Mackenzie Legacy, The (13 page)

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Chapter Fifteen

RUNAWAY

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Layla strolled through the store, pausing to look at an array of exotic leather handbags. She took her time pretending to inspect display case after display case of jewelry, keeping one eye on the tall blonde man in mirrored glasses that trailed behind her at a polite distance. Max made no bones about the fact he was keeping her on a short leash, claiming he needed to protect her from his enemies. Michael may have bought the act, but Layla knew better. She could see the menace behind Max’s every gesture.

She approached a saleswoman with a pleasant smile. “Excuse me miss… I need to return something.”

Layla placed her large luxury bag on the counter, strategically blocking her keeper’s view. She reached a manicured hand in to pull out an expensive necklace still nestled in its velvet case.

“Is there a problem with it?” the woman asked, inspecting the receipt. She looked up to see an attractive young girl with a glorious cloud of red hair cascading down the back of her green silk dress.

“Not at all,” Layla smiled brighter, radiating warmth and reassurance. “I simply changed my mind.”

The woman returned her smile, reflecting back the confident warm gold she’d just received. “Certainly. If you give me your credit card I’ll reverse the charges.”

Layla smiled warmly, leaning in to speak intimately, “Can you please give me cash for it? I’m meeting the girls for lunch, and you’ll save me a trip to the bank…”

The saleswoman’s eyes darted over to her superior, “I’m not really supposed to refund this large of an amount…” she looked back up at Layla, “But I suppose it won’t hurt just this once.”

“I’ll take that in hundred dollar bills,” Layla advised her.

As soon as the woman counted out the cash on the counter, Layla quickly tucked it into her bag. “Where are the dressing rooms?”

She made a show of picking up an armload of random dresses on the way over, pointing to the lounge area that was set up just outside the plush mirrored rooms.

“You might as well sit down while you wait,” she told her thick-necked guard. “I may be awhile.”

When she was finally alone inside the dressing room she kicked off her shoes and fell back onto the cushioned bench with a sigh. She rubbed her aching temples, finally sitting up to reach for her bag. She took out the cash, counting it out on the bench and reaching back into the purse to peel up the silk lining. Hidden deep inside were several more stacks of bills bound with rubber bands.

She took them out one by one, adding the cash from the necklace and ritually arranging them in a row on the bench. Just looking at the multiple reflections of the money soothed her, and she put the stacks back in the bag slowly, comforted by the stash she was accumulating.

“Psst... Layla…”

Her head snapped up to see Caledonia looking down at her from over the dressing room partition.

“Cali!” she gasped, a rush of adrenalin coursing through her body.

Caledonia put her finger to her lips, looking nervously to the entrance of the dressing room where Layla’s irritable guard sat waiting.

Layla nodded vehemently, overjoyed. Cali swung her leg over the wall and sprang, catlike, over the barrier to land lightly on the carpeted floor. Their eyes met in a delighted smile, and Layla clamped onto her in a desperate embrace. “It’s so good to see you!”

They parted, still clutching each other’s hands tightly, their multiple colors blending in the air between them. Layla could see Cali’s happiness and urgency; Cali could see Layla’s desperation and relief. They each fought the impulse to laugh out loud, because they both knew they had no secrets from one another.

“Where’s Michael?” Cali asked in a low voice.

“He’s with Max,” Layla frowned. “He likes it here, but I hate it… They won’t let me go anywhere alone…” her eyes flooded with tears. This was the break she’d been praying for, and her heart started hammering in her chest, her eyes wide with hope and fear. “Will you take me with you? Please? I have money… I can pay–”

Cali nodded, not surprised at all. “Of course. That’s what I came for.”

~

Layla’s bodyguard was simmering with resentment, pacing outside the ladies dressing room. He felt like a fool, waiting around for the spoiled little brat like some rich woman’s bitch. No-one that worked for Max liked doing Layla duty, least of all him. He felt like he was being punished, and he racked his brain, trying to imagine what he’d done to displease the boss.

