CHAPTER TEN

Allison made it to the washroom that adjoined the bedroom she was using.  She bent over the toilet, her body shaking with spasms.  She hadn’t eaten anything but bile came up in painful heaves.

Zach came in after her.  “Allison?”

“Go away.”  She called back to him.

Ignoring her, he crouched behind her.  He held her hair back from her face and wrapped an arm around her middle, taking her weight.  After a time, even the bile stopped coming up.  The bout of sickness left Allison feeling limp and shaky.  Zach eased her back against him then down onto his lap on the floor of the bathroom and gently brought her head beneath his jaw. 

She lay against him, too tired to move, then she recalled his injured ribs.  She drew back but Zach continued to hold her.  “Let me get off you, Zach.  I must be hurting you.”

“You’re not hurting me.”

She didn’t believe him and slowly extricated herself from his hold.  On shaky legs, she made her way to the sink and fished mouthwash, a tooth brush and paste from the cupboard beneath the sink. Zach came up behind her.  He rubbed her shoulders while she cleaned her mouth, then handed her a towel from the same location when she was done.  She made her way back to the bedroom and laid down on the bed, feeling wrung out.

Zach sat beside her on the mattress and stroked damp hair off her brow.  “Better?”

She nodded.

“Feel like some ice water?”

Nothing sounded better at this moment.  Again she nodded.  He left her briefly and went into the kitchen, returning with a glass.  He held it for her and braced an arm at her back while she drank.  Allison was surprised by how good it tasted and that she drained the glass.

“More?” he asked.

“No, that was enough.”

“You’re wound up. No wonder.”  His mouth went flat.  “You’re in a strange house. Again.  After a frightening experience with the brothers, I’d be surprised if you weren’t tense.”

Despite the anger she could feel coming off him, he continued to stroke her gently.  Other than to leave her to get the water, he hadn’t stopped touching her since she’d been sick.  Maybe he realized how badly she needed the contact to assure her that she was safe.

She wanted to believe she was safe.  She wanted to be free of the tension and fear she’d known for far too long.  “I’m being silly.  I know I’m safe here.  I just . . . ” She let the sentence trail off and shook her head.

“Not silly at all.  You haven’t had any reason to feel safe for a long time.  I want you to know though, you are safe here.  I’ll be sleeping in here with you.  Yes, the house is secure and my men will make sure it stays that way, but I want you to know you can sleep without worrying.  You won’t be alone in here.  I’ll be right here on the floor by your bed and I sleep light.”

He was going to all lengths to make her feel safe.  “Thank you,” she whispered.

He raised his hand from where it had been on her shoulder and gently passed his thumb along her cheek.  “You’re welcome.”

He was so strong and capable, it made it easy to forget he was hurt.  “You need to be taking care of yourself not babysitting me.” She realized he hadn’t even had a chance to attend to his own comfort with some sleep or even a shower and a change of clothing.  He still wore the jeans and T-shirt he’d had on since they left Brock’s.  “You should be stretched out.”

“How about we both stretch out?  There’s got to be something on the tube.”

She didn’t want to try to sleep where they would both be silent and she’d be alone with her thoughts. She felt pathetically grateful for the invitation and nodded.

Zach took her hand and led them both to the couch.  The living room was in darkness.  Her breathing hitched but he immediately switched on the overhead light.  She couldn’t even enter a dark room without her insides cringing.  She was a disaster.

There wasn’t anyone in this room or in the kitchen.  The men may have finished eating and gone to bed or more likely, they’d made themselves scarce.  She hoped she hadn’t chased them from their meal.

She felt a pang of guilt that Zach hadn’t eaten and that she was keeping him awake. He had to be asleep on his feet.

Zach flicked on the remote.  An old black and white movie came on.  He didn’t change the channel but left it there on low volume and tossed the remote onto the armchair beside them.  He plumped a couple of pillows and settled back with an audible groan.

Wary of jostling him Allison tried to remain still seated beside him, but she shifted uncomfortably against the cushion.  She couldn’t seem to find a good spot.  Not the fault of the couch.  She was restless, on edge.

“How about some warm milk?” Zach’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.  “I don’t know if that’s the thing to have after you were sick, but if you feel up to it, I think we can find some milk around here.”

She didn’t know if she’d be able to keep milk down either, but it seemed so normal to be speaking of things like warm milk.  Nothing had been normal in her life for a long time. She wanted to try to stomach the drink.  “I’ll make it.  You stay put.”

She found the milk, a small pot and two mugs and got the milk heating.  Despite the heat coming off the stove, she felt chilled to the bone. She couldn’t help but fear this night was some sort of a reprieve, that in the morning she’d be back with Rafael.

“Allison?”

She sucked in her breath at the sound of Zach’s voice and hated that she could so easily be back in that dark place with Rafael.  By the way Zach was looking at her, she believed he realized she’d zoned out as well.  What had Rafael told Zach to gain his help in finding her?  That she was mentally ill.  Maybe that diagnosis was no longer off the mark. 

“The milk is almost ready.”  Her voice quavered.  Zach was half off the couch and on his way to her.  She cleared her throat, tried again.  “No, don’t get up.  I’ll bring it over.”

* * *  

She sounded as if she were choking.  A small tremor went through her and her eyes filled with tears.  She lifted both hands and covered her face.

Seeing Allison in such distress struck Zach to his core.  He left the couch and went to her.  He turned off the stove she’d left on, then took her in his arms.

“I’ll just go back to the bedroom. I’ll go now.” Her voice, thin, hoarse, defeated, broke.

She pushed weakly against his chest in an effort to break his hold but he wouldn’t release her and let her suffer this alone.  “You’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m so tired of being afraid of Rafael,” she said in a voice that trembled. 

She burrowed into Zach, gripping the front of his T-shirt and pressing her face against his chest.  Bone-jarring sobs tore through her.  He pressed her closer.  He wasn’t a man who comforted women or certainly not often. There were a few exceptions, like Ellen who was his mother in every sense of the word.  He would go to the mat for the women he considered his sisters-in-law, Mitch’s wife, Shelby, Ben’s wife, Caroline, Gage’s fiancée, Mallory and John’s wife, Eve. And though she could hardly be called a woman yet, he could never stand by while three-year-old Sara, Mitch’s daughter, was in the slightest discomfort.  But this, this with Allison, was something else altogether for him. Her situation made him angry and made him hurt for her.

He went on holding her while she cried.  Eventually, she had nothing left in her and stopped.  She drew back from him but kept her head down.

He nudged her chin up with the back of his finger so he could look at her.  She was as white as the milk on the stove. “Allison?”

She drew back a bit from him. She reached for a tissue from the box on the counter and wiped her face, then balled the tissue, holding it to her eyes in a loose fist.

The mere thought of Sandoval was enough to bring her to this.  Zach’s anger went white-hot that she was so hurt.  Anger and protectiveness.  She was a job that had gone wrong and yeah, he felt responsibility over that, but he’d be fooling himself if he told himself that was all this was.  Somehow it had become more.  What more or how much more, he didn’t know. He couldn’t define it and he couldn’t explain it.  All he knew was that anyone who would hurt her again would have to go through him.  Hadn’t he just stood between her and the brothers?

Gently, he lowered her hand from her eyes.  He stroked the hair back from her face and tilted her chin up.  Her eyes were red and puffy.  Her face ravaged and tear stained.  It pissed him off all over again and had his heart clenching.  “Allison?” he repeated.

She hunched her shoulders, drawing in on herself.  “I’m okay now.  I didn’t mean to let go like that all over you.”

She tried to turn her head in unmistakable embarrassment, but he held firm.  “We’re past the point where you would feel embarrassed with me.”

She met his gaze then nodded slowly.  “You’re right.  You’ve seen me at my worst.”

Zach looked directly into her eyes.  “I’ve seen you go through the worst and come through it all.” 

Her lips trembled but to Zach’s relief, curved in a small smile.

“Do you always know the right thing to say?” she asked.

He laughed.  “I’ve never been told that before. Words really aren’t my thing.”  He wrapped his arms around her and when he brought her against him, she pressed her head underneath his jaw and put her arms around his waist, gripping him.  Her fierce hold on him made him want to move mountains for her.  “You’re a strong woman, Allison.  If you weren’t we wouldn’t be here. You need to give yourself more credit.”  He pressed his lips to her brow in a long kiss. 

Against his chest, she said softly,  “Who are you, Zach Corrigan?”

She sounded amazed and it knocked him off-balance a little. He brought one hand to her face and gently held her cheek.  The hope in her eyes dug a little hole in his heart.  “I’m the man who’s going to make Rafael Sandoval pay for ever hurting you, and then I’m going to make sure he never hurts you again.”

He brought his lips to hers in a kiss as fierce as his vow. Allison made a little sound in her throat then curled her fingers around his wrists, holding him in place, and kissing him as fiercely.

He wanted to go on kissing her, but she was asleep on her feet.  He lifted his mouth from hers, but couldn’t resist touching her one more time. 

He brushed his thumb across the place he’d been kissing.  “Our milk is getting cold. How about we take it to the sofa?”

Allison nodded.

They settled on the couch and drank in silence.  Allison’s eyelids were drooping by the time she took the last swallow, but she made no move to return to her bed.  Zach remained where he was as well.  So they’d spend the night on the couch.  Fine with him.

He took the almost empty mug from her before she dropped it and set it on the end table alongside his own mug.  He raised his arm and she cuddled against him, resting her head against his chest.  He suppressed a groan as her body made painful contact with his but he wouldn’t move her.  He lowered his arm and wound it around her, anchoring her to him.  After a time, her body went slack against his.  She was asleep.  It was enough for Zach that he’d been able to give her that, some peace so she could finally shut down and sleep. Right at this moment, he couldn’t think of anything that was more important to him than that.

 

* * *  

Allison woke alone on the couch.  She was wrapped in a thick blanket and lay on her side on the deep tufted cushions.  Zach must have awakened earlier and tucked her in before leaving her.  She felt a tug of embarrassment at the way she’d cried all over him last night, but he was right.  He’d seen her at her absolute worst when in withdrawal.  They were long past the point of feeling embarrassment.

She heard soft sounds coming from the kitchen.  She couldn’t see that area over the armrest of the couch. Whoever was in there must be trying to keep the noise down.  As she thought that, Zach came around the couch holding two mugs of what smelled unmistakably like coffee.

“Morning.” He smiled. “Thought you might be ready to wake up.” 

He set the mugs down on the sturdy coffee table then sat on it, facing her.  She pushed her hair, that was wild after the night, back from her face and sat up.  Zach looked fresh from a shower.  She could smell soap and shampoo.  His hair was damp and combed back from his face.  He hadn’t bothered to shave. Hadn’t shaved since before their encounter with the brothers and now had a few days of stubble on his cheeks and jaw.  He looked rugged and untamed.  That word fit him like skin.

Other words popped into her mind.  Handsome.  Sexy.  She was having a healthy reaction to him.   She was not physically afraid of Zach and if ever there was a man who was physically intimidating, Zach was it.  He was big, towering over her, and solid.  She’d been in his arms and had felt how hard and muscular he was.  Rather than feeling intimidated by his sheer size and strength, she felt attracted.  Something she’d questioned ever feeling for a man again.

“One of those for me?”  She pointed to the mugs of coffee on the table.

Zach handed her a mug then picked up his own.   “I hope you’re hungry.  Breakfast is almost ready.”

“I’m starving.” 

A look came into Zach’s eyes that was part anger and part sadness.  “There’ll be no more of that.”

Her heart gave a tug over his continued concern for her well-being.  Softly she said, “I’ll go freshen up then I’ll help with breakfast.”

By the time Allison returned, breakfast was ready.  The men who were absent from dinner last night were now seated at the table.  Vox and Lauder.  Both had long hair.  Lauder’s was loose on his shoulders while Vox tied his back with a thin leather string. Tattoos decorated one of Lauder’s arms from shoulder to wrist.  Allison exchanged greetings with the men then took a seat beside Zach. 

Briggs took some more good natured ribbing on his culinary skills from Vox and Lauder that Allison had to agree were exemplary.  The man was a master chef and that morning, in addition to bacon, ham and eggs, he’d prepared fresh fruit pancakes the likes of which Allison had never tasted before.  If the men ate like this on all their missions, it was a wonder they didn’t outweigh the house. 

There was a period of silence as they all dug in.  Vox finally broke the quiet.

“Ham is sure missing out, freezing his ass on watch.” Vox laughed.  “It’s as cold out there as a witch’s—”

Lauder cleared his throat and tilted his head in Allison’s direction.

Vox glanced at Allison and coughed behind his hand.  “That’s to say, it’s cold out there.” A gleam lit his eyes.  “Think I’ll go and let him know what he missed.”  Vox pushed his plate back then rubbed his hands together and let out a maniacal laugh before leaving the table.  Laughing as well now, Lauder and Briggs followed Vox out of the kitchen.

Allison forked up a bit of pancake.  She was stuffed but couldn’t resist one last bite.  “I like your men.”

Zach nodded.  “They’re good.”

“Are they all former military, like you?”

“Yeah, we were all SEALs.”

She set her fork down and propped her chin on the back of her hand.  “What about your family?  Were they military as well?”

Zach went silent for a minute.  “No.  My mother called herself a hostess but she was a prostitute.  I don’t know who my father was.  I don’t think she did either though there were a lot of men over the years she wanted me to call ‘Dad’.  My mother never met a man she didn’t like.”

Allison’s eyes grew soft in sympathy.  “That must have been hard.”

His mouth went flat for an instant then he said, “It wasn’t a picnic, but I survived.”

Allison believed there was much he was leaving out of those years and her admiration for him grew at his way of thinking.  Life happened, both the good and the bad.  You dealt with it and moved on.  She wanted to be able to do the same when it came to Rafael once this was over.  Move on and never look back.

She didn’t want to pry, but she wanted to know about Zach.  All about him.  “When we were in the brothers’ cellar, you mentioned a woman named Ellen?” 

Zach didn’t appear to mind her question or appear reluctant to talk.  He smiled and again Allison saw the love he felt for this woman.

“Yeah.  Ellen Turner,” Zach said.  “She’s the mother, technically stepmother, of my oldest friend, Mitch.  Mitch and I met in second grade.  I started a fight with him in the school yard. Mitch bloodied my nose.” Zach laughed.  There was no rancor in the statement.  “We became friends after that.

“My mother took off that same year and Mitch’s folks, Ed and Ellen, took me in and raised me as their own.  They didn’t make any fanfare about it.  Just moved me in.  Put a bed for me in the room their two boys, Mitch and Ben, shared.  I didn’t always make it easy for them, but from the minute I walked through their front door, I was one of theirs and they never let me forget it. Never gave up on me.”  Zach shook his head as if at the wonder of that.  Grinning, he rubbed the stubble on his chin. “They gave me the same praise when I did well and,” Zach laughed again, “the same grief as their sons when I took a wrong turn.”   

“They sound wonderful,” Allison said softly.

“The best.”

  Talk of family made Allison long for her own.  Thanksgiving was in a little more than two weeks.  She’d never missed that holiday with her parents and sister.  This year, they’d be celebrating without her and no doubt wondering why she and Rafael had not made the trip to spend the holiday with them as he’d promised.  Another promise he’d never intended to keep.  As far as broken promises went, this one was minor.  He’d broken so much worse.

Her parents would at least expect her to call.  She knew she couldn’t call them.  For their own safety, she couldn’t make contact.  But not hearing from her would hurt them.

They had no way of knowing her marriage was a nightmare.  That she’d married a monster.  Better they didn’t know.  As long as they remained unaware of what her life had become, they would be safe.  As long as she stayed away from them, Rafael would have no reason to hurt them.

Laughter and conversation came from the doorway.  Briggs, Lauder and Vox were stomping their boots free of the snow clinging to them.   Not long after they were back in the kitchen, filling mugs with coffee.

Allison left the table and began clearing dishes and pans.  The men joined in and the clean up was soon done.

Vox rubbed his hands together.  “Who’s up for gaming?”

“Hell, yeah,” Lauder said.

Briggs nodded agreement.  “I’m in.  Zach?”

Zach topped up his mug with coffee.  “Sure. Allison, you up for a game?”

“I’ve never played video games before.”

“We’ll show you,” Briggs said. 

“I’m sure you don’t want to spend your time teaching me.  I’ll slow you all down.”

“You can’t be any worse than Lauder was when he started,” Vox said.

