One Taste of You (One Taste #1)

by Amanda Siegrist

  "Did the car hit you?" Dee asked, covering the phone as if the operator was rattling off questions to her.

  "No. I hit this other car hard and the ground. I think I just landed wrong." Her head started to pound like mad as she wiped her hand against her pants again. Not much blood smeared this time. Damn. Perhaps her head was bleeding.

  "Make them send an ambulance, Dee," Rina said, turning to look at Dee, who nodded in agreement.

  "I don't need an ambulance. The car didn't hit me. I'll be fine," Zoe said, trying to reassure her as she pressed a hand to her head again to make the ringing go away.

  "Zoe, you're pregnant. You have to make sure the baby's okay," Rina whispered.

  "My baby," Zoe gasped. "Our little monster."

  That was the last thing she said before she saw nothing but blackness.

  ***

  A comforting sensation zapped through her hand as she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times before the room came into focus. Dull colors, a TV, and a funny looking table hit her sights first.

  "Zoe, honey. Don't ever worry me like that again. Do you hear me?" Zeke said, squeezing her hand as her eyes finally trailed to him.

  "Where am I?"

  "The hospital. You have a concussion. You scared me when you didn't wake up right away, going in and out of consciousness. The doctor said not to worry, but I couldn't help it. You had to get a few stitches in the head. Rina didn't notice the blood until you passed out. Don't ever scare us like that. Ever." Zeke pulled her hand to his mouth, lightly kissing, his hand shaking a little.

  Zoe looked around the room again. The funny looking table made sense now. It was the kind that rolled over the bed so you didn't even need to leave the bed when you ate.

  "How long was I out? I didn't mean to scare you. I knew I fell hard and it...it hurt, but… I don't remember much," she said, looking back at Zeke.

  "You don't need to remember that. It should’ve never happened." He kissed her hand again. "You weren't out long, but long enough for me. I'm glad the car didn't hit you. I don't want to imagine how bad it could've been." He released a ragged breath.

  "I don't want to think about it either. The baby—" Her eyes got wide. "Oh, my. Our little—"

  "Monster is fine," he said, interrupting her as he squeezed her hand tightly. "He's fine. I swear. The doctor, after stitching your head, made sure. You and our little monster are okay."

  "He? What makes you think it's a boy?" Zoe asked, trying to give a smile. The relief inside knew no bounds. It would've torn her up knowing she lost the baby to Mark and his horrible rage.

  "Just a guess. I hear Dee wants it to be a girl. Already buying her dresses," Zeke said with a grin, leaning closer to her.

  "She said she won't dress her up in any slinky dresses until she's at least eighteen."

  "Zoe, honey, she's never dressing her up in any slinky dresses. Over my dead body. I know what you look like in one, and heaven help me, no man is going to see my little girl like that. I'll kill them if they even look."

  "Boy, you're going to have a fight on your hands with Dee then," she said with a sassy grin.

  "Tell Dee to bring it on," he said, leaning even closer to kiss her on the lips. Before he moved away, he whispered, "Please, don't ever scare me again. You have no idea the torture I was in."

  "Okay, I won't," she whispered, grabbing another kiss before his tender lips left hers. "Where are Dee and Rina?"

  "You know how Dee is. Loud, crazy, in your face. Apparently, when she hasn't eaten, it's ten times worse. Rina took her to the cafeteria before she chopped off the heads of the doctor, nurses, and anyone else she came into contact with," Zeke said with a laugh. "She'd make a good cop."

  "Please don't say that to her. Can you imagine putting a gun in her hand? She sees a suspect and stops them, yelling, make a move, douche, I dare ya," Zoe said in her best Dee impersonation.

  Zeke laughed. "You make a very good point. I won't say anything to her."

  "Where's Ben? You guys were working and now...you're here," she asked, wondering how to ask about Mark, yet not wanting to hear the answer.

  "Dee got a good look at the tags. We also have the car on the mall's parking lot security cameras. It was definitely Mark. Ben, with some help, is hunting down Mark as we speak. I wanted to help, but I couldn't leave you." He looked down at her hand, rubbing soft circles on her palm. "I don't trust myself not to kill him. He tried to run you down and kill you. I can't even describe how that makes me feel. I can't lose you. I love you too much."

