Crux sa-1 Read online

  Nick nodded too casually and played with the end of her ponytail. “I try not to keep them around if they don’t have any manners. But Jackson’s a good egg. His partner is too, though not nearly as…affable.” She sipped her coffee. “I let them run up a huge tab at the bar. That way, whenever I need something, they have to pony up ’cause they owe me. It’s Machiavellian, isn’t it?”

  Mackenzie laughed. It seemed like it had been forever since she’d laughed as easily as she had in the last few days. “It’s brilliant, if you ask me. You can never have too many hot men owing you favors.”

  “That’s what I’m saying.” Nick tilted her head. “I heard you made quite an impression on Derek Gabriel.”

  Uh-oh. Mackenzie shook her head. “He was just trying to annoy his friend. Penny, I think?”

  Nick shrugged, but her cheeks colored. “Hey, Gabriel’s not bad, either. If you like him, you should go out with him.”

  Well, that answered the question of how Nick felt about Derek. After the past month, it seemed almost surreal to be sharing coffee with another woman and talking about men, but something about it felt normal, too. “I’m not really in a place where I should be going out with people.” Don’t you forget that, Mackenzie Brooks.

  “You may feel differently after a couple of weeks.” The look in Nick’s dark eyes was sharp and assessing. “I’ve got to get downstairs and do some inventory. Can you come down around two?”

  “Sure. Thanks, Nick. For everything.”

  Nick took her mug to the sink to rinse it. “You’re welcome, Mackenzie. See you in a bit.” She crossed the room to the door and smiled before stepping through. The door closed behind her with a soft click, leaving Mackenzie alone with her thoughts.

  She finished her coffee and rinsed her cup before giving in to curiosity and peering into the bag Nick had left on the counter. Several bottles sat inside, along with a new toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. She pulled them out one at a time, admiring Nick’s expensive taste in shampoo and conditioner. The body wash was labeled “Summer Rain” and smelled fresh and wonderful. There was even a tiny container of bubble bath.

  She lifted out a pink loofah and imagined taking her first bath in over a month. Not a quick shower in a dingy hotel room but a real bath, with hot water and privacy and no bugs crawling over the floor or strangers banging on the walls.

  She gathered the toiletries and wandered back to the bathroom. It was bright and clean, and it looked like heaven. After closing the door, Mackenzie turned on the tub and resolved that, if nothing else, she was going to spend the rest of the morning in mindless luxury.

  Maybe, if she was lucky, she could drift back to sleep and dream of Jackson Holt and his beautiful eyes again.

  Chapter 4

  Jackson stared at the etched silver letters on the picture window and sighed. He’d arrived early, even though Nick had told him Mackenzie wouldn’t be down until two o’clock, and had even pondered circling the corner and climbing the staircase to the apartment above.

  He was losing his mind.

  He glanced down the street in both directions, squinting in the afternoon light. Alec and Kat hadn’t called yet, and they were nowhere in sight. With another small sigh, he pushed open the door.

  Mackenzie must have been early, because she stood behind the bar, humming absently and wiping it with a white cloth. Her hair was up again, and she was dressed more formally than Nick, in a blue button-up shirt tailored to skim her curves. When the bell above the door rang, she looked his way.

  She smiled, the expression far friendlier than the one she’d given him the day before. “Hey, Jackson.”

  He grinned as he approached the bar and eased onto a stool. “Mackenzie. You seem like you’re breathing a little easier already.”

  “I am,” she admitted, folding the towel neatly on the counter. “Can I get you something?”

  “Whatever soft drink’s handy.” He grabbed a handful of pretzels from a nearby bowl. “I’m working. My partner and our assistant will be here in a bit, actually. I’d like for you to meet them.”

  She poured his soda, and when she turned back her easy smile had vanished, replaced by the tense, brittle one from the previous day. “Oh yeah? You guys have a big case or something?”

  “Not really. We’re finishing one up now, but everything else we’ve got going on is pretty small-time.” He took the glass she offered. “They just want to meet Nick’s new hire.”