He cracked his knuckles, picking at his fingernails with boredom. All at once a pretty blonde appeared before him, holding a man’s suit. “I was wondering if you could do me a huuuge favor… Would you try this on for me? You’re about as tall as my brother…” She looked him up and down with an admiring smile, “But you’re a lot bigger! Do you work out?”

He couldn’t help flexing his biceps proudly. “Sorry sweetheart, but I’m waiting for someone.”

“Pleeease?” she said, cocking her head flirtatiously. “It’ll only take a minute…”

He lifted his mirrored glasses to get a better look at her, sealing his fate.

~

Layla waited in the dressing room, shaking with relief and excitement when Caledonia popped her head back into the door. “Come on,” she said, “Follow me.”

Calvin sat with the truck idling, watching anxiously for Caledonia. She burst out of the store, a redheaded girl in tow, and he watched as they piled into the truck, full of nervous laughter.

Cali introduced them as they pulled out of the shopping center and onto the busy city streets, “Calvin, this is Layla… Layla, Calvin.”

“You can call me Cal,” he said, nodding hastily. He watched the rear-view mirror closely as he drove, extra cautious to make certain that they weren’t being followed.

Layla found it hard not to stare at him, taking in his chiseled cheekbones, beautiful dark eyes and tattoos. He was handsome in a dangerous sort of way, and when he reached down to squeeze Caledonia’s hand for reassurance, she could feel the current of emotion flowing between them. She remembered how desperately Cali had fought to get back to him; now everything made perfect sense.

They took a twisting, turning route to their hotel while Cali explained to Layla how they’d been staking out the house for the past few days, waiting for a chance to talk to her or Michael alone. When Cali saw Max coming and going with an aura of such arrogant authority it wasn’t too hard to figure out who was in charge.

“But why?” Layla wondered aloud, scarcely able to believe her luck. “Why would you go to all this trouble for us?”

Cali patted her arm. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Calvin pulled up to the hotel, dropping them off at the entrance. “Go straight to the room and lock the door,” he told Cali, planting a kiss on her cheek. “I’m gonna make sure no-one followed us.”

Layla’s phone started ringing in her purse before they even reached the room, and she fished it out and immediately switched it off. Once they were safely locked away, Cali sat Layla down and told her everything she’d discovered about their parents, describing the terrible coincidence in detail, watching as the realization dawned in Layla’s eyes.

“My God…” she gasped. “We’re cousins!” She laughed, shocked and nervous and giddy with joy, “I should have known… I mean, it just seems so obvious now. I’m surprised Teddy didn’t even consider it!”

“The professor,” Caledonia said acidly, “Only ever saw what he wanted to see.”

“Wow. He must have been devastated when you told him,” Layla said.

“He’s lucky he’s still alive,” Caledonia replied coldly.

Layla shrugged apologetically. “I know.” She understood why Cali hated the man who’d done nothing but cause her grief, but he was the only parent Layla had ever known, and she couldn’t help feeling conflicted.

“What about your brother?” Cali asked, thinking Layla’s sympathy was wasted on a monster. “I don’t understand… Why on earth would Michael want to stay with Max?”

Layla explained how Michael was in charge of moving money around for Max, and how for the first time in his life he felt like he was important. The fact that Max kept throwing women in Michael’s path only made matters worse, clouding his judgment and giving him a false sense of power. Layla’s voice caught in her throat when she described how Max had turned him against her.

“That’s terrible,” Cali sympathized, “But there’s so much he needs to know… We have an inheritance… I mean, besides seeing the colors. There’s some land– a lot of land. The land I grew up on. We all own it now, and we should tell him.”

Layla nodded, pulling out her phone. “I’ll put him on speaker,” she said.

Michael answered right away, and he sounded angry, “Layla! Layla? Where the hell are you?”

“I’m with Cali,” she said.

