In Zach's Arms (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 1) Page 10

  “I just can’t believe it.”

  “It’s over now. He’ll never bother you again.”

  And when she started crying in earnest, he pulled her close and just held her.

  Chapter 14

  Elizabeth woke up groggy, trying not to move her right arm. As comfortable as Zach’s bed was, it didn’t cushion the pain. Maneuvering into a sitting position caused her to break a sweat.

  “Ow, ow, ow.”

  It had been two days since the shooting, but her arm still hurt like crazy. She and Wolfe had been whisked away to the hospital where she’d had to stay overnight. Detective Wolfe had been released almost immediately after a cursory exam. His vest had taken the impact, like it was supposed to.

  He’d stayed around, much to Zach’s dismay, making sure she was doing well and to take the statements of everyone involved. He was adding to his case, but Zach groused that he was just hanging around to annoy everyone.

  “What are you doing?” Zach came in with a tray of food.

  “Trying to get comfortable,” she complained.

  “You’re supposed to call me to help, damn it.”

  “I wanted to sit up by myself, damn it.”

  His lips twitched at her disgruntled tone and she couldn’t help but smile back. He was such a growly bear and she loved him. Loved everything about him. From his protectiveness to his certainty that they belonged together. Too bad it took a psycho stalker and getting shot to make it sink in.

  “What’s going on with Jeffery?”

  Zach set the tray down across her lap, fussed with some pillows and then sat next to her on the bed. Fluffy eggs, turkey bacon, potatoes and orange juice. The man knew how to make a good breakfast.

  “Flagstaff police didn’t take kindly to Jeffery showing up in their town and causing problems, so they filed their own charges for felony assault, attempted murder, as well as any other charge they could think of for shooting a fellow officer.”

  “And then he gets shipped back to Phoenix to face the charges pending there?”

  He nodded. “He’s going away for a very long time.”

  Elizabeth hoped that the feeling of helplessness that had taken over her life would eventually fade. She couldn’t get that look out of her mind, the way his eyes changed and his voice changed. The insanity.

  “I just don’t understand why he went after me.”

  “My buddy, Little Mike, was looking into the investigation. Jeffery wasn’t originally a suspect because he had an alibi. Turns out the alibi didn’t hold, so he started digging into Jeffery’s past. Your agent has been in and out of several very exclusive hospitals that specialize in treating mental disorders since he was a teenager.”

  “That was not on his resume when I was looking for an agent.”

  “He became fixated on a woman ten years ago and she ended up dead.”

  “Oh my God. That’s horrible.”

  Zach shrugged. “There wasn’t enough evidence of Jeffery’s involvement to have him arrested and charged, just some witnesses that had seen him with the victim a couple of times. His family stepped in, hired a very good lawyer, and kept his name from being formally linked with the investigation.”

  “That was going to be me next, wasn’t it?” She shivered again, thinking how close she had come to being his next victim.

  Deciding not to dwell on it, Elizabeth turned her attention to Zach. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of baggy gray sweatpants. Her stomach growled, pulling a smile out of Zach as he held a fork up to her lips.

  “I don’t want my effort wasted this morning.”

  “I’m starved,” she replied with a smile, looking him up and down while obediently opening her mouth.

  “Mmm.” She chewed and swallowed. “You’re too good to me.”

  He stretched toward her and gave her a quick kiss. “You deserve it.”

  Then he pulled back, reached over and stole one half of her bagel.

  “Where’s your food?” She tried glaring at him because swatting at his hand wasn’t working. She was actually full, but swatting at him while he stole bits of her breakfast had become a game they were playing.

  “I already ate, but I’m hungry again.” He looked at her breasts as he said it.

  “You’re always hungry,” she laughed.

  “Take the pills, Beth.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him before taking the antibiotic and pain killer that he had thoughtfully put on her tray. “Yes, sir.”

  “Sassy.”

  He got off the bed, making sure not to jostle her in any way. Then he took the tray and disappeared down the hall and into the kitchen.

  “Bully,” she yelled down the hall.

  While he was gone, she tried to think of the best way to broach the subject of their future. She’d been in too much pain to bring it up before, and then trying to sleep off the pain killers they had pumped her full of in the hospital.

  Today was the first time she felt clear enough to actually talk to Zach. She bit her lower lip, thinking of the best way to tell him that she loved him. It’s not like she could just blurt it out.

  “What’s going on in your head, Beth?”

  She looked up, slightly startled, having never heard him re-enter the room. “What are you talking about?”

  He leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his muscled chest looking at her. Zach knew she’d been worrying. He always knew.

  “What’s in that locked room?”

  He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, “Been driving you crazy, hasn’t it?”

  God, he was sexy. “You know it has!”

  “Grouchy.”

  “Being shot has that effect on me.”

  He moved from the doorjamb and walked to her side of the bed. He threw the covers off of her and slid his arms under her knees and her back, easily lifting her from the mattress.

  “Maybe you’re finally ready. I hope to God that you are.”

