Mackenzie Legacy, The (2 page)

“Sorry,” his breath was warm in her ear, “We should get a room tonight so I can shave.”

She turned to kiss his cheek with an apologetic smile, “I didn’t say I minded.”

“We need to clear out of here today anyway, and I wouldn’t mind sleeping in a real bed tonight.”

She bit her lip, tempted. They’d been at this primitive campsite for nearly a week, and she was growing weary of washing in a basin of water. Her hair and clothes smelled like smoke. She knew they should save their money, but she had to admit she yearned for a long hot shower. She heaved a breath, afraid she’d gotten spoiled. She was starting to realize that her dreams of returning to live in her little house in the woods might not be entirely realistic.

“We should camp for a few more nights,” she said resolutely.

“Let’s head back to the beach then.” He snuggled a little closer. “It’s too cold up here.”

“Okay,” she nodded, imagining a refreshing dip in the salty sea.

Calvin had introduced her to the seaside, and once she’d gotten her toes into the warm sand she was smitten. They’d spent days playing in the surf and building elaborate sand castles like children, oblivious to anything but each other. Calvin could have stayed like that forever, lying on the beach and looking into Cali’s eyes, blue and green as the ever-changing ocean.

If only you could live on love.

“I’m starving,” he said. “Let’s pack up and go get some breakfast.”

“We should finish what we have,” she said firmly. “I’ll cook some marshmallows.”

He laughed, “You can’t have marshmallows for breakfast.”

She twisted around to roll her lovely eyes at him, “Is there some kind of rule against that too?”

Caledonia was amused by all of Calvin’s preconceived ideas about food. They’d stop at a roadside diner and he’d watch in horror as she squeezed ketchup on her pancakes or dipped her bacon into grape jelly. She was never afraid to try anything new, and she went out of her way to experiment with flavor combinations.

Sometimes he’d look into her laughing eyes and swear that she was doing it just to shock him. Truthfully, she couldn’t resist teasing him, watching his colors change when he realized she was messing with him. She’d often goad him to the point where he grabbed her and tickled her mercilessly, making her laugh more than she had in her entire life.

Calvin saw Caledonia transform right before his eyes, gradually becoming a far cry from the sad girl he’d first noticed at school. She’d be serious one moment, and then playful as a kitten the next; she was quick to laugh, and even quicker to learn, soaking up information about the world like a sponge.

Calvin had changed too, going from a reckless, thoughtless boy to a determined young man with a singular mission in life– to keep her by his side. He was clear-eyed and focused, his purpose laid out before him as plain as day.

Sometimes he’d look over at her and wonder how he ended up with the most amazing girl in the world, surprised by how different his life was, amazed at how fast she’d become the center of his universe.

The sound of the park ranger’s truck rolling by reminded them that it was time to move on.

“You break down the tent and I’ll make something to eat,” she said, giving him another quick peck on the cheek and ignoring his groans as she stooped to rummage in their tiny cooler.

After a surprisingly good breakfast of toasted marshmallows and peanut butter on crackers, they packed up and headed back out onto the road. They weren’t sure where they were going, but they were prepared for a long day of traveling. Calvin started up the bike and waited for her to climb on, anticipating the familiar way her body felt pressing into the length of his back. They rode out of the forest at an easy pace, heading out onto their next adventure.

The two Cals had been thrown together by fate, united by curiosity, and forced to run by circumstance, but now they were bound together by pure true love.

And neither one of them had ever been happier.

~

Chapter Two

LAYLA AND MICHAEL

~

Sprawled sideways across her king-sized bed, Layla was lost in a book on another bright Southern California day. She came to the end of a chapter and paused, listening to the faint strains of high-pitched laughter drifting up from outside the window. She stretched and crawled onto her knees to pull the drapes aside and look down at the vast flagstone terrace beneath her window. Impossibly blue water winked at her so brightly that the glare hurt her eyes.

