Mei and Ember stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Todd play with the baby.
“Are you two done putting stuff away?” Zack asked from his prone position on the couch. The minute he spoke, Song twisted around to see him.
“Wow. She sure knows you,” Ember commented, “and yes, the food’s put away.”
“Hi, Baby Girl,” Zack said tiredly to Song. “Who’s the funny guy you’re sitting on? Smack him once for me while you got him pinned down.”
Instantly, Song lifted her arms for Zack to come get her. He rolled to his side, but Todd beat him to it.
“Stay put. No need for you to move.” He settled Song alongside Zack. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Zack pulled Song into the crook of his arm.
“Looks like you’ve got white boxing gloves on.”
Zack lifted one hand. “It does, doesn’t it?”
“That’s what happens when you beat the hell out of your car.”
“Can it, Todd,” Zack muttered.
“Okay. We’ve got work to do.” Todd held his arm out to Ember.
She ducked into him, giggling. “We’re installing a few more Tattle Tales around the place. Want to be sure you kids are safe and sound.”
Todd paused at the front door. “Just so you know, Song’s baby bed is in Mei’s room. Ember’s room is next to hers. Yours is the other side of Mei’s, and mine’s across the hall. I put your gear bag in your closet. Any questions?”
“Thanks, guys,” Zack said.
Mei followed behind them and locked the door. When she turned to Zack, her breath stalled. He looked so right sprawled on the living room couch, especially holding his baby. Mei let her eyes scroll over his chest, stomach, and down his long legs to his stocking feet. The man was built of muscle and iron. A sudden heat flamed to life inside her when her eyes met his. Instantly, her practical side took over. Stop this foolishness. Get a grip.
“How are we doing?” She tried to sound stern, but the contentment in the room enveloped her. Being with this man and this particular baby brought another feeling into the safe house; the happy sensation she used to have with LiLi. It seemed so long ago.
“You said ‘we’.” His deep, soft voice rumbled, and her practical grip evaporated. The man who’d risked life and limb for the baby in his arms looked exhausted and irresistible at the same time.
“Song looks happy, doesn’t she?” Mei changed the subject as she knelt beside the couch. A new world of possibilities pounded in her heart at every word from his mouth. The instant her hand brushed the hair on his arm, desire ignited. The poor man was bruised and battered, but his eyes were dark and hazy. She knew a man in love when she saw one. Whether he’d said the L word yet or not, the practical, determined side of her was losing ground. Fast.
“I like that word.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his bandaged fingers, barely making contact. “We. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
Thinking was not her strong suit right now. Even through tape and gauze, his gentle touch had coaxed the flickering ember inside of her into a raging inferno. His deep, sexy, baritone voice was doing some very fine stroking, too. Every ragged nerve-ending in her body calmed at his velvet touch.
She brushed his flirtation aside. “I think you’re on pain medication. That’s what I think.”
He would not be put off. “After we find LiLi, would you let me take you out for dinner, say, in Hawaii? I know a little place—”
“We’ll have this conversation when you’re not on drugs,” she said with firm conviction, but her cheeks heated under his attentiveness. Her fingers trembled. Whatever was going on between them, it had to stop. “I’m putting Song to bed. Then I’m going to bake some—”
“But we’re finally alone and I want you.” He pulled her against him, his hand encircling her waist. She stiffened. All of her very dead erogenous zones sprang to life. If his mittens strayed too far south, she’d combust. Too far north, she’d ignite.
His eyes zeroed in on her mouth. This can’t happen. Her fingers rose to his lips to intercept, those poor stitched lips that looked like they needed a kiss to make them feel better.
“You’re supposed to be resting,” she whispered, every stern admonition gone from her very sensible head and her voice nearly too hoarse to be heard.
His ragged lips claimed hers hesitantly. The heat of the moment exploded inside her. He pulled her against him even as he breathed his need into her, like that was in anyway possible. Her whole body responded to the feel of his hip against her stomach, the length of his hand along her ribcage. Practicality flew out the window, while all those delicious feelings surfaced with a heated rush.
