Safe at Last (Slow Burn #3) (19 page)

Her nightmare come to life was standing at the foot of her bed staring intently at her.

The man she’d loved with every fiber of her being. The man she’d given her heart and soul to. The man she’d saved herself for, vowing she’d never be with any other man, only to have that precious gift ripped from her in a violent, horrific, soul-shattering act.

Zack
.

SIXTEEN

ZACK
felt as though he’d been punched right in the gut. All his breath left him and pain rolled over and through his chest—his heart—and tightened every one of his nerve endings. As soon as Gracie’s gaze found him, her expression turned to one of stark fear . . . and then utter revulsion.

God, he couldn’t bear the fact that she thought . . . He couldn’t even repeat it to himself. The very idea of orchestrating her rape—the rape of
any
woman—was so repulsive that nausea rose from the depths of his stomach and swelled in his throat. What kind of sick bastard would do such a thing?

And then it hit him even harder that people he knew, people he’d trusted, people he’d called friends had horrifically assaulted her. In a way he
was
responsible because he’d introduced these “friends” to Gracie. He’d exposed her to them. What possible threat to them could she have been that they’d taken such extreme measures? Were they just sick, twisted fucks whom he’d sorely misjudged?

He couldn’t bear the way she looked at him. The horror on her face and then how she gripped Sterling’s hand even harder and looked to him as if for . . . protection?

“Get him out!” Gracie said in a near shriek, her voice breaking under the strain.

She choked on the words and ended in a coughing fit that obviously pained her.

The detectives whirled around as if expecting to find someone new in the room. Their looks grew puzzled when they saw that only Zack and Eliza stood there. Detective Brigg’s gaze sharpened and then he glanced back at Gracie’s sheet-white face and back at Zack, a frown twisting his lips.

“What’s going on here?” Ramirez demanded.

Gracie was shaking like a leaf now, her panic escalating into a full-blown anxiety attack. The hand that wasn’t holding Sterling’s flew to her mouth but jittered so much her fingers were tapping her lips in a nervous staccato.

“Make him leave!” she said, her hysteria rising.

“Shhh, Anna-Grace,” Sterling said soothingly. Or rather he tried to calm her. But Gracie was a mess. A terrified mass of anguish that ripped Zack’s heart right in two.

She shook her head, her teeth chattering so violently that when she tried to speak, her words died in a garbled mess.

Sterling turned to Zack, regret lining his forehead. “Maybe you should go,” he said in a low voice. “For now. Until Anna-Grace answers the detectives’ questions.”

“Why are you so afraid of him, Miss Hill?” Detective Briggs asked, still staring holes through Zack.

Any other time Zack would appreciate—and commend—the detective’s solicitousness and his attention to detail. But right now he really just wanted the two men to ask their questions and get the hell out. They had assholes to catch that didn’t include Zack.

To Zack’s surprise, Sterling looked up at the detective while soothing Gracie with one hand and said, “She’s understandably afraid of a lot of men right now. Can you blame her? She’s been brutalized and I’m sure she’d like to get this over with as soon as possible. So, please, ask your questions and leave her to rest.”

Ramirez frowned but didn’t pursue the matter further. But Zack still held his breath as the detectives refocused their attention on Gracie. Sterling leveled a stare at Zack and lifted his chin to indicate Zack should leave.

Damn it. As much as he hated the idea of not remaining to hear Gracie’s account of what happened, he couldn’t afford to upset her further.

Eliza nudged him toward the open door and he reluctantly stepped into the hallway. When he was well enough away from the room, he slammed his fist into the wall, emitting a sound of rage that had been bottled up far too long.

Tears coursed down his cheeks, carving harsh grooves in his skin. Then after three successive punches, the last forming a crack in the paint, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the wall.

Eliza put her hand on his back and simply held it there in a gesture of silent support. Finally, when he felt capable of words, he swallowed back the throbbing knot in his throat and turned to face Eliza.

