Mack and Me: Origins: 15—Trading Out

Mack pushed back his chair, but he didn’t loosen his grip. When he stood, I managed to unfold and get my feet on the floor, and then I registered that Mack still held me, that he had one arm across my front, and that my own arms were pinned.

“Mack?” I said, and his arm tightened, but more in consolation than restraint.

“This is Bendigo Johanssen,” Mack told me. “You saved him at Bastien’s, remember?”

I nodded. I remembered; it was some of the finest shooting I’d ever done. That still didn’t explain why the guy was standing there like he thought Mack was going to pass me over.