When he trailed moist, hot kisses into the crook of her neck, her plans for dinner faded away. Her heart pounded wild, wanting, and so tempted. He was the masculine soul her feminine soul craved, the rugged complement to her softest places, and the steel to her weakness. Every fiber in her body ached for his touch. Desire coursed from his lips to hers and all the way to her toes until...a soft little hand patted her cheek.
Mei leaned back to see Baby Song yawning from her comfy corner of Zack’s other arm. Embarrassed she had gotten lost in his arms, Mei caught her breath and a thin shred of common sense. Their amorous moment had been pre-empted. Just in time.
Zack released Mei long enough to kiss the top of Song’s head. Then he kissed Mei again as passionately as his tender lips allowed. “I want a rain check,” he breathed, his voice husky and low.
Her own desire burned on her cheeks. She looked up into hooded eyes that regarded her with so much raw emotion it took her breath. She trembled, suddenly saved and more frightened than ever.
“I don’t know how it happened. One minute we’re strangers, and the next....” What could she say? We’re living together? We’re in love? We’re–what? Nothing felt right. Her words to him in the abandoned warehouse came to mind. Did he remember she’d blurted her feelings, that she’d told him she loved him? Had she spoken too soon? Could she really trust him? Her heart said yes, emphatically yes, but it had played her wrong before.
“And the next thing you know, I’m living with you,” he said, his face filled with tenderness, his brown eyes pulling her in like a magnet she could not resist. “You’re going to regret saving my life because I’m not leaving, Mei. You know that, don’t you?”
She shook her head, wanting so much to believe. “No,” she whispered. “I don’t know anything of the sort.”
“It’s true,” he declared. “Get used to it. I’m here to stay if you’ll let me.”
Mei nestled into his arm. Okay. He might not have said he loved her, but what he said helped.
“I have to ask you something,” she said, still struggling to stifle the hope blossoming inside. “That day in Anacostia. You were talking with, umm, a woman.”
He tipped back from her, grinning. “You followed me?”
She should’ve been embarrassed, but before she risked any more of her heart, she needed to know. “Who was she?”
His grin deepened. “Are you jealous?”
“No. I just...want to know.”
“Mabel Magee,” he answered, not a note of hesitation in his voice. “She’s a CI, a confidential informant of mine. I’ve got a few in the area, a couple more in downtown D.C. Why?”
“She looked like, umm—”
“A hooker.” He said the hard word for her. “She is.”
“How do you know her?”
“She’s a friend of my buddy, Jake.” Zack tipped farther back, his arm still around her but the smirk on his face full of warmth. “She’s been around. Jake, too. I can always trust them to tell me the truth if anything’s going on I should know about.”
“Who’s Jake?”
“A Marine, only not as lucky as me.” His arm tightened around her. “That okay with you?”
She couldn’t meet his eyes. Of course she was jealous. It just surprised her she’d been jealous then. She’d har
dly knew him.
“I’ve had a few girlfriends,” he admitted. “I’m no saint, but Mabel’s not one of them. No way I’d bring someone like her into my home. She’s trouble.”
“It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me anything else.”
“Not unless I want to.” He pulled her into his face again, planting a kiss on her cheek. “And I want to.”
Baby Song chose that moment to latch onto his nose, twisting it like it belonged to her sock monkey. Mei smiled as this darling baby girl studied the big people in her very different life. How strange everything must seem to her. And then it happened. Song wiggled one big wiggle from the top of her head to the tips of her ten little toes. A tiny smile split her all too serious face. She made her first baby sound, a soft little coo. One syllable of angel-speak, but it was enough.
“She’s happy,” Mei said as she leaned into Zack. The joy of the simple milestone in Song’s life meant so much more sharing it with him.
“Of course. All my girls smile.”
“All your girls?”
“Yes,” he said. “You. Song, and very soon, LiLi.”
TWENTY-THREE
“We’ve got trouble,” Todd muttered. “Ember. Get the door. No one gets inside.”
