by Desiree Holt
When pigs fly.
“I’ll take it under consideration.”
Zak stared at the door after Morales left, knowing he was on a short leash, aware that he would have to be the one to solve this thing because the cops thought they already had the right person identified.
He closed his eyes, and images of Zoe in bed with him danced across his brain. It hadn’t been like it was before. No, indeed. It had been much, much better. As if in the intervening months they’d learned to value each other more. To understand what it took to make a relationship work.
Then she’d gone and pulled that stupid stunt with the cell phone, endangering everyone and everything. Was he mistaken? Was she just as impetuous and bull-headed as the night they’d had their famous blowup? He was so angry with her for doing that he couldn’t think straight. A dangerous situation to be in with everything that was on the line.
He’d told her when this was over they’d see how things stood between them, but his practical brain told him he already knew. Being with her would be like holding a live grenade, always waiting for it to explode. And the thought made him very sad.
He’d get her off the hook and make sure she was in a position to start over again with her company, if that was what she wanted. And when he walked away this time, it would have to be for good. He couldn’t handle the pain of another breakup. The problem was, what did he do with his heart, which over and above everything, was completely owned by her?
Then he thought about what Nick Vanetta had done last year, helping his friend Quinn, whose now wife Kate had been in big trouble. A woman who had also done some stupid things. But Quinn had never wavered in his feelings for her.
Zak also realized he’d been right in thinking Zoe was disposable to the Russians from the beginning. They’d kept her around as long as they needed her, and she was about to be toast. When Nate Dunning also became disposable, for whatever reason, they figured to kill two birds with one stone.
Zak thought about what his life would be like again without Zoe in it. It wasn’t a good feeling. She’d apologized ten times over for what she’d done and certainly understood the insanity of it. He could even understand how overriding her concern for her mother was. Maybe he shouldn’t be quite so hasty to toss her out of his life. They’d both made mistakes. Who was he to be so judgmental about a woman he had to admit he was hopelessly in love with?
He was still staring into space when Carol buzzed him to say Buddy Delahaye needed to see him. Buddy had led the team that checked out the fires and the explosion at the safe house.
“Okay.” Zak shook himself out of his mental meanderings. “Send him in.”
Buddy Delahaye was a laconic man who seldom showed emotion about anything. It was what allowed him to do the job he did. But Zak could see the controlled excitement on his face and in his eyes.
“Find something?” he asked.
Buddy nodded. “I was checking in the lab,” he began before he even sat down, “and thought I’d bring this stuff up to you myself.”
Guardian Security had a forensics lab that was the envy of many police departments.
“What have you got?” Zak sat down behind his desk again.
Buddy dropped two sheets of a lab report on the surface in front of him. “We almost got caught sneaking around the house on Estrella.”
“I know,” Zak interrupted him. “I had a visit from Joe Morales this morning who wanted to know what business we had there. I put him off with double talk.”
“Did he say anything about the Lombardo fire? I took two of the guys, and we put on San Antonio Fire Department turnout gear. It was such chaos and confusion there, no one paid much attention to us.”
“Do I want to know where you got the gear?” Zak asked.
One corner of Buddy’s mouth hitched. “You know what they say. Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“I thought so. Did you at least get anything?”
Buddy nodded. “After we finished at the simulations place we went by Zoe’s house and took some samples there. The lab pinpointed everything pretty fast.”
Zak picked up the report and looked at it. “Russian-made grenades from a Russian-made missile launcher. Russian-made explosives.” He lowered the paper. “They can tell that just from the small fragments you got?”
Keith grinned. “With everything in that lab downstairs, they could identify things from a piece no bigger than a toothpick. Get the chemical components, zip it through the data bases, and there it is.”
“I guess we don’t have to wonder anymore if the Russians are really involved in this.” Zak’s neck was itching again, and he wished he could pin down the source. He had a feeling it was right in front of his eyes if only he could see it. “What I need to know now is exactly what triggered the whole thing. There’s something about the information Zoe stumbled over that holds the secret, and we can’t seem to catch a break finding out what it is.”
“I’d say we could try and track down who bought this stuff, but honestly, Zak.” Buddy pointed at the report. “I think that’s a lost cause. Russians don’t exactly go into the local weapons store and buy this stuff on a credit card.”
“Okay. Go find an empty room and catch some sleep. I’ve got people digging into Morgan’s and Detwiler’s lives again to see if we can get a handle on anything. So far it’s a lost cause.” He exhaled a long breath. “And I have the feeling we’re running out of time.”
Buddy had barely left before Carol buzzed to tell him Ivan Demoff was back, and this time he had Zoe’s mother with him. In a day that turned out to be both interminably long and far too short, it was a tossup whether the low point was his confrontation with Joe Morales or his meeting with Demoff and Zoe’s mother. The half hour he spent with them tested every ounce of Zak’s patience.
Irina Lombardo was small and petite, like Zoe, and Zak could see right away she was as much a fireball.
“I want to know where my daughter is,” she demanded. Her careful makeup couldn’t hide the ravages of fear and concern on her face made her look even older than she was.
