Chasing Air (8 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next day, Jonathan talked with his mom, Olivia, about his evening with Makenzie.

“I haven’t felt that kind of chemistry or adrenaline in forever. Makenzie’s amazing, Mom, I can’t wait for you to meet her” His eyes lit up just at the mention of her name.

“She moved here with no family and is all by herself? How sad.” She questioned Makenzie’s background. She seemed uneasy and he noticed.

“It’s not like that, Mom, not like she ran away. She said she committed to the job, but they decided not to come.” He tried to be convincing.

“Okay, that’s all well and good, but has she gone back for a visit or does she talk with them often?” Something didn’t feel right, but she didn’t want to stifle her son’s first attempt at love since his divorce.

“One thing at a time, Mom. I don’t have all the answers after just two dates, but I will.” He gave his mother a mischievous grin. She recognized that look, she knew he was hooked. She hoped Makenzie lived up to the hype. She hated to see him get hurt again.

Sitting in his car in his mom’s driveway, he sent Makenzie a text.

Jonathan: Hope ur havin a great day. Thinking of you

Makenzie: Last nite rocked, still thinkin about it and u

Jonathan: When can I see u?

Makenzie: Off on Monday?

Jonathan: I’m out of town. Next option?

Makenzie: Off on Thursday?:)

Jonathan: Have my son’s game. Wanna come?

Makenzie: Are u sure? If so, would love to.

Jonathan: Absolutely. It’s a date, I’ll call u

***

Makenzie kept her promise to Rachel and joined her for another Krav Maga class. Rachel showed improvement and she kept a strong, determined expression on her face. Whatever internal demons she was struggling with, she was winning the war.

After the class, Makenzie asked her to lunch. They went over to Astoria’s to grab a quick bite. Makenzie quickly realized that she and Rachel shared more in common than she originally thought.

As Rachel began to open up, Makenzie recognized that Rachel was involved in a dangerous, abusive relationship with her boyfriend. She wanted to ask plenty of questions, but she needed to gain Rachel’s trust first. She did manage to find out where she lived and got her phone number, which was a good start for building trust.

Rachel was working as a server at a local restaurant that focused on cute, sexily clad female servers. She had heard men refer to them as “
Breastaraunts” before, the kind where only girls serve, and wearing skimpy costumes for lots of tips. Makenzie wondered if the friend of Rachel’s who was injured had worked there also. She would have to wait until Rachel mentioned her again to ask. She had learned to deal with victims of personal violence while working in the ER, especially victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

There was so much she wanted to know about Rachel, but her shift was scheduled to start soon. She had to save the questions for another time.

“Hey I was thinking, do you like to play co-ed softball by any chance?” she asked Rachel. What better way to protect her than introduce her to a team of cops?

“I haven’t played in several years, but yeah, I do. Why, are you getting up a team?” Her face showed excitement.

“I was asked to join some guys on Sunday afternoon, but I only know a couple of them. I thought you might want to be my ‘wing-woman’ if you’re not working?” She gave Rachel a twisted grin, encouraging her to say yes. Little did Rachel know, but Makenzie had a hidden agenda for asking her to join them. Makenzie wanted someone there to run interference with Ryler, but she also wanted Rachel to make friends with guys on the force.

“Sure, I’d love to join. I’ll see if I can switch to the early shift and let you know.”

They parted ways and Makenzie felt better about going to the game. She didn’t ask permission from Ryler to have another person, but she would sit out if the headcount was an issue.

Makenzie: Is it okay if I invite a girl friend to play ball this weekend

Ryler: u bet. Looking forward to seeing you

Makenzie: thx, her name is Rachel she could use some new friends

Ryler: not a problem

That night, the ER was slow. Slow meant she had some time to work in her office. She picked up the files on her desk and threw out the dying flowers from her admirers. Her heart was split but one thing was clear in her head, a relationship with Ryler Buchanan couldn’t happen.

Deep in her reports, she was startled by a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she shouted out.

Dr. Trynn opened the door. “Hey Makenzie, you have a second to chat about a conference?” His head was through her door, but his body was still in the hallway.

“Sure, your whole body is welcome to come in,” she laughed at him.

He came in and sat down on her sofa. “There’s a conference that your predecessor was planning to deliver a lecture at. I just realized it today and need
ed to give you a heads up. We have someone to cover your shifts, but you’ll need to prepare your lecture and make plans to attend.”

“That’s not a problem, Phillip, where’s the conference?” she was taking notes.

“New York.”

Makenzie froze. The room started spinning. Anxiety immediately begin to daze her. She tried to hide it, but Dr. Trynn must have seen the color drain from her face.

