Crux

Chapter 23

“That’s when we found out you and Marcus had already hightailed it out of there.” Jackson stalled by pouring cream in his coffee and reaching for another muffin. He didn’t want to burden Mackenzie with the details of what came next. “So Charles tossed Marcus’s friend into the wall and shot Steven.”

Mackenzie’s face tightened, and her hands shook as she lowered her teacup to the table. “I should have found a way to contact you. I should have found a way. It was for nothing.”

“If I’m not allowed to blame myself for dragging everyone else into this, neither are you.” He fixed her with a serious stare. “I’m not kidding, Kenzie. Stop saying it. Stop thinking it.”

She swallowed. “It’s so much pain and death over me. Because of me. I know it’s not my fault, that I didn’t ask for it—”

“No, you didn’t.” None of us did. “Steven knew he probably wasn’t going to make it out of there. He felt responsible for Charles’s actions, and he was willing to risk his life to stop him.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “So we’re going to do it for him.”

She squeezed back. “You think we can?”

I think we have to. “If we can find him.”

“We can—” She paused and tilted her head to the side. “Nick’s coming. Well, I suppose everyone’s coming, but I can hear Nick.”

Jackson looked up in time to see Nick and Alec walk through the dining room door, arguing, with Marcus close behind.

“Just admit you were pissed off about it,” Nick demanded.

“There was nothing to be pissed off about.”

“Except for the fact that Marcus had more women crawling on him, and you can’t stand that.”

“Honey, if you think I’m that insecure, you haven’t been paying attention.”

She groaned and snatched an apple from the glass bowl on the table as Alec jerked out the chair next to Mackenzie’s. “How exhausting is it, Alec, carrying around that ego?”

Alec scrubbed a hand over his face. “A lot less exhausting than listening to you bitch all the time.”

Jackson sighed. “If you two keep bickering like this, people are going to think you’re having sex.”

Alec laughed and scooted over so Marcus could slide another chair in next to his. “Only people who don’t have to watch her lovesick puppy routine around Derek.”

Nick sat beside Jackson and shrugged. “Whatever, Jacobson. You already spilled the beans. The man loves me.”

“Uh-huh. God help him.” Alec leaned forward and stole Jackson’s coffee. “So, Casanova, have we got a plan?”

“We go home. We look for him, and we get ready.” What he didn’t say, what Alec already knew, was that they wouldn’t find Charles Talbot if he wanted to hide. They couldn’t.

But he would come to them.

“What about Mahalia? Is she staying in New York?”

“Far as I know.” Mahalia didn’t particularly want to see any of them, and he didn’t blame her.

Mackenzie spoke, her tone oddly protective. “Marcus wants to go to New York. Can you arrange for him to meet with your father, Nick? Maybe he can answer some of your sister’s questions about Charles.”

She smiled. “Sure. Marcus mentioned something about it last night. I’m going to call Daddy this morning.”

Marcus nodded. “Nick thinks her father can help me talk to the Conclave about Eddie.”

“Right.” Nick twisted the stem from her apple. “I’m going to call Ronnie Coleman, too. She mediates for the Conclave, but I think she’d be interested in Eddie’s case.”

“Good.” Mackenzie squeezed Marcus’s shoulder lightly. “They can protect him, right? I mean, in case—in case anyone comes after him?”

Nick barked out a laugh. “Charles Talbot’s crazy, but he’s not crazy enough to try waltzing through the Conclave. Though we’d all be lucky if he tried it. They’d eat him alive.”

Jackson nodded. “Marcus would be a guest, entitled to every protection. They’d guard his life with theirs.”

“Good,” Mackenzie said again. “We can call you if we have questions, but you need to go and make sure Eddie’s okay.”

Jackson watched as Marcus smiled at her. “Thank you, Mackenzie. For everything.”

She shrugged and reached for her teacup. “So we’re going home. I don’t know what else to do.”

Jackson tightened his fingers around hers. “Home. We’ll figure something out.”

Mackenzie nodded. “We’ll figure something out.”

Alec finished the cup of coffee he’d stolen from Jackson and picked up a muffin. “We flying? We lost the posh private jet.”

