Mac
The hour drive was both the fastest and slowest of my life. I pull off the freeway and into the little town, my heart pounding. The hope that I’m so close to finding her is putting me on edge, and I know I have to reign in my emotions and clear my mind if I want to focus.
“It would have been a lot more helpful if it would have told me a little more specifically where she’s at,” I say to Gunner. He’s sitting in the passenger seat, watching out the window as he always does when we’re going somewhere. He wags his tail in acknowledgment when I speak, but doesn’t even turn his head to look at me.
I pull off the road and into a gas station parking lot.
I have to check my phone.
The location of the bag hasn’t changed. It still puts me in the general vicinity of where it may be, but when I drive to that part of town, I find the area is entirely residential. There are rows of villas stretching in four different directions, and I was expecting a hospital or rehabilitation center or something. I really just have to pick a street and start looking.
“They sure didn’t make this very easy for us, did they?” I ask, adding “Don’t ask me who ‘they’ are,” as I laugh at myself and the one-way conversations I have with Gunner.
“I can’t go running up and down the street like some lunatic. Shit, if this is what Camilla agreed to do in the first place, there’s the chance she’s going to lock down if she happens to see me before I find where they are,” I reach over and give his ears a scratch, “You concur, buddy?” And of course, he wags his tail, this time standing up and doing a bit of a happy dance, sensing that he’s going to get in on this action.
I readily assume Camilla’s got to be in the same place Allee is. While it’s not too hard to imagine that she’d have a job, with how late it is in the afternoon, I’m not going to assume she’s working. Back in Rosarita, Camilla always worked the morning shift, so I feel it’s safe to assume she’s doing the same now.
And, if she’s not at home, then it’s just a bonus for me. But, I’m going to be cautious with this. They already tried to take Allee from me once. I don’t want to lose her again because of sloppy implementation due to my own impatience.
I spend over two hours driving the neighborhood. I’m weighing the possibilities in my mind, all the while hoping that somehow my phone is going to suddenly decide to pinpoint her exact location for me. I know it’s probably wishful thinking, but that doesn’t change the hope.
I’m trying to narrow down an area to start. If I play my cards right, I’m not going to have to tear apart the entire area to find her. But, if that’s what it comes down to, God knows I’ll do it. I haven’t come this far to give up, and if I have to walk from door to door until I finally find the one she’s in, so be it.
By now, it’s dark, and I’m ready to make another move.
Will has always been better at lying low and watching a situation than I am, and there’s a part of me that almost wishes he was here now. Having that kind of level-headed support would be helpful.
But then, I know I’m following not only my gut instinct to find her, but I’m also following my heart. I’m letting the connection I feel with her and the love I have for her be my beacon. Eventually, I pick a row of houses.
“It’s got to be here,” I tell Gunner, who had gotten bored with this an hour ago and curled up on the passenger seat. “We’re going to give it a shot anyway.”
He perks up and wags his tail once again, and I pat him on the head. I don’t know why I’m so nervous, but a little bit of nerves before any kind of mission is pretty standard. I don’t know if she’s come out of the coma, and I hardly dare think she is. But ultimately, I’m going to find her, and even if she’s still not conscious, I’m going to be glad I tracked her down.
Getting out of the vehicle, I walk around to the passenger side and put Gunner’s lead on him.
“Okay buddy, I’m counting on you to really pull out the stops for me here,” I tell him. “This is a super important mission and I know you can do it.”
He wags his tail again, and I pull the panties out of my pocket. I lower them to his nose, once more apologizing to Allee in my mind as I do. Then, I shove them back in my pocket as I indicate to Gunner.
“Find, Gunner. Find!!”
He immediately leaps into action. As a working dog, there’s a distinctive difference between the way he is when he’s off duty compared to the way he is when he’s working, and it never ceases to amaze me the difference in him.
His nose is on the ground, his eyes fixed straight ahead of him. His body is rigid yet his tail is relaxed as he’s entirely dedicated to the task at hand. Once he’s on the trail of something, there’s no distracting him, and I’m proud of him for it.
I always rely on him, but God knows how much I’m relying on him now.
He’s surging forward, doing what he does best, and I’m just trying to keep up at this point. He knows what he’s searching for, and when he finally alerts me outside a bungalow, my heart leaps into my throat.
Gunner’s a dog, and he does make mistakes. Rarely, but it happens.
But I know this isn’t a mistake.
He’s too direct, too sure of his own conclusion, and he’s sitting with his big, brown eyes fixed on me.
“She’s here, isn’t she?”
