by Susan Stoker
Even though it wasn’t even five in the afternoon yet, Dax crossed his arms and put them on his desktop. He put his head down and closed his eyes, willing the tears back. If he let them out now, he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop.
Six Thirty PM
Dax jerked up from his awkward position and looked around in confusion. He hadn’t slept well; visions of Mackenzie crying out for him in a dark room haunted him. He couldn’t find her and she needed him. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to orient himself.
The cell phone in his back pocket vibrated again. Dax pulled it out and saw the number was blocked. Normally he’d let the call go to voice mail, but while Mackenzie was missing, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Chambers.”
“Daxton?”
Dax straightened his spine then stood up suddenly and headed out of his office. He had to get someone…anyone. Holy fucking shit. Mack was on the phone.
“Mack? Where are you, sweetheart? I’m on my way to you right now, just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”
Her voice was low and strained and the connection was crap. The air crackled and dropped in and out as she spoke the words Dax somehow knew, from the very fiber of his being, were coming.
“I don’t know. I’m buried alive.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dax had been on the move before Mackenzie had spoken, but he halted for a moment, holding himself upright in the hallway of his office building with a hand on the wall. He lowered his head in despair. He then took a deep breath and strode down the hall with purpose. It might be evening, but the building was never empty. He wasn’t hanging up with Mackenzie to try to get ahold of someone; he’d just have to multitask.
“Mack…” Dax stopped. He didn’t really know what to say. What the hell did you say to someone who was in her situation? He tried to think. He had to pull his head out of his ass and think.
“I love you.” First things first. He had to tell Mack how much he cared about her.
“I love you too, Daxton. I…know how it happened…drink…woke up.”
“You’re cutting in and out, baby. Try again.”
Dax burst into the Major’s office and put his hand over the speaker on his phone. “Mack’s on the phone. She’s underground somewhere. Get Cruz and Quint on the line, now.”
The Major didn’t hesitate. He immediately picked up the phone on his desk and dialed.
Mackenzie’s voice was small and wobbly in Dax’s ear. He’d never heard her sound so unsure. “I know how he got me. I was…work, the janitor…a glass of water, and I woke up…the dark. It’s so dark, Daxton.”
Dax backed away from the Major’s desk and turned toward the window. Not seeing anything but Mackenzie’s face, he tried to reassure her. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I shouldn’t have let you keep working. I should’ve been there.”
“No, Daxton. Don’t do that. You couldn’t know, there’s no way…known this would happen.”
“You’re wrong, Mack. He knew about you, I should’ve protected you better.”
“I know you told me never to get in a car with someone who wanted to…but does it count if I didn’t…what was happening?”
The connection was crap, but Dax could get the gist of what Mack was saying. “I think you get a pass, baby. He probably roofied your water.”
“Yeah, I figured that too…seemed so nice. I hadn’t seen him around…but he was getting his own cup of…he offered me one too, I said sure. I’m sorry, Daxton, I’m so fucking sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m going to find you. We know his name. Do you hear me? We know who he is.”
“Good. You’ll find me?”
Dax heard Mack’s voice crack. He gripped his phone so hard he thought he’d break it. He breathed in through his nose trying to get his composure back. “I’ll find you, baby. No matter what. I’ll find you and bring you home.”
Dax looked over at the Major. He was gesturing to his office door. Dax followed him out and back toward the conference room.
“Look at the phone in your hand, Mack. Take it away from your ear for a second and tell me if you can see a phone number on it. The number was blocked from my end, so I can’t call you back if we lose the connection.”
“Don’t go, Daxton! Oh God, please…don’t—”
“Mackenzie!” Dax’s tone was harsh. He was losing her and he needed her focused on helping him find her. “Listen to me. You there? You listening?”
“I’m here.”
“Take a deep breath, sweetheart. Don’t panic. If you panic, you’ll lose too much air. Do you understand? You have to stay as calm as you can. If we lose the connection, don’t freak. You called me, right? All you have to do is call me back. I’ll be here.”
“Yeah, okay, you’re right. I’m…hang on and let me…if I can see the number.”
There was a pause and Dax figured Mack was looking at the face of the phone; he turned to the Major. “What’s their ETA?”
“They’re on their way, lights and sirens, and I put the SRT on standby. As soon as we get any information, we’re ready to roll.”
Mackenzie’s voice came back over the line. “I don’t see the number. I clicked buttons but…light. It’s so dark. I can’t find…I can’t find it.”
“Okay. Don’t worry about it. If we lose the connection, you can just call me back. I’m not going to hang up. You might hear me talking to others in the background, but I’m still here. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to get to you, Mack. I need you to tell me everything you can about what you remember, what you see, smell, hear, and what you feel around you. Everything, Mack. No matter how small you think it is. How insignificant. Every single thing will help me get to you.”
