Dead Spots (38 page)

“Well, I opened my own business in Austin after I graduated from the University of Texas and did what I loved most, which is work on cars. I also competed in the amateur dirt bike circuit, drank way too much beer on weekends, dated lots of awesome women, took my mom to church on Sundays, and baked really good macaroni and cheese from scratch. Then the woman I thought I was going to marry broke up with me, told me she was pregnant with someone else's kid, and moved in with my best friend. So I left my business in the care of my office manager and hit the road as a roadie for an up-and-coming Austin rock band.”

“That sounds incredibly dramatic.”

“It really was. I figured I was unmarried, in my early thirties, reasonably good-looking, so why not?” Lucas spread out his arms dramatically.

Mackenzie laughed despite the seriousness of his story.

“You don't think I'm good-looking?” Lucas feigned hurt.

“You're okay,” she said, feeling a bit shy all at once.

“Nah. I'm good-looking. Right, Johnny?”

Johnny shrugged. “You look like James Dean. Mom says James Dean was handsome before he died.”

“See? I'm good-looking.”

“I think you're full of yourself.” Mackenzie was beginning to like Lucas and not just for how he was with Johnny. He was imposing at first, but his manner was very warm and light. Feeling at ease in his presence was surprising, but also welcome. It was nice not to feel tied up in knots.

“That's true, too.” Lucas flipped a map over and pointed to a big red mark. “I entered there.”

“New Orleans?”

“I was pretty drunk, looking for a place to pee, and I stepped into the doorway of an abandoned building.”

“That simple, huh?”

“Yeah. Where did you enter?” Lucas picked up a pen and pulled the map of Texas toward him.

It was unexpectedly easy to share her story with Lucas. She even backtracked enough to explain the death of Joshua and Tanner leaving. When tears sprang into her eyes, Lucas lightly pressed her hand with his, but almost immediately withdrew it. She tried to keep her tone low to keep the more gruesome details from Johnny, but the little boy was completely engrossed in his television show. He obviously didn't care about the adult conversation.

“So Grant ran for the door of the café the moment he saw you?”

“Yeah. He said not to let it shut.” Combing her fingers through her drying hair, she replayed the scene in her head. She remembered how Grant had slammed his hands against the door in anguish. “He was very upset when he found it was closed. He banged on it.”

“Are you sure he didn't actually close it to trap you?”

Mackenzie licked her lips. Doubt ate at her, and she squirmed in her chair. “He seemed genuinely upset.”

“Then what happened?”

The more details she related to Lucas, the more difficult it became to believe that so much had happened in such a short period of time. It felt like an eternity since she had entered the dead spot and found herself trapped, yet it was only three full days.

“So when you were heading back to the café, you thought you got some cell phone reception?” Lucas gazed at her steadily, his expression unreadable.

Mackenzie nodded. “Yes. I thought it was my mother telling me the police were at the café. But I never found out because of the attack.”

“Shit,” Lucas grunted, shaking his head. “That fucker.”

“What is it?”

“I think you're right. You did get reception because the damn door was open! The police probably really were looking for you right then. If you'd made it to the café there's a good chance you would've gotten out, but he stopped you.”

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room, and Mackenzie pressed her hand to her brow. “I don't want to talk about this anymore.”

She expected Lucas to protest, but instead he nodded. “Yeah, we should all get some sleep. We can continue tomorrow before we get on the road to the next dead spot.”

“Do you still want us with you?”

With a shrug, Lucas said, “Sure. Why not? The kid's cool. You're pretty smart and tough. You want out of here, too, right?”

“Absolutely!”

“Then I say we keep going as a team. If you want to come along, that is.”

Scooting her chair from the table, Mackenzie said, “I want out of here. I'll come with you. I'm sure Johnny will, too. He loves the car.”

“The car is cool,” Johnny agreed with a grin.

Lucas looked prideful and satisfied with this assessment of his vehicle. “Yeah, it is.”

“Can you make me Silver?” Johnny pointed at the show.

