Crystal Mac: A prologue novella to Captive Series Book 3 HELL'S HILLTOP (4 page)

Eyes. Look into her eyes. Damn, they’re… symmetrical.

Eyes, dammit!

“Mac?”

Mel’s voice
hit him like smelling salts through the phone. “Crystal needs to borrow some clothes.”

“Danny has some in her bedroom.”

His eyes moved down briefly, long enough for those rose-tipped beauties to permanently etch into his brain. “A little more room is required in the, ah… the bosom area.”

A moment of silence before Melanie laughed in his ear. Mac
exhaled loudly. “Just hurry, Mel. Modesty isn’t exactly her
thing
.”

Moments later,
Crystal held the T-shirt Melanie brought way out by the shoulders. “Let me guess. This is a cover off some car in the driveway.”

Melanie shoved her hands i
n the back pockets of her jeans. “It’s Austin’s shirt. Best I could do on short notice.” Then she looked at Mac with a cocked brow. “Your hands will be full for a while.”

The words conjured an image of his hands full…
with Crystal’s alarmingly beautiful breasts. He pinched the bridge of his nose to clear it away. “If you’re worried about the daycare, Gretchen can open for us in the morning.”

“By herself?” Melanie said doubtfully.

It was an uncomfortable thought. Even Mac didn’t want to take care of fourteen kids on his own. “She can bring in subs to help out until this is over.”

“Help for what?” Crystal asked by the mirror.

Melanie pulled him into the laundry room and spoke low. “Mac… I think we should close it for the week. We’re both tied to IGP right now and we can’t let it touch our kids.”

“And leave the parents in the lurch like that?”

“It’s better than putting their children at risk,” she argued.

Mac leaned close and whispered, “IGP doesn’t know shit about me. This thing with Crystal will be wrapped up by tomorrow and I can be back to work on Tuesday. I’ll hold things together until you figure out where you’re going from here.”

It was the first time he expressed frustration over the sudden changes taking place in their lives.

Her look softened. “I know how much the daycare means to you,” she whispered just as quietly. “And how much DJ means to you. You’ll still be Uncle Mac, no matter where we end up.”

Not according to the eyes of Bennett.
“You sure about that?” he countered knowing Derek would see it differently.

“We all have to make acceptances,” she assured with a small smile. “Even Derek.”

And Mac believed her. Feeling somewhat better, he gathered her in a bear hug. “Give me until Tuesday. Okay?”

She nodded under his chin. “Assuming Crystal behaves.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Crystal sing-songed from the bathroom.

Shit. Mac released his roommate and winced. “Super hearing. Keep forgetting about that.”

“And there,” Melanie said pointing toward the voice, “is your tie to IGP.”

In other
words, their daycare’s future… his future… hinged on Crystal’s cooperation, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

____

Crystal gave Mac a sideways smirk from the passenger seat. “I know what you’re thinking.” Though he said nothing, she sensed his wheels turning. “How can a little girl like me have so much power over your life?”

Mac harrumphed, draped a wrist over the wheel.

“I still can’t believe you’re a freakin’ babysitter,” she continued with a laugh.

“Daycare worker,” Mac corrected while headlights zoomed past them through the windshield.

“And, what do daycare workers do? They babysit.”

He frowned. “I happen to like it.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that, I just think it’s…” She paused, cocked her head. “Cute.”

“My boot up your ass won’t feel so cute if you screw this up for me.”

The words echoed in the hollowed service van they borrowed for their evening drive to Lesico.

Her brow went up. “Hostile. You’re a hard man to figure out, Mr. Truck.”

Another short laugh. “Never been accused of that before.”

She turned in her seat to get a clearer perspective. “You’re capable of violence. I’ve seen plenty of that from you, but I’m beginning to think your soft side is what defines you.”

“I can’t believe you’re analyzing me,
Elsa
,” Mac threw back.

Crystal caught the flinch before it fired. Elsa was
no more than a missing person who’d been deemed a cold case long ago. A nobody who’d become somebody under the cruel handling of a scientist and her drug. She’d explained it over and over again when Rena had tried to bring her around the day before. Elsa was dead.

But, r
efusing to veer off subject, Crystal continued softly, “You killed a man last night. You aren’t bothered by that?”

Mac’s
grip on the wheel relaxed. “It was either him or us.”

But she could sense something…
an undercurrent of angst he was very good at masking. “You’d have no problem killing again as long as it was to protect the ones you love.”

“Nope.”

“And you’d kill me just as easily.”

“Yep.”

Ouch.
“And then you’d go to work the next day, change diapers and finger paint with your kids.”

This
trip grew more interesting by the mile. Crystal resettled beneath the seatbelt. “Tell me something.”

Mac kept his focus straight ahead.

“Have you killed before?”

“None of your business.”

Which meant yes. “Were you military?”