Michael was reclining in a lounge chair by the poolside, his mirrored glasses flashing even brighter than the water. He was flanked by two giggling girls spilling out of tiny bikinis, puffing away on cigarettes and tossing their hair flirtatiously. The three of them held tall frosty drinks, and
Layla
could see by their colors that they were all relaxed and jovial. It looked like Michael was drunk again.

She frowned, worried about her brother. He’d taken to life with Max and his crew eagerly, and whenever she tried to warn him about the big man’s vicious nature he just laughed it off.

“He’s only using you. He’s going to turn on you sometime,” she warned him, “just like he did Teddy.”

“Teddy was the one who was using us,” Michael reminded her. “All he ever cared about was his stupid experiments. At least Max lets us have a good time.”

There was no use speaking out against the big thug, because Michael had never been happier. Max had laid his groundwork well, playing on her brother’s feelings of inadequacy, flattering him and throwing plenty of girls in his path. The two of them were working with Max now, Michael informed her, whether she liked it or not.

She hated it.

The pair had been moved to a large house in the hills above Los Angeles, a tiled Spanish style mansion surrounded by a lavish gated estate. It was every bit as much a prison for Layla as Professor Reed’s ever was, only Max’s crew had all been warned about her peculiar talents, so no one in the entire place would even look her in the eyes.

Feeling lonely, she got up to go check on her brother. The girls with him looked away nervously when she approached, stiffening in their seats. Obviously, they’d been ordered to keep away from her too. Was everyone afraid of her now? She took a seat at a nearby table.

“Hey Layla, wanna margarita?” Michael called over to her, sitting up and sloshing a little of the drink onto his towel.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Layla asked.

“Oh, lighten up,” he slurred a little.

She came over to scowl down at him, “You’re getting sunburned.”

“I’m getting tanned.” He held up his freckled arm. “You could use a little sun yourself.”

She sighed, “I miss the city. I don’t like it here.”

“What’s not to like?” he laughed, gesturing towards the sparkling pool.

Layla glanced over her shoulder at the locked gate leading out to the circular driveway, “Living with Max for one.”

“Can you ladies give us a minute?” Michael asked the girls. “Hey… Bring me another one… ” he waved his glass at them, watching their butts as they walked away. He turned back to Layla with a silly smile on his face. “I love it here.”

She scowled at him, “I miss our tutors. I want to go to a real school.”

Michael smirked up at her impishly. “Don’t be mad at me… Just because you don’t like to have any fun.”

“I don’t consider robbing people fun,” she was indignant.

“You didn’t seem to mind doing it for Teddy.”

“That was different… Those people… They didn’t seem so… so… pathetic.”

She remembered how Cali had called their work for Teddy stealing, and she was right. Caledonia had seen immediately that what they were doing was wrong, and Layla flushed a deep blue with shame at the thought. From the first moment Cali had come into their lives it was like a veil had been lifted, and Layla began to see everything clearly for the first time.

She sat down on the end of his chaise and gathered herself, pushing back her annoyance. “Michael… Listen to me… I want to leave here–”

“And go where? Back to Teddy?” he asked sarcastically.

“Will you please take off your glasses and talk to me?” she pleaded with him.

“Why? Are you gonna try to work it on me? Convince me that I’m not happier than I’ve ever been? I like it here, and Max appreciates me! He says the professor made me just as special as you– Only my genius is numbers.” He smiled to himself at the thought.

“Can’t you see that what we’re doing is wrong?” She shuddered at the memory of the last person she’d been tasked with breaking, fully aware that it was no longer a victimless crime. Layla’s eyes filled with tears. No one here would even look her in the eye, and now her brother– her only friend– didn’t even trust her.

“Michael… Please… I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Oh come on,” he sounded condescending. “You have to admit this place is a lot more fun. We can actually have friends now!”

“These people are not your friends. They’re only nice to you because of the money,” she said in a low voice.

