CHAPTER ONE

It was now or never. Allison Sandoval took one last glance over her shoulder. The ballroom was crowded on this Saturday evening, filled with the dignitaries and diplomats who’d gathered to honor her husband, Rafael, on his last night on U.S. soil. In the morning, he’d be flying back to his native South America. But he’d be leaving without her.

Rafael was tall and the height advantage gave him a wide view of the room, but the crowd around him was thick. Allison had been slowly working her way from his side. At any other time, it would be impossible for her to take more than a step away. He, or one of the men Rafael publicly called her bodyguards but who were in reality her jailers, always pulled her back. But the men around Rafael tonight were as tall as he was and Allison took the opportunity to blend in with those milling around him.

Her grip on the champagne flute stretched the skin tight across her hands as she forced herself to move slowly, not to make a mad dash for the exit. She was sweating. Could feel perspiration trickling down her neck, left bare with her hair swept up into an intricate style, and continuing down her spine beneath the flowing silver gown.

At the door, an elderly man was making his way into the room. He held the door open and Allison walked by him into the hall. With regret, she bypassed the coat check. Her dress had sleeves that covered her arms, but the late October air was cold. She’d been out of the States for six months and in the South American heat. She’d forgotten how cool the nights could get in New York at this time of year and this year, this part of the state was experiencing unusually frigid weather. Didn’t matter. She would not retrieve her coat. The place was crawling with security people who missed nothing. She could not risk anyone suspecting she was about to leave the building.

She’d almost reached one of the Ladies’ rooms on this level of the luxury hotel. Earlier, when she’d accompanied Rafael on a tour of the building, she’d taken note of where the washrooms were located, seeking one that wasn’t at the end of a corridor. What she’d found wasn’t ideal, but she’d make do. She chose the restroom that provided the best access.

She turned down that corridor and kept walking. A door at the end of the hall led to a staircase. She made her way down the six flights. Her heels clicked against the steps, echoing in the stairwell, and she glanced back over her shoulder, fearing she would give herself away. But no one came charging through the door after her.

Rather than take the exit that opened to the lobby, she continued down to the underground garage. There would be a way to the street from there and freedom.

She dropped the glass of champagne she was still holding in a garbage can and left the hotel. The cold air hit her and while it stole her breath, it was also bracing. She was a long way from being free yet, but it was the closest she’d come since marrying Rafael. The last months had been horrific. Tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked them back but some still fell. She swiped them away, angry with herself for going back there. For allowing Rafael to torture her even though she wasn’t with him. She had been strong before. She would be again. She would not let that pain and fear defeat her. As hard as he’d tried, Rafael hadn’t broken her. Her eyes stung with tears again and again she forced them back. Her life was not the only one that depended on her getting away from Rafael.

A woman turned to look at her. Allison couldn’t afford to be noticed, to have anyone recall she’d passed this way. She stepped out from beneath the street lights, went into the shadows cast by the tall buildings and increased her step as much as she was able.

What she really needed to do was to stop and lean against one of the buildings. She was so tired. It was a struggle to remain on her feet. The small burst of strength she’d mustered to make her escape had waned. She was breathing hard, a combination of her body’s weakness and terror. It was the terror that kept her moving. She couldn’t be caught. If Rafael found her . . . For an instant, fear cut off her breath. No, she would not be caught and taken back to Rafael. She had to finish this with him. She could not fail.

She didn’t know how long she’d walked, dragging her feet, when the tall buildings gave way to smaller structures spaced wider apart. Traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, was thin here. One of the small buildings looked to be a factory of some kind. Whatever it was, the place looked deserted for the weekend. Could she spend the night there? Did she dare stop moving?

The place would be locked but it was possible she could find something in the alley beside the building to break a window. She winced at doing that but as she shivered in the bitter cold, she tamped down on her conscience.

Moonlight lit her way into the alley. She bent and got down on the ground. She spotted a wine bottle, minus the cap. Would the bottle be enough to break the window? She wasn’t sure, but she had to try.

She was about to reach for it, then curled her fingers into her palms. When she reached out would she find she was mistaken and the bottle wasn’t there, that there wasn’t any bottle at all? She couldn’t always trust what her own eyes told her. She closed them briefly, afraid this would be one of those times. But, no. When she forced herself to reach out, her fingers closed around the neck of the bottle. Her pulse sped up.

Allison left the alley. It was a weekend. No one should be back to work in that building before Monday. Still, she hesitated. She couldn’t afford to make a wrong move. If she came upon someone police would be called. Then Rafael. Fear had the back of her neck prickling.

No lights were on inside the building. The building did look closed up tight. She could barely keep herself upright now in her exhaustion. Her body swayed toward it but she didn’t take a step. She remained where she was. She faced her reality. As much as she needed somewhere to sleep and to hide for the night, even if the door was wide open, she couldn’t go into that dark place.

She closed her eyes at her weakness, fighting back tears. She was now shaking and huddling into herself in a futile attempt to get warm. She went back into the alley, to the small alcove dug into the side of the building, and went as deep inside it as she could.

* * *

Zach Corrigan was sleeping when the monitor beeped, signaling the secure perimeter around his place had been breached. He was instantly awake and on full alert. He rolled onto his side and punched buttons on the small panel in the wall, bringing up a view of the outside. He owned a large stretch of isolated land in Blake County, New York. A long, unnamed dirt road, bordered by trees, led only to Zach’s place. Anyone on this road would be coming to see him. Moonlight provided excellent light tonight, making the lights around the place unnecessary. Zach’s house came into view, a big ranch-style, as did the extension off the main house that served as the base of operations for his organization. Behind was a huge pond, currently frozen over. The cameras he had set up at strategic points on the grounds showed several views of the place. Zach would see his visitors long before they reached his front door.

The vehicle making its way to him was a limousine and though the occupant likely had no idea he or she was being monitored, there was no attempt to conceal the approach. An assassin wouldn’t announce his arrival.

It was just shy of two in the morning on a Sunday. Zach’s business didn’t run nine to five and late callers weren’t unusual. But if this were one of Zach’s government contacts coming to his door about a mission, they would have called first. Zach’s line of work made it essential that he be cautious. He made no apology for it.

He tracked the progress of the limousine. Decided to let it proceed. If he’d misjudged his visitor, he’d soon rectify that.

He slept naked and now put on jeans and a T-shirt. His gun was on his nightstand, always ready. He secured it at his back, under the shirt, then left the bedroom.

A coffee maker was on a timer set to start at seven a.m. He got the machine going. As the rich aroma of the strong dark brew filled the air, the monitor beeped again, this time to indicate a presence on his driveway.

Zach called up the images on the kitchen monitor. Two men emerged from the limousine. One was built like a brick, clearly muscle for someone, but he stood against the hood of the black car, making no attempt to follow or shield the other man who moved briskly to Zach’s front door and rang the bell.

Zach filled a mug of coffee for himself and drank a bit before going to the door to meet his visitor. He opened the door and checked out the muscle. The guy hadn’t moved from the limo. He stood with his arms folded at his chest, his hands tucked under his arms to ward off the cold.

Zach focused on the man in front of him. His cashmere coat flapped in the breeze. The wind put color in his cheeks that were sallow and drawn. His eyes looked heavy from lack of sleep. “Help you?”

“Are you Zachary Corrigan?”

Zach clocked the man at around his own age—early thirties. The guy had an accent. South American. Zach had spent enough time in that region to be able to pinpoint exactly where on the continent his visitor was from. This man was from a remote area. Zach had learned of a diplomatic visit to the U.S. from the country’s leader in a bid to secure financial aid. That leader was Rafael Sandoval, the man now standing here with Zach.

“I’m Corrigan,” Zach said.

The man extended a gloved hand. The leather was of the finest, soft as melted butter.

“I am Rafael Sandoval,” he said. “Mr. Corrigan. I need your help.”

Sandoval’s expression was earnest and desperate. Zach stepped back from the door and led the other man to the kitchen.

Zach topped up his mug. “Coffee?”

“No, thank you.”

The man didn’t look like he needed the caffeine. He looked about to jump out of his skin. Zach leaned back against the dark counter. In addition to jobs for Uncle Sam, Zach’s organization also took on work from other countries and from private clients. “Who sent you to me?”

“Roger Morse told me about you,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval named one of Zach’s government contacts. “What do you need my help with?”

“Mr. Morse does not know the reason I have come to you,” Sandoval added.

Zach narrowed his eyes. “Which is?”

“Before I begin, I must confirm that you are a military man.”

Zach kept his gaze on Sandoval, wondering where this was going. “I’m sure you already got from Morse that I was a SEAL.”

Sandoval let out a long breath. “I am also a military man. There is a code of honor among us. I need to ask for your utmost discretion.”

“Why don’t you tell me what this is about?”

Sandoval’s shoulders slumped then he straightened his posture. “I need you to find my wife.”

“I’m not a PI.” Zach wasn’t going to elaborate on what his organization did. His contracts for the government were classified, sending him and his people into places in all parts of the world where others couldn’t or wouldn’t go. He maintained the same level of confidentiality for the jobs he took from private clients.

“I do not need an investigator,” Sandoval said. “I need someone with your skills and your discretion. I am here in your country in an attempt to secure aid for mine. I cannot let word about my wife’s disappearance become front page news. I cannot allow the focus to shift away from my country’s very real need. This is a personal matter. My wife, Allison, and I were attending a gathering in my honor yesterday evening. It was to be our last night in your country. We were to fly home this morning. One moment Allison was standing at my side and the next she was gone. I confess I was distracted. An agreement with your country would mean so much to mine.” Sandoval rubbed his gloved hand back and forth across his brow with what appeared to be enough force to shred skin. “I was not paying enough attention to Allison.”

Zach leaned forward. “If your wife was abducted—”

“No. She was not abducted.” Sandoval squeezed his eyes shut so tightly the skin at the corners puckered. “She walked away.”

Zach pushed off the counter. “Unless your wife is a minor, she’s perfectly free to come and go as she pleases. There’s nothing I can do for you.”

Sandoval rubbed his brow hard again. “Obviously, she is of legal age. You do not understand. She must be found.”

Zach repeated his earlier statement. “I’m not a PI. I can recommend a good investigator though I’m not sure you need one. You have your own people to look for her, my government and law enforcement would also look for her. You don’t need me.”

“My wife is delicate. Fragile. Law enforcement and government agencies would overwhelm her when they find her. She must be handled gently.” Sandoval withdrew his wallet and from it a photograph he held out to Zach. “This is Allison.”

Zach glanced at the picture without taking it. The woman was a stunner. Waves of blond hair fell to her shoulders. Big eyes in a deep green rather than the blue he expected to go along with all that fair hair. She was dolled up and dressed to the nines in what looked like a pose for a State photo—wife of the country’s new president. Zach raised his gaze from the picture and back to Sandoval. “This isn’t the type of work my organization handles.”

Sandoval ran a shaking hand back through his hair. “My wife is not a well woman.”

The idea of an ill woman out on the streets without help didn’t sit well with Zach, but if she were sick, why would she leave? There had to be a reason Allison Sandoval had left her husband. Zach eyed Sandoval and asked him straight out. “Why’d she leave you?”

“It was not deliberate. Allison wandered away from the ballroom last night. She does that if I do not keep a close watch on her.”

Zach crossed his arms. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Sandoval’s face drew tight in an expression of pain. “My wife suffers from delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. She cannot determine what is real from what is imagined. She is on medication but she has been gone since last night and has been without it. And it is so cold to be outside. She must be found now. She will not survive long on her own.”

Zach frowned. Clearly, the woman needed to be found quickly. He had no doubt he could do that and a lot faster than if he sent Sandoval on his way to find someone else to do the job. It wasn’t his usual recovery mission but Allison Sandoval needed to be recovered. Zach addressed Sandoval. “I’ll find her.”

CHAPTER TWO

After Sandoval left, Zach took out his cell phone and called his second-in-command. Despite the time, Gavin Chase answered at once with a cheery, “What’s up, boss?”

“Got a job,” Zach said.

“Who do you want for it? I’ll round them up.”

“It’s not something that requires the team. I have this one, but I need you to run a check on the guy who hired us. South American named Rafael Sandoval. His country’s been in and out of the news in the last year. Sandoval’s father, the president and dictator, died about a year back and Sandoval has taken up the reins.”

“Yeah, I read about this guy. He says with his father’s death he wants to put an end to the old ways. Wants to democratize the country. He’s been in talks here about doing that. What does he need us for?”

“It’s a personal matter. His wife left him. She wandered off. She’s not well and needs to be found now. I told him I’d find her. Get on this right away, Chase.”

“You got it.”

Zach showered and dressed and by the time he left his bedroom, Chase was back on the phone.

“I found a newspaper photo of him and a hot blonde,” Chase said. “The photo accompanied an engagement announcement. Wife, Allison, maiden name, Kent, is from D.C. She was a school teacher. Both parents still living. One sibling, a sister. Allison met Sandoval a year ago while she was taking her fifth graders on a tour of the White House and he was on his first diplomatic visit.”

Chase added background and current information on Sandoval, including the hotel where Sandoval was staying, though Zach knew for security reasons Sandoval’s location would be kept confidential and not be disclosed to the media or the public. That hadn’t stopped Chase from finding out.

Chase provided details of Sandoval’s accommodation and who, among his personal staff and bodyguards, were traveling with him.

“No red flags, Zach,” Chase concluded. “Nothing on him.”

It was a routine check Zach never overlooked with a new client. He didn’t like surprises. “I’ll be in touch.”

Zach ended the call. Allison Sandoval had been missing for some time. He needed to find her.

* * *

Allison had remained huddled into herself throughout the night. Her muscles had stiffened from bunching them as tightly as she could in an attempt to combat the cold and from the cold itself. The alcove had cut some of the wind but could do nothing to dispel the bitter chill of the air.

It was now dawn. Rafael was supposed to fly home this morning. She had no illusions her escape would be that easy. That he’d just leave and she was free. She couldn’t afford to stay put any longer. She had to get moving. She had a destination in mind. Once she reached it, she’d truly be free.

Her stomach growled. She didn’t know when she’d last eaten. Her throat was parched. These discomforts were bearable. She’d endured so much worse. Once she got to where she was going, there’d be food there. She’d eat then. She could wait until then.

She put her hand out, pushed off the brick and exited the alcove. A gust of wind blew into the alley. She shivered and hunched her shoulders. She moved as quickly as she was able, driven by the cold and by her desperate need to get where she was going. By the time she reached the end of the alley, she was almost running. She turned onto the sidewalk and collided with a man on his way into the alley.

“Mrs. Sandoval!”

She hit the man squarely in the chest that was rock-hard and took her breath with the force of the impact. She would have landed on the ground but his hands came up to steady her. Big hands like the rest of him. His body was all muscle, solid. In another lifetime she would have appreciated how good the man looked but right now her stomach clenched at hearing her name on his lips and all she could think was that he was formidable. She looked up at him. He had piercing eyes in his handsome face and those eyes looked as hard as the rest of him.

“Mrs. Sandoval,” he repeated.

She had to get away. She brought her knee up. The man dodged the blow easily. His grip on her tightened, not enough to hurt but enough to remove any notion that she could get away from him.

“I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Zach Corrigan. I’m here to help you. Your husband sent me to find you and take you back to him.”

The man—Zach—took one hand from her, unclipped his cell phone from his belt and held it out to her.

“Call your husband to verify he sent me,” Zach said. “I won’t hurt you. All I want is for you to be back with him safe again.”

Allison’s throat closed. Her chest tightened and she couldn’t breathe. She wouldn’t go back to Rafael. She began to fight this man with everything she had in her.

Zach tightened his hold, pinning her arms. “You don’t know me and you have every reason to be cautious, but the truth here is I outweigh you by about seventy pounds and top you by a foot. If I wanted to force you to accompany me, you’d already be in my vehicle. Please. Call your husband.”

Allison shook her head. “You can’t take me back to Rafael. I can’t go back to him.”

“Your husband is worried about you. I’m here to help you.”

“Please. Please . If you really want to help me, then let me go.”

* * *

Allison Sandoval looked very different from the photo Zach had seen—a shell of the woman in the picture. Traces of her beauty were there, but despite the liberal application of cosmetics, her skin was pale, her eyes too huge in her face that was now far too thin. Her hair was done up, showing the delicate bones in her cheeks and jaw, and long glittering fake earrings that matched the rest of the fake jewelry she was decked out in. Jewelry that looked too heavy for her. Her fine gown hung on her skinny body. The woman looked ravaged by her illness. No wonder Sandoval was so desperate to find her.

Despite the change in her appearance, Zach found he was unable to look away from her. She looked terrified but there was more than fear. Her mouth was pressed tightly in anger and defiance. The woman had fight in her. She was not the meek woman he’d expected. It made him wonder what Allison Sandoval had been like before she became ill. Zach would bet she’d been a lot more than just a pretty face.

Allison strained against his hold. Despite the fact that she was doing her best to break away from him, he lightened his grip. The woman felt like she’d break under his hands.

She glanced at his phone—at him—as if he were a snake. How to reassure her? “I’ll help you,” he said softly. He held her gaze and nodded once slowly.

“By taking me back to Rafael?” Her eyes flashed in anger. “That isn’t helping me. Rafael will kill me.”

Her words shook Zach. He reminded himself what Sandoval had said about her mental condition. That she suffered from paranoia. “No one is going to kill you. Your husband wants you safe.”

He was still offering his phone. She still made no move to take it and he returned it to his belt. The woman was trembling and not just from fear but from the cold. Her dress was long and had sleeves but the material gave no insulation from the biting wind.

