"Her daddy had a heart like a nine-pound hammer, Think he even did a little time in the slammer, What was I thinkin'? She snuck out one night and met me by the front gate, Her daddy came out, wavin' that twelve-gauge, We tore out the drive, he peppered my tailgate, What was I thinkin'?" – "What Was I Thinkin'?" by Deirks Bentley
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Are you ok?" Angie asked as she raced to Mac's side as he stood by the Avalanche.
He quickly pulled her into a hug, relieved to see she was fine. "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Your ex has a magnificent attitude," he told her, managing a small smile as he attempted to lighten the mood.
Angie let a bit of a nervous laugh escape her lips and laid her head on his shoulder. "When you said you talked with Darian… I… I just worried he'd do something," she murmured, closing her eyes and staying close.
"Shh, I'm alright," Mac soothed, brushing a stray strand of her black hair back behind her ear. "I just needed to know you were safe."
Angie nodded. "So… what do we do now? I'm not ready to have your team know I'm with you," she said, looking at him.
Mac sighed and shook his head. "I'm thinking I'll tell them about Darian and make sure they know about what he's done, but I'll keep your name and your brother's out of it, alright?"
Angie nodded. "Ok. What should I do?"
"I'm going to take you back to our place after I talk with my team. I wanna take the rest of the day off and get some time in with you, that way I know Darian can't touch you the rest of today," Mac told her. "So, when I go up to talk with my team, I'm gonna leave you in the truck, alright? I don't want you to unlock it until I'm back."
Angie nodded. "Got it."
Mac sighed. He hated seeing her scared like this. He gave her a quick kiss and a reassuring smile, "I love you."
Angie smiled a bit. "What if I said I loved you more?" she asked.
Mac smiled softly. "Then I'd call myself the luckiest man in the world… for about the 100th time today," he told her.
Angie smiled a little more this time. "You seriously are too good to me sometimes, Mac Taylor."
Mac smiled as he got the door to the Avalanche for her. "But that's only because you're too good to me all the time," he pointed out as she got in.
She shot a playful glare at him as he shut the door and then leaned over and got the door for him on the driver's side. "Who said I'm not allowed to?" she asked stubbornly as he got in.
Mac smirked. "No one ever did, and I definitely won't ever tell you that you can't."
Angie laughed a little, smiling a little shyly. "Good."
ooOOoo
"Hey, you're back late. Don and Danny made it an hour ago," Stella told Mac as she met him in the hallway of the lab.
"Something came up," Mac said, trying to think of the best lie he could use to get away with going home with Angie to make sure Darian didn't try anything. "I need the rest of the day off to handle a few things; can you cover for me?"
Stella nodded and shrugged. "Sure. You ok?"
Mac sighed, trying to decide if he should tell Stella about Darian now. "I ran in to someone I arrested a while back today. To keep it short, I wasn't too pleased," he said finally.
Now Stella looked concerned. "Who was it?"
"Darian Huchardson. I have a friend who has a restraining order on the guy and she told me she saw him hanging around too close for her comfort, mine and the restraining order's, so I just want to make sure everything's cool with her," Mac said.
Stella nodded, studying him for a moment. "Alright, I'll cover for you. Take your time and be careful. I'll look in to him."
Mac nodded and let out a quiet breath of relief. "Thanks, Stella. I'll call you if anything comes up," he said.
Stella nodded and offered him a smile. "No problem, Mac."
ooOOoo
Back at their place, Mac and Angie quickly shed their jackets by the door before they just sat down on the couch, Angie leaning in to Mac as he put an arm around her.
He kept thinking about what Darian said. He couldn't let him hurt Angie… There had to be a way to keep her safe.
He sighed, already knowing the answer as Angie laid her head on his chest, almost literally stretched comfortably out on top of him as they lay on the couch. There wasn't really a way to keep her entirely safe. He couldn't be with her every second even though he knew that would be the only way he would feel certain she was alright.
But he wasn't going to leave her. Darian should know that and probably did. That was another thing that worried Mac. Huchardson knew fully well where they lived and Mac wasn't doubting that he'd follow through on his promise.
He'd have to think over this one for a while… And he'd have to find a way to get Huchardson behind bars for good. It was the only way he'd be able to keep the convict from killing more people and harassing Angie and himself.