by Susan Stoker
“Sunday we’re going over to my mom’s for lunch. I hope that’s okay. She understands that you had to cancel both times we tried to arrange it before, after I told her you were a big bad Texas Ranger and you had to save the world. But mom’s decided it’s time. Hell, they decided it was time about a month ago, but they’re not going to let us out of it for much longer. And to be honest, I’m glad we haven’t been able to make it over there yet, I’ve been trying to make you so infatuated with me that no matter what they throw at you, you’ll ignore it and not break up with me.”
“Do they have any bodies buried in their backyards?”
“Daxton!”
Ignoring Mack’s tone of outrage and smiling as he continued, Dax said, “No? Then relax, Mack. I know how families are. It’ll be fine. You certainly don’t have to try any harder to make me infatuated with you. I’m already there.”
Ignoring his words that made her insides flutter, Mackenzie retorted, “Well, I appreciate that, however you haven’t actually met my family yet and I don’t want you to decide after tonight that I’m a loon and rather than deal with my crazy family after breaking up with me, you change your name and move out of the state.
Daxton laughed, and she told him she was only half-way kidding, “Daxton, you have no clue. I’m the only girl in our family. Now that dad’s gone, Mark and Matthew won’t care that you’re forty-six and I’m in my upper thirties. They’ll probably take you out back for a birds-and-the-bees chat. And mom will probably have the pastor there and he’ll be ready to perform a wedding ceremony over tea and crackers. You have no idea how insane they are. I just wanted to warn you ahead of time.”
Dax leaned in and moved one of his hands from Mackenzie’s hip to her back and up to her neck. He held her still in his arms by tightening his hold. In a low, serious voice, without a trace of humor, he told her, “I wouldn’t be opposed to a wedding.”
“Holy shit, you did not just say that.” Mackenzie could feel her heart beating a million miles an hour, she curled her hands and unconsciously dug her blunt nails into Daxton’s neck.
“I said it. I’m not proposing, Mack. Not right now. But I sure as hell can see you in my future. I like you in my life, in my bed, in my space. I like it a lot. You’re cute as all get out, we’re more than matched in bed, and we’re practically living together already. I’ll meet your family this weekend, they’ll like me, and I’ll like them. I’m not sure either of us is ready for ‘I love yous’ yet, but it’s coming, sweetheart.”
“Daxton.”
Dax waited for Mack to say something. When she didn’t, he smiled at her. “Mackenzie.”
“I…dammit. I don’t want to go to my job and deal with the bitchface I work for. I don’t want you to go and talk to scumsuckers. I want to barricade us in your room, get naked, and not leave for the rest of our lives.”
“I think we’d get hungry eventually.”
Mack smiled, glad the extreme-emotion sharing seemed to be over. “And stinky.”
“And we’d eventually get kicked out because we couldn’t pay the rent.”
“And my family would come over wondering where we were.”
“I’ll miss you tonight, sweetheart. Stay safe for me. I’ll come to you as soon as I can.”
It looked as though the emotional part of the morning wasn’t quite over yet. “I always miss you too, Daxton.”
“Okay, I’m going then. I’ll see you tonight. I have a new position I want us to try. I think you’ll like it. I read about it in a book once and I think you’re flexible enough. Sunday we’ll go to your mom’s house. Text me today and let me know how your day is going.”
Shivering at the lustful look in his eyes, Mackenzie said simply, “I will. Bye, Daxton.”
“Bye, Mack.”
Dax kissed Mackenzie swiftly, knowing if he lingered, he might just get carried away and lock them in his bedroom as she suggested. He backed away, headed away from the temptation she offered, and out the front door.
Mackenzie hopped down off the counter, not smiling, and headed for the toaster. If she wasn’t mistaken, Daxton had just told her he loved her…not in so many words, but he might as well have.
Finally, she smiled to herself as she dug the cream cheese out of the fridge. Daxton loved her. Holy shit. It was gonna be a good day.