“What am I going to do, Lizzie?” he asked brokenly. “Jesus, I don’t even know what the statute of limitations is for aggravated rape in Tennessee. What if she decides to prosecute, for God’s sake? I mean I
want
her to. I’d like to see those bastards rot in prison for what they did, but to think I engineered it? I could well go to jail along with those assholes.”

“It could never be proved,” Eliza said grimly.

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better? I
want
justice for her. But I’m not going to take the fall for something I could never—would never do. But how can I ever convince her of my innocence? For twelve years she’s thought I’ve set her up. That’s just under half her lifetime! She’s believed in her heart and soul for over a
decade
that I betrayed her in the worst possible way. And why would she ever get such an absurd idea if they hadn’t planted it? So in essence I was betrayed by guys I considered friends. I can’t fathom any of my college friends doing such a sick, twisted thing. And to set me up? This is all insanity. It’s like something out of a goddamn soap opera. Shit like this doesn’t happen in real life. Only it
is
happening. To me. To Gracie.”

Eliza blew out her breath. “I don’t know what to tell you, Zack. I wish I did. I wish I could make this all better for you.”

“I just want to talk to her, to explain. To have an opportunity to make her trust me again.” He broke off and hesitated before saying the last. “To make her love me again,” he whispered. He lifted his gaze to Eliza’s once more. “I’m an idiot. Go ahead and say it. What kind of moron remains in love with his high school and college sweetheart for twelve years?”

“There aren’t any rules when it comes to love,” Eliza said softly. “Unfortunately we don’t always get to pick who we love or how long we love. Love is . . . inexplicable. It can fuck you up and tie you in knots, or so people say. Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure, nor can I say I’m very sorry about that. Seems like loving someone is opening oneself to all kind of pain. No thanks.”

Eliza’s nose wrinkled in distaste and in that moment Zack wholeheartedly agreed with her. Love sucked. Love made you entirely too vulnerable and it gave far too much power over yourself to someone else.

Zack’s cell rang and he glanced down, pulling it from his pocket to see Beau’s name and number flash on the LCD screen.

“Hey, man,” Zack greeted lamely, knowing he sounded like a man for whom talking on the phone was the very last thing he wanted right now.

“Got everything worked out for you and Gracie. Untraceable residence. Fully stocked and completely secured. Once you and Gracie get settled, at least two of our guys will be stationed at watch on the premises with a third making periodic drive-bys. I also called in a favor with HPD and they’re going to add you to their routine patrols around the clock.”

“They may not want to do me a favor for long,” Zack muttered.

If Gracie launched her accusations against Zack to the two detectives, he might well find himself behind bars and then extradited back to Tennessee, where this entire sordid mess began.

“What was that?” Beau asked.

“Nothing. Continue on. I need to get back to Gracie,” he lied.

“Any idea when they’re discharging her?”

A jolt of panic blew through Zack. He wasn’t ready for her to be discharged. She’d freak over going home with him. But at the same time maybe that’s precisely what he needed. Time alone with her to convince her of his innocence. Provided she didn’t scream the walls down around him and get him arrested for kidnapping.

Maybe he should rethink having Eliza stay with him and Gracie or even bring Gracie to Eliza’s place.

He sighed, closing his eyes.

“No. I wouldn’t think they’d discharge her any sooner than tomorrow afternoon. She’s pretty banged up and she looks like hell.”

“We’re working on this around the clock, Zack,” Beau said, his voice serious. “No stone is being left unturned. We
will
nail these bastards. No matter what it takes.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

He hesitated before bringing up what was weighing most heavily on his mind. He almost didn’t confide in Beau, but Beau was solid. The closest thing Zack had to a best friend after most of his life had been in solitude and self-exile. He’d grieved for Gracie for years and he’d purposely closed himself off from other people. He hadn’t allowed anyone close. Not until he came to work for the Devereauxs. And, well, Eliza knew, so it followed that the others would know soon enough as well, though he doubted Eliza would break his confidence.

“I need your help with something else too.”

“Anything, man. You know that. Name it.”

Zack put a hand to the back of his neck and glanced at Eliza, who sent him a look of support, as if she knew exactly what it was he was going to talk to Beau about.

