by Liz Johnson
He pulled on his shoulder holster, and he slid his six-inch knife inside its sheath in his boot.
When he stood up, he stretched his neck to each side before looking up at the sky. Night was closing in on them, the darkness all around a mirror to the blackness in the soul of the evil man in that cabin.
Kristi and Cody were being held, and he couldn’t begin to imagine their fear. The man who had taken them was a lunatic. But Zach knew better than to underestimate him. Everything he’d done, from stalking Kristi to hiring a mercenary to blow up her car, had been cold and calculated. Which made him a very dangerous lunatic.
Bile rose in the back of his throat, and he had to lean his hands against the hood of his car to force it down. He had to get them out of there.
Detective Diaz had made him promise not to go in without her. “I’ll call the local sheriff, and we’ll get backup. Do not go in. You don’t have any jurisdiction,” she’d warned him.
Jurisdiction. That was the very least of his concerns at the moment.
Glancing at his watch, he squinted at the numbers. She should be here. She had lights and sirens working in her favor.
Zach just had a total disregard for posted speed limits.
Suddenly two bright headlights flew around a curve, and a sparkling new truck slid to a stop behind his car. Jordan jumped out before the engine had even fully stopped. Closing his door with a soft click, he spun to face Zach while he slid his weapon into place.
Zach couldn’t hold back the grin that tugged at his mouth. “What are you doing here?” But he didn’t really need to ask.
Jordan ignored the question and clapped him on the back. “What’s the plan?”
“Loughlin has Kristi and Cody in the cabin. Just inside the clearing up the road.”
“You have eyes on them?”
Fear and uncertainty spun in his middle, and he shook his head. “Not yet.” There was no telling what he’d see when he did find them.
“You want me to check it out?”
Jordan seemed to know what Zach hadn’t even acknowledged to himself. As soon as he got to the cabin, he wouldn’t be able to wait a second longer before going in after them.
He was on the verge of suggesting they go in together when two more cars flew up the road. Gravel and dust filled the air as they skidded onto the shoulder, and a woman who had to be Sunny Diaz jumped out of her unmarked vehicle. She quickly introduced herself and then pointed to the sheriff’s deputy in the brown uniform. “This is Lee Preston. He’s with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.” Then she pointed at Zach. “This is Zach McCloud.”
Zach nodded and hitched his head to his left. “Jordan Somerton.”
Preston eyed both men with a hesitant gaze, especially when his gaze settled on their matching Sig Sauers. “You guys planning something?” He reached for his own weapon.
God bless Jordan Somerton. With all the nonchalance of a Girl Scout, he said, “I believe this is a rescue mission. That’s a no-fail mission, if you’re not familiar with it.”
The skinny deputy’s neck snapped to attention, and he scowled. “Detective Diaz and I will check out the cabin, and if there’s anyone to rescue, I’ll handle it.”
“Negative.” Again Jordan spoke when Zach’s patience began to wane. “You’re here for the arrest. We’ll take care of the rest.”
Preston sputtered at that, but Diaz nodded. “Let’s work together and get this taken care of.”
Zach took that as his cue to lead, and he set off through the trees. If he’d known the deputy would be so inept at stealth movement, he’d have told the kid to stay in his car. But with every step, he found a pinecone or twig to snap, each plucking his last nerve.
“Watch where you’re stepping.” Diaz kept her voice low but firm, and Zach had a flash of compassion for her, even though she hadn’t been able to help them when Kristi had first asked.
Her warning seemed to help, and they approached the clearing in relative silence.
The single-story log cabin dominated the open space, stretching from tree line to tree line. A black van and an expensive foreign car were parked in clear view in the driveway. Lights shone from nearly every window of the house—an arrogant mistake.
Loughlin didn’t think anyone would identify him or track him down.
He thought he’d gotten away with it.
He’d been wrong. And that arrogance wasn’t doing him any favors.
Bright lights inside made it hard to see what was outside. And it made it a lot easier for those outside to see in.
