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

Her shoulders stiffened.

“Don’t freeze up on me.”

She pulled away from him and whirled. There was fire in her eyes and, while he was glad to see her spunky nature returning, now wasn’t the time. She jabbed one of her slim little fingers into the center of his chest.

“I need space and air sometimes. I can’t stay cooped up and I won’t be dragged around.”

“This sick son of a bitch knows where I live. It. Is. Not. Safe.”

“I have my phone and this place is a fortress of security. You’ve made it safe.”

He could feel his teeth clench over her stubbornness. The woman was going drive him to drink. “That hasn’t stopped you from going outside and leaving the alarm disarmed. How is that going to protect you? And no house is impenetrable. The windows can be broken. The doors kicked in.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him and Zach realized that he’d been yelling. He took a deep breath to calm down.

“Look. All I’m saying is that, until this asshole is under arrest, it would be safer if we stayed together.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know I’m being difficult. I know it’s irrational, but–”

“But you can’t stand being told what to do. Especially by a man. By me.”

She shook her head. “But I know I need to go, that I need to listen. It’s just hard. Can you try and understand?”

Zach loved her, but her capitulation made him suspicious. And damn it, he had a meeting with Jesse that he couldn’t get out of. He didn’t want that detective in his home. He’d call the man and give him the address to the shop in town. He could talk to Beth at the café across the street. He’d give her the space she thought she needed.

“I’ll try if you will. Go get ready, we’re leaving for town in ten minutes.”

Beth nodded and, because he couldn’t stop himself, he leaned forward and took her lips with his before she turned and went back into the bedroom. He needed her like he needed air and he’d be damned if her own stubbornness would get in the way of his protecting her.

He had a phone call to make. Beth might think he was compromising, but there was no way in hell he was leaving her alone with Detective Wolfe. And he had some friends that worked for his company from time to time who were almost as lethal as he and Jesse were.

Someone would be close to her the entire time. And neither one of them would ever know.

Zach made her crazy.

She was trying to cope. And sometimes being stubborn was the only thing that kept her from curling into a ball of pathetic weeping mush. She’d worked hard on her independence after her tyrannical father died, and she wasn’t giving that up for Zach or anyone else.

Detective Wolfe was leaning against his white Crown Victoria when they arrived in town.

“He certainly made good time,” Zach muttered.

“He’s just doing his job.”

“If he was doing his job, he would have caught this scumbag already.”

Beth stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “Stop being snarly and go to your meeting. I’m going across the street to the café you suggested with Wolfe. I’ll stay inside and have him escort me back when we’re through.”

She got out, holding the plastic bag containing the package and her undies. Zach was right behind her as she handed the bag over to Wolfe.

“Thanks for coming,” she said.

Taking the bag from her, he slipped it into the trunk of his car and retrieved a brown folder full of papers. She assumed they were the ones she was to sign.

“Just making sure all the paperwork is in place for when we catch this guy,” he replied.

Zach grunted quietly before turning Elizabeth in his arms. “Stay in the café with the cop. You’re safer in a crowd. Do not go anywhere alone.”

“What about the ladies room?” she sassed.

“Hold it until you get back to this office.”

She smiled and tried to reassure her big man by giving him a quick peck on the lips. Zach stopped glaring at Wolfe long enough to give her a hug.

“Take care of her, Wolfe.”

The Detective nodded, “I will.”

Done with the macho posturing, Elizabeth shook her head, turned and strode across the street toward the little café that Zach said had the best croissants in Flagstaff. She didn’t stop until she was at the counter ordering a chocolate-filled croissant and a hot chocolate. It was shaping up to be one of those days where chocolate plus more chocolate was the only fix.

Looking around, Elizabeth spied an empty spot and headed toward it. The man in the next booth looked up as she approached and nodded before going back to reading his paper. He was tall and lean, and when he’d looked at her, she got the weird feeling that he recognized her.

“So, I guess you have a boyfriend after all.”

She shook her head at herself for imagining things and looked up at Detective Wolfe as he slid into the booth across from her. The big window allowed her to look across the street at Zach and Jesse’s business. It made her feel better, being able to look at it and know he was just on the other side of the door. And she wasn’t exactly sure what Zach was anymore, but boyfriend didn’t seem the right word.

She noticed his plain coffee and glazed donut. “Guess the cop stereotype is accurate as well.”

He chuckled. “Hey, everyone loves donuts, not just cops.”

Elizabeth grinned back at him. “True enough.”

“Tell me about Mr. Steele and his partner,” he said, flipping open the brown folder and sliding a pen out.

She sighed. “I went to high school with Zach. I’ve known him a long time.”

“And you trust him?”

“With my life, Detective.”

“Okay, so why not mention him or his partner? Have you had problems with them?”

“No. I didn’t mention Zach because he’s not a part of any of this. He would never do anything to hurt me. Anything.”

And she realized that she meant it. She’d always known that Zach was capable of violence and, when he went into the military, it had made her nervous. She’d put a wedge of distance between them because of that.

It had been a purely instinctual move.

She, who had always been fearful of large, controlling men, found herself in love with a warrior. One who was used to giving orders and being obeyed. And she wasn’t the least bit scared by it. Not anymore. Zach’s iron control was his strength and Elizabeth knew that power would never be turned against her.
That
was the difference in men like Zach and Jesse. They had tempers like normal people, but they had the self-control men like her father didn’t possess. And Zach really was only a fanatic about her safety.

