Justice for Mackenzie (18 page)

“Really?”

“Really.”

Dax noticed Cruz gesturing to him frantically from the table.

“Hang on, Mack. Okay? I gotta talk to Cruz.”

“Okay. It’s not like…going anywhere.”

Dax chuckled, even though there wasn’t anything to laugh about, and took the four steps over to Cruz. He held his hand over the speaker on the phone.

“What you got?”

“One of the tips came from a funeral director. He’d been watching the news and recognized Staal. Said he’s seen him a few times at various visitation services to ‘pay his respects.’ I’m figuring Staal doesn’t even know the people in the visitations, he just goes to get off on seeing the dead bodies in the coffins laid out.”

Dax saw where Cruz was going. “So we just narrowed down the area where he might live.”

“Right.”

Quint was speaking into his phone, ordering whoever was on the other end to “hurry it up.”

“Daxton?”

Dax turned his attention away from his friends and back to Mackenzie immediately. “Yeah, sweetheart?”

Her words were coming in pants now. Dax tried not to panic. He was running out of time, dammit.

“I don’t regret meeting you.”

“Baby—”

“No, really. Even if I knew how this would end up when we first met, I’d still…through with it. I’ve been happier in the last…months than I have in my…life. I know I’m not perfect, hell…a pain in the ass. I hadn’t met one…who could put…me. But you, you just ignored…I got bitchy and you smirked at me. It was annoying…first, but you made me really think. I don’t…care if you put the…in pointy side up. It’s stupid…argue over something…that. I want you to know that I don’t regret a…thing about…you. I know what love is now, and…cherish that.”

“Mack.”

“No, I’m still talking.”

Dax smiled sadly again and lowered his head. Fuck. She was killing him.

“Don’t let this prevent…trying again. You found love once, you’ll…again. And don’t tell me…too old. That’s bullshit. You should…a chance. Don’t stop living just because I did.”

“Fuck!” The word was torn from Dax’s mouth and he couldn’t take it anymore. He took a step to the table, handed his cell to Cruz, and left the conference room.

Mackenzie tried to hold back her sobs, but couldn’t. She’d meant every word she’d said to Daxton. She didn’t regret one second of their relationship, even though it led to her being buried alive. It wasn’t Daxton’s fault and she wouldn’t have given up the feeling of being loved, and loving in return, for anything.

She hadn’t meant to upset Daxton, but she knew she had to say the words. She hoped he’d forgive her.

Mackenzie was uncomfortable. She’d been lying in the same position for way too long. She couldn’t sit up, she couldn’t turn over, the space she was in was simply too small. She’d tried to turn on her side, but couldn’t. Her hips hurt, her butt hurt, and she was scared out of her mind. She also knew she was dying.

The air in the coffin was getting thin. Mackenzie could tell because she found herself panting more and more as she spoke with Daxton. She had no idea how long she’d been in there. She’d been completely freaked when she’d come to the first time and found herself unable to move. She’d panicked and whacked her head against the top of the box more than once while she was freaking out. She must’ve passed out, but once she’d woken up and calmed down, Mack had known immediately what had happened.

The fucking janitor.

He hadn’t even given her a chance to fight him. The drugs made her groggy and uncoordinated and he was practically carrying her by the time they’d gotten to the bottom of the stairs. Mackenzie didn’t remember anything after that, and she’d come to in the box. It could’ve been an hour, or three days. Mack simply had no idea.

She’d flailed around in the coffin for way too long before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. She’d fumbled around, trying to feel around her, and had discovered the bottles of water and the phone sitting next to her shoulders. The bastard had known she wouldn’t be able to reach them if they were at her feet.

Mackenzie tried to talk to Daxton. “Hello? Daxton? Are you there?”

“Hey, Mackenzie, it’s Cruz.”

“Where’s Daxton?”

“He’s taking a break, he’ll be right back. How’re you holding up?”

“Cruz, I’m not going to make…I’m having a hard time breathing…just know I’m not…survive.”

“Don’t think that way. We’re close to figuring this out. Don’t give up on us.”

“I’m…practical. Please, promise…don’t let Daxton become…hermit. Make him…out and meet…don’t let him…alone for the…life. I couldn’t stand…please?”

“I won’t, Mackenzie. I promise.”

“Thank you. I…a question.”