Zach inched into the open, searching the exterior walls for motion-activated lights or alarms. There were none along the front porch. Just four main windows to the living room and a rocking chair that squeaked in the wind.
Jordan motioned to the right.
Zach nodded and motioned to the left.
The two men split, racing to opposite corners of the house. Jordan disappeared along the far wall. Zach reached the corner and turned just in time to see Diaz grab Preston by the collar to keep him from charging the front door and ruining any element of surprise.
He owed her some chocolate.
Dewy grass squished beneath his boots as he slipped to the lone window on this wall. It was low, about at his waist, so he ducked down before peeking inside.
His heart nearly stopped.
Cody lay on a paramedic’s gurney on the right-hand wall. His eyes were closed, and his chest didn’t appear to be moving.
Tears flooded Zach’s eyes, and he leaned his head back against the log exterior.
Too late. Too late.
The words rang like a mantra through his mind, the image of Cody’s still form seared in his memory.
He risked another glance inside and let out a whoosh of air. Cody was rubbing his eyes and trying to sit up. He was alive. Not well. Not yet safe. But alive.
Suddenly Kristi appeared at Cody’s side, stepping out of Zach’s blind spot and standing between her son and the open door to the room. She cried loud and long, but her words were muffled by the window and the wall. Then he saw what had set her off.
Loughlin walked into the bedroom carrying a clear medical bag like those attached to IVs in the hospital. Except this wasn’t a hospital. And whatever was in that bag wasn’t for healing.
Kristi’s scream rose, and this time he could make out her words. “Don’t! Don’t you dare!”
But Loughlin didn’t stop. He charged forward, and when Kristi didn’t move, he shoved her out of the way, the sound of her body hitting the floor echoing under the stars.
Fire raged through him, burning up everything he knew about conducting a mission.
First gather the intel. He had to know how many hostiles he was facing. What if there were three or four other guys inside? He could be walking into a trap. Rushing in would leave him unable to protect both Kristi and Cody.
It wasn’t safe to go in yet. Not until he heard from Jordan that the rest of the house was clear.
But Loughlin wasn’t on the same schedule. He hung the IV bag on the side of the bed and reached for Cody’s arm. Kristi’s hand clawed at his leg, but the man spun. Then he made a motion like he’d kicked a soccer ball.
Only it wasn’t a ball.
It was Kristi.
Her scream tore him open, and he acted entirely on instinct. No way would he let them face Loughlin alone.
The window shattered with a sharp crash as he slammed through it, rolling onto the rough-hewn floorboards. He caught his injured shoulder on the corner of a short bookcase, but the pain didn’t compare to the light that shone from Kristi’s face. It was akin to relief, mixed with worry. And there was something else sprinkled over the top. Something he couldn’t quite name that distracted him just long enough for Loughlin’s backup to show up.
Rookie mistake on Zach’s part. He could only hope the price for it wouldn’t be too high.
The thug pulled out his 10 mm, and it fit into his hand like it had always been there. T
his wasn’t a poseur like the guard at Carlos del Olmo’s house, but a trained mercenary who knew what he was doing.
Zach crouched amid the shards of glass as Loughlin cried and dived toward Cody. “Not the boy.”
But the thug wasn’t pointing the gun at Cody or Kristi, who struggled to get up. The weapon was aimed directly at Zach, and at this range, the shooter wasn’t going to miss.
Zach shot Kristi one more glance. She’d never be able to unsee what was about to happen. She’d never be able to see him as anything other than the warrior he was.
Which meant she’d never be able to see a future with him.
Springing from the floor, he launched himself across the room and slammed into the gunman. The thug grunted as Zach crashed against him and swung his hand at Zach’s head. With his forearm, Zach blocked that punch but took another to the kidney. It stung like a hornet.
The man didn’t fight fair, so Zach didn’t either.
