“No, but I will be later this week. I’m attending a con at the Marriott Marquis.”
“DragonCon?”
“Never heard of it. Do you want to meet or not?”
He glanced at the files on the table. How could he plan anything in the middle of a case? Then again, whatever was happening in his head was friggin’ crazy. He needed answers. Zach nodded. “Alright. Let’s meet.”
Someone just kill me already. Please.
Hannah’s face grew warm as the woman in the skinny jeans clapped her hands and said, “Attention please. Try and get your dogs to settle down if they’re misbehaving. We can’t start the lesson until everyone is here.”
The trainer’s assistant was talking about Costello, who’d tried to hump every other dog in the class since arriving at the park.
“Costello, no.” Hannah tried to rein him in with the leash, but the dog was strong. He barely spared her a glance before lunging at a fluffy poodle who was having none of it. Hannah tried to dig in her heels, but he dragged her along as if she were a paper doll. “Costello, sit!”
A hand from behind reached to grasp the leash, startling her so much she almost lost her grasp on the nylon.
“Whoa, buddy. Calm down for a second.” Zach’s voice and warm breath teased her ear as he managed to draw the dog into her. The press of his body against her backside was warm and solid. She pulled away, let him take Costello’s leash, and drank him in. First thing she noticed was the clear spiral tube behind his ear. She’d noticed E.J. wearing a similar one in the car. Zach was dressed in jeans, a gray sports coat and a black t-shirt that hugged his chest tight, highlighting plenty of muscle definition. Clearly he was a man who worked out, and often.
Mercy.
“Thanks,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Brilliant. He wanted to watch her and Costello act like fools. Seriously, someone needed to put her out of her misery already.
“Yo, Zach.” Not far away, E.J. was sprawled in the grass with Abbott’s mesh carrier sitting beside him. None of the dogs had noticed him yet, but the cat’s stare was totally focused on the activity in front of him. “Not that me and the cat don’t like hangin’ back and chillin’, but does this mean I can go now?”
“Sure. Go home and get some rest.” Zach picked Abbott up and slid the carrier’s strap over his shoulder. Even as he was bumped around a bit, the cat’s wary gaze did not waiver from the other animals. Zach waited until E.J. was on his feet to lean in and whisper something to the other man that Hannah couldn’t make out.
“Yeah, no problem, man.” E.J. brushed off his pants and reached for Hannah’s hand. Cradling her fingers between his, he leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Good luck with that dog, you hear?” He cocked a finger gun at Costello, who was trying to pull at the leash in Zach’s strong grip.
Hannah squinted against the afternoon sun and slid the sunglasses on top of her head down over her eyes.
Zach was wearing a pair of his own, but the yellowing bruise beneath them wasn’t completely hidden from view, giving him a dangerous-looking edge. One of the other women’s voices carried the short distance. “Maybe that’s her husband. Maybe the boy was her ride?”
So did the response. “I don’t know, but if he stays, I might not be able to handle the distraction.”
Murmured giggling followed, and Hannah quickly moved forward to take back Costello’s leash. “Thanks, but I think I’ve got it.”
He held his arms out and stepped back. “Then I’ll be right over here keeping an eye out.”
Before he could get far, Costello suddenly charged to the left, barking like a crazed maniac, then darted in a circle around both of them, chasing away any dog that came remotely close to them. The long leash clotheslined the back of Hannah’s calves as it tightened with the dog’s movement. She stumbled forward—landing right in Zach’s waiting arms.
“Oh!” She gripped his forearms and felt solid muscle beneath her fingers. Her chest was pressed against his, and she felt nothing but heat radiating between their bodies. Sweet heaven.
Laughing, Zach shuffled his feet a little. She felt his left hand press against her lower back and saw that his other was securing Abbott’s carrier to his side. “Damn dog has us tangled together.” He whistled. “Costello, stop!”
Amazingly, the dog stopped running, looked at Zach and sat down.
