by Skye Jordan
Sophia. He felt sick. Now this lie had a face. Had a name. And for a reason he didn’t understand yet, he was still fucking standing here.
Zach dropped to a seat across from her again. “Why are you her legal guardian? Where’s this Corinne woman?”
A look passed through Tessa’s eyes. Pain? Sadness? Something. Then she said, “She died.”
This story was going off the rails. “How?”
“Cancer.”
Zach’s breath whooshed out. He propped his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands, raking his fingers through his hair, over and over. Then he reached across the table, shoved the last set of papers she’d set down to the side, and pulled the supposed birth certificate toward him.
Corinne’s name was on the line for the mother. And Zach Ellis was on the line for the father.
Good God.
Seeing his name associated with the word father lit a fire in his gut. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he rubbed his face with both hands, holding denial like a lifeline. “Do you realize how many Zach Ellises there must be in the world?”
“Believe me, I know exactly how many. Research is a significant part of my daily life.”
He dropped his hands, and they slapped against the table. “This from the woman who slept with me thinking I was someone else?”
“Stop it,” she ordered with motherly annoyance. “I know this is stressful, but I also know you’re not a bad guy. You’re not Ian, so stop acting like him.”
Fucking A. As if he couldn’t feel any worse right now. “My legal name is Zachary, not Zach.”
“I doubt a woman who slept with you once would know that. And after exhaustive research, I know there is only one Zach Ellis in the Surfers’ Hall of Fame. Corinne met you at the party celebrating your induction.”
“You could have learned that on the internet. The party was for the three of us who were inducted that year and the bar where the party was held was wall-to-wall people.”
Tessa rested her elbow on the table and pressed her fingers to her temple. “How many of them did you sleep with that night?”
Zach’s mind shuffled backward four years. Yes, he’d gone back to his hotel with someone, but he’d also been pretty damn plastered by congratulatory drinks. “Look, it was a long time ago, and I wasn’t exactly stone sober.”
“Would you remember a unique tattoo?” She pulled her phone from the side pocket of her purse and started tapping the face.
Zach pushed to his feet again. “Even if I did remember sleeping with your friend, that doesn’t mean I’m her kid’s—”
She turned the phone to him, showing Zach the profile of a woman’s naked body, shoulder to hips, with an ornate floral-design tattoo starting just below her armpit and extending to her hip. A space had been left blank in the center for the quote that filled the length.
We’re all broken. That’s how the light gets in.
~ Hemingway
Zach’s gut clenched. He squeezed his eyes closed and hung his head. “Fuck.”
“You remember her now?”
He did. A very distant, disjointed memory. He sure as hell wasn’t ready to admit to fathering her child. Not by a long shot.
He lifted his head and met her eyes directly. “That doesn’t mean I got her pregnant.”
Anger flashed in Tessa’s eyes. “Then why did you pay her twenty-five grand?”
Zach clenched his teeth. “I. Didn’t.”
Tessa tapped the image of the check. “This proves different.”
“Did you ever stop to think that she took the money and ran because I wasn’t the real father?”
“No, that never crossed my mind, because I was with her when she got the check. I consoled her when she broke down in tears. What woman would want to turn the child she loves over to a man who cared so little, he tried to pay her off?”
“That wasn’t me.”
“Hey, guys,” a man from the next booth said. “Take it outside, would you?”
Tessa didn’t so much as look his way. She lifted her hands toward the evidence. “It’s all here. I didn’t use my only vacation for the year and spend thousands of dollars to chase the wrong man for nothing but a signature.”
He was done arguing. And he needed air before he suffocated.
Zach leaned in and swiped a hand across the table, collecting all the papers at once. Straightening, he rolled the documents in his palm. “We’ll see about that.”
8
Zach rapped his knuckles against the door of Josh and Grace’s hotel room, then pressed both hands to the frame and hung his head.
The drinks he’d stopped to hammer back after leaving Tessa at the restaurant hadn’t helped calm the panic tripping through his gut. His heart still raced. His brain continued to spiral.
Josh opened the door, his expression intense and sharp. In moments like this, Zach could see the warrior Josh had been before an injury ended his career with the SEALs. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Zach straightened. “Can we talk?”
Josh spent another millisecond assessing Zach, processing a million things at once before stepping back so he could come in.
He walked into the suite and turned toward Josh, who was wearing a pair of gym shorts, making Zach realize he’d probably been in bed with Grace. “I’m sorry to bother you, man.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” The Frogman tat on Josh’s back rolled as he turned the dead bolt. “That’s why I’m here.”
“This isn’t work related.”
Josh faced him. “That doesn’t matter, and you know it.”
Grace turned out of the bedroom in a hotel robe, combing her fingers through her hair. “Everything okay?”
“Sorry—” Zach started again.
“Stop. You’re always welcome.” She waved away his apology. “I’ll just let you two—”
“I wouldn’t mind a woman’s perspective, if you’re up for drama,” he told her.
She smiled. “I work with female performers. Drama extraordinaire right here.”
