McKenzie led them down a long cool hallway with white walls, where security cameras were mounted on the ceiling. The only sound in the bunker was the humming of the air conditioned units and the echo of their footsteps.
To their left, an open entrance led into the sitting room, while the kitchen lay just beyond the open entrance on the right. They reached a T-junction, and McKenzie turned left, the right leading to the men's quarters. McKenzie stopped at the second-to-last door, turned the handle, and stepped inside with Dwayne following close behind.
The room was painted in a cream undertone and just big enough to hold a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe, a three-seater sofa. A desk with a chair sat, completed with a laptop, in one corner. On one of the nightstands was a picture of McKenzie and Jasmine. On the wall opposite the bed was a tv. There was a door on the right wall that led to the bathroom.
"This is nicer than I thought," Dwayne said as he sat on the sofa and McKenzie closed the door behind them and then took a seat by the desk.
"Once you're down here your phone isn't going to work," McKenzie stated as she started up the laptop. "What's Olivia's number?"
"Why do you need that? Are you going to send her death threats or have Yellows and his boys in black track her phone then harm her?" Dwayne lifted and eyebrow.
"In case you've forgotten, your sister gave my child away to a stranger. I don't need her number but it will make this a lot faster. Once I get her number I'll send it to our tech guy, so he could hack her phone to find out who she called," McKenzie snapped.
Dwayne sighed. "Zee, you know that I had nothing to do with that right?"
McKenzie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I asked you to take care of Jazzy for me if anything happened to me. But, I woke up and my baby was gone. How is that taking care of her?"
"And I'll do anything to help get her back. I didn't think that Olivia would've betrayed me like that."
"If you want to help give me her number," McKenzie said flatly.
As Dwayne gave her the number she constructed an email to Eddie, their tech guy, telling him what she wanted him to do.
When she was done she stood up. "Do you want something to eat? I can fix us a few sandwiches."
"Sure."
McKenzie led the way to the kitchen. It was painted the same shade of cream as the bedroom. White cupboards with green edges lined the wall and a modern kitchen island stood proudly in the middle. On one side there was a four seater kitchen table and on one side of the kitchen island three bar stools sat.
Dwayne took a seat by the table as McKenzie prepared turkey sandwiches. Ten minutes later, she handed him a plate with sandwiches and a soda before taking her own plate and soda, sitting down to eat.
"How long will it take you to hear back from your tech guy?" Dwayne asked as he bit into his sandwich.
"Could take a few hours depending on his workload but once I have the information I'm going to get Jazzy."
"Is Yellows going to go with us when we go to get her?"
McKenzie's jaw clenched as she spoke, "First off, there is no, 'when we go for her'. I'll be going for Jazzy. And, Yellows can't be seen with me. He'll probably send a few of his men with me for protection."
"Zee?" Dwayne reached across the table and placed his hand on hers, not breaking eye contact.
When he looked at her like that she knew he wanted to ask her something personal and she wasn't in the mood to play twenty questions with him.
She rose from the table, dumped the rest of her sandwich, and headed for the room. The less Dwayne knew about her past life the better.
McKenzie! Why are you giving this man such a hard time?
Because everything is his fault!
Everything?
Yes.
Once in the room, she flicked on the tv and curled up on the bed. Sure enough, Dwayne entered a few seconds later.
"Zee, you can't keep running from me." Dwayne sat next to her.
"I'm not running from anything. I just don't feel the need to discuss my past with you. And if you and Richard found me it meant that Richard, the cop, already did a background check on me and Alejandro. So why are you still trying to question me?"
There was a brief moment of shock on Dwayne's face before it was replaced with concern.
Dwayne scratched his head. "I guess I just wanted to know if the information he found out was true."
McKenzie could feel her patience seeping out of her body and a frown settled over her face.
"Please don't make me regret bringing you here. I'm not going to talk about it and that's final! Why can't you respect my decision?" McKenzie snapped.
