Chasing Air (14 page)

“Go through my closet, where it comes out in the laundry room. You should be able to get to your bag without them seeing you,” Ryler whispered.

Brody disappeared just as the men made their way back to the kitchen. Ryler heard his front door open and close. Thank god he hadn’t gotten around to oiling the squeak. He listened for the squeaks and pops of the hardwood floors to judge how close they were to him as he hid in the alcove just before his bedroom.

As one of the men approached, the floor creaked. Ryler knocked his hand holding the gun and the gun went sliding under the bed. Ryler took the man to the floor, but not before he heard a shot go off. He looked around and there was no one shooting at him, they must’ve shot at Brody. It was all he could do to keep the man pinned on the floor. After a scuffle and a few punches, Ryler was able to knock the thug out and tie him up.

He grabbed the gun and carefully made his way around the corner into the hall beside the kitchen. He saw a bare foot and leg on the floor on the other side of his bar. He knew Brody was down. What he didn’t know was the location of the other two gunmen. Just as he moved to slide around the corner into the kitchen he heard the gun cock behind him. He froze.

“Hand it over.”

Ryler raised his hands and the gun. The man took the gun from him and shoved a gun in his bare back and said, “Walk.”

Ryler was escorted to the living room and pushed down to the sofa while the man went through his computer. He was pecking away at the keyboard. Ryler knew it wouldn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. He had saved the photos that he found of Makenzie/Judith on the internet, to his desktop files. He looked over at Brody, who wasn’t moving, but he couldn’t see any blood pooling on the floor, which was a good sign.

“Do you want to tell me about this?” Tony asked as he turned the laptop around to show a picture of Makenzie from the hospital’s website.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“I thought she was pretty. I save photos of pretty girls, what can I say?” Ryler answered in a cocky tone.

“That’s Judith. How do you know her?” Tony barked. The other two men came in to sit down in the living room with Ryler and their boss.

“I don’t know a Judith. Who is she and why are you looking for her, man?” Ryler stalled. He hoped Brody would come too soon.

“Judith was married to our boss,” one of the gunman answered.

“Shut the fuck up, Bruce!” Tony yelled.

“You say was. So they’re divorced?” Ryler probed him.

“She’s supposed to be dead. But somebody from this address and this computer has been searching her. That must be you, so I want to know why and how you got this picture.” Tony kicked Ryler’s knee. He moaned in pain, just as Tony grabbed his wrist and yanked his arm back behind him in a twist. A wrestling match ensued. The other men just stood back and watched as they scuffled on the floor. Ryler saw Brody fire off another round but miss the other man, who returned fire and missed Brody. Several more shots rang out before Brody was able to take the goon down. That just left Tony, who was pinned to the floor.

The front door opened and Drew Donati stepped around from the entry, holding a gun pointed at Ryler. “Let him up, Buchanan.”

Ryler recognized Drew Donati from the pictures.

Drew and Tony secured Ryler and Brody with ties and had them sitting on the sofa.

“Tell me where my wife is, Buchanan.”

“I’ve been telling your guy here that I don’t know your wife. You’re mistaken.”

“You’ve searched for her and for me on this computer. You’ve got photos of us saved in your files. I suggest you start talking.”

Brody tried to concoct a plan. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he did have his phone in his back pocket if he could get to it without much movement. The problem was he’d never mastered pocket texting like high school kids could do. Thank goodness it was a Blackberry with a keyboard, if he could get to it fast enough. He dialed 911, or so he hoped.

“You’ve got this all wrong. I don’t know who Judith is,” Ryler said, stalling.

Donati grew impatient. He was ready to waste the two guys and move on, but he couldn’t because they knew something about Judith and he needed to get to the bottom of it without any loose ends. “Tony, get me a power drill from the garage.”

Tony went searching for the power drill.

***

Makenzie boarded the plane in New York, put her head in her hands, and cried the entire flight. Just a glimpse of her mother was enough to set her back two years.