“Please, by all means, stay.” He closed his eyes and scraped a hand through his hair.
“You look like you could use a drink,” Josh said.
Zach shook his head. “The last three haven’t done me any good.”
“What’s this about?” Grace took Josh’s hand and pulled him to the sofa.
“Remember that woman I met at the Outrigger a couple of nights ago?”
Josh groaned. “Nothing good ever starts like that.”
Zach paced as he explained the situation. And just reiterating it all made him break out in a sweat. He felt like he’d had a load of cement dumped into his gut. But he also had the sensation of something fluttering beneath, like a trapped butterfly. And it was making him insane.
He pulled the documents from his pocket and handed them to Josh. Then he crossed his arms and faced the sliding glass doors to the lanai, staring out at the night.
After a moment, Josh asked, “Is there a chance this is really your kid?”
The butterfly in his gut got a burst of energy. “If you’re asking if we used birth control, the answer is yes. I always do.”
“But we all know it doesn’t always work,” Grace said, her voice compassionate as she reviewed the documents.
Zach chewed his bottom lip. “That’s all I’ve been able to think about for the last hour.” That and the realization he might have a daughter. A daughter. His stomach clenched. He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head back. “Fuck.”
“You can’t just put any guy’s name on a birth certificate, can you?” Grace asked. “Don’t you have to have their permission or something?”
“No,” Josh told her. “One of my teammates went through this. He hooked up with a girl in a bar on leave. Nine months later, out of the blue, he’s getting his paycheck garnished for court-ordered child support. He had to demand a paternity test, which came back with a mismatch for his DNA. That’s the only way you ge
t out of the legal obligations tied to a child. And it takes time. There’s a lot of red tape and lawyers. Even after he was cleared of responsibility, he couldn’t get the thousands he’d paid in child support back from the woman. She was a deadbeat.”
“Could this woman be playing you?” Grace asked Zach. “Maybe she heard about Ian leaving the show and sees you as a meal ticket. You know how crazy these groupies can be.”
“It’s definitely crossed my mind.” Zach squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head. “But her asking me to sign over parental rights doesn’t make sense.”
“What does Marshall say about all this?” Josh asked.
“He didn’t answer his phone. I left him a get-back-to-me-right-fucking-now message.”
“Well, a paternity test is a given,” Grace said. “If Tessa is legit, are you going to sign off on the girl?”
“Hell no.” The words were out of his mouth with such vehemence, his skin heated with embarrassment. This situation gnawed at the heart of him. “I would never give up on my kid. That’s one of the things that’s fucking with me—that anyone would even think to put a kid in the middle of a scam like this. If I had a kid, no one would fuck with him.”
Or her.
This iron-willed streak was nothing new for Zach. He might be generally laid-back. But he was also competitive and driven. What kept hitting him sideways was the possessiveness that overwhelmed him when he let himself even consider that this little girl might be his.
“Okay,” Grace said, her tone a little more cautious. “So, you know what you’d do if she turned out not to be your daughter. The next thing to think about would be what steps you’d take if she turns out to be yours. To get your mind around this and find solid ground, I think it would help to have a game plan in mind before you find out.”
Turning his mind that direction meant accepting the possibility that this child was his, but every time that thought snuck in, a hot strike of panic rattled him to the core. Zach blew out a hard breath and pulled at his shirt to get air on his sweaty skin.
“That might be asking too much,” Josh said. “We should start by trying to disprove some of this evidence, investigate her background, and find out what’s what. If she’s not telling the truth, it’ll come out pretty quick. That would help us figure out what she really wants.”
“I like the sound of that,” Zach said.
“She told him what she wants,” Grace said. “Nothing. I understand you’re looking for a scam because this is a sudden shock, but she’s not asking for anything. In fact, signing these papers would take him off the hook for all responsibility. She wants to adopt the girl. And, Zach, I know you’re not going to like hearing this, but you and Ian really do look a lot alike. She might have made an innocent mistake.”
“You’re right. I don’t like the sound of that,” he told her.
“I think that’s because you haven’t thought this through all the way down the line. How would you take care of a three-year-old girl? With your schedule? Your traveling? You don’t even talk to your family, you’re not married, you’re not steadily involved with anyone. Think about how taking on responsibility for her would change your life. And her life.” Grace sat back and looked over the papers again. “Sorry, guys, with what I see right here, I’m leaning toward believing Tessa.”
Fuck me. Fuck me. “Fuck me.”
Josh looked at his wife. “What about the mother? However this check happened, the fact is she took twenty-five grand and walked away. If he was the father, don’t you think she’d have stuck around and fought for more? For regular child support?”
“She had cancer,” Grace said. “When she slept with Zach, he was nothing but a hot surfer dude.”
“Hot surfer dude in the hall of fame,” he added.
“Okay, a hot surfer dude with a little street cred,” she amended sarcastically, like his award meant little to nothing, which in this case he had to agree was pretty accurate. “Which would be the bigger dragon to slay? Getting cash to help with medical care, or trying to track down this surfing gypsy to tap the change in his pocket?”