“You’re freezing,” he said gently. Keeping one hand on her, he removed his jacket. With his free hand, he draped it around her. It fit him to the waist but fell below her knees. He didn’t know if she was even aware he’d placed it on her. She continued to watch him as if she thought he might pounce on her. He knew how to incite fear but he didn’t want that now. He didn’t want Allison to be afraid of him. It was time they got moving. “My vehicle isn’t far. Let’s get you out of the cold.”

She made a sound of distress. “I won’t be going with you.” Her words came fast. Her voice was harsh with terror. “I’ll continue on my own.”

He couldn’t let her do that. “No reason to. Let me help you.” He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get through to her, given what Sandoval had told him about her mental state. “This way to my vehicle.”

“Just turn your back and let me walk away. I know Rafael must be paying you a lot of money to take me back but I’ll find a way to repay you. Just, please, let me go.”

The woman was begging him and her pleading got to him but he couldn’t let himself act on it. She wasn’t in a position to determine what was best for herself. He had to harden himself against her pleas. She wasn’t well. “I can’t do that and it isn’t because of the money. I can’t in good conscience let you go off on your own.”

She laughed then, a harsh bitter sound. “Conscience? You work for Rafael, you have no conscience.”

Zach didn’t respond. He took a step but she dug in her heels. He could force her to move of course, or scoop her into his arms and move her himself. No, he’d just let her be. He unclipped his phone once again and made the call to Sandoval.

Sandoval arrived quickly. The limousine pulled up to the curb. Sandoval waited for the driver to round the car and open the door for him, then slowly stepped out.

Allison looked at Sandoval and shuddered. Zach still had one hand on her and felt it. Her eyes became opaque with terror and then a look of resignation and hopelessness filled them that kicked Zach in the gut.

Sandoval nodded to the muscle who served as his driver and the man took Allison by the elbow. Zach realized he was still holding her and released her. The driver led her to the car where she disappeared behind the tinted glass.

“Mr. Corrigan,” Sandoval said.

Zach forced himself to look away from the limo and to the man.

“I will be taking my wife home tonight,” Sandoval said. “Goodbye.”

Sandoval withdrew an envelope bulging with cash from inside his coat and held it out to Zach. When Zach didn’t reach for it, Sandoval tossed the envelope at Zach’s feet. That done, he returned to the limousine and the vehicle drove away.

CHAPTER THREE

Zach watched Sandoval’s limousine become a speck in the distance and then disappear. He continued to stare at where the limo had been for some time. Finally, he shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. There was no more reason for him to be here.

A garbage truck pulled up to a Dumpster in the alley that had temporarily housed Allison Sandoval. Zach left Sandoval’s envelope on the ground and made his way to his SUV.

Zach floored the gas pedal, anxious to be gone from this place. He put miles between himself and that alley, but he couldn’t get Allison Sandoval and the haunted look in her eyes out of his mind. He needed something else to think about. He had work to do back at his place. The next mission to plan. But his mind wasn’t on business. His lips twisted sourly. Right now, the last thing he wanted to think about was what he did for a living. When he found himself on the road to Mitch’s place, he went with it.

It wasn’t until Mitch came to the door in jeans with the top snap open and no shirt, his hair mussed and his eyes heavy with sleep that Zach realized just how early it was on a Sunday morning.

“Zach?” Mitch’s gaze cleared. That fast the sleepy look was gone. “Everything okay?”

Mitch Turner was Blake County’s chief of police and the closest thing to a brother Zach had. Mitch, his brother Ben, Gage Broderick, Ryan Crosby and John Burke were family to Zach who’d never had any before these men. Zach rubbed a hand back through his hair. “Sorry, man. I didn’t think how early it was. I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

Mitch stepped back from the door. “I’m good. Come in. I’ll get breakfast going.”

Zach followed Mitch down the hall to the kitchen. The house was quiet but for the hum of the central heating. Zach glanced at the stairs as he passed them.

“Shelby and Sara must still be upstairs,” Zach said, lowering his voice.

Shelby was Mitch’s bride of seven weeks and Sara was Shelby’s three-year-old from a previous relationship.

“Yeah. Sara climbed into our bed and she and her mom are fast asleep.” Mitch smiled. “I’m talking to a lawyer tomorrow morning. I’m starting adoption proceedings.”

Zach knew Mitch was crazy about the little girl. “That’s great.”

Mitch went to the fridge and took out eggs, bacon, hash brown potatoes, and bread. “Shelby was up late making party plans for when the adoption is final. She showed me a bunch of pictures for flowers and asked me which ones I liked. They’re flowers.” Mitch’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped in a look of utter helplessness. “They all look the same to me.”

Zach grinned as he leaned back against one wall. “I hear women are big on that kind of thing.”

Mitch reached into the drawer under the stove and pulled out a couple of frying pans. “Yeah. She hasn’t ever been able to kick back and be happy with Sara. Be happy at all.” He shook his head. “I’ll wear the damn flowers myself if it will help make this perfect for her.”

Mitch became pensive. Zach believed Mitch had gone back to the day, two months earlier, when he’d nearly lost Shelby to her own brother’s bullet. If Shelby had died, a part of Mitch would have surely died, too. Zach had no experience with love like that. Love like Sandoval had for Allison?

Zach didn’t want to think of Allison Sandoval and the way she’d looked when he’d left her but his stomach tightened. Feeling edgy, he pushed off the wall, got the coffee maker going, then took two mugs from a cupboard and filled them. He placed one on the counter beside Mitch and took his own to the breakfast bar.

Mitch picked up his mug and took a swallow. “When are you shipping out?”

“I haven’t mapped out our next assignment.” Zach hesitated, then got angry with himself for doing that. He had nothing to be hesitant about. “I did a quick job this morning.”

“Oh?”

Zach swirled the coffee in his mug. “A guy looking for his missing wife.”

Mitch set strips of bacon into one pan, potatoes in another. “Not your usual thing.”

“We recover people. This situation wasn’t that different.”

“I hear a ‘but’ coming.”

Zach and Mitch went back to boyhood. If anyone could read Zach, Mitch could. “Something about this whole set up isn’t adding up for me. Fuck, Mitch, I’m questioning if I read this wrong.”

Mitch turned away from the stove to Zach, giving him his full attention. “How so?”

The bacon and potatoes hissed and popped in the pans and only that sound could be heard for a moment. It wasn’t like Zach to second-guess himself but then he’d never doubted himself when it came to a job.

He ended the silence and met Mitch’s gaze. “I met with the guy about the recovery, and he said his wife wasn’t well. That she suffered from mental illness. When I found the woman, she begged me not to return her to her husband. I went with what the husband told me about her, but this whole thing doesn’t feel right in my gut. Their reunion was off.”

Mitch frowned. “Tell me about it.”

Zach released an impatient breath then began to pace the room. The coffee in the mug he still held sloshed to the rim. “The guy—the husband—was a basket case when he came to me about his wife’s disappearance but when he got her back?” Zach shook his head. “Nothing. He didn’t so much as look at her before he turned her over to his driver. Doesn’t mesh with the guy I met at my place.”

Mitch regarded Zach as he moved around the room. “If he was torn up when you saw him, then it doesn’t sound like he’s the kind not to show his emotions.”

“No, it doesn’t. And the look in his wife’s eyes when I handed her back to him. The fear and then the resignation. I know she isn’t well but I can’t get it out of my head. Hell, Mitch, maybe I’m making too much of this.” But Zach’s grip on his mug tightened almost as much as his gut did. Zach’s gut had been screaming that he’d made a mistake since he’d returned Allison to Sandoval. And he’d learned to always go with his gut. It had saved his ass more times than he cared to count. He knew what he had to do. “Thanks for the coffee and the ear.” He plopped the mug on the counter as he passed it on his way to the door.

“Zach?”

Zach glanced over his shoulder at Mitch.

“If you need anything . . .” Mitch said.

The rest of that sentence wasn’t necessary between them and Mitch left it unsaid. Zach nodded.

On his way out to his SUV, Zach called Chase. “Meet me at my place.”

A short while later Chase joined Zach at the back of the house in the room Zach had designated as the command room for his organization. The room looked like a typical office with desks and computers. A couple of comfortable low-back couches backed against walls for the times Zach or his men pulled an all-nighter in here. A few rubber balls sat on the desk Chase favored to bounce against the tile floor or the wall when he was waiting on information.

Like the rest of Zach’s place, the command room looked simple enough. To an outsider, the whole set up looked mild and gave no indication of the nature of his business which was exactly what Zach wanted.

Chase rubbed a hand over his trim goatee. “What’s up?”

“We have an extraction.”

“The rest of the team on the way?” Chase asked.

“No. It’s going to be just you and me on this one.”

“Okay. Who?”

“Allison Sandoval.”

Chase’s eyes narrowed. “The recovery you did this morning?”

“Yeah. We’re taking her back. Sandoval is taking her home tonight. We need to get Allison out before then.”

Zach could see a question in Chase’s eyes and couldn’t blame him. Zach had never turned around on a client. Doing so was a risk to his organization. Zach’s business reputation was solid. His clients knew they could count on him. If he was wrong about this, his business would take a hit. No doubt Chase was thinking all that, but despite his questions and likely misgivings, Chase nodded.

“How do you want to do this?” Chase asked.

“Get a blueprint for the hotel. When I asked you to check Sandoval out, you found out there’s only one accommodation on that floor. The suite Sandoval is staying in.”

Chase leaned back against a desk and crossed one ankle over the other. “He’s staying there with his wife and three personal guards.”

“With Sandoval himself, that makes only four men to get through.”

“Easy enough,” Chase agreed. “What’s the plan?”

Zach eyed Chase. “They’re going to take a nap.”

* * *

Allison huddled on the floor of one of the bedrooms in the hotel suite. How long had she been in here? Hours? A day? She didn’t know. She was no longer wearing the gown she’d had on for Rafael’s gala. Where was her gown? She needed her gown. At the moment, she couldn’t recall why the gown was all important, she just knew it was.

One of Rafael’s guards had held her down while a second guard gave her an injection. The room was in darkness. At Rafael’s order, the same guard who’d drugged her had removed all the light bulbs. Since her marriage to Rafael, Allison had learned to fear the dark. With her mind muddled, all kinds of horrors lived in the dark. She could see them now.

She drew her knees up tighter and pressed her brow hard against them. The images weren’t real. Not real. The true stuff of nightmares weren’t in this room with her, but elsewhere in this suite in the form of her husband. Over and over she told herself that, fighting the jumble in her mind. But how long could she fight it? Rafael hadn’t given her enough of the drug today to push her over the edge into madness, but how long before he did? How much longer before she lost all touch with reality?

Her skin prickled with fear. She took a sharp breath and smelled smoke. She lifted her head from her knees. Was the smoke real or something else she was imagining? A sound came from the outer room, so faint she barely heard it, then light filled the room for an instant as her door was opened then closed. In that flash of light, something had filled the doorway and that something was now barreling toward her.

What was it? She couldn’t make it out in the blackness. She cried out and shrank back, pressing her back hard against the wall.

A light came on. A flashlight held by a man who now stood over her. He was dressed casually in jeans and a jacket. He was big. She couldn’t see his face. He wore some kind of mask. She wrapped her arms tight around herself.

The man crouched in front of her. “I’ve come to take you out of here.”

In her drug induced state, his voice sounded like a recording being played at the wrong speed, too slow then too fast. Was the voice even real? Was the man real? She whimpered.

“It’s all right. It’s going to be all right,” the man said. He was holding something. A face mask like the one he was wearing. “I want you to put this on.” He turned his head and spoke into a device on his shoulder. “We’re coming out.”

Allison shook her head. “You’re not real. You’re not real!”

The man went still for an instant, then reached for her. Allison’s eyelids fluttered and she lost consciousness.

* * *

Zach caught Allison before she hit the carpeting. He put the mask on her himself then removed his jacket and put that on her as well. It was cold out and he didn’t have time to find a coat to put on her over the pants and thin blouse she wore. He swung her up into his arms and left the room. In the main area of the suite, Sandoval’s guards were sprawled on couches, down for the count from the sleeping agent Chase had slid under the door. Sandoval wasn’t with his guards. He was nowhere to be found in the suite which meant he could return at any moment.

Zach looked around, but Chase had retrieved the device that administered the sleeping agent. Chase was waiting by the door, should Sandoval make an untimely entrance. At Zach’s appearance with Allison, Chase opened the outer door slowly, then nodded to Zach and led the way into the hall.

They walked by the elevator and entered the stairwell. Zach waited, with Allison in his arms, while Chase removed Zach’s mask and Allison’s. Chase then removed his own mask and put them all in the duffel bag they’d left on the stair landing. Chase grabbed the bag and they began their descent down the stairs. Allison hadn’t stirred when Chase removed her mask. She remained still in Zach’s arms.

“She okay?” Chase asked.

Zach pressed his lips together, his expression grim. “She’s spooked and she was exposed to the gas before I put the mask on her. That’s all I know for sure. We’ll have to see about the rest.”

At the bottom of the stairwell, they took an exit that opened to the rear of the hotel. The building backed onto a quiet side street where Zach had parked his SUV.

A few moments later, he placed Allison carefully on the back seat and joined Chase in the front, taking his place behind the steering wheel.

Chase turned to Zach. “What next? Taking her back to your place?”

Zach started the engine, but cast a glance in his rearview mirror at Allison. She was asleep, but not relaxed. The skin on her brow was pulled taut from tension. Zach frowned, seeing it. “No.”

* * *

Allison’s eyes flew open. Her heart was pounding. Her breath was coming way too fast. Waking up in a panic wasn’t a new thing. In the last months, she’d lived in constant fear.

“It’s all right. You’re okay.”

She didn’t know that voice. The room was dimly lit. A low bulb in a ceiling light fixture left the room in deep shadow. The male voice came out of the darkness. So dark. Her throat tightened.

The man who’d spoken moved into her range of vision and stood over her. She couldn’t make him out clearly in the dull light but she had a flash of another man standing over her. In her hotel room. She gasped.

“No need to be afraid. You’re okay.”

“The light. Turn on the light!”

An instant later another ceiling light came on. Allison blinked at the brightness. This wasn’t the man from her hotel room, if her foggy memory could be trusted. If that other man had been real. The man standing over her now had a shaggy mop of fair hair and brown eyes that crinkled at the corners with his smile. She felt another rush of panic. Was he real?

“Allison, can you hear me? You’re all right,” the man said.

That was still to be determined. “Where am I? Who are you?” She blurted out the words in a rush.

“My name is Brock St. John. I’m a doctor. You’re at the clinic I operate with my wife, Laurel, who is also a doctor.”

The injections Rafael gave Allison kept her desperately thirsty, caused excruciating headaches and left her trembling with fatigue. Her body felt heavy, weighted down, and her head pounded as if someone were chipping away at the inside with ice picks. She lifted her hand to her head, but was restrained by an IV line. “What are you giving me?” Her voice came out shrill. “Did Rafael bring me here?”

Allison fought back the bone-deep weariness and pushed herself up from the bed. She swung her legs over the side. She had to get out of here.

Brock cupped her shoulders. “Saline is in your IV. You’re dehydrated. No, Rafael didn’t bring you here.”

The man—Brock—was looking down at her, concern in his eyes, and sincerity. While Brock didn’t deny knowing who Rafael was, he didn’t appear to be lying about Rafael bringing her here. Added to that, Brock’s hold on her was gentle, keeping her upright but not restraining her. The knot in her stomach loosened just a little.

Allison stared up at him, not willing to trust him yet. “We’ve never met. How do you know me?”

Brock lowered his hands. “I don’t know you. I know of you. You’ve been in the media, Allison. You were brought here yesterday for medical treatment.”

Allison’s heart thumped. “By whom? Who brought me?”

Another man appeared in the doorway, holding a steaming coffee mug. “I brought you here.”

He entered the room. This man she recognized. He was the man Rafael had sent to return her to him—Zach. A low sound came from her throat and she shouted, “No!” She’d only thought she may have something to fear from Brock, but this man, the man who’d just entered the room, he’d already caused her harm. Terror gave her the adrenaline she needed to leap off the bed and onto the floor. She yanked at her IV line and shouted to the newcomer. “No! Don’t come near me!”

Zach was making his way toward her, but stopped moving. He wore a short sleeve T-shirt and his biceps bulged against the tight material. On his right arm, just below the sleeve, he had a tattoo of the Navy Seal crest. Rafael’s reach extended to the U.S. military. Allison’s mouth went dry.

“Easy.” Zach held her gaze. “I’ll stay right here.”

Brock’s hand closed over hers, preventing her from yanking the IV out of her arm.

“Allison, it’s okay. You’re safe, I promise.” Brock’s words came quick and urgent.

Brock’s concern seemed sincere. Had he been duped? Did he not know the other man worked for Rafael?

She stopped struggling against Brock’s hold and stared up at him. “Listen to me. That man who just came in here? He is not to be trusted.”

Brock released her and glanced over his shoulder at Zach who still stood in the middle of the room.

Zach held up the hand that wasn’t holding the mug. “Allison, what Brock is telling you is true. You are safe here.”

She refused to show him any more fear and instead lifted her chin and met him square in the eye. “You must take me for a fool. Do you think I’ve forgotten you work for Rafael?”

“I don’t work for Sandoval. I don’t work for anyone. I run a private organization. Sandoval came to me, telling me you were missing and that he needed help to find you.”

Allison’s insides quivered. “You did your job. Why am I here, or is this some sick game you and Rafael are playing?”

“I’m not into playing games. You’re safe.” Zach inclined his head once slowly, never taking his eyes from hers. “Believe it.”

“It will take a lot more than your say-so to convince me what you’re telling me now is the truth.”