“I could get it back,” Nick offered, “but it’d be faster to fly commercial.”

“Then that’s the plan.” Jackson eyed Marcus appraisingly. “Do you need us to make arrangements to get you to New York?”

“No, I can get there, as long as someone will let me see Eddie when I do.”

“Nick’ll take care of it.” Alec rose with his muffin in one hand and dug his cell phone out with the other. “I’m going to book a flight.”

“Business class, at least.” Nick shot him a warning look. “Don’t cheap out on us.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Alec grinned at Jackson. “I’ll be in room five-twenty. Meet me up there when y’all are done eating.”

Jackson waved a hand. “What are you going to do when we get back to New Orleans, Kenzie?”

She shrugged. “I want to figure out a way to fight, but I don’t know what to do. He’s so powerful. That magic… Is there anything he can’t do with it? How am I supposed to—”

“You’re not,” Jackson interrupted, crumpling his napkin in his free hand. “We are. We’ll find a way. Together.”

Mackenzie squeezed his hand but looked at Marcus. “He’s going to come after me, isn’t he? He’s not going to give up.”

“He’s traded everything for this. His life, his family. Even his sanity.” He clasped his hands on the table and frowned at them. “Giving up isn’t an option.”

The hair on the back of Jackson’s neck rose, and he thumped the table near Marcus’s hands. “Hey. Don’t even think about it. Not alone.”

Marcus shot him an irritated, defiant look. “The man raised me, and I never even—”

“Not alone,” Jackson repeated firmly. “Nobody is going after him solo. All you’ll do is get yourself killed.” Oh, you’re terribly reasonable, aren’t you, Holt? Now that he doesn’t have your girlfriend? He ignored the voice and glanced at Nick. “Help me out here.”

She patted Marcus’s hands. “He’s serious. Besides, you’d be better off helping your friend—and my father—in New York. Really, Marcus.”

Mackenzie curled her free hand over Marcus’s arm. “The man raised you, Marcus. That’s why you never thought he was doing anything wrong. But you didn’t ignore the truth when you saw it. You found out what was going on and you did your best to make it right. That’s all anyone has a right to ask of you, and I’ll kick your ass if you do something stupid.”

“All right.” He sighed and smiled. “I’d better go make my own arrangements to leave. Goodbye, Mackenzie.”

“You have Nick’s number? And Jackson’s?” She sounded like a worried mother letting her child out of her sight for the first time. “In case anything happens, you should have both.”

Marcus rolled his eyes, but his smile didn’t fade. “I have everyone’s numbers. I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” She leaned over to give Marcus a slightly awkward hug. “Just…be careful, okay? You owe me a lot of help with this whole giant-cat thing.”

“I suppose I do, at that.” He rose and saluted Nick. “I’ll be in touch.”

She sprang out of her chair and hugged him quickly. “Come to New Orleans when you can. We can go out without Alec this time. We’ll have more fun.”

Marcus offered his hand, and Jackson shook it firmly. “Thank you for what you did for Mackenzie. I’ll remember.”

Marcus nodded. “So will I.” He waved and walked away.

Mackenzie watched him go, an odd look on her face. When Jackson slipped back into his chair, she sighed. “I know it’s stupid to feel guilty, but I turned his life upside-down.”

“Charles turned his life upside-down.” Jackson picked up his empty coffee cup and set it down again. “Ready to head out? Depending on what Alec books, we’ve probably got a long day of traveling ahead of us.”

“Yeah. I suppose we do.” She shoved away her teacup and reached for the last muffin in the bowl. “Am I going to be stuck in these clothes indefinitely?”

Nick wrinkled her nose. “I hope not. You’re going to burn up in fleece.”

“No.” Jackson shook his head. “It wouldn’t make much sense to hide you from him when he’d have to know you’re with us.”

“As soon as we get back to New Orleans, we’ll take care of it. Give me five minutes, and I’ll have you looking like a star,” Nick promised, grabbing another apple. “Want to head up?”

“Yeah.” Mackenzie rose to her feet. “Let’s go home.”

Home. Jackson put a protective hand on the small of her back. “That’s the best damn thing I’ve heard all week.”