“I like your freckles,” he said, and she could swear his eyes twinkled at her. He leaned in closer to inspect her face with undisguised curiosity. “Wow. You have awesome eyes.”
“She’s a Mackenzie,” Millie piped up, as if to warn him off.
He nodded towards the old woman pleasantly, smiling back at Layla again. “Are you staying in town?”
“Uhm… uh…” Layla couldn’t seem to string two words together.
Caledonia was surprised to see the master manipulator thrown for a loop. “We came to put her on the deed for our property,” she explained.
“Where are you from?” he directed his question to Layla.
Once again she didn’t know what to say, finally squeaking out, “Los Angeles… I mean, San Francisco… I mean, I used to be…”
“We’re just visiting,” Caledonia added helpfully.
“Too bad,” he looked disappointed, “I was hoping to have some locals show me around.”
“Oh, they’re not locals,” Millie called out.
“Their land is local,” he tossed back, making Layla smile.
“We’ll be back–” Layla finally found her voice, “I mean… to visit… and stuff.”
Millie cleared her throat, looking past the girls. “What brings you here today officer Ruiz?”
He excused himself and stepped over to Millie’s desk, sneaking a few backwards glances at Layla as she left the building.
“How’d it go?” Calvin asked as he drove them deep into the wilderness.
“Just fine,” Cali replied, smirking over at Layla who was gazing out the window, lost in thought. “That old lady showed us a picture of our Grandmother’s house. I want to go for a hike out there.”
They traveled down the bumpy, rutted road, jostling around inside the big truck’s cab until they finally came to a stop in front of Caledonia’s tiny cabin.
“Wow,” Layla looked around after she climbed out, “This really is out in the middle of nowhere.” She looked over at the mossy little house, “Who lives there?”
“I used to,” Caledonia replied, suddenly realizing it was no longer her home. Calvin climbed out and stretched his long body, his smile filling her with reassurance.
“Wow. It could be Hansel and Gretyl’s cottage,” observed Layla. “Is this where the house used to be?”
“No, the ruins are about an hour’s hike from here… On a hilltop with a view of this whole area.”
“Oh!” Layla’s eyes flew open. “I forgot to call Michael.”
Calvin walked around to the back of the truck, crouching down to inspect the slow leak that had started on one of the rear tires. “Damn.”
“What’s wrong?” Cali asked.
“Tire’s way too low… I think we might have picked up a nail.”
Caledonia came around to look at it. “What should we do?”
“I’ll switch it out for the spare.”
“How long will it take?”
“I’m not sure,” he grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s been awhile since I’ve done it.”
Calvin looked over at the tiny cabin; he didn’t relish the idea of spending a night in such cramped quarters with Layla. He looked up to the sky, remembering how completely black the darkness around here was. “I’d better get started right away.”
Layla came around the corner, her head down over her phone. “My phone won’t work,” she frowned. “I think it’s going dead.”
“You might be able to get a stronger signal when we get up out of this valley,” said Calvin.
“Okay, let’s get moving then!” Layla said, excited.
“We have to fix the tire before we go,” Caledonia told her.
Layla frowned at the tire, sighing theatrically. “I suppose I’ve waited this long…”
Caledonia looked up at the sky, and Calvin could see that she was calculating the time. She turned back to him, “Do you mind if we go while you work on it? I can take you up to see it another time.”
“I don’t know,” he flushed an anxious chartreuse, thinking about Jesse’s warning.
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine,” she patted her knife. “We’ll only be a couple of hours.”
He took her into his arms, giving her a big squeeze. He knew that if anyone would be safe out in the wilderness, it would be her. “Be careful,” he said in her ear.
“Let’s get started then,” Layla grinned, overcome by a surge of excitement. “Let’s go!”
The two girls set out on their hike, winding along overgrown roads that were little more than deer trails after years of neglect. Up, up, and up, they climbed, stopping to rest and take in the increasingly spectacular view. Finally they emerged from a stand of brush to a leveled off area on a hilltop surrounded by mountains as far as the eye could see.
“This is the place,” Caledonia announced.
~
“Your sister you say?” Millie looked up at Michael over her bi-focals. “Hmm.”
“We’re twins,” he said.
“I can certainly see that!” Millie smiled at her own observation, “But you just missed her.”
He looked anxiously over his shoulder at the big man that stood by the door. “Do you happen to know where she went?”
“They said something about heading out to the old Mackenzie place…”
“Can you tell me how to get there?” he asked desperately. “Please?”
“Sure I can. I know these parts better than anyone.” She reached into her desk drawer, pulling out a detailed topographical map. She traced the back roads from the town, pointing out the mile markers along the highway, rock formations and switchback roads that would lead them as close as she could recall to the place.
After she’d told him all she knew she sat back in her chair, scrutinizing him closely. “Now, honey, are you gonna tell me where you got that shiner?”
~
Chapter Eighteen
TRADE OFF
~
“Wow…It’s beautiful… Incredible,” Layla gasped, spinning around to take in the panoramic view. Endless ridges of trees faded into a soft blue haze, and a hawk circled lazily off in the distance. “I can see why they picked this place.”
