He pulled out a cellphone and typed in the names as Myles related them, including the Carson brothers, much to Ethan’s dismay. He then looked to Ethan. “What about the men who work for you?”
“None of them are here on the weekends aside from my foreman, Skip, and I’d rather he wasn’t involved in this.”
Zoë pushed her chair back forcibly, drawing all eyes to her. She stood and, as Ethan got to his feet, she shot a fiery gaze around the table. “Well, seeing as I’m not involved in this conversation, there’s no point in me being here. Does no one care what I think about all of you risking your lives for me?” She snorted angrily. “When the lot of you decide what’s best for me, you can let me know what that is. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
She stomped away, and her father rose to his feet.
“Caprice!” When she turned to him, wide-eyed, he shrugged. “You’ll never be able to use your real name again. There seems little harm in doing so now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “This is so easy for you, isn’t it? Relocating me, changing my name? Never asking if I’m okay with it?”
“It’s for your own protection.”
“Yeah, but it’s not what I want,” she shot back and then left the room.
Her father moved to follow her, and Ethan shook his head. “She’s not one of your agents, you can’t order her around.”
“She’s my daughter. She knows how important it is to stay calm and stick to the plan. I’ve trained her for this.”
“Trained her? She’s a chef, not a soldier.”
“Regardless, she’s been prepared for situations like this.” At Ethan’s frown, the man continued. “My job could potentially place her in danger. It’s a reality I’ve always known and so I prepared her, trained her. She’s levelheaded and more than capable of getting through this.” When Ethan added a furrowed brow, the man huffed. “You can condemn me for how I’ve raised her all you want, but it saved her life. I prepared her in case she ever needed to flee, and that need did arise.”
“Yeah, it did, and you’re right, she did everything you wanted her to do. It did save her life, but she’s not a soldier, or an agent, and she wants some control over her life right now. I don’t know the woman who follows your orders, but I know Zoë, and she’s got a great head on her shoulders. She’s smart, capable, and should be a part of this planning process.” Before he received a response, he left the dining room and entered the kitchen.
49
Zoë was noisily putting dishes away when he entered the room. She slammed a cupboard shut, and then glared at him angrily.
“You’re real name is actually Caprice?” he asked cautiously.
She blew out a sharp breath. “Yeah, it is. My dad thought it was funny to give me a name I’d never embody.”
“I can’t see the humour in that.”
“Neither can I.”
He held his hands up, his palms out to her. “You’re right. We never should have talked about the situation as if you weren’t there. You should have the largest say in what goes on, this is all about you. So, what do you want to do?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered.
“It does. What do you want to do about this?”
“Not about that,” she said with a wave of her hand, “I mean what I really want doesn’t matter. My dad will relocate me to some place I don’t want to be, with a name I don’t want, and a job I probably won’t want either.”
“What you want does matter,” he insisted as he drew closer to her. “If none of this was going on, if you weren’t facing this danger, what would you want?” When she didn’t answer him, he persisted. “Forget for a moment why your father wants that for you. If everything was going the way you wanted it to, what would you want?”
“It doesn’t matter because I can’t have it.”
“What do you want?” he repeated.
“You. But I can’t have you, so really, I don’t know why I’m so upset.”
“Why can’t you have me?”
Her brow furrowed. “Why are you asking that? I can’t have you because you don’t want me.”
“Says who?”
“You. You told me you didn’t want a relationship.”
“You told me the same thing,” he countered. She merely glared at him and he drew closer still but left a few feet between them. “Look, I know what I said, and at first, I meant it. Then, I don’t know, you got under my skin, you got into my heart. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know how you felt, but now that we’re clearing the air, I want you. This situation is so fucked up, but I’m eager to get through it, to see you safe, and I hope when it’s all over, you’ll want to stay here. With me.”
Her expression softened, and he believed she wanted the same. “You know, just now your dad was talking about you and it sounded like he was describing a soldier, not his daughter. I don’t want to draw conclusions about him, and I have no idea how you’ve been raised, but I don’t see that in you. Yes, you’re skilled, and boy do I know how fearless you are. That’s what tipped me off that you weren’t who you said you were, by the way. That night, the first night we went to The Goose, I confronted you and the fear I saw in your eyes told me you were in trouble. Then you wouldn’t confide in me, and it pissed me off, but I was still drawn to you, and wanted to help you.”
Closing the remainder of the distance between them, he chanced taking her hand in his. She didn’t resist, and he smiled. “I still want to help you. Zoë. I don’t know Caprice or what she’s been through, but I know Zoë. She’s tough as nails, has a mouth like a sailor, is compassionate, so damn wonderful, and she fucks like a demon.” His last remark drew a tiny smile from her. It was enough. “You chose the name Zoë, didn’t you?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because it’s important. Did you choose it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “The umlaut is cute.”