“What?!” he yelled into the phone, “You need to get back here right now… Max is freaking out!”

“Max can go to hell! Listen– Cali found out more about our mother…” Caledonia listened as Layla tried to tell him the story, starting with the terrible fire that orphaned their parents, as well as the fact that the three of them had inherited land from the family’s estate.

“It sounds pretty far-fetched,” he said. “How do you know she’s not making the whole thing up?”

“She’s taking me there right now… Why don’t you come with us and see for yourself?”

He sounded angry, “No way! Come back here and we’ll talk about it.”

Layla shook her head no, her eyes telling Cali that she no longer trusted her brother.

“I’ll call you later,” she told him, turning off the phone and putting it away. She looked up at Cali with tears in her eyes, “See what I mean? He doesn’t even believe me.”

Caledonia nodded, “Maybe he just needs some time to think about it… We can try again in a few days.”

Layla wiped her eyes defiantly. “I don’t care! If he wants to stay there he can… I’m never setting foot in that house again.” She smiled, excited about the prospect of taking a road trip with Cal and Cali, “I want to go see where my mother came from.”

“Are you sure? What about your things?” Caledonia asked.

Layla was overjoyed to be out from under Max’s thumb, and she wasn’t about to take any chances. “I’ll get new things,” she said firmly.

That night, Calvin spent the evening watching television from the chair in the room while the two girls sat crossed legged on the bed, engrossed in conversation. Layla told Cali all of the sordid details of what Max had been up to, and Cali told Layla about her vagabond summer, and how they had stumbled into gambling. They compared notes about how they used their synesthesia, both of them delighted at having someone who truly understood.

Calvin listened, trying not to be jealous. The two girls used language that made him feel stupid in comparison, and all of his hidden insecurities came rushing to the surface. He was used to having Cali all to himself, and as much as he realized he was being silly, he found himself a little resentful of their new guest.

“If we go to the same college, we could be roommates!” Layla enthused.

Caledonia looked over to see Calvin watching them nervously. “We’ll see… Let’s worry about getting out of town first.”

They ate their dinner in the room, and when it came time to turn in for the night, Calvin offered to sleep on the couch.

“Are you sure?” Layla asked, batting her eyelashes at him. She could see he was not very happy about the arrangement, but she’d never slept on a couch a day in her life, and she wasn’t about to start.

Cali handed Layla some clothes to sleep in, and left to go brush her teeth alongside Calvin in the bathroom. She came up behind him, whispering in his ear, “Thank you.”

He turned around to hug her with a sigh of relief, pressing his cheek to hers. At least the hard part was over, and they’d retrieved one of her cousins without having to engage Max. He bent down to kiss her softly, then more passionately, wondering what she would do if he picked her up and ravaged her on the bathroom counter.

Her eyes flew open. “Calvin!”

He laughed at how easily she could read him, bending down to murmur in her ear, “Tomorrow night, we’re getting two rooms.”

~

Max barged through the door, startling Michael and his latest girlfriend as they reclined in bed.

“Get out,” he told the girl, waiting at the doorway while she gathered her clothes and scurried from the room.

“She called you? Did you know she was going to run?” Max’s face was red.

Michael sat up, pulling on his pajama bottoms. He adopted a placating tone, “We both knew she was unhappy…”

“You let her go…” It was an accusation.

“It’s not like she was a prisoner or anything…” he smiled expectantly. “Err…right?”

Max walked further into the room, a threat in every step.

“You. Stupid. Punk. All you needed to do was keep her in line and you couldn’t even manage that… Could you?” He advanced on Michael with clenched fists.

“Come on Max…” Michael’s voice trailed off, and he took a step back. “We can get by without her…”

Max lunged, his beefy fist connecting hard with Michaels’s face, snapping his jaws together. The boy spun around, blood metallic on his tongue, flashes of light shooting across his field of vision. The last thing he saw that night was the floral pattern on the carpeting, rushing up to meet him.