Cali nodded, leading her through the overgrown rubble, past the remains of the foundation and the crumbling brick fireplaces. “I always loved spending time here… But I never knew I had any connection to this house.”
They shared the wistful longing for a family they never knew, as well as an overwhelming sense of deja vu. “I feel like I’ve been here before.” Layla said with wonder in her voice, “Like I belong here…”
Cali nodded with understanding. This place was beyond the boundaries that her parents had set for her, and once she discovered it, she’d kept it to herself like a precious secret.
They walked around the phantom outline of the building, trying to imagine what it must have been like when the impressive house crowned the hilltop. They stopped at the spot where the porch must have been, taking a seat on some crumbling brick steps. Layla shrieked when something scurried across a pile of rubble.
“Don’t worry. It’s only a lizard,” Caledonia laughed, “But snakes like hanging around here too.”
She smoothed her vivid curls and shuddered, looking all around. “I hate snakes.”
“People only hate what they fear.”
Layla scoffed, “I hate Brussels sprouts.”
Caledonia laughed. “Maybe you fear the way they taste.”
Layla was quiet for a moment. “Calvin hates me,” she said sadly.
“No… No, he doesn’t. But I suppose he is a little afraid of you.”
“He doesn’t trust me.”
“You have to earn trust.”
She sighed, “Will you tell him I won’t do it anymore? I promise.”
“I already did… It’s just going to take some time.”
They sat in silence for a minute, drinking in the view.
“Do you be
lieve what that lady said about a curse on people like us?”
Cali heaved a deep breath. “It sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know. It does seem that everyone who has our abilities doesn’t end up very happy.”
Layla shook her fiery red head defiantly. “It doesn’t have to be that way for us. Maybe our Grandmother showed us this place because she wanted us to do something…” She got to her feet and started pacing. “Think about it! This is where she stood… This is what she saw!” She spun to face Caledonia, her eyes on fire, “I want to live here! We should re-build the house! Maybe we can be the generation that breaks the stupid curse!”
Caledonia looked up at her like she was crazy. “You want to live out in the country?”
Layla shrugged, “Look how pretty it is. I wouldn’t mind waking up here every morning… And that little town was awfully cute…”
Caledonia stood up with a knowing smile. “Are you sure it’s the town you think is cute?”
Layla giggled, amused that Cali understood her so well, “Talk about tall, dark and handsome.” She moaned, burying her face in her hands. “He must think I’m such an idiot.”
“What do you mean?”
She shook her head with regret. “I could barely think of anything to say.”
“I don’t think it bothered him. He was pretty curious about you.”
She smiled slyly, glancing over at Caledonia sideways, “He was… wasn’t he?”
The phone in her pocket rang, and she pulled it out to answer excitedly, “Michael! We’re here! We’re at the–” She stopped talking abruptly, listening in silence. Her colors suddenly changed with a rush of ice cold fear.
“Max…” she whispered. Her eyes met Caledonia’s, and she handed over the phone, “He wants to talk to you.”
She took the phone, trying to sound braver than she felt, “What do you want?”
“I have your boyfriend here, and if you ever want to see him again, I suggest you bring Layla to me right away.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said, confident that there was no way he could possibly have found them.
“Judge for yourself,” he said.
“Cali!” She heard Calvin’s voice on the other line, “Don’t do it! Stay away–” He was suddenly cut off, and now it was Layla’s turn to watch in horror as Caledonia went steel blue with dread.
“So, let’s make a deal,” Max’s voice returned, like a knife twisting in her stomach. “You bring Layla here right now and he might still be alive when you get here. If you call the cops Michael will never be seen again… Understand?”
The line went dead. “Hello? Hello?”
The cousin’s eyes met in terror. “Oh my God,” Layla gasped. “He said he’d kill Michael and Calvin if I don’t come back!”
Caledonia thought for a minute, remembering how much Max wanted to hurt her. Even if Layla came back to him there was no guarantee that Max wouldn’t hurt them all just to punish her. Both girls knew what he was capable of.
“What should we do?” Layla’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Follow me,” said Caledonia, her face hardening with grim determination. “We need to get some backup.”
Layla struggled to keep up as Cali led her deeper and deeper into the woods. They finally emerged into a clearing hosting some tents made out of camouflage material. Caledonia was surprised at how quickly Jesse’s bucolic little camp had been transformed into a major pot growing operation. She lifted a flap to see hundreds of enormous plants hanging upside down by their roots.
“Jesse!” Caledonia called into the tent, “Jesse… Are you here?”
Three armed men burst into the clearing, surrounding the girls. They wore dark clothes and knit caps, topped off with camouflage print jackets. All of them carried enormous military style rifles. The men aimed their weapons at them and started yelling commands in rapid-fire Spanish, but Cali could only make out a few words.
“Where’s Jesse? Donde esta Jesse?” she asked, holding up her hands.
There was a movement in the brush and Layla looked to see a man as old as the hills appear, rushing to put himself between the girls and the gunmen, “It’s cool! It’s cool… No problemo!” he told them, wild eyed. He turned back to Caledonia. “Cal! What are you doing here?”