“Stop being flippant,” he returned as he raised a brow, “this is important. I knew you chose that name for yourself. I’m about to say something that I’m probably not qualified to, and you might think sounds nuts, but I think there’s a reason you did. Caprice doesn’t suit you, and not because of its meaning, or because I’m not familiar with it. Zoë suits you, and not just because I am familiar with it. I think you chose the name of a woman you wanted to become, who led a life you wanted to live.” He ran his thumb over her knuckles, and then smiled again. “You played me well at first, you should know that. You had a good cover and you stuck to it. But it didn’t sit well with me. Not because you weren’t skilled enough to pull it off, or because I have some training in detecting deceit. No, your cover fell flat because the true Zoë, the woman you really are, she shone through that. I saw her, and fell in love with her.”
Her eyes misted and so did his. He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. “I’ll do anything I can to keep you safe, you know that. What you need to do is decide who you really are. Caprice wants to follow her father’s orders and relocate to a new place with a new identity. Zoë wants control over her life, and the ability to live it as she wants to. And me? I want Zoë to stay with me. I can’t offer her a fresh slate, but I can offer her me. She can have me.”
She kissed him with a ferociousness that stole his breath. Hard, insistent, her kiss delivered an answer she hadn’t spoken aloud. She loved him, too, and wanted to be with him. He hardened instantly, and she rubbed against him. After biting his bottom lip, her hands descended on his belt where she frantically pulled at the buckle.
“They’re in the dining room,” he reminded her, around her tongue.
“I don’t care,” she informed him, around his. “I need you.”
He stepped back as he unfastened his jeans. “Strip.”
With a saucy smile, she did, from the waist down. It was the first time she hadn’t fought him on a demand. He yanked his jeans to his knees and then grasped her hips to lift her and sit her on the isl
and. Reaching behind him, he opened a drawer and pulled out a condom he’d stashed in there. Her wanton eyes followed his movement as he covered himself and joined her. Kissing her again, he reached between them to dip a finger into her, and then groaned at her readiness for him. Lining himself up, he drove home in one thrust, and they both moaned aloud.
He began to piston his hips, unable to go slowly. He wouldn’t last at the speed he employed and didn’t care. She bit her lip, and he bit his. Hoping they’d be able to keep quiet, he grabbed her hips securely as he thrust roughly. Her hands held his face, her eyes locked with his. All he saw was love in them and he grunted loudly as he climaxed, pulling her into hers.
Breathing heavily, he held her tightly, feeling her hot breath on his neck. They needed to get back to the others before someone came looking for them. They needed to plan their stand. He didn’t move though. For just a few moments he wanted to hold her, Zoë. He knew she’d chosen to be Zoë, she’d chosen to remain on the ranch, and he needed to feel the promise of a future with her. It was in the arms wrapped around his neck, the legs wrapped around his waist, and the soft lips that nibbled on his earlobe. She’d chosen him.
50
Returning to the dining room, holding Ethan’s hand, Zoë took a seat at the table beside him. Her body was still trembling from their kitchen encounter, and her mind afire with everything he’d said before. She’d been so stupid, she should have confided in Ethan long ago. Maybe all of this could have been avoided. Then again, she hadn’t known the offer for her to remain with Ethan was on the table. Why should she have known? She’d closed herself off to him emotionally, he hadn’t known she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She sure screwed this up. Trying to keep him out of danger had only plunged him headlong into it. She’d been right to not want to endanger him, but she almost lost him because she wasn’t forthcoming with him. She’d never make that mistake again, if, indeed, they lived long enough to embark on the relationship they both wanted.
She didn’t take the time to look at Boone and Myles, to see if they suspected why she and Ethan had disappeared for as long as they had. She didn’t care. Trying to tamp down her raging emotions, there was only one thing she need to concentrate on at the moment. Engaging her father’s eyes, she spoke.
“Dad, I know you want the best for me, and I love you so much for that. You always do everything you can to keep me safe. I know you think hiding me away somewhere, and giving me a new identity, will keep me safe. You’re not wrong about that, but it’s not what I want to do. I want to stay here, with Ethan.”
“Caprice—”
“It’s Zoë, and it’s going to stay Zoë from now on. I won’t change my name again, and I won’t leave this ranch. I love Ethan, he loves me, and we want to be together. You’re resourceful, same as everyone else in this room. We’ll come up with a plan to keep everyone safe.”
Expecting her father to argue with her, she was amazed when his eyes filled with tears. While she and he were close, and he was always honest with his feelings when in her presence, he never displayed emotion in front of other people. Ever. It was as if it were only the two of them, the moments when he was truly himself, and nothing but her loving father. His transparency with her allowed her to see the only thought in his head now, a need to not only assure her safety, but also her happiness.
He swallowed before he nodded. “If you love him and want to be with him, then you’re right, we’ll come up with a way to make that happen.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
His features further melted, and she’d never seen such a serene look on his face. She knew the smile that adorned his face was in response to her address. Despite forcefully putting her foot down, she was still his little girl and wanted him to know it. Always rushing off to start a new case, his visits in the past few years had been short, and periodic, but when he saw her, he pushed work aside and would wear the expression he did now, one that was loving, and proud. Her upbringing hadn’t been normal by most peoples’ stretch of the imagination but she’d never, ever, doubted his love for her.
