Title: Mine
Summary: Mac has a stalker… (Harm/Mac Romance, Drama).
Part Seventeen
Mac
December 31, 2001
Harm has his arms around my waist, and his lips are pressed against my ear. "It's starting," he whispers.
Fireworks are going off on the empty beach, and the sight makes me smile. "They're beautiful," I say.
"You're beautiful," he says." I glance over my shoulder and beam at him. The glow from the fireworks lights up his perfect face, and my smile widens.
"So are you." Even though it's dark, I can tell he's blushing, and I turn in his arms to give him a quick kiss before returning my attention to the show. "This was an excellent idea," I say.
He squeezes me, moves his hands to my hips, and pulls me flush against him. "I have one of those every so often." I laugh, and he places a kiss on my temple. "I have a feeling that 2002 is going to be a very good year."
I place my hands over his and push my fingers into the spaces between his. "I have that same feeling," I say.
Tuesday, March 12, 2002
I'm disoriented when I open my eyes. My internal clock has been thrown off, and I don't know what time it is, and I'm not even one hundred percent sure what day it is. The last thing I remember was a threadbare couch and… I close my eyes and remember going for his gun. The side of my head is throbbing, and I tentatively touch my temple. There's something matted in my hair, and I know it must be blood.
I think back to the dream I was having and the memory of our first, and so far, only weekend away together. We had been a couple for all of four days when Harm suggested getting away for New Year's Eve. It should have been too much, too soon, but it wasn't. Not with him. With him, it was perfect. Lots of long, bundled-up walks on the beach, a firework show from our balcony, fantastic dinners in Charleston, and a plush king-sized bed that never seemed to stay made for very long.
I blink a few times, trying to acclimate my eyes to the darkness, and the memory of the sun-washed hotel room entirely fades away. I have no idea where I am. I assume I'm in the same house – at least, I hope I am. I managed to pay attention to road signs and turns on our way here, and if I could get to a phone, I could let someone know where I was.
"Good, you're awake." I jump at the sound of his voice and look around the room. I can't see him at first, but then he comes closer, and I swallow. "I was worried," he says. "You've been out for a while."
"Well, that's what happens when you knock someone unconscious," I say. I feel his hand on my head, and I try to jerk away, but he grabs a fistful of my hair. I still feel dizzy from when he hit me, and the force of the movement makes the room spin. I force back a whimper and clench my jaw.
"Don't be so dramatic, Sarah." He gives my head another jerk and then lets go of my hair. "I didn't want to hurt you," he says, "but you tried to take my gun." He touches my blood-caked temple and then runs his fingers through my hair, making me shudder.
"Don't touch me," I hiss.
He leans forward and smiles. "Sweetheart, you're in no position to make demands."
His stale breath is hot on my face, and I cringe." He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out some of the heavy-duty zip-ties I've seen used as makeshift handcuffs, and I feel a fresh wave of panic start to bubble up. "Don't," I say.
"You've left me no choice." He reaches for my hands, but I jerk away. He grabs at me again, this time grabbing a fistful of my top in one hand. "Don't fight me, Sarah."
"Please don't use those." I think of Coster, the restraints he used, and the vodka he tried to pour down my throat. The thought of being restrained is terrifying, and the panic I'm feeling threatens to overwhelm me. I'm in no condition to fight him off right now if he tried to do anything to me, and I try to force back nausea. "Please don't."
For a moment, he looks hesitant, and I think I can just see a spark of kindness, but then he shakes his head. He makes a loop with one of the zip ties and then forces it over my clenched fists. I tremble as he tightens the loop, the hard plastic digging into my skin. Then he grabs my restrained hands and brings them to his mouth. I flinch as he kisses my fingers and then lets go of my hands to lean in to kiss my forehead.
"It won't be like this for long, Sarah. I promise. Once you realize how good we are together, and once I can trust you, I won't have to use these." I shake my head, and he sighs and grabs my arm. "Now, I have to go get rid of the car. And since I don't trust you yet, I can't leave you in here." He pulls me up, and half drags me to a small bathroom. He flips on the light, and the brightness momentarily hurts my eyes. There's a pillow and a blanket in the bathtub and a toilet paper roll on the sink, but there's nothing else. Nothing I could potentially use as a weapon. Not even a mirror I could try to break. He pushes me further into the room and pulls a key out of his pocket. "I'll be back soon." He pulls the door shut and I hear a lock click, and then footsteps. And then there's nothing but the sound of my own breathing.
Tyler
I'm so goddamned angry that none of this has gone the way I planned.
I didn't expect her to fight me so much. I mean, I know she's with him. And I know she thinks she loves him. But I'm much better for her than he is, and I thought she'd recognize that and give me a chance. I've been watching her for months, and she knows that. She's gotten the gifts I've left and the flowers I've sent. She should know me by now – know that I'm kind and thoughtful and that I love her. I mean, I could hurt her if I wanted to – really hurt her – if I wanted, but I haven't.
I know I hit her with the gun, but she tried to take it from me, and I wasn't expecting that. Not since I had warned her that I would hurt him if she tried to run. Although, maybe I should see that as a good sign – perhaps he's more expendable to her than I thought. I didn't mean to hit her so hard, though. I hate that I did that. I hate that I scared her, and I hate that it threw off my timeline. I had wanted to ditch my Security Forces vehicle hours ago, but I didn't feel right leaving while she was unconscious.
I'm sure they're searching for me by now and probably have an APB out on the car. I spent the whole night on edge. Nana's house is out in the middle of nowhere, so naturally, there isn't much traffic out this way, and every time I saw headlights come down the darkened street, I pulled my gun and held my breath until they drove by.
I've got to ditch the car, but I'm not sure what to do next. My own car is still at JAG, and there's no way I can get on base to get it. My only other option is mama's car – which is back at my apartment. Since it isn't registered to even her or me, it should be safe to drive, but it's risky going back there. I have to assume they know I've taken Sarah. I have to assume that Erin said something to him, and I have to assume they're looking for me and maybe even have police staked out at my apartment.
I run my hand over the gun and clench my teeth. I don't have any other options. If I stole another car, it would draw even more attention to me, so I'm stuck. I have to try.
I start the car and start driving toward my apartment. There's a strip mall down the street from my place, and I can ditch the Navy's vehicle there and walk to my apartment. It's not even 4:00 am yet, and it's still dark outside, so it's probably the best time to do this. The drive doesn't take very long at this time of the morning. There's no traffic, and it's so tempting to speed, but I know I have to be so careful - the last thing I need is to get a speeding ticket.
The strip mall parking lot is nearly empty, which is unfortunate. An official Navy vehicle is really going to stick out like a sore thumb. It would be really nice if those addicts that hang out in this area would just take it… I think for a moment, then roll the windows down, leaving the keys on the seat and the doors unlocked. Maybe I'll get lucky.
I quietly shut the door and surreptitiously look around before jogging toward my apartment. It's only a few blocks until I spot the shabby building. I can see my unit and frown when I notice a light on inside. I scan the parking lot for any police cars but don't see anything out of the ordinary. They probably left the light on earlier, and I shake my head. That's so inconsiderate of them. Mama's car is parked in the small overflow parking lot for guests to use, and I take a deep breath and run over to it. I use the key to unlock it instead of the remote and slide into the dingy interior. The car smells pretty bad, and I'll have to get it cleaned up before I take Sarah anywhere. I squeeze my eyes shut as I start the car and then take a deep breath when it's quiet again, and no one has come running out pointing a gun at me.
Okay, I'm good. Everything is good. I can get home now – back to Sarah. I turn on the headlights, take another deep breath, and then head home.
End Part 17