“Fair enough.”

His agreement surprised her. She’d expected him to downplay or even dismiss her apprehension. She couldn’t analyze his motives at this moment. Her pulse was racing. It was taking all she had to remain upright and the pain in her head hadn’t let up.

Zach frowned. “I can see your headache in your eyes. Brock, what can you give her for that?”

Allison made a choking sound in her throat. “No. I don’t want anything from you.”

“Aspirin?” Zach said. “Brock, you must have that? In a new, sealed container.”

Allison kept her gaze trained on Zach. Finally she looked to Brock and nodded.

“Be right back,” Brock said.

She felt a moment of full-blown panic when Brock left her in the room alone with Zach. Silly, really, that she’d feel safer with the doctor present—as if Brock could help her protect herself against Zach. Brock wasn’t close to matching Zach in height, or, physically, anywhere else. The doctor had a lean, rangy build while the T-shirt Zach wore outlined a hard, chiseled body. Zach was a SEAL and obviously very skilled judging the way he’d taken her away from Rafael’s trained guards.

Zach wore his light brown hair short. His blue eyes were serious and piercing, missing nothing, including, no doubt, her close scrutiny of him now.

He stood quiet under it, giving her the chance to take his measure. He’d said he wasn’t into playing games, then what was he into? Why did he take her back from Rafael after returning her to him? The rush of adrenaline was wearing off and she desperately needed to sit down. She remained on her feet and kept her gaze fixed on his. “Why did you take me from the hotel?”

He gave her a level look. “I didn’t know if you were safe where you were. I knew you’d be safe with me.”

What had changed for him in the time he’d returned her to Rafael and now? She supposed she should be grateful that he’d changed his mind and got her away from Rafael, but it would be stupid and dangerous to trust this man.

Brock returned with the bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water and handed both to her. He’d kept his word. Both were sealed. Her hands trembled with the paltry effort of breaking the plastic wraps and twisting the caps off the bottles. She didn’t want the two men to see how weak she was but she couldn’t stop the shaking.

She drank deeply then took the pills. She doubted any over-the-counter pain medicine would relieve this headache but she was desperate enough to take plain aspirin and hope, at least, it would take some of the edge off.

“Let me know if they don’t do the trick,” Brock said.

She focused on Brock. “It’s not aspirin I need from you. I need to be away from here. Help me do that.”

“You’re safe. No one here is going to harm you,” Brock said quietly. “I can’t discharge you in your present condition. Give us some time to help you feel better and then leave.”

Allison’s mouth tightened with bitterness. Brock hadn’t said he’d hold her against her will, but there’d be no help from him to get away from Zach.

“If you need anything more, let me know,” Brock added. He nodded once to Zach then left the room.

She didn’t have any intention of lingering here. First chance she got, she’d slip away, but how to get away? Where to go? The plan she’d devised that would ensure her safety from Rafael was no longer possible. What was she going to do now? She had no passport. No money. No transportation. Even now, Rafael could be on his way here. And when he got here . . .

“Hey.” Zach closed the distance between himself and Allison and grasped her shoulder. “Take a breath. You’ve lost all the color in your face.”

“I really—” she closed her eyes, took a gulp of air “—have to get out of here. Prove you’re as concerned about my safety as you claim. Don’t stop me.” But even as she said the words, she feared her ability to carry them out. The aftereffects of Rafael’s injection and these last moments of being in fighting mode with Zach and Brock had depleted her. Not to mention the months prior that had sorely weakened her. She simply had nothing left in her.

But she had to try.

She opened her eyes and took a step away from the bed. Her head swam. Zach plopped his coffee onto a nightstand and grabbed her, preventing her from hitting the floor with her face.

His eyes narrowed in that penetrating gaze she’d seen from him before. “You’re not in any condition to go anywhere. Let Brock do his thing. Get you feeling better then we’ll talk about where you go next.”

Her eyelids fluttered and she fought to keep them open. “I don’t trust you.” With her last burst of strength, she pushed back at Zach, but it was like a lamb striking out at a lion.

Whatever he said next, if he responded at all, Allison didn’t hear him.

CHAPTER FOUR

Allison sagged against him. Her breathing was deep and even in sleep. She was exhausted. Zach lifted her into his arms and set her gently onto the bed.

Her fear got to him. She was afraid of him. Afraid because she believed he worked for Sandoval. Sandoval claimed she was mentally unstable. If so, it made sense that her fear of him was the product of her damaged mind. But something felt off. Zach hadn’t changed his mind about that.

These moments with her had only reinforced his doubts and Zach wanted answers about her condition now. He was tense from the not knowing. He made sure none of that tension was in his touch and reached out, gently raising the covers over her, then left the room to find Brock.

It was just seven a.m. Brock and Laurel kept a small staff and a shift change was underway as the night nurses were replaced by the day. Zach passed the women on their way out as he prowled the clinic in search of Brock.

Brock was in the kitchen pouring coffee into a chipped blue mug. Like Zach, he’d been up all night. He looked up, his eyes showing the strain of the night without sleep, as Zach charged into the room.

Brock stopped mid-pour. “I made a fresh pot. Want some?”

Zach ignored the question and asked his own. “Did you get the tox screen back on Allison?”

“Yeah, I put a rush on it. It came while you were in with her.” Brock finished filling his mug. “Results on medications for the type of illness you described were negative.”

Zach eyed Brock. “Those meds would show up on a tox.”

“Yeah, they would.” Brock added cream to his mug then stirred. “Given what you told me about her condition when you found her, and what I witnessed when you brought her in, I expanded the search.”

Zach went still. “And?”

Brock’s lips firmed. “One hit. Not for the kind of drug to combat hallucinations and delusions. It’s the kind that causes them.” He tossed the spoon into the sink in an outward display of the anger he was obviously feeling.

Zach’s gut clenched. “You sure?”

“No doubt and the marks on her skin show she’s received injections regularly.”

She’d been wearing a dress with sleeves when Zach found her in the alley and then a long-sleeved blouse in her hotel room. He hadn’t seen any track marks.

“Someone’s been inducing Allison’s hallucinations. A husband should have seen marks on his wife—marks that appeared at the same time as her hallucinations,” Brock added pointedly.

“Sandoval?” Zach’s mouth tightened. “She’s terrified of him.”

“This could be the reason. She should be able to shed some light on all this.”

“I plan on asking her.” Why would Sandoval drug his wife? Zach let that question go for his more immediate concern. “How bad is she?”

“She’ll go through a period of withdrawal over the next seventy-two to ninety-six hours. The drug will take time to work its way out of her system.” Brock’s concern was obvious in his tone. “On the plus side, once she’s drug free there won’t be lingering effects that go on for months. No concern that the drug will remain dormant in her system for years until something triggers it. She’s underweight, undernourished. Her immune system is down. I started a course of antibiotics to fight off infection.”

Zach felt a surge of anger at her condition. “What the hell.”

“Yeah,” Brock said somberly. “I’ll see her myself and explain all of this to her. I’m not well equipped to handle withdrawal here. She should spend some time in rehab though I’m getting that’s not a good idea, that you want to keep her out of sight.”

“Yeah. Do what you can for her here, Brock. We need to keep her off the grid for the time being.”

“I got that. There’s more,” Brock said quietly. “While she was under I did a thorough exam. She’s been beaten. I found marks on her abdomen. Her back. By the locations I’d say the bastard who did this kept to parts of her body that would be covered by clothing.”

Zach’s jaw tightened. He was getting more enraged by the minute.

Brock blew out a breath. “Zach, I’m getting that this woman means something to you.”

“It’s not like that. Allison is a job that felt wrong. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’ve had a bad feeling from the start of it that I called this wrong.”

It was looking like he’d called it wrong big time. He felt a responsibility to Allison over that. He ran a hand back through his hair and without another word to Brock went back to Allison’s room. She was still sleeping. He rubbed a hand down his face and dropped into the chair at her bedside.

Allison’s eyes flew open and her body began to thrash on the bed. Zach shot to his feet and put his hands on her arms to keep her from falling off the mattress. “Allison, you’re all right.”

“Go away! Go away!” Allison made a soft, mewling sound. “Make it go away!”

“Brock!” Zach shouted. “Get in here!”

Allison screamed, a sound of terror that tightened Zach’s stomach. He lifted her into his arms and pressed her against his chest so she couldn’t do herself any harm with her wild movement. She was trembling in his arms. “Allison, you’re all right. You’re okay. It’s not real. A hallucination. Not real.”

Brock ran in. He had a small bottle in one hand and while he sprinted to the IV, he filled a syringe with whatever was in that bottle. As soon as he reached the IV bag, he added the medication.

Allison’s teeth chattered. She was cold now. Zach could feel the drop in her body temperature. Keeping one arm locked around her, he used his free hand to rub up and down her back and stimulate circulation. He recalled what Brock had said, that she’d been beaten there, and softened his touch. “Brock, how long for that stuff to work?”

Zach had barely shouted the words when Allison drooped against him. Carefully, he set her back on the bed. He stepped back for Brock to take his place at Allison’s bedside. She was out of it. Her eyes closed. Her body still. She was unaware of Brock as he spent the next few minutes checking her vitals.

“She’ll be out of it for a while,” Brock said quietly.

And when she woke, would she go through that all over again? Zach had seen a lot, but this struck him.

He was out of his depth here. This was Brock’s gig, not his. Zach needed to get himself back on solid ground.

“We’ve both been up all night.” Brock rubbed his eyes. “I still have rounds. You’re welcome to use the couch in my office to crash.”

“In a bit.”

As Brock left, Zach unclipped his cell phone and moved away from the bed. He called Chase, keeping his voice low not to disturb Allison.

“Zach?” Chase said.

“What’s the word on yesterday?”

“Sandoval hasn’t left the country yet. He must be looking for his wife but no one’s come here calling. I figure no reason he should unless he wants to hire us to find her a second time.”

“Yeah. By now he’d have to figure by the smooth in and out this was a pro job. Sandoval’s father made a lot of enemies.” Zach grunted. “Rafael Sandoval could spend his lifetime going through the list of people who could have snatched Allison to get back at him. Chase, you mentioned Allison has family. Parents and one sister. Put a couple of our people on them. I want our men to report back to me if Sandoval shows up there looking for Allison and to provide protection should her family need it from him.”

“Consider it done. How is she?” Chase asked.

Zach frowned and his gaze went to her. “Not good.”

There was a brief silence then Chase said, “Roger Morse called.”

Morse had referred Sandoval. “What does he want?”

“Wouldn’t say. Only that he wants to meet with you.”

Morse was CIA. Zach’s organization did a lot of off-the-books work for Morse. Zach didn’t like Morse. Trusted him less. That was enough reason not to blow off a meeting. “I’ll set it up with him. Anything else?”

“That’s all of it,” Chase said.

Zach ended the call and placed another, this time to Morse. Morse answered on the first ring. “It’s Corrigan.”

“I need to see you.”

“What about?”

“Let’s talk in person. Your place.”

Morse’s voice was tense, strained. Zach glanced at his watch. “Noon.”

“I’ll be there.”

Zach disconnected. Morse was a tense son of a bitch by nature, but even for him this was too tense. What the hell was up?

Zach called Chase back. “I need you to do something for me. I need to leave Brock’s to meet Morse. I need you to come here and watch Allison. I don’t want her taken out of here. No one gets near her, Chase.”

“Understood,” Chase said.

Zach ended the call. He wanted to speak with Allison before he left to meet Morse and tell her about Chase. She’d be out a while longer from what Brock gave her. Brock’s couch sounded good. Zach would welcome some sleep. But he wouldn’t be making use of it. He glanced at Allison. She’d been drugged and beaten. He wasn’t going to leave her alone and unprotected. Instead of heading to Brock’s office, Zach returned to the chair at her bedside.

* * *

Allison opened her eyes and remembered the images, the creatures. She looked wildly about her. They were gone.

Zach sat in the chair by her bed. Her first reaction was fear—he worked for Rafael—but Zach was alone. So far he hadn’t called Rafael. If he had, she’d be having a very different awakening.

His eyes were open and on her. He leaned forward in the chair. His brows pulled together. “How you feeling?”

He’d been present when she’d had her meltdown. She recalled seeing him in all the chaos of her mind. Recalled him taking her into his arms. She crossed her own arms, gripping her elbows. She was afraid of him and his connection to Rafael. She was embarrassed and ashamed. She closed her eyes at the sting of tears. Dammit she was not going to lose it again. She lowered her gaze, blinking quickly, and kept her eyes down until she was sure she wouldn’t break down. When she glanced up again, Zach’s eyes were still on her. “I didn’t expect you to still be here.”

“Where did you expect me to be?” he asked mildly.

“Back where you come from doing whatever it is you do.”

“Not yet. You haven’t answered me. How are you feeling?”

Shaky. Terrified. Like she was losing her grip on her sanity. She increased her grip on her elbows until she could feel the skin stretch tight across her knuckles. “I’m not insane.” She blurted out the words, words she’d been telling herself for the last months, all the while praying they were true.

Zach’s gaze held hers and his deep voice grew gentle as he said, “I know that. Brock found a drug in your system that causes the kinds of things you’ve been experiencing.”

He could never know how much hearing those words meant to her. Someone else knew about the injections. She closed her eyes, overcome for a moment. But it was a brief moment. Zach worked for Rafael. Of course he knew all about the drugs.

“You need to get better,” Zach said. “You need to kick this.”

He was treating her like an addict. She wanted to protest but couldn’t. Was she addicted to Rafael’s drug? Her throat clogged and again she had to fight back tears.

“Brock was going to recommend a rehab facility for you,” Zach went on.

Rehab? She studied him. Was he telling her the truth? Or was rehab his way of getting her to go quietly back to Rafael? She didn’t trust Zach—not after he’d returned her to Rafael—and she still didn’t know what his motives were for taking her out of Rafael’s hotel room. She wanted nothing more than to end the feelings Rafael’s drug induced, but if Zach was being truthful about rehab, she couldn’t remain in one place long enough to get help to do that. She couldn’t go to a rehab facility. Rafael would find her if she didn’t keep moving.

Zach’s mouth thinned. “I’ve asked Brock to hold off and treat you here instead where we can keep you hidden.”

As in hidden from Rafael? Why would Zach care about that?

“Allison.” Zach leaned in closer to her. “Who’s been giving you that drug?”

His voice was low and urgent. His question angered her and her cheeks heated. “Do you expect me to believe you don’t know that?”

He didn’t flinch. His gaze remained steady. “Who?”

Allison twisted her lips bitterly. “Do you honestly think I believe you don’t know that the man you work for—my husband—has been drugging me?” She tasted bile that Rafael was her husband.

Zach’s expression became fierce. “Why?”

She couldn’t imagine why he was outraged. “Why do you think?”

“I’m asking.”

“Why don’t you ask your boss?” She held up a hand. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t work for Rafael.” Her tone was sarcastic. Zach didn’t respond, just continued to regard her with that unwavering stare. She’d said too much already. Her insides tightened. She stopped speaking and swallowed convulsively for a moment.

“Allison?” When she remained silent, he blew out an impatient breath. “I have to leave for a while. I’ll be back later today. We’ll pick this up then.” Zach stopped speaking then said gently, “I’m not a mind reader. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

No, she wouldn’t do that. Before she could tell him so, a woman entered the room, bearing a tray.

“Here’s breakfast for you, Allison.” The woman smiled and deep lines cut into her ruddy cheeks. “Zach, I can bring some for you too.”

“Thanks, Mary, but I’m on my way out.”

He got to his feet and Mary set a covered tray on the small table at Allison’s bedside.

“Let me know if you change your mind and you want to eat before you go,” Mary said to Zach.

“Appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Allison, you must be feeling hungry. Let me set this up for you,” Mary said.

Mary uncovered the tray revealing a plate of toast and eggs, a mug of coffee, and a tall glass of juice. Allison’s mouth watered. It had been so long since she’d had real food. She’d lost weight in the last months. Her ribs and bones protruded. She looked like a scarecrow. It was all she could do now not to pounce on the tray. She curled her fingers into her palms to keep from doing that. She couldn’t trust this food. She didn’t know if it had been drugged.

Allison expected Zach to leave her with the other woman, but he remained by the bed. Mary was the one to leave.

Zach addressed Allison. “While I’m gone, one of my people will stay here with you. His name is Gavin Chase.”

Alarm tightened Allison’s stomach. “If you’re not working for Rafael, why are you leaving a man to keep me a prisoner here?”

Zach shook his head once slowly. “Not to imprison you. To protect you. Chase won’t let anyone who hasn’t been cleared by Brock near you.” Zach’s jaw clenched. “Including Sandoval.”

There was no way to misinterpret Zach’s anger when he’d said Rafael’s name. Why was he putting on this act?

“Chase,” Zach called out and a man entered her room. “Allison, this is Gavin Chase.”

Chase was tall and muscled with a trim goatee that suited him well.

“Allison,” Chase said in acknowledgment. He smiled. “I’ll be out in the hall if you need me.”

As Chase left the room, Zach said to her, “I’ll see you later.” He turned away from her.

“Wait.”

He turned back to face her.

“If you’re really not working for Rafael,” Allison’s tone was laced with bitterness, “why are you still here with me? Why not just leave me?”

He frowned and she could tell he had no liking for the question. Still, his gaze was direct as he responded. “I called this wrong with you and Sandoval and you were hurt because of it. I don’t know where you were going when you left him, but I shouldn’t have stopped you.”