“Makenzie, you okay? Are you nervous about giving a lecture? I’d be happy to help you.”

“No, I’m fine, really. I just remembered my last flight to New York was a brutal one and I had a flashback of being on that flight. You know how it is.” She tried to pass it off and he seemed to buy it.

“I’ll email you the specifics, I just wanted to apologize in person for dumping this on you so last minute. When I got the reminder email this morning, I felt bad for having forgotten it.” He stood to let himself out. “By the way, regarding the headshot of you, the industry is actually phasing OUT the photos of the hospital staff on websites after that doctor in Ohio lost the patient on the table and was attacked by the patient’s father. Ours will be updated by the end of the month, so I’m told.”

Mak let out a breath of relief.

“Thank you for letting me know. I look forward to getting the specifics and I’ll start work on the lecture this weekend.”

Thank god no one would see her picture. Agent Bernard would have a stroke if he found her on the internet,
She thought.

Charts were stacked on her desk and she started tackling them one by one. She came to Serena’s chart and she started reading all of the paramedic’s call sheets when a knock came at the door.

“Please come in,” she asked.

Dr. Trynn stuck his head back in. “Mak, I just got a message that they need your headshot for the conference brochure ASAP. Thanks, gotta run. Send that over to me when you can.”

Makenzie went straight into the panic zone. She immediately started Googling for conferences in New York. Sure enough, there was a Trauma Conference in three weeks. The lecture wasn’t going to be the problem, her visibility was.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Terry Bernard, please?” she asked the operator.

“Who may I say is calling?” the operator asked.

“Makenzie, no last name.” Her voice showed how nervous she was.

“Hold a moment please, ma’am, don’t hang up.”

“Hi.” He paused. “Problem?” His voice low, almost a whisper.

“I’m okay.” Makenzie uttered.

“You know the drill. Exactly ninety minutes from now.”

Makenzie watched her watch down to the minute. She left the payphone and drove back towards her loft. Overcome with anxiety, she knew that Agent Bernard was going to say, “I told you so.” In exactly ninety minutes, she called his safe line with a disposable phone.

“What happened?”

“Nothing yet. I have to give a lecture in NYC and I can’t get out of it, short of dying. There will be publicity and photos. I need help organizing this so I don’t have a problem. I need your help.” Makenzie’s voice was low and full of frustration. She had a hard time speaking. It had been almost a year since she had last seen Agent Bernard.

“How much time do we have?”

“Three weeks.”

“Can you call me in exactly twenty-four hours?”

“Yes.” She hung up and smashed the phone into pieces.

Never in a million years did she think that she would keep a supply of
disposable phones, just to keep herself safe. Nor did she ever think she would keep a bag packed and cash stowed, but it was a life she chose on the run. The FBI had trained her well. Therapy sessions with Rosalyn were helpful and kept her off meds. Maybe she needed to find someone local that she could trust. Bernard would have to arrange it and even then, it came with risks.

Makenzie was terrified. She paced her office back and forth before finally grabbing the pills from her purse. She needed to spend her time preparing her lecture, not worrying about what she couldn’t control until she spoke with Agent Bernard. It was going to be a long twenty-fours.

She spent the day working on her lecture research in her office until it was time to start her shift. She felt safer in the little cocoon she had created. When she stepped out to the ER control desk, she found a box with a card that had her name on it. She knew who left it and what it was before she even opened it.

The hand-written note
said:

  
 
Treasure hunt: The piece that’s missing is hidden for now, but I think you’ll find it in due time.

Ah, it was a coconut cream pie, with one very large piece missing. Perfect timing. A smile must’ve crept up on her face, one that piqued the interest of David and Veronica who happened to be approaching the control desk.

“Lover boy’s at it again, I see,” Veronica nudged.

Makenzie secretly slipped the card in the pocket of her lab coat. “His mom makes the most wonderful pies. But I have to break it off with her, she’s making me gain weight.”

“Really, where?”

“You don’t see all my junk in the trunk?” Makenzie quipped.

“No, I don’t. I see a beautiful woman with just the right curves in just the right places. Guys don’t like those bone-thin women. They need something to hang on to!” She patted her rear in demonstration.

That was more than David could handle. “Not a conversation for me, I’ll find something to do,” he declared, and he walked away.

“Okay, spill. I know when something’s wrong.” She gave Makenzie that
inquiring-minds-want-to-know look.

“I got a lecture dumped on me at the last minute. I only have a few weeks to prepare.” She tried to deflect the conversation.

“Really? You could put together a solid lecture in three hours. What’s really wrong? And I’m guessing that it has to do with a sexy detective.” She put her hands on her hips and pushed her chest out with that half-cocked smirk she always gave Makenzie when she was disagreeing with her.

