The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1) (26 page)

“So much blood,” she murmured, feeling
light headed herself. “Makenna, call someone! Call 9-1-1. He’s lost so much
blood!” She put her hands to his chest, trying to stop the flow from seeping
between her fingers. She cried out helplessly when it kept coming, squirting
out with each pump of his heart.

“Don’t die!” she begged. “Please don’t
die! I-I need you to take care of me! I thought we could- I wanted to - please,
don’t die on me!” She sobbed as she sagged into his chest, blood and all. She
pressed a kiss onto his lips, even though he was unaware of her efforts to save
him.

In the distance they could hear sirens.
With Makenna’s help, the two sisters dragged Travis away from the wall, until
he was lying on his back. Together they pressed their hands against his chest,
trying to slow the blood flow. The moment Hardin had Foto immobilized and
handcuffed to a chair, he wheeled around and assisted the women, frantically
begging his partner to hold on, even as the police and the paramedics burst
through the door.

Within minutes they had Travis on the
gurney, pumping fluids into his prone form, and then they were whisking him off
to the hospital, with his friends in close pursuit.

They had been in the private waiting
room for over an hour. Kenzie alternated between pacing clumsily around the
room and sitting with her foot propped up on the small coffee table. She hadn’t
complained, but her leg was hurting terribly now, after being forced to bear
weight when Foto dragged her across the room. She needed a painkiller, but she
wanted to be awake and fully alert when they got news about Travis.

He was already in surgery when they
arrived, and they were still working on him. No vital organs had been damaged,
but he had lost a lot of blood and the cut was deep, requiring extensive
repair.

Hardin and Makenna sat huddled together
on the sofa, awaiting word on his friend. A few fellow Rangers and police
officers drifted in and out, some there in an official capacity, others there
simply out of concern. Ray Foto was also in the emergency room, being treated
for a broken wrist, torn Achilles and a punctured lung. He was under heavy
police guard and had no chance of escape. That fact, at least, gave some
comfort to the twin sisters and all who cared about them. 

Makenna’s parents came as soon as they
heard the news, and now Madeline Reagan was serving coffee and a tin of
homemade cookies to the worried group in the waiting room.

“Hey, Kaczmarek,” one of the other
Rangers called from across the room. He was helping himself to a cookie,
wearing a big grin. “I think Mrs. Reagan’s going to give your mom a run for her
money on who gets to be Den Mom,” he joked.

“There’s always room for another,” Hardin
smiled, winking at Makenna’s mom. He pulled Makenna closer to him, savoring the
feel of her against his side. When he looked down at her, he spoke so that only
she could hear. “You know, in about ten minutes my family is going to burst
through that door, and things are going to get a little crazy.”

“How so?”

“No telling who all is coming. My
parents for sure, probably my sister Meagan. Definitely my little sister Anna.
She’s had a not-so-secret crush on Merka for a couple of years, even though she
has a steady boyfriend. Merka doesn’t have a lot of family of his own, so mine
has sort of adopted him.”

“Like my family did Kenzie?” she asked,
looking over at where her father was helping Kenzie get comfortable in a corner
chair.

“Exactly. So with the stress of worrying
about Merka, and the added excitement of getting to finally meet you, things
will probably be a little loud and boisterous. I told you that my family can be
pretty overwhelming and in-your-face. Just giving you a heads up.” He brushed
his lips against her hair as he spoke.

“They know about me?” she asked with a
pleased smile, pulling slightly away so she could see him better.

“Of course. My mom’s already trying to
figure out how to get all the letters on the family quilt.”

Makenna frowned, completely baffled.
“What are you talking about?”

“Whenever someone new comes into the
family, either by birth or marriage, my mom embroideries their name on a square
of this big huge family quilt she made. You’re going to present quite a
challenge with all those letters. She’s been worrying over it for days.”

