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Ch23 Invite2

It was only when I neared Mack’s property did the real fear set in. I was in over my head but I could not back out, no matter how frightened I was.

I handed the invitation to the security. Even though I was a little early, they opened the gate and I entered the property slowly.

There was no backing out now. There were a couple of cars in front of the house. It was weird. I had no idea how many people were going to be there.

I parked the car and took a moment to try and calm my nerves. My heart was racing. I half expected Mack to appear with a triumphant smirk that I would want to wipe from his face but he didn’t.

Feeling unsure of how to proceed and I got out of the car and approached the house. I knocked on the door but no one answered. Something felt off.

I had expected the whole property to much busier than it was. Unless this wasn’t the type of wedding.

Where the hell was everyone?

I opened the door and entered the house. It was quiet, too quiet.

My heart began to race. It didn’t feel right but I walked into the house slowly checking around me for anything but there was no sound.

It was the strangest thing, that seemed to get stranger with each passing silent moment.

My phone began to vibrate in my pocket suddenly, making me stop to catch my breath. I ignored my phone, thankful I had set it to silent earlier.

I headed down the passage, looking around until I came to a door at the end of the hallway. There was movement in the room. Finally.

I neared, trying to keep as quiet as possible until I reached the door. Slowly I peered in, unsure of what I would find.

“Ahh Taylor,” Mack sighed as he sat behind a desk in what looked like a study.

“Oh,” I said, putting a hand to my chest to steady my erratic heart.

“Come in,” he said, rising from the chair..

He held a tumbler with an amber liquid, ice clinked against the glass as I entered the room.

“I’m a little early…” I murmured, feeling like I had been caught doing something wrong.

“I’ve been expecting you,” he said, throwing back some of the drink before setting it down on the desk.

Being in his presence was like walking through a mine field, unsure of when you might step on one and blow everything up. I still couldn’t read him which made him very dangerous.

“I thought there would be more people,” I said, swallowing nervously as he stared intently.

He moved around the desk as I stood nervously. I hated how he remained silent, just watching me. Every moment under his intense gaze deepened my regret at coming alone.

“No. It’s just the two of us,” he stated, casually.

Had I got the date wrong? I was pretty sure I had doubled checked it. My mind was racing as erratically as my heart beat in my chest.

“Um…I…” I had no words, unsure of how to handle this situation.

Mack was dangerous. But in most of my interactions with him, Sin had been there. But now I was alone.

I swallowed nervously. “Where is Sin?”

I had fully expected to watch him marry someone else, no matter how much it broke my heart.

“He left.”

Two words. No other explanation.

“Why?” I asked, feeling more nervous.

“It seems I misjudged my old friend and what you mean to him.”

I took a hesitant step back. He remained where is was but I still felt unsafe.

“What are you..talking about?” I murmured, trying to figure out how to get out this situation before it escalated.

“I had everything planned out. It was perfect. Sin would marry my sister and he would keep her safe.” He stepped forward. “But you ruined that.”

Another step back. He moved, ensuring to keep the same distance between us.

“I didn’t do anything,” I said, trying to argue that I was not responsible for what he was blaming me for.

“You ruined everything Taylor. If you weren’t in Sin’s life, things would have worked out differently.”

I was still so confused as to how things had changed. “You invited me to a wedding I was supposed to witness today. I don’t know what happened.”

“You did. He wasn’t going to give you up.”

But that made no sense. He would never have endangered me. I couldn’t explain why he would change his mind.

“I haven’t spoken to him.” I twisted my hands nervously hoping to be able to keep him calm.

I felt like I was walking a tight rope, one misstep and the results would be catastrophic.

“You have changed him. I never thought I would see the day.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I kept quiet.

“The change to my plans have left me without a way to ensure my sister’s safety.”

Didn’t he realize that his sister wanted protection from him? I bit my lip to keep quiet. Riling him up was not the way to handle this.

Keeping Mack calm was the most important thing.

“Now you have left me with a situation I have no solution to.” His voice was tight and controlled but I could see the anger just below the surface.

“Where is Sienna?” I hadn’t seen anyone else in the house.

“She left as well.”

I frowned. They had both left.

The part that was relieved I would not have to watch the man I loved marry someone else to keep me safe, was overpowered by the fear that I would not make it out of this confrontation with Mack unscathed.

He was not someone that got bested, and certainly not by someone he had considered a lifelong friend or his sister.

I regretted coming alone, but no amount of regret could turn back time.

“I’ve spent my whole life focussed on keeping her safe. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Nothing.” Anger flared in his eyes and I held my breath. “And she just turned her back on me. Do you know what that feels like?”

I shook my head slowly. Fearful if I didn’t answer.

“I’ve done some terrible things.” He shrugged. “I became the person I am today to ensure that she was sheltered, untouched by what we were lacking.”

It was a small peak into his past but it wasn’t enough for me to view him as anything other than dangerous.

“She walked out like none of that mattered. All my sacrifices, for nothing.” There was a sinister look in his eyes which were focussed on me. Not the sister who he felt had betrayed him, or the friend who had let him down.

“Trust is the most important thing to me. And so far I have been betrayed twice today.”

I swallowed nervously, unsure how to extract myself out of the situation and not entirely sure there was a way.

“All because of you.”

And there he was again, blaming me.

If he disliked me before, he hated me now. I had to get out of here, somehow. I had no idea how long it would take someone to figure out I was alone with Mack but I couldn’t count on that.

The problem was I didn’t know how to handle Mack. I didn’t know how to diffuse the situation so I opted to remain silent, hoping it would be enough for him to work through his anger without him lashing out.

He raked a hand through his hair, it was the first time I saw a glimpse into the man who had been holding a tight control over his life and it was unraveling.

“If it weren’t for you, everything would have gone according to plan.”

His eyes glassy and I realized he was drunk. And that made the situation I was in a whole lot worse. I took a steady breath, trying to keep myself from panicking.

He turned and walked back to the desk to lift his drink. He tipped the glass back and drank the last of it before he flung the glass across the room, well past me to shatter against the wall.

I flinched. As he studied me I held my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. The situation had escalated and I knew I was in real trouble.

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