by Angela Blake
The battered girl that lay in his bed right now, unconscious, was smiling in this picture. His brain tried to recall something but now was not the time. She had definitely not been smiling for this asshole, so they had probably stolen this picture.
“She’s pretty,” He remarked.
The man pocketed his phone, and flexed his muscles, “Better in the sack than you might think.”
Zack’s blood heated at what the man was implying but he had been a SEAL for twelve years. He could control his impulses.
“Oh? She your woman?”
The man sneered, an ugly expression on his unpleasant face, “Something like that. We have a witness who says he saw her make her way onto your ranch.”
Zack bared his teeth, “Well, I don’t tolerate trespassers. Like to shoot them dead on sight.”
One of the trio stepped forward with a menacing air, but his companion blocked his path.
“You should understand,” He emphasized slowly. “That we need to get her back. She is mentally unstable.”
“I understand, gentlemen.” Zack straightened, drawling. “Just like I understand that y’all need to get your respective asses off my property.”
His hand touched his rifle and the man who had been doing all of the speaking, stiffened.
“I had hoped we would be able to come to an understanding. We would just like to search your property.”
Zack watched them, his eyes unblinking, “I’m not having men who snoop around my place in the dead of night anywhere near my property. Move along. Before I start shooting at you.”
A call from behind the men had their hands going to their concealed weapons.
“Boss, everything all right?”
A couple of ranch hands were making their way towards the main house. The three men studied the approaching group, and then the speaker turned to look at Zack, “If you’re hiding this woman, we will be back.”
Zack raised a brow, “I’ll keep my rifle loaded then.”
They slipped away into the dark and Zack let them.
“Boss?” His men reached him and looked in the direction he was staring at. “Want us to haul them back?”
“Let them go,” Zack watched their fleeing figures.
One of the older men piped up, “What’d they want?”
Zack scowled, “They wanted to get their hands on our new house guest.”
“The pretty little miss?”
They sounded astonished.
“What’d they want with that slip of a girl?”
Zack looked down at them, “That slip of a girl bit one of them.”
One of the younger hot headed ones hissed, “They did that to her?”
“That’s be my guess,” Zack nodded, taking out the cigarette that Billy had given him and lighting it.
He released a stream of smoke.
“They’ll be back. Keep an eye out for them.”
He could feel the anger from his men. Their loyalty was unquestionable. They had grown up on this ranch. Most of their families had worked on this ranch. They would make sure to keep an eye out.
He knew it.
He listened to them discuss the new proceedings as they wandered off to their houses, and he waited in silence for Billy to bring Sam back home.
He also noted that the window to his room was slightly ajar.
He put out the cigarette and tossed it into the metal bin.
***
Ivy opened her eyes to a bright room.
She didn’t move.
Just stared at the ceiling that was starting to become familiar to her.
How many days had passed?
For the first time after such a long healing period, her mind was clear, free of the pain relief drugs.
She sat up slowly, and winced.
The bandaged wound on her abdomen still hurt.
Hearing the creaking of the door, she looked up, not surprised to see the shy little boy who would often drop by. She had almost become accustomed to seeing him in the room.
“Hi.”
His eyes widened and he stared at her.
It wasn’t a huge shock, considering this was the first time she was talking normally.
“What’s your name?”
He was quiet and then his dog nosed his way into the room and stared at her, wagging his tail.
He barked, making her wince, and the boy, seeing her reaction, caught the dog in a loose chokehold to make him stop. That resulted in the dog jumping on him and licking his face.
The boy wriggled out of his grip, and then they both stared at her, as Ivy slowly and carefully put her feet on the ground.
“Sam! I swear to –“ The familiar male voice cut off abruptly, as the man came into sight. “You’re awake.”
Ivy swallowed, and nodded.
With her mind free of the pain and common sense back, she actually saw her saviour for the first time.
He was tall and built like Adonis.
A very wary Adonis.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better.” She murmured.
Her hand went to her waist, and she stood up, albeit with some effort.
He immediately strode over to help her. Her head reached his chest and she felt dwarfed by his huge size.
“Um, I’m okay. Thanks.”
He stepped back, and studied her, “You must be hungry.”
She nodded, “Yeah. But could I –“ She looked around, “I would really like to take a bath first. I feel filthy.”
He nodded, “It’s downstairs. I have some toiletries for you as well.”
For the first time in months, as she followed him down, she felt safe and secure.
Taking a bath with a stitched up wound was not the easiest thing to do, especially when her movement was limited. But she managed to do it.
There was no hair dryer so she wrenched the water from her hair with the towel she had been given. She had been handed a long dress that reached her knees and she appreciated the consideration of the attire.
Exiting the bathroom, she saw Sam peeking at her from the end of the gallery, which presumably led to the kitchen. She took small steps, but made her way to it.