“I need some discreet digging done on some people back home in Tennessee. Old . . . friends of mine.”

He nearly choked on the words. Hatred consumed him. He’d never before knew what it was like to hate as much as he hated the people who’d done this to Gracie. He shook with rage, could barely see through the haze of fury clouding his vision.

“Okay. What am I looking for here, Zack?”

Beau’s voice had gone somber, as though he sensed the importance of Zack’s request.

Praying he didn’t break down over the phone with his partner, he quietly recounted everything that Sterling had told him earlier.

At the end there was a shocked, prolonged silence. Zack could well picture Beau’s open mouth as he put together all the information Zack had just given him.

After a long pause, Beau, in a raised voice, said, “What the fuck?”

Zack could hear him seething through the phone and could easily imagine Beau’s big body bristling with anger.

“That’s insane!” Beau sputtered out, before Zack could offer anything further. “Jesus, that’s just . . . crazy! She believes that? She honestly
believes
that horse shit?”

Again, Zack closed his eyes as weariness—and relief—blew over him. It was nice to have unconditional trust from the people he worked with. Not only worked with but considered close friends. His only friends, ironically, since parting ways with the group of “friends” back home. The same group of guys he still kept up with. The same fucking assholes who’d destroyed his and Gracie’s lives. The same men who had horribly abused the woman he loved.

“She believes it,” Zack said quietly. “She gets hysterical every time she sees me.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, man. That has to suck. What are you going to do?”

“Somehow convince her that I had nothing to do with her rape,” Zack said quietly. “It’s all I can do. And in the meantime, I need to do whatever I can to dig up the truth so I can get justice for Gracie. For me. For . . .
us
. And for all the time we lost.”

SEVENTEEN

ZACK
fidgeted and impatiently paced the hallway in front of Gracie’s door. He checked his watch for the sixth time and blew out his breath. It had been an hour since the police had arrived to question Gracie. What the fuck was taking so long? He hated being out here, out of the loop, like he didn’t figure prominently in Gracie’s life or well-being.

She might not want him in any loop, but Zack wasn’t backing down and he damn sure wasn’t walking away from Gracie, even if that was what she repeatedly demanded. Maybe it made him a complete bastard. Maybe he should comply with her wishes and disappear. It was obvious his presence was causing her extreme emotional distress.

But damn it, he just couldn’t do that. He couldn’t let her go without a fight. He had to find a way to make her believe that he hadn’t done this terrible thing. If only she could read his mind.

He stopped his pacing and froze.

Eliza immediately picked up on the change in mood because she approached him, concern mirroring in her eyes.

“What is it, Zack?”

He huffed out his breath, remembering Gracie’s emotional tirade. That she couldn’t read minds anymore, that she
wouldn’t
even if she
could
. She’d said he’d taken that from her too. What the hell had she meant by that? It was the simplest solution. If only she would reach into his mind, then she’d
know
the hell he’d been through the last twelve years. She’d know that he’d spent more than a decade searching for answers—for
her
. And she’d damn sure know that he had nothing to do with her rape, that he would
die
before ever hurting her.

“Do you remember, when all that shit was going down with Ari, when I said that I used to know someone who read minds?” he asked quietly.

Her brow furrowed in thought, and she was silent for a moment, as if trying to recall the incident. Then her eyes flashed in recognition as she evidently remembered his long-ago statement.

“Yeah, I remember. But you never expounded. I’d forgotten all about it, to be honest.”

“I was talking about Gracie. She could read minds. I know it sounds crazy, but you of all people shouldn’t have a problem believing it. I mean after Ramie and Ari and all the crazy assignments we’ve had.”

Eliza’s features bunched into confusion. “But Zack, if she can read minds, then surely . . .”

“Yeah, I know,” Zack said, cutting her off in midsentence. “The second time I saw her, in the art studio when she lost her shit and freaked out. When she was so terrified of me and hinted about this horrible thing I did. I told her to read my mind. It would be so simple, right? I told her to read my mind if she had any doubt, that she’d quickly know the truth and that whatever the hell she
thought
I’d done, she’d know I didn’t!”