* * *
Dax rolled his head and tried to work the kinks out of his neck. His morning chat with Mack notwithstanding, his day had not started out well. He’d arrived at work to find three letters addressed to him sitting on his desk with a note from the administrative assistant. She’d apologized and said the letters had been delayed in getting to him. She’d been on vacation for a week and a half and no one had bothered to hand the mail out to the appropriate Rangers in her absence.
He’d opened the first, and dropped it immediately seeing who had sent it. Dax had leaned over his desk, being careful not to touch the paper any more than he already had, read the extremely alarming words, and called the Major. It was from the Lone Star Reaper. This time the letter was addressed specifically to Dax. The thought didn’t give him warm-fuzzies. While Dax didn’t know if the other two letters were from the Reaper, he wasn’t taking any chances.
Three hours later, he’d received a call from Quint and had been asked to come to a joint task-force meeting. Knowing he wouldn’t like what he was about to find out, Dax braced himself.
The meeting included the Chief of Police at the SAPD, Quint, Cruz, the Major from his Ranger Company and a few other high-ranking officers.
“Dax, thanks for coming, and thanks for the quick response with those letters. They’re being worked over now and preliminary thoughts are that we might have a partial print on one of them this time,” the Major said.
“So all three were from the Reaper?” Dax asked.
“Yeah.”
Silence fell over the room and Dax knew they weren’t telling him something important. “What did the other letters say? Did he give the locations of more victims?”
“Yeah, we have three separate teams checking out the cemeteries he mentioned in the notes.”
“Why did he change his M.O. now?” Dax wondered out loud. “He used to call in the body locations, but now he’s writing me a letter like he’s my fucking pen pal?”
“The Reaper is escalating his game and changed the rules in the middle,” The Chief of Police said unnecessarily.
“Yeah,” Dax agreed in a tight voice. “He’s made it way more personal now. He sent these notes specifically to me,” Dax said, stating the obvious.
Cruz ran his hand over his face, then up and over his short-cropped black hair. “It’s more serious than that.” Cruz shuffled through the piles of various reports and evidence sitting in front of him and handed over three sheets of photocopied paper. “I’m sorry, Dax.”
Dax clenched his teeth. Fuck. He pulled the copies toward him and read the notes the Reaper had left. He’d already read the first one, but the others were just as horrifying.
Daxton Chambers, you might be a tough ol Ranger, but id like to see you catch me. You can find a present ive left you in Johnson cemetery. I thnk youll find her to your liking. 5’4, curvy and brunette. Sounds like just your type.
So, you decided to ignore my last letter. Fine. Maybe you wont ignore this one. Check out my latest beauty in White Oak cemetery. She fought valiantly, but in the end she succumbed just like all the others. I nicknamed her M&M.
The last note was the most chilling.
Fuck you Chambers. You think im joking? You think shes safe? Shes not. I hope youre enjoying fucking your new girlfriend. No one is safe from the Reaper. Do you know where Mackenzie is right this second? I wonder how long shed last in one of my coffins. Im sure shell be my favorite yet. Ive got big plans for your little cutie. In the meantime check Shadows End cemetery to see how that Mackenzie fared.
Dax stood up so abruptly the chair he’d been sitting in fell backward wi
th a crash. He stalked over to the side of the room and punched the wall. Ignoring the pain in his fist, he leaned over, grabbed the windowsill with both hands, and panted, trying to control the need to beat the shit out of someone.
The fucker knew about Mackenzie. Had threatened her. Was choosing women who looked like Mack, who were even named Mackenzie. Dax felt sick. Knowing he was going to lose his breakfast, he strode over the trashcan in the corner of the room and threw up. He stayed crouched in front of the plastic container, hands on his thighs, using everything he’d learned in his training to regulate his breathing and get his equilibrium back.
He was a Texas Ranger. He didn’t act like this. Then again, the woman he loved hadn’t ever been threatened and targeted by a psychotic serial killer either.
He loved Mack. He’d been pretty sure of his feelings before, but thinking of this psycho getting his hands on her solidified it.