Lauder flipped him off.  “That’s because I never spent my down time holed up in my apartment with make-believe people.  I went out and met the real deal.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Vox said.  “Bottom line.  You sucked.  Now we gonna play or what?”

* * *

Briggs took Allison by the hand and led her to the couch.  Allison glanced over her shoulder at Zach who trailed behind her, but Zach noted she was smiling.  Not long after, the game was underway.  Zach found himself watching Allison.  She sat on the end of the couch, face drawn in concentration.  She proved to be adept and was clearly enjoying herself.  Every time her laugh rang out, Zach felt a smile on his face as well.

They broke for lunch then Lauder and Vox went to catch some sleep before they took the night patrol.  Briggs promised Allison lasagna for dinner then went to do his own thing.

Allison glanced up at the window.  “I think I can see a few snowflakes on the glass.”

Her tone was wistful.  How long had it been since she’d spent any time outside?  Yeah, she’d been out while traveling, first with him when they’d been waylaid by the brothers, then after on the way here.  But being on the run wasn’t being outdoors.  Zach felt fury for all she’d been subjected to.

He led her to the hall closet where he retrieved warm jackets, gloves, and boots.  Allison had only his jacket and the athletic shoes Laurel had given her and Zach had made sure Chase included a new jacket for Allison, a hat, gloves, and boots in her size when he was getting the girly things.  Her boots were lined up among several sets of mens’ boots.

“We’re going somewhere?” Allison asked as he held her jacket for her. 

“Yeah.”  His voice was tight.  The anger he felt for her mistreatment was still close to the surface.  “We aren’t going far.  Just into the yard and we’ll stay behind the cover of the trees.”

When she was dressed in the outerwear, he took her hat from a top shelf and put that on her, carefully tucking her hair beneath the thick wool.  He put on warm clothing as well then led her to the room he’d designated to store the teams’ arsenal. 

All manner of weapons were in this room.  They were safe in the yard.  He wouldn’t risk Allison if they weren’t, but nowhere was one-hundred percent safe and Zach took no chances.  He selected a couple of handguns and holsters then secured the weapons at his shoulder and ankle.  He added a vicious blade then took Allison to the rear door of the house. 

“Hamilton. Nash.  Check in,” Zach said into the mic he affixed to his jacket.

“Here, boss,” Hamilton said.

“Something up, Zach?” Nash asked.

“What’s the status out there?” 

“Clear,” Nash said.

“Clear,” Hamilton echoed.

“Allison and I are coming out.  We’ll keep to the back porch.  If anything moves beyond that perimeter, shoot it.”

“Affirmative,” both men said in unison.  

Zach preceded Allison out the door.  He did a sweep of the immediate area, though he didn’t expect to find anything.  His men were the best at what they did. All was clear and he held the door for Allison to join him outside.

The yard was enclosed on all sides by Evergreens that were now powdered with snow that glistened in the sun.  Snow covered the yard and back porch.  More was falling, removing all trace of the footprints left by Zach’s men.

Allison took a deep breath and turned her face up to the sky.  Zach came up behind her and stood with her back to his chest. He put his arms around her to keep her warm.  Allison didn’t speak.  She appeared lost in her own thoughts. After a time, she turned in his arms.  Her eyes gleamed with mischief and she broke away from him.

Walking backward she gave him a smile that was now as full of mischief as her eyes. “Know what I love most about snow?”

Zach smiled.  “What do you love most about snow?”

“Snowballs!”

In a flash she reached down, grabbed a handful of snow and formed a small ball.  She tossed it at him.  The ball broke against his shoulder.

Zach grinned.  “Baby, you don’t know what you just got yourself into.  I’m the snowball king.”

Allison danced back on her toes, no mean feat given the depth of the snow.  Laughing she held out her hands, fingers wiggling in challenge. “Bring it.”

Zach lunged for her.  His ribs protested the sudden and sharp movement but he didn’t care and didn’t back down or slow down.  Allison let out a small shriek and then the snowball fight was on.  

As she dodged Zach’s pitches and threw her own, Allison’s squeals of laughter were something Zach was sure he’d never forget.  He’d do a lot, he realized, to cause her to laugh like that.

Not long into their play, Allison’s breathing became labored.  Her body was still recovering.  Zach wiped snow from his face then put a halt to the game by pulling her close and rubbing his hands softly up and down her arms.   “Let’s get you inside.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

Zach was glad to see Allison eat a sizeable portion of Briggs’s lasagna for dinner.  Zach intended to make sure she ate well and would ask Briggs to prepare that meal again while they were here.

After, while Briggs was regaling Allison with his grandmother’s secret recipe for her favorite food, Zach went into the living room and called Chase.

“Any word on Sandoval or Morse?” Zach asked.

“No. Whatever they’re doing, they’re doing it quietly.”

Zach rubbed the back of his neck.  “I don’t like that we’re in the dark.  They’ve forced us to go into hiding.  We’re not doing anything to resolve this situation.  I don’t like playing cat to their mouse.  We need a few days to hole up, let Allison get some of her strength back, then we need to make a move, Chase.”

“You got something in mind?”

Zach looked to the kitchen where Allison was smiling at something Briggs said.  Zach had to make sure at the end of all this Allison was safe.  “I’m working on it.  This has gotten complicated.”

“You okay?”

“Fine.”

“Something on your mind?”

Zach released a sigh.  “You mean other than protecting Allison from Sandoval and the CIA?”

“Yeah, other than that.”

Zach could now hear laughter in Chase’s voice.  “Glad I’m amusing you.  Like I said, this just keeps getting more complicated.”

There was a sound of foil tearing, then Chase crunching what sounded like potato chips and chuckling. “You still talking about the mission here?  Or are we on to something else?”

“What, are we going to sit around like a bunch of high school girls talking about our feelings? Of course I’m talking about the mission.”  But he wasn’t sure that was all he was talking about.

“Seriously, Zach, you can walk away from this one.  You’re hurt. You can use the downtime. Briggs, Ham and the rest are more than capable of protecting Allison and I could come there.  You can sit the rest of this one out.”

No way in hell was he going to do that.  His humor gone, he said, “Allison stays with me.”  Zach all but snarled it.  “Got that?”

“Absolutely. It’s your call.”

Chase wasn’t trying to piss him off.  Zach recognized he was touchy when it came to Allison and eased his tone.  “Anything else?”

“One thing more. Mitch called.  He said they found a shit load of evidence at the farm. The brothers rolled on each other and pled out.  There’s not going to be a need for you or for Allison to testify against them.”

“I’m glad of it.  Keep me posted on Morse and Sandoval.”

Zach disconnected and clipped his phone to his belt as Allison came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl piled high with ice cream.  When she reached him, she held it out.  Smiling she said, “You didn’t have any dessert.”

A slow smile curved Zach’s lips.  “I never turn down ice cream.” He scooped up a spoonful of the chocolate chunk and offered it to her.  Instead of eating it, her eyes filled with tears. Alarmed, Zach plopped the bowl and the spoon onto an end table.  “Hey?” He put his arms around her.

Allison wound her arms around him, holding him with what felt like all the strength she was capable of. 

“I didn’t think a man like you existed,” she said.

The way she said that made him ache for her and for all the hopes and dreams that she’d had crushed, no doubt by Sandoval.  A job?  Yeah, Allison had started out that way, but she was more than that to him now.  He had feelings for her, feelings that were growing deeper. Seeing her anguish felt like a knife to his gut. 

He pulled away slightly.  Gently, he lifted his hands and framed her face.  “Where’s this coming from, sweetheart?”  Certainly not from offering her his ice cream.  No, this was something else.

“I’m terrified of you, Zach.”

He felt as if his blood had run cold.  Brows drawn together he looked into her eyes.  “Baby, I would never hurt you.  I won’t ever hurt you.”

“No.”  She shook her head quickly and her fair hair swept over her shoulders and back with the strength of her denial.  “That’s not what I mean.  I know you won’t hurt me physically.  It isn’t that.”

Relief staggered him. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “Then what?”

She looked at him, her eyes wide and vulnerable and the knife in his gut twisted, cutting deeper.

“I’m terrified of how I feel when I’m with you,” she said.  “Of how you make me feel.” 

Zach’s hold on her face tightened just a little.  “This is no longer about me seeing you safe because I made a mistake when I returned you to Sandoval.  This is about you.” There was the truth of it.  “I care about you and all that matters to me—everything that matters to me—is making sure Sandoval never gets near you again.”

Tears spilled onto her cheeks. 

“Baby, no.  Don’t cry.”  Zach pressed his lips to the damp spots on her face. 

“I’m not the woman I was, Zach.  I may never be again.  Rafael broke something in me, something I may never be able to fix.”

It took all Zach had to rein in the rage that built with every tear she shed.  But this wasn’t about what he was feeling.  This was about her.  He wanted to tell her she was going to be all right.  That what that son of a bitch had broken would heal, but words were empty.  He had nothing to back them up.  Sandoval had put her through hell.  Zach was sure he still didn’t know all of what that bastard had done to her.

“And I gave him the power to hurt me.”

She spoke so softly, Zach wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.  “What?”

Her beautiful eyes shimmered with tears.  “I chose Rafael.  I chose to marry him.”

Over her head Zach saw Briggs and Nash step into the living room.  They must have seen or heard Allison’s distress.  Their brows were lowered.  Their faces pinched tight with worry.  Zach shook his head slowly and the men left.

  Zach looked into Allison’s eyes.  “And you believe you’re somehow responsible for what happened to you?  For what he did to you?”  She was blaming herself.  Zach was no shrink but it was obvious Sandoval’s abuse had gone deeper than the physical.  Zach couldn’t stand that she was in such pain.  He pulled her close again, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her.  He closed his eyes briefly then said,  “The man is a bastard.” Zach bit down on his back teeth with enough force that his jaw cracked.  “He was that way long before you were in his life.  You didn’t make him that way.  You can’t blame yourself for not seeing him for what he was.  You’re not alone in that.  He’s managed to fool the world.  To hide who he really is.”  Zach pulled back and looked directly into her eyes.  “You loved him.  Sandoval used that love to hurt you.  On top of being a bastard, he’s a fool to abuse the precious gift you gave him.” She raised a hand that trembled to his face.  Zach caught that hand and pressed his mouth to her palm, kissing her there.  “There’s no way I can undo what he did to you.  But I can show you how it should be when a man cares about a woman.”

“Will you take me into the bedroom and show me now?”

Zach stared at her.  He was hard and throbbing in an instant. Though his touch remained gentle, his hand fisted around hers.  He wanted to touch her more than he wanted to see tomorrow.  He wanted to taste her.  Sweat broke out on his brow.  “Sweetheart, I didn’t mean I had to show you with sex.  There are other ways a man shows a woman he cares.  Everyday.”  He brushed a hand over her hair.  “If and when you want to make love, we can get to that.  We can get there. But there’s no ticking clock.  I’ll wait to make love to you.  We’ll do this on your time.  When you’re ready.” 

That sounded long term.  He’d never thought of one woman and the future.  Was that where his head was going now, his head and his heart?  Relationships weren’t his thing.  His childhood hadn’t scarred him.  He had the Turners to thank for that.  But with his job, never knowing for sure if he’d come back from a mission, he’d never wanted a long term relationship.  He never wanted to worry that if he didn’t make it back, he’d be leaving someone who needed him on her own. 

He’d never stayed with a woman longer than the brief downtime between missions. Sometimes not even that long.  Keeping those times light and fun for both him and the woman had never been a problem.  None of the women he’d been with had made him think beyond the short time he was with them.  They’d certainly never inspired thoughts of relationships.  But when he thought of Allison, he wasn’t thinking of one or two nights.

“When you’re ready,” he repeated. “I want it to be perfect for you.”

“It already is.”

Her gaze had gone soft and she was looking up at him with trust.  It made him want to hold her against him and give her the stars.  His heart did a slow roll. He was still holding her face between his palms.  He slid his thumb along her bottom lip then bent his mouth to hers.

Allison’s hands came up and her fingers circled his wrists and gripped him.  They were still in the living room.  Zach lowered his hands from her face, and linking one hand with hers, tugged her toward the bedroom.  She remained in place.  Second thoughts?  As much as he wanted this.  Wanted her.  He wouldn’t rush her.

Zach turned to face her.  “Allison?” he said gently.

She’d gone somewhere.  He could see it, but she shook her head, clearly not wanting to elaborate. 

“I’m fine,” she said.

Was she?  Now he hesitated, feeling nervous.  Hell, he felt afraid.  Had Sandoval also used sex to hurt her?  Was that what her hesitation was about? She hadn’t said and she didn’t seem afraid at the prospect of having sex but Zach didn’t know and the thought that making love with him could bring back to her that kind of pain gutted him.  This time when she moved forward, Zach didn’t.

His indecision must have shown on his face.  Her own expression fell. Some of the color left her cheeks.  She wrapped her arms around herself and bowed her head. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to.  If you’ve changed your mind,” she said quietly.

Not want to? Zach reached up and touched her cheek tenderly.  “I want you more than I want my next breath.”  His erection throbbed, so badly did he want to be inside her.  “But I don’t want to rush this.  I don’t want to ruin this. Most of all I don’t want to do anything to scare you or to hurt you.  Nothing happens here that you don’t want.  All you have to do is tell me to stop.”

She went into his arms again.  Zach caught her to him. 

“I want you too.  I won’t want you to stop.”  She spoke the words softly, but powerfully.

Zach kissed her.  Allison returned his kiss and it was like fuel on his fire.  When Zach broke away, his breath had grown rapid.  He lowered his arms. Again he took one of her hands in his and resumed the walk to the bedroom.

Inside, Zach turned the lights on and closed the door.  He was straining for her, but looking at her, at the vulnerability and the trust, made it easy to go slowly.  Allison wasn’t just another woman to get off with an orgasm and to get himself off.  Everything in him was shouting: Mine.  That she was his woman.

Slowly, he reached out and unbuttoned her blouse.  Her hands covered his.  For an instant she halted his movement, and gripped her blouse, holding the ends together in a gesture to cover herself.

He could guess what she was thinking.  She was woefully thin.  Her bones jutted out from her skin.  Before she’d pulled the ends of her blouse together, he’d seen her ribs protrude.  There was no doubt that Sandoval had done his best to starve her.  Zach damned Sandoval to hell until he could send him there himself. 

Zach had to fight to control the rage over that, not to let it show. Gently, he lowered one of her hands.  With his eyes on hers, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it. 

Allison’s eyes dampened. “You make me feel beautiful.”

“Not hard to do when you’re looking at what I’m looking at.”

He lowered her other arm to her side and removed her blouse.  The bra gapped at her breasts that had suffered weight loss just like the rest of her and though her curves were diminished, she was a sexy, desirable woman just the same. Saliva pooled in Zach’s mouth and all his blood went to his groin in a painful surge, so badly did he want to get his hands and his mouth on her.   

He closed his eyes, calling upon all his restraint.  “Give me a minute here.”

But any hope he’d had to cool down was shattered when Allison wrapped her hands around his and placed them on her breasts.

* * *

Allison placed his hands on her.  Large hands.  Her hands on his barely covered them.  Such incredibly strong hands yet they touched her and held her with a gentleness that belied the force she knew they were capable of.  Force she knew he would never use to hurt her.  Unlike Rafael.  She swallowed hard and forced herself not to think about Rafael, to think only of Zach.

Zach opened his eyes.  They now blazed.  She could see he was trying to bank that blaze, to restrain himself, but she didn’t want that.  She wanted his passion—all of it—and she wanted to give him hers.  The revelation was liberating.

She removed her hands from his and reached out to tug at his T-shirt.  “I want to touch you too.”

His gaze went hotter.  “You can touch me as much as you’d like.”

She raised the hem of his shirt.  She couldn’t reach all the way up to completely take off the top.  Zach lifted his arms. The muscles in his shoulders, in his chest, bulged as he finished the job of removing the shirt himself.  He tossed it onto the floor somewhere, now also flexing the muscles in the arm that bore his tattoo, then he was bare to her view. 

Broad shoulders.  Thick biceps. Lean abdomen taut and hard with muscles that were also clearly defined.  And he’d thought her beautiful.  The man was simply magnificent.  She couldn’t wait any longer to touch him.

She splayed her fingers on his chest.  His skin was hot and beneath her hands, his muscles tensed and trembled.  His heart sped up, beating hard against her palm.  When she could tear her gaze away from his upper body, she looked up into his eyes.  His gaze had intensified, darkened, filled with his desire for her.   Looking at her, he had to be seeing that same desire for him reflected in her eyes.