Allison watched him leave the room. He sounded sincere. He looked sincere. But she didn’t believe him. She was so desperate to have someone in her life she could trust again. She hated being on her guard all the time, afraid to believe in anyone. Taking people at their word was a luxury she hadn’t had in a long time. She’d done that with Rafael. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. This time a mistake would not affect only her. So many other lives were at stake. She didn’t know how she’d be able to save them now that all she’d planned had been lost, but she had to find a way.

The steam rising off the tray Mary had left filled the room with the various food smells. Hospital food was reputed to be among the worst, but this food smelled like the finest five star cuisine to Allison. Her hands shook as she put the cover back on the tray in an attempt to block out some of the aroma.

“ . . . Sandoval.”

Zach’s voice came from the hall. Allison’s head came up sharply. Though Zach was speaking quietly, the door was open. Was Rafael on his way here? Her heart picked up its pace. She strained her ears but couldn’t make out anymore of what Zach was saying. Careful not to make any sound that would alert Zach and Chase that she’d ventured closer, she made her way to the wall behind the door and leaned against it.

“ . . . it’s likely Morse wants to know about your meeting with Sandoval,” Chase said.

“Yeah.”

Zach again.

“No doubt he had a reason for referring Sandoval to you,” Chase added. “Morse never does anything without a reason that benefits him. And if he knows we have Allison, and that Sandoval is looking for his wife, I’m betting he’s going to want you to give her to him. She would be a valuable card to play with Sandoval.” Chase paused. “Zach, we do a lot of business for Morse and the CIA.”

A chill went through Allison.

“Hi Zach. Chase.”

Allison recognized Mary’s voice.

“Hey Mary,” Chase said. “What you got there?”

“Just going to check Allison’s vitals again.”

Allison made it back to the bed as Mary breezed into her room. That minor exertion had left Allison panting and she worked to regulate her breathing.

Mary came to Allison’s bedside and attached a blood pressure cuff. “Dr. St. John wants another reading.” She smiled.

Allison’s heart was beating hard. Zach intended to hand her over to the CIA who would then return her to Rafael. She couldn’t let that happen.

Mary frowned. “Your BP’s up. I know being in a hospital can be stressful but try to relax, hon. The sooner you get better, the sooner you can go home.” Mary uncovered the food tray again then said with a smile, “Eat up before it gets cold.”

When Mary reached the hall, Allison heard her tell Chase where he could get breakfast. They exchanged another few words then the conversation ended. Mary had only addressed Chase. Zach must have left for his meeting with the CIA.

Allison needed to be away from here. Out from under Zach’s “so called” protection. She didn’t believe Chase would leave his post for breakfast. How long did she have before he checked in on her? She couldn’t afford to waste any time.

She found her clothing neatly hung in the small closet. She dressed in the black pants and white cotton shirt she’d had on in the hotel room. There was a man’s jacket in the closet as well. Zach had placed one of his around her at the alley. This wasn’t that one, but it was just as large. She didn’t know what it was doing here, but was glad for it.

She didn’t have the gown she was wearing the night she’d escaped from Rafael. That gown would have guaranteed her safety from him. The dress was lost. She had to move on without it.

This clinic was unlike any other hospital facility she’d ever been in. It was fashioned more like a dwelling, a single story house. If not for the medical equipment, her room resembled a typical bedroom. And like all bedrooms, this one had windows.

CHAPTER FIVE

Zach was still thinking about what Allison had told him about Sandoval. The look in her eyes when she’d named Sandoval as the one who’d given her the drugs had been haunted and anguished. Along with that pain there’d been terror. She was scared out of her head of Sandoval. No wonder. Zach’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Sandoval had lied to Zach and that lie resulted in a woman being hurt. She’d been drugged and beaten. The fact that Zach had played a part in enabling Sandoval to hurt Allison turned his stomach.

He shouldn’t have stopped her from getting away from Sandoval. He blew out a breath filled with regret. There was no way he could fully make that right, undo the hurt Sandoval had inflicted on her. But Zach could and would escort Allison to wherever she’d been headed before he’d intervened.

The road leading directly to Zach’s place came into view. Zach made the turn, not surprised to find Morse waiting by the road side, engine idling. Zach followed the road to its end then parked at the back of the house. He entered the security code for the command room then went inside, not waiting for Morse to park his own vehicle. Zach left the door open. Morse hurried in almost on Zach’s heels.

Zach crossed his arms and without preamble asked, “What’s going on Morse?”

Roger Morse was in his mid fifties, stocky, with graying curly hair that was thinning on top. He ran a finger that was stained yellow from tobacco over an almost bald patch. “What happened with Sandoval?”

“What do you mean?”

“Cut the shit, Zach. Tell me what Sandoval wanted to talk to you about so badly.”

“You got something going on with Sandoval?”

“Fuck, Zach, you’re a closemouthed son of a bitch.”

“That works for you, Morse. I do a lot for you that can’t be said. Now what’s going on with Sandoval?”

Morse’s expression tightened. “I didn’t come here to give information. I came to get it.”

Zach kept his eyes on Morse and kept his silence. Morse wanted to be in control. Zach did jobs for Morse, but Morse didn’t run him and Zach had made sure Morse knew that. There was no love lost between them and Zach knew Morse would rather not work with him at all, but he did because Zach and his people were that good.

Morse clenched his jaw tight enough that it bulged. “I need to know if Sandoval hired you. If something’s going down in his country.”

Zach knew the history. Rafael Sandoval’s father, Enrique, had a choke-hold on the region, getting rid of any opposition fast and hard. Since the demise of the dictator, the rebels wanting to overthrow the Sandoval regime had resurfaced.

“Sandoval says he wants to end the old ways,” Morse went on. “To democratize his country. He’s looking to the U.S. for funds. He needs to show the world he’s able to lead his country. Did he hire you to restore order?”

Zach couldn’t say he’d never done what Morse was asking. There were always two sides to every conflict. But Zach had always decided for himself which side he would support, which missions to accept. He’d never let anything or anyone decide that for him. And the deciding factor was always if he felt the mission was just. He had to feel the rightness of it. He wasn’t going to bare his soul to Morse. To Morse now, Zach said simply, “Sandoval doesn’t need me and my people. He’s got his own army.”

“With the world watching him right now, he’s not going to want to remove this threat himself. It’ll be better politically to have someone from outside quietly do his work for him.” Morse kept his gaze trained on Zach. “If that’s not it, I can’t think of any other reason he’d need to talk to you. Give me something, here, Zach.”

Zach eyed Morse. “He didn’t come to me to do clean up. If you suspect that’s what he’s doing, he’s hired out elsewhere.”

Morse rubbed the top of his head. “Shit. I was hoping you were on your way down there at Rafael’s request.”

“Why’s that?”

Morse looked rattled. “It would be the perfect cover to do the reconnaissance I need.”

“Why do you need recon there?”

Morse shook his head. “No matter now since you’re not on Sandoval’s payroll. Let me know if that changes. I’ll have a job for you.” Morse was silent for a moment then said, “There is something you can do. Sandoval’s talks here are finished for the time being, but he’s still hanging around. He’s keeping this under wraps, but we found out his wife took off. She was here with him on his diplomatic visit and now she’s gone. His people are quietly looking for her. No Intel on why she left him, but the fact that she did leave could help us.”

“How?”

“She’s been with Sandoval for several months. She may know something we can use.”

“Like what?” When Morse didn’t respond, Zach prodded. “Big ‘if’, Morse. For all you know, she may have taken off because she’s rethinking her marriage.”

“Could be,” Morse said but Zach could see in Morse’s eyes he didn’t believe that. Morse shrugged though he looked anything but indifferent. “Find Allison Sandoval.”

Morse knew something about Allison and the fact that he did made Zach uneasy. “Who’ve you got looking for her now? Your people or did you bring in outside help?”

“No one.”

Zach didn’t believe that. His voice hard he said, “All the best finding her, Morse.”

Morse pressed his lips together. “I could use your help with this. Are you in?”

“You ready to be straight with me about what’s really going on here?”

Morse’s face reddened and he remained silent.

Zach gave Morse a look that was now as hard as his tone. “Like I said, all the best finding her.”

Morse turned away from Zach and without a word left the command room, slamming the door behind him. Chase had been right about Morse wanting Allison. Morse wanted her badly. Morse was an asshole but he was good at his job. If he believed Allison had information about Sandoval, Zach couldn’t discount the possibility.

Zach’s cell phone rang. “Go ahead, Chase.”

“We got a problem. Allison left Brock’s.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” Chase emitted a harsh breath of frustration. “She went out the window in her room. I took a look directly around the clinic and didn’t find her. There’s a lot of woods to cover and it gets dark early now. I want to call in Briggs and Hamilton to help.”

It would take his men some time to get to Brock’s. Just as it would take Zach. As long as she was out there alone, without his protection, she was vulnerable. Acid burned Zach’s stomach. They had to find her. “Get on it, Chase. I’m on my way.”

* * *

Brock’s clinic was indeed a house and in a rural part of New York, Allison realized as she made her way from it. She’d been unconscious when Zach had brought her here and unable to get her bearings. Now she saw there was only one road leading to and from the clinic with bush and forests on both sides.

The air smelled of damp earth and some wild floral scent Allison couldn’t identify. She kept to the trees as much as possible. The last thing she wanted was to be seen by an oncoming car. That didn’t prove to be a concern, though, as time passed and she had yet to see even one vehicle on this road.

The day was overcast and bitterly cold. She was glad of the jacket she wore that was warm and so huge it hung past her knees and over her hands. Clouds looked heavy with the promise of snow.

She hadn’t come across another person since leaving Brock’s. As she walked on, the feeling of isolation, of being alone in the world grew. She savored it, feeling safer than she had in a long time. She shook her head. It was a false sense of security, one she couldn’t indulge in.

She wished she could have trusted her safety at Brock’s and stayed there a while longer to regain the strength that the last months had depleted. Of course she couldn’t. Not only did she need to keep moving, but she didn’t trust Zach. For all she knew, he could have taken her from Rafael in an attempt to build her trust. To find out for Rafael all she knew about him and what, if anything, she’d done with that knowledge.

She hadn’t done anything with that knowledge. She’d had proof of what she knew. Now she didn’t. Without that proof, who would believe her? Rafael had planted the seeds of her mental illness so she wouldn’t be believed. There were times she doubted her own sanity.

She could not remain in New York where Rafael had last known her to be. If she stayed here, it would only be a short time before he found her. She had to get away from here. That required money. All she had was what she was wearing. The man’s jacket looked expensive. It was warm. She didn’t want to part with it. Added to that, it wasn’t hers. She swallowed hard, feeling like a thief. But there was no choice. Survival obviously came first. She’d pawn it for one that was less costly, and any additional money it might bring, at the first place she could.

Her strength was fading fast and worse than that, she was beginning to feel another bout of withdrawal. Her mouth tightened in frustration at her weakness. She had to control it and put one foot in front of the other and move on.

The temperature was dropping quickly. She could feel it. The sky had grown dark. A storm appeared to be imminent. The trees overhead let in little of the remaining light to filter through the branches. She needed to find a place to stay out of whatever weather was coming but it was dangerous to stop moving. Now not only did she have Rafael to worry about finding her, but Zach and his watchdog, Chase, as well.

Zach would have no reason to look for her if he weren’t working for Rafael. Yes, he’d sounded sincere earlier when he’d said he shouldn’t have interfered in her escape from Rafael. Those words could have her thinking he meant to set things right. That he was an honorable man. She wasn’t that big a fool. Not anymore. Marriage to Rafael had cured her of that. If she’d thought she was being unfair to Zach, painting him with the same brush as Rafael, Zach himself had shown her he was no different from her husband. Barely moments after delivering that speech about protecting her, Zach went to meet with the CIA to hand her over. The thought was bitter. It gave her no satisfaction to be right. She wished Zach could have been the man he’d claimed to be.

She hated that along with the regret of finding out the truth about him, she also felt sadness. It scared her how much she wanted to believe in someone and how let down she now felt.

She was so tired. It was becoming a monumental effort to keep moving. Despite the frigid air, perspiration broke out on the back of her neck. Her heart rate accelerated. She could feel the withdrawal taking hold. Fight it. Fight it. A pain in her stomach halted her in her tracks and doubled her over.

She sucked in her breath and remained still, hoping to ride it out, but there was no riding it out. The pain sharpened. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her middle. Pressing her lips tightly together she fought to keep from crying out at the pain.

Tremors shook her. She reached out to steady herself against a tree trunk but stumbled. Her legs gave out and she landed hard on the cold ground. Pain knifed through her. The tree no longer appeared a shelter, but a menacing beast looming over her, the branches, the tentacles, reaching out to envelope her. Allison screamed.

* * *

Zach, Chase, Hamilton and Briggs had been combing the area leading from Brock’s for a while. The wind had kicked up causing the trees to sway. Zach narrowed his eyes against the sting of the cold breeze and entered a section of the woods where the trees and shrubs were less dense.

Where was she? She was skittish of strangers and even if a car happened along, it was unlikely she rode her thumb off this road. No, she wouldn’t hitch. On foot, she couldn’t have gone far. She had to still be in the area.

He didn’t think she’d been taken by Sandoval or Morse. Zach and his people had moved quickly as soon as Chase discovered her gone and Zach had not had any indicators that Sandoval or Morse were close. Still, the possibility existed. Zach’s shoulders were tense and his stomach hadn’t eased since he’d received Chase’s call.

The mic on Zach’s shoulder remained quiet. One of his team would have reported in if they’d found her. His steps thudding on the hard, dry ground, and the whistle of the wind were the only sounds.

He walked on. He glanced at the sky. Clouds hung low, making the day darker, but there were still a few hours of daylight left. Zach didn’t want to think they’d still be searching for her when night fell. He picked up his pace.

A woman screamed. He stopped on a trail. He swung in the direction of the sound then broke into a run.

A clearing was up ahead. He charged into it. Allison was huddled in a ball beneath a tree.

Zach dropped to his knees beside her. “Allison!”

She didn’t respond. Was she even aware of his presence? Her eyes were wide, the pupils hugely dilated. She was trembling. He reached out to gently brush a leaf from her face. Her skin was pale, cold, and damp with perspiration.

She hadn’t reacted to him at all but when the backs of his fingers touched her cheek, she screamed again and struggled to scoot back from him. She wasn’t successful at putting any more distance between them.

“Not real. Not real.”

Her tone was barely a whisper as if she lacked the strength to speak louder. The agony in her voice staggered him. “Allison. I’m going to help you.”

Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Her gaze became fixed, locked on something within her mind.

Zach spoke into the mic. “I have her. I’m going to carry her north to Brock’s. Chase, we’ll make better time getting her help if you meet me on the road with one of our vehicles.”

“On my way,” Chase said.

Zach gently lifted Allison into his arms. He’d expected resistance but she was inert and unresponsive. A chill went through him. He tightened his grip on her and huddled over her to shield her from the wind and cold. “Hold on, Allison.” He placed his lips to her ear and repeated, “Hold on.”

CHAPTER SIX

Allison opened her eyes. Zach shot forward in the chair by her bedside but no, her gaze was clear, focused, and minus that all-consuming fear that had been present for the last three days when she’d been in the grip of withdrawal and seeing all manner of horrors. Zach exhaled what felt like his first deep breath in that time.

“Hey,” he said.

She squinted at him then turned her head, looking around her. “I’m back at the clinic?”

Her voice was hoarse and he hated to see the fear back in her eyes. “Yeah. I found you out of it in the woods near here and brought you back.”

She swallowed. “How long ago?”

“Three days.”

She put her hand to her head. “So much time. I don’t remember.” She pressed her palms to the bed. Her arms trembled as she struggled to push herself up from her prone position on the mattress. “Rafael could have found me. He could have . . . ”

Her breathing quickened and she paled. Her pallor alarmed him and Zach grasped her shoulders. They were trembling like the rest of her. He squeezed gently. “None of that happened. You’re here. You’re safe. You’re okay.”

She drew back from him as far as she could with him still holding her. “Until the CIA arrives.”

“What?”

“I overheard you and Chase. You were on your way to a meeting with the CIA. To hand me over.”

On top of everything else, his conversation with Chase had added to her fear. She was still pulling against his hold. The desire to put distance from him was in her eyes if Zach hadn’t received the message from her tugging, but he continued to hold her. “You got that wrong,” Zach said gently. “Yes, I was meeting with my CIA contact, but not to give you to him. I was gathering information. That’s all.”

She raised her chin, though it trembled. “You must think I’m the world’s biggest idiot. You do a lot of work for the CIA. I heard Chase say that. They scratch your back. You scratch theirs.”

There was bitterness and sadness in her voice. He was sorry she believed him to be the one to cause her to feel them. Zach’s manner softened further. “That’s not how I roll. And, if you need proof, you’re still here and not at a CIA facility.”

“Allison, you’re awake,” Brock said with a broad smile as he made his way into her room and to her bedside. “Let’s have a look at you. Hey, Zach.”

Zach shot Brock a look, displeased with the interruption. He let out a breath, acknowledging it was a necessary interruption. He needed to speak with Allison but that wasn’t happening anyway. She was as closed off to him as she’d been when they’d first met. Any headway he’d made with her in getting her to trust him, if he’d made any, had been lost when she’d overheard his conversation about Morse. He was back to square one.

He rose from the chair to give Brock and Allison privacy for the examination. Out in the hall, Zach rubbed a hand over his jaw that was badly in need of a shave and fought back the fatigue of the last three days. Brock had explained he wasn’t set up to treat Allison. Brock didn’t have the staff so Zach had taken turns with Brock, Laurel, and their nurses, staying with Allison while she’d battled withdrawal. Seeing her that way, fighting a war within her own body, had affected him. Anger boiled him at her condition and he felt a helplessness he wasn’t used to. He rolled one shoulder, feeling restless and out of sorts.