He grabbed the gun hand and twisted the barrel backward. At least two fingers snapped, and the man released his hold on the weapon, but he didn’t stop fighting. Maybe he had nothing left to lose.
Zach blocked a scissor kick but took a boot to his knee. Pain shot up his leg and down to his toes, and he grunted into it but didn’t let it drop him.
Kristi screamed, and Zach had had it with this place. A well-placed elbow to the sternum put the thug down hard, and he spun on Loughlin to find the madman cowering in front of Jordan’s weapon where Zach’s friend stood in the door.
“My son needs that heart. It should belong to him. It’s his heart.” Loughlin’s crazy mutterings weren’t helping his case. “It’s mine. It’s mine. I would have paid for it. I tried to pay for it. Those stupid people. They wouldn’t take my money.”
With the trouble eliminated, Detective Diaz and Deputy Preston entered to cuff Loughlin and the other man. The thug was sullenly mute as they read him his rights. But Loughlin never stopped talking.
Maybe watching a child dying would do that to a man. Make him lose his mind as surely as he was losing his son.
To an extent, Zach could understand. He was about to lose his whole family, and it was a pain unlike anything he’d ever imagined.
*
“You want to go home for Christmas?”
Kristi looked up at the doctor who’d spoken to her son. She could hardly believe the hopeful words, but the man was smiling as he looked over Cody’s chart. His shaggy hair flopped around as he nodded.
“Well, all your stats look good, and Nurse Jennie told me you made it to the end of the hall and back this morning.”
“Sure did.” Cody absentmindedly ran his toy car along his bed rail.
“All right. No need to keep you in here when you should be opening presents at home tomorrow. I’ll get the paperwork done so you can get out of here.”
Kristi rubbed Cody’s leg as the doctor walked out of the room, her smile so wide it almost hurt. They’d watched him closely in the week since the abduction, but there had been no ill effects except a nightmare. But she’d had plenty of those herself.
“Looking forward to being at home?”
He nodded. “And to presents.”
Her stomach dropped. Presents. She hadn’t had time to comb her hair more than twice since his surgery two weeks ago, let alone go shopping. The last time they’d been to the mall, they’d been chased by Loughlin’s thugs. Picking out gifts hadn’t been a priority when they were running for their lives.
They didn’t have to run anymore.
But they also didn’t have any presents.
“I’m sorry, bud. I don’t have anything for you to open tomorrow.”
Cody’s face screwed up like he was thinking hard, and finally he nodded. “We can hang stockings with Zach tonight.”
She nodded, trying to give him a genuine smile. “Stockings with Zach. Absolutely.” But Zach was a bit of a wild card. She hadn’t seen much of him in the week since he rescued them. His presence hovered around them just outside of view, tangible in a blanket laid over her while she slept and a new video game for Cody. Meals arrived and flowers filled vases. But Zach didn’t appear.
And he didn’t explain why.
“We can open presents with Zach next Christmas.”
Oh, her sweet boy. She patted his knee and bit her quivering lips as the truth hit her hard. Best to begin preparing him now, begin preparing herself. “Bud, we might not be with Zach next Christmas.”
Because he might not want them around.
He’d done everything he’d said he would. And now he was free to return to the life he wanted.
Cody screwed up his face again, but this time he couldn’t come up with any understanding for her words. “Why not?”
“Well.” She dragged the word out, hoping for a flash of brilliance. But there was none. “It’s complicated.”
“But you love him.”
“Yes.” She loved him. Of that she was sure.
“And he loves us.” That part was less certain to her, despite Cody’s confident pronouncement. Zach cared. Definitely. He had to. But love? Lifetime commitments? Those were things he hadn’t promised.
“So why not tell him we’ll be here for Christmas next year?”
From the mouths of babes.
Why not, indeed? She rummaged for any reason not to tell him that she wanted to stay. What did she have to lose? She was already broken. His rejection—even spoken aloud—couldn’t tear her heart into any more pieces. She was already going to have to move out and move on.