The man stood at the stove and he was moving something around in a pan. She didn’t even have the strength to admire the way the muscles of his back flexed because her mouth was too busy watering at the sound of sizzling eggs and the smell of fried bacon.
A small hand tugged at her dress and she looked down to see the young boy pointing towards the table. She glanced in the general direction and saw that he was motioning towards a jug.
“That’s orange juice. I usually have coffee, but Shawn said no caffeine for you. So, you can have that.”
“T-Thank you.”
This was beyond saving her life. He was taking care of her.
She didn’t know how she felt about that. In her whole life, no one had ever taken care of her. She had been passed from one foster family to another and not once in those eighteen years had anyone –
She shrugged off the past and seated herself at the table. Reaching out for the jug, she winced when stretching her arm made her wound burn.
Sam looked distressed at the face she made and she grimaced, “I’m fine. I’m okay. It’s fine.”
“Sam, sit down.” The man commanded and the boy scrambled into the seat next to hers, and looked at her expectantly.
“Do you want juice too?” Ivy asked, slowly.
He threw a quick glance at his uncle who was plating the breakfast, and nodded.
Moving with exaggerated slowness, she poured him a glass as well.
A prepared plate was placed before her and she looked up to offer her thanks, but the man was already seated.
She stared at the food, and then started eating.
Most of it was burnt and it tasted awful, but damn it to hell, it was the best meal she had ever had.
She had
to put her fork and knife down, to cover her eyes with her hand, as she was overcome with emotion. Tears dripped down her face at the realization that this was the first meal she’d had in months.
The first proper meal.
When small hands patted at her arm, she let out a watery sniffle, and the boy got a reprimand, “Eat your food, Sam.”
The man didn’t pause in his meal, or ask her what was wrong.
He let her be.
He let her cry at the kitchen table, during breakfast. He let her cry out the exhaustion and the fear that clung to her.
All he did was get up to put a box of tissues in front of her.
Her sobs were quiet, her hand concealing her eyes as the tears dripped down her face, onto the pale blue dress. Her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs, but the kitchen was cool, the air brushing her legs, and she was not alone.
It eased her heart.
When she was done, and she wiped her face clean, she saw that Sam looked miserable.
She patted his cheek, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He still looked troubled and she glanced at the kind stranger for help.
He shook his head, “He’ll be fine. Why don’t you finish your breakfast?”
And she did.
She ate slowly, and noting that Sam hadn’t touched his own breakfast, she snuck him bites from her fork, when she was sure that his father wasn’t looking.
The act pleased Sam and every time she took a bite, he would tug at her arm, reminding her it was his turn.
Zack pretended not to notice the interaction between the two. He knew the woman was trying to be subtle but she was as sneaky as an ox on a stampede.
Sam was smiling.
The boy hadn’t smiled in a whole year.
Not after Lily’s death.
But he was giving the woman a shy smile every time she fed him.
Was this his fault?
Had he been wrong?
Had Sam just needed a woman’s touch, a maternal figure in his life, who could offer affection that he couldn’t?
But that couldn’t be true.
Billy’s wife had tried to coax Sam out of his depression, but even she had not been able to. Many of the women and girls had tried to interact with him at the small events that took place, or at the mess, but he had shied away from all of them.
He gathered the plates in silence, dumping them in the sink. He then poured himself another cup of coffee, and sat down in his chair, leaning back and taking out a cigarette.
“You mind?” He asked, and she shook her head.
He shrugged, and then lit it, taking a long draw.
“Sam, go play outside.”
Sam stared at his uncle and then at their guest, before jumping off his chair and making his way outside, Fabian at his heels.
One hand holding the cigarette, and the other in his jean pocket, Zack studied the woman in front of him, “Let’s start with introductions.”
She stared at him, hesitating for a second, “My name is Ivy Mills.”
He stilled before studying her face and then taking another drag from his cigarette, “All right, Miss Ivy Mills. Who are you running from and how did you end up here?”
CHAPTER 4
His eyes were hard, Ivy noted. Not from a lack of compassion, she realized but because he would kick her out if he assessed her to be a threat to his family.
He could have handed her to the men who had come looking for her yesterday, but he hadn’t. He was willing to hear her side of the story.
So, he was a fair man.
But was he someone she could trust?
Her eyes skittered over the floor and her hand smoothed the dress, “I came here looking for Lily Tanner. I ran into some trouble and her husband is in the military, so-,” She took a shaky breath, forcing herself to calm down, “-So, I came to ask for her help.”
They both knew she had avoided the first part of the question, but for some reason the man didn’t seem particularly worried.
He studied her from his end of the table, and then leaned forward to put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, before lazing in his seat again.
“My sister is dead. As is her husband.”
Ivy’s blood ran cold, and her hands trembled, “D-Dead? Lily is dead?”
N-No. She couldn’t be.
