“You’ve annoyed me, is all. With your podcast. Your deal with Lorraine.”
Mackenzie bit her lip. “I have an episode loaded already. If anything happens to Lorraine or me, it goes live to my followers.” It was all unproven, of course, about Bulleye’s responsibility for what happened to them in the police van, how Lorraine said Bullseye was targeting her and what her boyfriend knew about his business operations. Enough to get the authorities to investigate, though.
“She’s not my priority. You are.” The silent pause crackled with tension. “Listen, because we won’t talk again, Ms. Bardine. This is my promise. You’ll die if you don’t go home, both of you. Your parents can bury you next to your brother.”
The phone beeped. Connection ended.
She stared at the cell and then at Gideon. “He knows about you.”
Gideon nodded. “His message was pretty clear, Zee. He’s giving you a chance to get out, walk away, or he’s coming at you with both barrels.”
“Us. He’s coming at us.” Her eyes sparkled with tears. “Gideon, I’m sorry I brought you into this, but it’s what I’ve told you from the beginning. I don’t want you here. You have to go or you’ll get hurt.”
He grabbed her hand and held it up. Palm to palm, he locked fingers with her and would not let her look away. The pressure of their entwined hands infused his words with intensity. “I have a choice in all this too. I choose to stay.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
“I’m staying.”
“Why, Gid?” The question came out like a whisper. “Why stay? Aaron’s dead.”
He squeezed harder and cut her off. “This isn’t about Aaron. It’s about you, and I’m not letting you do this alone.”
Her eyes glimmered like smoke rising in the sky. He couldn’t help himself. He kissed her. For so many years he’d wondered what it would be like to kiss Mackenzie Bardine. He’d gotten a taste when she surprised him in his car. A real, unhurried kiss, he’d imagined, would be tender and soft and it would light up part of his heart that beat in shadow. He’d been right, about all of it.
The kiss went on for a few seconds, sending sparks through his bloodstream. She might have warmed to it,leaning in for the barest fraction, until she drew away and they sat in awkward silence.
He struggled to catch his breath. “I don’t know why I did that.”
She shrugged, looked away, and pulled in a shaky breath. “An impulse, just like, um, before. Forget it. Get out of this town as quick as you can. Please, Gid.” She reached for her pack.
“Are you coming with me?”
She shook her head.
“All right. Then if you won’t leave until you talk to the guy at the airstrip, we’ll go there.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why do I hear a catch coming?”
“After you get what you need, we leave. Go to the cops. You sort out your evidence when you return home, where it will be harder for him to reach you.”
Her gaze grew curious. “And you’re so concerned about this why? To make sure my parents don’t lose another child?”
“Not only that.”
“Guilt is a bad reason to risk your life.”
He bristled. “Do you think it’s the slightest bit possible that you don’t know me as well as you think?”
She considered for a moment, then shook her head, dismissing the kiss, dismissing him. “I’m going to the airstrip, and if you insist on coming, I can’t stop you. What you do is your business.”
Frustration banged through his nerves. Why was it so hard to be her friend? “You sound just like your brother.”
She flinched. “What?”
“He was Mr. I’m Gonna Live My Life Any Way I Choose.Always after whatever made him feel good without considering the consequences. It was fun when we were teenagers, but he never grew out of it.” His words were bitter, but he was too tired and irritated to regret them.
Rage blazed across her face. “My brother wasn’t your kind of person. And I’m not either, so please excuse yourself. Glad that’s cleared up.” She grabbed her pack and yanked the strings tight to be sure it was closed.