Two long years ago the initial plan was put into motion to save her life. She had filed divorce papers and charges for the brutal beating she received from her husband. Drew didn’t take too kindly to her decision and knew what a divorce and charges would mean to his career, his family. It also opened him up to investigation for a huge crime ring, involving tax fraud, cover-ups, and murder.

Donati made the decision to have his wife, Judith Donati, killed in a water heater explosion at their home and hired the men to do it. One of the men was a government witness and was picked up on other charges. He gave the FBI enough information that they were able to thwart the plan and save Judith’s life.

Judith removed a female arm from the cadaver lab that resembled hers in size, the hand just slightly bigger, but after a fire that wouldn’t be noticeable. She gave the arm and her wedding rings to FBI Agent Terry Bernard and said goodbye to her family for the last time. It was the only way she could keep them safe and be able to live. She was left with no other choice than to fake her death.

The plan was carried out, the arm with Judith’s rings on the left hand was placed at the house after the explosion by the FBI agents, and Judith was placed into witness protection.

Donati identified the remains and behaved like the grieving widower, a performance that would’ve garnered an Academy Award. He had a strong alibi and he was never indicted for the murder of his wife. He was free to live his life.

Makenzie relocated to Dallas and made herself well-trained in how to protect herself. She lived with her ghosts from her past, but each passing day brought strength, happiness, and freedom from abuse.

“Ma’am, can I get you something? Maybe a drink to help you relax?” the flight attendant asked Makenzie.

“No, thank you, I just hated saying goodbye to someone I’ll never see again.” She cried some more.

“Oh honey, don’t say never. Things could change.” She smiled at Makenzie before walking away.

“Not for me they don’t,” Makenzie muttered under her breath.

She couldn’t wait to get back to Ryler and surprise him by being home a day early. All she had to do was check in with Agent Bernard just as soon as she safely got in her car.

The plane landed at DFW Airport and she gathered her bag. She went to the ladies room and removed the fake piercings, washed her face and changed her clothes. She put the gun in her purse and quickly ran to the car. Once in her car and driving towards Ryler’s house, she called Agent Bernard from a disposable phone.

“It’s over. I’m on my way home. I had a surprise at the hotel, my mom showed up, but no one saw us. It’s all okay.” She smiled with relief.

“Makenzie, there’s a problem. Donati and his men are on the move. He filed a flight plan to Dallas. He’s there looking for you, we’re sure of it.”

Makenzie dropped the phone. “Shit!” she screamed.

She pulled over at the next exit into a gas station and called Agent Bernard again. “How could this have happened?” she cried.

“Tell me exactly what happened with your mother,” Bernard demanded.

Makenzie went through everything. She sobbed hysterically. Just when she thought her life was going to be normal and everything was under control, she got blasted back to her reality. She was never going to be rid of Drew.

“Makenzie you have to leave town now. Follow the plan,” Bernard begged.

“No, I’m done running. I’m facing my giant!” she cried.

“He’ll kill you. Where are you? I’m sending support.”

“No, not if I kill him first. I have to do this myself. I need to tell Ryler the truth about who I am and then I’ll wait until Drew comes after me. This is ending my way. No more running. I won’t do it.” She held strong, her head high and her shoulders back, finding the courage to face her demons. She didn’t intend on backing down.

“Who’s Ryler?” he asked.

“My boyfriend. Detective Ryler Buchanan, why do you ask?” Makenzie was so tired and she wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t realize that Agent Bernard was putting a plan in motion around her.

“Nothing, it’s just the first time you’ve mentioned him. Is this a new relationship?” he stalled, trying to ping her phone to get her location.

“Well, for him it’s been awhile. For me, I’ve been fighting my feelings. I knew a relationship with a cop could be dangerous, but he knows nothing.” Makenzie had gotten back in her car and was headed to Ryler’s house.