“Okay, fine. There’s this other guy.”

“The one that sent the flowers?” she asked. “You got two guys on the string?” She gave a big howling laugh.

“Uhm, hmm. I went from none to two. How’s that possible all at the same time? Same freakin’ week.” Makenzie shook her head.

“Okay, Ryler I know about, so spill on the other one first, then we’ll get back to the sexy detective, because he’s your man, honey.”

Makenzie filled Veronica in on Jonathan; their meeting and their date, down to the kiss outside the ER. “I can still taste that kiss on my lips.” She must’ve, because she licked them again.

“Girl, what are we gonna do with you?” she touted. “Tall, dark, handsome. Sexy and rich, what else could you ask for? Oh wait, I know, chemistry. But sounds like you have a little of that too. How do you feel about step-kids and ex-wives?”

“Look, Veronica, I know what you’re up to. It’s not going to work.”

“All I’m stating is the obvious. Don’t overlook all the obstacles with the one you think might be Mr. Right, because he’s packing a life-long amount of baggage with the ex, not to mention that his daddy is on the board of this hospital.” She wrinkled her nose in that bite-me look.

“Nah, seriously? Oh my god, I didn’t know that.” Makenzie took a moment to doodle on the pad in front of her, “Why he didn’t mention it, I wonder?” She let out a breath in exasperation. “Geez.”

The conversation was interrupted by a patient with a snakebite being carried in through the doors and what appeared to be the younger brother, carrying the live snake in a glass jar.

“Heaven help us,” Veronica uttered.

“And that would be a copperhead. Somebody please ask security to get that thing out of here and dispose of it,” Makenzie loudly requested while she escorted the man carrying the little girl who now had a leg swollen to five times the size of the other one.

After a night of badgering from Veronica and an internal demolition of her nerves, Makenzie was beat.

Finally home after her rough shift, she put on soft music, got a hot shower, and set the alarm, praying for a few hours of solid sleep. Two big things were waiting for her later in the day: breaking it off with Ryler and speaking with Agent Bernard, neither one a conversation she looked forward to.

***

The time for the call to Agent Bernard was perfectly planned just before the Trippe’s ballgame.

“I have a couple of options for you. First, can you do the lecture in disguise?” Bernard asked.

“Nope, that’s not possible.” She spoke softly. It was a great idea if only she could pull it off.

“Okay then, we’re left with incognito.” He didn’t sound thrilled.

“What’s incognito like?” She was curious, but not convinced. Didn’t disguise and incognito mean the same thing?

“Your flights and hotel reservations will be made under another fictitious name. What I need you to do is get a normal headshot for the brochure, which he’ll trim up, then you’ll get another with a ton of makeup on, a fake nose and lip piercing, etc. I’ll get someone to help you with that. When you ge
t it, send it to me. I’ll have the documents made for you that you’ll travel under and they’ll be hand delivered by a local agent. Book your hotel and flights under that name. Do you need anything else?” He sounded worried.

“The one for the brochure. How do I pull that off?”

“Call me in twenty-four hours and I’ll set that up. And one more thing, Mak, I’m sending you a concealed handgun license. I want you packin’ a piece. I know I’m going against my normal routine, but I want you to carry it. If you haven’t been in a while, get in some practice at a gun range. It won’t be fun at the airport, they’ll give you grief, they’ll make you check it and all that, but as soon as you claim your bag, you know the drill.”

That confirmed her fears. He wasn’t just worried, he sounded terrified. That fact made Makenzie wonder if she was being set up. She looked at the locks on the doors, the windows, and double checked her gun. She wasn’t ready to move again. This time she wanted to stay and fight for her life. Drew Donati could bring it, she was going to be ready.

***

The tasks that Agent Bernard requested were taken care of. Who knew you could buy fake pier
cings that were very convincing? She took the photos and sent them to him. She had to wait until she received her documents from him before making her reservations. The image for the brochure was altered enough that it would work. She emailed it over to Dr. Trynn.

She met up with Rachel and introduced her to Ryler and his partner before they gathered with the rest of the team.

The afternoon flew by and game was a lot of fun. She and Rachel both seemed to enjoy themselves. Makenzie noticed that Rachel was spending quite a bit of time with one of the police officers named Brody. Dark hair, great body, round face with large dimples and dark eyes. Mak did a double take at Brody. He was a hunky Italian and looked like he hit the gym a couple of times a day. If that wasn’t incentive to keep working out on the mat, she didn’t know what would be.