He spoke nonchalantly, almost comically,
but Makenna saw the glimmer in his blue eyes. It looked a little like nerves.
Tucked so closely beside him, she could feel the sudden tension in his body,
could detect the breath that hitched in his chest. Her own heart began to
hammer as the implication of his words sank in. She stared into his face,
watching it melt with tenderness as he gazed down at her.

“What are you saying?” she whispered,
clutching his hand she held. “Wh-What letters?”

“I’m saying I love you.” He scooped her
cheek into the palm of his hand and whispered the words that only she could
hear. “I don’t care if you call yourself Kenzie or Makenna or Lula Belle. But
my mom’s having a heck of a time trying to get all sixteen letters of ‘Makenna
Kaczmarek’ to fit onto one square.” His blue eyes twinkled as he couldn’t help
but tease, “Don’t be surprised if she doesn’t ask you to shorten your name to
Mac so that it fits better.”

“Ma-Makenna K-Kaczmarek?” she squeaked.
It already sounded perfect together.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of these
modern women who expects me to change
my
name after we get married, are
you?” His lips grazed her temple. “My mom would have to re-stitch my square to
say ‘Hardin Reagan’, and that just doesn’t sound right.”

“Married?” The word came out breathless.
Hopeful. Full of awe.

He pretended to fret. “Too soon?” he
sighed, repeating his words of two weeks ago. “I told you, I don’t believe in
half-way. I want marriage, children, the whole forever thing. And even though
he’s concerned that we haven’t known each other very long, your father has
already given me permission to propose.”

As Hardin moved his face alongside hers,
not quite touching, teasing her with his nearness, Makenna’s gaze flew to her
father. He caught her eye across the room, glanced at the man nuzzling her
side, and gave a slight nod of approval. Makenna sent him a wavering smile
before she closed her eyes, losing herself to the words Hardin continued to
whisper in her ear.

“So that’s what I’m doing,” he said,
grazing her cheek with his trim beard. It tickled, but the shiver running
through her was one of anticipation. Sheer delight quivered along her skin. He
nestled closer, kissing her jaw. “I was planning a nice romantic dinner,
candlelight, a ring,” he admitted, nibbling on her ear lobe. “I didn’t plan on
doing it in a crowded hospital while I waited for word on my best friend’s
recovery. But in about five minutes, maybe less now, my family’s going to burst
in here, and all hell’s gonna break loose.” His mouth moved along her cheek,
edging closer to her mouth. “And I really need to know. Makenna Reagan, will
you marry me?”

“Yes.” She breathed the word into him,
pushing it into his soul, as he finally claimed her mouth with his. They were
oblivious to the people around them as they deepened the kiss, lost in the
wonders of love and joy and a future together.

Kenzie’s voice finally penetrated the
fog of euphoria that shrouded them. “Knock it off, you two. Here comes the
doctor, and he’s smiling.” She was already up and balanced on her crutches,
eager to hear what the doctor had to say.

“He’s smiling,” Hardin said, his mouth
still against Makenna’s. “That means it’s good news. Everything’s going to work
out.”

Too overwhelmed to speak, Makenna could
only nod.

“Everything is right in the kingdom.” As
he kissed her once more, she could feel the smile upon his lips. “Foto has been
caught, Merka’s going to recover, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life
with you. I feel like a king.”

She finally found her voice. “A king
among men,” she murmured with a smile.

They got to their feet, joining the
circle gathering round the doctor. As they pressed close to hear the report,
Makenna slipped her hand into Hardin’s and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“In case I forgot to say it earlier, I
love you, Hardin Kaczmarek. And I can’t wait to be your queen.”

Alight with pleasure, his blue eyes
sparkled royalty.

I hope
you enjoyed reading “The Girl from Her Mirror”. Did you know the waterfall on
the cover is my personal photo of Sabbaday Falls?

I would
love to hear your opinion of this book, and welcome your comments and
suggestions. Contact me personally at
[email protected]
,
 
www.facebook.com/beckiwillis.ccp
or
http://www.beckiwillis.com
.

If you
could also take a moment to leave a brief review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, it
helps other readers know if this story is right for them.