Lucas slid to his feet and yawned. “Why would you want a horse when you can ride in my car?”

“Can I drive your car?”

“When you're sixteen.”

Johnny frowned. “I never get to do the cool stuff.”

Mackenzie was tempted to point out that Johnny was technically older than both of the adults in the room, but realized it might upset the little boy. Johnny reluctantly turned off
The Lone Ranger
and crawled onto the rollaway bed Lucas had found in another unit and restored earlier. Mackenzie tucked him in and lightly drew her fingers over the covers. She hadn't been consciously thinking about Joshua's blanket, but the comforter transformed into a larger version of it, complete with the embroidered “J” in one corner.

Johnny ran his hand over the softness. “I like this.”

Tears in her eyes, but a refreshing happiness in her heart, Mackenzie said, “I'm glad. I made one for my little boy, too.”

“The one that died?”

She should have known he was listening to her conversation with Lucas. Kids were good eavesdroppers. “Yes, the one that died.”

Tracing a flower, Johnny looked somber. “I died.”

“I know, but you're back now.”

“Can your baby come back, too?”

The question was too close for comfort. “No. No. He died in the other world.”

“So he's in heaven.”

“I think so.”

“Then I can have his blanket and it's okay.”

Mackenzie dragged one finger over some of the embroidery. The flowers transformed into horseshoes and cactuses. “It's your blanket now, Johnny.”

With a smile, Johnny said, “Thanks, Macky.”

Hugging the child and kissing his cheek, Mackenzie fought to keep her tears contained. She'd never tuck Joshua into bed at night, but she could make sure Johnny was safe in this bizarre world. “Goodnight, Johnny.”

Once she retired to her bed, Lucas spent a few minutes with the boy, talking in a voice too low for Mackenzie to make out words. She could hear Johnny giggling and it was a comforting sound.

Settled under the covers, Mackenzie couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed since the night before. Instead of sharing quiet moments with Grant, she was with a strange man with tattoos and a little boy with a Lone Ranger obsession.

Despite her best efforts, her mind drifted back to the dream she had experienced before the world had gone to hell. Had it been just a dream? Or something much more insidious?

Sleep eventually claimed her, but until she finally drifted off, Mackenzie wept in silence.

 

CHAPTER 25

“Mackenzie.”

Drawn from her hazy dreams, Mackenzie gradually opened her eyes. A halo of blue light seeped around the edges of the curtains covering the motel windows. The eerie illumination gave the room a hazy, surreal atmosphere.

“Mackenzie!” a voice called out again, hushed, yet urgent.

Flipping off the covers, Mackenzie sat up in bed and blinked the sleep from her eyes. On the rollaway bed, Johnny slept on his stomach, the yellow blanket bunched at his feet, his mouth open and slightly drooling. Across from her Lucas was spread-eagled on the other bed, fully clothed and snoring.

If neither one of them was awake and calling her …

Mackenzie pivoted toward the window. Cautiously, she tip-toed to the front of the room and peeled back the edge of the curtain.

Outside, Grant stood away from the edge of the bungalow's small porch. His dark curly hair looked glossy and very black in the moonlight and his gray suit was immaculate on his tall, muscular frame. In his hands he clutched her purse. Spotting her in the window, he called out to her again, a smile upon his lips.

Nervous flutters in her tummy and the anxious trembling of her hands said it all. She was afraid of Grant now. Though a small piece of her still clung to the hope that he was not the incubus wraith Lucas had described, she felt fear crawling out of her soul to strangle her.

“Mackenzie!” Grant called out again.

Clenching her hands, she steeled herself. She would not shirk from Grant or any other monster. If this was the world of dreams and nightmares and she was a shaper, she could and would defend herself. She was sick and tired of feeling like a victim. It was time for her to stand up for herself. Seizing hold of the doorknob, she opened the door and scooted outside.

The boards were smooth and cool beneath her bare feet and the wind chilled her as it lashed her body and whipped her hair about her face.

“You look so beautiful,” Grant said in awe.