She closed the distance between them completely so she was leaning against him.  Slowly, tenderly, she kissed each bruise the brothers had caused that now marred his skin.  His ribs had sustained the worst of it and she lavished attention there. 

He sucked in a harsh, ragged breath.  When he’d removed his shirt, he hadn’t returned his hands to her body but had stood with his arms at his sides, allowing her the access she wanted to touch him, allowing her to dictate how they would proceed and at what pace.  He was giving her what she needed and clearly, the slow pace she’d set was costing him.  His jaw and his body were as taut as bow strings.

He closed his eyes now and his Adam’s apple bobbed.  “Do you know what you’re doing to me, sweetheart?”  His voice was thick, hoarse but without anger or censure. 

She looked up at him.  “I only know what you’re doing to me.” 

She removed his belt then unzipped him.  She worked the faded jeans and underwear down at the same time.  His legs were strong, powerful.  All those hard muscles visibly trembled at her touch and then his erection was revealed.  She couldn’t help but stare.     

“Keep looking at me like that and this will be over far too soon,” he said. 

Zach stepped out of his jeans and kicked them out of the way.  He took her face in his hands. His mouth came down and glanced over hers.  His touch was gentle as if she were the most precious thing to him   He licked along her lips.  She opened her mouth and he slid his tongue inside, stroking her, teasing her, leaving her breathless. 

He broke away to gulp air.  “I have no control with you.”

His mouth came down on hers again and this time melded with hers.  She had no control when it came to him either.  She stroked her tongue against his and pressed her body against his so not even light could fit between them.  She wanted more of him.  All of him.

He seemed to want the same of her because his hands lowered from her face and began to move all over her as if he wanted to touch her everywhere and all at once.  Against her lips he murmured, “I’m going to kiss and taste every inch of you.”

Heat flooded her.  She couldn’t speak just then, could only nod.

He went down on one knee. She was still wearing her blouse.  He eased it aside, baring her abdomen, and pressed his lips to the undersides of her breasts that were still in her bra.  Holding her gently at the waist, he kissed a tender and thorough trail across her belly.  He unsnapped her pants. Gently he lowered them, lavishing attention on the skin there as it was revealed to him, both front and back. 

He came to an abrupt stop but Allison was already too far gone to do more than acknowledge that he’d stopped.  Then he continued on his way.  He lowered her panties, baring her, then put his mouth on her and began a gentle, unhurried exploration of her with his tongue. 

Allison’s head fell back. With each slow stroke of his tongue he took her to a new height. She was quickly becoming consumed by need.  Her legs quivered, no longer able to support her, and she clutched his shoulders.

Zach’s hold on her waist tightened.  He rose from the floor, lifting her with him so her feet no longer touched the carpeting but brushed against his knees.  Allison gripped his shoulders. He was injured.  Looking down at him, she feared the strain of carrying her would cause him hurt but he didn’t seem to be in pain or even to strain as he walked with her to the bed.

He laid her carefully on the mattress then stood looming over her, staring down at her.  His eyes were so hot, they scorched her.   He came down beside her and his erection brushed her thigh, hot, thick and pulsing.  Desire and anticipation surged through her but he made no move to enter her.  Clearly, he wasn’t ready for this to be over.

Slowly, he put his lips to her brow, her ear, her cheek, her lips.  When she would have latched on to his mouth with her own, he moved on, kissing then licking a path down her neck, over her shoulders, to the top of one breast where he remained.  He eased a finger to the front clasp and unhooked her bra then slid his mouth along her skin and used that skilled tongue on her nipple.  He took his time stroking and sucking then moved on to focus on her other breast.

Allison clutched the bedspread.  Her head thrashed against the pillow as her desire grew.  Zach left her breasts, moved farther down her body and resumed tasting her with his tongue.   

Again, he took his time, kissing her softly there one instant then swiping his tongue over her the next.  Softly then harder his tongue played over her.  Allison shivered.  His touch left her quivering.  She released the bedding and fisted her hands in his hair.   One more touch and she was sure she’d go over the edge.

Zach stopped.  Allison had been holding her breath and it blew out in a whoosh.  Her next breath came hard and was loud in the quiet of the room.  He was no longer touching her but she couldn’t remain still.  Instead, she was squirming on the mattress.

“I had more planned,” Zach said.  His voice was tense and strained.   “But I can’t wait.  I have to have you now, Allison.  You’re killing me, sweetheart.”

“I have to have you now too.”  Her words came out fast.  She wanted him with a desperation she’d never known before.

Zach left her briefly and reached beneath the bed, pulling out the duffel bag he’d stashed beneath.  She watched him roll on a condom, then he made his way up her body.  His mouth came down on hers.  His kiss was hard and he deepened it.  Easing her legs apart, he nudged her, then no doubt finding her more than ready, he pushed slowly inside her.

His muscles bunched and rippled and his jaw clenched.  He continued to give her more of himself and she moaned as he went deeper and filled her more each time he moved.  When he was finally fully inside her, he went still.

“Okay?” he asked.  “Tell me if you’re not with me, sweetheart.”

A line appeared on his forehead with his concern.  Sweat popped on his brow and his biceps bulged with the strain he was obviously exerting to keep himself from moving. 

Rather than respond with words, she lifted her head and fastened her mouth to his in a greedy kiss.  Whatever leash Zach had on himself snapped when her mouth touched his.  He fused his mouth to hers and thrust hard.          

Allison could feel him swelling further, growing even larger within her.  It appeared he couldn’t get enough of her.  She knew how he felt.  She couldn’t get enough of him either. 

Their breathing was harsh and uneven, gasping.  Zach moved faster, harder.  Allison’s breath caught and held, then her release overtook her and with her mouth still against his, she cried out his name.  In the fog that enveloped her brain, she heard Zach’s hoarse shout as he found his own completion.

Zach relaxed a bit on top of her, but caught himself before he could press her into the mattress and braced his weight on his arms.  He was still deep inside her and stayed that way.  His kisses became gentle, tender. “Okay?”

Her eyes had grown heavy, but she managed a sleepy nod and a smile.  “Oh, yeah.”

He smiled and softly brushed her hair off her brow.  “I need to get rid of the condom then I’ll be back.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

In the short time it took Zach to return to the bed, Allison had fallen asleep.  Her chest rose and fell softly with her inhalations and exhalations.  Her lips parted slightly in a soft sigh.  He reached out and ran his finger down the side of her face and then because that wasn’t enough he brushed his lips over her brow and lingered there.

Her skin felt cool. The bed covers had tangled during their lovemaking.  Zach gently covered Allison without waking her then brought her against him and just watched her, asleep in his arms.  He couldn’t sleep himself.   He couldn’t get what he’d seen on her body out of his mind.

While he’d been making love to her, he’d come across marks on her skin that had halted him—burn marks.  He didn’t need to ask her what had made those marks. He knew about torture.  He knew what would make those kinds of marks.  Electricity.  Sandoval had used electricity to torture her.  Zach’s chest tightened at what she’d endured.

He couldn’t see the marks now, covered as she was, but he could still see them in his mind and his body went hot with a murderous rage.  Allison moved against him.  He forced himself to ease the muscles that had hardened and tensed so he wouldn’t wake her.  He was going to see Sandoval dead.  There wasn’t a corner in this world where that son of a bitch could hide from Zach. Zach would take that bastard apart with his bare hands.

Zach’s body tensed again.  Allison mumbled something in her sleep and stirred against him again.  His attempt to control his fury wasn’t working.  She needed rest.  In his current frame of mind, she wouldn’t get that while he was in the bed with her.  He pushed back the covers and left the bed.

* * *

 

Allison awoke alone in the bed.  She pushed hair back from her face.  What time was it?  It had been after dinner when she’d come to bed with Zach.  Now?

There wasn’t a clock on the nightstand but she couldn’t hear any sound coming from the rest of the house.  She was betting it was late enough that the men who weren’t on patrol had gone to sleep.

Where was Zach?

She rose onto an elbow to leave the bed and go in search of him when she saw him sitting in the arm chair in the corner.  “Zach?”

“Sorry, sweetheart.  I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You didn’t.” She blinked.  “How long have you been sitting there?”

“A few hours.  You’ve been in a deep sleep.”

She sat up against the headboard.  “I was dead to the world.  I can’t remember the last time I slept so soundly.  I can’t remember the last time I felt safe enough to sleep so soundly.”

“You’re going to feel safe again.  You’re going to be safe again.”  Zach’s lips pulled tight forming two white slashes.

He left the chair and came to sit beside her on the bed.  He leaned in and kissed her then cradled her nape and pressed her head to his chest.  She closed her eyes, savoring being in his arms.

“What were you doing sitting there?” she asked.

“Couldn’t sleep and I told you I wouldn’t leave you in here to sleep alone, remember?”

She raised her head to look at him.  “I remember.  You said you’d be sleeping in here with me to protect me.”

He nodded.

“You’ve been doing that, protecting me, since the day you took me back from Rafael.  It took me time to see that.”

“Doesn’t matter now.”

No, there was no point dwelling on the past.  She’d put off telling him about Rafael long enough.  Looking back, she realized she should have told Zach what she knew about Rafael when they were still at Brock’s and she’d decided to leave there to go with Zach to this safe house.  The more information Zach had, the better he’d be able to protect them both.  And it wasn’t just her life at risk now.  If Rafael hurt Zach . . . Goose bumps sprang on her arms with that fear. 

She was still naked. Thinking of Rafael chilled her to the bone and she reached for the blanket to cover herself.  “Rafael isn’t going to give up and go away.”  

Zach wrapped an arm around her, warming her.  “No, Sandoval is still out there, baby. Sooner or later we’re going to have to engage him.”

“Zach, there are things you need to know.  Things I should have told you sooner.”

“Tell me now, sweetheart.”

“We can’t continue to stay here.”

Zach’s gaze went razor sharp. “Why is that?”

“While we’re here doing nothing, Rafael is making terrible plans.  I don’t know what his time frame is for implementing them, but we need to stop him now.”  

Zach’s eyes went as hard as flint.  He clasped her shoulders, his fingers gently stroking the skin there.  “Why don’t you tell me what you know?”

His calm voice was reassuring as was his gentle but firm hold, telling her as surely as words that she was no longer alone in this. 

“Rafael has been lying,” she said.

Zach’s mouth firmed.  “You said that earlier.  What specifically is he lying about?”

“All his talk about democratizing his country and mending relations with the U.S. and the rest of the world is bullshit. He’s built a nuclear weapon.”

* * *

She sounded certain.  Zach bent and looked directly into her eyes.  “How do you know this?”

She lowered her eyes from his and linked her fingers.  She’d wound them so tightly the tips whitened. Zach gently eased them apart and linked her fingers with his. 

“We didn’t have a honeymoon,” she began.  “Rafael said he had to return to his country as soon as we were married.  That he’d been away too long and his people needed him.  Things between Rafael and me changed as soon as we boarded his plane to South America. So fast it was as if a switch had been flipped and he became a different man.  He acted as if he couldn’t stomach the sight of me.  I didn’t know what brought about the change.

“I was upset.  I wanted to talk to him right away, to find out what was wrong but we were never alone.  His staff and personal guards were always around.  I decided I’d talk to him as soon as we reached his house, but I didn’t need to.  When we arrived at his home, he told me the way things were and the way things were going to be.  He told me straight out that he hated me.  That he’d always hated me.  He said he’d only married me because he wanted an American wife. He’d never wanted me for me.   Any woman would have served as well as long as she was American.

“He intended to parade her—me—to the world to show how modern he was, to gain acceptance and to ease him into negotiations for American aid.  All he wanted was money and the power that money would bring him.  You were right, he put on an act to fool the world and he’d done the same thing with me to fool me into marrying him.

“I was shocked. Devastated.  But I was also angry.  My marriage was not real.  I had too much respect for myself to stay with a man who didn’t want me.  I was certainly not going to let him use me.  I told him all that. We’d been traveling from the moment we were married.  We hadn’t consummated the marriage.  I told him I would get a divorce or in this case an annulment.”

Zach tensed.  “What did he do then?”

“He told me I wouldn’t need a divorce or an annulment because soon I’d be dead.” She squeezed her eyes tightly and swallowed several times before opening them again.  “I was terrified. I didn’t know when he intended to kill me.  All I knew was I had to get away.  I realized then that Rafael had my passport.  He had my money.  I’d closed my bank accounts in the States and had no accounts in Rafael’s country. My only chance was to find a way to get to the American Consulate and from there get in touch with my family to send me the documents and the money I needed to get out of South America. 

“I was given a sparse, isolated bedroom on a floor above his.  I waited until night then put my bathrobe on to hide my clothes in case I encountered Rafael and left my room. Looking back on my plan to just walk out of his house, I can see how naive it was.  His home resembled what I thought a military compound was like.  There were guards patrolling the grounds and towers and even inside the house.  I don’t know how I expected to be able to slip away.  I was terrified and desperate enough to try and think I had a chance.

“Downstairs, in the hall, I saw a man. I knew him.  He was one of the men who worked for Rafael, one of Rafael’s trusted people who’d traveled with us on the plane.  The man—Javier—was alone and he had a gun in his hand.  The way he looked at me, I was terrified he was going to shoot me.  But he didn’t.  Instead, he was on me before I could get away.  He told me I had to get out of there.  He told me I didn’t know the kind of man my husband was. That I wasn’t safe with Rafael.  It struck me that Javier no longer had a South American accent.  He sounded American.

“Before I could say anything to Javier, Rafael and several of his men came running down the hall. The men were all heavily armed.   They grabbed Javier—or whatever his name was—and disarmed him.  As they took hold of him, Javier stumbled and fell into me.  Rafael began shouting questions at Javier, accusations.  He called Javier a spy.  Rafael was furious, out of control.  When Javier refused to answer, Rafael shot him in the face.”

Allison paled and Zach tightened his grip on her hand and wrapped his other arm around her. 

“Rafael started shouting those same questions at me—something about who was I working for,” Allison went on.   “Did I think I’d get away with spying on him?  He accused me of setting him up not the other way around.”  Allison shook her head.  “Crazy talk, but then I’d just seen Rafael shoot a man.  I’d learned my marriage was a nightmare and my husband intended to kill me.” Her voice cracked.  “It couldn’t get any crazier.  I was in shock, I guess. I only heard some of what he was yelling and of course I didn’t know what he was talking about.  I told him that.  That I’d only happened to come across Javier now. 

  “Rafael didn’t believe me.  He became even more enraged.  He put the gun to my face.  I thought he was going to kill me too.  I could see in his face that he wanted to.”  Allison’s pulse pounded visibly at her throat.  “At the last second, he didn’t. He had his men take me to the lower level of the house.” She bowed her head.  Her voice thinned to a hoarse whisper.  “I don’t know how long I was down there but one day I was taken out and returned to my bedroom.”

There was something she’d left out.  Zach frowned but before he could ask her, she went on. 

“Shortly after, Rafael came into my room.  He told me we were going to the U.S. on a diplomatic visit.  That the only reason he’d kept me alive—the only reason he’d married me—was to accompany him on this trip.  I knew then he would kill me after the trip was over.

“I was in a panic after he left.  I knocked my bathrobe off its hook and a small memory card fell out of the pocket.  I remembered Javier had stumbled into me in the hall and I realized he must have dropped the card into my pocket that night in the hall.  He’d known he was caught and hadn’t wanted Rafael to find it on him.”

“What was on the card, sweetheart?”

“Information and Rafael—Rafael talking with other men about a nuclear weapon he’d developed that was ready to be implemented. Rafael called it his weapon and said there wasn’t a weapon to equal it.”

  She was shaking now.  Zach pressed his lips to her brow.  “What did you do?”

“If  that weapon were used, so many people would die.  I couldn’t let him do that.  I had to tell someone.  I didn’t know who to tell.  I hid the card.  I had to get that information to someone in the U.S.  The media, I thought, but I didn’t know how to get the card past Rafael to take it with me when we left his country.  The next day a seamstress arrived to fit me for the clothing Rafael wanted me to wear while we were on the trip.  One of the items was a gown Rafael selected for me to wear on his last night in the U.S. at a gala to be held in his honor.  After the seamstress was finished with me and wouldn’t be returning, I sewed the card into the hem of that gown and I decided I’d find a way to leave Rafael that night of the gala.  I planned to take the card to the media. That’s where I was headed when you stopped me.