He needed to check in with Chase for an update on Sandoval and now, Morse, as well. He did that and Chase reported no change on their end. So far, no one had placed Allison with Zach. He ended the call with Chase.

Sandoval had a man hunt going for her. She was hiding something. Something Zach would bet was the reason Sandoval was so hot to find her. Zach snorted. It certainly wasn’t husbandly devotion. Whatever was going on with her and Sandoval had Morse’s antennae up as well.

Zach’s first priority was protecting her. Whatever she believed to the contrary. His lips twisted sourly. While he understood her fear, he was frustrated with the situation and his inability to get through to her. He needed to find out what she was hiding, but she wasn’t going to come clean with him now. He hated like hell flying blind. He needed to know what she knew and he needed to know what Morse was holding back. Again, Zach rolled his tense shoulders. While he had no choice with Allison at the moment, he knew where he could get the information Morse was sitting on.

Zach punched in the numbers for Gage’s cell. Gage Broderick was a police captain in a D.C. precinct. As the phone was ringing, Zach realized it was six a.m. here in New York—three a.m. outside of Washington where Gage was. Zach was about to disconnect and call back at a more reasonable hour, when Gage’s voice, heavy with sleep, came on the line.

“Zach?”

“Yeah. No one died.”

Gage cleared his hoarse voice. “Glad to hear it.”

Zach heard the mattress shift as Gage moved, then the sleepy voice of Mallory, Gage’s fiancée. Zach winced. Shit. Gage had said Mallory wasn’t sleeping well. Zach hated like hell that he’d awakened her.

“Is everything all right with Zach?” Mallory asked.

“All’s good.” Zach heard Gage kiss her. “Go back to sleep, honey.”

Gage was quiet, his footfalls the only sounds for a moment, then a chair creaked and Zach figured Gage was now seated behind his desk, in the spare room in his house that he used for a home office.

“Back now,” Gage said.

“Sorry for the hour, man. Apologize to Mallory for me. How’s she doing?”

“Some days are better than others.”

Mallory had nearly died in the investigation that had brought her and Gage together. She’d been fighting that trauma since. Zach heard the worry in Gage’s voice and shared it.

“She’s been through a lot,” Zach said.

“Yeah.” Gage blew out a breath that conveyed his anxiety and helplessness, then asked, “What’s going on with you, Zach? You okay?”

Zach figured Gage didn’t need anything more on his plate at the moment and said simply, “I need a favor.”

“Name it.”

“I need a number for John.” John was John Burke, Mallory’s brother. Zach knew John and his wife, Eve, through Gage and Mallory and counted them as family. Mallory’s brother was a CIA operative. John headed up a team of agents who specialized in chemical weapons terrorism. His advanced position with the CIA gave him a high level of clearance. If anyone could find out what Morse had declined to tell Zach, John could. Zach had the numbers for John’s personal lines and that wasn’t what he was after. “I need the number for his secure line, Gage.”

Gage was still, then his chair squeaked again. “I was wondering why you were calling me from your secure line.” Gage recited John’s number.

“Got it,” Zach said.

Gage’s voice grew heavy with concern. “If you need to talk to John on that phone, you’re into some heavy shit. Watch your ass.”

“Guaranteed.”

“See you in three weeks.”

Thanksgiving was in a little over three weeks’ time. Ed and Ellen Turner, Mitch’s folks, and the people Zach thought of as his folks as well, always celebrated the day with their family and those fortunate to be considered family like Zach. Zach could count on one hand the times he’d missed Thanksgiving with the Turners since he was a boy. If he wasn’t out of the country on a mission, he was there. “Yeah. Three weeks.”

Zach ended the call. John lived in Virginia, near the CIA headquarters. Virginia was in the same time zone. Zach placed the call but got John’s voicemail. He left a message for John to call him back on Zach’s own secure line and left the number.

Zach returned to Allison’s room. The door was open. Brock had left. Zach lingered in the doorway. She hadn’t noticed him yet standing there. She didn’t look up to answering the questions he needed to ask her and he felt like an ogre. She looked frightened and fragile. Allison didn’t want his help but she needed it, and though it would be a hell of a lot easier, he couldn’t turn his back on her.

But in order for him to protect her, he needed to know just what she was mixed up in. It all came back to that. He didn’t know all he should. He had to take another stab at getting her to come clean with him.

He entered her room. Allison’s head darted up.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Allison’s posture stiffened and her eyes became wary.

Zach sat in the usual chair. “I need to know why Sandoval is so hot to find you.” She looked away from him, but not before he saw a veil come over her eyes, shielding them from him. “Allison, the time for secrets is over,” he said gently. “I already told you I met with my CIA contact to gather information. What I found out was the CIA is hot for you too. Why is that?”

She continued to meet his gaze, her own now defiant. “You’ve been talking to the CIA. You tell me.”

His anger sparked but died quickly. Despite the tough front, her voice was thin and weak. Her face pale and drawn. The ordeal of the last few days had ravaged her. And on top of that, she looked scared. He hated the fear in her eyes. She’d had too much of it.

Zach saw all that and wasn’t immune to it. He blew out a breath. He had to tamp down on those thoughts. They would have him putting off questioning her. He had to press on. This was too important for him not to. “I know you had no reason to trust me but that was before. I got you away from Sandoval.”

Her chin lifted. “How do I know that wasn’t a ruse to draw me in and you aren’t on a fishing expedition for him?”

Zach’s tone low and even, he said, “Do you see Sandoval here? I’ve hidden you from him. Do you see the CIA here? Do you honestly think if either of them knew you were here, they wouldn’t be?”

Her gaze lowered but not before he saw in her eyes that she agreed with that.

“I’ve hidden you from Sandoval and now from the CIA as well. Got you treatment that you badly needed. While you were out of it, I could have given you up. But you’re still here. It’s time you started trusting me.”

Her gaze returned to his. Her lips firmed but trembled, belying the hard look she was attempting. “Easier said than done.”

“Work on it. I owe you. I intend to correct the mistake I made taking you back to Sandoval, but it’s not just me involved in this. I may need to call up my teams. I’m not risking my people by walking into something blind. I need to know what you know.” He held her gaze. “If I wanted you back with Sandoval, you’d be back with him.” Zach stated it bluntly.

She paled at his words. He couldn’t regret them if they brought that truth home to her. But he wanted her to trust him. Having her trust was becoming increasingly important to him. She’d been hurt by Sandoval and by Zach himself. He had to take a step back. Give her time to see for herself that she could trust him.

He clasped his hands between his knees and bent over them in an attempt to appear less threatening. “I don’t expect your complete trust yet but I have kept you safe and that has to count for something. You can trust me.”

Her eyes dimmed. “I’ve learned that I can’t trust anyone.”

Her words struck him. The pain behind them. No doubt she’d learned that bitter lesson from Sandoval. She’d given her trust to a man she loved who was supposed to love her and had that trust shattered.

Her emotions were open just now, as hard as Zach believed she was trying to keep them concealed. He could see on her face and in her eyes how badly she wanted—needed—someone to believe in. He wanted her to believe in him.

He bent closer, willing her to see the conviction in his eyes and hear it in his voice. “I’m going to go on keeping you safe. I’ll see this through until the threat to you is removed.”

The fight seemed to drain out of her. Her shoulders slumped. Zach didn’t take the relaxation of her body as an indicator that she believed him and all he’d told her but that she was running on empty. She simply had nothing left in her. She looked lost and vulnerable and it both angered him and made him hurt for her to see her so beaten down.

She closed her eyes tightly and when she opened them her grief was raw. “Rafael is no different from his father.” She wrapped her arms protectively around herself.

It was an odd thing to say but it was a start. “Why is he no different, Allison?” Zach asked gently.

“His claims that he wants to change the way his father ruled are all lies.”

* * *

Allison’s mouth went dry at telling Zach that. Trust him. He had no inkling of the magnitude of what he was asking. How her marriage to Rafael had taught her not to trust anyone.

But as Zach had pointed out, he had taken her away from Rafael. He had brought her to Brock for help. And he had kept her hidden. He was right. While she’d been in the throes of withdrawal for the last three days, he could have opened the doors to Rafael or to the CIA and there wasn’t anything she could have done to prevent either from taking her away. Instead, Zach had maintained her secrecy and kept her safe.

He claimed he owed her. The fact he felt a debt eased her a bit, gave her a plausible reason for him offering to help her. If he presented himself as nothing more than a good Samaritan, all kinds of alarm bells would be ringing in her head.

If this were an elaborate ruse he was perpetuating to gain information for Rafael, or now, for his CIA contact, she couldn’t see it. She no longer believed he planned to hand her over to Rafael or to the CIA. Still, she would not give him her blind trust. She would keep her guard up and not divulge all.

Zach leaned toward her. “How do you know this?”

She chose her words carefully. “I lived in the country. I saw for myself that Rafael wasn’t changing the way things had been done.” While that much was true, there was more, so much more that she couldn’t risk telling Zach.

A line appeared between his brows. “Reports coming out of that region support Sandoval’s claims of wanting to improve his country. We’ve seen visible positive changes.”

Her mouth filled with a sour taste. “Whatever you think you’ve read, whatever you think you’ve seen, is wrong.”

A nurse entered the room pushing a cart that held a host of medical equipment.

“Time to take some blood, Allison,” the nurse said.

Zach ignored the nurse, and his phone which started to beep, continuing to pin Allison with his unwavering stare. Finally, he broke eye contact. Allison could see he wanted to continue their conversation, but he’d gotten all he would from her.

He got to his feet. “I’ll be back.”

Allison didn’t respond. His phone was still beeping. He placed it to his ear and left.

* * *

It was John calling back. Zach walked down the hall, away from Allison’s room, and entered a supply room. He closed the door and took John’s call. “John.”

“Zach, what’s happened that you’re calling me at this number?” John asked.

“I need all the information you have on Rafael Sandoval.”

There was a pause at the other end of the line. “What’s going on?”

“I did a job that went south. I’m going to make it right.”

“What kind of job?”

“That’s all I can say for now.”

John’s voice tensed. “You’re not making this easy.”

“I would if I could. The less you know about this right now, John, the better. You should know that Morse is in this. I can’t go to him for what I need. I need to keep Morse out of it.”

There was a silence. “I’ll expect you to tell me what’s going on if it becomes something I need to know.”

“You know I will.”

“Yeah, I do know that.” The tension left John’s voice replaced by the trust they shared. “Give me thirty minutes.” He ended the call.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Zach was back on the line with John. “What do you have?”

“I’m sending you a report,” John said, “but here are the highlights. Before Rafael’s father Enrique died, he had a team of scientists developing a nuclear weapon for him. From what we were able to gather, this weapon was going to be unlike anything we’ve seen before. When Enrique died, the scientists and the weapon went underground. We don’t know where it is. We don’t know what stage of development the weapon was at.” John paused then added, “We don’t know if Rafael Sandoval has taken over for his father and is continuing the project.”

“But the CIA thinks he is,” Zach said quietly.

“Yeah.”

“Zach, there’s something else. We had an agent down there undercover trying to find out about the nuke. A few months ago, our guy went off the grid. We haven’t heard from him since. We think he’s dead.”

A burn started in Zach’s gut.

“Zach, you there?”

“Yeah. I appreciate the help, John.”

“Not completely unselfish. If Sandoval is going ahead with this nuke, I don’t need to tell you what he’ll do with it. I don’t know what you’re involvement in all this is, but we’re drawing blanks here. I’m hoping you’ll find out something we can use.”

“Me, too.”

Zach ended the call. Dammit, Allison, where do you fit in all of this? His gut was telling him she was right in the middle of it.

Zach returned to Allison’s room. The door was closed. The nurse was still in with her. John’s Intel on Sandoval played over in Zach’s mind. He didn’t know for sure if Allison was involved in what John had revealed, but better to go with that she was somehow mixed up in this mess and act accordingly. Accordingly to Zach was to move her, get her out of Brock’s and into a safe house. He rubbed a hand down his face. He couldn’t do that until he got the okay from Brock about her health and then, of course, the okay from Allison herself. For now, though, he could make sure he had a place to take her to.

Zach punched in the numbers for Chase’s cell. When Chase answered, Zach said, “Chase, I need you to get a safe house ready.”

“Something happen?”

Zach told Chase about his conversation with John.

“Shit, Zach.”

“Yeah. Call me when you’ve got a place set up. I’m going to move Allison as soon as I can.”

“I’m on it.”

“Chase, there’s something else. Morse will be watching Allison’s family in case she shows up there. Tell our people. We don’t want Morse to spot any of our men near her parents or sister and wonder what our interest is. We don’t want Morse to put together that Allison is with me.”

“Got it.”

Zach ended the call. The nurse exited Allison’s room. Now to speak with Allison.

Allison was walking along the edge of the bed, moving at a snail’s pace, her face scrunched in concentration and what looked to Zach like discomfort. She was breathing audibly. Beads of perspiration dotted her brow and she raised a hand swiping the moisture away in a gesture of unmistakable impatience. Clearly, she was trying to get some strength back into her limbs but he could see she was in no condition to be exerting herself.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

The words came out sharper than he’d intended. Allison’s head came up. She’d been so focused on what she was doing, he’d startled her. Weak as she was, she lost her footing. Zach closed the distance between them and grasped her shoulders to restore her balance.

“Here. Let me help you,” he said.

“I’m fine. I’m okay,” she mumbled.

He could see she wasn’t. Fatigue had left shadows under her eyes and leeched the color from her face. He wanted to get her off her feet and back into bed but her shoulders slumped in an expression of defeat. Apprehension now replaced the determination that had been in her eyes an instant earlier. She knew she wasn’t up to even that small exertion and it scared her. He understood her fear. She was on the run and needed to be at her best to stay alive. She was nowhere near that.

Her shoulders were tense and trembled slightly. Zach gently brushed his thumbs across the taut muscles there.

But there was more than her body to consider. Her spirit was also battered. She needed something right now, even if it was just being able to stand on her own two feet for a moment and have a word with him. Instead of setting her back onto the mattress, he lowered his hands but stayed close in case she staggered.

Allison swallowed. “I know you want to talk about Rafael, but I have nothing more to say.”

Zach let that one go for the moment. “I’m not here to ask about Sandoval. I need to speak with you about next steps.”

She looked up at him in confusion. “Next steps?”

“We need to get you out of here, Allison. Just as soon as I get the okay from Brock, I’d like to move you.”

Alarm filled her eyes and her voice. “Has something happened?”

“No. But we can’t stay here too long. The longer we keep you in one place, the greater the risk of Sandoval or the CIA tracking you. We need to get you off the grid. Where no one will find you.”

Allison closed her eyes tightly and reached back to the bed. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the mattress. She opened her eyes. Her gaze went to the door then to the window. “You’re right. I need to keep moving.”

When she attempted to push herself off the mattress to gain her feet, Zach reached out and put his hand over hers. “Easy. I’m not suggesting you leave here this minute. Brock has to clear you first and before you go anywhere, you need to know where you’re going. I’m arranging a place for you.”

Her spine stiffened and the pulse in her throat began to pound. “Arranging? What makes you think I’d go anywhere willingly with you.” Her breathing quickened. “Or does ‘willingly’ matter to you?”

Zach didn’t like that she’d think he would take her anywhere against her will but she’d been through hell with Sandoval. She had every right to be cautious.

With her hand still in his, Zach dropped down so he was crouching in front of her and their gazes were level. “What I should have added when I said I’m arranging a place for you was, ‘if you want it’. Contrary to what you think of me, I have never forced a woman to do anything against her will. When I told you earlier that you can trust me, that I will see this through until the threat to you is removed, I meant it. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

Allison stared at him and didn’t back down. “And you expect me to believe all of this, everything you’ve done for me since taking me back from Rafael—bringing me here to Brock’s, finding me in the woods, keeping me hidden from Rafael and the CIA—is to repay this debt you feel you owe me? You’re going to have me thinking you’re an honorable man.”

She said it like an accusation, daring him to defy her, but he gave her the truth. “I will do right by you, Allison.”

* * *

Zach was right that she couldn’t leave Brock’s without a clear destination in mind. She could no longer go to where she’d been headed on the night she escaped from Rafael. She didn’t have a destination now and didn’t know how she’d get to it if she did. She needed a new plan. She needed somewhere to hide and to rebuild her strength. This wasn’t over with Rafael. As terrified of him as she was, she needed to see this through with him.

She wouldn’t be able to do that in her present condition. Zach was offering her a place to stay. She gnawed her lower lip until she tasted blood. Could she take what he was offering? Could she believe him in this one thing? Her heart thudded. If she judged him wrongly, it would cost her life and the lives of countless others.

Zach was still holding her hand. His grip was firm but gentle. He didn’t appear to be a man capable of being gentle. He was big and formidable. She recalled thinking that of him the first day she’d seen him in the alley. He’d been gentle with her then. Was being gentle with her now. He’d treated her with care since he’d taken her back from Rafael. He could have done all manner of things to her since then. Rather than bringing her here to Brock’s, he could have taken her to an isolated location to brutalize her as Rafael had. Who would have stopped Zach? She certainly couldn’t have. As weak as she was, she couldn’t stop him now if he intended to take her away by force. And if he did, then why consult her at all? Why all this back and forth? He would simply just do it.

Too many questions, she realized. There were too many inconsistencies for her to still believe he would harm her. She’d already decided he wasn’t going to return her to Rafael or to hand her over to the CIA.

Zach was still crouched in front of her, giving her time to work out his offer in her mind. She fastened her gaze on his. “Tell me about your plan to leave here.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Four days later, Brock discharged Allison. She was still drastically underweight and weak, but her system was free of the drug and withdrawal was behind her. She needed time to regain her good health but she didn’t need to be in a medical facility to do that.

