“I need you to stay down, okay?”
“What’s wrong?” Lesley whimpered.
“It’s going to be all right, okay ladies?” Marcia calmed at Zed’s soothing voice, it gave her something to cling too. “Lesley, right now your friend has just managed to get into a spot of trouble again which has resulted in a ton of bruising, scrapes, and a concussion. If she could have, I’m sure somehow she would have managed to have found a python at the mall too.”
“Stop it, Zed, it hurts to laugh,” Marcia laughed.
“What do you mean a python?” Lesley asked.
“It’s a long story,” Marcia sighed. “What are you two doing here? What time is it?”
“Don’t you mean what day is it?” Zed asked wryly.
Marcia’s eyes widened. She looked over at Lesley and swallowed. “You came home on Friday. What day is it, Lesley?”
She stepped around Zed to the top of the bed. She pushed back some of Marcia’s unruly curls and kissed her forehead. “It’s Monday.”
She felt it then and hated it. Stupid weak tears. Raymond had stolen three days from her. They were gone. “How was your welcome home party?”
Lesley glanced over at Zed. “You know she’s serious, don’t you?” She turned back to Marcia and raised her voice. “How could you even ask something so stupid? You were almost kidnapped? We didn’t have my damned party. You were the important one. You!” Lesley burst into tears.
Marcia held out her arms, and Lesley fell into her embrace. It was a familiar pattern. “Lesley, I’ve been so worried about you. I’m so glad you’re home. How are you, honey?” Lesley hiccupped as Marcia stroked her brown curls.
“I was so scared when Daddy told me what had happened to all of you. Then to find out the nightmare wasn’t over,” her body trembled against Marcia.
“Are you seeing your counselor?” Marcia asked quietly.
“Yes,” she said as she grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and blew her nose. It took long minutes for Lesley to calm down. In the meantime, Marcia missed the feel of Zed holding her hand. Looking up at his hooded gaze, she realized she couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking. It was weird, in the jungle she’d felt really in tune with the man.
“Lesley,” Zed said quietly. “Why don’t you go tell your father Marcia is awake?”
Lesley pulled out of her arms, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. “Dad’s down in the cafeteria. He had some calls to make. He’ll be so happy to see you. He’s been here every day.”
“It would be great to see him. I love you, Lesley, it’s great seeing you,” Marcia said pointedly.
“Yeah well…” Lesley shrugged. She ducked her head instead of looking at Zed and left the room.
“Now, tell me what happened,” Marcia demanded. “Everything is kind of a blur. I heard gunshots. Did Raymond kill more people?”
“Actually, there was a woman on the scene who had a license to carry a concealed weapon. She was a former Marine. She shot and killed the man who was working with Raymond. He had a record a mile long.” Marcia breathed a sigh of relief.
“Nothing bad is going to happen to her, is it?”
“No, there are video cameras in the mall parking garage, she’s in the clear.”
“When can I leave here?”
“Just as soon as you’re good to fly.”
She shifted in the bed so she could see him a little better because something must be wrong with her hearing.
“You heard me just fine,” he said.
“Quit reading my mind, it’s irksome.”
“I’ve never heard anyone use the word irksome before,” Zed chuckled.
“Get used to it, SEAL-boy. What the hell do you mean do you mean I have to be ready to fly?” But she knew exactly what he meant. He thought she was going to go back to San Diego with him. The darn man had another think coming. There was no way she was just going to turn tail and run because of one little incident.
“You know what I mean,” he said calmly.
“And just what makes you think that I’m going to just dance to your tune?”
“Are you really going to put Christie and Debbie at risk? I watched the surveillance tapes. It was clear as day Raymond said ‘Marcia’ not ‘Lesley.’ This isn’t about getting the Brockman daughters anymore. He has a vendetta against you. Are you really going to put those two little girls in the line of fire?”
“Why is he doing this Zed?” All stiffness left her shoulders, the fire was gone. “I don’t get it.”
