he hung up without leaving message.
“Dammit. He must be in a foul mood to just bail on me like this and not answer his phone.” He was quiet for a moment, and she could see him thinking. “Well, since it seems you missed him, too, you can follow me to the warehouse.” He opened the door, but when he noticed she hadn’t moved he stopped. “Oh, yeah, I’m Taylor, by the way. I train with Mack.” He lifted his eyebrow again when she didn’t respond. He sighed, and moved away from the door to hold up his fists. She took a step back, and he chuckled. He started throwing punches into the air. “We work out, train, you know? Anyways, if you wanna see Mack then you have to keep up, girlie.” He eyed her for a moment and grinned. “You act funny for a Chaser.”
“I’m not a Chaser—whatever the hell that is. I’m an old friend from a long time ago.”
“No shit? Huh.” He had already turned around before she could say anything else. He was in his truck with the door shut before she even took a step. She grabbed her cell, pulled up Mack’s number she had programmed into her address book, and pushed past her nervousness and hit “CALL”. It rang several times before a generic robotic voice picked up for his voicemail, but Jane didn’t bother leaving a message. The sound of Taylor’s radio blasting came through loud and annoying, but then he rolled down his window and stuck his head out. “You wanna see Mack, or not?” He drummed his fingers on the side of the door, and she moved toward her car. Yeah, she did want to see Mack, but could always wait until tomorrow, or the next day. But she knew she wouldn’t wait, because she wanted to see him, talk to him, and hell, hear his voice that badly. Maybe she should call him? No, she wanted a face-to-face, and so she was going to follow some stranger that looked like he could tear her in half, and had a weird sense of humor, because she was that desperate to see Mack.
She slid into the driver’s seat of her car, grabbed her cell out of her purse, and set it in her lap in case she needed it. She reached under her seat to make sure she still had the Rugar LCP .380, the handgun her dad had insisted she get when she turned twenty-one, and only after she knew how to safely use it. She felt the butt of it, and that always had a spear of safety washing through her. She might not be all about guns, but she couldn’t deny that it made her feel like she could take care of a threat that came at her. After she straightened and pulled out of the driveway, she followed Taylor, and soon they passed out of Absinthe. But she had already been only a few minutes from the city lines since Mack lived on the outskirts of town. They drove for about twenty minutes until they got to the industrial section of Stadaleen , one that had been abandoned years before, and her hesitation increased. The old buildings stood on either side of her, with broken out windows and only the moonlight to create any kind of light. Taylor pulled his truck into a cracked and pothole-laden parking lot, and she would have been worried he was leading her to her death if not for the fact there were a lot of other cars parked, and people piling out of them. Their excitement was tangible, but they kept their voices low. She parked beside Taylor’s truck, reached under her seat for her handgun, and shoved it in her purse. No way in hell was she going to go in there, wherever there was, unarmed.
Chapter Five
Mack could hear the shouts from the crowd right outside the door, and swore the damn walls shook from how forceful it was. Tanner, the guy that set up Mack’s fights, made sure he got paid from them, and also someone he considered a friend, was going over the statistics of his opponent, but Mack’s mind wasn’t focusing on what Tanner was saying. He braced his elbows on his thighs and tapped his foot as impatience, adrenalin, and endorphins slammed into him, moved through his bloodstream, and revved
“Dammit. He must be in a foul mood to just bail on me like this and not answer his phone.” He was quiet for a moment, and she could see him thinking. “Well, since it seems you missed him, too, you can follow me to the warehouse.” He opened the door, but when he noticed she hadn’t moved he stopped. “Oh, yeah, I’m Taylor, by the way. I train with Mack.” He lifted his eyebrow again when she didn’t respond. He sighed, and moved away from the door to hold up his fists. She took a step back, and he chuckled. He started throwing punches into the air. “We work out, train, you know? Anyways, if you wanna see Mack then you have to keep up, girlie.” He eyed her for a moment and grinned. “You act funny for a Chaser.”
“I’m not a Chaser—whatever the hell that is. I’m an old friend from a long time ago.”
“No shit? Huh.” He had already turned around before she could say anything else. He was in his truck with the door shut before she even took a step. She grabbed her cell, pulled up Mack’s number she had programmed into her address book, and pushed past her nervousness and hit “CALL”. It rang several times before a generic robotic voice picked up for his voicemail, but Jane didn’t bother leaving a message. The sound of Taylor’s radio blasting came through loud and annoying, but then he rolled down his window and stuck his head out. “You wanna see Mack, or not?” He drummed his fingers on the side of the door, and she moved toward her car. Yeah, she did want to see Mack, but could always wait until tomorrow, or the next day. But she knew she wouldn’t wait, because she wanted to see him, talk to him, and hell, hear his voice that badly. Maybe she should call him? No, she wanted a face-to-face, and so she was going to follow some stranger that looked like he could tear her in half, and had a weird sense of humor, because she was that desperate to see Mack.
She slid into the driver’s seat of her car, grabbed her cell out of her purse, and set it in her lap in case she needed it. She reached under her seat to make sure she still had the Rugar LCP .380, the handgun her dad had insisted she get when she turned twenty-one, and only after she knew how to safely use it. She felt the butt of it, and that always had a spear of safety washing through her. She might not be all about guns, but she couldn’t deny that it made her feel like she could take care of a threat that came at her. After she straightened and pulled out of the driveway, she followed Taylor, and soon they passed out of Absinthe. But she had already been only a few minutes from the city lines since Mack lived on the outskirts of town. They drove for about twenty minutes until they got to the industrial section of Stadaleen , one that had been abandoned years before, and her hesitation increased. The old buildings stood on either side of her, with broken out windows and only the moonlight to create any kind of light. Taylor pulled his truck into a cracked and pothole-laden parking lot, and she would have been worried he was leading her to her death if not for the fact there were a lot of other cars parked, and people piling out of them. Their excitement was tangible, but they kept their voices low. She parked beside Taylor’s truck, reached under her seat for her handgun, and shoved it in her purse. No way in hell was she going to go in there, wherever there was, unarmed.
Chapter Five
Mack could hear the shouts from the crowd right outside the door, and swore the damn walls shook from how forceful it was. Tanner, the guy that set up Mack’s fights, made sure he got paid from them, and also someone he considered a friend, was going over the statistics of his opponent, but Mack’s mind wasn’t focusing on what Tanner was saying. He braced his elbows on his thighs and tapped his foot as impatience, adrenalin, and endorphins slammed into him, moved through his bloodstream, and revved
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