Maybe he could grow to love her, a small voice inside her nagged. Yeah, just like I-5 wouldn’t be backed up in downtown Seattle on game day.
Mac wiped viciously at the tears running down her cheeks and started to go inside when she heard a noise. Voices were murmuring on the other side of the fence over the unmistakable sound of dirt being shoveled into a wheelbarrow. Mac snuck to the spot in her fence where her father spied on his former daughter-in-law and peeked through the knothole.
They were digging something up, all right. She pressed her face up against the hole and couldn’t make out much in the darkness, but thanks to a breeze blowing the sound her direction, she could make out their words.
“We should stop now. She’s home.” Definitely Sonja’s voice.
“She went in the house,” Ben said.
“Are you sure? That bitch and her dad are devious.”
Ben snorted. “The old man isn’t here, and the daughter isn’t nearly as nuts as the father.”
The shovel clanked against metal. Mac held her breath. The two knelt down and dug at the earth with their hands until Ben pried something free. It wasn’t a body. It was a metal box about the size of a safe deposit box.
All of a sudden, a hand clamped over her mouth, and she tried to scream but the person held on even tighter as she struggled to free herself.
“Shhh. Mac, it’s me,” a low voice whispered in her ear.
Bruiser?
“What are you doing here?” she hissed when he took his hand away.
“I came back to apologize for being an idiot.” He breathed the words. “What’s going on?”
Mac stepped away and let Bruiser peek through the hole, while she moved down farther to another gap in the fence, only she tripped over her cat, who’d been doing his own lurking in the darkness. She stumbled into the garbage can, which slammed to the ground with a loud bang. Bruiser gestured to her to not move and mouthed, “Are you okay?”
Mac nodded. Under a small gap at the bottom of the fence, she could see Sonja and Ben.
Ben pulled out a pistol and pointed it in their direction. All Mac could hear was the beating of her heart. “Is that you, Craig? You chickenshit asshole?”
Bruiser held a finger up to his lips. Mac nodded.
Ben and Sonja froze in place, listening. Without speaking another word, the two scurried into Will’s house like rats after cheese. Too bad Mac couldn’t find a way to bait the perfect mousetrap.
Bruiser gestured to her to go into the house. Once inside, he turned to her. “What was that all about?”
“I don’t know. They dug up a metal box. And Ben had a gun.”
“Yeah, I saw. I’d tell the detective on your brother’s case, but don’t tell your dad. He’d go busting over there and get himself either shot or arrested.”
Mac nodded, her eyes filling with tears. Her father wouldn’t stop until he found out what was in that box. Heck, maybe it wasn’t even related to Will. Though she didn’t believe that. Most likely it was. The only reason a person would hide a metal box in their garden would be if it contained something sinister or secretive or both.
Bruiser cupped Mac’s tear-stained face in his hands. “I’m sorry, baby. Really, I’m sorry.”
Mac sniffed and looked up at him. “So am I.”
“Hell, I didn’t even make it a few blocks down the street before I turned around and came back.”
“I didn’t hear you drive up.”
“That’s because I parked down the street. I wasn’t sure if I was going to knock or not, so I pulled over and thought about it. Then I decided to walk to your house to see if the lights were on.”
Mac had to giggle. “And you call my dad a stalker.”
Bruiser’s face actually turned red. “I can’t explain it, but something called me back. I just knew I couldn’t leave yet. I was worried about you. You shouldn’t be spying on those people. Desperate people are dangerous.”
“What makes you think they’re desperate? They’ve been able to keep this secret for over three years.”
“Their actions had desperation written all over them. Something’s changed, and they’re covering tracks.”
“You really think so?”
“Fuck yes. That guy drew a gun. You and your dad need to stop playing amateur detectives before you get into something you can’t get out of.”
Mac started to sob. Bruiser pulled her into his arms and held her, stroking her back. His tender touch had her losing all control, and once again she blubbered in his arms, grateful he’d come back even though she knew he’d leave, if not sooner, then later.
* * * * *
Bruiser spent the next few nights at Mac’s, even though he grew more irritated by the hour. Her father stayed late, and Mac didn’t make him leave. Craig showed no concern over the possible danger he created for his daughter by his constant spying on the neighbors. Oblivious to Mac’s discomfort, the man constantly badgered Bruiser to get the truth out of Trudy.
Sonja and Ben made Bruiser nervous. Their strange behavior only compounded his suspicions. Craig didn’t help the situation, and Bruiser was within a thread of ripping Mac’s dad a new one.
On Saturday evening, Bruiser showed up to find Craig pacing the living room and Mac packing a small suitcase. “Where are you going?”
“Dad needs me to go with him. I guess one of Ben’s employees called Dad. Ben and Sonja have been at one of Ben’s remote job sites late at night the last couple days.”
Bruiser scowled and shot Craig an accusing glare. Craig looked away, refusing to meet his gaze. “You can’t go. It’s too dangerous.”
“Since when do you tell me what to do?”
Bruiser set his jaw, ready for battle. “Since you aren’t smart enough to figure out what to do yourself, and your father certainly doesn’t have your best interests at heart.”
“Don’t you criticize my father.”
“Your father is behaving irresponsibly because he’s
