Crux. Part 24

She shouldn't have been thanking him. "If I'd done my job in the first place, you wouldn't have gotten s.n.a.t.c.hed."

"Don't," she whispered. "Because if I hadn't run away-if I'd stayed-Steven would still be alive. I don't know how to live with that."

Jackson cursed himself. He couldn't very well tell her not to blame herself if he was going to sit there and do it. "All right. How about this? No blame, on anyone. It's stupid and pointless, right?"

"Right. Stupid and pointless." Her words were beginning to slur together. "What time is it?"

"Just after five." He eased off the couch and picked her up. "Bed?"

"No, we need to plan."

He shushed her as he headed down the hallway to the guest room. "Sleep until Alec gets back. Then we'll plan."

"Okay." Her head dropped to his shoulder in a trusting manner that made his chest ache. "I didn't sleep much while I was gone."

"Me either, baby." Jackson laid her on the bed and stretched out behind her. "I could barely even close my eyes."

She laughed softly as she snuggled into his arms. "That didn't stop us from staying up half the night last night."

"More important things to do." They had more important things to do now, as well, but Jackson couldn't help but feel they'd be all right with whatever came...as long as they faced it together. "Now go to sleep. Alec drives like a bat out of h.e.l.l. He'll be back in no time."

Hunger finally woke Mackenzie. The spot next to her on the bed had been empty long enough for the sheets to cool, which meant Jackson had left her to sleep longer than she'd meant to. Her stomach rumbled its annoyance as she rolled over in the strange bed and squinted through the darkness of the room at the clock on the bedside table.

Midnight. She heard the murmur of voices as she rose and padded to the bathroom. Alec and Jackson, by the timbre of the sound, though she couldn't quite make out the individual words.

Was.h.i.+ng her face and rebraiding her hair made her feel less groggy. She watched her reflection in the mirror as she tied off the end of the braid, and studied her neck and the prominent love bite Jackson had left the night before. She'd long ago pa.s.sed the age where hickeys were amusing, but something inside her took intense pleasure in the visible proof. That same thing had purred in pleasure when she'd seen the mark of her own teeth on his throat, a blatant reminder that he was hers.

She tossed the braid over her shoulder and traced her fingers over the mark. Warmth rose in her at the memory, along with a desire she had to put out of her mind for now. Her life was in imminent, serious danger, and while the adrenaline might make the idea of s.e.x appealing...

Living long enough to have lots and lots of it is way better.

It wasn't until she reached to open the hallway door that Mackenzie realized there weren't two voices coming from the other room. There were three, and one of them was a woman.

One of them was Mahalia.

Guilt paralyzed her. She froze with her fingers wrapped around the k.n.o.b and her heart pounding, literally unable to twist her hand. Opening the door would mean walking out and facing Mahalia with the knowledge that Steven had died because of her.

She had no idea how long she stood there before a gentle knock on the door made her leap back, a startled cry catching in her throat.

The door cracked open and Alec stuck his head in, his expression sympathetic. "Hey. I heard you up and about. Thought I'd check on you."

"I-" She tried to pull herself together. "I was just-"

"Yeah." Alec came in, shut the door and leaned against it, his arms crossed over his chest. Though his stance looked intimidating, his eyes and voice were almost gentle. "Listen, kiddo. She's hurting now, and nothing's going to change that. I can't promise she's going to greet you with hugs and kisses. But not a d.a.m.n one of us thinks you should have sat there like a damsel waiting for someone to rescue you. If you hadn't grabbed at every chance to get the f.u.c.k out, you wouldn't be the right kind of woman for Jackson."

It was more than she'd heard from him for the entire length of their acquaintance. Her surprise must have shown on her face, because he chuckled. "You're amazed I know that many words, huh? Well, here's my secret, sweetheart. When you don't talk much, people actually listen when you open your mouth, even if it's only because they're shocked." He winked, pulled open the door and gestured to her.

I can do this. She squared her shoulders and nodded once before stepping through the door. "Thanks, Alec."

He answered her with a smile before following her into the hallway, effectively cutting off her path of retreat. "You can do it," he murmured, his voice echoing her thought.

Walking into the kitchen to face Mahalia was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

Mahalia sat on a stool at the island, her elbows on the counter. Jackson stood on the other side, a dish towel thrown over one shoulder, chopping vegetables. He gestured to the spot next to his mentor. "Kenzie. Have a seat. We were just talking."

Mackenzie hesitated, but Alec's presence at her back made it impossible to do anything but move forward into the kitchen. "h.e.l.lo, Mahalia."

The older woman kept her head down and her eyes on the coffee mug in her hands. "Mackenzie."

Jackson opened a cabinet next to the range hood. "Are you hiding any more spices in here, Alec? Something besides salt and pepper?" His tone was determinedly casual.

"There's steak rub in there." Alec's voice came from directly behind her, and Mackenzie felt his hand on her shoulder. He nudged her toward the stool and walked past her. "I don't cook much, Jackson."

