Fierce

Chapter 2

2

Holden sipped his coffee and watched the press conference. If the police captain wasn’t the one delivering the news, Holden wouldn’t have believed the story. It was definitely a doozy.

“So, who’s the dead woman?” Holden’s partner and friend, Spencer, asked. Holden and Spencer had been paired together for over a year, but they’d worked the same shift off and on much longer. Spencer was a little taller than Holden, with light brown skin and eyes that were the most unique golden-brown Holden had ever seen. Spencer joked his eyes were magical because when patients looked into them, they immediately calmed down. Holden thought Spencer was full of it until he saw it happen.

“Sounds like someone random. Wrong place, wrong time.”

“That’s some s**t luck.”

Holden nodded. Spencer was not wrong. What were the odds a woman who could have been Karli Sloane’s twin ended up in her apartment the same time someone broke in to kill her? Not good, if Holden had to guess.

“Do they really think they’re going to find this Damon Street guy?”

Holden shook his head. “If he’s as much of a ghost as he seems, I can’t imagine how, but Captain Patrick is pretty good. The only reason I would think he’d be talking about this is if he thinks the public can help.”

Spencer snorted. “The public is usually more oblivious than stupid. Our last guest being the perfect example.”

Holden couldn’t help but laugh. The man they took to the hospital had been walking to work, texting a friend and not paying attention to where he was going. He stepped out into traffic, narrowly avoiding getting hit, but when someone blew their horn, he dropped his phone. The guy bent down to pick up the phone and knocked himself out when he whacked his head on a sideview mirror. The driver of the car called it in.

The guy was awake by the time Holden and Spencer got there, insisting he was fine and didn’t need to go to the hospital. He walked off and ran right into a street sign. He didn’t argue after that and let them drop him off at St. Nicholas Hospital.

“That dude would have walked off the bridge and into the Falls if he’d been going that way. I swear, there isn’t anything on my phone that’s ever that interesting where I won’t look up and see where I’m going.”

“What if Leah is texting you?” Holden asked. Leah and Spencer were high school sweethearts and were married right after college. They had three kids and the kind of life Holden hoped to have one day. If he could catch Mackenzie’s eye.

“Leah knows if it’s important to call me. Nothing that major comes through on a text.”

Holden nodded in agreement. Their patient would have been a lot better off if he’d looked up from the phone.

Spencer’s radio squawked with an incoming call. “Need assistance at two-four-seven Pineview Drive. Man in distress. Possible heart attack.”

“Show us responding. On our way,” Spencer said.

Holden was already climbing into the passenger side of the ambulance when Spencer cranked up the vehicle and pulled out. Once they were clear of the bay doors, he hit the siren and took off.

“No Mackenzie today?” Spencer asked as he drove the city streets without hesitation.

Holden shook his head. His partner knew about his interest in Mackenzie. Holden thought the only one who didn’t know was likely Mackenzie herself. Or maybe that was just what he told himself so he could hold on to hope that she might be interested in him one day.

“She’s off today.”

“Didn’t she take the calls for that case on the news? About the dead woman who was killed by the friend?”

Holden nodded. He remembered how shaken up Mackenzie looked that day. He didn’t know what the cause was at the time, but once the story came out, Holden knew it got to her. And why. Mackenzie would never hurt another person, but being accused of killing her friend put a mark on her that would never be erased.

“How’s she doing with this news?” Spencer asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You haven’t called her?”

“We’re not friends like that.”

Spencer gave Holden a look that called bullshit.

“Fine, she doesn’t see us like that. Whenever I try to talk to her, she gets away from me as quickly as possible.”

Spencer pulled over in front of the house they were reporting to and cut the engine. Before he got out, he put a hand on Holden’s arm and looked him dead in the eye. Those magical golden eyes caught Holden’s attention.

“Don’t give up on her, man. She’ll see how great you are and realize what she’s missing. If you care about her like I know you do, don’t give up just yet.”

Holden nodded, feeling a confidence he wasn’t sure he deserved to feel. Spencer let go of him and grabbed the bag that sat between the seats, and they headed into the house.

* * *

The rest of their shift was endless, one call after another. Holden barely had time to grab something to eat, let alone think about Mackenzie. Although he did think about her, constantly, but he couldn’t focus on her.

When their shift ended early in the morning, Holden walked through the shared break room, hoping to catch Mackenzie. He smiled when he saw her getting a cup of coffee. Three creams, three sugars.

“Hey, Mackenzie.”

“Hi, Holden.” She gave him a tight smile. She had circles under her eyes, and her clothes were wrinkled.

“How was your time off?”

She shrugged and stirred her coffee.

“Did you see the press conference yesterday?”

Her gaze snapped to his. Her eyes narrowed just slightly. “I did.” Her words were clipped and tense.

“Crazy story, don’t you think?”

“Things are not always what they seem,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, I know. Just seems hard to imagine they don’t have more information about what happened or who the woman is that died.”

“Maybe they can’t share that information yet.”