“If I didn’t get away during the gala, it would be too late. He was taking me back to South America the morning after.  If he took me back, he’d kill me and no one would know the truth about him and what he was planning until it was too late.” Her voice dropped.  “I couldn’t let him take me back there.” She shuddered.

She stopped speaking and Zach believed that time was replaying in her mind. Her eyes dimmed.  Zach felt a punch to the gut at the bleakness he saw there.  “Allison, tell me the rest. What are you leaving out?”

Her face lost its color.  Her breathing grew harsh and ragged.  Whatever she was thinking of was tearing her up inside. Zach had gotten what he needed to know from her about Sandoval and about her evidence.  Zach didn’t believe there was anything more she could tell him about the nuke.  No, this was something else.  His gut was burning with it.  He didn’t need to press her further but he had to know what she was still holding back.  Could not not know.  “What did Sandoval do when he took you to the lower level of his compound?”

“You have all the information you need.  That’s all there is.”

Zach was holding her, felt her tug back, trying to leave.  He continued to hold her.  Where her eyes had been bleak an instant earlier, they now flashed.  He ignored the anger in her tone but he couldn’t ignore the pain.  “That isn’t all there is,” he said gently.  “What happened with Sandoval?”

“The rest doesn’t matter.  It has nothing to do with his plans.”  

“The hell it doesn’t matter.” The agony in her eyes was almost his undoing.  “Allison, tell me what happened.” 

He could see her struggle to comply, her indecision, her wariness.  He saw her yearning.  She wanted to tell him, but she held herself back.  She wanted someone to share whatever was shredding her.  She wanted someone to lean on.  It struck him like a gale force wind how much he wanted her to lean on him.  “Baby, tell me.”

Her eyes filled then overflowed.  Tears slid down her cheeks.  “He put me in a—a cell.”  Her voice came choked with tears.  “He began to interrogate me.  He thought I was working with Javier.  That I was spying on him and giving Javier information.  He had one of his men hold me while the other beat me and when that wasn’t enough, he used electricity.  But beatings and electricity left marks.  He didn’t want that.   He didn’t want any signs of abuse before our trip.  Rafael told me he’d planned on killing me anyway when he got what he wanted from the U.S.  That I’d never been more than a means to that end.   He’d planned to kill me and make it look like an accident, but now, now he would tell the world that I’d become mentally ill and killed myself. And he began the injections.

“There was no light in the cell.  Rafael left me in the dark all the time.  His voice or a voice I didn’t recognize spoke out of the darkness.  Over and over I was told that I’d lost my mind.  That I was . . . insane.”

Allison had drawn in tight and wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield herself.  She was trembling in his arms, her strength depleted, her spirit crushed.  Every muscle in Zach’s body tensed with rage.  Food deprivation. Beatings. Electrical torture.  Drugs.  He’d known some of what that son of a bitch had done to her but not all of it.  He hadn’t realized how much it would hurt him to know it all.

  Of all the things Sandoval had done to Allison, Zach could see that Sandoval’s relentless attack on her sanity came closest to breaking her. Zach felt fury he’d never known before.  It was a living breathing thing within him. He had to get it under control.  Sandoval, the one his rage was directed at, wasn’t here.  Allison was and she looked . . . destroyed. 

Her tears soaked his bare chest. She burrowed into him as if she could crawl inside him.   That would have suited him fine.  He would stand between her and whatever would hurt her.  God help Sandoval if he tried to take her from Zach.

He didn’t have the words to make this right.  What words could possibly make any of what happened to her right?  But he had to try.  He couldn’t bear to see her like this with her insides bleeding.

He nudged her chin up so she could look no where but at him.  “If that bastard were here now, I would gut him.” Zach’s body primed with the urge to do just that.  “But that won’t turn the clock back so none of what he did to you ever happened.” Zach reached up and brushed the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs.  “I’m sorry for all he did to you.  I can’t tell you how sorry.”  Zach’s heart felt squeezed in a vise. “I’m here for you, sweetheart.  I will do anything to get you through this.  I will do anything to make this better for you.”

She stared into his eyes, her own drenched in tears.  “You’ve done so much.  You can’t know how much.”

As far as Zach was concerned, he hadn’t done the one thing he needed to do.  He hadn’t killed Sandoval.  Yet.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Allison remained in his arms, neither of them speaking as the night wore on.  The wind picked up.  Zach could hear it rattle the windows.

  Eventually, she slept.  But it was exhausted sleep, not relaxed sleep.  Zach could feel the tension in her.  He drew the covers over them both and laid down on the bed with her still in his arms. 

He couldn’t sleep.  The horrors she’d described played over in his mind.  He was awake to see the sunrise and to hear her stomach growl.  Allison opened her eyes, but seemed okay to ignore her hunger.  No doubt a result of the times with Sandoval when she’d had to.  Zach wouldn’t.  He pressed his lips to her hair in a long kiss.  “Let’s see what’s in the kitchen.”

* * *

Allison awoke to the feel of Zach’s lips tenderly caressing hers.

“Morning, sweetheart,” he said.

He was leaning over her.  She looked up at him.  “Morning.”

Was it still morning?  She caught a glimpse of Zach’s wrist watch.  Just barely.

Sometime after dawn, after they’d had the last of the lasagna, Zach had carried her back to bed.   He’d gone on holding her and touching her.  He’d made long, slow, tender love to her again, letting her know with his body that he was with her, that she wasn’t alone.  She closed her eyes against a rush of tears, recalling his unending patience, giving and caring.  

After, he’d drawn them a bath.  In the warm, soapy water, Zach’s arms had been like steel bands around her, holding her against his chest, giving her comfort she’d never thought to feel.

At some point, her eyelids drooped.  She never felt him lift her from the tub and place her in the bed.

She’d told him of that time in the cell.  Laid bare the thoughts and emotions that still felt like open wounds.  She hadn’t thought she’d be able to open up about that time with anyone, ever.  But Zach wasn’t just anyone . . .

He kissed her again now.  The touch of his lips, so gentle, so tender, had tears burning her throat.  She made a small sound.

Zach pulled back and looked down at her.  “Okay?”

A line appeared between his brows with his concern.  How could she explain to him just what his concern meant to her?  What being here with him meant to her? 

She smoothed that line on his brow softly with her fingertips and didn’t try to put into words what she was feeling.  Instead, she just nodded. 

He went on watching her.  After a time, he clasped her hand where it still stroked his brow and brought it to his lips, kissing the backs of her fingers.

He kept her hand in his and returned his mouth to hers.  He kept the pressure easy, light, playful.  She wanted to be able to be playful with him.  She wanted to put Rafael and all the pain behind her and take joy in this moment.

Zach continued to coax her.  She closed her eyes, pushing aside everything in her mind but him.  When his kiss brought on a delicious shiver, she clutched his neck and licked a slow line across his mouth.

He hissed a long breath.  His hands slid down her back and cupped her bottom.  He nuzzled her neck, gently pushing aside her hair, then put his lips to the soft skin behind her ear.  It had to be one of her sweet spots.  Definitely an erogenous zone for her.  As he devoted attention to that single spot, he drove her deliciously higher.

He licked that tender area.  Slowly.  Unhurried. Allison’s body rose up off the bed.  Zach had yet to shave and his stubble brushed lightly across her skin with each swipe of his tongue.

She reached down and grasped his erection.  Thick and pulsing it kicked in her tight grip.  Zach closed his eyes, gritted his teeth through another long hiss of breath.

She wanted all of him.  She slid out from under him.  She flattened her palms on his hard chest and pushed him onto his back on the mattress.  She bent over him, lowering her head to his erection. Her fair fell onto his ridged abdomen and swept across his skin.  His muscles bunched and quivered.

As he’d done with her, she swept her tongue over him in long slow laps.  Down then up, then down again.  Zach shut his eyes and his jaw tightened.  She swirled her tongue across the broad tip of his erection then took him deep.  Zach groaned.

“Enough, sweetheart.  You’re so beautiful and I’m not ready for this to be over.”

He hooked her beneath her arms and lifted her, placing her gently on her back on the mattress.  He blew out a long breath then another.  When he had himself under control, he smiled a wolf’s smile, then hot and wet his mouth closed over her breast.  She arched toward him and let out a small hiss of her own at the exquisite sensation.

“Like that, do you?” His eyes glinted.

He knew well that she did.  She smiled at his teasing.  “I think you know everything I like.”

“Let’s test that theory.”

He kissed his way down her body.  When he reached her sides, he kissed her ribs, tickling her in the process.  Allison laughed.

He continued to kiss her sides.  Finally, she couldn’t take any more tickling.  “Okay.  Okay. No more.”  Her voice rang with laughter.

Zach’s body shook with laughter of his own.  He reached under the bed and an instant later sheathed himself with a condom.  He raised himself so he was again above her.  Grinning, he kissed the tip of her nose then gently probed her entrance, stretching her and awakening every nerve ending.

“How about this?” he said.  “Like this?”

Allison sucked in a breath.  “Yes.” Her eyelids fluttered with sensation that threatened to overwhelm her.  “Oh, yes, more of that.”

He eased forward in a single small thrust.  Allison dug her heels into the mattress. 

“That enough?” he asked.

She didn’t know how he was still able to tease when he was so obviously straining for release.   She could hear it in his voice that had lowered and gone raspy and she could feel him inside her, so engorged now, he stretched her inner walls so she thought she couldn’t stretch any more.  Having him filling her that completely had her trembling with need.

Her fingers dug into his nape but she tossed back.  “Not quite.”

“No, huh?”

His laughter didn’t come as easily as it had a moment earlier, but he stayed his course.  In and out.  He nudged her then withdrew, rocking her with slow thrusts that he kept from penetrating her too deeply.  Her body had awakened to his and even those small, shallow movements took her to the brink.

He kept up that pace.  Kept her on the very edge.  Wanting.  Craving.  Needing.  But she wasn’t alone.  She felt him shudder with the control he was exerting.

Then all traces of teasing left him.  Zach kissed her open-mouthed, his tongue delving deep, and sank all the way inside her.  He set the same rhythm with his tongue as he did with his thrusts. Allison pushed against him, matching him stroke for stroke.  Harder.  Deeper. Faster.  He moved at a pace that sent her desire soaring. She gasped, unable to breathe.  Her vision filled with light then she cried out, into his mouth, from a pleasure that went on and on.  Zach’s hoarse cry of release followed.

Zach’s breathing was fast and loud.   Or maybe that was her breathing?

Their mouths were still touching and he kissed her slowly now and with a tenderness that squeezed her heart.

They stayed like that, with their bodies joined and their mouths moving softly against each other, while their breathing and their heart rates returned to their normal rhythms.  

Eventually Zach moved his head and spoke softly into her ear.  “You know, I never did get to that ice cream.”

She looked up at him.  Her lips curved in a smile.  “Last I saw, there was plenty of it in the freezer.”

Zach brushed one knuckle softly down her cheek.  “How about we go get some?”

* * *

Allison was with Briggs who was showing her the fine points of making perfect French Toast for what was going to turn out to be breakfast in the afternoon.  Zach turned his attention elsewhere. 

Sandoval had to be stopped.  As long as that nuke was in his hands, lives would be at risk.  And the one life that Zach could not live without would be at risk—Allison.  Not only was she at risk if that son of a bitch used the weapon, but until Sandoval was disarmed, he would continue to hunt Allison to prevent her from telling what she knew about the nuke.  It was time to end this. Zach called John.  John answered his secure line on the first ring. 

“Zach?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s going on? What have you found out since we last talked?”

“That you were right.  Sandoval’s got a nuke the likes of which we’ve never seen before.  He’s not developing it, John. It’s good to go.”

“Fuck.  Any idea where he’s stashed this nuke?”

“No, but I know where I can find that information.  At his compound.  I’m going after it.”

“How do you know it’s there?” John asked.

“I have Allison Sandoval with me.”

“Allison Sandoval?  That why you wanted the Intel on Rafael Sandoval?”

“Yeah.  She knows about the nuke.  That’s why Sandoval wants to find her.”

John blew out a breath.  “I can send our agents down there with you.  Go with you myself. Give you back up.”

“I want to wait on that.  Sandoval will be on the look out for your people.  John, he learned of the agent you had down there.  I have confirmation on that.”

“From whom?”

“Allison.  Your agent made contact with her.  She saw Sandoval shoot him dead.”

John was quiet for a moment then asked,  “How do you want to do this?”

“Morse wants Allison as much as Sandoval.  I don’t want you to go down to South America with me.  I need you to be here, to keep her safe for me.”

“Okay,” John said.  “Tell me what you have in mind.”

“We’ll need to file a flight plan to South America, though we’ll give a different destination than Sandoval’s country.  Before we set on that course, we’ll make an off-the-books stop at Danvers County Airstrip.” Danvers County was a short jaunt from John.  “I need you to meet me there to get Allison.  I want to leave her with you and Eve.  Once I know Allison is safe with you, my people and I will continue on to Sandoval’s compound.”

“When do you want to do this?”

“I need a few days to put this together.  I’ll be back in touch once I have.”

“I’ll wait for your call.” 

“John,” Zach’s voice was tense, “just you at the airstrip.  I can’t risk this leaking and Morse or Sandoval finding out where Allison is.”

“Just me.  I’ll take care her of her for you.”

Zach knew that to be the truth.  He ended the call with John.  Now to speak with Allison. 

She was still in the kitchen with Briggs.  Zach heard Briggs speaking as he approached.

“Now this recipe has been passed down from generation to generation in my mother’s family.  I have to swear you to secrecy.”  Briggs gave her a conspiratorial smile and crooked his baby finger in a pinkie swear.

Allison returned his smile and hooked her much smaller finger to his.  “I swear.  Now tell all.”

She looked more at ease than Zach had ever seen her.  He hated that he was about to end that.

Briggs’s gaze left hers and connected with Zach’s.  Allison turned. 

“Briggs, can you give us a minute?” Zach asked.

Briggs nodded.  “Sure thing.”

“This better be important, Zach, for you to interrupt us,” Allison said.  “Briggs was about to divulge the ingredients on the recipe for his grandmother’s French Toast.” She was grinning but Zach didn’t return her smile and her smile faltered.  “What is it?  What’s happened?”

“I’ve made arrangements for you to stay elsewhere.”

“Why am I not going to continue staying with you?”

He took one of her hands loosely in his.  “We need the information on the nuke and I need you to be safe.  I’m going after that information.”

She lost some of the color in her face but firmed her lips.  “What you want is back in South America. I’ll come with you. You haven’t seen Rafael’s compound.  I have.”

Zach gave her the full force of his stare.  “Not going to happen. What you’re going to do is stay where you’ll be safe.  My people and I will take care of this.”

“You and these men here?” Two red spots appeared on Allison’s cheeks.  Her voice vibrated with desperation.  “A handful of men against Rafael’s army isn’t enough.”

Her hand was now ice cold in his.  Zach brushed his thumb across the backs of her fingers.  “It won’t be just me and the men I have here, sweetheart.  Three more of my men will meet us at the airstrip.  They’re on leave.  I’ll call them back.  I’ll call in my other two teams as well.  They’ll meet us in South America. We’ll have more than enough manpower.”

Allison’s brows drew together and she bit into her lower lip. “Why does it have to be you and your people?  The CIA must want Rafael.  You said your CIA contact wants to talk to me.” She shivered then straightened her shoulders.  “I’ll speak with him.”  She squeezed Zach’s hand.  Hers was trembling.  “Leave Rafael to them.  Let them stop him.”

It was a testament to how afraid she was for him that she would talk to Morse.  “This is what I do, baby.  And with Sandoval,” Zach’s voice lowered, became lethal, “this is personal.  I will make sure he can’t ever hurt you again.”

“And what about you?”  Her mouth trembled.  “You don’t know Rafael and if he knows you’ve helped me, he’ll target you specifically.  He will hurt you because of me.  I can’t stand by and let him hurt you.”

Zach broke into a sweat thinking of her vulnerable to Sandoval.  “If you really want to help me, then you’ll do as I ask you and stay where I know you’ll be safe.” Zach’s eyes bore into hers.  “The thought of you back with Sandoval, knowing you’re hurt, in pain, terrifies me.  Allison, I need to know you’re safe.  There is nothing in this world that matters more to me than that.   There is nothing in this world that matters more to me than you.  I love you.  You are everything to me.”

Zach stared into her eyes for a long moment then leaned down to her.  He moved his mouth over hers as if it had been months instead of moments since he’d last kissed her.  He wasn’t the only one doing the kissing, wasn’t the only one that held her in a death-grip.  Allison was holding him to her just as fiercely, her fingers digging into his waist.

