Captive at Christmas (17 page)

The voices sounded further and further away, like they were coming from inside of a bubble and floating on the wind. She saw two or three of everything but all she wanted to see was Mac.

Where did he get to?

And why did someone turn out the lights?

“Turrr…onnn…” Her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open and Hannah surrendered to exhaustion and the darkness that so desperately wanted to claim her.

~~~

There were only three people in the hospital waiting room and although it was actually quite spacious, the walls felt like they were closing in on him. Mac didn’t know what the hell happened. He walked into the building to see her slouched on that chair, sweating profusely and then she couldn’t even form a proper word. He tried to sit, but the chair felt too constraining and when he stood, the ceiling seemed impossibly low.

“God dammit!” he hissed, pressing his forearms against the wall and holding his head. If only someone would come out and give them some indication of her condition.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the nervous Allyson said – again, for about the five-hundredth time.

Instinct told him to curl his fingers around the woman’s throat and hold her up to this wall, asking if she honestly believed the shit streaming from her lips. But time spent with Hannah taught him restraint.

Instead of reacting as a hired assassin, Mac took a deep, cleansing breath and dropped his body into the empty chair next to Kayla.

“I never should have left her,” he murmured. “I should have stayed, taken her with me. Shit.”

She snaked her small fingers into his. “Don’t blame yourself for the past, just work towards making the future what you want it to be.”

“Christ, you sound just like her,” he chuckled. “And like your mother.” That sting reached his eyes, the one when tears built up and he rested his head against the wall behind him, closing them to hold back the excess emotion.

“Should do, she raised me,” Kayla teased, bumping her slender shoulder to his.

“She told me about you, you know,” Allyson spoke softly from across the room. “Told me all about the cabin mix-up and how she fell for you – hard.”

There was an unmistakable edge to her voice and Mac held his breath while looking at the older woman. Firm-set mouth and loud exhales told him that she didn’t approve. But the softness in her eyes gave her real thoughts away. She wanted Hannah to be happy.

Well, so did he.

“I just hope that you’re here for the right reasons.”

Not that he had to prove a damned thing to this woman, but Mac reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small, white leather box. He tossed it to Allyson and she caught it, surprise and excitement etched in the lines of her face. “That’s why I’m here.”

She swallowed and slowly lifted the lid. Allyson gasped and darted her tongue out to wet her lips. “This…this is…” Hastily, she met his gaze. “How?”

Mac stood and leaned across the room, holding his hand out for the box. “She told me what her mother’s ring looked like and that she always hoped to wear it…someday. But Hannah said it went missing– stolen, most likely, after her parents died.” He shrugged, staring at the platinum band with a cluster of tiny diamonds, shaped into a modest rose. Simple, elegant and sweet, precisely like the woman he wanted to give it to. “I had this made, just for her.”

“Uh, excuse me.”

Three sets of eyes whipped to the source of the voice. A middle aged man wearing baby-blue scrubs and a long white lab-coat stood at the entrance to the waiting room. “Is there someone here called Mackenzie?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Mac replied, squeezing his free hand into a fist.

“Ms. Magnus is awake and she’s asking for you.”

He shot up from the chair, giving the other two in the room a cursory glance. “I need to bring my daughter. She’s underage and I’m not leaving her.”

The doctor eyed Kayla and nodded. “This way.”

She held his hand as they followed the doctor and if she hadn’t been there with him, Mac didn’t know if he’d be holding himself together as well as he seemed to be. The closer they got to Hannah’s room, the tighter his throat felt. He already removed the tie and undid the top buttons, but it still felt like he was choking.

“She’s in there. Try not to let her get too agitated.” The doctor gave Mac’s arm a tap before heading to the nurses’ station.

“I’ll wait here,” Kayla leaned against the wall. “You go in and do what you need to do. Remember, grovelling is good.”

Mac chuckled, half out of nervousness. “Hell no. This was your crazy plan and I need your help. Besides, you’re part of the package deal, Kayla. She needs to know that.”

A stunned ‘O’ took over the shape of her mouth. “O-okay.”

His heart stuttered in his chest and Mac held his arms out towards the human being that held about fifty percent of his DNA. She hesitated for a second and then Kayla rushed at him, clutching at his torso with a ferocity he’d never seen before. And a bizarre warmth crept into his gut, holding his daughter for the first time. It didn’t matter to him that Hannah couldn’t have kids because he already had a pretty great one right here.

Now she just had to accept them both.

Oh God, oh God, oh God…

Hands pressed to her abdomen, Hannah tried to do as Dr. Grantham instructed and relax. Taking deep, calming breaths.

In…and out…

In…and out…

But that was an impossible feat with the information he provided her with.

And the fact that Mac really had shown up, that he came to see her for whatever reason, it put her on edge. He left her and two months passed without so much as a phone call, a letter in the mail. So what made him come all the way up to see her now?

A knock sounded at the door and she jumped. “Uh, come in!”

The doorway filled with Mac, still dressed in the tuxedo, though he appeared much more rumpled than before. Of course, she had been seeing two of him, so her judgement wasn’t exactly the best to go by. He looked even more wonderful than she remembered, except for his downturned mouth and the dark circles around his pale grey eyes.