“When were the letters sent?” Dax’s voice was low and brittle. He was proud his voice only cracked once. He stood up, and wiped his face on his sleeve and faced the other officers in the room, not embarrassed in the least by his break in control. He knew they all understood. He stalked over, grabbed a bottled water off of the conference table, and chugged half of it waiting on Quint’s response.
“The last one was postmarked five days ago.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Dax said the words under his breath and pulled out his phone. He had to get ahold of Mack now. He couldn’t wait for the meeting to be over. He had to reassure himself that she was at work and fine. He looked down and wanted to cry at the silly little texts she’d left him over the last couple of hours.
Can we rewind and make a different decision? Bitchface is being extra bitchy today.
Is it too late for me to join up and become a cop?
Are you sure there are no secret stickers that will get me out of jail free?
I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. Miss you.
Dax hit Mackenzie’s name and brought the phone up to his ear, waiting for her to pick up. He turned his back to the room and stood next to the wall looking down at his feet.
“Hey Daxton! What’s up?”
“I just wanted to call and see how you were doing.”
“I’m good, except for you-know-who. But that’s nothing new.”
“Change of plans tonight, sweetheart.”
“Yeah?”
Dax knew the way Mackenzie stretched out the word, she was thinking sexy thoughts, but he couldn’t bring himself to banter with her as he usually would.
“Yeah, I still have to work late, but TJ is gonna pick you up from work and take you back to my place. He’ll stay there with you until I get home.” Dax hadn’t asked TJ, but he knew he’d protect Mackenzie until Dax could get home, no questions asked.
“Is everything okay?” Mackenzie’s voice was serious, and no longer teasing. She’d obviously picked up on the fact that something was seriously wrong.
“No. But it will be. Trust me, sweetheart. Okay?”
“With my life, Daxton. What about my car?”
“Leave it. It’ll be fine. If we need to move it later, I’ll get one of the other Rangers to help me out with it.”
“Are you all right?”
Dax lowered his voice. “I’m okay, Mack.”
“Swear?”
“I’m okay.”
“You didn’t swear.”
“Mackenzie—”
“Okay. I’ll stop. Just…be safe all right? I can’t lose you.”
“You aren’t losing me.” Dax didn’t know what else to say to reassure her. He knew she was freaked out. She wasn’t rambling on and on as she usually did. Dax knew it was his fault. “There’s some shit going on at work, and unfortunately there could be some blowback on you and me. We’ve got it under control, but in the meantime I need you to be smart and safe. Okay, Mack? Don’t be one of those ‘too stupid to live’ women you bitch about in those romances you read. Be safe. Be alert. Don’t leave work for lunch or on breaks. Wait in your office for TJ to come inside for you. All right? Can you do that for me?”
“Yes.” Mackenzie’s answer was immediate and strong. “Blowback?”
“I’ll explain tonight.”
“All right, Daxton. I…fuck…okay here goes. Ready? Iloveyou.” Her words were fast and jumbled together. “I’ve only loved one other boyfriend before in my life and that was when I was eight years old. He’d chase me around the playground, corner me, and kiss me. Then he’d run away again. He brought me bubble gum as presents and even let me have the Little Debbie oatmeal cream pie from his lunch one day. I told him I loved him and he freaked out. He never chased me again and made it a point to sit on the other side of the lunchroom after that. He moved away the next year and I never saw him again, but I’ve never told any guy that I’ve loved him since then.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to make sure I tell you now. I’d hate for something to happen and not be able to tell you. Okay? You don’t have to say it back, because I know you’re stressed, I can hear it in your voice, and you’re probably surrounded by a hundred other cops and shit and they’re probably staring at you and you can’t say anything anyway, cos it’d make you look like a wuss. So it’s okay, but you stay safe. Don’t do anything crazy, wear your bulletproof vest, even though it’s hot and you don’t like how you can’t move that well with it on. I’ll wait for TJ and won’t do anything stupid. I swear.”
Dax closed his eyes. Fuck, he loved this woman. How the hell she’d managed to make him smile when there was abso-fucking-lutely nothing to smile about was beyond him. “I love you too, Mack.”