I’m on the path in front of the row of houses, with only a short distance from where I stand to the front door. And I’m suddenly unsure of how I’m going to approach this. My instinct is to bust my way through and start looking until I find Allee.
But I don’t know what’s on the other side of that door.
Knocking seems awkward, considering the fact that Camilla took Allee and ran, but I don’t see what other option I have.
I don’t have long to wonder, however.
As I’m standing and debating, a voice suddenly rings out.
“Puedo ayudarle?” a male voice shouts at me.
I’m not fluent in Spanish, but I do have some working knowledge, and while I know that he asked “Can I help you?” I’m not going to let him know that, so I play dumb.
“No hablo espa?ol,” I reply as I see two men exiting from a vehicle.
I kick myself for not noticing them before as I vaguely remember seeing that car pass me while I was walking the sidewalk with Gunner. An amateur mistake that I blame on being too emotional. Fuck.
They accommodate my language and one of them shouts “Identify yourself!”
“State your purpose!” the other follows up.
And I see that they’re both armed and have their weapons leveled at me.
“I think you should do the same, actually,” I reply, holding out my hands to show I’m not threatening them in return. I have my gun in the back of my belt, but with how quickly they came up on me, I don’t have time to reach back and grab it without them knowing what I’m doing and possibly firing at me.
“I’m the one asking the questions here!” the man barks at me. “What’s your name?”
“Mac.”
“Mac what?” he yells.
“I don’t feel comfortable giving you my information when I have no idea who you are,” I respond evenly. “If we’re going to get anywhere with this, it’s going to have to be a give on both sides.”
I know I’m likely not going to get very far with them, but the fact that they’re not wearing uniforms of any kind leaves me skeptical. It’s easy for me to imagine they’re hired to keep an eye on the house, which actually makes me feel better about the situation. At least the part the hospital told me about Allee being moved for safety reasons seems to be true.
On the other hand, they may not actually be government-issued. And I’m not going to hand up all my information to them on a silver platter or I could be practically gift wrapping myself and giving my life to them. If I’m going to give them any more information about me and what I’m doing, I’m going to have to hear they’re at least working for the government.
“If you don’t start talking, I’m going to put a hole in you and see if that makes a difference,” the man yells.
But, before I can even respond to that, the front door of the bungalow opens, and Camilla herself appears. Her eyes go wide once she sees me, and right behind her, Allee hobbles over. A crutch under one arm and her own handgun in the other.
That’s my girl. Packing heat while on a crutch.
Allee almost drops her weapon when she sees me, and I use every ounce of self-control I have to force myself to stay where I am. I want to rush to her and pull her into my arms. I want to scoop her up and hold her tight.
“It’s alright, he’s okay,” Allee calls out.
“Anna!” Camilla says glaring back at her.
“I said he’s fine,” Allee says firmly. She looks at her older sister and then turns her attention back to the three of us outside.
“Thank you, gentlemen, but I know this man. He’s okay to come in,” she tells them. “But thank you for being so on top of your jobs. It really shows your dedication.”
She motions for Gunner and me to come to the house, and I wonder if Camilla will let us through the door. She steps to the side, however, and in a moment, I’m standing in front of the woman I’ve been longing for for months.
“Allee,” I say.
There’s a lump in my throat. There are so many things I want to say to her, but with her standing right in front of me, I just can’t find the words. She looks like herself again. Well, mostly. She’s using the crutch and seems to be in pain, and the months of being in the bed have caused her to lose some muscle. She looks thin.
But none of those things matter to me. What matters is that she’s right here in front of me, and she’s alive. And awake.
Camilla stands and watches the two of us, the tension radiating from her. There’s a lot I want to say to her, but that can all wait. The one I have really wanted to see is in front of me, and the rest of the world can wait for their turn.
I hold out my arms to her, forcing myself to let her be the one to come to me. Even with how badly I want to take her in my arms, I know what PTSD can do to a person, and I’m not sure where she’s at mentally. I need to give her the space and the respect to be the one to come to me.
It’s an agonizing moment. I’m not sure how much time even elapses. I’m sure it’s not more than a few seconds, but to me, it feels like an eternity before she speaks.
“Mac,” is all she says, her eyes brimming with tears and her lip quivering.
Then, she steps forward and practically falls into my arms.
She’s sobbing, her body wracked with emotion as I pull her close to me. I comfort her, putting one hand around the back of her head and relishing the softness of her hair. I drink in her scent, thinking about how much I’ve missed it the past few months. All the fears I had over losing her are melting away, and relief is quickly taking its place.
This is my Allee. I’ve found her, and no one will ever take her from me again.