Tipping Point (26 page)

“For tonight and tomorrow let’s leave things as they are. In case we’re not here, I’d feel a lot better if you guys were all in one place. Cam can take over my room and be with the ferrets again, and Kirk and Leigh will still have privacy, even if it’s not a whole house. Billy can have the futon. We can move things around when Neil and I get back from Toronto.”

“Guess you better try to call Mitch, honey. We can deal with the rest of the stuff later.” Mac’s shoulders sagged.

“But I don’t wanna,” she whined, making Neil laugh, though it was more or less the truth. Talking to Mitch, if she could reach him, was going to be an aggravation. It always was. Even if their conversation was fine, she was always left feeling vaguely irritated. They had managed to become friends after splitting up, but the only reason for that was because they’d been together. He was not someone she would have made friends with normally.

“Yippee. Now I get to give him what-for and have him piss me off again, but it’s still better than him dying in the city.” The expression on Cameron’s face indicated she might have an entirely different opinion on the matter, but Mac knew her daughter better than that. If Mitch came to their door in need, she’d let him in, just as Mac would. She’d just be more grudging about it.

Granted, Mackenzie was feeling pretty grudging about the whole thing, too. He was lucky there were ferrets to consider, though she wouldn’t be so nasty as to tell him he was getting rescued only for that reason. Even if she wanted to. A lot.

Everyone else began rooting around in the kitchen for food again. Mac went to her bedroom and made her call.

“Thank fucking Christ! Where the fuck have you been? Why didn’t you call me back?” Mac pulled her phone away from her ear and glared at it before responding in a scathing tone.

“Who the
fuck
do you think you’re talking to Mitch? Shut the fuck up and listen, because I’m only going to say this once. This is how it’s going to be.”

“Alright, I’m listening.”

“Thank you,” she said crisply, before outlining the plan as precisely as possible, putting a great deal of emphasis on the fact that she was only giving him one shot to get picked up.

“Mitch, I’m not kidding when I say we’ll leave without you. As soon as those ferrets are loaded, we’re gone. I won’t take the chance that we don’t make it back, and I guarantee people will be coming after us when they see we have a vehicle with fuel.

“If you don’t have enough gas to get to the shelter, you’re going to have to find another way. It’s less than an hour by car, so you have other options. I don’t care if it’s a bicycle, or you steal a motorcycle and siphon fuel from the tank of your car to put into it. I’m not going as far as Hamilton, so you need to work it out.

“We’ll leave here at noon, so expect us to be there by three. I might have to find a way to convince Kelly I can care for the ferrets. That could take some time, but don’t count on it. I’m going to try calling her before we go. If her phone is up, I’ll be able to prepare her, and maybe she can pull things together before we arrive. That means we could be gone within the hour.

“Finally, if you come here now there are some changes since the last time we talked. First, I’m getting married on Monday if the offices are still up and running. Second, security is an absolute priority. If you fuck with the security I will shoot you myself. Third, there’s more work to be done, so you’ll need to help out. Is any of that unclear?”

“No. I’m good. Don’t think you can shoot me without a gun, though.” His smartass remark pushed her instant-bitch-button.

“Mitch, do you honestly think I don’t have a fucking gun? I’ve had my PAL for the last five years, for Christ’s sake! I got my restricted at the same time. Believe me, I have a gun and I’ve had a lot of practice with it. Do not fuck with me on this.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. I was just kidding. I’ll be there tomorrow. If I don’t have enough gas in the car, how long do you think it would take me on a bike? I’m not in the best of shape.” Mac was only slightly mollified, but she looked at the map on her laptop and answered him calmly.

“It’s sixty klicks. Google Maps says it’s just over three hours on a bicycle, so you’ll have to guesstimate from there.”

“It actually gives the time on a bike?”

“Yeah. Where the fuck have
you
been? They do hiking trails and all that shit now. You still have internet on your phone?”

“Yeah, so far.”