“We’re in big trouble– We need some help,” she said. “We need to get these guys to help us.”
“Oh Cal,” his voice dropped, and his face filled with fear. “You shouldn’t have come here…These guys won’t help you.”
Caledonia exchanged a glance with Layla, “I think they will.”
~
They could smell the cigarette smoke as they neared the cabin, and Caledonia held her finger to her lips, giving the gunmen each one more blast of fiercely protective scarlet. She crept to the edge of the clearing to see a black van parked next to the truck, with Max and two of his hired thugs leaning against it. When her eyes landed on Calvin she couldn’t suppress a gasp.
He was crumpled on the ground at their feet, his hands bound behind his back. From the way he looked, she could see that he’d put up a ferocious fight, and she brought her hand to her mouth in horror when she saw blood on his face.
“Stay hidden,” she told Layla, signaling for the men to follow. She burst into the clearing with three heavily armed men flanking her, their military weapons raised. Max and his men all drew their handguns, faces tense, eyes hidden behind mirrored glasses.
“Let him go,” Caledonia snarled, “Or these guys will kill you all.”
Calvin lifted his head at the sound of her voice, struggling to his knees. “Run…” he croaked out. “Get away!”
Max lowered his gun, pressing the muzzle directly to Calvin’s head. “Where’s Layla?” he asked.
“She’s not going with you,” Caledonia said.
Max saw the object of his hatred and the rage within him boiled over. He faced Caledonia, and she watched as a cloud of bitter irrational spite rose up within him and spilled over.
“Are you willing to watch your boyfriend die for her?” he sneered. Every time this girl showed up he’d been forced to change his plans, and he’d had just about enough of her. There was no way he was going to back down.
The side door on the van slid open, and Michael got out, his freshly bruised face bearing testimony to Max’s brutality. “Do what he says,” he pleaded, “He really means it.”
Layla stood watching in the shadows alongside a shocked Jesse. She could see her brother’s beaten face and taste his acrid fear. Her heart ached in her chest.
“If you do anything to him, my friends will kill you all,” Caledonia tried to reason with Max again.
She’d watched enough poker to know that he was calling her bluff. “Then it’s a trade,” he sneered.
She looked to Max’s men, fearfully pointing their handguns at men armed with assault rifles. This was a lot more than they’d bargained for, and she addressed them, “They’ll kill all of you … None of you will get away.”
“That’s a chance I’m willing to take,” Max answered for them.
Layla could see his acid green hatred as plain as day. She stood shaking, and finally broke cover, putting herself between Max and Caledonia.
“Stop it! No one needs to die!” Layla cried.
Max smiled without warmth. “Get in the van Layla.”
“Only if you let them go,” she whimpered.
Max holstered his gun, holding up his palms in a placating gesture. He kicked Calvin once more in the side, knocking him back over onto the ground before stepping away.
“I got no beef with you boys,” Max told the gunmen. “I’ll just take the girl and go.”
Layla saw Calvin groaning on the ground and her eyes filled with tears. She turned to Cali in silent despair before finally rushing over to embrace her brother with a sob. The two of them clung together desperately, climbing into the van to disappear behind the dark windows. Max and his men slowly backed away, following them into the vehicle.
The engine roared to life, and Caledonia was behind Calvin in a flash, drawing her knife to slice through the plastic strips that were cutting into his wrists, cradling his battered head in her arms. The van turned around to stop, its window lowering to reveal Max’s triumphantly smiling face.
“If I ever see your face again… I’ll kill you,” he told her.
With the threat gone, the cartel gunmen seemed to melt back into the trees, leaving only Jesse standing in the clearing. He hobbled over slowly on his tired legs, bending down to force Calvin’s swollen eye open, “Looks like he’ll keep it.”
“How can you tell?” Cali choked out, trying not to burst into tears.
Jesse shook his head sadly, explaining, “I was a medic in Nam. I’ve seen worse make it through okay… Never thought I’d never see that kind of brutality again…” He sighed with resignation, “I guess it’s human nature.”
Calvin groaned, struggling to sit up.
“Get him some water,” Jesse told Cali, feeling Cal’s ribcage with gnarled hands. She scrambled to the truck, bringing him a bottle from the cooler and holding it up for him to drink.
“I’m so sorry… I’m sorry we weren’t there,” she sobbed.
He turned his head to spit out some bloody water, taking the bottle from her to drink deeply. “Don’t be. Thank God you weren’t here,” he said when he finally caught his breath. “Good thinking to go get those guys.” He tried to stand and winced in pain.
“It don’t look like they broke anything, but he might have a concussion,” Jesse told Caledonia. “Watch him close, and if there’s any blood in his piss, get him to a doctor pronto.”
The old man stood up slowly, with great effort. “I don’t know what on earth you two girls did to make those guards go your way, but I’m guessing they’ll be hell to pay when the head honcho finds out… He might send someone ‘round here to check it out…” He scuffed the ground with his shoe, deep blue shame coloring his next words, “You might not want to be here when that happens.”
Caledonia nodded, realizing that she’d just kicked open a hornet’s nest. “I understand.”
Mackenzie Legacy, The Page 14