Laurel had given Allison some clothing. Zach placed the small suitcase in the back of his SUV. After Allison thanked Brock and hugged Laurel, Zach led her out to the driveway where his SUV was parked. He’d waited for night to fall before making their departure. The moon was full. It was a clear night.

As he pulled away, he caught the lingering look she gave the clinic. No doubt she was feeling apprehensive about leaving the place where she’d been safe for somewhere that was unknown. “You okay?”

She linked her fingers together in a tight grip and gave him a small nod. Zach believed her grip on her hands was from tension rather than cold, but turned up the heat in the vehicle.

“I need you to listen to me.” Zach didn’t want to alarm her, but he did want to prepare her. “If I tell you to do something, I want you to do it. No hesitation.”

She gave him a sharp look. “You think Rafael could have tracked me here? Or the CIA?”

He cut a glance to her. “No. Like I told you before, if they had, they’d be here but we’re about to show ourselves. I’m going to take back roads to our destination, but we’ll still be exposed.”

“Exposed as in vulnerable.” The skin on her hands whitened as she increased her grip. “Rafael will turn over every stone to find me.”

Zach hadn’t picked up the conversation with her on Sandoval in the last four days. The drive to the safe house was as good a place as any to do that. “Why is Sandoval so eager to find you?”

Allison met his gaze. “I told you. I found out he’s lying to the world about his plans for his country.”

“How do you know this for sure?”

“Bad timing.” She exhaled deeply.

“Go on.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t prove it now.”

“Why not now? Sounds like you could at one point. What’s changed?” When she remained silent, Zach took a different approach. “Where were you headed when you got away from Sandoval?”

She swallowed. “Nowhere in particular. I was just focused on putting as much distance between me and Rafael as possible.”

She’d hesitated, so briefly it was barely noticeable, but Zach noticed. Wherever she’d been going, she wasn’t ready to share it with him. He could call her on it, but decided to drop it for the moment. They had a long drive. There was time to circle back to it. He pressed on. “What about going to your family?”

“My family is in Washington but regardless, I wouldn’t have gone to them. I wouldn’t endanger my parents and my sister by going to them. If Rafael knew they were helping me, he’d kill them without hesitation. I can’t go to them.”

She sounded as if she never expected to see them again. She drew herself in tight as if it hurt too much to talk about her family. There was grief on her face now. It was hard to observe. There was one thing he could assure her of. “Your family is safe.”

She faced him. “How do you know?”

“I know where your family is. My people are watching them, protecting them, in case Sandoval makes contact.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “Thank you.”

Zach nodded. Her shoulders visibly eased and he was glad to relieve her of this worry.

She peered out the front window. “No other vehicles on this road.”

Zach had deliberately opted to stay off all interstates. He was driving rural routes that could only generously be called roads. “We’re going to stay out of high traffic areas for this trip. I’d prefer we aren’t seen and possibly remembered in case anyone shows up out this way asking questions about you.”

He’d been over this with her already, but he’d go over it again and again if it reassured her. It seemed to be doing that. She relaxed a little against the seat back.

* * *

A quiet had descended between them for the last several miles as Zach drove them deeper into rural Blake County. Allison took her eyes off the road and focused on him. “How long have you been doing this?”

“About seven years on my own. Five before that for Uncle Sam.”

“I’d have thought after being in a war zone, you’d want to get as far away from this kind of work as possible.”

Zach smiled. “And do what? Sell flowers?”

Allison shook her head, but her own lips lifted. “Not necessarily, but something non-violent.” Even as she said the words she thought, no, Zach was not the type of man who would seek out the kind of job she’d mentioned. There was something savage about him.

“When I resigned my commission with the Navy, I wanted to build a business.”

“What exactly do you do?”

“There’s no exactly. We’re a special operations organization. Military operations. Among other things, we find and retrieve people. We provide protection.”

She considered that then asked, “How did you get started? I don’t think this is the kind of thing you print business cards for and pass around.”

“I had built a reputation when I worked for the government. Met some people. Most of my business comes from those people.”

She could tell he wasn’t going to be specific about who “those” people were, but she pressed on, knowing one of those groups. “You mean the CIA?”

“Yeah. We work for our government on jobs that are unofficial. We also take on jobs for civilians or civilian organizations.”

“How did Rafael know to come to you?”

“He was referred through a contact of mine.”

Feeling chilled thinking of Rafael, Allison hugged herself.

Zach reached out and covered her cold hand with his. “He’s not going to find you, Allison. I’m going to make sure of that.”

“And this contact? Are you still in touch with him?”

Zach raised an eyebrow. “You can’t still be doubting me.”

She shook her head quickly. “I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were going to hand me over. It’s just that I don’t like to think I’m being hunted on all sides.”

“It doesn’t matter how many people are looking for you. They aren’t going to find you.”

She heard the fierce resolve in his voice and so desperately wanted to believe it.

* * *

Zach was sorry to see the tension return to Allison. Her body had stiffened with it. They’d only been on the road a short while but dark smudges showed under her eyes. She was exhausted, wrung out from her ordeal of the last days, hell, longer than that from what Brock said to cause her body to be so weakened. Though how long, Zach didn’t know. Thinking of her condition brought on other dark thoughts, like just how much had she suffered to be so weakened?

When she took her eyes from his and turned her head away from him to look out the passenger window, he hoped she’d sleep.

He tuned the radio to a station that played soothing instrumental music and turned the volume low. As the soft strains of a guitar played on, Allison’s head lolled back against the headrest.

Farmland stretched as far as Zach could see. He’d be seeing more of the same for the rest of the drive to the safe house.

Another few miles and they’d leave Blake County and the state behind. Zach glanced over at Allison. She wasn’t asleep as he’d hoped. Though her head was still back against the rest, her eyes were open and on the road ahead.

As he took his gaze from her, a large pickup truck drove in front of Zach’s SUV, blocking the narrow, dirt road. Zach hit the brakes, shifted to reverse and floored the gas pedal. The SUV shot back, tires screeching.

Allison moved forward as far as the seatbelt allowed. “Zach!”

There were two men inside the truck. The passenger raised an assault rifle. Zach pressed his thumb on the switch for Allison’s seatbelt, releasing it, then put his hand on her head and pushed her down to the floorboard. “Stay down, Allison.”

Zach expected the man in the truck to aim and fire that mother of a rifle but he didn’t. Instead, the truck gave chase. As Zach continued to drive in reverse, two more pickups drove up, cutting Zach off from behind, and blocking his SUV between the trucks. Zach veered to the side to cut across one of the farms but on one side of the road was a deep drainage ditch while on the other a rickety, narrow bridge stretched across a rushing creek. The assholes had planned their ambush well. They’d fenced him in. Zach slammed the brakes.

“Allison, you okay?” he shouted.

“Y-es.”

The trucks were left to idle while men climbed down from each. Five men in all. As Zach watched, all five approached the SUV. They all carried automatic weapons held shoulder-high.

Allison’s brows pinched together. “Zach, what’s going on?”

He could hear the tremor in her voice and her now quick, shallow breaths, but couldn’t take his eyes off the men. He reached out and clasped her hand. “The men in the trucks are going to be here in a minute. If it were just me, I’d take them on.” He had an arsenal of his own on his person. “But I won’t take a chance with your safety.” Her hand started to tremble in his. Zach squeezed her a little harder. “Just let me deal with these bastards. We’re going to get out of this.”

“Rafael’s men?”

Zach shook his head. “Sandoval wouldn’t have known we’d be here at this moment to overtake us. If these were his people, they’d be behind, following us. This is something else.”

Zach tugged her hand and drew Allison up from the floor and back onto her seat. Both his door and Allison’s door were yanked open at the same time. Zach released Allison’s hand and stepped out slowly, his hands held up in front of him, to find four rifle barrels pointed at his chest. Zach sized the men up. All were big and burly, dressed in jeans and thick, flannel shirts that stretched across massive chests. They bore a resemblance to each other that marked them as family, brothers by the looks of them. What was this?

As Zach looked for the fifth man in their group, he came around to Zach’s side of the vehicle, tugging Allison behind him by the hair. His grip on her was white-knuckled. Both of her hands were clamped around the man’s fist where he’d wound her hair. Zach gritted his teeth to hold back the need to let loose on the asshole who held her.

The man tapped the barrel of his rifle against Allison’s temple. It was a silent warning to cooperate or else. Zach got it. He had every intention of cooperating with these men. So he stood with his hands held up, as two of the men came to stand in front of him. One of them yanked off Zach’s jacket, leaving him in a T-shirt, then frisked him, removing his semi-automatics, knives, one grenade and other weaponry from his belt, pockets and ankles.

“That’s a lot of fire power you’re carrying,” the man who’d disarmed Zach said. “We got a tough guy here.”

And Zach did nothing when the butt of a rifle was rammed into his gut, then another brought down on his head with enough force to drop him to one knee.

Allison screamed. She jerked against the man who held her. “Please. He’s not doing anything. You don’t need to do this!”

“Oh, did my brother hurt your boyfriend, sugar?” the man who held her said, confirming his relationship to the other man. He turned to the man who’d hit Zach. “Glen, did you hurt her boyfriend?” He faced Allison again. “Maybe you and me can work something out, sweet stuff, and I’ll make him stop.”

The man yanked harder on Allison’s hair, throwing her head back until her neck was stretched completely. Zach could see her pulse pounding from pain and fear. The asshole gave Allison an up and down look and his eyes darkened with lust. His lips pinched tight with malice. One of the other men whistled.

“Now don’t be greedy, Fred,” the one named Glen said with a laugh. “We’ll all be wanting a piece of that.”

Zach clenched his jaw, biting back on a rage that swept through him. It was time he got their attention back on him. Ignoring the pain in his gut and head, he got to his feet. Eyes narrowed, he faced Glen. “I hate to break up the party, but I want to get back on the road.”

Glen swaggered to Zach. “Got some place to go, do you?”

Glen struck Zach three blows to the gut, again with the rifle, and this time when Zach went down, he stayed down. Glen rested a knee on Zach’s spine, pulled his arms behind him and wound a roll of duct tape around Zach’s wrists, binding them, then Glen and Fred jerked Zach to his feet. Allison was shoved into the back of Zach’s SUV. An instant later, Zach was thrown in beside her. Two men took the front seats while the others returned to the trucks. A couple of moments later, the vehicles were underway.

* * *

It didn’t take long to reach their destination, a dilapidated farm house. Zach and Allison were hauled out of the SUV. Allison noted how the brothers again trained their weapons on Zach as he stood. He was a big man. Despite the fact that he was severely outnumbered and injured, the brothers registered that Zach remained a viable threat.

It was now the middle of the night and flakes of snow began to drift down from the sky. She had Zach’s warm jacket, the one she’d taken from Brock’s, but the chill air struck her. Zach had to be freezing in just a T-shirt. She shook her head. Cold had to be the least of what he was feeling.

High-pitched squeals shattered the quiet. Pig squeals. Allison looked to the back of the house where the sound was coming from. Too much noise to be coming from just a couple of animals. It sounded like many, many pigs.

Allison was pushed to the door, taking her attention from the animals. Beside her, Zach was shoved hard then Glen brought the rifle butt down on Zach’s shoulders again. He stumbled. Allison reached for him to take his weight and lend her support. It was a pitiful effort on her part. She wasn’t up to holding his weight. She was barely able to support her own after the last days and the months that preceded them under Rafael’s brutal care. Zach must have realized that as well. His body barely brushed hers before he righted himself.

As soon as Zach was steady on his feet, Glen raised the rifle and struck Zach again. The blow landed between his shoulder blades, a solid hit that dropped him to his knees on the hard ground.

Zach looked up at Glen, his look venomous and far from cowed, despite his position on the ground. “What do you want with us?”

“With you?” Glen said. “Nothing. With your woman, here,” Glen stroked his chin, “she’s more bony and pale than I usually like ‘em.” He leaned over Allison. “Sweet thing, your man not taking good care of you?” Glen’s gaze became avid. “Even so, she’s still a prize we hadn’t figured on. Isn’t that right, boys? Sweet girl, take off that jacket. Me and my brothers want to see what you got for us under there.”

The men nodded agreement and laughed. A chill went through Allison. When she didn’t immediately comply, one of the men chuckled and started toward her. Allison quickly shed the jacket and dropped it to the ground. She stood, arms around herself, shivering in the sharp wind.

“All this for a piece of ass?” Zach scoffed and slowly regained his feet. “Looking like you all do, I can see why you’re hard up.”

Be quiet. Be quiet! Allison screamed it in her mind, willing Zach to hear her. Why was he antagonizing them? He’d been doing it from the start. Then, she knew why. He’d told her in his vehicle that he’d deal with them and was deliberately drawing the men’s attention to himself to keep their attention from her. She felt sick inside that he was suffering to protect her.

“You know, I was going to put a bullet in your head and be done with you.” Glen scratched the thick, grizzled stubble on his chin. “But I think I’ll hold off. Make you watch us while we fuck your woman.”

Allison shut her eyes at the horrible image, but she couldn’t let it get to her.

Zach eyed Glen. “Yeah, you could have killed me. Back on the road, you had a direct line of sight. But you didn’t. Now why was that?” Zach was silent for an instant, but his hard gaze remained on Glen, then Zach’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t want to damage the truck.”

“You got a sweet ride, no mistake about that,” Glen said. “Vehicles like yours bring in a nice chunk of change. Like I said, your woman’s a bonus.”

Glen inclined his head to Fred and Fred pushed Zach and Allison into the one-story farm house. Inside, the rooms were narrow and dismal with dull walls and floors and dingy windows. Zach was pushed against a wall. Allison moved beside him.

As Glen reached for her, Zach said, “Why settle for the truck?”

“What?”

“In addition to the truck, I can get you cash—one million.”

Glen’s eyes fixed on Zach. “What?”

“Yeah, you heard right,” Zach said.

“Glen, one—” Fred said.

Glen raised his hand quickly, cutting Fred off in mid sentence. “This is horseshit. You’re bluffing.” Glen reached for Allison again.

“Am I?” Zach challenged.

Glen paused. “Where’s this money?”

Zach raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think I carry it around, do you? Even you can’t be that stupid.”

Glen’s mouth went tight at the insult but his greed overcame his pride.

“So where is it?” Glen asked.

“Here in Blake.”

“Where?”

“My place.”

Glen’s face went red with anger. “Nobody keeps one million at their place. Next you’ll be telling me it’s in your desk at the office.”

Zach gave Glen a hard look. “Do I look like the kind of guy who works a nice nine-to-five? You disarmed me. You saw the fire power I carry. What kind of work you think needs that kind of hardware? I’ll give you the answer. The kind that deals in cash and pays a lot of it.”

Glen rubbed his palm along the barrel of his rifle. “How do I know you aren’t bluffing?”

“You don’t, but are you willing to take the chance?”

Allison could see that Glen didn’t want to take that chance.

“If you touch her,” Zach’s tone was murderous, “if any of you touch her, you won’t see one dime of that money. I’ll take it to the grave.”

Glen’s eyes narrowed. “You aren’t in charge here.”

Zach held Glen’s gaze. “That’s right. You are. So decide. Are you going to settle for pocket change with the truck or go for a real score?”

Glen continued to stare at Zach then raised his rifle waist-high. “Move down that hall.”

Zach gestured for Allison to precede him so he was now between her and Glen, and Allison led the trio down the narrow corridor. The walls were painted a dull green. The paint peeling. The wood floor was scuffed. Allison came to a door.

Glen gestured to the door with the rifle. “Open it.”

When she did, cool air struck her. Wooden stairs descended into a cellar.

“Keep going down,” Glen said.

The cellar was cold but not dark. The moon was full tonight and streamed in through large vertical windows. The windows had bars on them, preventing their escape, but the bars did little to filter the bright moon. Even though Glen didn’t switch on the light for the lower level, the cellar was lit fairly well and she saw that the room was empty and enclosed by rough cinder block walls and cement floors.

Allison put her hand on the banister and began her descent. Zach’s arms were still bound behind him. She glanced back at him anxiously to see if was steady on his feet. Despite his injuries, Zach was sure-footed.

When they reached the bottom, Glen closed the cellar door. As soon as he did, Zach lost his erect posture. He bent over, his teeth gritted in an unmistakable expression of pain.

Allison went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist in case he stumbled. With his arms bound behind him, he wouldn’t be able to break his fall. Zach stiffened, again keeping her from bearing too much of his weight. She dug in her heels and braced her shoulder under his arm. “Let me help you.”

He released a harsh breath then said, “I’m okay.”

He stood against her, taking in deep breaths for a moment, then slowly stepped away and moved to one of the walls.

“How hurt are you?” Allison asked.

“I’m fine.”

Obviously that wasn’t the truth. He began to move along the wall behind them. “What are you doing? You should be sitting or laying down.” Though where would he do that? On the cold cement floor?

“I’m okay.”

But he was moving more carefully than she’d ever seen him and when he made a quick move, he gave a little grunt, belying the words. Allison felt useless, helpless to do anything to ease his obvious pain. “Zach, stop that. If you can’t lay down, at least stop moving around.”

He did come to a stop against one wall, but while he remained in place, he continued to slide his hands against the rough surface. He had to be tearing his skin. As she was about to ask him what he was doing, he brought his hands around to the front of his body. She realized he’d been sawing the duct tape against the sharp cinder blocks.

He yanked off the bits of tape that clung to him and dropped them to the floor. He’d bled on the tape where the cinder blocks had sliced the skin on his wrists.