Mackenzie’s description of her surroundings was completely heartbreaking and Dax couldn’t hold back the tears that had been at the back of this throat since he’d answered the phone and heard Mack’s voice. She was trying to be so brave and he couldn’t fucking stand it.
“I’m pretty sure…in a coffin. There’s no material, it’s all wood, but…only a couple inches above…head but it seems like…room at my feet. For the first time…glad to be short.”
Dax grabbed a tissue from the box in the middle of the conference table and turned his back to the Major. He held the tissue to his eyes, willing himself to keep silent. Mackenzie didn’t need to hear him losing it.
“It’s crude…I think. There’s no material...I admit I freaked out when…and in places…nails. I found this phone and…when…it…later.”
Dax cleared his throat. “Mack, say again. That last part cut out.” He was proud at how normal his voice sounded.
“The phone was here and two bottles of water. I thought I’d save them for later.”
“Good thinking, Mack. What do you hear?”
Mackenzie’s voice lowered. “Nothing. There’s nothing. It’s so quiet all I can hear is the ringing in my ears.”
“What about smell? What do you smell?” Dax knew even the most insignificant thing could be the difference between finding Staal and thus, Mack…or not finding either of them.
“Dirt. Daxton, I smell dirt. I’m so scared…I thought I’d be brave, but I can’t…”
Dax’s heart felt as if it was being pulled out of his body, it hurt so badly. Hearing Mackenzie break down into sobs was completely heart wrenching.
“Shhhh, baby. Deep breaths. I know you’re scared. I am too. I’m doing everything I can to find you. You hear me? Don’t give up on me.”
As Mackenzie tried to control her sobs, Dax heard the door open. Quint and Cruz stalked in, crazed looks in their eyes.
“That her?” Quint asked.
Dax nodded.
“That your cell? The guys are seeing if they can trace it,” Cruz told Dax matter-of-factly.
Dax nodded again, relieved as fuck his friends were there.
/>
“She give you anything yet?”
Dax held up his finger to tell Quint to wait a second. He spoke into the phone again. “Mack? Quint and Cruz are here; can you give me a moment to talk to them?”
“Yeah. I’m okay. Talk…them.” Mackenzie’s voice was a bit stronger this time.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, sweetheart. I can still hear you, but I’m going to put you on mute a second. I’m not hanging up. Okay? Hang on.”
Dax kept the phone against his ear, not willing to be out of hearing distance from Mackenzie for even a second, just in case she needed him.
“She’s in a homemade wooden box, sounds like the others, two water bottles, cell phone. She can’t hear anything, but can smell dirt. Bastard must’ve drugged her. She saw him in the break room and he got her a glass of water. It’s about the last thing she remembers. I don’t think she’s going to be able to give us anything.” Dax paused, meeting his friends’ eyes. “Help me. For God’s sake, help me.”
“Tips are rolling in from tonight’s news. We’re following up on them now.”
“It needs to be faster, Quint.”
Quint simply nodded, went to the table, pulled out his phone and punched some buttons.
Dax didn’t see what Cruz was doing, but turned his attention back to Mack and clicked the mute button so she could hear him again. “I’m back, sweetheart.”
“Daxton?”
“Yeah, Mack. I’m here.”
“Does my family know…?”
“Yeah, they know.” Dax had fielded a call from her brother Mark before he’d taken the short catnap. He’d been furious, rightly so, and Dax had promised him they were doing everything they could to find his sister. Dax knew his words weren’t comforting in the least to the man, because they weren’t to his own ears.
“Don’t let them see…scene photos. I don’t want them…me looking…this.”
“Fuck, baby.”
“Promise,” she demanded.
“I promise.”
“Do you remember…first kiss?”
“How could I forget?”
“You pushed me up against the wall and were trying…scare me. I told you I wasn’t…and you leaned down…kissed me. I didn’t tell…that if you’d asked, I would’ve…dragged…hall to my…and made love to you right then. You smell fantastic…I ever tell you that before? Well…do. I love the way…smell. Like man and…you should bottle that shit, you’d…a mint on it. But I want to keep it…myself. I’d give anything…smell you…now.”
Dax shut his eyes, loving how Mack could ramble even when she was scared out of her mind and buried underground. “I remember that night. I couldn’t have stopped myself from kissing you if my job depended on it. You were so cute, and not scared of me in the least. And Mack, you might think I smell good, but you…you corner the market on that. Every morning before I get out of bed I lean into you and bury my nose in your hair. It’s vanilla or something. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s you. And I love it.”
“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.
Chapter Fifteen
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.”