Holden looked closely at Mackenzie. She was avoiding his gaze and moving toward the door. “Yeah, maybe. Did you see the reports about that big storm we’re supposed to get next weekend?” The weather was a safe topic. Maybe he could keep her talking for a few more minutes.

She nodded and reached the door. “Yeah, but I’m sure it won’t be as big of a deal as they say. They always want to scare people. We get tons of snow around here all the time.”

“True. I hope it’s not a big deal. I’m supposed to work when it’s scheduled to hit.”

“Me too.”

Holden couldn’t help but smile at that news. Maybe getting stuck at work wouldn’t be so bad if he was stuck with Mackenzie.

“I need to get back out there. Have a good day.”

“You, too, Mackenzie.” He waved as she retreated. Once she turned the corner and was gone, he dropped his hand and shook his head. “Smooth, Cross, real smooth.”

Holden crashed hard when he got home. He hadn’t gotten any rest overnight and was exhausted. It was dark when he woke up again, feeling worse than when he went to bed, if that were possible. Holden fixed himself breakfast, even though it was dinnertime for normal people. He sat on his couch with his food and turned on the TV to drown out the silence of his apartment.

The news replayed parts of the press conference again, then went on to talk about the local sports teams, other events happening around town, and the upcoming storm they were projecting.

“It’s still a long way out, but this storm could overwhelm the city. We’re staying in close contact with city officials to make sure they’re as prepared as possible. For anyone with travel plans, you might want to start thinking about alternative options,” the weatherman said.

Holden watched the report and shook his head. Like Mackenzie said, they were used to snow. The city was prepared. There was no way it would be as bad as they were predicting.

* * *

Mackenzie hung up the phone and sighed. She could almost smile after that one. A woman called after she was rear-ended on her way home from work. She was shaken up, but mostly okay. Crappy start to the woman’s week. Mackenzie spoke to her until the paramedics and police arrived. They were taking her to the hospital for evaluation, but the paramedic said the woman should be fine.

The thanks of the woman was what kept Mackenzie going through long shifts and bad calls. Not all calls were easy. Most weren’t. But the ones that ended with good news were the ones that made it all worthwhile.

The phone rang again, and Mackenzie tapped to receive the call.

“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”

“Help… me,” the voice on the other end whispered.

“Can you tell me where you are?” Mackenzie’s pulse jumped at the ragged breath the caller took.

“Can’t see. I’m in… ditch.”

“You’re in a ditch?” Mackenzie waved over her supervisor and handed Amanda a headset so she could hear the woman on the phone.

“I was pushed from a car.”

“Do you know where you could be? Do you know where you were when you were pushed? Is there anything visible? Any buildings or street signs? Anything so we can find you?”

The woman coughed. For several long seconds, Mackenzie listened as the woman gagged and coughed. She spit. “Blood. He beat me. Oh, God, that’s not good.”

“Who beat you?” Mackenzie blurted.

“Damon Street. He was supposed to take me somewhere safe, but he lied. He said I was revenge.” She wheezed, struggling to get the words out.

Damon Street. Mackenzie struggled to breathe. He’d hurt someone else. Mackenzie had been hoping to hear something about him for three days, since she first heard the name, but now that she had, she wished she could go back. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Penny.”

“Okay, Penny. We’re going to find you. How many lanes wide is the road?” Mackenzie needed someone to find this woman. She was a key to Damon. She could help them bring him down.

“Don’t… know,” the woman whispered, gasping for breath once more.

“We need more,” Amanda whispered. The woman couldn’t hear her, but she always whispered to avoid distracting the agents from the call.

“Stay with me, Penny. Where did Damon pick you up?”

“First Street.”

“And how far did you drive? How long were you in the car?”

“He took me to a warehouse. I fell asleep. He gave me drugs.” Penny started to cry. “I’m sorry. They gave me so many drugs, and it hurts so bad when they take them away. Damon…” Penny was silent was a long moment.

Amanda walked away just far enough to make a call without Mackenzie hearing and getting distracted. Likely to the carrier to get a trace on Penny’s phone.

“Penny! Are you still there?” Mackenzie shouted, fear spiking through her. Penny was dying. Whether from the drugs, Damon, or the cold, she was dying. They had to find her fast. Her gaze snapped to Amanda and held as she waited for Penny to reply.

Penny sucked in a breath and groaned. “Hurts so much. Broken.” She wheezed. “I’m tired. I might take a nap.”

“Penny! No. Wake up, Penny. I need you to tell me where you are.”

“I… hear… traffic. Truck. Water.” She coughed again. “So cold.”

“We’re going to find you, Penny.” Tears streamed down Mackenzie’s cheeks. Listening to someone struggling to hold on was the worst part of her job. Best-case scenario, a good samaritan or paramedic would get there and save her. Mackenzie didn’t always get best-case scenario.

“The carrier gave us an approximate location. The phone isn’t hers, but they gave it to us anyway,” Amanda whispered.

“Whose phone is it?”

“Damon’s,” Penny said. “Stole from him.”

“Smart, Penny. You’re smart.”

She coughed a laugh. “No one agrees. If true, I wouldn’t be here.”