“The man is a whack-job.”
“There has to be something in it for him. He still has to want to get to Mr. B. through me, and if he does, why not his real daughters?”
Zed skooched up the chair so he could put his arm around her. “Querida, you know Brockman cares about you the same way he does his own flesh and blood.”
She shook her head. Ow. She shouldn’t have done that. Zed pressed a kiss to her temple and she melted. Looking up into his warm eyes, she could see they were the darkest chocolate.
“Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what? Don’t claim what is mine?”
Marcia shivered. Then scowled. “I’m not a ‘what,’ I’m a woman.”
Zed threw back his head and laughed.
“We are going to have so much fun together.”
10
Two days ago, they’d had a rip-roaring fight at the Brockman’s house when he’d insisted she pack. Harold had been smart enough to get him and his daughters out of the line of fire.
* * *
“I’m only packing one suitcase because I’m only going to be gone one week. There’s absolutely no way I’m going to be gone any longer. The girls need me. Lesley needs me. Mr. B. needs me. You’re lucky I agreed to a week, and I only did that because Mr. B. made such a compelling argument.”
She didn’t even come up to his chin, but it didn’t stop her from going head-to-head with him.
“Suit yourself, but I thought women liked more changes of clothes for five weeks.”
“And if I was staying five weeks, I would pack more,” she said sweetly. Marcia even batted her long eyelashes. Zed leaned against her bedroom wall and pretended she wasn’t getting to him.
“Harold’s already sent a note from the hospital to your supervisor saying you need five weeks to recover. He’s arranged to have his sister stay for the next five weeks. I’d say you’ve been outmaneuvered.”
She paused mid-fold of the red lingerie in her hand and looked at him. Her eyes glinted. “Well, I guess that means I get to take a vacation. I’m thinking Paris.”
Yep, she was fired up. Zed couldn’t take his eyes off the crimson silk she was taking her time folding and putting into the suitcase. She was doing it on purpose.
Zed grinned. “Well, if your passport is in order…”
“They reissued it after the mess in Borneo.” She strode over to her dresser and rummaged through the jewelry box. After a moment, she carefully closed the lid and turned to Zed.
“Paris, Texas,” she carefully enunciated. “I’m going on vacation in Paris, Texas after I’m done with my week in San Diego.”
Zed pushed away from the wall and went to Marcia. He took her clenched fists in his hands and brought them to his lips. “Is it really such a hardship to go home with me?”
“It is when I’m going with you under duress.”
That floored him. “What are you talking about?”
“The big bad SEAL is going to take care of the little woman.” Her eyes were overly bright, and her lower lip quivered just the slightest before she bit it and jutted out her chin. There she was, her face bruised and raw, and she was defiant as hell. Was it any wonder he was so enamored?
He captured both of her hands in one and gently stroked her cheek. “You know better than that, Mi Corazón. We were just biding our time until I could come back home to Virginia. But you are correct about one thing, it is my right to protect you.”
She
glared at him and opened her mouth, but he pressed his thumb against her lips.
“Wait. I have a question for you. If it were in your power to protect Christie and Debbie, would you?”
Her warm breath caressed his thumb. “Yes,” she sighed. “Okay, you win. I guess the Pacific Ocean beats out Paris, Texas, anyway.”
“Maybe I can offer more of an incentive than that,” Zed said as he bent down.
Marcia tried to shrug away from him. “I look like doo-doo.”
“Stop with the potty mouth, already, it makes me hot and bothered.” It did too, he couldn’t think of anything about this woman that didn’t excite him. Her delicate build could barely contain her indomitable spirit, and Zed was careful as he pulled her close. He swept his hand down her back, and she arched up against him, wresting her wrists out of his grasp. As soon as he let go, she thrust her fingers into his hair and pulled him close for a kiss. Zed hesitated. He looked into her glittering sherry-colored eyes to ensure that she wanted this as much as he did.
“I do,” she said as she read his mind. “I need your kiss.”