"I was hoping against hope." He glanced at Mackenzie as she slid onto the stool. "Tell me you like cream sauces."

"Anything's fine. I'm pretty hungry." The tension in the kitchen made her fidget uncomfortably, but she had no idea how to break it.

Mahalia stared at the row of cabinets. She said nothing, but her hand inched slowly across the counter. She wrapped her fingers around Mackenzie's and squeezed.

A lump formed in Mackenzie's throat as she turned her hand over and clutched at Mahalia's. She knew she shouldn't speak, but the words tumbled out in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "I'm so sorry."

Mahalia's teeth sank into her full lower lip, and she shook her head.

Jackson pulled a carton of cream from the refrigerator. "Mahalia said she and Mich.e.l.le thought of something. A way to beat Talbot."

Her heart beat faster. "How?"

Mahalia cleared her throat. "There isn't much any of us can do against Charles Talbot's magic. But he's just like any other Seer."

Jackson put a steaming mug of coffee in front of Mackenzie. "If we get him in his cat form, he won't be able to use his magic."

She clutched the coffee mug and tried not to let her hands shake. "Can you do that?"

Mahalia turned to her, finally meeting her eyes. "There's a spell, an old one, but it involves a lot of unsavory things, plus that time you don't really have. On the other hand, another cougar Seer could do it without a spell."

"I don't understand." She looked from Mahalia to Jackson and back. "I thought Seers were rare."

He tossed the vegetables into a steaming pot. "That's the part we'd gotten to, incidentally. Me reminding May that Charles Talbot happens to be the only cougar Seer we know of."

Mahalia tapped her fingernails on the counter. "Don't any of you people smoke?"

"May."

She sighed. "No more Seers. But there's one thing we could do."

Mackenzie held her breath.

Jackson grunted in frustration, and Mahalia pointed a finger at him. "We have to turn you into a Seer."

Alec spit out his beer with a choked noise. "You're going to do what?"

Jackson braced his hands on the counter and hung his head. "She's lost her ever-loving mind, Alec. Around the f.u.c.king bend."

"You both need to shut up. I'm not in the mood." Mahalia shoved her mug at Jackson. "Warm that up. Mich.e.l.le and I figured it all out. There's something we can do, a relatively simple binding spell. For you and Mackenzie. The two of you together..."

He started shaking his head before she finished speaking. "No."

Mackenzie ignored him and focused her attention on Mahalia. "The two of us together can what?"

Jackson snorted as he refilled Mahalia's mug. "I'm a spell caster, and you're a cougar. Put us together, and you've got a Seer. Only it's not that simple, is it, May?"

"You and Jackson would share energy, but he would essentially become the human part of the equation," Mahalia explained. "You'd have to remain in your cat form, or the effects of the spell would be broken."

Mackenzie glanced at Jackson again. "So what? If it gives us the power to stop him, I'll stay a cat as long as I have to." If they were going to trap Charles as a cougar... An uncomfortably predatory part of her thrilled at the idea of being able to fight him. Maybe even kill him.

"When she said we'd share energy, she means it," Jackson murmured. "If something happened to me-if I couldn't break the spell-you'd be stuck, Kenzie. If you survived it."

"And if something happened to me? What would that mean for you?"

"Pretty much the same thing."

Mackenzie stared at her untouched coffee and ran her thumb over the handle of the mug. "I was asleep for seven hours. I'm a.s.suming no one came up with a better plan during that time?"

"May just got in an hour ago." Jackson sighed. "But no. We haven't been able to come up with anything better."

"We wracked our brains, Jack." Mahalia pushed the stool back and stood. "It's the only thing Mich.e.l.le and I figured had a s...o...b..ll's chance of working."

"Then we should do it." Mackenzie met Jackson's gaze and held it, and the rest of the room faded away. She could see the worry and fear in his eyes, not just of what they faced, but of what could happen to her. He didn't want to put her in danger.

But she didn't want to put anyone else in danger. Being around her was dangerous enough. Mahalia had lost Steven. Jackson's office and friends had been threatened. Charles wouldn't stop until he had her, and Mackenzie wasn't going to sit around and let everyone else take all the risks.

She let her determination show on her face. "We should do it, Jackson."

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her, and Mahalia cleared her throat. "Alec? We should..."

"No." Jackson tossed the kitchen towel on the counter. "Finish dinner, please. Mackenzie and I are going to talk. Privately."

Mackenzie slid off the stool and ignored Alec's slight frown. "Fine. Where do you want to talk?"

"It's a nice night. Let's go out back."

Jackson struggled to contain his arguments until they made it out of the house. Mackenzie followed him, and they walked in silence until they reached the stone table near the middle of Alec's courtyard.

Before he could speak, she turned sharply and stared at him in the dim light from the moon. "I'm not going to sit around and let more people die for me."