“Max says that money makes the world go around,” he replied flippantly. Lately Michael had been hanging on every word Max said. He’d even started dressing like him, wearing gold chains and sporting a ridiculous diamond pinky ring.

“Don’t you ever feel bad about it? Stealing for him?”

“No, and you shouldn’t either. It beats doing it for Teddy.”

She sighed wistfully, “I wonder what he’s doing. We didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye...”

“More like good riddance! He never really cared about us… We were only a science experiment to him.”

“Michael… Please look at me… Please listen.”

“No way,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to let you work your voodoo on me. Max said you would try this.”

The girls came back with Michael’s drink, skirting around Layla to hand it to him. They stood skittishly in an anxious chartreuse mist, unwilling to sit back down while she was there. Layla looked over at the tall locked gate leading out to the circular driveway.

“Michael–” her voice cracked.

“Why don’t you just go chill out and read a book?” he snapped.

A wave of purple misery washed over her as she jumped up, running back to the sanctuary of her room so they couldn’t see her cry. She threw herself on the bed in frustration, trying to think of what she should do next. As much as she hated being there, the thought of striking out on her own was daunting.

Cali would be brave enough to run away by herself, she thought, remembering how she had resisted both Teddy and Max to make a dangerous escape out of a fourth floor window. Layla had no idea what she’d do if she could slip away from the watchful eyes of Max’s security cameras. She’d managed to smuggle a letter out to Teddy, but she never heard back from him, and the thought of returning to that cloistered existence without Michael for company held little appeal.

She was feeling more trapped than ever when there was a knock on the door.

She sat up, wiping her eyes, “Michael?”

The door swung open to reveal Max, wearing mirrored glasses. His massive hulk filled the doorframe, and he seemed even more menacing than ever. Layla scrambled to her feet and backed away a few steps, the blow she’d received from him still fresh in her mind.

“What do you want?” She tried to sound braver than she was feeling.

He strutted into her room, “Michael tells me that you aren’t happy with our little arrangement.”

She took a few more steps back, folding her arms protectively across her chest. “I want to go home.”

He smiled, but his eyes were cold. “This is your home. Don’t you like my beautiful house?” The words he spoke were at odds with the threatening lime green he was radiating.
 

“I’m… I only…” She took another step back.

“Haven’t I been generous with you?”

“Ye-yes,” she stammered.

Max walked over to window and looked out. “Your brother is having the time of his life,” he chuckled. “He’s doing great, isn’t he? It would be a real shame if anything were to happen to him. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for making him unhappy… Would you?”

“No,” she whispered, her mouth suddenly dry.

“He’s a smart kid,” he laughed again without mirth. “I’ve seen accountants with years of experience that couldn’t transfer funds as clean as him… It would break my heart if you hurt him… Do you understand?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

He walked out of her room slowly, stopping at her dresser to adjust his collar in the mirror. He picked up her comb and ran it through his hair as if to point out how easily he could invade her territory. He was making it clear that he controlled her, and there was none of the paternal pride that she was used to from Teddy. All she saw was menace and veiled threats of violence.

Violence that she knew for certain he was capable of.

“I’ll have some of the girls take you out shopping,” he said, licking his sausage fingers and smoothing them across his eyebrows. He chuckled, “You ladies always feel better after you buy yourselves something nice.”

Her knees started shaking, and she watched with big eyes as he strutted out of her bedroom. When the door clicked shut she fumbled for the edge of the bed, sitting down. She picked up her book, reading the same page over and over without comprehension, unable to focus. When her tears started to stain the pages she snapped the book shut.

She wiped her eyes and opened her new computer, clicking open the familiar pages. Max could care less about restricting their internet service, and she’d memorized every last detail about Project Athena. She reached up to touch her mother’s image on the screen, yearning for some sort of comfort.

Someone started up some music at the poolside and Layla rose to see that several more people had joined the party. Someone threw a girl into the pool and they all laughed, clouds of peachy merriment rising into the air above them.

She hugged herself, freezing cold in spite of the warm sunny day outside.