  "I'm glad you're the first person I saw when I woke up," she said softly.

  Zeke lifted his eyes and smiled tenderly. "I'll never leave you. Ever."

  She held her eyes to his beautiful gaze, almost drowning in the love she saw. "Don't go killing him. He's not worth it."

  "Of course not. My son's not that stupid. Or are you?" Richard said, walking up to the bed with a stern glare pointed at Zeke.

  ***

  Zeke had been so engrossed looking deep into her eyes that he didn't hear the door open. He wanted to kick himself in the ass for not paying attention. He needed to. Things were not looking good for Zoe.

  "I'm not stupid, Dad. I'm royally pissed off, though. Which is why I'm desperately holding Zoe's hand and not out searching with Ben because the temptation might overwhelm me," Zeke replied, glancing at his dad and then back to Zoe.

  "Good decision. How are you, Zoe? You gave us a scare," Richard said, giving her a fatherly look.

  "I'll be fine. I'm glad the baby's okay," Zoe said, rubbing her belly with her free hand.

  "I'm glad about that, too. I can honestly say I didn't see this coming," Richard said.

  "Me either, otherwise, I would've never let her go shopping," Zeke said as he gripped her hand a little too tightly, the thought of her seriously harmed too much to contemplate.

  "Let me?" Zoe asked with a sliced tone.

  "Don't get like that with me, honey. When it comes to your safety and the safety of our baby, sometimes there's no discussion involved. It's just a plain old, you're doing what I say. I won't let you get hurt. Need I remind you there are two men dead already? Mills and Murphy. Mark tried to run you down with a car and I have two unsolved murders. Do the math," Zeke snapped.

  "Alright you two, settle down. No need to argue with each other," Richard interjected.

  "Don't worry, Dad. We're good at arguing," Zeke said as he glanced away from them.

  "Anger equates to scared. Taking it out on Zoe does not help," Richard said firmly, then he turned to Zoe. "He's right. You can't go around doing normal things right now. Not anymore. Until they get a better handle on these murder cases and find that flash drive, your safety is a priority. Especially considering what happened today."

  "Is that why we fight like we do? We're both scared," Zoe said.

  He whipped his head to her, hating the terrified look in her eyes. "My dad's a smart guy. I guess I do get mad when I get scared thinking about losing you. The thought of you walking out the door, leaving me, scares the hell out of me. You've mentioned it a time or two, and yeah, we fight when you do. The thought of you getting hurt scares me. I don't mean to sound controlling or demanding, but I don't want to see you in this bed with more serious injuries. Injuries that you possibly won't recover from. Yeah, I'm scared as hell."

  "I'm scared, too," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  Zeke stood up, joined her on the bed, and pulled her into his arms. "I'll figure this out. I won't stop until I do. Once it's finished, we can focus on building what we have together. Baby or not, I want you in my life."

  Zoe pressed her face into his chest, her tears soaking clear through his shirt and straight to his heart. Her sobs echoed throughout the room. All he could do was hold her, comfort her as best as he could. He glanced over at his dad, who gave him a reassuring smile, but said nothing. Zeke knew he didn't need to say anything. The look said it all.

  "I don't know what came over me. I'm s
o sorry about that," Zoe said as she sat up and wiped the remaining tears from her face.

  "Well, if Ben were here he'd probably say it was pregnancy hormones. It doesn't matter. You can cry on me anytime. I'll always hold you," Zeke said, kissing the top of her head.

  Zoe laughed lightly. "He would, would he? He does like giving pregnancy advice."

  "What does he know about pregnancy? He's never had a baby," Richard said.

  "Four sisters. Three have been pregnant. He thinks he's an expert at it all, Dad," Zeke replied dryly.

  "So he's jerking you around and you're letting him," Richard said with a laugh.

  "No, I'm not letting him," Zeke said firmly with a slight pout lingering in the depths.

  "I beg to differ. It circles your mind what he says, but you dish back about Rina, so I guess it's fair," Zoe said, nudging him in the stomach.

  "Okay, maybe he gets to me a little. He just doesn't shut up about his so-called advice," Zeke said.

