Chasing Air

by DeLaine Roberts

  Makenzie was deep in her own thoughts while doing the shopping. She reminisced about how with everything happy in her life, Ryler was behind it. She couldn’t wait to become his wife at Christmas. What a way to start a new year and a new life. Because she was going to be off both the Christmas and New Year holidays, she had agreed to cover Thanksgiving. A luxury of being the boss over the calendar. She and Ryler both enjoyed snow skiing, so Aspen was the perfect honeymoon for them.

  She was unloading groceries when she realized that Daisy wasn’t under her feet. She called out to her, but Daisy didn’t come running, not even with the promise of a treat. She went looking for her and heard the bell. She laughed out loud at the sound and knew she would have to confess to Ryler. Daisy was busy digging a hole at the fence trying to get into the neighbor’s yard. Daisy was completely covered in dirt. “You little devil. I’m gone just a few minutes and you’re trying to dig your way to China. As bad as you hate a bath, maybe you won’t dig when you learn it leads to a bath every time.”

  With the bath over, the hole filled, and Daisy’s mess cleaned up, Makenzie finished sorting all of her clothes in their huge closet. Her phone rang and it was her mom calling with all the details of their trip. They were going to come and stay most of the week, but she wanted to give her a hint that Cessa was bringing Rob, the guy she’d been seeing, for them to meet.

  “Mom, do you think this is the one?”

  “I do. You and Ryler are going to love him and the fact that you have a great deal in common with him will help him feel welcomed. He’s a pediatric plastic surgeon doing missionary work in Haiti, but he’s wanting to move to a great location and open his own practice. I’ll let Cessa fill you in on all those details.”

  There was something that her mom wasn’t telling her and she was a bit annoyed. She hated being the last to know the family gossip. She had talked to Cessa many times over the last few weeks and all she had mentioned about him was they were casually dating. “I’m calling Cessa, she needs to spill on the secrets.” She laughed.

  “How are the wedding plans coming, Jud...?” She was just about to call Makenzie by her old name. No one had mentioned that name since the events of that night.

  “It’s okay, Mom, you don’t have to hide behind it. I won’t fall apart if you say my name. It’s just that around here, no one knows who Judith is. I don’t want to give Drew’s family a reason to come here and start trouble.”

  “Has something happened that would make you think that?”

  “Oh no, Mom. They know everything and could find me with no problem, but they are so high on the FBI watch list that I think they’d be afraid to. Every case he was working on was opened up once he died. Hey, Mom, someone’s at the door. I’ll call you later. Love you.”

  When she opened the door, she recognized the woman standing in front of her from the internet photos. “Ms. Sharcova, what brings you by?”

  “You know who I am?” The tall, attractive blonde spoke with a deep, smoker’s voice.

  “I’ve done my homework. Why are you here?”

  “My business is with Ryler. Please let him know I’m here.” She aggressively stepped into the home uninvited.

  “You should’ve performed the appropriate social etiquette and phoned first. He’s at work.” Makenzie took a step back, but held the door open.

  Petra whirled on her expensive heels and glared at Makenzie. “He’ll never marry you, you know that, right? He’ll back out. He does that every time he gets close. He never forgave himself for his ex losing their baby when he wasn’t here and for her leaving him.”

  “Well, you waste no time getting to the point, do you? And aren’t you just full of knowledge. Look, you need to leave. You’re not welcome here. Don’t come back.” Makenzie was furious, but something Petra said hurt even deeper: she mentioned a baby.

  “He’s a great lover, isn’t he?”

  “Get out.”

  “Fine, I’ll leave, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. He just can’t commit. He’ll quickly realize that you don’t satisfy his needs or replace what he lost.”

  “Get the hell out of our house.”

  “You say that like you own the place, but your time here is short lived. He’ll come back to me, you’ll see.”

  Makenzie shut the door softly behind Petra, but she really wanted to slam it. She didn’t want to give the bitch the satisfaction. She sent Ryler a text that didn’t give her anxiety away.

