Page 78 of Bonded By Blood

The woman responded by rolling her eyes. “Men.”

“Thanks for everything,” Dom said to Chuck. “We’ll be in touch.”

Shirl grabbed Mackenzie in a bear hug, then led her to the car. “Everything will work out, honey. Just you wait and see. It’s like you’re the spark that lit Dom’s world on fire.” The woman gave Mackenzie one last squeeze and released her. “Nice sweatshirt, by the way. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks for everything, Shirl. But did you know I’m a Husky?”

“Yes, I did. Rawr.” She clawed the air with her fingernails, and it was her turn to laugh as Mackenzie climbed into the car.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Dom shadowed Mackenzie the whole time they were at her house, not letting her out of his sight. If he’d had his way, she knew he would have come for her things himself.

“Let’s go.” He barked out the words as if she worked for him.

She glared at him. “Hold on. Just let me grab my phone charger and water my plants. Orchids are delicate and require a lot of care.”

“Bring the damn things with you then and let’s get going. We don’t have time for all your obsessive chores.”

“Do you have my laptop and camera?”

“Yes.” He paced back and forth in the dining room with such a heavy step the china in her mother’s hutch rattled.

“What about my mail?”

He let out a sound of frustration. “Can’t your roommate do that for you?”

“She’s hardly ever?—”

As if to make a mockery of her words, headlights flashed in the window and a moment later Sam burst through the front door in tears.

“What’s wrong? What happened to you?” Mackenzie took Sam by the shoulders and tried looking into her eyes, but Sam didn’t answer, crying into her hands instead.

“Your boyfriend?” Dom demanded. “Where is he?”

Before Mackenzie had time to wonder why Dom would ask, Sam responded. “He just dropped me off. But he’s gone now.”

“Stay here,” he ordered and ran out the door. Mackenzie had just finished making Sam a cup of tea when Dom returned. “He won’t be pulling that bullshit on you again,” Dom said to Sam. He grabbed one of Mackenzie’s bags and slung it over his shoulder. “You ready?”

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving Sam. Can we stay here and?—”

“I’m fine. Really,” Sam said. “My mother’s been after me to visit. I haven’t been as good a daughter as you. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve seen her.”

“And you’re sure she’s home?”

“Yeah, tonight’s a big television night for her. She records her favorite soaps and watches them all at once.” Dom loaded the Porsche with Mackenzie’s things as they waited for Sam to pack her bags, and when she pulled her car out of the garage, they were right behind her.

“What was that all about?” Mackenzie asked him. “With her boyfriend.”

“Sam is a massage therapist, right?”

“Yes. She works for one of the boutique hotels downtown.”

“She doesn’t realize it, but her boyfriend is a vampire. I only had to look at her to realize it. He’s been taking too much of her energies through her massages and other touches, which has made him a little too aggressive. That happens sometimes, but it’s more common in the South.”

That explained why her roommate had been looking so tired lately. “What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t do a lot of talking.”