When she pulled back, her eyes were damp with tears.  “Do you think that’s any different for me?”

He lowered his head until his brow touched hers.  “Then you know where I’m coming from.  Do this for me, baby.”

He must have conveyed the stark fear he felt at the thought of her in danger because she nodded.  “I love you, Zach.  I don’t want to make this harder for you.  I’ll go where you want. Promise me that you’ll keep yourself safe.  You’re everything to me too.”

He leaned in and kissed her again.  Against her lips, he gave her his promise. “Nothing in this world will keep me from coming back to you.”  

A shudder went through her then she asked softly, “You haven’t said where I’ll be going?”

Zach loosened his hold on her and looked down at her.  “You’ll be staying with John Burke.  He’s family, John and his wife, Eve.  John is with the CIA.  Eve works for John.”  At her widened eyes, Zach added, “Listen to me, sweetheart.   John is not working with the CIA contact who’s now looking for you.  I trust John with my life. He isn’t doing the job here. This isn’t about the job. This is about family.  He would never give you up.  He will protect you with his life.  If I didn’t know that, I wouldn’t leave you with him.”

She pressed tight to him again.  “I trust you. I’ll go with John.  I’m not changing my mind.  I don’t want you to worry about me.  I want you to be focused on Rafael.  When do I go?”

“Just as soon as I can put this together.”

Zach felt her stiffen in fear and just as quickly work to control it.  He hated that he was going to be forced to leave her, but he had no choice.  She would never be safe until Sandoval was out of her life and unable to hurt her.  Zach drew back and nudged her chin up.  He kissed her long and deeply.  Briggs poked his head around the corner. 

“First batch of French Toast is on the table,” Briggs called out.

Zach kissed her a moment longer then said, “Let’s get you fed.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN     

 

Four days later, Chase drove Zach’s SUV onto the Corrigan airstrip where the company planes were hangared.  One of them was already on the runway ready for the flight.  Allison’s breathing picked up.  She made an effort to regulate it.  She’d known the time at the safe house couldn’t last forever, that the reprieve had to come to an end.  But knowing that didn’t stop the fear that threatened to consume her at being separated from Zach.  She had no way of knowing what the next hours would bring.  Zach had told her she was everything to him, but he’d become everything to her and she was terrified that she would lose him and all they had together.

Her hand was in Zach’s, engulfed by his much larger one.  As if he sensed her thoughts and fears, he gave her a squeeze.  She had to do better to hide her fear.  He couldn’t be worried about her.  He needed to be clear-headed.  She squeezed Zach’s hand in return, this time to reassure him.

Chase parked beside a truck that held the three men Zach had told her were meeting them here then cut the engine.  Zach nodded to the men then turned to her.

“Stay behind me at all times,” he said. 

“Okay.”

“Ready?”

As much as she would ever be.  She nodded.

Zach got out of the vehicle.  Chase, Hamilton and Briggs got out next and took up positions on either side of Zach.  He reached back inside the SUV for Allison. She placed her hand in his and he slowly drew her out onto the tarmac.

The four large men formed a wall, blocking her view of anything but them.  She heard rather than saw the doors to the other vehicle being opened then closed and presumed those men had left their truck as well.

Zach took up the lead, keeping her behind him, and the other men moved to shield her on her sides and back.   The muscles in Zach’s back and shoulders were tense and he had one hand on the gun holstered at his shoulder.

Without turning around, he said to his men, “Move out.”

Zach’s tension didn’t ease as they stepped away from his SUV.  If anything, Allison could see his body become more rigid and his head didn’t cease its movement as he continuously scanned their surroundings.

“Something’s off,” Zach said under his breath and came to a halt.

Chase’s hand tightened on his weapon. “What do you see?”

Before Zach could reply, the hatch to the plane opened and a man stepped onto the platform.

Zach moved with lightning speed, diving behind the SUV, taking Allison with him.       

Before Allison could blink, he’d pushed her to the ground, covering her with his body, and his gun was in his hand.

Zach’s other men had also taken cover behind the two vehicles, their own guns at the ready.  Two men braced assault rifles at their shoulders and squinted through the scopes.

“You’re not taking her, Westwood,” Zach shouted, his voice hard.

Allison went still.  Of course this had to be about her, but who was this man named Westwood? One of Rafael’s men? Whoever Westwood was, he was known to Zach.

The man at the plane—Westwood—shook his head slowly and smiled. “You know I have to, Zach.  My men have you surrounded.  We can pick you off one by one.”

To illustrate his point, a bullet blew out a headlight on the truck driven by Zach’s other men.  Hamilton had taken cover behind that vehicle and the bullet struck mere inches away from Hamilton’s head.  Zach’s hand plopped onto Allison’s head, pushing her face flat to the ground and he dropped on top of her so completely, he blocked all daylight.

Zach was breathing hard.  Allison could feel the rage coming off him.  She heard another gun shot.  The sound was deeper, made by a rifle.

  “I can play that game as well, Westwood,” Zach called out.  “Make this a real pissing contest. Shoot holes in you and your men.  I can guarantee none of you will make it out of here alive.”

“You won’t be walking out of here, either, Corrigan.”  Westwood’s tone was tight and angry now.  Gone was the calm manner.  “Morse doesn’t want her dead but he didn’t say anything about not taking you out.”

Morse.  Zach’s CIA contact. Zach had gone against Morse and not delivered her.  Morse hadn’t told his people not to kill Zach.  Allison’s heart rate felt as if it tripled.  She pushed against Zach.  “Let me up.  Zach, please, you have to let me up.”  Zach didn’t budge.  Allison pushed harder. “I can’t let you all be killed because of me.”

“You let us worry about that,” Zach said.

Gunfire erupted all around them.  Zach and his men returned fire. Allison’s breathing accelerated.  She didn’t doubt Zach and his teams’ abilities, but the longer this went on, the greater the chance of one or more of them being hurt or killed.

Zach shifted position, aimed, then fired another several rounds.  When Zach moved, Allison took the opportunity to scoot out from underneath him.  One of Zach’s men, who’d arrived in the other vehicle, stuck his head up from behind the hood to take better aim and fell back with a grunt then a deep groan.  The man had been shot.

Zach shouted, “Braddock, do you have him?”

The instant Braddock revealed himself, a spate of gunfire filled the air.  Braddock, too, was shot.  Blood flowed from his chest.  

Allison shouted.  “Stop! Please!”

She was screaming to be heard above the gunfire.  The shots ceased.  Before Zach or anyone could stop her, she ran out from behind Zach’s SUV.

“I’ll go with you, Westwood,” Allison called out, her voice breaking, “if you give me your word that Zach and his men won’t be hurt anymore.  That you’ll let the men get the medical attention they need.  Let them leave.”

“Allison, what are you doing? No!”  Zach’s voice was tense and angry.  “Get back here!”

She was terrified he would make a grab for her and in so doing, come out of hiding where Westwood and his people would shoot him.  Panic rose within her.  She walked quickly, deeper onto the tarmac.  “Zach, these people don’t want to hurt me, but they don’t care if they kill all of you.  I can’t let them do that.”

“She’s right, Corrigan,” Westwood called back. “We only want to talk to her.  You know where she’ll be.  Take it up with Morse.”

“I don’t trust Morse, Westwood.” Zach’s tone dripped acid.  “Allison, don’t trust Westwood.  Turn around and walk back to me.”

Zach’s voice had gone tight and strained when he’d addressed her.  She could hear his fear for her.  She was terrified herself at going with Westwood to meet Morse.  She didn’t really know what Morse’s intentions toward her were.  She didn’t believe she would be killed, but she only had Westwood’s word that she wouldn’t be harmed.  She summoned her courage.  She’d been hurt by the best—Rafael—and she’d lived through it.  If she could survive that, she could survive anything.  Anything but if Zach were killed.  Her heart skipped a beat then beat twice as fast.  She would not let that happen.

She stared straight at Westwood and infused as much steel into her voice as she was able.  “Your word, Westwood, that you’ll allow Zach and his people to leave here.  I need to hear it now.  Zach’s men need medical help.”

“Allison, don’t do this.”  Zach’s voice sounded tortured.

Allison broke eye contact with Westwood and faced Zach.   “I have to.  I can’t let any of you be killed because of me.  And what will you all have died for anyway?  Once he’s killed all of you, he’ll take me with him just the same.”

She saw the truth of her words in Zach’s eyes, along with the anger, the despair and the futility.

Westwood inclined his head in what could have been taken as a gallant gesture.  “You have my word, Mrs. Sandoval.  I have no reason to kill Zach or any of his people if you cooperate.  Tell me how you want to do this.”

She reluctantly pulled her gaze from Zach.  “You let Zach and his men drive out of here and then, when it’s just the two of us, Westwood, I’ll come to you.”

“Corrigan,” Westwood said, “you’re all free to go.  Load up your wounded and drive out of here.  Remember, our guns will be on you at all times.”

Zach gave the order to his men. “Get Braddock and McMurtry in the trucks.  Haul ass out of here.”  While his people were complying, Zach said, “Take me with you, Westwood.  Like you said, I’ll be on my way to Morse anyway.”

Westwood gave a short humorless laugh.  “You think I have a death wish? I know you’ll kill me as soon as you get near me. Not going to happen.  You’ll have to find your own way to Morse.”

Allison didn’t doubt Zach would kill Westwood.  The other man wasn’t fool enough to let Zach get close.  Zach made no move to leave, but held his position. 

“Zach, go!”  Allison’s voice cracked.  She had to know he was safe.

Zach’s men drove away, but he remained behind with his weapon thrown to the ground.  No.  No. Allison wanted him gone where she knew he was no longer a target for Westwood and his men.   The only way to remove that threat was to follow through on her promise.  And she had to make sure Zach didn’t do anything to provoke Westwood.  She could all but feel Zach’s body straining toward her with intent to prevent Westwood from taking her.

She turned to Zach.  “Don’t do anything.  Westwood and his people are expecting you to make a move against them.  Please don’t make me watch you die.” Tears blurred her view of him.  “I can survive anything but that.”

His face, that was tight with rage, now filled with pain and grief. 

As she walked to Westwood, who now stood behind the open door of a black truck, she felt Zach’s gaze burning into her.  When she reached Westwood, she turned and looked back at Zach.

The expression in his eyes was of agony.  “I’ll come for you, Allison.  I’ll be with you soon.”   

Allison’s throat closed and for a moment she couldn’t speak.  “I’m counting on that.”

Then Westwood gave her a little push into the vehicle and drove them away.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Before Westwood left, he had one of his men shoot out all four tires on Zach’s SUV.  Zach had never felt more helpless in his life.  Rage seethed in him, but above that, was fear, despair and self-directed anger.  Zach could figure how Morse found out about the flight to South America.  The flight plan they’d had to file.  But why would Morse have been watching for one of Zach’s people to file a flight plan?  It made no sense.  Morse would have had to know that Allison was with Zach.  How had Morse found out that Allison was even with him?

Zach retrieved his weapon from the ground.  While he changed one tire for the spare, he called Chase.  When Chase responded Zach asked, “What’s the status of Braddock and McMurtry?”

“They’re alive.”

Chase’s grim tone told Zach that Braddock and McMurtry were in bad shape.  Zach closed his eyes, feeling the pain for his men.  “What’s your ETA at Blake County General?”

“Ten minutes or so.”

To be that close, Briggs, who was driving, had to be breaking all speed limits.  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Zach had never not been with one of his people who’d been injured.  It was a code he lived by.  They never left a man behind and they stayed with that injured man until he was treated and recovered or laid to rest.  But this time, Zach couldn’t be with Braddock and McMurtry.  He had to get to Allison.  “I’m going after Allison.”

“I’ll meet you at Morse’s,” Chase said.

“Negative. Stay with Braddock and McMurtry.” 

Zach ended the call.   Pushing the disabled SUV to its limits, he drove away from the airfield.

 

* * *

When Zach reached the CIA office, Chase was waiting by the front door.  He pushed off the brick at Zach’s approach.

Zach’s lip curled in an outward display of the anger he was feeling. “You hard of hearing all of a sudden?  I told you to stay with McMurtry and Braddock. We stay with our team.”

Chase’s expression remained steady.  “Braddock and McMurtry are in surgery.  There isn’t anything I can do for them right now and they’d have kicked my ass to the curb themselves.  You’re our team as well and right now you need me.  By the look on your face, I’m going to be the only thing to keep you from killing Morse in the next few minutes.”

Zach couldn’t deny that.  “Let’s get this done.”

Zach pushed through the double doors to the building that housed the CIA offices.  He had no doubt he was expected.  Westwood would have relayed Zach’s message to Morse. 

Zach and Chase were escorted to Morse’s office right away and Zach got right to the point.  “I want Allison. Now.”

Morse sat behind his desk, a coffee mug in one hand.  He took a long swallow before setting the cup slowly and deliberately back on the desk top.  “Why was she with you?”

Zach gave Morse a hard look. “How did you find out Allison was with me?”

“I didn’t. I got lucky. When you filed the flight plan for South America, though it wasn’t to Sandoval’s country, I had to make sure that wasn’t where you were going.  That Sandoval hadn’t hired you.  I couldn’t let you do a job for Sandoval now.  I sent Westwood to the airstrip to find out what was going on and to bring you in if necessary.  Westwood saw you and your people exit your vehicle with Allison Sandoval and called me.  I told him to bring her instead.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed.  His voice went dangerously low.  “What do you mean you couldn’t let me do a job for Sandoval now?  What did you do?  Where is Allison?”

The unmistakable roar of an airplane engine penetrated the room.  Morse’s gaze lifted to the window.

The CIA office had a private airstrip on the grounds. Even as Zach ran to the door, with Chase on his heels intent on making it to the airstrip, the roar began to fade and Zach knew it was too late, the plane was in the air.

Zach lunged for Morse, seizing him by the throat.  “You son of a bitch!  What did you do?”  Zach knocked over the chair Morse was sitting in, sending Morse to the floor in a heap.  Zach hit the floor as well.  “Where is she?  Answer me you bastard!”  Zach shook Morse like a rag doll.

The door to Morse’s office burst open.  A woman screamed then dashed back out.  In the red haze clouding his brain, Zach figured he had about two minutes before the woman summoned help and men stormed Morse’s office to try to haul Zach off their boss.  Good luck to them with that.

“Where. Is. She.” Zach asked the question from between clenched teeth.

Morse coughed and Zach eased his hold on Morse’s throat fractionally, only enough to let Morse draw enough air to answer the question. Morse coughed again.

“Where?”  Zach roared.

“With Sandoval.  Sandoval wants his wife back.  Whatever their marital differences, that’s for them to work out.”

Zach’s nostrils flared. “You bastard.  Do you even know what he did to her?  What he’ll do to her now.  How he’ll make her suffer for leaving him.” 

Zach’s fury reached boiling point.  He let loose, driving his fist into Morse’s face.  The crunch of bone, Morse’s cry of pain, and the blood that ran from Morse’s broken nose and front tooth gave Zach no satisfaction.  None of that brought Allison back to him.

He was breathing hard in a combination of desperation and fear.  “Marital differences?  You sanctimonious son of a bitch.  He gave her drugs that pushed her to the edge of her sanity.  He tortured her with electric shock.  She went through hell and now because of you she’s back with Sandoval where he can torture her all over again.”

Chase wrapped both arms around Zach in an attempt to haul Zach off Morse but Zach shook off his large second in command as if he were nothing more than a pesky insect. 

“Think, man,” Chase said, “you won’t find out where Allison is from a corpse.”

Chase’s statement halted Zach where nothing else would.  He took several breaths as he glared at Morse, willing himself to regain control. “Where is Sandoval taking her?” The likely place was back to his compound, but Zach wouldn’t make assumptions.  He had to consider that Sandoval was going after his nuke—if it wasn’t at his compound—and taking Allison with him.

Morse slowly slid back along the thick gray carpeting and rested his back against a credenza.  He wiped the back of his hand across his bleeding mouth.  “No reason not to tell you. Sandoval is going back to South America.” Morse lifted one shoulder and let it fall.  “Sandoval told me he’s taking his wife home.”

The compound then.  “Why did you do it?” Zach’s voice became deadly. “You said you wanted to talk to her.  That you thought she might know something about Sandoval. Why did you give her back to him?”

