Justice for Mackenzie

by Susan Stoker

  Daxton leaned against the wall next to the door, loving how fucking cute she was. He crossed his arms over his chest, holding his cowboy hat in one hand, and settled in to listen to Mackenzie babble.

  “Okay, I also got in trouble at work last year for telling one of the other managers to go fuck himself, but that wasn’t my fault either. He was totally harassing one of the lesbian women I work with. Calling her a dyke and shit like that. That’s just not cool. I mean really, in today’s day and age, that crap is totally uncalled for. So I told him off, explaining how a dyke was actually an artificial wall used to regulate water levels, and called a levee here in the States. Okay, I probably also used some other not-so-nice words as well, but he turned around and complained to HR about me, when he was the one being an asshat. I was sent home for a week, paid, while an investigation was conducted, but was called back after only three days because Ginger totally told HR what a dick Peter was and that I’d been defending her, and since everyone in the office backed Ginger, they ended up letting Peter go and not me.”

  Mackenzie paused, biting her lip. Shit. She’d done it again. She tried to finish her thought quickly. “So, I’ve never really been in trouble, or even been around any cops, other than the charity thing each year, so I have no idea what’s legal and what’s not, so I’ll tell you what I did if you promise not to arrest me. I’m claiming ignorance here.”

  “What’d you do, Mackenzie?” Dax asked with no animosity in his voice.

  “I took a picture of your ID and sent it to my brothers and best friend so if I end up dead in a ditch somewhere tonight, they’ll know who it was who took me out. I totally planned on deleting the picture when I got home, though. It’s not like I was gonna put it on the Internet for someone to make a fake ID from or anything.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. But you know, that name could be totally fake. If I did want to kill you and dump your body, and your brothers or friend checked me out, they might not ever find me if I used a fake name.”

  “Damn.” Mackenzie liked this guy. “So what should I have done instead?”

  “Called the Ranger Station and checked me out. Told them you’re about to go on a date with a man who claims to be a Ranger and that you have a badge and you want to know if it’s legit or not.”

  “I totally was going to do that!” Mackenzie exclaimed excitedly.

  “Why didn’t you?” Dax asked.

  “Well, because it felt like a shitty thing to do…not trusting you when you gave me your ID without giving me crap about it.”

  “Do it now.”

  “What?”

  “Do it now. Call. Check me out.”

  “But you’re standing right here. And I believe you.”

  “Do it.” Dax’s voice was unrelenting.

  “Oh all right. Jeez.” Mackenzie turned to head into her apartment and pick up her phone she’d left on the counter—

  When her arm was suddenly grasped tightly and pulled behind her back and she was turned and pushed up against the wall in her hallway.

  Mackenzie looked up at Daxton in surprise and with a little fear. “What the hell?”

  “Don’t turn your back on someone you’ve just met, Mackenzie. If I wasn’t who I said I was, I could have you flat on your back by now. You’re such a little thing, you wouldn’t be able to move, and I could do anything I wanted to you. I could tie you up and haul you out to my car. Don’t ever let anyone get you in their car. Yell, scream, fight. Your chances of survival drop by fifty percent if you let yourself get taken away.”

  Mackenzie could feel her heart thudding in her chest. Daxton was holding her against the wall with one of her wrists held tightly behind her back. He’d crowded in until he was pressing against her with his body, holding her immobile. One of his legs was between hers, holding her completely immobile.

  The top of her head came to about his chin and she had to tilt it back to look into his eyes. Daxton was wearing a polo shirt with the top two buttons undone. She could see no chest hair, but she could smell him. He was wearing some sort of cologne, nothing too strong, but it smelled divine. Mackenzie knew it was entirely inappropriate to want to bury her nose into the hollow at his neck, but damn.

  Mackenzie’s breasts rubbed against Daxton’s chest as she breathed in and out and she could feel her heart pounding. God, had she ever felt this way in the arms of any of her previous lovers? Hell no. And she and Daxton were both fully clothed.

  She wiggled against him, testing his hold on her. It was solid. Her free hand gripped the shirt at his waist tightly, wondering what his next move would be.

  “Are you listening to me?”

  “Uh…yeah?”

  Dax laughed and brought the hand that had been holding her shoulder to the wall to the side of Mackenzie’s head. He looked down at her semi-glazed eyes and smiled. “You aren’t afraid of me.” It wasn’t a question.

  Mackenzie shook her head.

  “Why not? I could do everything I just told you without breaking a sweat.”

  “Because a bad guy wouldn’t tell me those things, he’d just do them.” Mackenzie didn’t know how she was conversing in a normal way with Daxton, when all she wanted was for him to do the things he’d just described, including throwing her down on the ground and having his way with her. “And you called me ‘little.’ I’ve never been described that way by anyone in my entire life.”

  “Fuck.” Dax couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and placed his lips over hers. Brushing over them once, then again, this time sweeping from one side to the other with his tongue. When she opened her mouth under his and touched her tongue to his bottom lip, he straightened up before things could go any further. Mackenzie’s lips were soft and tasted slightly of apples. Daxton felt ten feet tall. He wasn’t alone in whatever this weird attraction was.