“I’ve got to go, Bernard. I’ll call you when I leave Ryler’s house.” She tossed the phone onto the floorboard of her car but she didn’t end the call. Bernard was able to trace her phone and get a location. He already had a team rolling to Ryler’s house. He intended on them beating Makenzie there.

***

When Makenzie arrived at Ryler’s, there were several cars up and down the street. She wondered whether he was having a get-together with his buddies or some kind of party. She walked up to the front door and it wasn’t completely closed. She was startled by a familiar voice that of her husband, Drew. She could hear him yelling at someone and it sounded close to the front door.

She took out her gun and made her way around through the side gate to the back yard. She tried to peer through the windows, but couldn’t see anything in the kitchen. She crawled across the ground underneath the windows and went to the other set of windows looking into the living room. She saw Drew standing in the living room and she could see two men sitting on the sofa, she just couldn’t make out who they were. If she could just remember the code for the garage, she could sneak in through the garage into the laundry room and in the back way into Ryler’s closet. She would have a straight shot at Drew.

The code, the code, what was the damn code?

CHAPTER FIF
TEEN

Makenzie tried to think back to the first time she spent the night. She remembered the smell of the coffee and pictured the sweet note that Ryler left. She saw the note in her mind and the numbers on the note. The code for garage is 2627. That’s it. She ran back around to the garage and prayed the door went up quietly. She let herself in and crept through the garage to the laundry room. She could hear Drew yelling at someone to answer his questions.

She slipped through the laundry room into the master bathroom where she found one of Drew’s guys tied up and unconscious on the floor near the bed. She slipped past him and kept her arms in position with her gun in front of her like she’d been trained. She had a straight shot at Drew standing in front of Ryler and Brody on the sofa. Drew was holding a power drill to Ryler’s head. She took in a deep breath, slowly let her breath out, ready to fire. But before she could, someone burst through the front door and shots were fired from the other side of the house. Drew fell backwards over the ottoman, just as the FBI team burst through the front door.

Tony was able to get a shot off at Makenzie and the bullet hit the door frame beside her first before it ricocheted into her right side, just grazing her. The FBI agents fired at Tony, killing him immediately. The agent checked Drew to find him dead as well.

One of the agents untied Ryler and Brody while the other went to check on Makenzie.

“I’m fine, leave it alone,” she snapped. She tried to get up, but the agent pushed her back to the ground. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and handed the phone to Makenzie.

“You’re brave, you know that?” Agent Bernard tried to muster a laugh. “This could’ve easily gone down all wrong. You know that don’t you?”

“I was done with running, Bernard. Can I call you back? There’s someone I need to see right now.” She didn’t wait for Agent Bernard to answer. She simply handed the phone back to the agent beside her and got to her feet to find Ryler standing in front of her. She reached up and touched the bruises and lacerations on Ryler’s face. “I’m so sorry I brought you into my world. He’s dead, isn’t he?” She covered her mouth.

“Yes, he is. Remind me to never piss you off.” He laughed as he took her gun away and wrapped his arms around her. “God, you feel so good. Are you okay?”

“I am now that I’m here with you.” All of her worries and fears poured out in the tears that streamed down her face. She finally let herself give in to the emotions she’d been hiding for so long.

It was then that the sirens approached and the local police department arrived.

After several hours of interrogation and reports, Brody left to see Rachel at the hospital, leaving Ryler and Makenzie with one jacked-up mess to clean up. “Let’s leave this and go back to your place. It’s late, I’ll work on this tomorrow,” Ryler suggested as he pushed Makenzie towards the door.

“I’ll agree to that.” She smiled at him, then she took his face in her hands gingerly, avoiding the bruised areas and kissing his lips softly. “I love you. I’m so sorry for everything.”

“I’m not. Now you’re safe, and he can never hurt you again. But I’m the one who’s sorry. If I hadn’t been researching you on the computer, his guys wouldn’t have gotten wind of it and this wouldn’t have gone down like this.”