Dwayne sighed and moved from the bed to the sofa. Absentmindedly, McKenzie looked at the tv as thoughts of Jasmine swirled in her mind.
Was she safe?
Was she being cared for?
Did her fever return?
She was very serious about the threat she had issued to Olivia. If anything had happened to Jasmine, Olivia would pay with her life.
Even though the sandwiches helped somewhat, she still felt weak. Three days was a long time to be unconscious. She hoped a shower would help clear her mind so she'd be alert when Eddie responded to her message. She walked to the wardrobe, grabbed the pajama set Yellows purchased for her, and made her way to the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later, she had showered and changed into the satin pajama set, shorts that cut just under her butt and a thin strapped v-neck top. She wasn't surprised that Yellows had known her size, since he had accompanied her on her shopping trips while she was living with Alejandro. But, she did wonder why he had purchased something so revealing.
When she exited the bathroom, she glanced over at Dwayne who had fallen asleep on the sofa. His large frame was too big causing his feet to hang over on one side while his head was twisted in an uncomfortable position on the other side.
She tapped Dwayne on his shoulder.
Girl, let that man sleep.
He's gonna be aching all over if he stays like this.
Serves him right for letting his dumbass sister snatch Jazzy from right under his nose.
Dwayne's eyes fluttered open and he sat up slowly.
"Dwayne, the bed is big enough for the both of us."
Dwayne's eyes ravished her, lingering on her breasts. McKenzie felt a heat rush through her body, landing straight between her thighs as her nipples hardened under his gaze.
He rubbed behind his neck, his gaze finally meeting hers. He asked huskily, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, you'll sleep on top of the covers and I'll sleep below." she croaked.
They were both adults, no need to make things awkward.
Adults, yes, but adults who have sexual chemistry with each other.
"Thanks."
McKenzie took off the television and snuggled below the covers as Dwayne lay on top.
It was 3:30 a.m.
Hopefully, she could get a few hours of sleep and by the time she woke up, Eddie would have some information for her.
She tossed and turned for about an hour before she fell into a restless sleep. Unwanted memories of her family flashed before her eyes. One of them being that of her father.
McKenzie hadn't seen her father in over twenty years. One day he left for work and never returned. Her mother filed a missing person's report but the police only investigated for a few months before they gave up on the case. It broke her mother's heart and hers as well.
McKenzie's eyes opened and she groaned, a headache brewing. It was just after nine in the morning. She turned to see Dwayne resting comfortably beside her.
As a teen, she dreamt of being Mrs. McKenzie Jackson, waking up next to Dwayne every morning as the luckiest woman alive. While they were dating in high school he was her everything. He always knew how to make her laugh when she was down, and promised to always be there for her.
But, when it came down to it he chose himself over the special bond they shared. Even though she still loved him, she just couldn't bring herself to trust him with her happiness again, or Jasmine's.
Just then McKenzie heard a notification from the laptop. She scrambled out of bed to check it.
It was from Eddie.
Hey Kitten,
The number was a dead end. The only person Olivia contacted with this number four days ago was a guy named Dwayne Jackson.
Eddie,
Do you think she could've deleted the call log?
Kitten,
Are you doubting my magical touch? It's been too long, babe. I checked everything, the phone is clean. It means that she either has another phone or she used someone else's phone.
Eddie,
We have to find a lead, we have to find my baby girl.
Tears welled in McKenzie's eyes as she typed.
Kitten,
Wait, hold up. Something just came through.
Anxiety settled in the pit of McKenzie's stomach as she waited for Eddie's response.
Kitten,
I'm sending you a video. It was taped with her phone. The address is from Antelope Valley..
McKenzie froze.
The ranch.
Another notification buzzed.
The video.
She held her breath as she clicked on the video, then gasped as the video began to play.
Olivia was restrained to a chair, enduring brutal blows to her face and stomach from the handle of a high-powered rifle. Her eyes were swollen, she had a prominent bump on one side of her head, and blood trickled from her lips as she uttered a desperate plea.
"Dwayne, please help me."