“Give the man a chance to at least say hello,” Demoff told her in a steady voice. He looked at Zak. “I’m sorry, but she insisted I bring her here.”
“No problem.” Zak drew in a calming breath. It wouldn’t do to piss off Zoe’s mother. “Have a seat, “Mrs. Lombardo. Please.”
“I’ll sit when I know where my daughter is and that she’s safe.”
“We are all terribly concerned,” Demoff said, “as I’m sure has been evident. I’m sure you’re aware of my position in this city. If Zoraya could be convinced to turn herself in to me, I can make sure she doesn’t spend one minute in jail and I will personally hire the best defense attorney for her.”
“You might think you’re in a position to make promises, but with all the attention on this case and the pressure, I doubt you could deliver.” He indicated the client chairs. “Sit, please. Both of you.”
Irina sat gingerly, refused the coffee Carol brought in, and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “Ivan says you know where she is but won’t tell him.” She leaned forward. “We’re family, Zak. You know that. You and my Zoraya were together for two years. Please, have her come home.”
Zak looked at Ivan, standing like a tall block of granite behind his sister’s chair. “You think this is a nice thing to do? Drag your sister down here to plead your case for you when she’s already upset enough? Would Zoe be happy with that?”
“Zoe would be happy if you let her come home,” Ivan said, his tone of voice carefully uninflected.
“I’m begging you,” Irina said, dabbing at the tears that leaked from her eyes. “I need to have my daughter where I’m sure she’s safe.”
Zak stood up and came around his desk, crouched in front of Irina, and took her hands in his. “If Zoe thought she’d be safe at home, she’d be there. But I’m certain both the police and the people who actually killed Nate Dunning are watching your house. If she came h
ome, she’d be right in the line of fire.”
“So you do know where she is,” Demoff exploded. “I thought so from the beginning. And you’re keeping her from us. I tell you, I can pull strings for her.”
Zak shook his head. “I’m just giving you a scenario, but it’s common sense. Zoe is a very bright woman. She can take care of herself. She also knows her presence in your house could bring danger to you.”
Irina lifted her tear-stained face and looked at him. “I—I never thought of that. Of any of those things.” She stuffed her handkerchief back into her purse and stood up. “Zak is right, Ivan. It would be unsafe for Zoraya to be with us.” She turned to Zak. “Are you at least trying to find out the truth so she can come out of wherever she’s hiding?”
He stood also. “Of course. Right now, it’s my top priority. I promise you, I’ll clear her name.”
Irina turned to her brother. “Come, Ivan. Let us go home. It was a mistake to let me talk you into this.”
Demoff was anything but happy about the turn of events. Zak thought the man might have a stroke on the spot, but he simply nodded and guided his sister from the office.
By now, Zak’s head was pounding. He swallowed three aspirin with the dregs of his coffee and asked Carol to get him a sandwich from the deli on the ground floor. Finally, he called the ranch, not trusting himself to speak to Zoe, just getting a report from Serita and telling her he’d be there for dinner.
Seeing Zoe tonight would be a real test for him. Dining with her in the intimacy of the place where he could be just…Zak. Sleeping under the same roof. And managing to keep his distance.
But he was convinced, at this point, she held the secret to everything somewhere in her head. He needed to help her find it, get this done without putting her in danger again, and walk away. Just…walk away.
But would that be possible?
Chapter Ten
Zoe propped one foot on the bottom rail of the fence around the corral, braced her elbow on the top rail, and sucked the last of the iced tea from her glass. In the lingering heat and sunshine of the day, two of the ranch hands were working a pair of cutting horses, teaching them to “cut” calves from a herd. She was fascinated by the way the horses responded to almost invisible signals.
It was such a nice change from the tension of the past two days when all she’d been able to think about was staying alive and finding out who had done this to her. She could almost, standing there in the middle of the Hill Country, pretend that none of it had happened. That tomorrow she’d go to her office and nothing would have changed.
The night she met Nate Dunning had changed her life in more ways than one. Her first impression of him, when she’d met him and Uncle Ivan at the restaurant for dinner, was of enormous power and electricity. His thick, dark hair had just enough of an artfully rumpled look to take the edge off the too-smooth appearance. His eyes were such a vivid blue they reminded her of a cerulean sea. And he had, of all things, a dimple that winked whenever he flashed his trademark smile.
In his expensively cut suit that fit his tall, muscular body like a caress, he looked like every woman’s dream.
During dinner, he’d deferred to her when ordering the wine, rather than showboating his knowledge. He kept the conversation low key, telling her about himself as if he was a neighbor meeting her for the first time, downplaying the meteoric success of Dunning International, and instead, questioning her at length about Lombardo Simulations.
She floated home on a cloud, wrapped in a sense of euphoria that lasted through the signing of the contracts, the first infusion of capital, the boost in sales of the newly-designed games. Even Max and Caz had been deferential, lauding her business success in a male-dominated field.
The parties had taken her into a world she hadn’t previously known. International businessmen mixed with minor royalty against a glittering background of high-dollar mansions and women with enough jewels to support a small country. It was a world she never in her dreams thought to become a part of, and she was swept along in the glamour of it all.