“They must have backup power on all the towers there then. That’s good. Try and download the directions from the address I’m sending you right now. Save them in case the 4G network goes down between now and then, even if you have to do it by taking a screen shot. All you need are the text directions, but get the map too if it makes you feel better.

“I have to get going. I need to find Kelly’s card from when I adopted Squeaker. I’m hoping it has her cell number on it. You clear on everything?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’ll find a bike and stick it in the car. Hopefully the car will get me there, but if not I’ll use the bike.”

“Okay. Good luck. Be careful getting there.” When she finally hung up, she was just as irritated as she’d expected, if not more so. He was going to push her. She knew it. And there was no way she was risking everyone else for him. If he fucked with her and it put anyone else’s life in danger, he was gone, one way or another.

19

B
REAKING
S
OME
E
GGS

“Well, that sounded pleasant. You okay?” Neil was standing at the door, leaning on the lower half. She spun in the desk chair to face him, and leaned back.

“I’ve been better, but then I’ve been far worse, too. He’ll either be there or he won’t. Now I have to see if I can make sure the ferrets will.”

“Come and have something to eat before you go hunting for that business card. It’s already really late, but I’m guessing you intend to call and leave a message anyway, so an hour and some food will put you in a better frame of mind.” Mac bared her teeth at him.

“What makes you think there’s something wrong with my frame of mind?” Neil laughed and opened the door to walk into the bedroom. He pulled her up out of her chair and kissed her softly on the mouth.

“Maybe it’s because you just threatened to kill your ex-husband. Not that it’s an uncommon occurrence, but I do believe you actually meant it.” Mackenzie sighed.

“I did, actually. I won’t put up with him risking all our lives. I’m sure the garden would be happy with the extra fertilizer.” Neil gave a mock shudder.

“You’re a cold one, honey. Sexy.”

“Oh, shut up. I know damn well you’d do the same if someone put us at risk.”

“Damn straight. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve taken the law into my own hands. Guess I’ll probably have to tell you all about that, though I think the story can wait for a little while yet. There are other priorities.”

“Oh sure. Pique my curiosity and then refuse to tell me.”

“That’s right. Food first, and some time spent with the rest of us so you can get your equilibrium back.”

“You think time spent in a crowd of people puts me back on an even keel?”

“It’s not just people, it’s your family, and maybe not
entirely
on an even keel since you’re big on solitude. Still, it’ll take you out of your own head for a little bit if you’re listening to the kids swearing and laughing for a while.”

“I’m some kind of weirdo, aren’t I? That I would enjoy listening to my kid swearing, I mean. Most mothers would be appalled.”

“You’re not most mothers. You’re better than that.”

“Okay, okay. You can stop with the flattery now. I’m going. What’s for dinner?”

“I don’t know. You haven’t made it yet.” She was pretty sure he was going to bruise from the fist she plowed into his upper arm. He was still rubbing it when they got to the kitchen and Mac saw the sandwiches sitting there for her.

“Aww. I’m almost sorry I punched you now.”

“Shut up and eat, honey.” She shut up and ate.

*     *     *

The swearing and laughing were still echoing in the room as she searched for the business card. She finally found it in the third filing cabinet. It was with Squeaker’s adoption paperwork, along with all his vet records.

Mac went to the bedroom and called the number. As expected, she had to leave a message. She hoped Kelly would be able to check her voicemail, and that she would do so in the morning.

Neil sauntered into the room to let her know the camping gear was set up, but that Kirk and Leigh had offered to be the ones to sleep outdoors. Then he shut the top section of the door. Mac was so tired by this point that she was just grateful not to have to walk more than two steps to a bed. It had been a crazy day, both emotionally and physically. It would be nice to stay with the ferrets, too. They’d been wandering around her feet, sniffing at things as she made her call.

Mac picked up the only ferret within reach. Pickle immediately started licking her on the mouth. She pressed her lips together to keep it from getting too weird, and then snuggled him when he was done, rubbing her face against his silky fur.

Neil snagged Squeaker as he attempted to trot by, and held him up in front of his face.