Morse spat blood onto the carpeting and raised an eyebrow in a look devoid of regret or remorse.  “It was for the greater good.  I was trying to work out a deal with Sandoval.  That’s why I couldn’t have you mess this up by doing a job for him—doing anything—that would make him think he didn’t need my help. Sandoval and I have now made that deal.  I know he’s dirty but he’s a small fish. In exchange for returning his wife to him, Sandoval gave up a bigger fish.”

Morse had used Allison to close his deal with Sandoval.  Zach’s fury ignited.  “What about the nuke you suspect Sandoval of working on?  What about your missing and presumed dead agent?”

“So you know about that, do you?” Morse let out a breath.  “We don’t have proof of that.  What Sandoval provided was hard evidence on a terrorist we’ve wanted for a long time.”

“Well you fucked up, Morse,” Zach ground out.  “Sandoval has a nuclear weapon and you let him walk.”

Morse blanched.  “You don’t know that for sure.”

Morse’s door was flung open again and six agents charged into the office.  Zach expected them to pounce on him and braced but to his surprise, Morse held up a hand to ward off his men.

“We’re fine here,” Morse said.  “You can all go.”  When the agents hesitated, Morse shouted, “Get out!”  When they were alone again, Morse addressed Zach.  “If you know that for sure, you have to tell me.”  Morse’s gaze sharpened and his tone became urgent.  “I need to get my people down there.”

Zach surged forward.  “You stay right here. You’ve fucked this up enough, Morse.  I’m going to get Allison back from Sandoval.”  Zach’s rage became more acute with each breath he took.  He bared his teeth in a snarl. “Don’t get in my way.”

* * *

Allison was seated in Rafael’s private plane, across from Rafael.  He was watching her, his gaze dark and rabid.  She could feel the rage coming off him.

  As terrified as she was, if she had it to do over again, she would still have gone with Westwood.  By accompanying him, she’d saved Zach and the rest of his men.  She clutched her hands in a tight grip thinking of the two men who’d been shot, possibly killed because of her.  Guilt and regret weighed down on her.  She prayed the two men would recover.

Zach’s parting words to her had been that he would come for her.  She didn’t doubt that he would. She was counting on that, but while she wanted to be back with Zach, wanted nothing more than to be away from Rafael, the thought of what Rafael would do to Zach if he captured him had her blood turning to ice.  Rafael would make Zach’s death a long, slow, painful one.  Allison’s heart clutched.  She shut her eyes tightly against that horrific thought.

“So quiet, Allison.”

Rafael’s voice broke the silence.

Allison lifted her gaze to his and gave him the full force of her hatred.  “Go to hell.”  She enunciated carefully, making sure the words came out clearly despite the fierce blow Rafael had given her that had her cheek throbbing like an exposed nerve and had split her lip.

His teeth came together, making a sound she heard though he was seated across from her.  “I see you have regained your spirit.  We will see how long that lasts once you are back in a cage.  Not long at all, I would wager, given your weak nature.”

Rafael had drilled that into her, backed by the drugs, undermining her confidence and her belief in herself.  She raised her chin.  She swiped at the blood on her lip and curled it in disgust at Rafael. “Not so weak that I couldn’t get away from you.” It felt good to strike back after the months with him when she’d been unable to defend herself, though she knew she’d pay for this bit of defiance.

Rafael’s face hardened.  “Oh, yes, I am going to enjoy reducing you to the spineless woman you were.”

Allison saw the promise in his eyes.  He was going to hurt her worse than he had before and this time there would be no getting away.  This time she wouldn’t survive.   She began to shake.

 

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the compound, Rafael wasted no time putting her back in a cell.  One of his men shoved her to the stairs and with his hand fisted in her hair, he pushed her down each step as they made their descent.  

The warm South American climate made the temperature below stairs only slightly cooler than elsewhere in the house.  Allison was dressed in the warm skirt and sweater she’d donned for the trip to John and should have been perspiring, but goose bumps sprang on her arms.  The lower level felt as cold as a freezer to her and she shivered.

Inside the cell, two men who’d accompanied them down there lit lanterns. Rafael turned to a third man, who was as large as a gorilla, and pointed to a table.  “There.”

Allison kicked and screamed but Rafael’s gorilla laid her on the cold, hard table that was centered in the tiny area.  Next, the man tore her clothes.  The sound of the cloth tearing sounded like shrieks.  Naked now, the man grabbed each of her arms and legs in turn. 

“No!  No!” Allison shouted.

Her heart pounded like a jackhammer.  She fought like a wild woman but it was no use.  In short order, she was shackled to metal rungs at each corner of the table.  Just as the previous table she’d been on, this one was stained with blood.  So much blood the table looked painted red.  Maybe this was the same table she’d occupied before.  Maybe some of the blood coating it was her own and soon would be covered with more of her blood.  Hysteria choked her. 

This time, Rafael had no concern about leaving marks on her body that may be detected.  He went to a wall where instruments of torture hung in a rack and selected one whip and one metal chain.  Allison couldn’t breathe.  Her gaze fixed on the whip Rafael began to gently slap against his palm.

He addressed her for the first time since they’d left the plane.  His eyes were black with rage.  “You will beg me to kill you.”

He flicked the whip against the edge of the table.  Allison jumped.  Tears pricked her eyes.  The first blow struck her belly, leaving a thin trail of blood.  The next sliced a thin sliver of skin like a peel from a piece of fruit. Tears filled her eyes and slid off her cheeks. Zach. She tried to focus on Zach and not on the pain.  Despite what Rafael had told her, she would not beg him for death.  She would live to be with Zach again.

Rafael struck her again.  Allison’s body arched and then thrashed on the table.  Her skin was becoming slick with blood.  More blood flowed down her wrists, the shackles cutting her flesh from her desperate attempts to break free. 

Rafael shouted questions at her in Spanish.  Allison was fluent in the language but pain and terror were overtaking her mind and she could only make out odd words.  Strangely, it was the same when he switched to English.

“ . . . you and Javier . . . working with him . . . tell you about me . . . who else with the CIA . . .”

  Rafael shouted something else she didn’t catch.  Two men secured electrodes to various parts of Allison’s body.  Her breathing hitched.  She clawed at the table. 

Someone doused the lights. Rafael gave a nod and one man flipped a switch.  The electrical current went through her and Allison’s body bowed off the table.  Her screams echoed in the darkness.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Zach studied the Intel spread out on the table before him.  Topographical maps. Satellite imagery. Precise coordinates pinpointing the location of Sandoval’s compound.  Photographs.  Zach brushed his thumb across a photo of Allison being dragged into a house that resembled a palace. The expression on her face was one of terror that cut his heart open.  Hang on, baby.  I’m coming  for you.

Beside Zach, Chase bent over the table.  His mouth was pulled in a thin line.  “How do we get this done?”

Zach had to force his gaze away from the photo as if taking his eyes from Allison was abandoning her somehow.  Not a chance.  He’d do anything—everything—to get her back.  Fear for her and what Sandoval was putting her through cut off  Zach’s breath.  His body went cold, in the grip of a fear he’d never known before.  He forced himself to regain the control he was fast losing and said to Chase, “Let’s figure out the best way in there.”

* * *     

Twenty four hours later, Zach and his men boarded one of the Corrigan planes.  One day wasn’t enough time to plan an extraction of this magnitude but Zach couldn’t wait any longer.  He was out of his mind with fear and worry over what Sandoval was doing to Allison.  The one thing he was clinging to was that Sandoval wouldn’t kill her right away.  Sandoval wouldn’t make the same mistake he’d made with Javier by letting his rage rule him and killing Javier before interrogating him.

Sandoval would want to know if Allison had been working with Javier.  If she were working for Morse and Morse returned her to Sandoval now to complete her assignment.  Sandoval would want to know if there were other CIA plants at his compound.

Zach couldn’t think that Allison was already dead.  If he did, he’d lose what was left of his mind.

Zach had already been over the plan with his men. They’d fly into South America, take the chopper waiting for them into the jungle, then go from there to Sandoval’s front door.  It wasn’t easy but it would work.

One of Zach’s teams was already on the ground doing surveillance.  Zach’s people would keep an eye on the compound while he was en route so there wouldn’t be any surprises when he got there and would provide back up.

Now, here they were.  The air felt thick, wet, heavy.  It had rained briefly since they’d entered the jungle but the sun and the heat were back quickly. Already they’d burned off the water that dampened the combat wear Zach and his men had on, and glistened on the thick branches and dangling vines.  Calls and screeches echoed from the wildlife that inhabited the area.

When they were in range of Sandoval’s compound, Zach stopped.  Concealed by trees and thick brush, he peered through binoculars at his target.  The photos he’d seen of Sandoval’s house didn’t do it justice. The man had spared no expense to make the place as grand as any monarch and to secure it like a fortress.  Zach’s Intel had already prepared him for that. His people knew their positions and took them now.  Men veered off to the east and west of the compound and would eliminate any threat from those sections.  Sandoval was strategic and had towers facing each of the four points. Zach had assigned a sniper for each tower to take out the guards there. Hamilton and Nash broke away to place explosives.

His people were waiting for his signal.  Zach gave it and the first sniper took his shot. Within seconds the others followed.  Zach watched men drop from the towers and then one explosion after another rocked the earth.  He gave the signal to move out.  His teams at the east and west sides opened fire.  While those men would remain outside, Zach and the men with him now would go into the house.

Automatic weapons fired close to him.  Zach returned fire, taking out several men without breaking pace.  His path was clear to the defensive wall that surrounded the grounds.  No need to scale that wall.  The explosives had reduced it to rubble.

Shouts rang out all around him.  More gunfire erupted.  Chase and his other men joined him at the door.  Zach shot off the door and led his men inside.

The foyer was all marble, crystal and gold.  Zach had been in a lot of places in all parts of the world but had never seen such opulence.  Sandoval had spared no expense to lavish himself in luxury.  Sandoval’s soldiers ran at Zach and his men from all sides.  Zach and his people returned fire and dispatched them. 

He spoke into the mic on his shoulder.  “We’re in. Briggs. Connolly.  What’s your status?”

“Taking fire from the east,” came Connolly’s reply. 

“Clear here,” Briggs said.

“Anyone hurt?” Zach asked.

“Negative,” Briggs said.

Connolly responded the same then added,   “We’ll move to you and Chase and come up behind them.”

“Once you’ve cleared them all,” Zach said, “keep an eye out for reinforcements.”

“Roger that.” Briggs grunted.  “No one will get past us.”

Zach had no doubt about that.  He looked up at the cavernous ceiling. The house was immense.  Where was Sandoval keeping Allison?  But Zach was afraid he knew. 

Zach raised a hand and directed men to search this floor for more of Sandoval’s men.  He sent others upstairs then led the rest down steep concrete steps to the lower level.

Zach and his men spread out to search the cells. Rats scurried out of the dark.  Zach’s chest felt as it were being ripped open, thinking of Allison somewhere down here.

One by one Zach’s men reported in.  They hadn’t found anyone.  Allison wasn’t in any of the cells. But she had been in one of them until recently.  The clothing that Zach had last seen her in lay torn on the floor beneath a blood-stained table.  There was blood on the thick metal shackles at each corner of the table. All manner of torture devices were strewn about, scattered as if Sandoval had to move her in a hurry when Zach and his teams breached the compound.  All of the instruments of torture held fresh blood.  The sight tore a hole through Zach. He staggered but one thing kept him on his feet: He wasn’t looking at her dead body.  He bowed his head, eyes closed, repeating that to himself.  She was alive.

Zach left the cell.  Beyond the cells, the ground continued to descend.  He hugged the wall and kept his gun raised as he went deeper and deeper into the ground.  His men fell in behind him.  Cool air rose out of a darkness so thick, he couldn’t see his gun hand in front of him. Night vision goggles hung from a strap around his neck and he put them on.

At the bottom, he came to a series of tunnels. Sandoval could not have taken Allison out of here any way other than through one of these tunnels without coming up against Zach’s people.  But which one?

Chase came up beside Zach.  “Any idea where we go from here?”

Zach’s gut twisted.  He didn’t know.  He gave the order for his men to split up into pairs and for each pair to go down one of the tunnels.

Mouth tight, Zach said, “Chase, you’re with me.”

His men went into the tunnels.  He and Chase did the same.  Zach hadn’t realized he was running until Chase’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

  Zach was breathing hard.  Impatience and fear for Allison rode him.  He turned to Chase with a snarl.  “Get away from me!”

“Easy, man,” Chase said. “You won’t be able to find your woman if you’re dead.”

Zach glared at Chase.  Chase’s expression didn’t ease, telling Zach his own expression had to be murderous.  He drew a long breath and brought himself back from the edge. Chase was right. Zach had never advanced like this into the unknown before. Where was the stone-cold resolve he’d always had when carrying out a mission?  He’d come to terms with death long ago—his death—not Allison’s.  Never Allison’s.  He had to stop thinking that way.  He had to think with his head and not like the man who couldn’t live without her, or he’d surely overlook something and lose her.

Sandoval and Allison may have gone in this direction alone but that didn’t mean they hadn’t met up with anyone and were still alone. This tunnel was likely an escape route and Sandoval could have mobilized an army at the end of it.

“I’ll lead us in,” Zach said.

Chase nodded and stepped back behind Zach.  Zach walked on.  Each breath brought with it the pungent smell of damp earth.  They moved with care not to alert Sandoval of their presence.

Their footsteps were muted by the wet soil that absorbed every footfall.  In the tunnel all was quiet, but gunfire could be heard faintly in the distance.  Eventually, they began to ascend.  Finally, light penetrated the absolute blackness.  Zach had been right.  The tunnel did lead out. As he neared the end of it, bright sunlight struck him. Zach tore off his goggles and leaving them to dangle around his neck, took the few remaining steps that would bring him to the mouth of the tunnel.

Remaining concealed, he peered out.  The tunnel opened onto a dirt road. The road was deserted.  The surrounding area was flat land with no places to conceal any army.  Sandoval didn’t have an army laying in wait.  It was just Zach and Chase here.

Zach went outside.  They were beyond the walls of Sandoval’s compound now.  The house was a blur behind them.  There was no sign of Sandoval or Allison at all.  Zach’s fear for Allison escalated.  He spoke into his mic, telling his men in the tunnels to backtrack and take the tunnel he and Chase had gone into and to meet up with him and Chase on this road.  His men replied they were already almost there.  They’d quickly found out that the other tunnels were short and nothing more than decoys that led to dead ends. 

Zach ended his communication with his men and stood on the road.  “Where did that son of a bitch go with Allison?”

Zach studied the terrain. The road was straight and all around it was strangely cleared of trees and plant life.  The only thing here was a cemetery on a small rise.  While the earth where Zach and Chase stood was desolate, trees and flowers thrived on the plot of land that housed the cemetery.  Sunlight glinted off stately marble monuments that were polished to perfection. A high fence enclosed the area.  A single gate towered over the land and bore the inscription: SANDOVAL.

A truck barreled out through the open gate at top speed.  Sandoval was behind the wheel. Zach couldn’t see Allison but that didn’t mean Sandoval didn’t have her in back.  If she wasn’t in the truck, Sandoval knew where she was.

Zach raised his rifle to shoot out the tires and stop the vehicle but hesitated.  If Allison was in there with Sandoval, Zach couldn’t risk an injury to her.  Neither, however, could he let Sandoval take her away.

Zach got the tires in his scope.  He was about to shoot them all in rapid succession to bring the vehicle to a complete and immediate stop, when Sandoval appeared to lose control of the vehicle.  The truck veered then sideswiped a tree.  The vehicle flipped, landing hard on the driver’s side.    

Allison.  Cold sweat broke out over Zach’s body as he raced to the truck.  Sandoval had gone through the windshield.  The passenger side was intact and even before Zach reached it he could see Allison was not inside the vehicle.

Zach vaulted onto the hood of the truck.  He raised the butt of his rifle and smashed what was left of the windshield.  A thick shard of glass had stabbed Sandoval in the gut, going all the way through his body.  Blood streamed from the wound. The man’s eyelids were opening and closing.  He was barely conscious and Zach knew Sandoval wouldn’t survive.  Zach wouldn’t wait for death to claim Sandoval.  Zach would send the bastard to hell himself, but he needed Sandoval to live for one minute more. 

Zach seized Sandoval by the throat.  “Allison!”  Zach shouted. “Where is she?” Sandoval’s eyes opened then closed again.  Zach squeezed Sandoval’s windpipe.  “Sandoval!”

