“Oh, son,” Louise said with a sniffle from the other side of the bed. Her hand rested gently on Mack’s forearm above the bandages that completely covered his hand. “You’re going to be alright, Cubby.” She smoothed his hair away from his forehead. “Rest now.”
She covered her mouth with her hand and squeezed her eyes shut as a silent sob ripped through her body.
“I’m going to go get Kara,” she said softly. “You stay here.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. I looked back at Mack as Louise left the room.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when they came for you,” I murmured quietly, running my thumb over his knuckles. “But you knew they wouldn’t let me come back, didn’t you?” I let out a watery chuckle. “You should have seen me, baby. I plowed right through the front gates.”
One of the machines made a weird noise and my head snapped up to look at it, my heart racing, but nothing else happened.
“Everyone was looking for us,” I said, tracing the stitches on his face with my gaze. “But they had nothing to go on. I think my dad nearly shit himself when he saw me drive up.”
“Rose?” Kara’s small voice called from the doorway, making me turn.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I said. “Come on in.”
“Is he okay?” she asked, her eyes bewildered as she stared at the tube in Mack’s mouth.
“They’re just helping him breathe right now,” I said, letting go of Mack so I could pull her toward me. “But he’ll be okay.”
“He looks really young,” she said.
I glanced back at Mack. She was right. Without the beard, Mack had a baby face. He didn’t look much older than me.
“Maybe that’s why he wears the beard,” I said, smiling.
“Hi, Dad,” Kara said, her hands fidgeting at her sides. She looked at me. “Can he hear me?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “But I wouldn’t spill any secrets, just in case.”
Kara scoffed, her eyes brightening a little. “I don’t have any secrets.”
“Good,” I said. “Let’s keep it that way.”
“What—” she paused, her gaze roaming over the blanket covering Mack. “Where is he hurt?”
“His leg,” I said, watching her carefully. “And his chest.”
“And his face,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “And his hand.”
Kara’s eyes shot to Mack’s bandaged hand on the opposite side of the bed.
“That’s the hand he writes with,” she said.
“He can still write with it,” I said, even though I had no idea if that was true. “Once it heals.”
“What happened?” she asked, meeting my eyes as hers filled with tears.
“Bad men attacked us,” I replied, unsure how much I should tell her.
“But you’re okay,” she said. There was no accusation in her voice, only confusion.
“That’s because your dad protected me,” I said, my voice catching. “He made sure I was okay.”
“What if they come back?” she asked tightly. “Do they know where we live?”
“No,” I said instantly. Jesus, I couldn’t imagine what was going through her head. How terrified she must be. “Those men are dead.”
Kara jerked, her eyes widening.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said it. Maybe I should’ve sugarcoated it, or gave some bullshit answer to try and placate her. But I remembered being her age. She wasn’t stupid, and she saw way more than we gave her credit for. Knowing that, I couldn’t let her continue to worry about some faceless man coming after us if I could put her mind at ease.
“Do you think me or your dad would ever let someone hurt you?” I said, leaning close. “Those men will never hurt our family again.”
I almost stumbled as Kara suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist, her face hitting my collarbone with a thud. “I’m so glad you’re back,” she whispered with a shuddery sob. “Don’t leave again.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied, closing my eyes as tears fell down my cheeks. “You’re stuck with me, kid.”
“Christ almighty,” Howie said from the doorway, his steps surprisingly quiet as he came into the room. He stopped next to us, and put his hand on Mack’s foot. “You’ve sure gotten your ass handed to you this time, son.”
“Can I go out with Nana?” Kara asked quietly.
“Sure, princess,” I said, letting her pull away. “You want me to walk you back?”
She shook her head. “I remember the way.” She turned to Mack and lifted her hand, hesitating as she looked at all the wires. Then she laid her hand on his. “I’ll be back later, Daddy. Love you.”
I walked her to the door and watched her until she rounded the corner to the waiting room.
“They really did a number on him,” Howie said to me as I reached Mack’s side again. “You were there?”
“Not officially,” I said cautiously.
He nodded. “Yeah, talked to the boss man. He let us know what happened.”
“He cut me loose,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “But he wouldn’t let me help him.”