  Makenzie: starting dinner unless you’re pulling an all-nighter

  Ryler: leaving now. c u in 20 luv u

  Makenzie: luv you more

  Ryler: More huh? we’ll c about that when I get u naked

  A few minutes later, Ryler walked through the door humming a tune she didn’t know. Daisy was under foot with her jingle bell collar going nuts.

  “Maybe I should’ve put more thought into that noisy bell.”

  “Well, it helped me earlier when she was outside digging while I was at the store. Um, we need to talk about something else though.”

  “Petra?”

  “Did she call you?”

  “Yep.”

  “Did she tell you she was here and that she was a total bitch?”

  “The part where she was here, yes. The bitch part, no. Look, she’s just being territorial. We haven’t seen each other in over a year. It’s just what she does. Don’t believe a word she says. She’ll get the hint and go away.” He tried to make light of her invading their relationship.

  “I get all that. It’s something else that she said that I wanted to ask you about. She said that you get close to committing, but then you don’t. Did you ever ask her to marry you?”

  “She talked about it. I never did, and I would’ve never married her. Again, she’s just trying to run you off. She’s pissed that it’s not her.” He was typing something into his phone and not completely paying attention to Makenzie.

  “Fine, I get all that. But what about the baby?”

  His phone crashed to the floor suddenly. A look of pain flooded his face. He couldn’t answer her, he just stared back with a guarded look.

  “Are you okay?” She approached him, picking up his phone and handing it back to him.

  “I never told her about the baby. No one knew that story except a few of the guys on the force and my parents. They never talked to her, they didn’t like her. How did Petra know any of that?”

  “Something’s not right with this. When did you actually meet Petra?”

  “I’ve known her for about eight years. She would follow guys around from the force, getting material to use in her books. She had a press pass.”

  “So you knew her before Cyndi ever left?”

  “Yes, but we...Mak I was never unfaithful to Cyndi. You have to believe me. I loved my wife. I never forgave myself about being gone so long the night she lost the baby. I wasn’t here for her and she blamed me. Hell, I blamed myself. It took me so long to get over her leaving. It all just happened so wrong, you know.”

  “I don’t think she left on her own. I think she was pushed out. I think Petra tried to run her off.”

  Ryler began to process everything. He took a seat on the sofa, his head between his knees. His body shook with disgust. What had Petra done, he asked himself? The signs were all there, he just hadn’t noticed them.

  He took his phone and made a call. “I want to see you, can you come back to my place?” His paused to listen, “No, she went back to her office. How long?” He hung up and turned to Mak. “Petra’s on her way here. When she gets here, I want you to hide, but within hearing distance. I want a witness. I think she may have caused Cyndi to lose the baby. If I can prove it, I’ll see to it that she’s punished. Losing the baby crippled Cyndi emotionally. I can’t take away her pain, but I can see to it that Petra pays for what she did.”

  He wiped the tears from his face. Mak held on to him, her love giving him the permission he needed to wrap up his own demons. Makenzie wasn’t the only one in their r
elationship that had to make peace with a past.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Petra arrived, acting as cavalier as ever. “Surprised to get your call, darling. What changed your mind, and where’s the wife?”

  “No games, Petra. You know she’s not my wife.”

  “She did better than I did, at least she got the ring.” Her snicker was a little too contrite for his taste.

  “Babe, she got the ring because she demanded it to stay around. I didn’t know if you were coming back from Europe. You know how I am, I need a girl on the side.” He was playing it good, she melted in his hands.

  “Baby, I’m back, so you don’t need her.” She pulled him into a kiss, and Ryler responded in a way that was too convincing. If Makenzie hadn’t help plan the scheme, things could’ve really been ugly later. “Let’s get out of here and go back to my place.”

