash over me. He’s wrong; it is my fault, Mac almost died because of me, for trying to protect me…
“Look at me, baby.” Opening my eyes, I look into Sawyer’s again. “The one good thing about all of this is we now know where the fucker is, which is going to make it a hell of a lot easier to catch him.”
“Was he by himself?” I ask, looking over at Cooper.
“It appears that way. Mac says he only heard one voice, but he never saw him, so I’m not going to completely rule out the possibility of another quite yet.”
“How badly are Mac’s injuries from the fire?”
I hold my breath terrified for his answer. “Apart from aggravation of the smoke, the majority of his injuries are from the assault. I was on my way home right after the fire was set, drove by like I do every night. I was able to get to him in time.”
“And the diner?”
Coop shakes his head regretfully. “I’m sorry, Grace, but it’s gone… all of it.”
I cover my face and cry as devastation consumes me. Everything… he lost everything because of me.
Sawyer pulls me closer. “It’s all right, baby. Mac’s okay and that’s what is most important.”
“I want to see him.”
“They’re only allowing family in to see him. I explained to the nurse that you were the closest to family he had, so she is allowing you in, but, Grace…” he pauses, “you need to be prepared, he’s in bad shape.”
“I understand,” I whisper faintly.
“Come on, Cupcake.” Standing, Sawyer keeps his arm around me as we follow Cooper to Mac’s room.
An older, sweet-looking nurse walks out as we approach. She gives me a sad but kind smile, “Are you Grace?”
I nod. “He’s expecting you, just not too long all right? He needs his rest.”
“I’ll wait right here with Coop, baby.” Leaning down, Sawyer kisses the top of my head. I hug him tightly and try to absorb some of his strength.
Stepping back, I pause momentarily at the door, not knowing what I will face on the other side of it. Then taking in a deep breath I brace myself before walking in. The room is fairly dark, only a soft glow from the bathroom light, but it’s enough for me to see the heartbreaking sight in front of me: Mac, a black and blue swollen mess, barely recognizable. With one arm and one leg in a cast.
Bile rises in my throat, and my heart shatters in a million pieces. The door clicking shut brings his attention to me. “Well there’s my darlin’, you bring me any pie, girl?”
I tried. I really, really did, but the sound of his rough voice, laced with pain along with his darlin’ sends me over the edge. An agonized sound falls from my lips before I rush over and hug him as gently as I can. “Oh, Mac, I’m so sorry, so, so sorry,” I sob into his chest.
“Hey now… none of that, you crazy girl. This isn’t your fault, Grace, you hear me?” His voice is so rough I can barely understand him.
“You should have told him where I was.”
“Hell no! Look at me, girl!”
I lift my head and stare into his swollen, beaten face through blurry eyes, “Nothing he could have done to me, Grace, would have made me tell him where you were… nothing.”
I shake my head in regret. “You lost everythin’: the diner, almost your life, all of it because of me.”
“No darlin’, if I would have lost you, then I would have lost everything.” His gruff words send a mixture of love and pain tearing through my already shattered heart.
“The diner is just that, Grace. It’s just a building. Listen, I’m going to tell you something. I had planned to shut that place down and retire a while ago. But I never did, because almost two years ago a beautiful, sad, broken girl walked into my diner for a cup of tea and messed with my heart like no other. She made me want to wrap her in a protective bubble and find the son of a bitch who made her look so damn sad. Then she told me she needed a job and could make pies. Little did I know, they would be the best goddamn pies this world had to offer.” I smile sadly through my tears. “The point is, Grace, I’m more than okay to retire. I kept it as long as I did, for you.”