  “Go make that phone call, sweetheart. I’ll wait right here.” Daxton slowly let go of Mack’s wrist he was holding behind her back.

  “Okay.” Mackenzie made no move to leave the hall.

  Dax took a step back, pulling Mack with him. He then turned her physically with his hands on her shoulders and gave her a little push at the small of her back. “Go on.”

  Dax waited in the hall by her front door as Mackenzie went back into her apartment. He heard her on the phone doing just as he’d told her, apparently learning he really was a Texas Ranger and his legal name really was Daxton Chambers. She came back, this time carrying her purse and a light jacket.

  “Okay, Daxton Chambers. You came back clean. You’re good.”

  “It’s Dax. You can call me Dax.”

  “Is it a deal breaker?”

  “Is what a deal breaker?”

  “I like Daxton. I don’t know; you don’t look like a Dax. Not that I’ve ever met anyone named Dax or Daxton before though. You’ll have to tell me how you got that name. That’s another reason why I figured you were who you said you were. No one would call himself Daxton if he was using a fake name to get a woman to date him. He’d call himself John Smith or something. Not some sexy-as-hell name like Daxton fucking Chambers.”

  Mackenzie looked up at the strangled sound Daxton was making. “Fucking hell. Sorry.”

  “Do you know, I’ve laughed more in the last twenty minutes than I have in the last week? Don’t be sorry. And yes, you can call me Daxton.”

  “Does anyone else call you that?”

  “No.”

  “No? Not even your mom?”

  “Nope, and my parents passed away ten years ago.”

  “Oh shit, I’m sorry. There I go again, putting my foot in my—” Mackenzie’s words were cut off when Dax put his hand over her mouth.

  He leaned in close. “It’s fine. I like my full name coming out of your mouth. I like it a hell of a lot.”

  Mackenzie waited, holding her breath. Was he going to kiss her again? The brief touch of his lips earlier made he
r girl parts sit up and take notice. She hadn’t thought she’d be that easy, but apparently three years with only her vibrators for company made her ripe and ready for this man.

  Dax took his hand off Mack’s mouth and said easily, “You can call me Daxton if I can call you Mack.”

  “Only my family and friends call me Mack.” Her voice was low.

  “Since I want to be your friend…now I do too…if that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, it’s okay.”

  “Great. Now shall we go?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, Mack. Really. That a problem?”

  “No, not at all. But no one has ever taken me on a date before and not told me where we were going.”

  “I’m glad I’m your first.” Dax laughed as Mackenzie blushed. “Damn, you’re cute. Come on, I’m starved. Let’s go.”

  Mackenzie locked her apartment door behind them and followed beside Daxton as he led the way to his car. It was nothing special; in fact, it blended in with all the other cars in the lot quite easily. It was a black four-door Ford Taurus. It was almost a shame. A sleek sports car seemed more his speed. Daxton held the passenger-side door as Mackenzie got in and then shut it behind her once she was safely in the car.

  He walked around the front of the car quickly and settled into the driver’s seat. He pulled on his seat belt and turned on the engine without a word. He backed out of the space he’d parked in and headed out of the neighborhood.

  “So…” Mackenzie’s voice was hesitant. She had no idea what to talk about.

  “So…” Dax echoed.

  “You’ve laughed more tonight than you have in the last week?”

  Dax glanced at Mack. She’d turned so her back leaned against the car door and crossed her legs. She’d put her purse on the floor in front of her and was watching him with her head cocked. Dax liked how all her attention was on him. She wasn’t asking to be polite; it honestly looked as if she cared what he had to say.

  “Yeah, I can’t talk particulars, but the cases this week have sucked.”

  “The Lone Star Reaper?”

  Dax looked sharply at Mack again, showing his surprise at her comment.

  “Daxton, I’m not an idiot. Every time I turn on the TV, the news is talking about it. I know another woman was found this week. He’s been the leading story for the last month or so. Hell, I think I remember them saying there was a Special Response Team that had been assigned to the case. I don’t know if you’re on the case or not, but I just assumed you were. I’m sorry if you want me to be a good little girl and not ask about that shit, but I can’t be. I might not know anything about the police, but when this story is in the news every damn day and I’m a single woman, I can’t help but pay attention.”

  It wasn’t funny, but Dax struggled to keep from smiling anyway. Mack was so easily riled. It was a good thing he wasn’t. “Sorry, Mack. You’re right. I don’t think you’re an idiot. And yes, the case has been weighing on my mind a lot this week.”

  “Okay, I know this is our first date and all, but I’ll listen if you want to talk about it…at least what you can.”

  “Thanks, but no. Can we agree to put all talk of work behind us for the night? I’d rather get to know you than talk about that asshole.”

  “Deal.”

  Dax did smile at that. So far, Mackenzie was perfect. He enjoyed being around her, and enjoyed talking to her. She was funny and didn’t seem to care about saying the “right” thing, but preferred to blurt out whatever she was thinking.

  He also enjoyed her body. He was a man, after all. Holding her against him had solidified that. She was soft in all the right places. Looking down at her while he’d held her in her front hall was almost painful. He’d tried to be careful not to pull her into him too closely; otherwise she’d have felt for herself how attractive he found her. Having her breasts rub against him was one thing, but if he’d pulled her hips into his, it would’ve been obvious how much he enjoyed holding her against him.