  “It’s tempting, but I can’t leave that damn puppy. But I’ve got to know, how did you just show up all of a sudden a few weeks ago? Where’ve you been?” He was leading her closer to his slippery questions.

  “Well, I heard on the radio about the shooting at your place. I was scared it might’ve been you. I arrived behind the crew at your house but I stayed in the background. I’m still surprised you didn’t see me, but you were all over her.”

  “It was an ordeal, for sure. Wait, it wasn’t on the radio. You said radio, right?”

  “Not the car radio, the police radio. Your old police radio.” She stopped talking when she realized what she’d just said.

  “Petra, you were the one who broke in to my car and stole my laptop and my police radio? YOU did that?”

  “They gave you another one and took care of your car, but I would’ve paid for it.”

  “That explains everything. The night that Cyndi lost the baby, you were at my house weren’t you?”

  Petra moved back from him. His voice was like a thundering explosion.

  “I swear I didn’t know until later that she was pregnant, it just looked like she had gained a little weight. She fell, it was an accident! I swear I didn’t touch her!” She cried uncontrollably.

  “You didn’t have to touch her, you tormented her with words, didn’t you? She was running away from you when she fell, wasn’t she?” He paused and took a couple of steps towards her. “You told her things that weren’t true, didn’t you? You caused her to lose the baby. You tormented her about a fake affair until she lost her mind. How could you do that?” He held Petra’s shoulders, shaking her.

  “I didn’t mean for all of that to happen the way it did! I saw the way you looked at me, I knew we could be together if she would just leave. You weren’t happy with her, you said so more than once. I never meant for her to fall, she lost her footing when she chased me out.” As she sat down in the chair, her body gave way to the despair that she had been carrying around for so long. The tidal wave of emotion took over her, leaving her sobbing violently.

  “Did you even think to call an ambulance? You didn’t even get her help. Do you understand what you did? You. Killed. My. Son.”

  Ryler dialed a number and put the cell phone to his ear. “I need a cruiser at my house, right now. Don’t run code, stay off scanner.” He turned to Petra, “You’re going to be placed under arrest when the guys get here. While you don’t deserve any privacy whatsoever, I do, and so do Cyndi and Makenzie. I expect you to make sure that your confession also includes a full letter addressed to Cyndi. You took the life of our son from us and you robbed Cyndi of a life of her own. I really wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire right now.”

  Makenzie ran to Ryler and the surprised look on Petra’s face said everything. Petra knew she’d been played as Ryler stared her down.

  “Nowhere in the universe is there a capacity to punish you for what you’ve done.”

  When Petra realized everything was falling apart, she had nothing to lose. She pulled out a Walther P90 380 automatic pistol from her purse and pointed it straight at Makenzie.

  “Ryler, if you take one step, the bitch dies. Are we clear?” Petra watched them intently.

  “Petra, you don’t want to do this. You’re already in enough trouble. Put the gun down,” Ryler demanded.

  Makenzie had learned from her classes that she needed to sidetrack the assailant, so she pushed away from Ryler. “Ryler, Petra told me of how close you both have been. Is it true that I’m just a replacement for Cyndi?”

  Not knowing where her question was coming from, Ryler played along. “I loved Cyndi and our little boy. I wanted our family.”

  He put his hands over his face. The movement was just enough to get Petra’s complete attention. Makenzie made her move. With a defensive front kick, she knocked the gun from Petra’s hand. But that wasn’t enough. She’d been taught to finish her assailant and followed the kick by grabbing both of Petra’s shoulders and landing a perfect roundhouse knee strike, temporarily crippling her.

  Ryler cuffed Petra and showed no mercy by leaving her lying face down on the floor.

  “You’re nobody’s replacement. You’re everything to me,” he said, pulling Makenzie to his chest.

  “Ditto. Hey, the position of superhero has officially been filled.” She snickered. “And I see that my training has officially paid off.”

  “Just promise me you won’t change jobs anytime soon?”

  “Hmmm.”