He looked at her mouth, her bottom lip still swollen. He feathered his tongue against the hurt flesh, and she whimpered. She tasted so good, wild and sweet. Marcia parted her lips, just a little, tempting him to tread further. Zed slid deeper, sampling her plump lips as he caressed the lithe line of her back until she began to undulate against him. Her mouth opened as her breasts pressed against his chest. How had he gone from zero to sixty in zero seconds?
Mother of God! The tight swell of Marcia’s nipples prodded his chest as she suckled his tongue and made him almost forget his name. Almost.
Zed pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, his breath labored.
“Zed?” He heard the little waver of uncertainty in her voice.
“Dios Mio, I have never been so aroused by one kiss in my life. Not even with Teresa Gomez when I was thirteen.” For all Marcia’s fire and confidence, Zed could still see her doubt.
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he assured her. “Marcia, I was thirteen. She let me touch her ta-tas. I’m telling you, you pack a punch.” He pushed a lock of her unruly hair behind her ear.
“Now who’s talking kid-safe?”
“I was thirteen and raised by my mom and my abuela. I thought ta-ta was a bad word,” Zed grinned down at her. “So, can I help you pack more than one suitcase?”
“I suppose.”
“I’ll start with your lingerie.”
* * *
Looking at her asleep in his bed, Zed couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It didn’t matter that there were still scabs where she had been pulled along the rough cement.
Forty-five minutes ago, when they’d arrived from the airport, he’d shown her this guest room and maybe he had referred to the bed as ‘his’ bed. God, he loved getting her riled. She’d gone on to explain it wasn’t his bed, it was the guest bed. Zed grinned.
It was a bed in his apartment, wasn’t it? Then it was his bed. He wasn’t going to get into the semantics of the furniture being rented for the duration of his temporary assignment because then, she’d really argue with him. His woman really liked to argue.
Now that he knew she looked comfortable, Zed went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of Gatorade. He knew Marcia would likely be out for a couple of hours, so he’d wait to start dinner. He’d learned a lot about her during their phone conversations. He knew leaving work for five weeks wouldn’t be a hardship, her work bored her. Marcia was itching to go back to school and get her Masters.
He grabbed his cell phone and went out on the small balcony to give Gray a call. He owed him one.
“Glad you’re back, Zaragoza. How are you feeling?”
Zed rolled his right shoulder, wishing he could say he was at one hundred percent. “I’m feeling pretty good. I’m sure Jackson will make me feel like shit tomorrow.”
Gray laughed. The physical therapist on base was not known for being easy, but she got results, and that was all the SEALs cared about. “How’s Max?” Gray asked, referring to Max Hogan the lieutenant of his regular team, Night Storm.
“He’s doing good. The whole team is. We had a four-star dinner together.”
“Mess hall?” Gray guessed.
“Close. Hospital cafeteria,” Zed smiled. It had been Leo Perez who had arranged it. He was the glue who kept Night Storm together. Of course, Kane was going to stop by no matter what, he wanted to get a look at Marcia, he had a damn good idea what she meant to Zed.
“How’s our patient?” Gray asked.
“Out like a light.”
“Should she have been flying today?” Gray sounded concerned. Zed took a sip of his drink, so he didn’t say the first thing that came to mind. After a moment he responded.
“She got an all-clear to travel before she left, Lieutenant.”
There was a pause. “Sorry about that, Zed. That was out of line, of course, you wouldn’t have her travel if it wasn’t safe.”
Zed continued to drink his Gatorade and look out over the arroyo. “I’m going to want to talk to some of your team about helping me keep an eye on Marcia.”
“Goddammit, Zed, I said I was sorry,” Gray bit out. “As long as you’re here and working with us, Black Dawn is our team. You got that?”
Zed relaxed. “I’ve got it.”
“So, are you going to stop calling me Lieutenant?”
“Gray,” Zed chuckled, “I was actually hoping to rope you in on this.”
“Just try to stop me.”