  Dax had about lost it when he’d looked down and seen her little nipples tight under the black shirt she was wearing. Because he was so tall, he could practically see down her shirt. He’d known it was rude as hell, but seeing her breasts pushing up into the scoop neck of her shirt made him want to squeeze them in both his hands. They were obviously more than a handful, and he wanted nothing more than to learn the feel, texture, and taste of them.

  Fuck. He had to concentrate, otherwise he’d get hard again. Not something Dax wanted to do on their first date. He thought about a safe topic of conversation.

  “Okay, so if we’re getting to know each other, tell me about your family.”

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “You would start off there, wouldn’t you? Okay, but don’t blame me if you decide to ditch me at the nearest street corner when I’m done.”

  Dax could hear the laughter in her voice and merely shook his head at her and gestured for her to continue.

  “So, you know I have two brothers, Mark and Matthew—”

  “Wait.”

  Surprised at Daxton’s interruption, Mackenzie halted immediately. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “You have two brothers named Mark and Matthew? And your last name is Morgan…and your name is Mackenzie?”

  Seeing where Daxton was going, Mackenzie laughed. “Yeah, apparently my parents thought it was trendy to have the M theme carry on throughout all their kids.”

  “Do their names start with M as well?”

  “Of course.” Mackenzie chuckled at the incredulous look on Daxton’s face. “Myra and Milton Morgan. So anyway. I’m the middle kid. Matthew is forty and Mark is thirty-five. I’m sure we were a handful, being so close in age. We’re all pretty close. My dad died three years ago of a heart attack. It was sudden, and we miss him a lot, but we’re doing okay. I get together with my mom and brothers at least every other week. They love me a lot, but don’t really understand me. I’m stubborn and they think I’m way too picky. My mom wants me to get married and hurry up and squeeze out a gazillion grandbabies for her.”

  “Are your brothers married?”

  “Yup, and they each have three kids. You’d think the six grandkids she already has would be enough for my mom, but nope. She wants more. I really like my sisters-in-law, who, by the way, don’t have names that start with M. Salena and Kathy are great, but we aren’t that close.”

  “What doesn’t your family understand about you?”

  Mackenzie tried to get her thoughts together to try to explain what she meant without sounding like a complete loser or headcase.

  “And don’t hold back now. Seriously, tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m thinking I want you to like me, Daxton, I don’t want to chase you away on our first date.”

  Dax took his right hand off the steering wheel, placed it on Mack’s knee, and squeezed briefly. “Mack, I already like you. I go through my day talking to people who are only telling me lies. When they get caught in one lie, they tell another to try to get out of it. I have to dig and dig to try to find out the simplest things. You have no idea how refreshing it is to me that you don’t play any games…at all. You lay it all out there. At this point, nothing you can say now will make me not want to see you again. Okay?”

  “Even if I said I had the hots for my brothers’ wives?”

  “Okay, maybe that.” Dax smiled at Mack again and put his hand back on the steering wheel, even though he wanted to keep it on her knee, and waited for her to continue.

  “I’m picky. I like things done a certain way and I’m stubborn. I think when I start dating a guy, I wonder about what he thinks about me, and it freaks me out. Am I chewing too loud? Do my clothes look okay? Should I wear more makeup or less? And you might have noticed I have a bad habit of blabbering on and on about nothing. So after I stress when I wonder what he might be thinking about m
e, I start to find things wrong with the way he does stuff and I call him on it. Incessantly. Until he can’t take it anymore and he leaves.”

  Mackenzie decided she’d rather Daxton end this now once Dax knew how she really was, than fall in love with him and have him leave.

  “Holy shit.”

  The words came out without Mackenzie meaning them to. What had she just thought? Had that been her problem all along? That wasn’t really what she was going to tell him, but now that she thought it, she couldn’t unthink it.

  “What?”

  “I…”

  “What, Mack? Go on.”

  “I think I’ve pushed guys away in the past because I knew it’d hurt less for them to leave me before I fell in love with them and they decided to leave anyway.”

  Instead of the censure Mackenzie was sure would be sent her way, Daxton’s voice was level and understanding. “That makes sense. You must have been hurt that way in your past.”

  “Are you a mind reader?” Mackenzie asked, only half kidding.

  Dax chuckled. “No, sweetie, but I don’t think you’re all that abnormal. Most people want to protect their hearts. It’s never any fun to love someone and have them leave you anyway.”

  “Did that happen to you?” Mackenzie asked before she could think about it.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry, Daxton. That sucks.”

  “Yeah. I fell head over heels in love with her and had planned the rest of our life all out in my head. I got a promotion and was supposed to move from El Paso to Austin. Stupidly, I accepted the job without consulting with her about it. I know it was a dick thing to do, but I honestly thought she’d be thrilled for me. She knew how hard I’d been working for the promotion, and she even knew I’d flown to Austin to interview. But when I told her I accepted the job, she flatly refused to leave. She grew up in El Paso and all her family was there. Ultimately, she chose them over me.”