It couldn’t hurt anything but her pride to tell him the truth.
She’d do it.
But the minute he showed up in the doorway to take them home, she changed her mind. He looked so solemn, almost sad. The light in his eyes and half smile she’d come to love were gone, replaced by hard lines and stiff expressions.
She didn’t know how to read this version of Zach. She couldn’t look into his face and see what she needed to see.
But what if it was her last chance?
Zach drove them in silence, the traffic conspiring to get them home—to get them to his home—in record time. The early sunset had just begun to cast its glow over the city as he pulled into the driveway, scooped Cody from the backseat and led the way to the front door.
Kristi stumbled over her own feet, wondering how many more times they’d share this routine. How many more times would Cody hang over Zach’s shoulder and hug his neck? How many chances would she have to thank him? So far, she hadn’t taken even one. It was past time for that to change.
“Thank you.” She blurted it out as he reached for the door handle, and he stopped with his hand still on the knob.
“For what?” He sounded genuinely surprised and also a little confused.
“For taking care of us. For finding us. For saving us.” Tears formed in her eyes, and for the first time, she was embarrassed for him to see them. Ducking her head, she swiped them away, but they just kept coming.
He watched her for a long while, his gaze heavy but not chilling or frightening. It was warm and sincere like his embrace.
All she wanted was to trade places with her son, to be in Zach’s arms, comforted and loved. She couldn’t find the words to tell him, and the tears wouldn’t stop and she hated that she was falling apart.
His eyebrows jumped as she brushed past him, but she tried not to notice as she barreled into the house, threw her purse down and stopped in her tracks.
“Merry Christmas.”
She couldn’t gasp in a breath to reply, not when she was faced with the magnificence he’d created in their living room. It wasn’t just Christmas. It was Cody’s Christmas.
A six-foot tree filled the room with fresh pine scent, twinkling white lights reflecting off brightly painted Corvette ornaments. Eight tiny Matchbox cars pulled a red sleigh across the top of the piano. Tinsel and garland were wrapped around every banister and hung over every arch. And beneath the tree were boxes and boxes of prese
nts. All wrapped in paper adorned with sports cars.
“I hoped he’d make it home in time for Christmas.” Zach set the sleeping boy down on the couch and tucked his favorite blanket around him.
And then she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her face and dripping off her chin. She sniffed against her runny nose and hiccupped a sob.
“Hey.” He tugged on her hand and pulled her in front of the tree. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
“It—it’s perfect.”
That half smile, the one where just one corner of his mouth lifted, appeared as he caught one of her tears with the pad of his thumb. “Then why are you crying?”
She tried for a stabilizing breath but settled for another wobbling sob. Then her words, like her tears, couldn’t be held back. “I don’t know. You’ve just been so good to us. And you rescued us. And you didn’t have to.”
He shook his head like he disagreed, but she didn’t let him cut in. Not yet. Not while she was on a roll.
“And I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think I would. I didn’t think I was ready. But then you were you, and I just… I fell in love.” The word fell out of her mouth and lifted the weight off her shoulders at the same time. Sudden relief made her lighter than the tinsel hanging on the tree. But Zach looked so stunned that she decided to specify. “With you. I fell in love with you.”
He started shaking his head again, his eyebrows pinched tight. “No.”
Well, that hurt. She hunched her shoulders against the verbal blow.
“I’m not what you want,” he argued. “I’m not soft-spoken or gentle. I’m always going to be that ‘tough guy’ who fights through the pain and refuses to spend a night in the hospital. For as long as I can, I’m going to serve my country, and my job isn’t for the sweet or kind. I get called away on a moment’s notice. I can’t always be there for you. My life isn’t particularly stable or serene.”
He kept going, but she slowly tuned him out, rolling his words around until they made sense. He didn’t say he didn’t love her back. He just thought he wasn’t what she wanted. What she needed.
In that thick skull of his, he’d convinced himself that she wanted someone else.