Afterwards, they all gathered at Ryler’s digs for a party and time outside by the grill and the pool. Makenzie was inside with Ryler gathering all of the vegetables and condiments when she eyeballed the pie in the fridge all wrapped up. There was a note on the top:

No touching, this is for me and my girl later in private.

Makenzie smiled privately to herself. She didn’t have to be curious that the note was her benefit, she knew it was. Ryler was making a declaration to her about how he felt. Even more so, if his friends saw it, they would know as well. His feelings for her were unabashed. Either way, telling him what she had planned to later when they were alone wouldn’t be any easier.

“You found the treasure so quickly, I see,” he teased. She was caught off guard and jumped back, hitting her head on the freezer door handle.

“Well, it wasn’t like it was hidden or anything. But I’m a bit curious about that note,” she said, not that she really needed an explanation.

Ryler took the tray Makenzie was holding and set it on the bar. He grabbed her in his arms and kissed her tenderly. He stopped for a moment and captured the gaze in her eyes, the look of permission. He possessed her mouth again, but this time he put both hands in her hair and kissed her passionately before pulling away abruptly, leaving her standing there filled with want.

“My girl,” he muttered under his breath as he walked away while whistling a tune.

Makenzie stood in the kitchen pondering her next move. She couldn’t go outside and play the happy girlfriend, that wasn’t fair to him and that wasn’t what she was, although his declaration clearly defined how he felt about her. Things weren’t going the way she had hoped, and she clearly didn’t want to hurt him.

Ryler threw her a curve ball she wasn’t expecting. When she went outside, he was being awfully chummy with Rachel and a couple of the other wives, but he wasn’t really flirty with her. They sat around the pool and enjoyed burgers and dogs and she felt like one of the gang, but only as a friend. There was no show of affection from him to her. She caught his gaze on her several times and when their eyes met, he just smiled. The man barely acknowledged her on purpose and she knew it.

The evening finally started winding down. Makenzie was outside helping clean up when she realized everyone had left except for her. She was now going to be alone with Ryler and had to pick her words carefully. She was gathering the last bit of trash when she sensed his body close behind her. He was quiet, but she could physically feel the heat, the chemistry igniting between them. She wanted to turn and run, but she couldn’t. Her legs were temporarily paralyzed, holding her in place. Her heartbeat quickened. She wanted to feel him touch her. She wanted to know what it felt like to be with him and she couldn’t stop her thoughts.

Time stood still and teased all of her senses. Her skin prickled at the temptation of his touch.

Finally, he brushed up against her and grabbed the bag of trash from her, and said, “I’ll take that.” And away he went, leaving her standing there by herself, tumbling in the pit of desire, alone.

Makenzie realized that she needed to get out of there before she did something stupid. She also needed to put space between the two of them, but he wasn’t making it easy to walk away. She went back into the house and gathered her bag when he came back into the kitchen from the garage.

“Hey, you forgot something.” He winked as he teased her.

“I did?” She looked down at the bag in her hands, taking inventory to see what she could’ve possibly forgotten. When she looked up, he was removing the pie from the refrigerator.

“Share this with me before you go,” he grinned. He was always one step ahead of her.

She couldn’t resist him or the pie any longer and she skipped back to the bar and took the seat beside him. When she reached for a fork he tapped her hand. “Nope, I got this,” he said, and shook his head. The look he gave her was stern and convincing but also dark and intense, formulated with a yearning that penetrated deep into her soul. He had dropped the bait, she had bitten the hook, and was on the line. Ryler was waiting with drawn breath to reel her in.

He started towards her mouth with the first bite, but as expected, diverted it to himself and gobbled it down while almost choking on a laugh.

“Hey mister, that was mine!” She toyed with him.

“I had to test it to make sure it was good enough for you,” he mumbled through his cough.

They continued to share bites and Ryler was persistent with his mounting pie seduction, while Makenzie melted like whipped cream.

“Hmm, that is so freakin’ good.” She was enjoying herself way too much and treading in dangerous territory. She held up her hands in defeat. “Can’t do it. No more,” she laughed, rubbing her full belly.

Ryler leaned in, touched Makenzie’s cheek then rubbed her lips with the pad of his thumb. “You’re so beautiful, Makenzie. Such sweet lips, but your eyes, they get me every time I look into them. I want to know what’s behind them, what they see in the world?”

He kissed her softly until she melted into him. She wrapped her hands behind his neck, tangling her fingers into his hair. Her body was so close to his that thin paper wouldn’t fit between them. She could feel his heart beating, prickling her skin, and sensed his breath quicken.

He pulled back at just the right time to once again leave her panting in want. He pushed away from the bar and put away their last dishes.