  For a moment he thought she was going to take him at his word, but her lips flattened into a hard line. “If that’s all it is, I’m happy to meet them. And I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate everything you did for me last night, Jackson. I do. But—” She hesitated, and the weary exhaustion in her eyes made his chest ache with sympathy. “I’m not a great person to get tangled up with right now. I don’t want people who are trying to help me to end up hurt.”

  He leaned closer. “Mackenzie, if you’re in trouble, we can help. You don’t have to worry about us getting hurt, either. That’s what—” The bell above the door rang again, and Jackson shut his mouth as Mackenzie turned to the new arrivals with a smile pasted on her face.

  “Shit!” It was Alec’s voice, and Jackson turned just in time to see his partner catch Kat as she staggered. Her face had blanched, and her wide blue eyes fastened on Mackenzie with something akin to shock. Jackson had seen the expression before—whenever Kat opened herself to the emotions around her and found herself overwhelmed.

  “Dammit.” He shot off the stool. When he reached Kat, he wrapped his hands around her upper arms and tried to catch her gaze. “Kat? Hey, Kat, come on. Snap out of it, okay?”

  She blinked. “I lost it,” she whispered in a shaky voice. “She’s so scared…”

  He raised a hand to her face and kept her gaze locked with his. “Yeah, I know. But it’s okay, Kat. We’ll fix it.”

  She closed her eyes. As soon as she did, Alec swung her up in his arms and nodded past Jackson.

  Mackenzie had come to the edge of the bar, her face tight and her fingers clenched around the edge. “Is there anything I can do? Should I call someone?”

  Alec answered before Jackson could. “I don’t suppose you could find Nicole for us? Tell her Kat’s out here and she’s feeling a bit light-headed.”

  Mackenzie’s gaze slid back to Jackson. “Of course. She should be in the back.”

  After she hurried away, Jackson looked back to Alec and groaned. “Oh, don’t start with me. Not right now.” He moved toward a booth and shoved the table to one side, making plenty of room for Alec to place Kat on one of the dark vinyl benches.

  Alec settled her and crouched next to the bench. “Kat. Hey, look at me, kiddo.”

  The young woman’s eyes opened slowly. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I just wasn’t expecting—” She swallowed. “Jesus Christ, Jackson. If I was as scared as she is, I’d be hiding under my damn bed, whimpering. It’s not just that, she’s—” She shook her head and made a vague gesture, her frustration at being unable to express herself evident in her tight tone. “God. It’s like she’s dying, bit by bit. Someone ripped her up inside.”

  Jackson fought the anger rising within him. If some bastard was after Mackenzie and he got his hands him… “I should have warned you. I’d planned on it, I just…”

  He’d just been distracted.

  She hissed in a sudden breath. “Jackson, please—”

  Alec rose, crowding Jackson and forcing him away from the bench. “Lock it down,” he whispered fiercely. “I get that you’re pissed, but Kat can’t handle it right now.”

  “I got it.” He averted his eyes and tried to focus, tried to tamp down the rage and irritation. After a moment, his emotions eased. “I’m fine.” He shot Alec a bland look. “You want to back up off of me now?”

  His partner studied his face and nodded shortly. “If someone’s chasing her, we don’t want to attract any attention by going through official channels. I’ll take Kat back to th
e office and she can work a little of her computer mojo while you convince the girl to let us help her.”

  “Thanks.” Jackson glanced toward the door to the back. “Did you sense anything?”

  He’d been working with Alec long enough to know his slight hesitation wasn’t a good sign. “Can’t tell you much more than Nicole did. What I’m getting doesn’t make a lot of sense, so you might be better off trying your spell.”

  “Doesn’t make sense?” Jackson echoed. “What the hell does that—”

  “Hey.” Nick appeared, out of breath and disheveled, at Jackson’s elbow. “Did her empathy explode?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s what I figured. I told Mackenzie it was low blood sugar. She’s in the kitchen, making her a milkshake.”