“Ms. Russell?”

“Sorry, Detective. Just stunned by this whole turn of events.”

“We will catch this guy, I promise.”

She forced a smile. “I know you will.”

“What can you tell me about Jesse Calhoun?”

“Only that his mother named him after a famous bank robber, he has six sisters and was a Marine with Zach. Zach trusts him, so I trust him.”

While he wrote in his notebook, Elizabeth drank her hot chocolate and tried to understand how being in love with Zach might change how she felt about commitment. What was stopping her?

She was beginning to face the fact that she had been a coward most of her life. Avoiding emotional entanglements was safe, but lonely. Being with Zach opened her eyes to the possibility of more.

She didn’t want to live life behind protective glass anymore. This whole bizarre situation she was in made her realize that life wasn’t safe. In a weird way, Elizabeth was grateful that she’d been shaken out her emotionless rut. Otherwise, she might have lived her whole life never being brave enough to take a chance.

“Why don’t I sign those papers so you can get back to Phoenix and your investigation?”

“Of course.” He slid some papers toward her, along with his pen. “This is your statement and an inventory of everything found broken or listed stolen by you.”

“Victim statement,” she read aloud. “I hate that word. Victim. It makes me feel small and useless.”

“It’s just a word, Ms. Russell,” he said kindly. “It doesn’t have to be a mindset.”

And she wouldn’t let it be any longer. She’d lived too long as a victim and she’d been just waiting to be put in that role again. Expected it. That’s why she was so stubborn and resistant. Amazing how one little word suddenly made so much sense. Explained so much about her. She shook her head to clear it.

“Tell me about the third break-in, Detective.”

His expression said he wasn’t surprised by her knowledge. “The landlady.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “She cares about me.”

“I can understand why.” Then he looked away out the window. “I wanted to find a way to break it to you gently.”

“That my burglar is sick and twisted? I figured that one out already.” She stared at the half-eaten croissant, knowing she’d never finish it with the change in conversation. “What is the motivation for breaking in to clean up?”

“I don’t know. It’s almost like he’s atoning for the first two. Making it up to you somehow.”

“Okay, that freaks me out even more.”

“I wish I could tell you something concrete. This is just a feeling.”

They finished their drinks in awkward silence after that. She could tell he wanted to ask more questions about Zach, but decided against it. When he abruptly stood, she followed him outside and to his undercover cruiser.

As she watched Wolfe drive away, two things caught her attention. One was the man who sat in the booth next to her seemed to be watching her. The other was someone who shouldn’t have been in Flagstaff, because he never left his apartment.

Mr. McCreedy.

Elizabeth backed up and off the sidewalk, pressing her back to the building. She was partially hidden in the shadow of the overhang and a sign that was advertising the real estate office next door.

What was he doing here?

McCreedy was dressed in dark clothing and kept looking over his shoulder as he walked. He was maybe two hundred yards away and across the street. She wouldn’t have noticed him at all, if it hadn’t been for that ratty leather jacket he always wore. It was bomber style and covered in patches from his travels. The one that caught her attention was a bright red patch with a black widow spider on it. She couldn’t remember where it was supposed to be from, but it always creeped her out.

The chocolate croissant that tasted so good earlier felt like a brick in her stomach. A brick that might make its way back up. God, she hated the instant fear. It could be a coincidence that he was here in Flagstaff. Zach didn’t believe in coincidences. Maybe she shouldn’t either.

She lost sight of him while she remained frozen in the shadows. And when she was able to make her legs move again, he was gone. The man in the café was gone as well. It suddenly seemed like an hour had passed when, in reality, it had been maybe a minute.

Zach.

She needed Zach to make her world right. The man she loved with her entire being. He was her soul mate and it had only taken her most of her life to realize it. She was going to tell him, but not just yet. Right now, she needed his arms around her and she needed to be out from under the sword that was hanging over her head.

Then she’d say yes. Yes to moving in and yes to marrying him.

After a long engagement and when she was sure she wouldn’t hyperventilate at the thought of walking down the aisle and tying her life to his.

She wouldn’t be a victim any longer.

Chapter 11

Zach found her frozen outside, before she could let the panic take over completely.

“What’s wrong?”

Elizabeth came out of her stupor and threw herself into his arms. The warmth of his body seeped into her and he picked her up and carried her inside.

“What’s wrong, baby? Did Wolfe say something or do something to you?”

Jesse brought over a jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders when Zach set her on their leather couch in the office. “Can I get you something darlin’?”

She shook her head no, refusing to let go of Zach. “It was my neighbor, Mr. McCreedy. I saw him out on the street, just as the Detective was leaving.”

She saw Jesse and Zach give each other a look.

“It’s just a coincidence, right? I mean, how could he know I was here?”

“I’m going to go check it out,” Zach said.

“No,” Jesse said putting a hand on Zach’s shoulder to keep him sitting next to Elizabeth. “I’ve got this. You stay and make sure she’s protected. Tell me what he looks like and what he was wearing.”

“There was also a guy in the café that seemed like he was watching me,” she said. Zach and Jesse exchange a look and wondered what that meant.

“I’ll check that out too,” Jesse said.

Once he got the descriptions, he was gone. And when he came back, McCreedy had taken off. No one in the stores remembered seeing him. He wasn’t staying in any of the hotels or bed and breakfasts in town either. Jesse stayed in town to do some more investigating while Zach took her back to the cabin.