His phone pinged and he looked to the screen, his expression morphing into his usual one, hard. He was all business now and she hoped the others wouldn’t take offense to the harsh tone she knew he’d adopt. It was his way, commanding, forceful, demanding the best, and protecting those around him. Severe upon occasion, his methods had saved countless lives and she knew everyone present tonight needed the militant version of her father.
“All the men have been approved for this undertaking.” He looked to Boone. “My aide arranged for Rory to use firearms tonight.”
When she looked to Ethan, he appeared not to like the ongoing conversation, practically committing men to risk their lives before asking them if they were willing to do so. Making eye contact with Myles, Ethan spoke.
“You need to speak with your constables and the others, and ensure they understand the risks here, before we proceed any further. As—” his voice trailed off as he looked to her father. “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Charles.”
Ethan cocked his head. “Is that your real name?”
“Does it matter?”
With a slight eye roll, he looked back to Myles. “As Charles said, they need to understand they’re putting their lives on the line. Once we know who is committed to this, we can start tactical planning.”
“Your foreman you mentioned,” her father broke in, “could be used as a lookout, could he not? I understand you not wanting to commit an employee to danger, but we could use lookouts.”
“We could,” Ethan agreed, “and that would be fine. Skip’s sixty-seven years old, I won’t have him being placed in danger, but I know he’ll want to help. And while we’re discussing lookouts, I want the Carson brothers used in those positions as well. They don’t have the skillsets of the rest of the men.”
“Fine,” Charles said, then turned to Myles. “Please call those men and see if they’ll help us.”
Myles left the room, undoubtedly to better hear on the phone. Boone announced he’d call Rory, and then stepped away from the table. Zoë squeezed Ethan’s hand. He flashed her one of his crooked smiles, and then frowned.
“I still want to know how they found you. You did everything right to stay hidden from them. If you only sent one message, to your dad, then how did they find you? You weren’t on social media sites of any kind, were you?”
“Of course not. I have no idea how they found me.”
“I do,” her dad piped up. “It was through a social media post, one made by Murray Muller. I understand he’s an employee of yours, Collins, not that he knew the consequences of posting that, of course. He posted some photos last night. We took down the one photo almost immediately, but it wasn’t fast enough. Apparently Rosati had someone running facial recognition software. That’s how they found her, I’m sure of it.”
He held his phone out and she took it. Ethan peered over her shoulder and huffed at the photos there. They were taken last night, captioned ‘Great night at the Goose’ and mostly of Murray and Jeff, but she clearly saw herself in one. She was in the background, but her face was clear enough to make out. It was unfortunate, but not Murray’s fault. She handed the phone back to her father.
“Unbelievable,” Ethan fumed.
Her father nodded. “Organized crime is just that, organized. They have tech experts that rival ours.”
In silence, they waited for Boone and Myles to rejoin them. Ethan entwined his fingers through hers and flashed her a lop-sided grin. It was meant to lift her spirits but didn’t. Torn between wanting more men involved to ensure the safety of those in this room and not wanting any more people to endanger themselves because of her, she stayed quiet when Boone took a seat at the table and told her father that Rory had agreed to help. The announcement had her stomach knotted and it tightened when Myles returned. He informed them all the men he’d called had agreed to help, and understood the possible risks. As talk tu
rned to how best to utilize the committed men, Ethan squeezed her hand encouragingly. She wondered if he picked up on her tenseness. As grateful as she was for the help, her heart pounded brutally with the thought those men, and especially Ethan, could be injured, or possibly even die, in the hours ahead. If they did, it would be her fault.
51
As the fiery orange sun lazily joined the horizon, it brought a sense of foreboding to the ranch. Among the gathered men outside his house, Ethan trained his attention on Charles who was addressing the group. Rory, the Carson brothers, Chase, Cole, and Sawyer were present, along with Skip, Boone, and Myles, of course, and the town’s four RCMP constables, Nick, Terry, Gord, and Henry.
“Thanks again to you all for being here. Now that we’ve discussed what’s expected of you, I’d like to address any concerns you may have. If you need to use deadly force, there will be no legal issues for you.” He dipped his head to Chase. “Counsellor, I would have loved to have that in writing for you and everyone else present, but for now you’ll have to accept my word on the matter. No man here needs to worry about that.”
“Ahem,” Zoë spoke up.
“Or woman,” Charles added, with a smile for her. “Okay, let’s weapon up. You’ll find I’m well equipped.”
The group followed Charles to his black SUV with tinted windows—big surprise on his choice of ride, Ethan thought—and waited while he opened the back. As Boone’s loud and appreciative whistle sounded, Ethan could hardly believe what a vast understatement Charles’s words had been. All manner of firearms, knives, scopes, boxes of ammo, night-vision goggles, binoculars, hell, anything they could possibly need, filled the back of the SUV. As the men talked amongst themselves while selecting weapons, Zoë turned to Ethan.
“Don’t you want to get in there before all the good stuff is gone?”
“Nah, I’m good. I’m proficient with most weapons. Besides, I’ve got my own stash in the house.”
Done a Runner (Wanted Men of Bison Bluffs Book 1) Page 18
