“Oh, sweetheart,” he mumbled.
She could pretend all she wanted that she was hardened, but women like his Day… No, she didn’t know how to be like Darlene or the chick from the gas station or any other woman he picked up. Day felt everything.
It was why she was so hurt when he said no. She couldn’t help it.
He didn’t want that for her. He didn’t want her to cry, to feel pain.
He snarled at himself for being concerned.
Life was easier when he didn’t have anything to worry about beyond when he would run out of beer or when the next pussy would make itself available.
For now, the beer was something he could do something about.
Chapter twenty-one
Cassidy
A NEW WORD
Cassidy’sdayandnighthad gotten a little screwed up. After her sleepless overnight at Darlene’s, she returned home with Fred and fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep. She’d been worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but the adrenaline crash after dealing with Mac had knocked her out.
Why was interacting with him such a struggle, every time, for her? No one else seemed to have the same problems she had with him.
At least she’d gotten out of eating breakfast with him; that would have been awkward.
So, with her timing off, she was awake in the middle of the night, standing on her porch and debating on a chilly moonlit swim, when she heard the screams. She’d jumped, startled, her eyes flying to the dense woods separating her from Mac’s cabin.
Beside her, Fred let out a whine as he ducked his head, also looking.
They were the screams of someone in pain. For a second, she thought he was being murdered. She took a step forward before she caught herself—if someone could hurt Mac, certainlyshewould be no match for whoever it was he was battling.
A bellow of rage followed.
Retreating inside, she grabbed her phone and texted Jason, the one person she could think of reaching out to. Sheshouldbe calling the police, but something was off. So, she typed out,He’s screaming. He sounds like he’s in pain.
Jason would know who she meant.
It was a tense ten minutes before he read the message and replied:Nightmares. Lock your doors.
Cassidy frowned, wondering what one had to do with the other. She asked,Why?
The response bubbles dragged on and on, went away, and then came back,I’ll explain later. Just do it.
Freaked out, Cassidy did as he bade and locked her door, scrambling away from it, expecting a zombie-like Mac to come charging into the glass. But nothing happened. The night remained quiet other than the occasional racket of geese.
Eventually, she did fall asleep, only to wake up to her phone vibrating. She reached to the floor beside the sofa and lifted the phone. “Yes?”
“Morning, sunshine.”
She droned out sleepily, “Hi, Jason. How are you?”
“Good. So, what happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said he was screaming. What happened? You heard it from your place?”
Cassidy frowned and then opened her eyes. The memory of the little overnight drama came back to her. “Oh, right. Mac. Yes. Christ, he was screaming like a murder victim. It was disconcerting to hear.”