Zack raised himself up on one elbow to see what was going on. It was the second day he’d been at the safe house and up until now, things had been quiet and restful. He and Song were relaxed and snuggled on the front room couch, napping and enjoying the smells wafting from the kitchen. Mei had decided to bake banana bread, a nice touch on a cold autumn afternoon. Todd kept a low fire in the fireplace. The place almost felt like home.
Ember hit the door just as someone rang the doorbell and pounded on it at the same time. She cracked it, leaving the safety chain in place. “Can I help you?” she asked before the uninvited visitor could say a word.
“We’re here to interview Zack Lennox. Is he here?” a woman’s abrasive voice asked in no uncertain terms.
“There’s no one here by that name,” Ember said evenly. “You must have the wrong information.”
“You’re lying,” the pushy woman declared. “See my station’s helicopter overhead? I couldn’t get past you at the hospital, but you can’t hide from Channel 16’s Eye in the Sky. Now let me in. I don’t have all day to play hide and seek.”
“I’m sorry,” Ember continued sweetly. “Like I said, there’s no one here by that name. I live with my boyfriend. Todd, honey? Can you come to the door for a sec?”
Todd jumped up from the computer where he’d been monitoring the Tattle Tale feeds. Ruffling a hand through his red hair to muss it up, he stepped to Ember’s side, his hand going immediately around her waist. Placing a noisy kiss on her cheek, he faced the reporter.
“Sure, hon. What’s up? Someone selling vacuum cleaners?”
He unlatched the security chain to get a good look. Between the two of them, the view was still blocked, but Zack angled his arm out from beneath sleeping Song’s sweaty little head. The baby snored softly. He’d draped a blanket over her to shelter her from view and to keep off the chill from the open door. Sitting with his hands on his knees, he waited, prepared to move.
“I wasn’t born yesterday,” the reporter snapped. “Zack Lennox is here and I know it. I’m not leaving without an interview. The FBI has taken credit for everything, but I know better. The public has a right to know what really happened. I want a minute of his time.”
“Listen, lady.” Todd yawned and kissed Ember again. “Like my girl said, you got the wrong place. Sorry about that.”
“You and your boss think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?” She tried a different attack. “You’re the same two who were at the hospital. Well, I’ve got news for you. You can’t hide him forever and two can play that game.”
“Whatever.” Todd shut the door slowly but deliberately. “See you around.”
“What the hell?” Zack growled when Todd and Ember shut the door and turned around.
“Do you believe the nerve of her?” Ember growled.
“Damned nosy reporter,” Todd muttered. “Name’s Victoria Levitt, ace reporter at the Independent Virginia Chronicle. She wants a story, and guess what? You’re it.”
Zack shrugged. One newspaper was the same as the next to him. “She blew our cover,” he muttered tiredly. “We’ve got to move.”
“You up to it?” Ember asked.
“Sure as hell not up to meeting the Tigers,” he declared. “Let’s pack. Alex has another safe house across the river in Pennsylvania. We can be there in an hour.”
“What’s going on?” Mei stood at the kitchen doorway, her cheeks flushed. Zack’s heart thudded to an abrupt halt at the sight of her. How did she do that to him, fill his senses from all the way across the room with just three words?
“We need to leave. The press knows we’re here. The minute this gets out—”
“It’s already out,” Ember muttered from the window where she kept an eye on the reporter. “Ms. Levitt is standing on our front porch holding an interview without you. Her cameraman’s filming. We’re screwed. Oops. Damn. She saw me.”
Zack stood, rolling the ache out of his back and assessing their exit strategy. “Then we go now. Mei, grab some things for the baby. Todd. Get the car running. Grab your gear, kids. We gotta roll.”
“That won’t work,” Ember advised. “Another Channel 16 news van just pulled into the driveway. They’ve got you blocked in.”
“I’m calling Alex,” Todd said, his cell phone already to his ear. “He needs to know.”
The conversation was short and not so sweet. Zack could hear Alex bellowing from where he stood. Poor Todd grimaced and held the phone away from his ear.