  Richard laughed heartily. "You two and your antics. Thank goodness, you didn't know each other growing up. My gray hair would've come much sooner than it did."

  "Yeah, but the fun we would've had," Zeke said with a smile.

  "Not to bring the conversation down again, but we need to talk about safety," Richard said, breathing a heavy sigh.

  "Can you take time off work, Zoe? I'm not sure I feel comfortable you going back right now," Zeke said.

  "What happened to no discussion? That sounds like I have a say in the matter," Zoe replied.

  "My anger got the best of me, remember? No reason we can't talk about this nicely. If I don't like the answer, then we might have an issue," Zeke said with a pointed smile.

  "So basically you're asking me, but if the answer isn't the correct one, then you're going to put your foot down and argue with me anyway," Zoe said.

  "Basically," Zeke said.

  "So that's settled then," Richard said confidently.

  "How so? Mark doesn't work there anymore. Where's the risk in going to work?" She looked at Richard with a devious gleam in her eyes. "I see where Zeke gets his attitude from."

  "What attitude?" Richard asked with a teasing smile.

  "Look, Zoe. You're right. Mark doesn't work there, but it doesn't mean it was only him involved. He honestly doesn't strike me as the type to pull those murders off. You weren't at the crime scenes and they had a different feel to them. He was sloppy today, trying to hit you with a car. Mills and Murphy...well...I don't want to say too much, but they were a bit more clean and professional," Zeke said, softly. "It involves that company somehow and I don't want you there. I don't want to fight about it. But I will put my foot down if I have to."

  Zoe sighed. "I guess a few days of rest wouldn't hurt. Mr. Young should understand."

  "Thank you, honey. You have no idea how that makes me feel. I love you," Zeke said, grabbing a kiss.

  "So that's settled then," Richard repeated.

  Zoe chuckled. "I guess so."

  Before Zeke could respond with a witty retort, the door to her room opened. Instead of seeing Dee and Rina as he expected, Ben walked in. "Hey, man. I hope you have good news. My temper hasn't tamed down to talk to that jackass yet, but good news would be...good."

  Ben's face didn't turn into a smile like he wanted. He tried a small lip curl for Zoe's sake, but Zeke saw through it.

  "Not exactly. How are you doing, Zoe?" Ben asked.

  "Fine, Ben. My head hurts and I feel sleep edging in, but I imagine I'm not supposed to do that with a concussion," Zoe said.

  "No, definitely not, honey. The first twenty-four hours are crucial with a concussion. Doctor said it was mild, but I'd say severe considering how long it took you to wake up. A very lackadaisical doctor if you ask me," Zeke said.

  "I'm awake and I'm fine. Give the doctor a break," Zoe replied, leaning her head on his chest.

  Zeke hugged her tighter, glancing back at Ben. "So what's the news, man?"

  Zeke caught the subtle nod of Ben's head that he wanted to talk out in the hallway, but apparently, so did Zoe.

  "Tell us, Ben. I can handle it," she said softly.

  "Spill it already, Detective," Richard said, sternly.

  "We found Mark. His car was spotted on the side of the road heading out of town on Highway 24," Ben said.

  "Why do I get a bad feeling with what's left to say?" Zeke said, holding Zoe tighter for emotional support. She would need it. And damn it, so would he.

  "Clean wound, gunshot to the head. Makes me think a silencer was used. If I had to take a guess, ballistics will come back to the same weapon that killed Mills and Murphy," Ben replied.

  "Well, shit," Richard muttered.

  Zeke glanced at his dad, feeling the same sentiment. Zoe shook in his arms, as he suspected would happen. She shouldn't have to fear anything. But the way things were going, she had a lot to be afraid about.

  "You’re definitely not going to work. So I'm taking a guess here, but I think Mark was working with someone. That someone killed Mills and Murphy. Mark's job, maybe, was to get the flash drive from Zoe. I'm guessing he broke into her house, which is why it felt personal. When he couldn't find it, he tried a different tactic—to get back in a relationship with her. That obviously didn't work. Now he's really feeling the pressure to get that flash drive. His anger gets the better of him and he tries to hurt Zoe. That someone doesn't like it and takes care of that problem."