  The uniformed officers showed up just as Brody and Rachel pulled up. Makenzie took Rachel to the patio, but not before seeing them haul Petra off to the squad car. Makenzie got a bit of satisfaction in seeing her wearing the official metal bracelets behind her back. When the tow truck took her car away, they were finally able to sit down with Rachel and Brody and dissect the events over the last four years.

  Chris called Ryler’s cell phone and gave him the scoop, since he was still at the station when they brought Petra in.

  “Chris got the whole story. The captain was on his way in to meet with the District Attorney. She’s facing numerous charges of stalking, terroristic threatening, burglary of a vehicle, attempted murder and failing to render aid.”

  “That should keep her out of our lives for a long time,” Makenzie said.

  “Hey man, don’t you think you should call Cyndi or her family and let them know what’s going on before they hear about it?” Brody said while he patted Ryler on the shoulder.

  “She won’t talk to me. She won’t take my call.”

  “You won’t know that until you try.”

  Ryler sought privacy upstairs for quite some time. While he was gone, the three of them had a chance to chat, even with little Daisy trying to steal the show. Brody took Daisy out back to play fetch with her tiny little ball. She loved to play with anyone who would throw the ball for her.

  “How are you holding up living with a cop?” Mak teased Rachel.

  “Oh, you know, they’re easy on the eyes and they know how to cook.” She gave Makenzie a light-hearted smile. “It’s not half bad, but the other stuff has been a struggle. I’m not sure how the judicial system could let the jackass make bail.” She picked up a glass of water and Mak noticed the glass trembling.

  “Rachel, it’s only bail. His hearing is in a couple of months and he serve time for what he did to you. Until then, Brody will keep you safe. You know that, right?

  “Nothing’s a guarantee,” Rachel said with exasperation.

  Makenzie didn’t want to pry, so she chose to expose herself emotionally to see if Rachel would open up. “My mom accidentally called me Judith today. I was hoping that name would die with Drew, but the memories it brought up sent me into a tailspin. She didn’t mean to. It’s amazing to me the slightest thing just creates havoc with my sanity. I’m going to double up on my counseling so that I keep the PTSD in check. You know, my counselor would see both of us if you ever want to go with me.”

  Rachel was silent for a while, just spinning the glass of water, while staring into space. “It wouldn’t bother you for me to hear your private stu
ff?”

  “No, not at all.”

  Brody came back in with Daisy. Rachel quickly whispered, “I’d really like that, please call me.”

  Ryler came back downstairs and joined them. He was actually smiling. He pulled Makenzie over into his lap and held on to her tightly. It was the unspoken message of trust and courage that she got, loud and clear.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Makenzie and Ryler had a couple of busy days getting the house ready for company, which left them passing each other in the hallways. Makenzie’s family was coming on Wednesday to spend the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with them, even though she was working a twelve-hour shift at the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. Ryler’s family had embraced hers, welcoming them to their holiday table. For the last two years, holidays had been sad days for both Mackenzie and Ryler. He spent his past holidays with his family, but longed for the family he’d lost. Makenzie spent hers in hiding, unable to see or speak to the family she gave up so that they could all stay alive.

  On Mak’s day off, she had a couple of appointments with the wedding planner, caterer, and bridal shop to finalize the wedding details. The owner of the bridal shop just couldn’t get over her choice for a dress. She thought Makenzie should reconsider the long, copper silk bridal gown. It was body hugging and very low in the back. The way the thin straps crisscrossed very low meant that she wouldn’t be able to wear a bra with it. Makenzie thought it was sensually elegant, but she picked it because it was something that Ryler would like. She was going to wear several strands of pearls that would hang down her back and she wanted her hair partially pinned up.

  She didn’t want the wedding to be traditional in a way that would trigger any memories of their previous ceremonies. She desired something more like a holiday celebration. If it were up to her, they would’ve eloped, but they sought to make their families happy.