  Kat bolted upright. “Are you going to let her stay here? You can’t let her leave. Something’s wrong. Really, really wrong.”

  Nick soothed her with a soft noise. “She’s agreed to stay upstairs in Mahalia’s old place.” She laid a hand on Jackson’s arm. “You’re going to strengthen those old wards, right?”

  “First thing in the morning,” he promised, “if you can get Mackenzie out of here.”

  “I have a plan, of course. I’m taking her shopping. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Jackson tapped his chin. “Alec, can you take Kat back to the office and get started on that stuff? I’m going to see if Mackenzie would like to get out of here and grab a late lunch. Maybe, if I keep trying, she’ll see that it isn’t dangerous to let us help her.” Maybe I can figure out just what the hell she is. It had nothing to do with wanting to spend more time with her, nothing at all. This was a job. This was protection. This was…

  “A date?” Nick demanded, poking him. “You expect her to open up about whatever’s wrong on a date?”

  Jackson blinked at Alec. “Is that…wrong?”

  Alec’s expression made it clear he’d rather walk into traffic than have to answer the question. Fortunately for him, Kat spoke, her voice firm. “No. It will work. Don’t take her somewhere too fancy, and not too far from here. She’s scared and she’s overwhelmed but she wants to trust you. She wants to—” Kat laughed. “Let’s just stick with she wants to trust you.”

  Nick choked on a groan and poked Jackson again. He rubbed his arm and glared at her. “What?”

  She shrugged. “Consider that an advance.”

  Mackenzie watched the blender whirl, vanilla ice cream mixing with chunks of fresh strawberries she’d pulled from the industrial-sized refrigerator. She could hear the faint murmur of voices from the front, interspersed with the occasional laugh.

  Nick had lied to her. Mackenzie had seen enough lies in her life to recognize when someone was talking too fast. Whatever the reason Jackson’s assistant had collapsed, Mackenzie doubted very much it had to do with her blood sugar.

  She would have bet anything it had something to do with her. The startled, terrified way the girl had watched her as the blood drained from her face had been indication enough there was something odd going on.

  It hurt more than Mackenzie wanted to admit, thinking Nick had lied to her. It hurt even more to imagine Jackson had as well. Following her could have been a way to find out where she was staying. Offering her Mahalia’s apartment was a perfect way to keep her in one place.

  Stupid. Stupid, stupid… She’d let a handsome face and a friendly smile distract her from the danger. They could be out there planning right now, while she sat and made milkshakes.

  She wanted to run. She should have run. The minute the door closed, she should have been gone. By the time they realized she was missing she could have had her things in a cab. She should have gotten a head start.

  She should have. But she hadn’t.

  Stupid.

  Mackenzie opened the blender and stared blindly at its contents. It was too late to run now, even if she wanted to. And that was the real issue.

  She didn’t want to.

  Something about Nick and Jackson made it impossible for her to believe they would actually hurt her. It was foolish and naive, especially in the face of everything she’d been through in the last month, but every time she tried to consider the possibility of one of them being in league with Marcus…

  It was absurd.

  Sighing, she poured the milkshake into a glass and dropped in a straw. Either way, she was too tired to run again. Another city, another job, another cheap motel… She couldn’t bring herself to go through it.

  The group fell silent when Mackenzie pushed through the door, the milkshake in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Subtle, she thought wryly. No, no one was talking about me at all. She didn’t say anything about it, though, just smiled. “Here you go. One strawberry milkshake.”

  Jackson came over to take it, his hand brushing hers. “Thanks, Kenzie.”

  “No problem.” A shiver danced up her spine, though she wasn’t sure if it was from the touch of his hand on hers or the warm tone of his voice around the nickname he’d given her. Oh, God. I’m so stupid.

  “She’s feeling better now, but we should get her started on this.” He saluted her with the milkshake and handed it to the dark-haired man who’d come in with Kat.

  The young woman gave Mackenzie a shaky smile. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. I hope you feel better.” Whatever’s really wrong with you.