Thank
you for allowing me to entertain you through the pages of my imagination. Happy
reading!

Chapter One

Worry lines scattered from the edges of
her wide green eyes.

A line for each of the lives I was
forced to lead
,
Kenzie Reese thought ruefully as she inspected the image in her mirror.
Amy.
Jessica. Lisa. Felicity. Shannon.
The list went on, and so did the worry
lines.

Only twenty-six, but the lives and the
lines had blurred long ago; she lost count of the many towns where she had
lived, forgotten some of her aliases, had never known her real name, in fact,
until recently.

Stop it,
she told herself
sternly. Tonight, she was not going to think about the past. She was going to
forget that her father was a criminal, wanted by both the FBI and the mafia.
She was going to forget that his clandestine lifestyle had put her own life in
danger. She was going to forget the lies and the secrets and the parade of
changes that constituted her entire life. She hated change, after all.

Tonight, she was going out for the first
time in over five weeks, and she was going to have fun. She just hoped she
still remembered what it felt like.

Kenzie studied her reflection. If she
ignored the worry lines and the bulky blue and white air cast circling her left
leg, she could pass for elegant. The royal blue silk hugged her upper body
before gathering in flattering folds around curvy hips. The sweetheart neckline
offered a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage, highlighted by the twinkle of tiny
diamonds and sapphires strung along a simple white gold chain. Normally, she
would wear her strappy silver heels with the waltz length dress, but tonight
there was a single black pump paired with the cast. At least it explained her
awkward and uneven gait.

With a sigh, Kenzie started to pivot
away, but an old habit stopped her mid-turn. She placed her palm against the
mirror. It was a game she often played as a child, talking to the girl from the
other side. All too often, that girl had been her only friend. And each time
her family moved, she would stand in front of her mirror and say her goodbyes,
tucking away the memory of the girl she was leaving behind; moving meant a new
identity, a new life, a new slivered piece of her soul. 

She usually played the old game with a
solemn face and a heavy heart.

But today a smile stole across her face.
The sudden sparkle in her eyes chased away the worry lines and a glow tinted
her cheeks. A delighted giggle flavored her words as she said aloud, “Mirror,
mirror, on her wall. She has a sister, after all!”

Makenna Reagan appeared as if on cue.
“Did someone call me?” Her eyes held the same merry green twinkle.

Makenna stepped up behind her sister and
smiled at their double reflection. There were a handful of differences, yet the
images were amazingly alike. Makenna stood an inch taller and a few pounds
heavier, but the curvy silhouette was the same. Dark auburn hair hung loose
around her shoulders, whereas Kenzie’s black locks dangled from a fashionably
messy up-sweep. One wore silk, the other denim, but the clothes were
inner-changeable. Both images shared the same heart shaped face and large green
eyes.

“Remember that day we first saw each
other?” Kenzie murmured. “I walked up to the mirror in the bathroom, and there
I stood, wearing the wrong hair and the wrong clothes!” On
the
first day of college in Texas, she met her true and forever friend over the row
of sinks, a kindred spirit named Makenna Reagan.

“I bet the expressions on our faces were
priceless to anyone watching,” Makenna mused. “We both put our palms up to
touch, just like you were doing when I walked in. It was like a living mirror.”

Kenzie’s grin turned rueful. “Too bad it
took us eight years to figure out we were actually sisters. Twins, at that!”

Makenna squeezed her shoulders, careful
not to muss her hair. “The important thing is, we know now. In our hearts, we
were always sisters, even when we didn’t know there was a blood connection.”

“But how did we miss it? On some level,
deep down, shouldn’t we have known we were sisters? We know exactly what the
other is thinking, for heaven’s sake. We can finish the other one’s sentence,
answer a question that was never asked.”

“How could we have known? My parents
adopted an abandoned three year old; your parents never told you that you had a
sister.”

Refusing to get bogged down in the anger
that surrounded that fact, Kenzie ignored all thoughts of her parents. “All
this time, I just assumed we were mind readers, both of us naturally brilliant
and uncommonly in-tune to those nearest us,” Kenzie said with exaggerated
innocence.