Many times over the past eight weeks, she wondered how it would feel to see him again, if he ever came to find her. Mackenzie possessed an informational advantage; he knew everything he needed to in order to find her but she had only his first name.

If they were somewhere else, Hannah might have been ecstatic. She would throw her arms around his neck, hold him close and never let him go again. Unfortunately, there were other circumstances to consider now. How would he react to the reason she’d lost consciousness?

“Hannah,” he whispered, kneeling down beside the hospital bed. “Are you alright?”

The compassion in his eyes caused her lower lip to tremble. She had to be strong though, to keep her emotions in control. “Fine,” she replied with a tight smile. “The doctor said…he said that I collapsed from exhaustion.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but Hannah still detested saying the words.

Why couldn’t she just tell him the truth?

Because she did not have the right to ask him to stay.

Though it killed her to admit, Hannah had no claim to Mackenzie. He already proved that her love was not enough to keep him in her life. If she wasn’t enough, then how could this latest turn of events give him a reason to want her for more than just a willing bed partner?

Hannah lifted her hands away from her abdomen and rested them on either side of her body. “How are
you
, Mac? You look tired.”

“Don’t worry about me. Sweetheart, you need to take better care of yourself.” He slipped his hand under hers and brought it to his lips. A groan of pure pleasure rumbled in his chest and she sighed, folded, crumbled beneath his touch. “I have someone important to introduce to you, Hannah. Can she come into the room?”

She stiffened and bit back the immediate onslaught of tears.

Was he married?

Did he have a girlfriend?

Thinking back, she hadn’t actually asked if he had anyone in his life. The thought never crossed her mind. Now she felt no better than her ex’s new fiancée. Hannah had become the other woman.

In that instant, Hannah decided against telling him the truth. She would not hold him responsible, not when even
she
hadn’t known it was possible. Bracing herself, hands gripping the blanket for a sliver of support, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Kayla, come on in,” Mac called over his shoulder, keeping Hannah’s gaze.

A young girl stepped into the room and all of the trepidation that had built up inside of her drained from Hannah’s body. One look at Kayla and anyone could tell that Mac was her father. She feared the worst when he asked to introduce a female to her.

“Hannah, I would like you to meet my daughter, Kayla. I just found out about her the day before you and I met.” Turning to the teenager, Mac said, “Kayla, this is Hannah.”

Kayla smiled, stopping right by the edge of the bed. “It’s really great to meet you, Ms. Magnus. He’s been talking about you constantly since he picked me up from the airport two months ago!”

English, Hannah noted when she heard the accent, and very well spoken. But the words Kayla spoke caused prickling heat to rise to her cheeks. Mac told his daughter all about
her
? Why? He didn’t have any plans to see her again; at least that’s what he made clear to Hannah by leaving without so much as a goodbye.

“Nice to meet you too,” she replied, keeping her eyes on Kayla. If she didn’t look at Mac, she might be able to keep herself from sobbing uncontrollably. If only her body could give her five minutes reprieve, Hannah could get through this – whatever the situation turned out to be.

The memory of waking alone in the cabin to find him gone replaced that dreaded feeling and her limbs grew cold. Tucking her knees up to her chest, Hannah did her best to hold back the fresh build-up of tears.

Why was he here now? She desperately wanted to know but was too afraid of the answer to ask.

Had Dr. Grantham gone ahead and told Mac the real reason behind her collapse, even after he promised not to?

It wasn’t his darn place to tell! Wasn’t his news to tell!

Strong, warm fingers held her chin, forcing Hannah to meet his stare. Gone were the steely hunter’s eyes she’d come to know during their time together. In their place she saw compassion, adoration, concern and love. The assortment of sentiments tugged at the door to her heart, begging for her to allow him entry once more.

And how she wanted to give it, freely and without restraint – again. But with the light fluttering in her lower abdomen, all she could think about was keeping her heart intact.

“Hannah, I was a fool to leave you there. But I had to fix the mess I got us into so that you could go back to your life. I…I didn’t want you to have to live like me, on the run and in hiding. It makes me sick that I had to do it …” His hand trembled at her chin. “You’re safe now, though and that’s the only thing that matters.”

He didn’t have to come out and say the words; she knew exactly what he meant. And it couldn’t have been an easy undertaking for him, after listening to her say that none of it mattered. That it was all in the past. “Thank you,” she offered in a meek voice.

“That isn’t the reason we’re here, Hannah. I didn’t come all the way to see you, just to explain why I left. Now, you know I am horrible with words, so don’t interrupt me, okay?”

Intrigued, she sat up and lowered her legs, sliding her hands under the blankets to touch her ever so slightly distended stomach again. “I won’t.”

Mac and Kayla shared a conspiratorial look and the same smile. “Good. I uh, I need to get rid of a word from my vocabulary, Hannah, and I hope that you and Kayla will help me with it. But first, let me get it out of my system. I need to say it a few more times before I let it go forever. Can’t.”

When he paused, grinning broadly, Hannah concentrated on her breathing. She needed to keep herself calm and the light flurries in her stomach were a constant reminder of what she almost lost tonight.

Something that she didn’t even know existed.