Comes the Night (Entangled Suspense) (20 page)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Zach was opening a bottle of wine when they heard the highly anticipated knock at the front door. He admired his wife’s graceful movement as she went to open it, careful even in her excitement to see who waited outside before turning the lock. Every precaution, every nervous glance at their surroundings, was a knife to his heart.

“Lizzie, sweetheart!” Sophie entered the doorway and embraced her great-niece.

“Aunt Sophie!” She enfolded the older woman in her arms, whispering, “Thank you for everything.”

Kyle entered through the door behind them, carrying a large bag of food and a briefcase. The guard looked in. At Zach’s nod, he closed the door and resumed his watch.

After placing a kiss on Sophie’s cheek, Zach took the briefcase, and they carried everything into the kitchen. While Sophie and Lizzie chatted, Zach and Kyle set the food out on the table.

Dinner was a talkative affair. Zach remained mostly silent, observing his new family and learning the rhythms of their relationships. After dinner Sophie and Lizzie took sodas into the sitting area. The sound of their occasional laughter warmed his heart.

Kyle opened the briefcase and Zach stared at a combination of Weston Security’s most advanced technology and good old-fashioned firepower. They huddled in the kitchen as Kyle explained the contents. Although he listened carefully, Zach’s eyes and ears remained attuned to Lizzie. She fought, but couldn’t quite hide, a yawn.

“You’re exhausted. Let’s pick up these glasses and get you to bed.” Sophie leaned forward to squeeze Lizzie’s hand.

“I am a little tired.” Lizzie looked over at the men. “Listen guys, enough work! We haven’t even been back for twenty-four hours.”

They rose from the sofa. Lizzie missed Zach’s look of warning as she rounded the counter and slipped her arm around his back, stopping short when she saw the contents of the suitcase.

“I think Lizzie’s right.” He gave her a warning squeeze. “Kyle, there’s nothing here we can’t handle tomorrow.”

“Well then, darlin’”—Sophie winked at Zach—“I think that’s our cue to leave.”

“I would consider it an honor to escort you home.” Kyle presented his arm to Sophie.

The four of them walked to the door. Kyle hugged Lizzie while Zach wrapped Sophie in a warm embrace. After a long, considering look between Kyle and Zach, the Markos left.

Zach and Lizzie watched each other, the silence not quite comfortable but also not worrisome. It was silence fraught with things still to be said.

She spoke first. “So, husband, you want to tell me what you and Kyle were
working
on over there?” She strode to the kitchen counter and stood in front of the briefcase. Looking back at him, she waited as he crossed the room to join her. She turned back to the briefcase and stared at the lock as he reached from behind her.

He opened the case and they stared at the small arsenal inside.

…

Lizzie admired the impressive display of Weston Security’s finest weapons. Guns, knives, electronics. A treasure trove of self-protection.

It frightened her, yet at the same time gave her a much-needed sense of control. Although much of Weston’s work concerned corporate espionage, the security force occasionally faced dangerous situations. Zach made sure they had not only the best traditional weapons, but the latest clever gadgets.

Before Zach and Kyle became close friends, Zach had offered her brother a job. She was pretty sure he’d accepted solely because Zach put him in charge of what Kyle called their “supersecret spy stuff.”
Men and their toys
. Although today they didn’t seem so much like toys.

She felt Zach step closer. Tension radiated from his body. She heard him swallow and waited to see if he wanted to convince her to pack heat or not. She smiled at her gangster lingo. She sure as hell would be packin’! She frowned. Except she’d never learned to shoot a gun.

But knives—she was good with knives. To her mom’s extreme dismay, her dad had taught both Kyle and her to throw. A family tradition, he’d insisted when Anne protested.

Zach ran his hands along her arms. “You have a wonderful family.”

“We have a wonderful family,” she corrected.

“They love you very much. You could stay with them, be safe with them.”

She relaxed against him. “This is where I belong. I love you.”

“Do you?”

His question surprised her.

“I mean me. This Zach. The one who doesn’t remember the births of our children or remodeling our house. The one who doesn’t know our friends or family . The one…the one who doesn’t remember what it feels like to make love to his wife.”