“No, it would’ve been worse, they might’ve found me in New York, killing me and my parents instead. Speaking of which, I need to call them. I’ll do it after a hot bath and some dinner. I’m starved, I haven’t eaten much in days, I’ve been so nervous.” She shook her head in disbelief of the whole thing.

“You need to call them now.”

“No. I know my mom. She’ll freak out and it’ll take me a whole day to calm her down. I need a clear head for that.”

“Fine, let’s go to Mucky Duck’s and grab a few cold ones and a quick bite. Is your tub built for two?” He snickered as he wrapped his hands in her hair.

“Hm, I’m not sure, I’ve never put anyone else in it.” She raised her brow at him.

“Good answer.” They both laughed.

After dinner, Makenzie just wanted to get out of her clothes and wash the death from her skin. She wanted to erase all the memories of Drew Donati and her old life. While the water filled the tub, she called her mom.

“Mom?”

“Judith, is it really you? Why are they letting you call?”

“Hey, it’s over. Drew’s dead. No more hiding out.” She couldn’t get all of her words out, her mother was in hysterics. “He’s dead mom. He can’t hurt any of us anymore. Yes, I’ll come out next week. Mom, stop crying, it’s over, you should be happy.” But Makenzie was crying herself. The sound of relief in her mother’s voice overwhelmed her. She felt Ryler’s strong arms wrap around her shoulders. She cherished his love and support. “I’ll call you tomorrow Mom, I love you.” She ended the call and looked at the inviting tub.

She stripped out of her clothes, not one bit self-conscious to be bathing with her beautiful adonis, naked in front of her. They fit in the tub together perfectly.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered in her ear as she leaned back in his arms, bathed in warm water and love.

“All I wanted to do was get home to you. I didn’t know about Drew being here until I phoned Agent Bernard while leaving the airport. That’s when he told me. But I’ve got to know, when did you figure it all out?” Makenzie still hadn’t put the pieces of the puzzle all together.

“I figured it out three weeks ago when you freaked about going on your trip. I couldn’t understand why you weren’t excited. I Googled a few things and that’s how we ended up where we did. I figured when you trusted me, you would eventually tell me, but I had no idea that I was putting you in harm’s way.”

“I knew a relationship with you would be risky. That’s why I walked out on you.” Makenzie grimaced at the memory. It was a horrible thing to do. She was grateful that he loved her enough to be patient and wait.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Makenzie. Or is it Judith now?” He let out a partial laugh beside her ear as he nibbled on her neck.

“No, Judith Donati is dead along with Drew Donati. My old life is dead and I don’t want it back.” She shook her head. The thought of seeing Drew fall back from the bullets made her shiver, even though the water around her was warm. She never thought of herself as a killer, even in self-defense. She was glad it wasn’t her shots that killed him, but she would’ve done it just a few seconds later.

Ryler stretched his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest. His touch said warmth, caring, and compassion, even as he held her while she cried.

“I’d walk through hell as long as you’re the one I see on the other side,” he whispered.

***

The couch was comfortable and they laid there entwined, searching for something to watch on the TV. “Any chance your mom has made a pie and you decided to hide it in my fridge for when I got back?”

He laughed at her. “Close. I asked her to make one for tomorrow since that’s when you were supposed to be back. I had plans for you to meet my parents tomorrow at dinner.”

“Hmm, meet the parents, huh?”

“Yep, it’s time. They don’t bite. They’ll love you just like I do. And Trey will be there with his family.”

“When were you going to clue me in on the family dinner?”

“When you asked for pie.” He pulled her tight to his chest and kissed her temple with the corner of his lips, lingering over the skin-to-skin connection.

They were snuggled together comfortably. Ryler wanted to wait on Makenzie until she was ready to talk about things, figuring she would bring up Drew’s death when she was ready. What he wasn’t certain about is whether she would ever feel comfortable in his home again.