  She thought she was going to have to argue with him and was at a loss when he gave in. There was a pinch of pain as he lifted her, but Zach was very careful about carrying her so that her arm moved very little.

  Elizabeth took a deep breath and settled into his body, loving his unique smell. Everything about him made her feel safe and loved. And she wanted all of it. All of him.

  They stopped in front of the double doors that had been a massive curiosity for her. Okay, mild obsession. She wanted to see inside so badly that she was about to bounce herself out of his arms in excitement.

  “Close your eyes and do not open them until I tell you,” Zach commanded.

  “Okay.”

  She was a little concerned about his tone. He actually sounded worried. She obediently closed her eyes but couldn’t help teasing, “You don’t have an entire room devoted to porn do you?”

  Elizabeth smiled when she heard the heavy sigh and could just imagine the eye rolling he was doing. Well, she didn’t really think he had a room full of porn, but it never hurt to ask.

  She tightened her hold on Zach as she felt him dip down to open the door. He never struggled and she realized that the door must have been unlocked. She wondered if he had been planning on showing her the room anyway, before she asked.

  “You already unlocked the door, didn’t you?”

  She felt his shrug. “You weren’t in any condition to go snooping.”

  They moved through the doors and she could tell it was still dark inside. Zach set her down and told her not to move. The rustling sounded like the drapes covering the bay window. When the light hit her face, she knew she was right.

  “Open your eyes, Beth.”

  She slowly opened her eyes, blinded by the light streaming in the windows. What she saw when her vision cleared, stunned her. She looked in every direction and suddenly she understood what Zach had accomplished in building this room.

  He was telling her that he loved her, without ever saying the words. She knew it in her heart and soul, and, as she
looked around in wonder, she knew he had built this room specifically for her.

  Before all the trouble had begun.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” she choked out.

  It was the room she’d dreamed of growing up. She’d described it to Zach over and over again when they had their stolen moments at school. She never thought about an entire house, just one room that she could call her own.

  A library.

  She’d smuggled in so many books when her father had been alive. They were her escape when she was locked inside her room. Books gave her a window and life outside of her controlled existence. She loved the smell of the leather bindings, the feel of the pages on her fingers. Her own personal escape.

  It was why she became a writer. To give someone else an escape from a life that might not be everything they’d hoped.

  Tears began to fall as she looked at the floor-to-ceiling book shelves that were intricately designed and built into the walls. The bay window had three large panels of glass that faced the south part of Zach’s property, so all that could be seen was sunlight and pine forest. The heavy drapes on either side were a deep royal blue with gold threads shot through that picked up the light. Directly underneath those beautiful windows was a built-in bench seat covered in a dark blue velvet material with pillows to match.

  It looked like the perfect place to just sit and think, work out a plot problem, or simply read a book.

  She turned and took in the rest of the room. Mounted to the front of the book cases was a fine brass railing with a delicate-looking ladder attached. She had always wanted a library with a rolling ladder so that she could climb to the top shelves.

  There was only one book in the entire library and it was the one she had just written. Overwhelmed, she turned back toward the door to see Zach watching her with naked desire and something more.

  “How did you remember?” she asked.

  “I remember everything you’ve ever said to me.”

  He looked deep into her eyes, maybe searching for the same thing she was searching for. Zach was always so self-assured that it never occurred to her that he might be scared to tell her his feelings. She was never quite as sure of him as he seemed to be of her.

  “Why did you build this room?” she asked softly, already knowing the answer, but needing him to say it.

  “For you,” he replied. “You’ve been the center of all my plans from the time we met.”

  “It was high school. How could you possibly know?”

  “That I love you?”

  She nodded.

  “The moment I looked into those sad chocolate-brown eyes I knew. I was yours and you were mine. Mine to protect, and mine to love and cherish for the rest of our lives.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  “You needed time, baby. Time to grow up and find out who you wanted to be. And I needed to be able to provide for you, us, so I joined the Marines. Besides, you wouldn’t have really believed me back then. I did propose. It was the best I could do back then.”

  He said it simply, with a shrug. All the hardships and sacrifices he’d made for her and he just shrugged it off as if it were the only option.

  “I can’t believe that I didn’t see it. I’ve been such a coward. Always running away from emotions and complications. Scared that I would somehow end up like my mother. Trapped. A shell of the person I could be.”

  She closed the distance between them and reached up to touch his cheek with her good arm.

  “You’re the most important person in the world to me, and I never looked close enough to realize it,” she said.

  “Do you know what the trouble with all my plans is?” he asked, nuzzling into her palm.

  “No,” she replied with a sniff.

  “It doesn’t work unless you love me. Even if you can’t marry me. Just stay with me and let me love you…prove to you that we belong together.”

  It was hard to believe that she had fought against this for so long. Fought to stay away from the one person who loved her, despite her screwed up childhood. She’d always known that she loved him, but she’d refused to acknowledge that she was in love with him.

  “I love you with all my heart, Zach. I have for forever, but I was never brave enough to tell you. And I promise you, I will love you for the rest of my life.”