What an idiot she had been, falling for the line they handed her. No wonder Nate asked so many questions. He was looking to make sure she could provide him with what he wanted. Whatever that was, which she still hadn’t discovered, although by now she had an inkling. If he just wanted to sell a lot of computer games overseas, even unique ones like she designed, he could have bought them from her and handled everything himself.
If only she had listened to Zak instead of letting her temper get the best of her. Her resentment at what she saw as interference and even, possibly, jealousy. God, she’d been so blonde.
Deliberately, she pushed the thoughts from her mind and focused again on the horses and their trainers.
“Beautiful thing to watch, isn’t it?”
She hadn’t heard Frank come up to the corral until he was suddenly beside her.
“Yes,” she agreed. “The communication between horse and rider is like poetry.”
Frank adjusted the brim of his hat. “These men have been doing this for a long time. They’re two of the best.”
“Zak said he bought the ranch a year ago. Did he hire you then?”
Frank chuckled. “Actually, I’ve been here at Arrowhead Ranch for almost thirty years. Started out as a wrangler. The man who inherited the ranch from his father decided last year he wanted to get out of ranching. Zak was here for a barbecue, the subject came up, and I think he bought it on an impulse.”
“That’s quite an impulsive action,” Zoe pointed out.
“Yeah, but he’s smart for an absentee owner. He made it worth my while to stay here and keep the hands we had. I run the ranch, and he gets to put up his feet when he comes out here. His contribution is handling the finances.”
Zoe gazed past the corral to the open pastures. “He said you run a cattle operation here, but I don’t see any of them.”
He pushed his hat back on his head. “We’re not a big operation. Zak wants to keep it that way, which is good. We’ve got about a thousand head of cattle we just moved up in the hills to the summer pastures. We move them around so no area gets overgrazed. The horses are all workers.”
Zoe blinked. “A thousand head? That seems like a lot to me.”
“Just enough to keep us in beans and show a profit,” Frank joked. He turned his head and studied her. “I’m glad to finally meet the woman who’s had Zak Delaney tied in knots.”
Zoe was stunned. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, ma’am. Serita and me kept asking him why he didn’t bring any women to the ranch, was he ashamed of us or something. Then he had a little too much bourbon one night and blurted out the woman he wanted had blown him off. That must have been some fight the two of you had.”
“He was as much at fault as I was,” Zoe told him defensively. “Did he tell you that?”
“He did. But it’s burned at him ever since.”
“Does… Does he ever bring a woman here at all?” God, she hated herself for asking the question. For even caring.
“Not a one. This is the place where he hides from the world. I think he’s always hoped you and he would get back together again.”
Before she could form a remark to his statement, they heard a droning sound coming from the east, a black speck appeared in the sky and in what seemed like seconds the black Guardian Security helicopter was overhead, the whap, whap, whap of the rotors cutting the air. It set down in the same space they’d landed last night, the side door popped open, and Zak leaped to the ground. He waved at the pilot, who lifted off immediately.
Then Zak was striding toward the corral where Zoe and Frank stood, and all she could think of was how very weary he looked. Was that worry lining his face? Was his concern for her merely that of one person for another or was this thing growing again between them real? Was she the only one who had hopes of them getting back together?
She closed her eyes and imagined the two of them—she and Zak—living on
this ranch, enjoying the life, raising a family here. Zak had his obligations with Guardian, but she could actually work from anywhere. Be flexible according to his schedule.
That is, if he wanted it. And according to what Frank had just said, that was highly possible. She just had to figure out how to make it work. Get him to fully trust her again, to trust the fact that she loved him.
Oh, how she wanted to erase all the doubts and reservations she was sure he still wrestled with. This back and forth, high and low, was making her an emotional wreck.
Serita’s dinner was delicious, but Zoe knew she didn’t do it justice. She was too busy trying to analyze Zak’s attitude, keep a low profile, and figure out how to get back in his good graces.
Frank ate with them, which eased the tension. He and Zak discussed breeding records, feed formulas, and the projected condition of the winter pastures. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep herself from peppering Zak with questions. But eventually the meal ended and reality couldn’t be ignored.
“Excellent meal, Serita,” Zak complimented her. “But you didn’t have to stay and serve it. Frank and I could have handled it.”
“And I’m perfectly capable of serving food and clearing a table,” Zoe put in acerbically.
Zak turned his gaze to her, his eyes carefully masked. “Yes, I believe you are.” He rose from the table. “Serita, go home. We’ll finish up here. I think I could use a glass of wine. Zoe, how about you?”
“Yes, thank you. I’d love one.”
“I’ll help Serita finish up so she can get out of here fast,” Frank said. “Y’all go on and take care of business.”
Zoe followed Zak into the den where he pulled a bottle of a Texas merlot from a cabinet and poured the ruby liquid into two goblets.
“Sit,” he told her, indicating the big recliner. He took the chair behind the desk. “I have some things to report to you. Then I’d like to hear about what, if anything, you figured out today.”