“How come I don’t get any love?” Mackenzie chuckled at him.

“He doesn’t know you yet, except for the smell of your butt maybe. He’s not quite as affectionate as Pickle, though. Maybe with all the ferrets we’ll be bringing back, you’ll find one that actually likes your face as much as it likes your ass, but I have my doubts. That’s a pretty fine ass you’ve got there. The muscle probably makes it tough and chewy, though.”

Pickle wanted down by then, and so did Squeaker, so they were both released to the wilds of the bedroom floor where they promptly pounced at one another and then started performing a war dance.

“That’s normal behaviour for them, right? They don’t need to see a shrink or something, do they?” She giggled, which told her exactly how tired she was.

“Yes, that’s completely normal for them. It’s their happy dance. And when you see the toes splayed out like that, it means they’re really excited. They’re just having a good time. Pickle also splays his toes like that after he nips my ankles, so that tells you how much enjoyment he gets out of doing it.

“Alright, I’m done for. It’s almost four, and I told Mitch we’d leave at around noon. I said the same in my message to Kelly, but I don’t know if she’ll even get it.”

“Here, honey. Stand up.” When she took his hand and stood, he started stripping her.

“Hey now! Nobody said anything about doing that.”

“Not saying doesn’t mean not doing. If you’re not interested we’ll find out shortly, but I’m pretty sure you will be.”

“Confident, aren’t we? Not that it’s a bad thing, but it sure is tempting to knock you down a peg or two just to see if I can.” He stripped off his own clothes and turned her to face the bed so her back was to him. She could feel the heat of his skin behind her, even though he wasn’t touching her yet, and suddenly she wasn’t quite as tired anymore.

Neil gently pushed her forward onto the bed, until she was lying completely on her front. Mac waited for him to touch her, but was surprised when he started with her legs, massaging them. Undoubtedly she had just died, because nothing felt this good on earth. Fifteen minutes later, after every muscle in her body felt like liquid, he slid inside of her.

They made love soft and slow, but even then it wasn’t long before she was biting her pillow to keep from crying out when she came. He followed her almost immediately, and then they drifted off still connected.

Mac woke to the feel of Neil stroking her hair. She rolled into his arms, not wanting to get out of bed.

“Why couldn’t we have met at a time when we’d have had at least a week together without worrying about being somewhere or doing something that was of life-and-death importance?” Her complaint had him tsking at her.

“Because things wouldn’t have worked out this way. We’d have been floundering for things to say probably. You wouldn’t have warned me at the store about what was happening in the city, and we might never have had a real conversation.

“For that matter, you might never have come into the store at all. You could have ended up buying your stuff anywhere. Instead, we have this. So, even if it means some frustration, I’m grateful to be with you now, and to know that I’m most likely going to be your husband in a couple days.”

“Mm. Husband. First time that’s sounded good to me in many years. Alright, you win the debate. Claim your reward, cowboy.”

“I want that massage from you at some point. I got ripped off yesterday. Now let’s get ready.”

“Deal.” Mac fed the chickens, and checked the goats. There were six eggs from the hens, so it looked like they had most of their breakfast. They’d leave the cereal to the kids, who seemed perfectly content with that.

Neil was out of the shower by the time she came back in. She handed him the eggs and headed off for her own. Once she was dressed she took care of the boys and went to the kitchen area to find scrambled eggs and toast, along with orange juice and coffee.

“You put on a nice spread this morning.”

“Figured we’d need it. This looks to be an interesting day today. You know things could get very bad, I assume, so are you planning to carry?”

“Already am. Fixed and projectile. The knife is on me, but my Glock is in the car.”

“Good. Does Cameron still have protection other than the survival knife?”

“She has her own Glock, among other things. I’ll have to show you when we have a bit of time. We need to set up your fingerprints on the gun safes anyway, as well as retinal for the doors. When they’re locked it would pretty much take a truck to get through them, so it’s an added layer of security.”

“Yeah, I notice there weren’t any deadbolts. What did you use?”