He ran his fingers through her hair while she pressed back against his chest. “You have beautiful hair, I love getting tangled in it.”

Makenzie enjoyed the comfort of his arms and tried to remain focused, but mentally she found herself in turmoil. “You don’t have to do this.”

His stroking paused, “Do what exactly?”

“Trying to avoid talking about it. I’m not going to fall apart, I won’t give him that.” Her voice quivered slightly.

He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. “How did you get mixed up with a guy like him?”

Makenzie was silent for a long time. “We met at a fundraiser. At first he was the typical charming, fraternity type, a young New York bachelor. He had just made associate with a large law firm. I had just started my private practice with Dr. Gold. We were both at the beginning of our careers.”

“Did your family like him?”

Makenzie shook her head, “No, Cessa hated him and he felt the same way about her. My parents weren’t in love with him, they thought he was too cocky, but they tolerated him for me. They’ll love you though.” She leaned her head around to kiss Ryler’s neck and drink in his masculine scent. She took a deep breath and pulled away to settle against him again. It seemed easier to talk when she wasn’t facing him.

“We were young and in love with the couple’s scene, you know? We didn’t have much of a passionate, private life. He wanted me to quit my practice and start a family, but I refused.”

“Is that when the abuse started?” Ryler stroked her arm with his fingers. He wanted to take her hurt away, but didn’t know how.

“It was just before it started. One afternoon, I cut my day short to surprise Drew at his office for an early dinner. I walked in him having sex on his desk with his paralegal. I rushed home and started packing my things. He threatened me and my family to the point that I found myself scared to leave. A few weeks later, I came home early to find him meeting in our apartment with a couple of creepy guys. He didn’t hide a crime that he was arranging at the moment. In fact, he flaunted it. He wanted me to be terribly afraid of what he could do. That’s when I discovered he was involved in organized crime. That night, he broke my right arm and beat me pretty badly. My partner set my arm and took my case load until I was able to do surgery again. During that six weeks of recovery, I filed for divorce.

“When Drew was served divorce papers, he arranged the hit on me. The FBI got lucky with an informant or I wouldn’t be here now. I helped them plan my death.”

The story took a toll on Makenzie. Her body shook with near-hysteria. Releasing her story revealed just how close she came to dying.

“How did the body identification go down? I’m surprised he didn’t catch that.”

“He only had to identify a photograph of the arm and hand, which was badly burned. He focused on my wedding rings, which kept him from noticing the size of the hand. He tried to stay away from the investigation as much as he could according to Agent Bernard. With a perfect alibi of Mindy, his paralegal, and a dirty cop on the force, he didn’t have to do much.” Makenzie broke when she remembered the last visit with her family. “My family suffered the worst. The funeral, the secrets, the pain of worrying, at least I got to move on. They were floating in limbo between truth, secrets, and lies.”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by Ryler’s phone ringing. “Brody, how you holding up?”

Brody had taken quite the beating from Tony. “All in a day’s work, you know. I called to let you know the press has the story, Captain just let me know. They gave everything in her previous name, nothing will show up as Makenzie. However, you’re all over the news. Petra called me first, then she arrived on my doorstep a few minutes ago.” He sighed, Ryler sensed his perturbed mood.

“Let me guess, she’s with you now, causing trouble?” His eyes burned. Makenzie couldn’t tell who or what he was referring to, but her curiosity was certainly up and she stayed within eavesdropping range.

“Put her on the phone,” he barked.

“Go home, Petra. Brody doesn’t need you around, there’s no story there.” Makenzie picked out the venom in his tone on the phone and she recognized the name from her research of him the first night she met him, Petra Sharcova.

“I’m not taking your calls because I’ve got nothing to say to you. My relationship with her is none of your fucking business.” He ended his call and chugged the last of his beer before turning to face Makenzie.

She was watching him intently. Her expression was grim and revealing of her suspicious thoughts. He’d been hiding secrets of his own.