I tried to get it up quickly! (Also there are about a thousand things I should be doing, so of course, this is what I'm doing instead. Isn't that how it always goes?) Thank you so much for continuing to read and review, it's very kind of you all. I hope you enjoy it!
Mac could hear someone in the apartment moving around, throwing open doors and she pressed herself farther back against the wall and held her breath. Her phone lit up and she glanced down at the screen.
Will.
I'm okay. I'm hiding in the closet in the guest bathroom.
She placed the phone face down to hide the light, and held her breath. Her legs had gone numb from where they were curled up underneath her, but she didn't dare move. Doors were being thrown open and slammed shut, and she pressed her eyes shut, and wondered how the hell this had happened.
She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there when she heard the doorman's voice call out.
"Ms. McHale? It's Chris from downstairs?" She wasn't sure if she should come out or not. She didn't respond at first, biting down on her lip so hard that she drew blood. "There's no one else in here, Ms. McHale." She waited another moment until she heard the elevator ding again and Jim's panicked voice call out.
"Mac? Mac? It's Jim! Shit, where is she? Mac?" And she climbed to her feet, resting her head against the cool wood of the door for a moment before calling back.
"In here," her voice broke and she felt hot, relieved tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I'm in here." She unlocked the door with shaky hands, and stepped out into the guest bedroom. "I'm in here." Jim came tearing around the corner, and his head dropped in relief at the sight of her.
"Jesus, Mac," he breathed out, and she went straight into his arms. "I called Will. He's on his way." She jerked her head in acknowledgement, not trusting her words just then. "The doorman went to go let the police up. Someone was definitely here, and definitely looking for you." With a hand on her lower back, he guided her back out into her living room. She could see the coat closet doors wide open, the coats haphazardly thrown out, as if someone had been searching for something.
Searching for her.
"We think the sound of the elevator spooked whoever it was and they took off down the stairs. They're pulling up the security tapes from the stairwells," Jim said, a soothing hand rubbing up and down Mac's back. She let out a ragged sigh and dropped onto the couch, placing her hands that would not stop shaking underneath her.
"Thank God you called to tell me you were going to be late," she told him, glancing up at him. What if he hadn't? What if she had been just sitting unaware on the couch when the elevators opened up? The thought made her dizzy.
"I'm so sorry I was running late," he answered, and she shook her head.
"It's not your fault, it's my fault for not making sure it was you before letting someone up," she answered. The elevator chimed again and the two glanced up to see Lonny, his mouth in a tight line, followed by a couple of police officers.
"You okay?" Lonny asked Mac, who could do nothing but nod. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I thought it was Jim," Mac started to explain. "He was on his way over, and the front desk called to see if I was expecting anyone. I asked if it was a young man, late twenties, and told him to send him up." She frowned slightly. "Jim called to tell me he was running late and I realized that it wasn't him on his way up." And God, she could never describe that feeling. A mixture of panic and fear and confusion coursing through her.
Lonny nodded.
"Hiding was smart, Mac, that was a smart thing to do," he told her, and her hand darted out to grasp Jim's. "We're going to take a look around, and then we'll go look at the security film. We'll get him, Mac. I promise."
When Will's phone buzzed and he saw Mac's name, the relief he felt was overwhelming. He quickly read her message, letting himself begin to relax minutely. She was okay. For the moment at least, she was okay.
"She's okay, she's hiding," he reported, and Sloan's hand slid into his and gave it a squeeze.
Stay hidden. We're coming. I love you.
The car ride was the longest of Will's life. Part of him just wanted to get out of the car and run, run as fast as he could to get to her. The other part knew that was idiotic, and instead he spent the ride running a frantic hand through his hair, and tugging at the bow tie which was suddenly too tight.
When they finally pulled up to his building, he could see Lonny and police in the lobby, and he was out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop.
Lonny looked up when Will came bursting in the front doors.
"Is she okay? Where is she?" Will asked frantically.
"She's upstairs with Jim," Lonny said, his voice calm. "She's okay." Will hit the button for the elevator, jammed it with his fingers. There were too many damn floors in this building. They lived too damn high up.
"Oh thank God," he heard Sloan say behind him. He didn't have time to stop to speak to either Lonny or the cops. He needed to get to her now.
The elevator ride was silent, and when the doors slid open and he spotted her on the couch, his heart constricted. Jim was sitting next to her, their hands tangled together, and when she glanced up, he saw that she was about to break.
"Mac," he breathed, and she was on her feet in an instant, and in his arms even faster. He held her tightly, running a hand over her hair, and he felt the warm tears on his neck where her face was buried. He pulled back and cradled her face in his hands. "You're okay. You're safe now, you're okay." And she nodded, and twined her arms around his neck.
He only remembered there were other people in the room when he caught sight of Jim out of the corner of his eye. He loosened his grip on Mac, and she turned her head and saw Sloan and Don, and stumbled towards Sloan, who wrapped her into a hug. Will took the opportunity to cross to Jim.
"What happened?" He asked softly. He didn't want to ask Mac, who looked like she was three seconds away from totally falling apart. He knew she wouldn't want to do that in front of everyone, but he was desperate to know how in the hell someone had gotten into their apartment.
"She thought it was me, she thought she was letting me up," Jim said. "Whoever it was started to tear the place apart looking for her. Thank God she had enough sense to hide as far away from the front door as possible." Will glanced back at his fiancée, who was smiling lightly at something Don was saying.
Someone had torn the place apart looking for her.
It was then that Will noticed the coats spilled from the open closet, and he hazarded a guess that the same could be said about their bedroom closet and master bath.
What if they had gotten to her first? Oh Jesus. Oh Jesus.
It was a physical need, suddenly he needed her back in his arms, and so he drifted back towards the door and she gravitated right back to his side.
"We should go," Sloan said. "I'm so glad you're all right." Don and Jim echoed her sentiments, and once the elevator doors had shut behind them, Mac turned and put a shaky hand over her mouth and let out a liquid sob.
She collapsed forward into Will, and he wrapped an arm around her waist and practically carried her to the couch.
Once they were on the couch, Mac climbed into his lap, curling up around him. He molded his body around hers in an effort to make her feel as safe as possible.
"I was so scared," she admitted, and he closed his eyes and rested his cheek against the top of her head. "When Jim...it was so stupid, I'm sorry. I should have made sure it was Jim coming up. I should have..." she let out a shuddering sigh.
"You couldn't know," Will said softly, kissing the crown of her head and tightening his hold on her.
"How did they know that Jim was late? That I was going to be here alone? How could they have possibly known that?"
"I don't know, sweetheart," he murmured.
This was bigger than just some letter sent to AWM. Will decided he didn't care what Charlie thought he should or shouldn't know, he would get a copy of the threat. He needed to know exactly what they were dealing with.
Someone had gotten into his apartment. Tore it apart looking for Mackenzie.
That was so far from okay.
And Will would make sure that it never happened again.