Hearing the pain in his voice, she tried to turn, surprised again when he held her firmly in place. “Just tell me,” he said hoarsely. “Either way, it’s fine.”

Clearly it wouldn’t be fine. “I’m not going to answer you looking at this briefcase full of weapons. Let me turn around.” When he loosened his grip, she turned to see him hurriedly swipe a tear from his eye.

She raised her hands to his face, wiping away any lingering wetness with her thumb. “I’ve seen you cry before.” She smiled at him, tears threatening her as well.

“Well, that’s great. Uh, I don’t cry a lot, do I?” he asked uncertainly.

Laughing, Lizzie stretched up to kiss him. “No, only when absolutely necessary.”

He looked both skeptical and relieved. The resulting expression on his face was so endearing that she kissed him again.

“Now, as to your question. I know it seems strange, but I look at you and I don’t think about old and new Zach anymore. I don’t know how it happened so quickly…it just did. So, do I love you, Zach who doesn’t remember making love to his wife?” Her voice quivered slightly. “Yeah, I do. And I love Zach who has made amazing love to his wife many times. I love all of you, Zach.”

He searched her eyes, looking, she knew, for any sign that she was trying to spare his feelings. “And I love you. I knew from the moment that you raised those beautiful eyes to glare daggers at my—at Alistair. I knew deep inside that you were the one, even if it did take a while for me to accept it.”

He ran his hand through her curls, drawing her closer. “And it’s always going to be that way.”

Overwhelmed, she raised her hands to either side of his face again and kissed him. A kiss that started soft and increased in intensity until they broke apart, breathless.

“So, it was amazing, huh?” His teasing voice interrupted her fantasy about dragging him into the bedroom. “Lizzie?”

“What?”

“When we make love—you said ‘Zach who made amazing love to his wife.’ Amazing, that’s what you said.” He looked at her as though daring her to take it back.

Dropping her voice to her sexiest purr, she confirmed, “
Amazing.
Every. Single. Time.”

He took a step back and ran his hand along his jaw. Not the reaction she was hoping for.

“Whoa! That’s…uh, honey, that’s a lot of pressure for a guy. Not only do I not remember making love to you, but I don’t remember
any
actual experience with”—he raised one eyebrow—“you know.”

“Well, it will be my
pleasure
to teach you anything you need to know.” She sauntered forward. And yawned! She slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified.

He laughed. “Somebody needs her sleep.” Trailing his fingers along her collarbone, he smiled a sad little half smile. “And this isn’t really the time or place. I don’t feel completely safe here.”

He traced the neckline of her shirt. “I intend to devote my full attention to you when we first make love.”

His words hung between them, and sadness over the loss of their shared memories transformed to the heated anticipation of making love for the first time—again.

…

She stood by the lake, bathed in moonlight, her curls blowing free in the wind, a peaceful smile on her face. He enjoyed this rare moment when her guard was down, when she was free and unafraid. He advanced quietly, reluctant to disturb her.

She must have heard a sound because suddenly she turned, smiling lovingly at the sight of him. His heart filled with something he thought must be happiness.

“Zach.”

He saw her lips move in greeting and then watched in horror as darkness rolled in, consuming her before his eyes.

The darkness lifted and in her place lay the fallen man, drenched in blood, his eyes closed with the finality of death. Although no breath escaped his lips, Zach continued to search frantically for a heartbeat.

The dead man’s final words echoed in the night, “I love you, man.”

Then darkness surrounded them and the man disappeared, leaving him alone with his grief.

Zach jerked awake, heart pounding. Once again, he’d spent most of the night keeping watch over his family. It didn’t matter how many guards he had looking out for them, it didn’t seem like enough. Although Joey and the others were good, he felt most comfortable with Cole on duty.

He listened to the sounds in the condo and heard nothing but Lizzie talking happily over breakfast with their children. Assured that everything was fine, he took a quick shower and scrubbed away the remains of his nightmare.

Feeling better, he smiled as he threw on clean clothes, thinking about Lizzie. She’d wanted to take her weapons to bed, telling him he’d better not think he was the only one who’d be packing heat. Apparently she watched too many gangster movies. He’d assured her that no, they would both be armed. Just not when she was half asleep. He’d promised to prepare her for battle in the morning.

