“Then just do it.” Mac ground her teeth together and waited for the worst.
“We have to cut a full-time person.”
She dug her fingernails into her hands. “No,” she whispered.
“You’re our newest hire.”
“But I need this job. I really like working here. It’s my dream job.”
“Mac, don’t make this any harder than it is.” He shuffled some papers on the desk, looked at them as if he were reading them. Mac suspected he didn’t see them at all.
“You think it’s hard on you? I have bills to pay.”
“Mac, calm down. You’ll get unemployment, of course.” Finally, the coward glanced up, regret and sadness etched into every line on his craggy face. This wasn’t much easier for him.
“But you guys need me. I take care of the gardens in front of the building. I make sure the inside plants are healthy. Remember the philodendron? It almost died until I came along and nursed it back to health.”
Jed pursed his lips and said nothing.
“Jed, tell me the truth.”
“Well, we’re hiring some temp staff, interns from the college.” He tried to smile. “I’m so sorry, Mac.”
Mac forced another smile when all she wanted to do was cry—which had become way too much of a habit lately. “It’s okay, Jed. I’ll be fine.”
He stood, dismissing her. “Are you sure?”
“I’m certain.” Mac bolted out the door before he saw how fine she wasn’t. Avoiding a group of players jaw-jacking at the end of the hall, she took a detour and ran like hell for her car.
Once inside the metal sanctuary, she gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead, gulping in deep breaths of air and fighting back the panic. She couldn’t pay her bills on unemployment. She’d lose her house. Her father would expect her to do detective work twenty-four seven. She’d probably be able to get a job on a landscaping crew, but most of those jobs ended in the fall, and fall would be here in another month.
Mac drove home, fighting back the lump in her throat every step of the way.
She was so screwed. And worst of all, she didn’t even have Bruiser’s broad shoulder to cry on.
* * * * *
Bruiser was just about to leave Steelheads’ HQ when Brett waved him down. He rolled down his window. “Miss me already? We just spent the last several hours together.”
“Fuck you.” Brett glanced behind him then leaned in the window. “I just heard that Mac got laid off.”
“What? Why would they do that? She works her ass off for this place.” Anger and guilt spread through Bruiser like a wildfire in a dry grass field. This had to do with him. He knew it did.
“Uh, can we say Veronica?”
“Well, shit.” When Bruiser got his hands on that woman, he’d have more than a few words with her.
Brett straightened. “Exactly. Well, I thought you’d want to know.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Shaking his head, Bruiser rubbed his chest with one hand, the other rested on the steering wheel. The tightness in his chest gripped him harder.
As Brett nodded and backed away, Bruiser peeled out, leaving his friend eating his dust. This was partially his fault, and he knew it, making Mac one more person in his life he’d let down. Determination squeezed out the guilt because guilt did no one any good at this point. One way or another, he was going to fix this and keep his promise to Elliot. He would not disappoint the two most important people in his life.
Most important? Elliot, yes, he could honestly say that. But Mac? He sucked in a quick breath and shook his head, but denial wasn’t working so well for him right now.
Bruiser took the exit to Mac’s house. He might not be welcome, but hell, he’d do it anyway. Her father certainly didn’t pay attention to his daughter, and she’d need a friend right about now. He ignored the small fact that they were through, he told her he’d never come back, and that he was a major wuss where she was concerned.
Craig’s truck sat in her driveway, but he didn’t see Mac’s F-150. Bruiser jogged up to the front door and knocked. Her father came to the door, binoculars in one hand and looking worse than ever.
“Is Mac here?”
“I haven’t seen her. I’ve been here all day.”
“Have you talked to her?” Bruiser couldn’t keep the annoyance out of his voice. This guy needed to be her father for once.
“No, not since last night.”
“She lost her job today. I’m trying to find her.”
“Damn, what happened?” To his credit, Craig put down the binoculars and actually pulled off a concerned-father expression. Whether it was genuine or not, Bruiser didn’t have a fucking clue.
“Layoffs. They’re cutting back on permanent staff and hiring college interns for half the price.”
Craig rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. He dropped into a chair and gazed up at Bruiser, his eyes bloodshot. The sadness etched into his face made him look much older than his years. “I hope I didn’t cause this.”
Time to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with Mr. Hernandez. “I’m sure it didn’t help with you calling her at work, expecting her to leave at a moment’s notice to chase after some red herring.”
“I need her help.”
“You need to let her have a life.” Bruiser crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Mac’s father, not cutting the man any slack.
“I have to find out what happened to Will.”
Bruiser glanced out the window, across the lawn to the neighbors’ house. “And if you never do, how long will you keep this up?”
Craig frowned and stared at his hands clasped around the binoculars. “I don’t know.”
“Look, Craig, I understand how it feels to lose someone you love. In your case, it’s even worse because you don’t know what happened, but at some point, Mac has a right to a life, rather than dedicating it to chasing every rumor and using every spare minute looking for a ghost. What about college? What about