“And don’t forget endearingly modest.”

Identical grins beamed through the
mirror.

“So what am I thinking right now?”
Makenna challenged her sister.

Kenzie flashed a cheeky grin. “How
gorgeous you think I look, but to say so would be like bragging on yourself, so
you’ll just say nothing at all.”

Because she had pegged her thoughts exactly,
Makenna laughed. “Actually, the cast makes all the difference, so I can go
ahead and say it. You look absolutely beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you, sister dear. It’s not
exactly the way I planned to make my debut back into the public, but at least
with it being a hospital event, the cast won’t be too out of place.” Her date
tonight was with the cute intern she met when she broke her leg; they were
attending a fundraiser for a new orthopedic wing.

 “Who knows, you might start a new
trend, theme-dressing for an event!” Makenna quipped. “Oh, there’s the
doorbell. Guess your date is anxious to get the night started.”

“Would you mind answering? I still need
to put on lipstick.”

As Kenzie applied a glaze of red to her
lips, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Normally the life of any
party, this hesitance was something new; another change she had to deal with.
Her entire life had been a series of changes, but the ones that had taken place
over the past five weeks still had her reeling.

As a whole, her life had been going
smoothly for the last several years. In retrospect, Kenzie realized that was
the first sign that something was about to change; her life had never been that
happy before, that smooth. She had a great career as a photojournalist for
Now
Magazine,
she had good friends and an adopted family through Makenna, and
she had not seen her own nomadic parents in eight years. Life was good. She
finally had roots.

And then, five weeks ago, just before
leaving for assignment in New Hampshire, she was in a three-car pileup and her
entire life had changed forever. Again.

She conned her best friend into
impersonating her on the trip, never knowing her impulsive scheme would turn
both their lives upside down. By the time it all played out, both women had almost
been kidnapped, she discovered her father was a criminal, the Texas Rangers and
FBI had been called in, and, most incredibly of all, she found out that Makenna
was her twin sister. Even for Kenzie, the unfurled chain of events had been
bizarre.

With a final glance into the mirror,
Kenzie tucked a stray curl back into place. She felt the tension move along her
shoulders, but she ignored the telltale sign. She hated that unsettled feeling,
the one that always came with change. It crept into her body and tightened her
nerves, setting them on edge. The officials said she was safe, but instinct
told her there was more yet to come. She could feel it in her soul.

Added to her rusty social skills and her
less-than-glamorous appearance, this evening was getting off to a rough start.
Maybe if she held her head high and put an extra swing in her hips, no one
would notice…

Kenzie rounded the bedroom door,
expecting to see the doctor. She did not expect to see the Texas Ranger, but
there he was, all six feet, four inches of the man. He was talking to Makenna
and a rare smile lifted the corners of his full mouth. Kenzie’s breath suddenly
tangled in her lungs and had trouble squeezing its out way.    

It was the first time she had seen him
out of uniform, yet there was little difference. Instead of khaki, his long
legs spanned an impressive length of starched dark denim. The tie was absent
and rather than standard white, his pressed western shirt was cream colored.
Yet even without the iconic silver star pinned to his chest, he had the sharp,
commanding look of a lawman.

The familiar cowboy hat and boots were
in place, pulling Kenzie’s eye the full length of him. Her eyes raced over him
greedily and a strange pain invaded her heart. It felt a lot like longing, a little
like panic.

The lawman looked up, and the smile on
his handsome face slowly wilted. Complete surprise stole over his features and
his jaw actually dropped. For one heartwarming, spectacular moment, Travis
Merka was rendered completely awestruck, something Kenzie instinctively knew
rarely happened. His dark gaze swept over her, brushing her with a caress.

Kenzie had scant seconds to enjoy the
look of wonderment on his face. The fleeting expression was gone almost
immediately, replaced by the familiar cool mask of professionalism. Had it not
been for the faint glow still smoldering in his brown eyes and the lingering
heat along her skin, she would think she had imagined the entire thing.