“Anything.”

“How the hell am I able…to you on a fucking cell…if I’m underground?”

Cruz froze. Holy hell. How the fuck had he overlooked that?

Mackenzie continued. Cruz could understand her through the crappy connection…barely.

“I mean, doesn’t dirt…connection? It doesn’t make…that I’d be…get a connection...I was underground. Right? Hell, I once…call Mark while I was…car going through…tunnel and…call totally dropped…in the middle…conversation. Of course…blamed me and told me…trying to avoid…to him but I told him…was crap that it was…I was underground. I thought…it now and I don’t…it.”

“Listen to me, Mackenzie. Are you listening?” At her affirmative response, Cruz continued. “We’re on the verge of finding out where this guy lives. We’re going to get to his house as soon as we figure it out. We’ll get him and he’ll tell us where you are. Maybe you’re not underground yet; maybe he’s stashed that coffin somewhere until he can get back to the cemetery to bury it. That’s why you can talk on the cell. I don’t know. But even if you’re underground, you hold on. Got it? Breathe slowly, do whatever you have to do, but hold the fuck on. You aren’t allowed to give up. Not when we’re this close. Hear me?”

“You’re not…saying that? You really are…the way?”

“We really are.” Cruz forgave himself the slight lie. They weren’t on their way to anywhere at the moment. They still needed more information.

“I wish there was more I could do to help you guys. I feel worthless…here. If I was a true heroine…all sorts of information to give…that would lead you right to me.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mackenzie. It’s our job to do that. You’re only job is to wait for us to get there. And to keep breathing. Nothing else.”

“Okay. Is Daxton there?”

“Not yet, but he will be soon.”

“Okay.”

Quint hung up the phone he’d been on and swore. Cruz turned his head toward him with raised eyebrows. “Where’s Dax? He needs to get his ass in here. There’s a development.”

Just as the words left Quint’s mouth, Dax walked back in. The knuckles on his left hand were bloody, but no one said a word about it. It was obvious Dax had heard Quint’s words, but he still went straight to Cruz and held out his hand for the phone. Cruz handed it to him immediately.

“Mack?”

“Yeah…here.”

“Okay, hang on, I gotta talk to Quint. He’s got an update for us. We’re getting closer. I swear.”

“I know. I’ll be here when you find me, Daxton.”

Dax muted the phone again and turned to Quint.

“A call just came in on the tip line. I’m going to read you what the caller said.” Quint looked Dax in the eyes. “Keep it locked down, Dax. Mackenzie needs you.”

Dax clenched his teeth. He had no idea how much more he could take. He nodded.

“The caller’s voice wasn’t altered this time. It was a man. He said, and I quote, ‘Jordan Staal here. I hope Ranger Chambers is having a good time talking with his lover. It really was too easy to get to her. He should watch over those he loves better. And that memory of first kiss is gonna have to be enough to tide him over for the rest of his life. Too bad he didn’t fuck her that first night.’”

The room was silent after Quint’s voice faded, until Dax broke it. “That fucker is listening. He put the damn phone in there with her so he could listen to her calling me.”

No one said anything. The level of Staal’s cruelty was becoming clearer as the minutes went by.

The ringing of Cruz’s cell phone broke the heavy atmosphere of the room. “Livingston. Yeah. Got it. Meet at Ranger Company in ten. Out.”

Cruz kept his voice low. “The SRT is ready. We have an address. Fucker screwed up. Gave a different address to the first company he worked at. It’s the same address his wife was reported missing from. It’s him this time. I can feel it. We’re headed out in ten. We’re going to get your woman, Dax.”

Dax nodded once and was on the move before Cruz had finished speaking. Ten minutes, it felt like ten hours. He clicked the phone off mute once again. “Mack?”

“…you find me yet?” Her voice was soft, but steely. It was obvious Mackenzie was scared out of her mind, but she was keeping a lock on it. She was hanging in there, believing he was coming for her.

“We’re working on it.” Dax didn’t want to say anything to alert Staal they were on their way right then to get him. He hated knowing that asshole was listening to his conversation with Mack, but he couldn’t let her know. Dax knew he had to act like he had no idea. Keeping it from Mack made him feel like shit, but he didn’t have a choice. Dax wanted to give her some hope, something to give her so she’d hang on until he could get to her. He took a breath and lobbed a Hail Mary, hoping she’d figure out what he was saying. “Remember when we had that conversation about Christmas, sweetheart?”