Marcia couldn’t believe there had been actual fizzy bath bombs in a bowl in the bathroom. It had to have been Lesley’s idea.
But Zed implemented it.
It was so decadent. When was the last time she’d taken a bath? Let alone with a bath bomb? Marcia climbed into the tub, rested her head against a towel, and closed her eyes.
As the ball swirled around the tub and fizzed, she thought about Lesley. Sometimes, she thought she was looking at a taller and prettier version of herself. These days she was only taller. The drugs had ravaged her. How could she have left Lesley? It about killed her to leave Christie and Debbie. Christie was a bundle of joy, and Debbie was turning into a moody, snarky teenager who was either making her laugh or making her want to strangle her.
Dang nabbit, she was crying. It had just been last week she’d found Debbie in Christie’s bed. Out of everything, that was what killed her the most, leaving Debbie. Intellectually, she knew the girl was in good hands. She was seeing a really good psychologist and her aunt Vi was a retired school teacher.
“But I should be with her,” Marcia whispered to herself.
She sunk lower in the tub and tried to just let her mind calm. When she did, she realized how much her body hurt. Her actual bones ached. She hated hurting and being a wuss. She’d done track and soccer, how many injuries had there been? Suck it up!
Marcia raised her leg and saw where the python had bitten her. It was going to leave a scar. Borneo was different from the soccer field. She let her leg slide back under the water and closed her eyes, but all she saw was the green of the jungle, and she shuddered. She totally got why Debbie was having nightmares.
“No!” she said hoarsely. “Think of something different.”
Marcia sank deeper into the tub, but when her scraped chin hit the frothy water, it stung. It was one of the scabs. Come on, it was just a little Mall Mishap. Pull up those bootstraps. She looked up at the bathroom ceiling and blinked rapidly. She was sick of pulling up her bootstraps. How many years had she been doing it?
Her chin trembled. Mom and Dad. That horrible night when Mr. and Mrs. Brockman had come over to her house with the policeman to tell her that her parents had been in a car accident. Her life had ended that night. She’d been the same age as Debbie when her life had ended, or at least, that was the way she’d felt. Mr. and Mrs. B. had taken her across the street and put her to bed in
their house, and she didn’t leave until college.
At first, she’d walked around shell-shocked. It took her about six months to realize what was going on. Then it was something Lesley said about her being lucky she’d been taken in since she didn’t have any relatives. In hindsight, Marcia could see things clearly, it was just something one fifteen-year-old girl would say to another. At the time? It flipped a switch in Marcia.
She did everything she could to be indispensable to the Brockman’s. She babysat, she cleaned, she cooked. But Margaret Brockman saw through everything and did her best to stop Marcia’s frantic attempts to assure her place in their home. But it was impossible to get through to her. And if Marcia were to be perfectly honest, trying to please, being a caretaker was an ingrained part of her nature, it always had been. But the near mania was new.
Her parents had left her financially cared for, so she could attend Virginia State and live on campus. Marcia went for it, with some coaxing from Mrs. B.
“Honey, it’s going to kill me to have you away from me, but it’s only an hour, and I expect constant visits,” Margaret Brockman had said.
The Brockman’s really had become surrogate parents and had done their best to stop her from taking on too much of a caretaking role, but it had been impossible. Looking back on things, Marcia knew that was why Mrs. B. had coaxed her to live on campus.
Then there had been the Rick debacle. She’d gone home a lot the first two years, but classes got intensive her junior year, so she needed to buckle down and found herself staying at school more and more. Then she and a girlfriend had rented an apartment, and she’d met Rick. Who knew she was considered an easy mark? A mark!
It’s not like he’d been the best-looking guy or anything, but he’d been so attentive and caring in the beginning, and she’d soaked it up like a flower soaked up the sun. He made her feel like she was the center of his world. When her roommate had decided to move out, Rick had moved in. Marcia had no reservations, she overlooked anything and everything because for the first time since her parents had died, she had someone in her life who made her feel totally loved.
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