"I wouldn't ask you to." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "But you also need to know that no one here is into the idea of you sacrificing yourself to get rid of Talbot."

"I'm not really into the idea either. But any chance we have to beat his magic..." She trailed off and closed her eyes. "G.o.d, Jackson. That spell? The one that kept me from changing? The one that almost killed you and Mahalia just to fix? He took it down like it was nothing."

He sat on a bench. "Yeah. I'm not saying this isn't our best chance." He drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "But we shouldn't delude ourselves, Kenzie. It's dangerous. For both of us, but especially for you. You won't be able to break it. You'll have to trust me to do it."

She braced her hands on her hips. "Why, exactly, would you want me to stay a gigantic cat forever? Why would you want me to be a gigantic angry cat? Of all the things I'm worried about, Jackson, trusting you isn't one of them."

"Maybe it should be," he admonished. "You weren't around for any of our conversations about it, but statistically speaking? Seers are f.u.c.king nuts. Nick's sister is an anomaly. Charles Talbot's the norm." The words were blunt, maybe even hurtful, but he couldn't risk having her not understand. "What if I get all that power, and it sends me off the rails?"

"It won't," she insisted, without a hint of doubt in her voice. "I trust you. The man who risked his life for me without even knowing me. The man who walked into Charles Talbot's house to rescue me. I trust you, Jackson Holt. Completely. Absolutely."

"Well, that makes one of us, because I'm not sure I'm that strong." In any other situation, he wouldn't have doubted his resolve for a second, but this... "A lot of the wolf Seers have had to be put down, Mackenzie, like dogs, and they'd lived their entire lives with that power."

She crossed the gra.s.s between them in three long steps and slid into his lap, her knees on either side of his hips. Her hands skated over his arms and shoulders to cup his face. "I trust you," she whispered again. "You'll stay strong because of me. For me. You'll do what you have to do and break the spell, and we can spend the rest of our lives practicing having s.e.x without me breaking the furniture."

"I'm not joking, Mackenzie." He caught her wrists and glared at her. "It's not funny."

"Do you know what he said he was going to do to me?" Her voice lowered to a harsh whisper. "He was going to get a psychic. One strong enough to control me. Marcus was supposed to think I'd changed my mind, and I'd be trapped in my head dying a little every day while Charles's psychic paraded me around like a puppet. That's what that man is willing to do to me if he gets his hands on me. I will do anything to keep it from happening, no matter how much danger it puts me in."

He closed his eyes against the wave of rage he expected, but he only felt tired. "We have to do it. So you can be safe." He rubbed her wrists and released them. "It's the only way."

She kissed his forehead. "Don't doubt yourself so easily, Jackson. Every instinct I have tells me that you'll keep me safe. And I won't exactly be helpless as a huge cat."

If only you could stop me if I needed it. "I'll talk to Alec. He'll help."

"We'll end this. We can do it, Jackson. Together."

He nudged her, and she slid from his lap to her feet and held out her hands. He rose, his heart feeling lighter. "Yeah. Let's go eat so we can learn how to do this thing."

Jackson was so tired he might not have heard his cell phone ringing, but Mackenzie jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "Make that stop."

He grabbed for the phone and nearly knocked it off the nightstand. The backlit display showed a familiar name and number. "s.h.i.+t. It's Wesley Dade. I forgot to call him back."

Mackenzie mumbled something and snuggled closer to his side as he flipped open the phone.

Wesley's voice crackled out of the speaker before he got a chance to answer. "Jesus f.u.c.k, Holt. It takes an act of G.o.d to get you on the phone."

"Alec got your message, but I've been covered over." He sat up, careful to keep his voice low. "What's going on?"

"Covered over and then some. What the h.e.l.l did you stir up? My head's gonna split open from all the visions of terror and chaos I'm getting nailed with thanks to you."

The hair on the back of his neck rose, and his lips felt numb as he murmured, "Care to explain, Dade?"

"Started two days ago. Who the f.u.c.k did you p.i.s.s off, Jackson? I'm talking serious damage. Everyone you ever knew is going to die if you don't stop doing whatever you're doing. I mean everyone. That hot-a.s.s chick who bought Mahalia's, your cute little a.s.sistant, her cousin, your partner, your G.o.d d.a.m.n parents-"

"What the f.u.c.k?" His heart shuddered to a halt before resuming its furious pounding. Nick, Alec, Kat, his family... "f.u.c.king h.e.l.l. Christ. Okay. What's happening? What have you seen?"

He felt the bed s.h.i.+ft behind him even as Wesley continued, "I don't know, man. Magic. Unholy wrath of G.o.d, smite the wicked magic. Maybe not rain of fire or locusts in the streets, just this knowledge. Something's coming for them. It's big and bad and scary, and it wants you to hurt."

"Yeah, it does." He slid out from under the covers and grabbed his pants. "How soon?"

"Couple days at the most. Maybe not even that. Listen, man, you should get the f.u.c.k out of town."