“Uh, no.”

“You know, you were telling me about the time Matthew brought you downstairs to the closet and told you that your parents were Santa Claus? You said you cried for a bit until he showed you how to unwrap just the end of the packages so you could see what was inside, then you could close it back up and no one would know you peeked?”

Mackenzie closed her eyes and tried to remember back to any conversation she’d had with Daxton about Christmas… Finally she remembered. They’d been talking about anticipation and how Mackenzie had no patience. She hated knowing she had to wait for something. She’d told Daxton she always preferred to be surprised than to know something was coming. Vacations, presents, holidays…they were all torture, knowing they were coming but not there yet.

“Oh, yeah, I remember now.”

“Well, this is like that.” Dax hoped like hell Mack understood what he so badly was trying to say.

Mackenzie frantically tried to read between the lines of what Daxton was saying. It was obvious he was trying to tell her something. “Okay, Daxton.” She thought about it…she thought he was saying that she had to hold on…have patience because he was on his way. It wouldn’t be a surprise; he was coming. She got that. Mackenzie decided right then and there anticipation wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Okay, Mack. Cruz has his technicians working as hard as they can. We’ve almost got it. Swear. You just hold on. Baby? I have to put the phone on mute on my end, but I can still hear you. Okay? Just keep talking to me. I can hear you just fine. Whatever you need to say, say it.”

Mackenzie didn’t want Daxton to put her on mute. She wanted to close her eyes and hear the low rumble of his voice as he spoke with her. The silence pressed in on her when he muted his end of the line, making her tomb seem even smaller than it was, but she answered affirmatively anyway. “Okay.”

Mackenzie strained to hear anything on the other end of the line. She heard nothing. The coffin was airtight and completely silent. She started talking to break the silence; she couldn’t just lie there in stillness.

Dax kept his phone at his ear, listening to Mack talk about nothing. Her voice still stuttered in and out, but Dax didn’t care. She was talking, that meant she was breathing. He’d go with it. He opened the door to the garage, nodding in surprise at both Conor and TJ. They’d obviously been granted permission to be part of the entry team. He looked around in approval at the rest of the men assembled. The SRT was ready to go.

“I’ve sent the coordinates to Staal’s house to your GPSs. We’re going in silent. He’s got ears on the phone call between Chambers and Ms. Morgan, so when Dax gives the cue, everyone shut the fuck up. We want to sneak up on him. He can’t know we’re on the way. Got it?” Cruz told the men waiting for the word to go in and arrest a killer.

There were nods all around. Dax put his cell on the trunk of the car in front of him while he shrugged on the bulletproof vest. He wouldn’t be a part of the entry team, once again he’d leave that to Cruz’s people, but there was no way he wasn’t going with them. He grabbed up the phone again and sat down in the front seat of Quint’s patrol car.

Nine minutes. Dax would be able to look Jordan Charles Staal in the face in nine minutes and find out where he’d stashed his woman.

“Did you cancel…reservations for the hotel in Austin? Cos you can’t…waste the money. Make sure they…charge your card. Once I had a vacation planned…mom got sick…forgot to call and I had…dollar charge. They refused…take it off even…produced the doctor’s bill…mom was sick. Bastards. So it might…seem like a lot, but you shouldn’t let…get away with that shit. When you find me…we go there? It sounded…and I was looking forward…all weekend in bed…you.”

Mackenzie paused and panted. She had no idea if Daxton was even listening to her anymore, but she didn’t stop talking. Even though she was dizzy and her chest hurt to breathe, she didn’t stop.

“I hate math. I don’t know…I just do. I know we need…and…use it all the time but…suck at it. It’s stupid…not that hard. But I just have never…how to do it in my head. I always…the wrong column and end up…the wrong answer. Thank…calculators. Where would we be without…? I use the app…all the time. It’s embarrassing…break it out…day. I must look like…a six…kid.”

Dax listened to Mack ramble on with clenched teeth. Her voice had gotten lower and lower and he hated it. He wanted to tell her to stop talking, to save her breath, and conserve the air in her tomb, but he couldn’t make himself. Every word out of her mouth was being committed to his memory…just in case.