“We’re on our way,” Alex’s disembodied voice declared loudly and angrily. “Be ready to move when we get there.”
“Ah, Boss. We’re not going anywhere. She’s got the driveway blocked.”
“Who said you were taking your vehicle?”
“Right. What’s your ETA?”
“Should be there in twenty.” The phone went dead
“Man,” Todd muttered. “I hate when he’s spun up. Can’t get a word in edgewise. Wonder how he knew.”
“Probably because Mother monitors all the news channels,” Ember said. “Channel 16 runs an Eye in the Sky breaking news bite. That’s their claim to fame. They’re first on the scene all the time.”
“It also means anyone with a television is standing on our front porch right along with her,” Zack said.
“Or anyone with an instant news update on their cell phone,” Todd said.
“If that...woman,” Zack bit his tongue at the word he wanted to say, “if she broadcast our address, the Tigers know where we are. Shit. We don’t have time to wait for the boss to show his ugly face. I need more ammo. Now!”
“On it.” Ember doffed her casual sweater, revealing her double holster and the two weapons she carried, while opening the front closet. “Ruger 9mm. Double stack?”
“No. Single.”
She tossed him a box of 9mm ammo, plus two loaded magazines. “Have at it.”
Zack caught Mei’s frightened gaze when he caught the ammo. Setting it on the end table, he scooped still-sleeping Baby Song into his arms. “Grab some things for Song to eat and drink and come with me.”
Mei’s eyes opened wider.
He waited at the kitchen doorway while she grabbed a box of crackers, a can of baby formula and two baby bottles. There hadn’t been a need before, but he needed to explain how the safe home really operated. When she came to his side, he proceeded down the hallway to what looked like another closet door. It wasn’t. Opening it revealed a metal door, with a keypad where a doorknob would normally be.
“This is the safe room. There’s food, water, a restroom, a bed, and a telephone inside. Once I lock the door, the only way out is when you open it from your side. Enter one-eight-one into the keypad.”
Mei entered the code, her fingers
shaking. “You should stay with us. Your hands are still healing. How can you use a gun?”
The door eased open automatically, releasing a whoosh of cooled air into the hall. He ushered her into the room, his hand to the small of her back. Handing the baby to her, he peeled the bandages off his fingers. Little Song fidgeted as she opened her sleepy eyes.
“I’m taking care of that right now. Turn the heat up in here. You’ve got a phone, television, and a computer. I’ll call you when it’s clear.”
“Zack.” Mei’s voice cracked. She took a step toward him. “Don’t. You’re not ready.”
Damn it, he wanted more time with her. He brushed a quick kiss into her forehead. Duty called. “Marines don’t run, Mei. Stay in here. Whatever happens, do not open the door. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Understood?”
“Zack!” Todd’s bark from the other room gave her no time to answer. “Git your ass out here.”
He closed the door, listening for the soft sound of compression hydraulics sinking the master lock into place before he turned to answer. With Mei and Song safe, he grabbed his pistol out of his gear bag and hurried back to the center of the house. “How many?”
“Two cars just arrived. Twelve Tigers.” Todd crouched at the bulletproof window beneath the couch where Zack had just lain. “Looks like Ms. Levitt might be caught in a crossfire. Should I let her in?”
“Yes,” Zack hissed as he crouched at the opposite side of the room, facing the backyard. A civilian was a civilian whether he liked her or not. “Make it quick.”
Todd opened the front door. “Get your dumb asses in here,” he growled, motioning Ms. Levitt and her cameraman to speed it up.
No sooner said than done. Ms. Levitt ducked in as quick as a sacred rabbit, her cameraman on her heels. “Oh thank you,” she said, her damned microphone in her hand and her cameraman still recording. “Looks like I’m going to get my interview after all.”
“Shut up!” Ember roared from where she crouched in the kitchen. “This is all your fault, you dumb bitch!”
Zack slammed the loaded 9mm magazine into his weapon with a grin. Yeah, Ember. You go, girl.
Zack (In the Company of Snipers Book 3) Page 19