  Nick patted the bar. “I’m sorry, Mackenzie, but I forgot that I already asked Joe to come in this afternoon. Is there any way you could come back for the rush tonight and help out?” She shrugged one shoulder. “Tips’ll be better, at any rate.”

  “Sure.” Mackenzie set the bottle of water on the counter. “Everything—everything’s okay, right?”

  Nick’s answer seemed easy. “Everything’s fine. Really. There’s not a problem.”

  “Okay.” She wiped her hands on a towel and tried to look calm. “I guess I’ll just go back on upstairs. If you need me early, let me know.”

  Nick nodded, and Jackson flashed her a smile. “I’ll see you later, Kenzie.”

  No, you won’t. The thought depressed her, but she kept the smile on her face as she walked through the front door and started around the side of the building. By the time her foot touched the first step, she knew her face was tight and exhausted, but she didn’t care.

  Something was going on. Something suspicious, something having to do with her. She wanted to trust Nick—and she wanted desperately to trust Jackson—but the circumstances were too odd to be ignored.

  She slipped into the apartment and leaned back against the door, eyeing the cheerful room with an almost tangible longing. To stretch out on the bed, to get a full night’s sleep somewhere safe—

  You don’t know it’s safe.

  She finally pushed herself off the door and trudged to her bag. Her anticipation of a few days of comfort had prompted her to unpack everything, and she dropped heavily to her knees and began to slowly gather her meager belongings.

  She’d take the chance and sleep for a couple hours, but as soon as the streets started to fill for the evening, she was going to run. She’d run all night if she had to, and come dawn she’d be on her way to another city, another cheap motel, another crappy job…

  Covering her face with her hands, Mackenzie gave in to exhaustion and sobbed.

  Chapter 5

  She’s going to run, Nick. I can feel it.

  His earlier words echoed in his head, haunting him as he leaned against a dumpster in the alley behind Nick’s bar.

  They’d screwed things up.

  No, correction. He’d screwed things up by failing to give Kat what few specifics he knew, or even suspected, of Mackenzie’s situation. She’d freaked out, and Mackenzie had realized something was wrong. But there wasn’t anything he could do about it now except fix it, and that meant catching her before she had a chance to skip town.

  The apartment door opened shortly after six. Mackenzie emerged, clearly dressed for conce
alment in that blasted sweatshirt and a baseball cap. Slung over her shoulder was the bag she’d brought with her the night before.

  He watched as she closed the door, locked it and slipped the key under the planter he’d pretended to pull one from the night before. When she turned to glance back at the apartment, he caught sight of her face. With no one nearby, she hadn’t bothered with her usual mask, and she looked tired and hopeless. She reached out one hand to brush over the door and visibly steeled herself to slip down the stairs.

  He didn’t bother to hide himself. “Mackenzie.”

  She stopped on the second step from the bottom, her hand clenched around the railing. “Jackson.”

  She looked terrified, and he cursed silently. “I’m sorry we scared you earlier, but you don’t have to leave. Whatever you think is going on…”

  She stared at him as if she could see through him. When she finally met his gaze again, her eyes were weary. “Something’s going on,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what it is, and maybe it’s harmless. Maybe you’re all nice people. If you are, though… Well, I still should leave. Nice people can get hurt.”

  “Not us,” he told her confidently. “Well, it’s not likely. Whatever you’re up against, whoever’s got you on the run, we can help. Let us.”

  Even as she shook her head, Jackson could tell Kat had been right. Mackenzie wanted to trust him; it was clear she was wavering. More obvious was the fact that she’d reached the limits of her endurance. As he watched, tears welled and she hastened to close her eyes.

  “It’s too much. He’ll just keep finding me, and his guys will hurt anyone who’s in the way. He’s crazy, Jackson. Out of his damn mind.”

  His heart clenched painfully, and he took a slow, careful step closer. “Who, Mackenzie? Tell me who it is, and we can make him leave you alone. There isn’t—” His words cut off as a frisson of electricity shot through him.

  Magic.