Sandoval’s dull gaze lifted to Zach and a spark lit there. Sandoval smiled.  “Gone.  She is gone.”  

Zach shook Sandoval. “Gone where?” There was a finality in the way Sandoval had said she was gone that started a panic in Zach.  “What did you do to her?”

Sandoval moved his lips several times but made no sound.  His eyes rolled back in his head.  Zach shook Sandoval with a force that had his teeth clacking together.  “Where is she? Answer me, you son of a bitch!”

Blood spurted from Sandoval’s mouth.  His body trembled, then went still. Zach went on shaking him, digging his fists into the now lifeless body.  But there were no answers to be gained from Sandoval now. 

Zach released him then left the truck.  Heart drumming, he faced Chase.  “Sandoval left Allison somewhere.  We have to find where.”

Zach turned away from Chase and headed back in the direction they’d come.  Chase ran beside him.  Four of Zach’s men charged through the tunnel Zach and Chase had come through, and met up with him and Chase on the road.  The rest of the men joined them in short order. 

Zach stopped in the middle of the road.  Allison had been in the tunnel.  Right to the end.   Where had Sandoval taken her from there?

Sandoval had been at the cemetery.  Zach shook his head in denial.  But the thought, the fear, wouldn’t go away.

“The cemetery.” Zach breathed the words.  “He left her there.”

Blood pounded in Zach’s head as he ate up the distance to the cemetery.  He moved his head from side to side, looking around wildly.

“Split up,” he shouted to his men.  “She’s here somewhere.” 

He’d barely finished speaking before he started running. And then he saw it—a freshly dug grave.  It was unmarked.  Sweet Mother of God, had Sandoval put Allison in there?  Zach’s heart rate rocketed.  He threw his helmet to the ground, fell to his knees in front of the mound of dirt and began clearing away clumps of earth with his hands. 

Had Sandoval buried her alive?  She was terrified of the dark.  He shook his head.  None of that mattered if she was already dead.  Sweat dripped into his eyes. 

He shouted for his men.

“Please. Please. Please.”  Zach spoke the words aloud, his voice strained and throbbing with emotion.  When he got to her, please don’t make him be too late.

Zach’s men ran to him and dropped to the ground beside him.  They dug like they were possessed.  No one spoke.  Finally, they cleared the dirt from the hole and uncovered a coffin.

“Let me take a look,” Chase said.

Zach shook his head, his throat too constricted to verbally respond.  His heart was beating so hard it felt like it would beat right out of his chest.  He dropped into the hole beside the casket.  His hands were sweating, shaking as he lifted the lid.  Allison was inside. 

She was naked.  Bloody.  So much blood.  Everywhere Zach looked he saw blood.  Cuts, welts and burns marred her flesh.  Her eyes were open, but they were lifeless.

Zach had to get past the condition of her tortured body and focus on what he needed to do.  How long since Sandoval had put her in there?  Had he just buried her when Zach spotted him driving out of the cemetery?  Air would remain in the casket for a while after burial.  Was that time up?

“Allison.”  Zach’s voice came out hoarse.

He tore off his combat gloves and clutched her bloody and bruised face with a hand that shook.  Her flesh was still damp from perspiration no doubt brought on by fear and from being in the tight box.  She wasn’t moving.  Wasn’t breathing.  He pressed his fingertips to her neck.  No pulse. Zach bent over her.  He covered her mouth with his and breathed into her.

Dimly, he heard Chase yelling into the mic for Nash, the team medic.  Desperate, frantic, Zach took his mouth from Allison’s and put his hands on her chest to begin compressions. 

“You’re not dead.” His voice came out choked.  “You’re not dead.”

He did the count, then put his mouth to hers again, forcing more air into her lungs.  Please.  Please.  He prayed.  He pleaded.

Chase dropped down beside him in the hole.  “Take a break.  Let me take over.”

Zach didn’t answer, didn’t look up.  He forced air into her lungs again.  Followed up with more compressions.  Over and over Zach repeated the process.  Allison remained still. 

Zach heard a shout.  It sounded like an animal in agony.  He realized the sound had come from him.  His chest felt torn open.  His pain was raw.

Hands shaking, he gripped her face harder as if doing so would keep her with him, keep her from sliding into the void.

He put his mouth to hers again. 

Gave her a gust of breath.

Then another.

Another round of compressions.

Another breath.

She remained still.

“Allison . . .”  he said, his voice broken.

  Beneath his mouth, Allison’s lips moved.

Zach’s heart gave a hard thud, then raced.  He raised his head.  He stared hard down at her.  “Allison. Come on.” Breathing hard, he begged,  “Come back to me, baby.” 

Her gaze remained unfocused.  Dull and vacant.  Zach knew she wasn’t seeing anything.  But she was breathing.

He lifted her from the prone position, then out of the casket and into his arms. Her head lolled and he eased it onto his shoulder.  She was limp in his arms. 

Her body began to tremble.  It had to be more than one hundred degrees with the sun beating down on them and she was shaking.  He pulled off the protective gear that covered his upper body and stripped off his shirt.  He wrapped it around her like a blanket then wrapped his arms around her again.

She needed medical.  Nash first and then a hospital.  They were still in an unsafe zone.  He didn’t want to relinquish his hold on any part of her, but he needed to get her out of here.  He got to his feet with her in his arms.

“Hand her up to me, Zach,” Chase said.

Chase left the hole then reached down and took Allison from Zach.  When Zach joined Chase and the others above ground, he took Allison back in his arms.  He smoothed her hair that was matted to her skin with sweat, dirt and blood back from her face.  She didn’t react.  She remained still in his arms.

Zach’s men surrounded him, shielding Allison from all sides.  Clutching her tightly to his chest, Zach ran.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Allison came awake slowly.  She opened her eyes and squinted against the light.  She was in a bed in a room bright with sunlight.  Her eyelids fluttered.  She closed her eyes.

“Allison.”

Zach.  She opened her eyes again and turned her head in the direction of his voice.  He was seated on an orange chair pushed close to the bed she was in.  He looked like he hadn’t shaved or slept in days.  He looked so tired.  Beyond exhausted.  But despite his obvious fatigue, he shot from the chair, his expression urgent.

“Allison.” He leaned over her, reaching out slowly to her cheek.  His eyes fixed on her as if he hadn’t seen her in decades.  “No, don’t go out again, sweetheart.”  He swallowed, then again, as if he were struggling to speak. “Stay with me this time.”

She continued to stare at him.   Was it really Zach or was she imagining him?  She recalled the ambush at the airstrip. Morse giving her to Rafael.  The plane ride to South America. The cell. The beatings.  Rafael flaying her skin with the whip. 

During Rafael’s torture, she’d tried to fight back the pain and the despair by keeping her mind focused on Zach.  Was this one of those times?  Would Zach’s image fade when the pain and fear overrode her defenses and she’d be back in the cell with Rafael?  Her breath caught.  “Zach? Is it really you? Are you real?”

Zach took one of her hands in his.  He closed his eyes for an instant then lowered his head and pressed his brow to their linked hands.  When he opened his eyes again, they burned into her.  “Yeah. Very real.  I’m here, sweetheart.  Right here. And so are you.”

Her throat tightened as she took in his words. Where was here?  She realized the bed she was in was a hospital bed.  Not one of Brock’s.  Panic had her heart rate jacking up.  Where was Rafael? The last thing she remembered was him putting her in a coffin.  “Rafael buried me alive.”

Her breath caught. She was gasping for air as if she were still in that casket. Zach’s arms came around her as tight as she thought he dared with her injuries.

  “You’re safe.”  Zach pressed his face to her hair.  “You’re safe now.  I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

A tremor coursed through her.  “Rafael?”

Zach’s jaw tightened.  His eyes became homicidal.  “Dead.”

Could the devil be killed?  But she saw the truth on Zach’s face.  Rafael was dead.  Tears of relief burned her.  She could summon no grief for the man she’d married. That man had never existed.  That man had never been real.  Rafael had created and adopted a persona to manipulate her and the world.  The real man had been a monster.  And now that monster was dead.  Later, she would ask how he’d died.  She wanted that closure, but for now she clung to the fact that he was gone.

“He won’t ever hurt you again.” Fury burned in Zach’s eyes, then again he lowered his brow to their joined hands.  When he raised his head again, his eyes were tortured.  “I thought I lost you.  That I got to you too late.”  Zach’s voice was raw.

She looked up at him.  “I knew you’d come for me.” Tears gathered and clogged her throat.

Zach cradled her face with both hands.  His eyes blazed.  “You are my life.  I would have gone into hell itself to get you back.  You’re safe now.  No one will ever hurt you again.”  His face hardened to stone.  “Over my dead body will anyone ever hurt you again.”

Gently, he brushed hair off her cheek.  His gaze lit on each bruise that marred her face.  Pain filled his eyes.  He touched his lips to her forehead in a kiss so tender, so filled with love, her heart stuttered.  

“Let me hold you, Allison.” Zach stopped speaking, then swallowed before continuing. “I need to hold you.”

Tears streamed down her face.  “I need that too.”

His hands moved under her gently and he lifted her.  His arms came around her and held her against him.  She turned her face into his shoulder and curled her arms around his waist, burrowing against him with all the strength she could muster.  He held her as if he would hold her forever.  She closed her eyes and savored being in his arms, savored being safe.

As if he’d read her mind, Zach said softly against her ear,  “You’re safe here.”

She raised her head only enough to look up at him and kept her tightest grip on his chest.  “Where are we?”

Zach pressed his mouth to her fingers.  He shook as he kissed her there.  “Back in Blake.  You’re at Blake County General.”

“I don’t remember getting here.”

“You were out of it.”  Zach closed his eyes for an instant as if the memory of that time was too much for him.

“How long have I been here?”

“Five days.”

She didn’t remember anything about the journey.  “I’ve been here for five days?”

“Yeah.”  His voice sounded strangled.  “You’ve been in and out of consciousness.”

She hurt everywhere.  “How badly am I hurt?”

The tortured look returned to Zach’s eyes.  “You lost a lot of blood but your doctors said the worst is over. You’re going to be all right.”

She took a look at herself.   Two fingers on the hand Zach wasn’t holding were bruised and swollen and taped to a splint.  The fingernails were missing.  If she looked beneath her hospital gown, she knew what she’d find.  Rafael had been thorough.  He’d left no part of her untouched. 

Rafael was dead but it all came rushing back to her.  She was back in that cell with him.  Fear and panic overtook her.  Tears rushed to her eyes.  She began to shake.

Watching her, Zach looked as if his heart were being ripped out of his chest.  He was still holding her hand.  He released it to wrap both arms around her.  “I can’t say I know what you’re feeling, but you’re not alone.  I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.  I love you.  So much.  We’ll get through this together. Whatever it takes.  However long it takes.”

Her thoughts and emotions were a mess of pain and uncertainty.  She knew Rafael could never hurt her again.  She knew that.   But telling herself that couldn’t make the fear go away.  She could smell her blood, see her flesh peel, feel her body jerk from the electric current.  Bile rose to her throat.  She gagged.

Zach reached down for the wastebasket near the nightstand.  “Get it out if you need to.”

Allison bent over the basket.  Zach kept one arm around her and held her hair back with the other.  She had nothing in her stomach to come up and her body bucked with dry heaves.  Finally, the retching stopped and she fell back against him.  She was no longer shaking but she thought that was because her body had used up the last of its strength.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.  “I feel like I’m losing myself, Zach.”

His arms tightened around her.  “I won’t let that happen.  I won’t let you lose your way.  I’ll always bring you back to me.”

Allison pressed her face hard to his chest.  She held tight to his words.  Held tight to him.  He didn’t let go.

      

* * *

Allison slept the rest of that day and most of the next, but it was good sleep, with no more lapses into unconsciousness.

She opened her eyes to darkness outside the window, though the light overhead kept the room bright.  Another night had fallen.

Zach kissed her brow.  “Hey.”

She blinked up at him. “Hey.”

“Is she awake?”

Allison turned at the sound of her mother’s voice.

Zach  moved his lips from Allison’s forehead to her mouth and kissed her carefully, avoiding a deep cut at one corner. He stepped back from the bed and Allison’s mother, Linda, eyes streaming tears, took his place.  Her mother was a tiny woman but the way she charged to Allison, she would have tried to mow Zach down to get to her.

“My child.  My child.”

Linda repeated the words as if they were all she was capable of at this moment.  Tears fell in a torrent from her eyes.  Allison’s own eyes filled as her mother took her in her arms.  She rocked Allison against her.   Linda smelled of her favorite lilac scented bath water.  Allison inhaled it deeply, welcoming the familiar scent. 

Allison could see her father, Jerry, hovering over her mother’s shoulder.  Eventually, Linda stepped back and her father came to her bedside.  He took in her battered appearance.  He wrapped her carefully in his arms and wept as openly as her mother did. Allison couldn’t control her own tears.

“I should have taken better care of you,” Jerry said.  “When time went by and we didn’t hear from you, I should have boarded a plane and gone to get you.”

Allison shuddered at what Rafael would have done to her father if he’d shown up on his doorstep.  “You didn’t know, Daddy. You couldn’t have known.”

“Rafael fooled us all,” Jerry said.

By the time her sister Amanda took her turn with Allison, Allison could barely see for all the tears.  As she dried her eyes with the backs of her hands, she looked for Zach.  He’d stepped back for her to visit with her family, but he hadn’t gone far.   When she stretched out her arm to him, he took her hand in his.  She kept hold of his hand and tugged him into the circle made by her parents, her sister and herself.  With Zach included, the circle now felt complete.

Allison began to make introductions.

Zach kissed her palm.  “We’ve all met, sweetheart.  Chase picked up your parents from the airport.  They’ve been here everyday waiting for you to wake up.” 

Linda raised a hand and gently brushed Allison’s brow.  “Mr. Chase explained to us how Zach and his people took you away from Rafael.”  Tears welled in Linda’s eyes again and she raised her gaze to Zach.  “We can never thank you for all you did.”   

Zach’s gaze left Linda.  He looked to Allison and his eyes warmed.  “She’s here and she’s safe.  I don’t need anything more than that.”

Her parents stayed to visit until Allison’s strength began to visibly fade, then they got to their feet.

“We’ll be back in the morning, darling,” Linda said.

First her mother then her father kissed her again and they took their leave.

Amanda lingered after their parents left.  “I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot of you, Zach.”

Zach bent and kissed the top of Allison’s head softly.  “If I have anything to say about it.”

Amanda gave Zach a stern look that was belied by a one-sided smile. “I like you.  Don’t make me regret it.”

Zach laughed.  “I’ll do my best.”

Amanda hugged Allison.  “Love you, sis.”

“You, too,” Allison said returning her sister’s embrace.

Amanda broke her grip on Allison then turned to Zach and wound her arms around him.  She blinked back tears.  “Take good care of my sister.”

“Always.” Zach’s tone was fierce.

Amanda left the room to join their parents.  Zach resumed his seat.

Allison reached out and laced her fingers through his.  “You need more sleep than you’re getting in that chair.”

Zach lowered his head and kissed her hand where it joined his.  “I’m fine now that I know you’re going to be all right.”

She could see the truth of his words in his eyes.  How she loved this man.  He’d risked everything to make her safe.  But her safety hadn’t come without cost.  “How are Braddock and McMurtry?”

Zach smiled.  “Recovering.  They’re going to be fine.”

Allison closed her eyes.  “Thank God.”  She held her breath.  “Rafael’s weapon?  Did you find it?”

Zach nodded.  “One of my teams found a safe where Sandoval kept information.  They found the location of the nuke.  John has it.  You can rest easy, sweetheart.  That weapon is no longer a threat.  Without Sandoval, his regime is falling apart.  Soon it will be gone completely.”

“I can’t believe it’s really, finally over.”

“Believe it.  You stopped him.  We can add that to the list of things we have to be thankful for this year.”

Thanksgiving.  “I thought I’d missed Thanksgiving this year.”  She bit her lip.  She hadn’t been certain she’d ever enjoy another Thanksgiving again.   Zach was right.  They had so much to be thankful for.  “What’s today’s date?”

Zach caressed her hair then her face.  “Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow.  If you’re feeling up to it, and if the doctors agree, we can spend it with both our families.   My folks, Ed and Ellen, know your parents and sister are in Blake and have invited them to join us all at their house.  If you’re not feeling up to it, we’ll sit this year out.  Spend it at my place or right here in this room. Just the two of us.  Whatever you want, I’ll do.”