“Miss Reese.” The officer greeted her
formally, but his low voice floated along her senses, stirring up ripples of
awareness.

“Ranger.” She hated the breathlessness
that accompanied her response.

Busy staring at one other, neither saw
the smile Makenna tried to hide. “If you’ll excuse me…,” she murmured. They
never noticed when she and her fading words slipped from the room.  

After a long moment of silence, Kenzie
and Travis both spoke at once, asking the same question. “How are you?”

“Ladies first,” Travis insisted.

“I’m fine,” Kenzie assured him. She
looked down at her leg, wiggling bare toes from within the bindings of the
cast. “At least I’m free of the crutches. Another week or so, I can ditch the
cast and be good as new.” She swung her eyes up and probed the expanse of his
chest, looking for any signs of lingering injury. Her mind flashed back, once
again seeing the blood that dripped from his forehead and poured from the deep
slash across his muscled chest.

Travis did not miss the tremor of horror
that shivered through her. He reached out a long finger and lifted her chin,
forcing her to look up at him. “I’m good. Honestly.” His voice was gentler than
before, but firm enough to be convincing. “Takes more than a knife across the
chest to put me down.”

“There was also a bottle across the
head,” Kenzie reminded him. Two weeks ago, mobster Raymond Foto had
impersonated a pizza delivery boy and come to this very apartment, intent on
kidnapping Kenzie. He had surprised the Ranger stationed outside in the
hallway, cracking a bottle over his head and slashing his chest before leaving
him for dead.

“That part still stings.” He made the
admission stiffly, dropping his hand.

How could he take his life so casually?
Irritation made her voice sardonic. “Spoken like a typical male,” Kenzie
scoffed. “Your ego is more fragile than your life.”

His dark eyes glittered at her remark
and his mouth turned down in a frown. “I see your smart mouth survived the
ordeal.”

Somehow, the man always managed to rile
her. She had met him four weeks ago, when Ranger Hardin Kaczmarek brought him to
the apartment and announced that the two of them were assigned to protecting
her and her sister. During their brief acquaintance, they mostly argued and
were at odds with one another, but even Kenzie knew the real reason he
irritated her so much. There could be no fire without a spark, and Ranger Merka
set off all sorts of sparks within her. Without a doubt, he was the best
looking, sexiest man she had ever known, but her instant attraction to him
rankled her. One look into his dark soulful eyes and she was feeling all sorts
of strange and complicated feelings. She immediately put up her guard,
protecting her heart with sharp words and stinging wit.

Sparks or no sparks, Kenzie bristled at
his comment. “I’m sure you were hoping Foto’s knife would slip and cut my vocal
chords.”

His body stiffened and his words came
out sharp and menacing. “If that SOB hurt you…”

She did not expect him to react so
strongly to her mouthy retort, but his quick burst of anger was for the
mobster, not her. “He didn’t,” she was quick to assure him. 

To her surprise, his mood changed
abruptly. His next words came out slow and warm. “Heard I have you to thank for
not bleeding to death.”

She might would have blushed at being
heralded a hero, but the horror of the event was still fresh on her mind. There
had been so much blood. In her mind’s eye, she could still see the deep gash
marring the perfection of his chest. With each pump of his heart, blood gurgled
and spurted forth, soaking everything in red.

Kenzie closed her eyes and shuddered as
she recalled those awful moments. Up until she saw the blood smeared all over
him, she would have sworn she disliked the tall Texas Ranger assigned to keep
tabs on her. Faced with his imminent death, she realized her feelings for him
were very complicated and she momentarily panicked. For a few defeated moments,
she had given up hope. She fell against his chest, blood and all, and begged
him not to die. She pressed a kiss onto his lips, begging him to hold on,
whispering her hopes for a future with him. And in that brief moment of
weakness, when she let her guard down and allowed herself to be vulnerable,
Travis Merka had slipped into her heart.