“You said it.” Her words were whispered. “Are you alone?”
“Nope.” Dax turned around and looked at the men around the table, all of whom were watching him curiously. None were hiding their eavesdropping. “There are about eight guys from four different agencies sitting here staring at me.”
“Daxton—”
“I gotta go, sweetheart.”
“Okay.” Mackenzie was still whispering.
“I’ll still be late tonight, but I’ll be home. There’s an extra T-shirt in my top drawer.”
Dax smiled as Mack chuckled. “Guess I’m not sleeping naked tonight?”
“Not while TJ is there.”
“Okay, Daxton. Love you. Be safe.”
“Love you too. See you later. Bye.” The words felt natural and right.
Dax clicked off the phone and shoved it back into his pocket. He strode to the table and grabbed his chair, setting it back on its feet. Sitting down, he looked around the room and asked gruffly, “What the hell are we doing to catch this asshole?”
The men around the table began strategizing. No way in hell would they allow the Reaper to get ahold of Dax’s woman. She was one of them now. Period.
Chapter Eleven
Mackenzie lay in bed wide-awake. TJ had arrived to pick her up with about fifteen minutes left to go in the workday. He hadn’t said much, just sat in her office waiting for her to be done. Mackenzie hastily finished up and didn’t put up a fuss at all when TJ put his arm around her waist as he guided her to his patrol car.
It was obvious there was something terribly wrong, and Mackenzie didn’t know what to do or say, so she did as TJ asked, and moved beside him without hesitation to his car. When they’d arrived at Daxton’s apartment, TJ didn’t waste any time, but guided her to the door, telling her to wait just inside the apartment as he entered and made sure it was clear before allowing her inside.
Mackenzie made spaghetti for dinner. It was quick and easy. TJ thanked her and they ate in relative silence. She really really wanted to know what was going on, but Mackenzie figured TJ probably wouldn’t tell her.
They watched some silly reality show set in Australia with lots of extremely catty and bitchy women all fighting for the man to pass the time. Mackenzie had asked once if they could tur
n it to the news, and when TJ had refused, she knew whatever was happening was probably being talked about on the local news stations. She let it drop; preferring to hear what it was straight from Daxton.
Around nine o’clock, Mackenzie told TJ she was going to bed. He didn’t say anything other than, “Sleep well.” As if.
Mackenzie put on one of Daxton’s Ranger T-shirts, as he’d requested, knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep nude again until whatever was happening was over, and huddled under the comforter waiting for Daxton to get home. She turned on her side and hugged the pillow he usually used to her chest, burying her nose into it, inhaling Daxton’s comforting smell.
Two hours later, Mackenzie was still wide-awake, jumping at every sound she heard outside, when she heard TJ and Daxton talking to one another in the other room. She didn’t move. She lay still, waiting for Daxton to come to her.
Mackenzie watched as the bedroom door opened quietly and saw Daxton enter the room. He didn’t hesitate, but came straight to the bed as if he knew she wouldn’t be asleep. He laid himself out on top of the covers and pulled Mackenzie into his arms, pillow and all.
Dax wrapped his arms around Mack with one hand at her nape and the other around her waist. He dipped his head and snuggled his nose into the crook of her neck. He sighed when he felt her arms snake up between them to come to rest around his shoulders. They were as close as they could be, and still be fully clothed.
“I’m sorry, Mack.”
“Don’t.”
“But—”
“No. This isn’t your fault. I don’t know whose fault it is yet, but I know it’s not yours. So don’t apologize for something someone else is doing to us…whatever it is they’re doing.”
“If I wasn’t a Ranger—”
Mackenzie lifted her head and tried to squint in the darkness at him. “Seriously, Daxton. Stop it. You are a Ranger. You’re a fucking awesome Ranger. I love you because of the man you are. If you weren’t a Ranger, we might not be together. I don’t know what’s going on yet, but the way I choose to look at it is that you’ve worked your entire life to get to this point. You’ve learned what you needed to learn, you know what you need to know to stop whatever it is. I believe in you. I love you.”