“All this to get your truck,” she stated softly.

He stretched his arms above his head and flexed his fingers. “Yeah. When Glen, Fred and the rest of their brothers drove up, I saw a couple of barns. One of them was open. They had other vehicles in there. We’re not the first people they’ve brought here. There’s a pig farm out back. Judging by all that noise, they’ve got a lot of pigs.”

Allison recalled the squeals. “The brothers didn’t do anything to disguise themselves from us. They don’t care that we saw their faces. I don’t need to ask what you think happened to the other people who’ve been here.” She closed her eyes tightly for an instant thinking of the others and what had happened to them.

Zach’s hand brushed across her cheek. “We’re not going to end up like the others.”

She opened her eyes to find his gaze locked on her. He nodded slowly, never taking his eyes from hers. She felt some shame that he was offering her comfort with all he’d just been through. She wouldn’t become a burden to him. He had enough to deal with. “What do we do to get out of here?”

He lowered his hand. “We stall them like I did by dangling the promise of a big score, and we wait. My team will come for us.”

She looked up at him. “How will they know where we are?”

“All of the Corrigan vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking devices. Chase will be monitoring mine for our arrival at the safe house. When he sees it isn’t parked where it should be, he’ll trace us here.”

She didn’t ask how long before Chase would realize they were in trouble and sound the alarm. She hoped he wasn’t too late.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Though she was holding it together, Zach could see that Allison was terrified. Her eyes had gone wide. Her face pale. He took her face between his palms and bent so their gazes were level. “I’m going to get you out of here, Allison. You have my word.”

She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, reached up and seized his fingers in a tight grip. “With everything else going on, the last thing you need is to coddle me.” She shook her head. “You’re the one they’ve hurt. You wouldn’t even be in this mess if not for me.”

“You aren’t to blame.” He lifted one corner of his lips. “This isn’t the first time I’ve taken a pounding. It won’t be the last and what these assholes have done to me won’t kill me. We’re both going to walk out of here.”

Zach gave her another nod and when she returned it, released her. Every breath hurt. His ribs had taken the worst of it. On the plus side, though, nothing felt broken. He needed to stretch out but there’d be no comfort on the cement floor.

They could have used their jackets. The cellar felt as cold as a meat locker. Allison was visibly shivering. As weak as she was, her body didn’t need another assault. He needed to get her warm.

Slowly, he made his way back to the stairs. The wooden steps were by no means warm in the cold cellar but they would be warmer than the cement walls and floors.

He braced one hand on the stair and stretched out his other arm. “You’re freezing. Come here, Allison.”

She sat beside him. A chill shook her as her bottom connected with the cold step. Zach wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her tight against him, ignoring the pain in his side.

She slid away from him a bit. “It can’t be comfortable with me pressed up against you. I don’t want to cause you more pain.”

“It’s fine. You won’t do me any more damage.”

Zach brought her against him once more. She hesitated and he urged her nearer until their bodies were as close as they could get. He brought his other arm up and wrapped that one around her as well in an effort to warm her. She was so small in his arms. She felt delicate and fragile. He tightened his hold.

Allison tilted her head back and looked at him. “How long do you think before they decide to take you up on your offer to get them that money?”

Zach grunted. “They’ve already decided to go for it. Right now, they’re trying to figure out the logistics of it, how to get me and you where we need to be to get the cash.”

“You think they’ll take me along?”

“It’s not going to come to that. My team will come.” At her worried expression, Zach added, “But if it did, these assholes have no choice about that.” Zach’s voice was hard. “You go where I go.”

She linked her fingers in a tight grip and said softly, “It would be easier for you all around if you just made a deal for yourself and left me to them.”

Zach tipped up her chin farther and looked straight into her eyes. “Not going to happen. You go where I go,” he repeated.

He leaned back against the step above. He let out an involuntary groan as his abused ribs and back protested the movement.

Allison shook her head. “If you didn’t have me to think about, you wouldn’t have taken that beating.”

“I don’t want you to be worrying about that.”

Her gaze on him intensified. “If you were alone, you’d have taken them on, on the road, as you said, and you’d be gone from here.”

Zach took in the look in her eyes, the uncertainty, the fear. His heart clenched. Did she think he’d desert her? No wonder if she did, given her experience with Sandoval. If someone she’d trusted—loved—and who must have professed his love for her had hurt her, how could she expect more from a relative stranger? “But I’m not alone,” he said. “When I leave here, you’ll be coming with me.”

She closed her eyes and when she opened them, they shimmered with unshed tears. He couldn’t stand to see her laid so low. His gut twisted. He moved his hand up her back and cradled the back of her head. He slid his fingers into her hair, curling them around the soft, silky strands. He held her gaze and eyes open, covered her mouth with his. He’d intended a soft glancing of his lips against hers to reassure her, but as soon as his mouth met hers, he was kissing her in a way that was anything but soft. He felt a surge of possessiveness for her he’d never felt for any other woman. He lowered his hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her. Uncaring about the pain in his ribs, he moved his mouth over hers and crushed her against him.

Allison’s mouth trembled against his and Zach yanked back. She’d been through hell with her husband. Zach’s teeth clenched in anger and disdain at the bastard who had the privilege of being her husband and had shit on that privilege. After all she’d been through with Sandoval, the last thing Zach wanted was to frighten her but, no, he saw no fear in her eyes. Allison was watching him as intently as he watched her. As he stared down into those gorgeous eyes, Zach couldn’t resist stroking his thumb once again along her full bottom lip, now made fuller by his kiss. “You go where I go.”

She nodded.

“Good.”

She didn’t move out of his arms, but remained pressed against him. Zach found he liked her just where she was. She looked a little flushed, a little dazed and he found he liked that too.

She cleared her throat. She swallowed and shook her head as if gathering her scattered thoughts, then asked, “In the meantime, while we’re waiting for your team, how do we keep the brothers from hurting you more?”

“You let me worry about that. The most important thing right now is to keep them focused on me and not on you.”

“At what cost to you. We need a plan.”

“I know what I’m doing. We need to keep their focus off you.” Allison shivered and Zach could well imagine what she was thinking about these bastards getting their hands on her. “They’re not going to touch you,” he said fiercely. “They’re not going to make a move on you until they either have the money or know they aren’t getting it. It’s not going to come to that.” Zach let her hear the resolve in his voice and let that sink in before he dropped the next thing on her. “I need you to be prepared for something else.” He lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. “In addition to keeping them from hurting you, we have to make sure they don’t recognize you. You’ve been photographed by the media standing at Sandoval’s side. We don’t want these assholes to figure out who you are and decide they can sell you to him.”

Allison shivered. He was sorry to have to add to her fear but she needed to know what they were up against.

Zach raised his hand and cupped her cheek. “I’ve given them something to think about other than you. The thought of that money should keep them occupied until my people arrive.”

His shoulders tightened. The operative word there was “should”. That’s why Zach had dangled such a large sum of cash to the brothers. But if their captors recognized her before Zach’s team arrived, Zach worried they would try for an even greater payoff for her from Sandoval than what Zach had offered.

Zach increased his hold on Allison. By now, Chase would have seen that Zach’s vehicle was no longer en route to the safe house and would be mobilizing a team. His people would be here by dawn. Zach glanced to the window. There was still too much time before dawn.

* * *

Allison sat against Zach. If one of these men recognized her, Rafael would waste no time getting to them. And if he arrived before Zach’s men could get them out . . .

She shuddered. Despite what had to be excruciating discomfort, Zach’s hold on her tightened. She hated that she was so frightened. Where was the woman she’d been? Rafael may not have broken her, but he’d broken something in her. The thought of returning to him could unravel her if she allowed it. That was the last thing they needed now—for her to dissolve into a quivering puddle of fear.

She had to do better than this—for both of them. It was important to her to hold up her end, to contribute in some way rather than to be a drain on them both. She was so tired of feeling afraid all the time. But despite the pep talk to herself, she couldn’t shake the fear that the door would burst open and Rafael would come striding in.

Zach’s arm was wound around her, holding her flush against him. He began to rub his hand up and down her arm. “Just a little longer, Allison. We’ll be out of here soon.”

There was such conviction in the statement and it gave Allison hope to fight back the panic. She needed to be strong now. Despite his stoicism, Zach wasn’t sitting as erect as he had been. He was more hurt than he’d let on. She looked up at him. “How are you holding up?”

“I’ll live. I need to change position.”

He seized the banister with one hand and inserted his other between them, flattening his palm on the step. He grunted as he began a slow, arduous process of getting to his feet. Allison got to her own, arms outstretched to catch him if he stepped wrong and went down, or if not catch him, she’d break his fall when he landed on top of her.

But Zach made it to his feet on his own steam. He took a measured step away from her. His teeth were gritted and despite the frigid temperature in the cellar, sweat beaded on his forehead. Again, she was struck that he’d sustained this beating, without defending himself, to protect her. As long as they were beating him, they wouldn’t beat—or do worse—to her. She didn’t know what to make of that. She no longer knew what to make of him.

He’d kissed her. Her lips still throbbed from the force of his kiss—throbbed in a good way. That surprised her, no shocked her. When he’d moved toward her and she knew what he was about to do, it shocked her how badly she’d wanted Zach to kiss her. She’d thought Rafael had stripped her of any feelings of desire but he’d only stripped her of desire for him. Despite all he’d done to her, maybe she was still in there . . . somewhere.

Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t had regular meals from Rafael over the last months and had gotten used to being hungry all the time.

A line appeared on Zach’s brow. “Keeping us without food or water will be their plan.” The line deepened. “You can hardly afford to skip meals.”

She felt her cheeks heat. She knew she looked like the crows had picked her flesh from her bones, but she also knew that Zach wasn’t denigrating her appearance. His concern was obvious. “I’ll be fine. I’ve missed many meals and I’m still here.”

Zach’s frown became a scowl and his jaw went tight. “Was Sandoval’s plan to starve you to death?”

“My weight loss went along well with his claim that I was ill. Me looking like this supports what he’s been telling the world about me.”

“He told me that he’d kept word of your mental illness—” Zach sneered “—under wraps.”

“He didn’t. The people he wanted to know, he told. Like the senators at the receptions we attended. Rafael told me, warned me, there’d be no help from those people. Mental illness was his excuse if I started saying things about him he didn’t want said. I no longer look well which supports his claim that I’m sick. If I died later in South America, only my family would question it and they would be a world away.” She closed her eyes tightly at the thought of how close she’d come to dying.

“But you survived. Instead of dying, you flipped him the bird in a solid ‘Fuck you’.”

Her head shot up and her eyes flew open. Of all the things she’d thought he’d say, she hadn’t expected that. Zach, she was learning, was blunt in the extreme and had a way of cutting to the heart of things. He was also right. She had thwarted Rafael. A laugh bubbled out of her and one side of Zach’s mouth quirked in a smile.

Zach reached up and stroked his thumb down her cheek. “Now that’s a beautiful sound. We need to make sure you have reasons to do that more often.”

It was a sweet thing to say and unlike him, she thought. The more time she spent with him, the more she came to see he was not the hearts and flowers type. “I’m not going to let Rafael take me back.”

“Sandoval won’t take you. Not while I’m still breathing.” Zach’s tone was fierce.

His declaration, his show of support, of unity, meant more to her than he could possibly know.

Her stomach rumbled again.

“What’s your favorite food?” Zach asked.

She didn’t need to think about her answer. “Lasagna.”

“As soon as we’re out of here, I’ll make sure you have all the lasagna you can eat.”

She played along. “What are you going to have?”

“A steak sounds good. And ice cream.”

Allison’s lips twitched. “It’s winter.”

“The season has nothing to do with it. I’ll eat ice cream anytime.”

Allison smiled. “Okay. What flavor?”

“Doesn’t matter. Growing up, Ellen used to surprise me with different flavors all the time. I love them all.”

“Ellen?”

“Yeah. Ellen Turner. She’s the woman I call ‘Mom’.”

The love he felt for this woman named Ellen was unmistakable. Allison wanted to ask him about her. About his own mother. Where was she? Allison wanted to know about him and her interest took her by surprise. As did the fact she cared that he’d shared something personal about himself with her.

It was the first time he had. He hadn’t told her much, but what he had gave her a glimpse of him beyond the skilled, confident man. He’d trusted her with something of himself. He knew about her. It left her feeling exposed, vulnerable. Knowing something about him, balanced them a little.

A sound at the top of the stairs halted her thoughts and drew her attention. If Zach’s intention had been to distract her from their present situation and from her fear for a few minutes, then he’d succeeded. But the reprieve was over.

Allison’s heart began to pound and her breath caught. Zach’s body tensed. His gaze sharpened and he went on the alert. He reached for her and despite his injuries, pulled her to her feet swiftly, as if she weighed nothing at all, and away from the stairs, placing her behind him. The sound outside the door stopped. Whoever had made it, moved on.

Allison’s pent up breath whooshed out, leaving her light-headed. Despite the fact that the cellar was almost as cold as being outside, her hand in Zach’s was now slick with perspiration.

Zach remained tensed, his body as still as Allison believed it could be and still be breathing. He appeared to be monitoring the situation. Only after several minutes passed and none of the brothers entered the cellar, did Zach ease his stance.

Fear was still riding her hard. She was still breathing hard. The brothers hadn’t come this time, but eventually they would.

Zach released her hand and drew her into his arms. “Easy.” His voice was harsh with concern. “Whoever was there is gone. It’s okay.”

His arms were tight around her. His heart beat steadily beneath her cheek and she closed her eyes, willing herself back from the edge. After a moment, she raised her head. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to be.”

She moved to step out of his arms, but he held her in place. “You’re fine where you are.”

The truth was she didn’t want to move away from him. With Zach, she didn’t feel alone—on her own—and she’d been alone for so long.

Zach rested his chin on the top of her head and said quietly, “This will all be over soon.”

He sounded so certain. She raised her head to look at him and asked the question that had been niggling her. “How did the brothers know where to find us? Could someone from your organization be working with them?”

“My people are solid. I don’t want you to worry about that. The brothers were laying in wait, looking to ambush someone—anyone—driving the type of vehicle they were after. They weren’t waiting for us specifically.” His gaze lifted to the window. “We only have to hold them off until my people get here and they’ll be here soon. Whatever happens, remember, we’re going to get through this.”

He never missed an opportunity to reassure her despite the fact that he had to be exhausted and in a great deal of pain. He shifted position slightly and tensed with the movement. Allison went still, riding out the pain with him.

A noise at the top of the stairs had her eyes darting from Zach and to the door.

Zach drew her behind him again, keeping her hand in his. “Stay behind me.”

This time the door opened. Light streamed down. Allison peered around Zach’s shoulder. The men trod down the stairs, their heavy footfalls as loud as a stampede of cattle.

Glen’s doughy face was red and his small brown eyes slitted with anger. Allison’s heart rate skyrocketed. Zach’s body went rigid and his grip on her hand tightened.

Glen didn’t break pace when he reached the bottom of the stairs but kept coming with the speed of a freight train. When he reached Zach, he drove his fist into Zach’s middle. Allison screamed. She raised her free hand and grabbed Zach’s arm. He staggered but didn’t go down. She didn’t know how he managed that.

“You been holding out on us,” Glen said. “Waving pennies at us, all the while holding onto the crown jewel.” He lifted his other fist that was clutching a rumpled newspaper. “All the while you got Rafael Sandoval’s wife.”

Allison’s stomach dropped and fear weakened her knees. Zach must have sensed her terror. He squeezed her hand in a death grip. His message was clear: Keep it together. Don’t lose it.

Glen rubbed his chin. “First I thought maybe you stole her from Sandoval so you could ransom her back. That all that fuss you made, putting us off on touching her, was because you didn’t want her damaged, but now, I’d say I was wrong about that. You two look tight. Wonder what Sandoval will think of that?” Glen looked at Allison. “A pleasure to meet you, Allison. Nice article on you and your husband. Didn’t say though that you were missing. Guess your husband doesn’t want that getting out, huh? Newspaper also didn’t say where your husband is staying. Now, why don’t you tell me where he is and I’ll invite him over?”

Allison’s breath stuttered.

Glen laughed. “Yeah, I can see you not being anxious to see him again. I’m betting once he finds out what you’ve done with this man, when he gets through with you, you aren’t going to look so pretty.” His eyes fixed on Allison and his voice dropped. “You know now I won’t hurt you, but if you don’t do what I tell you, I have no problem whatsoever hurting him.” Glen jerked his thumb at Zach.

Zach’s gaze became deadly. “Go fuck yourself.”

Glen raised his fist to hit Zach again. Allison shouted, “No! Don’t. Please. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Zach’s head swung to her. “Like hell you will.” His eyes were dark with meaning. He broke eye contact and faced Glen again. Zach’s nostrils flared. “The lady has nothing to say to you, asshole.”

“Well, that would be a shame for you.”

Zach sneered. “You can’t kill me. Think Sandoval will thank you for depriving him of the opportunity to pay me back for taking his wife from him? I’ll say it again, even you can’t be that stupid.”

Glen’s face reddened and his hands clenched and unclenched with rage. “Yeah, I’ll probably get a bonus for handing you over to Sandoval. You’re right. I won’t kill you. But nothing says I can’t mess you up. A lot. Before we’re through with you, you’ll be begging her to call Sandoval.”

As the other two men came forward and seized Zach by the arms, Zach stared at Allison. “Don’t tell them anything or everything you’ve done to get away will have been for nothing.”

The two brothers had a tight grip on Zach. They weren’t fools and knew if Zach chose to, even injured as he was, he could still put up a fight, but Zach offered no resistance as they led him out of the cellar. Despite Glen’s claim that Allison was now off-limits to him and his brothers, she knew Zach wanted them away from her.

