closet door. “‘Pardon me. Can I help you?’” he mimicked in a high-pitched voice.
What the…
“The woman. Mackenzie Shaw.” The other one took off his sunglasses and even from across the room, Martin could tell something was terribly wrong.
His heart beat like a bass drum behind his eardrums as he saw the whites of the man’s eyes were actually gray.
Oh, help me, Lord. “I…I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Don’t fuck with us. We can smell her all over this place. Where is she?”
Smell? What the hell?
“There is no Mackenzie Shaw here.” What did they want with her? Although they weren’t the same two men who showed up at the University the other day, their mannerisms were exactly the same. They definitely were affiliated.
“I didn’t ask if she was here. I asked where she was. Big difference.”
Martin glanced around the room. The one doing most of the talking blocked the door to the hallway. The other one stood on the far side of the room. With the student tables between them, if he ran, he might be able to reach the door behind him that led to the adjoining classroom. Could he make it?
“Either you tell us where she is and we’ll show you mercy, or you keep quiet and we won’t. It’s really that simple.” The boss reached out his clasped hands and cracked his knuckles. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. Where the fuck is Mackenzie Shaw?”
“Okay.” Martin took a step forward as if he were going to cooperate, then in a flash, he jumped backward and ran through the adjoining door into the other classroom. He could hear tables crashing as the men gave chase. He made it to the exit and yanked it open.
As he ran down the stairs two at a time, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and speed dialed her number. Damn. Straight to voice mail. They were at the top of the stairs now, barreling down.
“Two men. After you.” He could hardly get the words out. They were right behind him. The short one was laughing again as if he were enjoying himself.
Something heavy hit him square in the back and he fell forward on the last stair and slid across the tile floor of the lobby, his chin acting as a rudder. The phone flew from his hand and shattered against the receptionist’s booth.
Strong hands grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and flung him through the air. He heard a high-pitched screeching again and thought at first it was the short man until he realized the sound had come from his own lips. It was his own screams he heard as his body smashed against the far wall of the lobby and he fell to the ground like a rag doll.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND how one minute you can be in complete control and the next you feel as though you aren’t.”
She had a damn good point and Dom wished he had an answer. “Yes, I know. It’s like a switch. But one thing’s for sure, I won’t risk hurting you.”
“So you could just leave me again? Is that what you’re saying?” she asked.
“I may have to physically leave, but I won’t desert you. That was wrong of me.”
Hurt simmered in her eyes. She stood up to carry their plates to the sink but he grabbed her wrist and pushed a little of his energies to her. Her lashes fluttered for a moment. “As long as you’ll have me, you’ll never be alone. We may not be standing side-by-side, but you’ll always be here.” He placed her open palm on his chest and watched her face soften. “And I pray you’ll forever let me be here,” he said as he lay her small hand over her own heart and covered it with his.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the gentle hum of her prana and the beat of her heart in rhythm with his. As long as she’ll have me. He hoped it’d be forever. Seconds, minutes, maybe hours ticked by as he held his hand over hers. Her warm energies swirled inside him and he pushed to her an equal amount of his. He felt as if he could soar off the highest peak and float to the heavens with her and wondered if she felt the same.
Her voice was soft when she finally spoke and looked down into his face. With her dewy eyes heavy with emotion, her full, slightly swollen lips, she was more