Page 59 of Protecting Maggie
Roman Robertson was going to suffer. Preacher made a mental vow to do whatever it took to make it happen. Even if it meant ruining his own reputation and getting kicked off the SEAL teams and out of the Navy. Robertson would pay for what he’d been doing—ruining people’s lives simply because he could.
“You feel okay?” MacGyver asked Maggie gently.
They’d given her some protein bars, and she’d had more water. There was color in her cheeks now, and even though she had to be exhausted, she was still too quiet for Preacher’s liking.
“Yeah. I’m okay,” she said.
Preacher wanted to snort. He had a feeling she’d say that if one of her arms was hanging on by a tendon. She and him…they were a lot alike.
“What happened, Maggie?” MacGyver asked, leaning forward a little, keeping his voice low just in case there were people around who might hear them. At this point, they had no idea if anyone still in the area was friend or foe. It was best to lay low and not draw attention to themselves.
Preacher felt her take a deep breath—she was plastered against his side, and every movement she made transferred to him—then she spoke.
“I was sitting on my couch, feeling sorry for myself. Kicking my own ass for being such a baby about the disagreement I’d had with Shawn, when there was a knock on the door. I thought it was you,” she said, looking up at him. “I ran to the door and opened it without looking. Which was stupid.”
“You had no reason to think it was anyone but me.”
“I guess. The guy grabbed me around the throat, and I passed out. It was that simple, really.”
She sounded disgusted with herself.
“I don’t understand how Roman knew that I’d talked to you about him. I mean, it had only been a few hours. And while he said some stuff in that call I recorded that made me think he had people watching me, following me, could he have somehow bugged my place too?”
“Maybe,” Preacher said, feeling sick. “But I think it’s probably my fault.”
“You?” she asked.
“Yeah. I made a bunch of calls after I left. I think he could’ve found out because of that.”
“You think Dude or Tex somehow notified Robertson?” MacGyver asked.
“No. They’d never do that. But even if Dude was discrete in any inquiries he made, word gets out,” Preacher said.
Maggie sighed again. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. Eventually, he was going to find out regardless.”
Preacher didn’t agree. Robertson would’ve found himself in a world of hurt when the Navy started investigating him, but if Preacher had been a little smarter about Maggie’s safety, the man never would’ve gotten his hands on her so quickly.
“Anyway, I woke up in that box. I couldn’t yell out for anyone to help me because of the tape, or hear if anyone was around because of the earplugs. I had no idea where I was or what was happening.”
“Until that box broke,” MacGyver said. “Thank God it did. Otherwise, we would’ve left.”
Preacher shuddered in revulsion. “That’s exactly what he wanted. No one ever would’ve discovered what he’d done either. Maggie would’ve been just another missing woman. And Robertson would get some sick, twisted enjoyment out of knowing I’d done his dirty work for him.”
He felt Maggie’s hand squeeze his arm, but Preacher wasn’t ready to be comforted. “So, what now?” she asked.
Both men looked at her.
“I mean, his plan failed. I’m alive, and you guys figured it out. You realize he’s an extreme asshole and totally evil. So…what now?”
“We wait for our team to pick us up, then we get the hell back to the States and get his ass fired,” MacGyver said heatedly.
To Preacher’s surprise, Maggie chuckled. “Right. You make it sound so easy.”
“It won’t be,” MacGyver told her in a somber tone. “It’s going to suck. I’m guessing there might even be some Witness Protection involved for you.”
Preacher expected Maggie to freak out at hearing that. He himself wasn’t feeling all that level-headed about it at the moment.
But to his surprise, she just said, “I’m guessing that won’t be approved by my probation officer.”