Exasperation turned to anger. He stomped on the brakes, held up a finger as cars honked and swerved around them. “Let’s get something straight, Crystal,” he seethed, hazel eyes burning with malice. “We aren’t friends. You don’t get to grill me. As soon as this
little adventure is over, our association is done. You got that?”

So, the killing thing was a touchy subject. Crystal leaned over, fixed him with a wide-eyed look beneath the thick makeup. “Can
I
tell
you
something?”

His finger came down.

Her confession came out a whisper. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”

The anger shifted to strong doubt. “Derek said all ghosts are trained to kill.”

“Trained,” she agreed. “But I couldn’t go through with it when the time came.” Her “failure” had been overlooked when Angelo covered for her. “The man you killed last night was my partner.”

Mac swore under his breath.

“Angelo killed my mark for me when I choked and he lied about it. Saved my life in the process.”

With an uncomfortable laugh, Mac lifted the faded ball cap he wore and scrubbed his head
. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

The guy got
creeped out pretty easily. Crystal quickly allayed his fears. “I have no animosity toward you, whatsoever.”

“Sure,” Mac grumbled and put the van in gear. “He was probably your boyfriend or something.”

“Nah, too serious for me. Possessive. Lethal. Not to mention gay.”

Mac’s brows lowered an inch.

“His lover hated me. It was quite an uncomfortable threesome and Angelo was too guarded to get close to.”

“But he saved your life.”

Her shoulder moved. “Eh. I served a purpose.”

“Which was?”

A huge grin split her face. “
Now
look who’s asking questions?”

“Well…
” Mac blustered, leaned into the curve that would take them to Lesico. “You put it out there.”

“Next you’ll be showing me
your
tits.”

A
reluctant smile formed beneath the mustache. Crystal laughed loudly, feeling as if she’d just moved a mountain.

All amusement was gone when Mac put the van in park. Lesico Labs was two blocks over. The grounds of the polished industrial park were decorated with bulbous street lamps and colorful landscaping. During the day, park benches gave respite to Springfield’s white and blue-collar elite, but not a soul would dare them at night. Even this area was prone to boogeymen.

And Mac was in the company of one.

There was a time he would have shivered at the thought, but Danny had made him stronger. Melanie had given him purpose. And Austin had given him a chance. Before that, his life could have gone down many unsavory paths, but luck had proved to be on his side numerous times over the past few years.

God willing, she’ll stick to her guns tonight. “
Whatever you do, don’t hurt the woman,” he said as Crystal sheathed the knife at her ankle. “Just locate her and bring her to me.”

“
While
you
question her, since she probably won’t trust me. I know, Mac.”

He grabbed her sleeve before she could pull the handle. “
If you run into trouble, just keep the ghosts distracted. Remember, we only have a twenty-minute window.”

Since Mac had disabled the dome light, the van remained in darkness when Crystal exited.

“And, Crystal?”

The woman in black held onto the door, muttered over her shoulder, “I know, I know. Be careful.”

He blinked. “I was gonna say don’t fuck up.”

S
he turned toward him, quietly shut the door and puckered her lips with an air kiss.

He expected to keep her in sight for quite some time, but within half a second she’d simply vanished. Went up in smoke. Poof. “Damned
ghosts,” he muttered, lowering the ball cap over his eyes.

Mac drove up to
Lesico’s guard shack and rolled down the window. “Chuck with
Repair Care
,” he said distractedly, searching through a stack of papers.

The guard scanned the identifying sticker on the side of the van. “You got a PO and ID?”

Mac produced them.

Time eked by while his papers were thoroughly checked. The longer it took, the cleare
r it became this was no minimum-wage guard.

Come on you prick.

The man flipped a page. “You’re a day early.”

“It’s an assessment only.”

Another
Repair Care
vehicle pulled up behind Mac, this one a utility truck complete with welding equipment. The security guard waved when the window came down. Mac knew the driver was familiar with Lesico security and was vouching for him as they spoke. As head of Cahill Salvage, Austin had a longtime partnership with the repair company and, knowing Lesico was one of their biggest contracts, he’d called in a favor.

The security g
uard appeared at Mac’s window and handed everything back along with a clipboard. “Just sign here and you can go on through.”

As soon as both vehicles parked in back of the main production building, Mac got out and circled around toward the other driver. The man had a trusting face, which made Mac a little wary.

In a low voice, he asked, “You Luke?”

“Here as promised,” Luke answered, showing off a thin band of hair as he looked around. “Austin said this wouldn’t have a negative impact on me or my business.”

Mac doubted this side of
Lesico even knew what was going on. “We’ll be in and out before you know it.”

Twenty minutes later, he was sorely regretting those words as he walked the floors of Lesico’s batching room. Paper swished between his legs. The cleanup crew was hard at work. High-powered hoses sprayed the concrete floor forcing him to walk through an occasional billowing mist of whatever harmful material needed washed away. Within seconds, his white sterile suit and facemask were coated, which made him feel like a giant cotton swab. At least he blended with the other masked cotton swabs.