  He hugged her to him fiercely, making sure that he didn’t jostle her injury. Even then, he protected her. That was only one of the traits she loved about him; there were so many.

  Zach would never be a talker, and he wasn’t the type of man to tell her that he loved her often, but she would know. He would show her in every way he knew that she was important to him. He already did.

  “I love my room. It’s so beautiful and thoughtful and wonderful and…”

  He put his finger up to her mouth to stem the flow and leaned down slowly to nibble on her lips. She sighed and opened her mouth to the man she loved. He took possession of her mouth like he had possession of her soul.

  “I’m not scared anymore. I want to be your wife.” She looked deep into his eyes. “Make love to me, Zach.”

  He pulled her body close and she could feel his hard erection pressing against her. She sighed when he leaned in and nipped her neck.

  “That’s what I’ve been doing all along, baby, each and every time.”

  “Then take me back to bed.”

  “What about your arm? Maybe we should wait until you’re better.”

  “You’re a Marine, Zach. Improvise, adapt and overcome.”

  The End

  Excerpt from Lily’s Outlaw

  Chapter 1

  “You in position, Outlaw?”

  Jesse James Calhoun, code name Outlaw, leaned against a crumbling pueblo wall at the mouth of the alley deciding how best to approach the large warehouse on the other end. The steel corrugated roof stood out against a sea of Spanish tile. No one was around. All the shops on the street behind him were closed for the next couple of hours for afternoon siesta. Foot traffic was light and dwindling. It was now or never.

  “At the edge of the alley now. You have eyes on the precious cargo?”

  “Yeah. Unfriendly’s got restless in the heat and opened a window,” said the voice through the earpiece.

  “Entry point?”

  “South side. Back door next to the dumpster.”

  “Got it.”

  Jesse pushed away from the wall and shuffled slowly into the alley. Anyone looking would think he was headed to some shade to sleep it off. It was sweltering under the dirty poncho, but it covered him from shoulder to mid-thigh. The cowboy hat he’d stolen was sweat- stained and smelled like cheap beer, but hid his blond hair and shaded his face.

  Being a white man in Nogales, Mexico, wasn’t unusual. It was a border town and access point into Arizona. But a gringo this far into the shabby part of the city would be noticed.

  He made it to the door and hunkered down next to the dumpster.

  “Damn, man, I can smell you all the way up here.”

  Adjusting his earpiece with his middle finger he whispered, “Fuck you, Shadow.”

  A low chuckle rumbled through his earpiece and then abruptly cut off. “Movement. Two late arrivals.”

  “Precious cargo?”

  “Northeast corner. Hands and feet tied, bag over the head. Five un-friendlies one hundred feet away and agitated.”

  Moving closer, Jesse pulled a small grenade from under the poncho. “Going in. Wound only.”

  “Copy. Go now.”

  Jesse checked the door, found it unlocked and sent a quick thank-you up to whichever deity was watching his ass. He stayed low, wrenched the door open and threw a concussion grenade toward the men as he dived toward his target.

  Rapid, angry Spanish erupted about the time the grenade went off, throwing everyone to the ground. Ears ringing, Jesse ran toward the slender woman in a yellow sundress who slumped forward in the chair with burlap covering her head. A ragged brown leather sat
chel sat on the ground next to her feet. Too nice to belong to one of the thugs so it was most likely hers.

  “Move your ass, Outlaw.”

  He didn’t waste time answering, just grabbed the satchel and scooped the woman up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. She struggled and squirmed but didn’t make any noise as he ran back the way he came.

  Shots erupted followed by a couple of high-pitched screams. Shadow was the best sniper that Jesse had ever worked with so he knew his back was covered as he ran.

  “I’m clear. Give me one minute and move out,” Jesse said as he sprinted toward the next block. The woman stopped squirming as soon as she heard his voice. Or maybe it was just the English that made her suddenly compliant.

  “Copy that.”

  He took a left at the next alley and ran one more block before he finally got winded. The truck was where he left it, thank God. It was built sometime in the seventies and had more rust on it than paint, but it ran like a champ and blended in. Dumping his passenger inside, he threw the satchel onto the floorboard and ran to the driver’s side.

  “Stay down. I’ll untie you as soon as I can.”

  Muffled noises reached his ears and the bag over her head moved as she nodded. That was all he needed as he fired up the engine and took off.

  After a series of turns, he reached the edge of town and headed north toward the border. Eyes on the mirrors, he drove steadily. No one followed. At least not yet.

  He pulled his earpiece out, knowing he was out of range, and reached for the burner cell taped under the dash. Dialing the number, the call was picked up immediately.

  “All clear?”

  “They never knew who or what hit them.”

  Jesse nodded. That was good news. “Any casualties?”

  “And have you pissed at me for creating an international incident?”

  He laughed. The last thing Shadow cared about was diplomacy. No matter what country they happened to be in, he had his own brand of justice. But he followed orders and was a damned good friend. “Meet you at the extraction point.”