As he left the bedroom, he was annoyed to hear Grant’s voice. “Lizzie, I mean it. I don’t want Sam staying with you. It’s not safe.”

The world according to Grant, and as much as Zach hated to admit it, he might be right. At least for today.

“Look, I’m not going to be separated from Sam, so forget it. We’ll stick to our normal arrangement.”

“Lizzie…” Grant pointed his finger at her in frustration.

“Don’t point your finger at my wife,” Zach said pleasantly. Sam held her arms out to him and he scooped her up. “We don’t want the young lady picking up bad habits.”

“Daddy!” Sam smacked her hands on either side of his face and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips, demanding his attention. Hmm, apparently she took after her mom. He smiled despite Grant’s presence.

“Hey, Princess.” He returned the kiss with nibbles along the little girl’s jaw, inspiring uncontrollable giggles. Smiling wider at the other man’s frown, Zach turned his attention to Lizzie. “What are the normal arrangements?” He’d be damned if he’d dance around his ignorance of their everyday life just because Grant was here.

“Well, normally today would be Grant’s day and we’d get Sam back this evening, but…” She paused at his nod.

“We do have a lot to take care of today with the move and putting security measures in place,” Zach said calmly. She wrinkled her brow, then nodded in understanding. They’d taken care of security measures at the house, but they needed to take care of the items in the briefcase.

She turned back to Grant. “Today’s going to be a little crazy with us moving back into the house. Sam can spend today with you and we’ll pick her up this evening.”

“Fine.” Grant reached for Sam and Zach handed her over with a playful toss that had her laughing again.

“You’ll need to take one of the guards with you.”

“I will. You don’t have to worry. Her safety means everything to me.” Grant stared at him. “It’s not personal.” He lowered his voice. “Based on what you said, you’re the target.” He placed a kiss on Sam’s head. “I’m worried.”

Zach couldn’t fault the guy. He
was
the target. He and Daniel. And Grant’s vow to keep Sam safe rang sincere.

“Hey, little Miss Sam.” Grant smiled at his daughter. “Dad has to work for a while, so how about we have your favorite babysitter, Jenny, come and play while I stay at the penthouse with you and work?”

Zach raised a quizzical brow. Lizzie nodded. “Jenny is great.”

As Lizzie kissed Sam good-bye, Zach nodded to Cole. When Grant left, Zach’s most trusted employee followed.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Zach sat on the couch, elbows on his knees and hands clasped, lost in thought, as Lizzie watched and worried. She recognized the warning signs. The darkness from his past weighed on him. Occasionally in their life before Alistair, Zach’s normally cheerful, even-tempered disposition was threatened by moments when his personal demons wrestled for control. For the hundredth time she chastised herself for not pushing him to share his nightmares with her.

Although now she didn’t need to ask what troubled him. He was blaming himself for everything, certain her life would be better off without him.

The raid on the Forrester compound had yielded nothing helpful except evidence of a chemical lab in the warehouse—and even then it was impossible to determine the exact nature of the drugs. Not only had Alistair and Desiree disappeared, but so had everything else. Papers, personal items, the tapes of Sam…nothing remained but confused servants. They’d left no trail—physical, paper, or electronic—to follow. But that didn’t matter. Zach was certain New York was Alistair’s intended destination.

There was surprisingly little information about Alistair Forrester to be found. Although Kyle had searched diligently, they knew only that Alistair had been born in 1940 in Texas. He’d gone to work for the government after graduating from college. Then the trail stopped. No record of a marriage or children. No income tax records. No driver’s license.

His records were so thoroughly inadequate that there was no doubt in Zach’s mind that they’d been intentionally purged—and purged by someone with power. It wasn’t easy to wipe out someone’s existence so completely.

They knew nothing about Desiree.

Lizzie frowned, remembering how Zach had slammed his hand into the wall and then apologized profusely for losing control.

He lowered his head to his hands and she moved to kneel before him. Placing her hands on his knees, she called his name. He looked up at her with haunted eyes. She took his face in her hands, her heart breaking as he closed his eyes and lost himself in the comfort of her touch.