“How did you find me?” she asked boldly, trying not to give in to her wilder emotions, but to remain calm and resolved.

Grant stepped closer, but his loafers remained firmly on the ground a few feet beyond the edge of the revitalized bungalow's porch. “The car.” He motioned to Lucas's fancy car gleaming in the moonlight. “I saw it from the road.”

“We're miles away from where the shark killed you, Grant.” Mackenzie's voice was more accusatory than she had planned it to be, but she was hurt and angry. Maybe she had cared more for him than she had realized. Seeing him now it was difficult to believe he was a wraith. Maybe she had put all the pieces together wrong. Hadn't she seen his sorrow and pain throughout their short journey? His loneliness and compassion? “How did you find me?”

“Maybe my final thoughts of you before I died drew me here. I resurrected just a short distance away.” He held out her purse. “When I awoke I had this in my hands. In my final moments, I used what was left of my spark to bring it with me when I returned. I know it's important to you.”

Mackenzie stared at the purse with longing. It held Joshua's little blanket, his photos, and her journal. She was tempted, but Grant was far enough from the porch that she would have to step off to claim it. She wasn't certain, but she suspected there was an invisible boundary around the restored bungalow that she should not cross.

“Please, take it. I know the importance of what's inside.”

Running her hands through her hair, Mackenzie fought to clear her thoughts. “You found me at the cemetery, too.” The rest of the pieces were falling together faster now, the puzzle picture becoming clearer. “No one else who died that night was there. Just you and me.”

Grant stared into her eyes with an earnest expression. “Mackenzie, I love you. I know that hearing that sounds ridiculous, but in this world, every good thing I discover is worth cherishing. You're a wonderful, beautiful woman. I want to protect you and keep you far from the monsters of this world. I have always been the kind of man who knows what he wants and needs when he sees it. I look at you and I know I need you. I want you.” Taking a small step closer, he lingered at the base of the stairs.

“You don't know me!” Mackenzie protested, but she felt unsure of his motives now that he had spoken in his defense. Confusion began to muddle her thoughts, making the puzzle pieces in her mind start to disconnect and scatter.

“I know you're a woman who has lost too much and deserves good things. Not this death and destruction, but a dream palace filled with love. I can't make one for you, but I can help you create one. We can live in it together, Mackenzie. We can be happy.” Grant's eyes shimmered in the moonlight. The passion in his voice stirred within her the need to be loved and wanted. “I can help you be safe in this world. We can find a way to be happy. I know you want a child again. That little boy wraith and his minion wouldn't have been able to take you from me if you didn't want to be a mother so badly. We can have a child, Mackenzie. I have always wanted to be a father. We can create a perfect life in this world.”

Mackenzie's hand closed around the porch railing to steady herself. Grant's words painted a beautiful picture that she craved. She missed the unity, love, and beauty of the first year of her marriage to Tanner. The dream of a blissful life was alluring.

“Grant, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me truthfully.”

“Always,” he said, his voice rich with yearning.

“When I went to sleep the other night, did you come to me while I slept? Did you…” The words clogged her throat.

“Did I what?” His eyes did not stray from her face.

The memory of the dream both aroused and sickened her. “I was dreaming about Tanner making love to me, but it was all wrong in the end. It felt different and…”

“Are you asking me if I made love to you?” Grant tilted his head, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

“No, I'm asking you if you raped me,” Mackenzie finally managed to say.

Grant extended his hand and lightly brushed the air over her fingers where they rested against the rail. Her skin bubbled with gooseflesh. “I would never do anything against your will. You let me in, remember?”

Mackenzie, let me in. Before it's too late. Let me in,
Tanner had whispered in the dream.

Horror filled Mackenzie. “Oh, my God!”

“You need me like I need you. Think of all the times I saved you.”

“You tricked me!” Mackenzie shouted.

“No, Mackenzie, we made love,” Grant replied. “You knew it was me, didn't you?”

There had been moments when the dream had seemed wrong, when Tanner had blurred into Grant. Had she known? Mackenzie's thoughts again devolved into chaos.