  Ben sighed heavily. "Sometimes I hate how well we think alike. They want that flash drive. We need to find it first."

  "Get on with it then, Detectives. Zoe will be safe with me," Richard said, sharing a look with Zeke. "I promise. She'll be safe with me."

  Zeke squeezed Zoe tightly, kissed the top of her head, and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Zoe. I will find this bastard."

  "Maybe you should take Dee with. She might be able to sniff this douche out for you."

  Zeke laughed lightly, loving this woman even more. "You could be right. I'll be back soon."

  "Where are you going? Zoe, you're awake. Don't ever scare us like that again," Dee demanded, as she walked into the room with Rina.

  "Who are you?" Richard asked, stepping closer to Zoe.

  "That's my friend Dee. She can get a little loud. That's Rina standing next to her," Zoe said tiredly.

  "A little is an understatement," Richard said, raising an eyebrow.

  "And who are you?" Dee whipped at him.

  "That's my dad. Be nice. He can get sensitive. You don't want to piss him off, Dee." Zeke stood up, his legs moving slowly. The thought of leaving Zoe's side was like a knife to the chest.

  "Oh, I guess that explains it," Dee said, raising an eyebrow back at Richard, to which he gave her a sleek grin.

  Zeke couldn't help himself. He stepped closer to the bed, leaned down and kissed Zoe one more time. "I think you'll be fine with my dad and Dee in attendance. And Rina, too." He glanced at Rina and gave her a wink. Rina shyly smiled back.

  "Where are you going? Did you find douche-man yet?" Dee asked.

  "Did we ever," Ben muttered.

  "What does that mean?" Rina asked quietly, her soft eyes glancing at him.

  Zeke wanted to laugh as Ben stared at her for a moment before he responded, "He's dead, Rina. Probably by the same person who killed Mills and Murphy. Zoe needs to be alert, but you two should be as well. You work at the same place and it involves that place somehow. We aren't sure exactly how. Call it gut instinct."

  Rina gasped.

  Dee staggered back, but recovered quicker than Rina. "Well, shit. I wanted to beat that douche myself."

  Chapter 11

  "You okay?" Ben asked, as Zeke drove to the next bank on their list.

  "I'm good."

  "You sure?"

  "Yep."

  "You don't sound good."

  "Does this conversation have a point?"

  "I'm worried about you, man. You've been quiet and sulky since you walked into work this morning. Every t
ime I ask, you say you're good. You don't sound good."

  "Well, let's see. It's been two days since Zoe almost died by getting hit by a car. Mark's dead. We've had zero luck on finding where this damn key belongs. Zoe's resting at home with my dad. I'm glad he could take the day off, but it should be me there. I won't leave her alone until this case is solved and I have no idea what I'm going to do about tomorrow because my dad has to go into work. We're nowhere near solving this damn case and I'm losing my mind with worry. But instead of saying all of that because I'm pretty sure you know it, it's easier to say...I'm good."

  "She didn't get hit by a car," Ben pointed out. "Barely. Her injuries are from jumping out of the way."

  "Shut up, Ben."

  "I'm just correcting part of your statement."

  "Where's a pencil when I need to throw it in your face?"

  "I might have one. Hold on," Ben said, opening the glove box. He moved a few papers, smiling in delight as he found a pencil. "Here you go. Will that make you feel better?"

  Zeke glanced at Ben with a maddened expression. His lips scrunched in irritation as he eyed the pencil. He snatched the pencil, twirled it once, and flicked it at Ben, hitting him in the chest. "No, I don't feel better."

  "It was worth a try," Ben said with a small laugh. "Pretty good driving and twirling at the same time. I'm gonna have to try that."

  "Your attempt at making me feel better isn't working. I'm worried, okay? She's worried, and well, that can't be good for the baby. We need to solve this. We're running out of banks to check. This damn key could belong to anything. Carly didn't recognize it. Young didn't either. It fit nothing in their house or his office. Not even Mills's house. If we can't find this flash drive...when do you think this person will make a move on Zoe?"

  Ben shrugged. "You can't think about it, man. It'll only drive you nuts. Which it's clearly doing. We'll find it because we're tenacious. I have faith. Dee or Rina call with any news?"