“Here.” Once again Zach took the leash from her grip and began unwrapping it from around them. “You know, Hannah, I think your dog might need training.”
She feigned a gasp. “No, not Costello.”
“Maybe a little bit.” The heat of his teasing look seared her clear down to her toes. “Why don’t we try this again?” He returned the leash. She was free to move away, but she kind of didn’t want to. “Me and the cat will keep watch from over there.”
She nodded and started to turn away until she heard him call her name. “Yeah?”
Hannah couldn’t see it behind his glasses, but she imagined he winked at her. “Good luck.”
Chapter Ten
Zach’s mind and body were feeling an overload of sensations.
His arms still tingled where Hannah had touched him, and his jeans were a hell of a lot tighter than they had been a few seconds before. If she’d pressed any closer she would’ve felt something she wouldn’t appreciate.
Or maybe she would.
He’d caught the glimpse of awareness in her face when he’d been untangling them. She was every bit as attracted to him as he was to her.
Good—but not good.
A surplus of thoughts were racing through his head. Some of them were his own. Some weren’t.
The grass smells good. Smell the grass.
Gotta pee. I’m peeing.
The one that rang out the loudest was an agitated gripe that translated to That damn dog is gonna get me killed.
Zach tightened his grip on the carrier at his side and made a soothing sound to the cat. “Don’t worry, Abbott. I got your back. Those dogs will have to go through me to get to you.”
The cat’s face actually turned up. Poor animal looked scared to death.
You? Is that supposed to make me feel better?
What the—?
“Really, cat? I promise to keep you safe, and you insult me?”
A loud throat-clearing sound brought his attention to the fact he’d been talking—loudly—to the animal in his care. Hannah’s eyes were wide and watching him, but it was a redheaded woman he hadn’t noticed before who was closest to him, still making strange sounds with her throat.
“Obedience class is about to start. If you don’t have a dog, please give us some space. Thank you.” She gestured them away with her hand.
The newcomer was the trainer, judging by the way she addressed the small group of seven women and one man with dogs. She paced in front of the group, examining the line of canines with the attention of a drillmaster.
“This is the beginner’s class, but I fully expect you to do these tasks at home. The more you work with your dog, the more obedient they will become.”
Oh great. I’m gonna have to put up with this at home too? He’d better not expect me to participate. The cat made a growling sound to accompany this thought.
Zach crossed his arms and tried to focus on staying alert and watching the activity around Hannah, but the animals’ thoughts and feelings were as much of a distraction as the lady herself. His eyes kept trailing back to her. Beside her, a collie of some sort nearly tackled its owner when she introduced treats as a reward, but Costello immediately sat when Hannah stood in front of him and waved a treat bag.
He’s an idiot. They’re all idiots. Look at them, pandering to their people. Disgusting.
Zach snickered at the cat’s opinion.
Hannah and Costello had moved closer to them as she tried in vain to get Costello to stay on command. S
he took a step and so did the dog, right behind her, chasing the treats.
I’m a good boy. Gimme a treat? Pleeeease gimme a treat.
“Costello, stay.”
The dog would sit for about two seconds then follow her.
I’m a good boy. See? If you gimme a treat, I’ll stay. Promise. The dog whined.
Zach shrugged. “Give him a treat, then tell him to stay.”
“But I thought I was only supposed to give him a treat when he actually followed a command—as a reward?” She glanced around.
“Try it.”
Yes. Pleeeeeease. Pleeeeease gimme a treat first.
Hannah gave Costello a treat, firmly told him to stay and stepped back.
Okay, I’ll stay. Can I get another treat though? Costello sat in the spot, not following. His stare was fixed on Hannah.
She frowned when she looked at Zach. “How did you know—? The psychic thing?”
For the first time in his life, he could agree to that without feeling guilty. “Maybe a little bit of common sense too.”
After an hour, the trainer clapped her hands and told everyone the class was dismissed. “Before you leave, please check with one of my assistants. They’ll sign you up for the next class and let you know where it will be held. Remember—practice is key.”