“We’re on the way, Penny. Just hang on a little longer.”

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. Penny sniffed, her voice fading.

“I’m right here, Penny. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Keep her talking,” Amanda said.

“Where are you from, Penny? Did you grow up in Western New York?” Mackenzie wiped her tears and cleared her throat. She had a job to do. It was up to her to keep Penny alive until the paramedics found her. She said a silent prayer Holden was out there. Mackenzie didn’t trust herself with Holden, but she knew he was good. He wouldn’t give up until he brought Penny to safety.

“No,” Penny choked. “Texas. Love snow.”

“We have plenty of that,” Mackenzie said, struggling to keep her voice light. “We’re supposed to get more snow over the weekend. What’s your favorite thing to do in the snow? I enjoy sledding.”

Penny laughed softly. Her breathing was shallow and slow. “Cold.”

“Sledding is cold. Do you like to sit inside and watch it snow? That’s how my best friend was.” Mentioning Jaclyn sent a spear through Mackenzie, but it reminded her Penny was counting on her. She wasn’t giving up.

“Fire… nice. Now.”

“They’ll get you warmed up soon, Penny.”

She wheezed, then choked.

“Penny, are you okay?”

Penny continued to choke. She coughed, then wheezed again, a deep breath that led to silence.

“Penny?”

Mackenzie looked up at Amanda. They both held their breath.

“Penny? Are you still there?”

Silence answered her. A vehicle drove by, then another. It was quiet wherever Penny was. Damon was smart.

“Maybe she dropped the phone. She could have passed out. Penny!” Amanda shouted into Mackenzie’s headset.

A siren sounded through the phone, and Amanda lifted her other phone, stepping away. “She’s close to you. We hear the siren through the phone she was using.”

Mackenzie stared at her screen, waiting for someone to tell her what was going on.

The siren gave way to the loud crunch of tires on the snow-covered side of the road, then voices. Amanda continued to give directions as the voices grew louder until one of them shouted, “Found her!”

“Oh, thank God,” Amanda whispered. “Is she alive?”

The phone Penny was using crackled before someone spoke. “We have her. She’s not breathing. She’s blue head-to-toe. Someone didn’t want her to survive. She’s barely dressed.”

“Jesus,” Amanda whispered.

“Thank you. If you could, please let us know. This is Mackenzie.”

“Hey, Mackenzie. This is Donahue. We’ll do our best.”

“Thank you.”

Mackenzie hung up the phone and looked up at Amanda.

“That was a tough one, I know,” Amanda said. “Why don’t you take a minute?”

Mackenzie nodded and started to get up when the phone rang again. Without thinking twice, Mackenzie answered the call.

“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

“Take a break,” Amanda whispered, putting her hand on Mackenzie’s shoulder before she walked away.

Mackenzie nodded, then focused on the caller. She couldn’t do anything else for Penny. But she could help the person currently on the line.

* * *

Mackenzie was almost done with her shift when her phone rang. It was an internal call, not a public one. Mackenzie hoped it was news about Penny. “This is Mackenzie.”

“Hey, Mackenzie, this is Donahue.”

“Hey. Thanks for calling me. How’s Penny?”

“We lost her, unfortunately.”

“Oh, no.”

“Yeah. We did everything we could, Mackenzie. She was already gone when we got there, but Amanda said it wasn’t long so we were hoping she would come back, but she didn’t. No pulse, no heartbeat on the way to the hospital. They tried to warm her up and get her back, but once her core temp was back up, they still couldn’t get her body to come back. I wanted to call you.”

Mackenzie drew in a slow breath and closed her eyes. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, Mackenzie. We really did try.”

Makenzie smiled. “I know you did, Donahue. Thank you.” She reached to hang up, then remembered the cell phone. “Donahue!”

“Yeah?”

“The phone Penny was using. What happened to it?”

“Not sure. We handed it over to the hospital with her. Why?”

“Because it wasn’t hers. It belonged to the man who hurt her.”

“The hospital should have it. They have protocols and all that. I’m sure the state she was in would prompt an investigation.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks again, Donahue.” Mackenzie pulled out her personal phone and was scrolling for Captain Patrick’s number as she hung up from Donahue’s call. She logged out of her computer, listening to the phone ring on the other end.

“Patrick.”

“A woman died today. She had a cell phone on her. It was his.”

“Excuse me?” Captain Patrick said. A door closed on his end of the line. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I got a call earlier. Her name was Penny. I listened while she died. She said he told her he was going to save her and tricked her and she was revenge. He beat her and dumped her body on the side of a road. She stole his phone and called me from it.”

“How did she get your number?”

“She didn’t call me directly. But I was the one who answered when she called nine-one-one.”

“You really are in the right place at the right time.”

“I couldn’t save her,” Mackenzie whispered, the emotions of the call sinking in and spilling out.

“You did your best.”

“It wasn’t enough. He’s going to keep hurting people, keep killing people. You need to get that phone.”

“I’m on it. Thank you for the call. I appreciate your help on this.”

“No one else is going to die if I have a say in it.”

“Same.”