“But she was fine!” She tried to argue, as if her words would somehow bring back her childhood friend. “We talked a year ago. Just before-“
She snapped her mouth shut, before trying again. “It was her son’s birthday. I was- Her husband was on his way home.“
Sam.
She didn’t feel the wetness on her cheeks at the slap of reality.
The mute child was Lily’s son?
What had happened to him? He had been such a bubbly child. She had never had the chance to meet him, but when she had called to wish him a happy birthday, he had babbled on the phone for quite a few minutes before his exasperated mother had taken the phone away from him.
She gave herself a few minutes to gather herself, before she croaked, tears in her voice, “How? I mean, when did she-?”
Although his face was blank, Zack’s emotions churned up inside of him at the thought of his sister and her husband. He found himself reaching for another cigarette, “Last year. August. Tom died in the field. She followed him a month later.”
His words were terse, but she saw the way his jaw tightened, and she couldn’t help but reach out with her hand to cover his fisted one on the table. Her eyes were wet with grief, “I’m sorry.”
Zack looked at her small hand on his fist. Her hand barely covered his and in the back of his mind, he marvelled at the difference in size. His eyes moved up to her tear ravaged face. Lily’s death had taken her by surprise. So, she hadn’t known.
“How did you know Lily?”
Ivy pulled her hand away and put her hands together in her lap, tangling her fingers together. She had known that Lily had had a brother, but she had never ventured into her home. Theirs had been an unconventional friendship.
“We met when we were kids and then we went to the same college.” She paused, not wanting to discuss her painful past that she had tried to bury under her success. Not that it mattered anymore. There was no going back to the life she had built for herself.
“I was going through a rough patch and your sister-“ She swallowed back the tears as her throat clogged up at the idea of never hearing Lily’s laughing voice over the phone again, “-your sister really helped me out. She was – She was all I had.”
She had meant to say that Lily had been her closest friend, but her heart felt like it was in tatters, empty. She had never lost anybody close to her; she hadn’t had anyone close enough to lose. And now, she felt as if her entire world had been devastated.
A few times a year, she would call Lily; talk to her, discuss her problems, her gossip. She would listen to Lily’s stories. It was as if she had a pen pal. She had never wanted to trespass on her friend’s perfect family life.
She had attended her wedding, but after that, she had never –
“What happened to Sam?”
Zack rolled the burning cigarette between his fingers, “He stopped speaking.”
“Oh.” Ivy was silent for a few moments, her voice still scratchy. Then, she looked up at the man sitting across her, “You must be Zack, then. Lily talked about you. I met you at her wedding.”
Zack gave her a faint smile, “I remember you.”
Lily had introduced Ivy to him, and she had winked at him. His sister had tried to set him up with her, but Ivy had disappeared minutes into the reception.
There had been something hauntingly beautiful about her blue eyes that had held a hint of sadness. He remembered staring at her during the wedding ceremony. She had been sitting in the second aisle, wearing a simple pink dress. The simplicity of the dress had drawn his attention to her striking fe
atures.
And now after six years, she sat before him, her eyes just as sad, and her beauty just as striking.
“You disappeared during the reception.”
She pursed her lips, a faint smile on her lips, “I’m not very good with people, I’m afraid. And your presence was a bit….overwhelming.”
Zack didn’t know how to take that comment, so he stood up and then turned around to face her, hands gripping the counter behind him as he pushed his weight on them.
“Why are you not listed on any database? I had my men discreetly do some checking up on you. You have no record anywhere. Not even a birth certificate. Your fingerprints are not on any DMV database.”
She swallowed, but he noted the pride in her eye, “That’s because I deleted any trace of myself. I hacked into every file on me, about me, for me, and I erased my presence.”
Stunned, Zack simple stared at her, “Excuse me?”
She lifted her head a fraction and he saw the first hint of anger in her eyes, “People are after my life. People with powerful connections. I don’t plan to stay on the radar.”
Zack didn’t move an inch, just watched her with steady eyes.
Whoever this woman was, she was dangerous.
And resourceful.
His guard was up.
“Who did you cross?”
Ivy clenched her hands, “It isn’t who. It’s what.”
Her words were bitter.
“I’m a hacker, but I work as an IT specialist in a consulting agency. A few months ago, we were hired by this conglomerate. One of my colleagues accidentally accessed their financial data. He immediately informed them of the security leak.”
The words were torn from her, filled with anger and grief, “They brought him in for questioning. Wanted to know what he had seen.”
Her beautiful blue eyes flashed with anger, “Noah was professional to the bone. He told them he didn’t even look at the files.”
A bitter chuckle that lacked humour, “They didn’t believe him.”
Her body shuddered, “He called me a day later. He was scared; wanted to come over. He said-“ She paused, rubbing her eyes and taking a shaky breath, “-he said someone was watching his apartment.”