After exchanging a few words with the head trainer, Hannah led Costello over to where Zach still stood. “She thinks Costello has a dominance problem we need to work on in private. I’ve got to schedule an appointment for her to come to the house. Wait here?”
“Sure.”
She led Costello to the younger woman in a dark polo shirt holding a clipboard, but a line of women and dogs preceded her. Zach sighed. They might be here a while.
I could go for some tuna right about now. How about you? Or maybe some bird if you have one?
Zach’s stomach growled and he chuckled. He squeezed the bag close to his side. “Alright, buddy. Let’s get you home first.”
An average-looking man in glasses and a dark polo stepped up to Hannah and said something that made her nod, step away from the line, and hand over Costello’s leash. The guy knelt down and rubbed Costello’s ears, still speaking to Hannah.
The pungent scent of cigarette smoke assaulted Zach’s senses. He glanced around. There wasn’t a soul near him.
Costello’s growl as the man fiddled with his collar reached Zach’s ears, luring him forward. Something wasn’t right. His gut was suddenly tight with apprehension and fear.
Bad man. Get away. Don’t make me hurt you. Get away from us.
Costello’s loud snarling bark ripped the air. His long snout showed bared teeth in warning as the man leaned back, holding his hands in the air. Zach saw the man’s right hand lower to slowly reach for the satchel at his side.
That smell.
Costello’s reaction to it.
This guy wasn’t one of the trainers. It was the same one who’d broken into Hannah’s house!
Zach reached up to activate the microphone in his headset as he began advancing on the scene, not wanting to alert the man that someone was onto him. “E.J., there’s trouble. Call the cops and get down here.”
“I’m on it,” E.J.’s voice responded.
Zach had told E.J. to find a discreet lookout spot and not to leave until they had Hannah back safe at home.
As he watched, the man on his knees in front of Hannah and the dog leaned as far back as he could comfortably go. His eyes had a surprised and slightly frightened gleam to them.
Good. Maybe he’d abandon whatever plan he’d had here. Once the man put distance between himself and Hannah, Zach would tackle the sonofabitch.
“Costello, no.” Hannah commanded, but the dog released another series of barks and growls that would have made great sound effects for a werewolf film. A wave of panic washed over Zach. What if the dog bit someone? What if he did worse?
No. He knew what the dog was thinking. Bad man. Get away from her or I’ll kill you. Costello was only focused on one person. Protecting Hannah from the bad man.
Zach’s attention fell to the gun suddenly visible in the other man’s hand.
He reached for his own gun, holstered beneath his jacket, but what good would it do? Hannah was too close. Too damn close to getting in the crossfire. “Hannah, step away. Now.” His voice was loud and firm.
Everything happened so fast, Zach barely had time to process any of it. The barrel of the gun pointed at Hannah. Costello, teeth snapping, tearing himself free from Hannah’s grip. The dog ran sideways in an arc away from her, circling the stranger, barking at him ferociously.
“No, Costello. No!” Hannah yelled.
The stranger redirected the gun’s aim toward her pet.
A woman behind Zach screamed, “That man has a gun!” but he didn’t have time to question whether she was pointing at him or the other guy. People began running, all around them, away from them, getting in Zach’s way, disrupting his line of fire. Feet pounded the ground mixed with soft squeals of panic.
The man’s finger squeezed the trigger as Zach finally reached Hannah’s side.
There was no time to think, only react.
Shoving Abbott’s carrier against Hannah’s middle, Zach dove toward the dog, covering him with his massive body.
Stinging pain spread through his lower back as his body stiffened on impact with the dog. Beneath him, Costello wiggled and whined as if Zach had done something awful to him.
What are you doing? Get off me. Please don’t hurt me. I’ll be a good boy.
“Shhh, Costello. It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
“Zach.” E.J.’s deep voice helped focus his attention on the fact the stinging in his back had passed. “Bro, you okay? You’ve been shot.”