Allison didn’t have to think before making that decision.  “I want us all to be together.”

Zach kissed her forehead softly, keeping his lips there.  “Then that’s what you’ll have.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Allison got the go ahead from her doctor to leave the hospital for Thanksgiving and two days later, she, her parents and sister stepped out of Zach’s SUV onto the Turner’s driveway.  With her hand tucked tightly in Zach’s, Allison followed him into the Turner home.

The front door opened into a tiny hall that branched off to a combination living and dining room.  The kitchen was at the back of the house and wholly visible from the entrance.  Steam rose from pots on the stove and filled the home with a heavenly aroma. 

The house was small, made smaller by all the people crowded into the tight space.  Men and women stood against off-white plaster walls and sat on worn couches and an assortment of chairs that looked to have been brought in to accommodate the large number of bodies.  Children played everywhere.  Everyone seemed to be talking and laughing at once and the noise level was just below a roar.

Zach added his voice to the noise with a shout.  “Hey!”

Somehow he was heard.  Heads turned in their direction.  People broke away from their conversations and met them at the door to greet them.  A woman with silver hair that flowed beautifully to her shoulders pushed through and made her way to Zach.

Her eyes were all on Zach.  She broke into a huge smile as she looked up at him.  She rose on tiptoe.  Zach bent and she flung her arms around his neck in a fierce hug.  Zach curled his arms around her waist, returning her embrace with one that was just as enthusiastic.

“I’m so glad you’re back home.” The woman’s voice was thick as if she were on the verge of tears.

“Me, too,” Zach said.

Allison noticed Zach’s voice had gone a little thick as well. 

After a moment, Zach took one arm from around the woman.  He draped it around Allison’s shoulders and brought her to his side.  “Allison, I’d like you to meet my mother, Ellen Turner.  Mom, this is Allison.”

Allison hadn’t needed the introduction.  She’d known this woman was Ellen by the love in Zach’s eyes.  Nerves fluttered in Allison’s stomach at meeting the woman who meant so much to Zach he considered her his mother.  But an instant later, Allison realized her nerves were unnecessary.

Ellen gave Allison a warm hug.  “Welcome, Allison.  I’ll let you in on a secret.  Zach’s never brought a woman to our Thanksgivings.  You must be very special to him.  I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” 

Allison was warmed by Ellen’s kind welcome.  “Thank you.  I feel the same about you.”

Still holding Allison to her, Ellen said,  “Come.  Let’s find you a place to sit and while you’re seated, I’ll fill a plate for you with appetizers.”

Before they’d taken a step, a man leaning heavily on a thick-pronged cane, reached them.  Moving with obvious difficulty, he drew Zach into a tight embrace.

“Hey, Pop.”  Zach hugged the other man for a long moment before stepping back. “Pop, this is—”

“I heard.”  He took Allison’s uninjured hand in his.  “I’m Ed Turner, young lady.  Make yourself at home.”

The man had a gravelly voice that sounded gruff.  On sight, he appeared stern, but his eyes crinkled with his smile and showed kindness and warmth.  Allison liked him at once.  “Thank you for inviting me to be here with you and your family.”

Ed gave her hand a squeeze.  “I heard Ellen say something about getting you a seat.  Let’s do that.”

Zach plopped a hand on Ed’s shoulders.  “I’ll find Allison a seat, Pop. I’d like you and Mom to say hello to Allison’s parents, Jerry and Linda, and Allison’s sister, Amanda.”

Allison’s family was standing behind Zach and Allison.  Zach turned to them and made the introductions.  Ed and Ellen welcomed them.  Jerry, Linda and Amanda were not shy butterflies and as Zach led Allison deeper into the house, she heard them all already engaged in conversation.

“Now that wasn’t too bad.” Zach winked at her.

But Allison was no longer looking at Zach.  There, in the crowd, she saw . . . Rafael.  She gasped then blinked. The man’s face came into focus.  Of course it wasn’t Rafael but perspiration bathed her body and she was now breathing hard. 

Zach drew them to a stop in the middle of the living room and turned to face her.  His eyes showed alarm.  “Allison?  What is it?”

She swallowed back her fear.  “Nothing.”  When Zach didn’t look convinced she added, “Really, I’m fine.”

Zach watched her steadily for a time before his taut features eased.  He resumed their walk through the crowd, stopping to introduce Allison to people along the way.  She focused her attention on the people she was meeting.  A man named Harwick. A woman who introduced herself as Kelly McNamara. More Turners, aunts, uncles and a host of cousins.  Each step brought a new person.  So many people. So many names.  It was like the first day teaching her fifth graders. She didn’t know how she’d remember them all.  But she always did.

The memory was a fond one.  She loved teaching.  Missed teaching.  Rafael had told her she could teach in his country.  But that never happened.  Instead, she’d found herself married to the devil himself.

Allison’s stomach churned.  She closed her eyes and licked her now dry lips, fighting to push back the thought and bring herself back to the here and now. 

Taking deep breaths, she reopened her eyes and forced her attention back to the present.  In the present, she was celebrating Thanksgiving with the man she loved and both their families.  She latched onto that but the memory had started her heart beating hard and left her chilled.

Zach slowly wended their way through the crowd.  She couldn’t see over most of the people in front of her and just followed Zach blindly along.  Four men came toward them.  She couldn’t miss them.  They were all big men.  Zach brought them to a stop and Allison was introduced to Mitch and Ben Turner, John Burke, and Gage Broderick, the men Zach called his brothers. 

Mitch was the first to come to her.   He kissed her softly on one cheek where the bruises had faded to yellow. 

“Welcome, Allison,” Mitch said.

Each of the other men also kissed her cheek and offered greetings.  Seeing them all together, it was obvious these men cared as deeply for Zach as he did for them.

“Where are your ladies?”

Zach’s voice broke into her thoughts.  He was addressing Mitch, Ben, Gage and John.

“In our old room,” Mitch said.  “Trying to get Sara to take a nap before we eat.” Mitch turned to include Allison.  “Sara’s my daughter.”

Allison acknowledged the information with a nod.  She recalled Zach mentioning Sara, and Mitch’s impending adoption of her when he’d told her of his family.  The way Mitch’s eyes warmed when he spoke of the little girl, it was obvious he loved her very much.

“She okay?”  Zach asked.  It was clear by his tone that he cared for the child.

Mitch laughed.  “Oh, yeah.  She’s just not having any part of taking a nap.”

“Having my boys in there with her can’t be helping,” Ben said.

Zach had told Allison that Ben had two sons, both under two years old.

Zach laughed at Ben’s remark then looked around.  “Where’s Ryan?” 

The humor left the other mens’ faces at once.

“Not coming,” Gage said.

Zach’s mouth firmed.  “More trouble with Tina?”

“Yeah,” Mitch said, his own mouth now tight.  “We need to all go down there and see him as soon as possible.”

They all agreed.

Zach hissed a slow breath.  He was clearly angry and concerned at his friend Ryan’s situation.

Zach turned to Allison.  Gently, he rubbed a hand up then down her arm.  “Wait here with my brothers, sweetheart.  I’ll get you that chair.”

* * *

  After the meal was eaten and everyone helped with the clean up, Allison broke away from the gathering.  She opened the kitchen door and stepped onto the snow-covered back porch she’d glimpsed while drying dishes sitting at the table, the only way Ellen, in her kind concern for Allison, had allowed Allison to help.

Allison stood in a drift of snow looking out at the moon-kissed yard and the tightly-grouped houses beyond, all brightly lit for the holidays.  The night air was still with no wind but cold. 

She hadn’t been outside long when she heard the kitchen door open again. Zach came up behind her.  He draped her jacket around her shoulders then pressed her back to his front and put his arms around her, warming her further.

He rested his chin on top of her head.  “You forgot your jacket.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him.  “You’re not wearing a jacket.”

“That’s different.”

“Badass, huh?”

“You got it.”

She smiled but she couldn’t get into the mood of his teasing and her smile faded quickly.  Her mind was a jumble and her body was tense.

Zach turned her slowly in his arms.  “You hardly ate. What’s on your mind, baby?  Was this too much?  Too many people?”

She was quick to shake her head and alleviate his worry.  “No. They’re great.”

He rubbed his thumb gently across her cheek.  “Then what is it, sweetheart?”

He was looking at her with so much love that it made her feel a little weak.  And a lot afraid.  She didn’t want to ruin this happy time with his family for him and that was why she’d come out to be by herself.  She realized she wasn’t doing a good job of hiding her feelings since he’d come out here after her.

Zach gently tipped up her chin, bringing her gaze to his.  “Hey. Where are you?  In your head, where’d you go?”

She tried to turn away but he wouldn’t let her.  It all became too much.  She blurted out her worst fear.  “Why do you want me?  I’m a disaster.  I don’t know if I’ll ever not be a disaster again.”

“Allison—”

“No, listen to me.” She grasped his arms tightly, digging her finger nails into his skin. “In the house when we walked in, I thought one of the people was Rafael.  Later, while meeting your family and friends, I thought of my fifth graders and that happy thought morphed into an ugly thought of Rafael. 

“Rafael is gone.  It’s over but he’s still inside my head.  I don’t even need to close my eyes to be back with him, reliving the pain and the fear and the helplessness that I was unable to save myself.” Her breath was coming so fast she choked on the words.  “I’ll have the scars from Rafael’s torture for the rest of my life.  You were there when the doctor said that.  You heard him.  The scars will forever be a visual reminder. I won’t be able to look at myself without thinking of Rafael and what he did to me.  And neither will you.” A bone-deep coldness seeped into her. One she feared would never go away.  She started shaking.  “I can’t get Rafael out of me.   I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to. You need to run away from me, Zach.” Her voice broke.  “Run as fast as you can.”

Zach’s expression darkened.  His anger was obvious though just as obvious was that he wasn’t angry at her.  He didn’t respond right away but closed his eyes for a moment as if he couldn’t go on, as if he were calling on his strength to be able to continue without losing his composure.

He reached out and held her cheek softly.  “I hate that you have those scars but not because of the way they make you look but because Sandoval hurt you.  And now, though that physical pain you suffered is over, those scars are continuing to hurt you emotionally just by their very presence.

“I hate that Sandoval still has the power to cause you pain.  I’d like to drag him back from hell and into that cell of his and do to him everything he did to hurt you. And then I’d hand him over to you to finish the job so you’d know you aren’t powerless against him.  You aren’t helpless. You never were. You took everything he did to you and you still had the courage and the will to survive.

“It kills me thinking of what you suffered.”  Zach’s voice filled with pain.  “To see you still suffering.”  His hold on her cheek tightened fractionally.  “Get this: I am not going away.  Every time you think of that son of a bitch, I’m going to tell you and show you how much I love you.  That bastard may be in your head now but I’m going to force him out and I’ll keep forcing him out for as long as it takes to get him out for good.”

Allison stared up at him, at the strength and the resolve in his eyes. And the love. Her lips trembled.  She echoed his words from earlier.  “I love you. So much.”  Tears blurred her vision of him.

Zach gently brushed his thumbs over the tears trailing down her cheeks.  “So much.” Mindful of her injuries, he wrapped his arms gently around her.  He brought his mouth softly to hers.  “So much,” he repeated.  “And always.” 

# # #

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Coming Next

GUILTY: The Protectors Series—Book Five

CHAPTER ONE

“Agent Winston, how do you feel knowing you put a murderer back on the streets?”

FBI Special Agent Faith Winston closed her eyes briefly as the question struck home.  It was shouted at her from one of the throng of television and newspaper reporters gathered on the steps of the Manhattan County District Courthouse. 

Rain pelted the ground, soaking the hair and the suit jackets of the men and women surrounding her.  In anticipation of her response to their colleague’s question, the crowd moved closer.  Faith took a breath and inhaled the odor of damp clothing.  Tightening her grip on the handle of her suitcase, she pulled the luggage, making it bounce down the concrete steps, then she pushed through the crowd.  Somewhere beyond this mass of people was the taxi she’d called to take her to JFK airport.  

“Agent Winston what’s going through your mind now, knowing that if not for you, a young woman would still be alive?”  

Guilt stabbed her as Faith blinked rain from her eyes and brought the trim redhead who’d spoken into focus.  The reporter clutched a microphone that displayed the prominent Eye On Manhattan logo.  She stepped out from beneath the shelter of a chrome-tipped umbrella and jabbed the microphone at Faith.

Faith had just spent forty-five minutes on the witness stand providing details of her role in setting a murderer free.  There was nothing more to be said now.  Nothing she could or would say to try to exonerate herself.  She turned away from the mic, jostled the man beside her and continued down the steps.  She was almost to the sidewalk now.  The crowd continued to move with her as tight as a swarm of bees. She couldn’t see beyond her own feet.  It was because of her familiarity with the courthouse that she knew where she was.

Cries and shouts rang out behind her.

“Mr. Fahey! Mr. Fahey how do you feel about Agent Winston’s testimony?” 

Timothy Fahey. It was the murder of his sister Sharon that had brought them all to the courthouse today.   

At the appearance of Timothy Fahey, the reporters scattered, running back up the steps.  At last, an opening.  And beyond, Faith spotted a yellow taxi parked at the curb, engine idling.

Fahey’s voice boomed across the courtyard.  “Rather than answer that question, I’d like to ask one of my own.  To Agent Winston.  How can you live with yourself?” 

His voice resonated with anger and pain that struck Faith like a physical blow.  Again, guilt stabbed her.  But his words elicited more than guilt as they penetrated her to her core.  Fahey had lost someone he loved and in a most horrific way.  Faith knew what that was like and she knew what it was to have no family.  To be completely alone in the world.  Just as Fahey was now. 

Sharon had been Timothy Fahey’s last living relative.  They’d shared an apartment since the death of their parents when Fahey was eighteen and Sharon, fifteen.  Fahey had been the one to discover Sharon’s body when he’d returned home at the end of a work day.

One of the reporters broke away from Fahey and taking the descent two steps at a time, raced back to Faith.  “Agent Winston will you answer Mr. Fahey’s question?  Agent Winston!”

Faith reached the taxi and swung open the rear passenger door.  She climbed in, hoisting the suitcase up onto the vinyl seat with her.  Static rose from the dispatch radio inside the cab, punctuated by squeaks from the windshield wipers as they arced across the glass.  The cabbie turned to face Faith, bracing his arm across the seat.  A tattoo on his bicep proclaimed him as #1 Mets Fan .  

“Where to, lady?” he asked in an accent that was thick South Bronx.

“JFK.”

Faith closed the car door.  Almost immediately it was flung open.

“I already got a fare. You blind, mac!” the cabbie yelled.

The newcomer held up his NYPD badge.  Detective Joe Colson. 

Colson addressed the cabbie.  “Can you give us a minute?”  

The cabbie groaned.  “C’mon man, I’m trying to make a living here!”  But he flung up his arms and left the vehicle.  

Colson got inside the car and sat beside Faith.  He was not a huge man, but needed more than the small amount of space that Faith and her suitcase did not occupy.  He shifted position. It was not a comfortable fit for him, or for Faith either as his body now brushed hers.

He eyed Faith.  “I worked the Fahey homicide.” 

“What do you want?”

The detective puckered his lips as if in contemplation.  “I wouldn’t turn down a boat that I could sail around the world in.”  He swiped the heel of his hand across the rain trickling down his face.  “But for right now, I’d settle for a word with you.”  His expression hardened.  “It’s on your head that woman is dead.”

Faith sat in silence.  Colson was right.  If not for her involvement, Sharon Fahey would still be alive.

“He got better at killing,” Colson went on.  “Didn’t leave any trace evidence behind this time that we can use to nail him.  Our case is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.  It’s a good bet he’s going to walk.”  Colson leaned toward her, close enough for Faith to smell his breath.  A blend of coffee and chocolate.  “I’d wish you a good flight home,” he said, “but I’d be lying.” 

Colson left the vehicle, slamming the door.

The cab driver returned.  “Just so you know, I’m expecting a big tip on account of you putting me out like this, lady.”

Without waiting for a response, he pulled away from the curb and joined the late afternoon traffic.  A horn honked.  The cabbie leaned on his own horn and flipped a trucker the bird.     

Timothy Fahey’s question returned to her.

How can you live with yourself?

Faith faced the window, where rain ran in rivulets down the glass, and wondered the same thing.

# # #

If you’d like to know when the next Protectors novel is released, sign up for Karen Fenech’s notification-only news here: http://ymlp.com/xgeubjejgmguu or here: http://www.karenfenech.com/books.html