“Zach,” she whispered, “we’ll get through this.”

…

“Are you ready?” Zach asked twenty minutes later.

Lizzie was glad to see his confidence had returned. The glint in his eye told her he was still bowled over by her impressive display of knife-throwing skills, demonstrated before Daniel awoke from his nap. Upon learning she had no firearm experience, he’d been reluctant to arm her with more than electronic support—her high-tech watch contained a tracker and a panic button. However, after she bested him in knife-throwing, he’d conceded her choice of weapons as well.

She smiled at the sight of Daniel patting his dad’s face. The man might be carrying lethal weapons, but he was just a big teddy bear in the hands of his son. She joined her boys at the door. Zach extended one arm to pull her into a family embrace. Then, with Reade to escort them, they headed home.

They’d just pulled into their driveway when her phone rang. She looked at Zach. “It’s Grant.” She tapped answer. “Hello?”

“Hi, Lizzie. This is Jenny.”

“Jenny?” Her voice showed her surprise. “It’s good to hear your voice. Is everything okay?”

“Uh, my mom is sick and I need to take the rest of the day off. Grant had to go to a meeting. He thought you wouldn’t mind picking up Sam a little early.”

Happiness filled her, washing away any annoyance at Grant for leaving Sam with a sitter. After all, Cole was there. “No, I’d love to pick up Sam early. As soon as we drop Zach and Daniel off at the house, I’ll head over.”

Hanging up the phone, she smiled. “I need to pick up Sam. She’s coming home early today!” Even though she’d only been apart from Sam for a few hours, she missed her terribly.
She couldn’t wait to have all of her family safe at home.

…

Zach called Cole to let him know Lizzie was on her way with Joey, and he replied with military precision, “All right, sir.”

A pretty formal reply for a friend. Although he supposed he didn’t really know Cole anymore. Zach sighed. He refused to be daunted by the prospect of rebuilding his life. He knew how lucky he was to have it back at all.

Nervous that Lizzie was out of his sight for even a short period of time, he reminded himself that she had Joey and another trusted guard with her. In addition, Cole would return home with them. She’d laughed at him for surrounding her with so much “muscle.” He smiled, appreciating her attempt to lighten his mood, and vowed to divest her of her need for gangster jargon as soon as possible.

As he checked the security precautions throughout their home, concern gnawed at the back of his mind. Something wasn’t right. He had three guards at the house. Sophie had surprised them with homemade cookies and was upstairs with Daniel. Everything seemed fine at home.

Ten minutes later, he was back on the phone calling Cole again. “How’s everything? Lizzie should be there in five minutes.”

“Everything is quiet here, sir.”

Sir.

Three minutes later, as he and Reade reviewed security, his sense of foreboding hadn’t abated. Just as he decided to check in a third time, a call came from Kyle.

“Reade, would you check in with Cole while I take this?” Zach asked. A minute later, Zach ended the call.

“A couple matching Alistair and Desiree’s description was seen at a fancy New York City restaurant last night.” Zach ran his hand along his jaw and stared at Reade. “A local police officer saw the be-on-the-lookout that went out. Said he noticed the old man because he was an ass, berating the waiter.”

The description matched Alistair perfectly—both physically and in the man’s pompous attitude.

“What did Cole say?”

“He said everything’s fine. You’re right, though, he sounded tense.” Reade frowned. “What exactly did he say to you?”

“
Everything’s quiet here, sir.
”

“That’s strange. Cole never calls you sir. Goes back to his military days. Hell, maybe the babysitter was annoying him.” Reade chuckled, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I heard her in the background, all sickly sweet, calling our little Sam ‘Pooh Bear.’”

Pooh Bear.

“He doesn’t have a lot of patience for…”

Zach didn’t hear the rest of his words. He’d already grabbed the electronic tracking gear and was sprinting out the door to the SUV, calling instructions to the guards. Reade reached the car only seconds behind him.

Zach initiated the call as they climbed into the vehicle. By the time the connection was made, they were already speeding down the long driveway. As the phone finally rang, they were swinging out onto the street. They’d hit eighty miles per hour by the time Zach heard her voice. “This is Lizzie Weston. I’m not available now…”

No answer.