He reached a hand around and felt a long object buried in his skin above his belt. Animal tranquilizer. Damn.
Making sure he kept the dog close to him, Zach pushed to his feet as a pair of hands grasped his arm and helped him find his balance. He blinked at E.J., swinging his head around to look for Hannah.
She was right behind E.J., holding Abbott’s bag in a death grip against her middle. A couple of young guys were flanking her protectively. One of the men asked if Zach needed help and said the cops were on their way. Sirens in the distance confirmed it.
“I’m fine. Where is he? Where’d he go?” The creep who’d shot him was nowhere in sight.
“He took off. You alright? You want me to go after him?” E.J.’s fingers tightened around Zach’s arm as he spoke.
“Let him go.” Zach stuffed the dart in his pocket in case the contents needed analysis. Who knew what the hell was in it, or how strong it was? “We’ve got to get Hannah and the animals out of here.”
It wouldn’t be long before the tranquilizer kicked in, and he’d be no good to her then. Dammit. He made sure E.J. had Costello’s leash before reaching for Hannah and pressing her forward through the throng of people that had suddenly gathered around them.
E.J. walked backward, his eyes scanning the area. “Sorry, man, I should’ve jumped in sooner. We could’ve had that mother—”
“Let’s get out of here,” Zach interrupted, glancing around. For all he knew, the shooter was still hanging around, or had accomplices. People gawked and stared as they rushed past, but no one seemed suspect.
They reached the parking lot, and Zach dug into his jeans for his keys. He was still alert and feeling normal, but he knew better than to chance driving. He went to hand the keys to Hannah and—
Whoa!
The parking lot swam around him, and he fell forward, landing against some poor schmuck’s car.
“Zach.” Hannah rushed to steady him. “Oh my word, are you okay?”
Somehow he managed to shove his keys into her hand. “E.J., follow us. Make sure no one else is.” Blinking, he focused on Hannah. She looked so worried. He reached out to touch her face and ended up swatting at air. “I need you…to drive. Can you do that?”
<
br /> She nodded and reached an arm around his waist. He used her as a crutch getting to his truck, and God only knows how he managed to get himself into the seat.
Helping her bodyguards stay vertical was getting to be a habit.
E.J. had situated himself under Zach’s right arm while she took the left. Zach had been dozing off and on through the car ride home, only seeming alert a few times—most memorably when he realized she was driving him home from the hospital.
“I told you no hospital.” He’d clasped her arm. “Dammit, woman, you’ve got to start listening to me.”
A few seconds later, his soft snore had been her only entertainment on the drive home. He might have ordered her not to take him for medical attention, but Hannah wasn’t crazy. Animal tranquilizers could be deadly for an average-sized man, but Zach was tall and muscular. Most likely, the dart had held tranquilizer intended for a medium-sized animal. That would’ve taken a few minutes to kick in, plus Zach had the benefit of adrenaline to keep him steady during those first few minutes.
Once the ER doctor had declared Zach was safe to leave—he simply needed to sleep it off and as long as he had someone to keep an eye on his breathing for the next 24 hours, he could do that at home—Detective Ryan had turned up, demanding answers about what had happened in the park. If only she could’ve given him any.
The detective had reluctantly assigned a patrol car to follow her home and said it would be on watch outside her house for the next 24 hours, barring any catastrophic emergencies. “Hopefully I can get to the bottom of this mess before then,” he’d said before taking his leave.
Now, she had to figure out what to do with Zach in the meantime.
“Let’s put him in my bedroom,” she told E.J., and they awkwardly maneuvered down the hall with Zach’s much taller body between them. “Once he’s settled, I have to call Brian to check on Costello.”
“Brian?” Zach snapped to attention. He suddenly laughed and began singing, “Brian, the babe they called Brian. He grew, he grew, and grew, grew up to be, grew up to be, a boy called Briaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.”
Plopping Zach on the bed, E.J.’s eyebrows drew together. “What the hell was in that gun? Heroin?”
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