As soon as the cellar door slammed shut behind Zach, Glen and his brothers, Allison scrambled up the stairs. She twisted the knob in the hope that in their eagerness to get to Zach or in their anger at his taunts, they may have left the door unlocked. Just what she would be able to do if she could get out of the cellar, she didn’t know at the moment. The thought of locating one of the brothers’ guns and forcing them to release Zach and herself had her blood pumping. If she’d thought herself incapable of taking a human life, that thought was gone. But, of course, the door was locked.

She didn’t think they’d take him out of her hearing. They would want her to be able to hear what was being done to him so she would relent and tell them what they wanted to know. Hearing was enough. She didn’t need to see. The mind was a powerful force and could conjure up its own horrors, as well she knew, without her needing to actually see what was being done to Zach.

There was no conversation. The brothers must have realized all had been said that needed to be said. They wasted no time getting to the point of why they’d taken Zach away. The unmistakable sounds of flesh striking flesh became the only sounds.

Tears filled Allison’s eyes. She should call out, tell them to stop. That she’d tell them how to contact Rafael. But she didn’t. Zach’s words about all she’d done to get away, all he’d done to keep her away, being for nothing, rang in her ears. But was that all of it? Or was it cowardice at being back with Rafael that was getting Zach more hurt? Was this really the best course of action? Tears ran down her cheeks. Despite all her talk of being brave, was she nothing more than a coward, letting Zach suffer unimaginably to prevent her from being returned to the monster she’d married?

Despite blow after blow, Zach made no sound. Allison was now sobbing. It was one thing to agree to stand by and do nothing while another was being hurt, but it was something else altogether to actually do nothing more than bear silent witness. She wasn’t selfless and she didn’t want to go back to Rafael where she would surely die, but how could she continue to let Zach be hurt because of her? And if she did give in, how much worse would Rafael hurt Zach? The certainty of that halted her breath and had tremors coursing up her spine.

Zach was so silent. Was it his sheer strength of will that kept him from crying out, or had they hurt him so badly he was unable to make any sound? Allison was now trembling, her teeth chattering with that thought.

The door to the cellar was thrown open. Were these animals bringing Zach back? Had they beaten him as much as they dared or risk killing him?

“Allison.”

So intent was she on her thoughts of Zach that it took a moment for her to realize that the one speaking was Zach’s team member, Chase. It was Chase. Zach’s people were now here. They were safe. Relief had her stumbling, but she righted herself as Chase reached out to her.

“Allison are you hurt?” he asked.

She clutched his forearms that were covered with combat wear. “It’s not me. It’s Zach. You have to find Zach. You have to help Zach.”

“We have Zach.”

“Where is he? How badly did they hurt him?”

Even as she asked the questions, she brushed by Chase intent on finding Zach for herself but Chase stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

“We’re still checking out the surrounding area,” Chase said. “Stay behind me. I’ll take you to Zach.”

A couple of moments later, she saw him. Blood oozed from a cut on his brow and another on his mouth. One eye was swollen and already starting to bruise. He stood between two men dressed similarly in combat gear as Chase. Zach’s arms were draped over the shoulders of the two men. Her heart lurched.

Allison went to him. “What did they do to you?” She shook her head at the stupidity of the question but plunged on. “You need to lay down. You need to see a doctor.” She heard herself babbling. She looked about her for Glen and the brothers.

Zach gently placed his finger to her lips. “It’s over. My men have the brothers. We’re safe.”

A man, dressed similarly to Chase and the others, entered the farm house and joined Zach.

“We’re secure, Zach,” the man said. “We can take you and the lady out of here now.”

Zach nodded. He exchanged a look with Chase, who then took Allison gently by the elbow. Another man stepped in front of her and Chase, and Chase began to escort her outside.

She glanced back over her shoulder. “Zach, what about you?”

“I’m right behind you.”

Her last glimpse of Zach, before Chase led her out the door, was the two men holding Zach tightening their grip on him in preparation to move forward. He was obviously hurt worse than he’d let on to her.

CHAPTER NINE

Zach watched Allison leave the farm house with Chase. Zach had made sure she wouldn’t need to pass Glen and his brothers on her way out. When Zach’s men had gone in, the brothers had opened fire. Zach’s team had shut them down quickly. The brothers were alive and confined in another part of the house. Allison wouldn’t see them again.

Zach needed to get her out of there. He needed to make sure she was kept out of what took place at the farm. He addressed his men, Briggs and Hamilton. “I need a phone.”

Briggs reached into a pocket and handed a secure phone to Zach. Zach and Allison weren’t the only ones who’d been taken to the farm. Zach’s grip on the phone tightened, thinking of the families whose loved ones had fallen victim to the brothers. While Zach’s inclination was to feed the brothers to their own pigs, those families deserved to know what had happened to the people they cared about. They were still in Blake County, Mitch’s jurisdiction. Zach punched in the numbers to call Mitch.

“Hey,” Mitch said a couple of rings later.

“Mitch, I have a situation.”

Mitch’s light tone instantly became serious. “What’s going on?”

Zach told Mitch about the pig farm. “There are vehicles in two barns. Looks like this has been going on for a while.”

Mitch blew out a long, slow breath. “How did you find out about this?”

Zach gave Mitch a quick rundown. They were both quiet for a moment taking in the enormity of what the brothers’ had done. Zach broke the silence. “I need you to keep these assholes under wraps. I have a woman with me. I can’t let that get out. I have to protect her.”

“The woman you were telling me about?”

Zach filled Mitch in about Allison. “I can’t let her whereabouts get out.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I’ll take care of it. I’m on my way.”

“I’m leaving two of my men here to wait for you. They’ll give you any information you need.”

“Zach, you okay?”

The worry in Mitch’s voice had Zach adding, “I’m good.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Zach heard Mitch’s tone ease in obvious relief. “I’ll be away while I see to Allison. I know you’re going to want a statement from me. I can’t come into the station to do that now. Chase will know how to reach me if you need to talk to me about what went down here.”

“I’ll let you know after I’ve seen the farm. We’ll touch base at the folks.”

“At the folks.”

Zach ended the call as Chase rejoined him. “Has there been any word from Morse?”

“Not one. Whatever he’s up to, he’s not telling us about it.”

“No way Morse gave up looking for Allison.” Zach’s jaw tightened. “What about Sandoval?”

“Nothing new there, either.”

“Chase, I need you to go back. Monitor the situation with Sandoval and Morse.”

Chase nodded. “On my way. I’ll call you with an update.”

The sun was up but the day was cold. The ground had a light dusting of snow. Zach took a deep breath of the cool air and swore softly at the discomfort the simple act of breathing caused him.

His SUV was parked where Glen had left it. The three trucks that had brought his team were now parked beside Zach’s vehicle. Chase was now getting into one to drive back to the command room. Another would transport some of Zach’s men to the safe house now, with the last one left behind for the two men to return to Blake once they’d finished speaking with Mitch.

Hamilton was asking him about his injuries, but Zach didn’t respond. His focus was on Allison. Though he knew she was safe, he was tense at having her out of his sight, away from his side. He spotted her in the back of his vehicle. Head down, she sat hunched, her hands clasped in her lap. A blanket was draped around her like a shawl, courtesy of Chase no doubt. She’d been strong but Zach knew this time with the brothers had frightened her. Not only by the threat the brothers posed but she’d been terrified by the prospect that they’d call Sandoval. Zach’s hatred of that son of a bitch climbed another notch.

“If we lower the seats in your truck, we can fix it for you to stretch out,” Hamilton said. “Me or Briggs can drive while the other one rides shotgun in case there’s any more trouble. The lady can ride with the rest of the team in one of the other trucks we drove in here.”

Zach’s eyes were still on Allison. “No. Allison stays with me.”

Zach heard the hard tone in his voice and apparently Hamilton did as well. He dropped the topic.

The pigs had started squealing again. Louder and more raucous. Zach wanted nothing more than to put distance between himself and this place. He turned to Hamilton. “Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

Allison was relieved when one of the men she’d learned was named Briggs, announced they would be taking a detour to have Zach examined by a doctor they knew. Zach was seated beside her in the back of the SUV. Despite his assertions and his stoicism, she could see he was in pain. Concern for him had her continuously glancing up at him.

The brothers were no longer a threat. She and Zach were two in what appeared to be many people who had fallen prey to Glen and his family. And it appeared she and Zach were the only ones who’d gotten away.

She hugged herself against the goose bumps that now sprang on her arms. Her encounter with the brothers was too fresh and added to that was their threat to call Rafael. The brothers thought they could get money from Rafael but they’d been wrong. What would have happened was Rafael would have arrived with his men, without any money, killed the brothers and just took her. Zach would have been right that Rafael would have executed his form of justice on Zach for taking Allison. But that hadn’t happened. It was over. Zach’s people had arrived just as he’d said they would.

Zach had one arm around her. Other than when the brothers had been beating him, and the brief time when Chase escorted her to the SUV, Zach hadn’t left her side. Briggs was driving and she’d heard Zach give the order for one of the other men accompanying them—Hamilton—to ride on her other side so she sat shielded between Zach and Hamilton. Zach had shielded her. Protected her and paid the price with his body. He’d done everything he could to prevent their captors from hurting her and contacting Rafael.

It was time Zach knew all she did about Rafael. Any doubts she’d had of holding back from him were long gone. Zach would need all the information he could get to keep them safe. To keep them both alive. Zach was now in as much danger as she was. If Rafael knew Zach was helping her, he’d be a target as well.

Now wasn’t the time for the conversation she needed to have with Zach. He was hurt. It had waited this long. It would wait until he’d received the medical attention he needed.

Hamilton reached into the back then doled out bottles of water and wrapped food. Allison shook her head at the offerings. Her stomach balked at the thought of putting anything in it even water. She was wound tight from the time with the brothers. Despite the blanket Chase had given her, the heat in the SUV, and Zach’s own body against hers, she couldn’t get warm.

“You okay?” Zach asked.

Zach had been involved in a discussion about their security with his men but the conversation came to a halt at her refusal of food and his attention was now all on her.

“I’m fine. Just still a little tight,” she said. “It’ll pass.”

“You’re not long out of hospital yourself. You need to eat.”

“I will. Just not now. The sounds and smells from the pig farm . . .” She shook her head. “I can’t get them out of my head right now.”

Zach’s gaze lingered on her. “You sure that’s all it is?”

She cleared her throat that was dry from nerves. “I’m fine.” When he didn’t look convinced she added, “Really. I’ll feel better after the doctor’s treated you.” That much was the truth.

“Zach? Doc Elliot’s up ahead,” Briggs said.

Zach continued to watch her for another moment, then addressed Briggs. “Pull around back.”

* * *

A short while later, Zach emerged from the same door he’d entered. Allison sat forward in the seat as he slipped into the SUV beside her.

“What did the doctor say?” she asked.

“I’m not about to go toes up.”

Allison met his gaze but didn’t respond. She couldn’t get into the spirit of his humor even though she knew he was making light of his injury for her. Beneath the bruising, his face was as pale as the snow now slowly coming down outside the SUV’s windows.

Zach brushed hair back from her face. “I’m okay. A busted rib is the worst of it. I’ll be fine in a few days.” He turned to Briggs. “That snow is sticking. Let’s see if we can get to the safe house while it’s still daylight.”

* * *

The snow had indeed slowed their progress. It was night when they arrived at the safe house, a bungalow made of brick that looked washed out in the faint moon light. The house was set on a sprawling plot of land surrounded by dense trees. The snow further obscured the presence of the house. Anyone not specifically looking for the place would never find it. Which, Allison figured, was the point.

Inside, the first thing that struck Allison were the windows. There were only a handful of them and they were built high into the walls and small. The thick trees blocked any light. Allison hugged herself as her fear of the dark asserted itself, but as Zach moved around, with her hand in his, he flipped light switches. Soon, the house was as bright as a sunny day.

The worn and run down exterior did not extend to the interior. The walls looked freshly painted and whoever designed the place gave it an open concept with a wide space divided into a kitchen and a living area. Zach passed the kitchen and led them directly into the living room.

A couple of couches and thick arm chairs in deep earth tones that looked large enough to accommodate Zach and the other large men of his team, should they decide to sleep there, were in the center of the room. A huge flat screen TV was mounted on one wall and a stone fireplace had been built into another.

Zach’s men strode in behind Allison. They dropped their gear and their weapons on any available surface. Zach released her and did a slow walk through. Eyes narrowed, he surveyed their surroundings.

When Zach had been all over the place, he stopped at what looked like an instrument panel where he began pushing buttons for what Allison guessed was some kind of high-tech security system. Once he was satisfied, he spoke into a mic on his shoulder.

“Lauder. Vox. Check in,” Zach said.

“All quiet,” one man said.

The second man, Allison didn’t know which was Lauder or Vox, gave the same response. Zach exchanged another word with the two men then ended that conversation and spoke to the men in the room.

“Hamilton. Nash. You’re up next to relieve Lauder and Vox on the perimeter,” Zach said. “Keep to your usual shifts.”

The men nodded agreement. Zach turned away from them, leaving them to speak between themselves, and came to where Allison stood by one wall.

Gently, he cupped her shoulders. “Bedrooms are down that hall. There are four of them, each with its own bathroom. You can take your pick.”

She looked up at him. “What about you? You’ve been awake longer than I have.”

“I’ve got some things I need to do then I’ll sleep. Let’s get you to bed.”

She took the first room she came to, this one decorated in shades of blue with a huge bed. She was noticing a pattern here. The furniture was all large. Clearly, the men didn’t like to be cramped. In here as well, the windows were small and built high on the wall letting in little light. But Zach had reached in ahead of her and turned on what turned out to be another bright light.

Clearly, he’d noticed her need for the lights. The weakness shamed her but to save her pride she couldn’t turn them off.

“I’ll get the bag Laurel gave you and leave it in here,” Zach said. “Catch some sleep. By the time you wake up, food will be ready. You should find whatever girly things you need in the bathroom.”

“Girly things?”

Zach shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I asked Chase to stock up on that stuff.”

The lights. The girly stuff. The care he was taking of her. It was all so much. She clutched his shirt and buried her face in his chest. “Thank you.” The word came out breathy. She felt choked by emotion.

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her against him so tightly she had to be hurting him. He didn’t ask her to elaborate. Maybe he knew just what his concern and his thoughtfulness meant to her after not having either.

He reached up and touched her face. His hands were large and rough but his touch was infinitely gentle as he brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek. He looked down at her with tenderness that made Allison’s heart ache, then lowered his mouth to hers.

Gently, he kissed each corner of her mouth before settling on the center. His tongue swept across her lips slowly as if requesting entrance. Allison gave it and he caressed her tongue lightly with his.

She closed her eyes and dug her fingers into his hard biceps. She swayed against him, as caught up in him as he appeared to be in her.

He kissed her long and thoroughly then framed her face between his palms and just looked down at her. After a time he said, “I’ll be back with your clothes.”

Zach closed the door behind him and Allison went into the bathroom. The tub was also immense and looked inviting. A long soak might ease her nerves. She filled the tub then eased into it. The warm water, soap and shampoo felt wonderful, but by the end of it, she felt exhausted, as if she’d done far more than she had.

She washed her underthings in the bathroom and left them to dry. The thought of having to put on the clothing she’d worn for the last two days was less than appealing, then she spotted the small suitcase with the things Laurel had given her. Zach had left it just inside the door.

She took fresh underthings, a pair of jeans and a cotton shirt from the suitcase. Laurel was taller than Allison and Allison wound the pant legs back so she wouldn’t trip on them. Laurel was willowy but in Allison’s current body weight, the clothing sagged on her. Allison looked away from her near-skeletal figure.

Despite the bath, she wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Nerves had her stomach in knots and her head pounding. She whirled at a knock on the door. Zach entered the room.

“Food’s ready,” he said. “Do you feel up to eating now or do you want to wait until after you’ve slept?”

“I’ll go with you.”

Zach took her hand in his and led her to the kitchen. The room was painted a lemon yellow and the many light fixtures made it daylight bright. All manner of appliances made it a cook’s delight.

The clock on one wall showed the time to be after midnight. The men who weren’t on watch were gathered there. Zach introduced them as Nash, Braddock, McMurtry and Connolly. They were seated with Hamilton at a large wooden table while Briggs grilled thick steaks.

Hamilton turned to her. Both his face and his head were perfectly shaved. “Allison, right on time. Briggs isn’t much of a soldier.” Hamilton grinned. “But he’s one damn fine cook.”

Briggs raised his eye brows. His eyes glittered with amusement as he looked up from the meat and volleyed back, “Saved your ass a time or two, Ham.”

Hamilton laughed. “In your dreams. Zach only keeps you around because you can cook.”

Hamilton looked back at Allison, who had yet to take a seat. He rose from his own and pulled out a chair for her. “Come, sit down.”

Allison’s stomach clutched at the smell of the food. She laced her fingers in a tight grip, determined to get through the meal. “What can I do to help?” she asked.

“It’s all ready,” Briggs said and carried a steaming platter heaped high with meat, potatoes and vegetables to the table. “Zach said you like lasagna. I’ll have that for you tomorrow.”

Before she could reply not to go to all that trouble, Hamilton spoke up again.

“You heated bread too.” Hamilton gave an appreciative sigh and snagged a roll as Briggs set a basket beside the platter.

“As my Italian grandmother used to say, ‘Buon Appetito’,” Briggs said.

Allison’s eyes widened on the meat on the platter, cooked to varying degrees, some rare and still swimming in its own juices. Her stomach heaved. She pressed a hand to her mouth and bolted from the kitchen.