“Hey, I’m not hand-to-mouth,” Zach said. Then amended, “Not yet.”
“Stop thinking about this like a scam,” she told them, “and look at the story she’s presented at face value for a second. You’ve got a new single mother who finds out she’s going to die. If she doesn’t have any close relatives to depend on, it only makes sense that she’d seek out the father to give that child some roots.”
Zach’s stomach surged with anguish. He rubbed his eyes and heaved a shaky breath. “Shit.”
“Imagine how she’d feel if she got a big ‘No thanks’ and someone threw money at her?”
“But I didn’t—” Zach started.
“Zach, I know you wouldn’t do that. But right now, that check looks like it came from your bank account. If she had cancer, she probably wasn’t working. I don’t know what DC’s disability system is like, but California’s sucks. She wouldn’t have been getting much. I seriously doubt it was enough to support herself and a child. And who knows what kinds of expenses she had. One of my clients started stripping because her husband’s cancer treatment drove them into bankruptcy. If Tessa’s story is true, I’d bet she’s been shouldering this responsibility with Corinne and Sophia. Which would explain why she wants to adopt the girl.”
All these possibilities made Zach sick with guilt and fear. He wiped one hand down his face and waved at Grace with the other. “Stop, stop. I think I’m gonna puke.”
He dropped to a seat on the edge of a chair, propped his elbows on his knees, and covered his face with both hands.
“How well do you know Marshall?” Josh asked. “I know he’s been your agent for several years, but does he have this in him?” He gestured to the photocopy of the cashier’s check. “Did you ever notice money missing from your payments?”
“He’s always been great. He’s gotten me good gigs—all kinds of photo shoots, article ops, endorsements, even some modeling gigs that I hated but kept my lights on. Everything goes through him. He tells me the terms offered, the pay, and I say yes or no. He handles the paperwork; I sign on the dotted line and do the work. He gets payment from the client, takes his cut, and deposits the rest in my account. I’ll admit to having a pretty lousy business side, but I’ve never noticed any discrepancies, and I’ve never had a reason to question him.”
Josh’s brow was pulled in a tight frown as he studied the photocopy of the check. He cast a look at Grace, and they did that silent communication thing.
“What?” Zach asked. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
They both looked at him. Josh was the first to speak. “Sounds to me like Marshall has a lot of power over your finances and your career.”
“He’s the one who’s gotten me where I am. I could never have picked up some of the gigs he’s found for me. He’s negotiated great contracts.”
“And he benefits from every one,” Grace said.
Zach pushed to his feet and started pacing again. His stomach ached. “Holy fuck.” Now he was facing the possibility of an embezzling agent and insta-fatherhood. “What the hell am I going to do?”
No one answered for a long moment. Zach’s heart had to be triple-timing when Josh finally said, “You’re going to leave these documents with me, and I’m going to dig.”
Zach tented his hands over his mouth. This was going to kill him before an answer materialized. He was sure of it.
Josh looked at Grace. “And I’m going to call Ellen.”
Grace nodded in agreement. “Good idea.”
“Who’s Ellen?” Zach asked.
“An attorney in LA.” He sat forward and flattened the papers on the coffee table. “She handled cases for the insurance company I worked for before the Renegades, and she’s helped Jax and Lexi with a number of issues, including contract negotiation. Beyond being as sharp as they come, she’s passionate about a father’s right to their child, because her own fath
er was cut out of her life by a bitter mother. In the event this girl is yours and you want to negotiate custody, you’ll want Ellen in your corner.”
“Dude, I already know I can’t afford Ellen in my corner.”
“Can you afford to lose your daughter?”
His daughter.
Zach stumbled to the sink in the kitchenette and splashed water on his face.
When he turned off the faucet, Grace said, “I agree with Josh. You’re going to need the best attorney you can get to defend your right to your daughter. Think about it. To a judge, you’re going to look like a guy who knocked up a woman in a drive-by and paid her off to get rid of the problem.”
“But I didn’t—”
“I’m just telling you how it looks,” Grace cut him off. “Let’s say you find a way to prove that wasn’t you and that you didn’t know about Sophia until now. And even if you are her biological father, the court won’t grant you automatic custody. They’ll look at both you and Tessa, your relationships with Sophia, your ability to support her. After going through this with a number of my clients, I can tell you your sketchy employment and your travel schedule are going to become a problem. Granted this is information coming out of California, but from any unbiased view, you don’t exactly look like stable parent material.”
All this just put added pressure on him to get this part on Hawaiian Heat.
“I agree,” Josh said. “This is all food for thought down the line. But first things first—let’s call Ellen.”
“Yeah, fine.”
Josh grabbed his phone on the coffee table.
“What?” Zach said. “You’re calling her now?”
“It’s only eleven in California. She’s a workaholic and a night owl. I guarantee she’ll be up.”
Grace kissed Josh’s cheek. “I think I’ve stressed Zach out enough. I’m going to turn in.”
She wandered to Zach, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her cheek to his chest, giving him a squeeze. He hugged her back. “Thanks, Grace.”