by Taylor Hart
“Okay, say hi. Your mommy will see you in a couple of hours. We’re going to go have fun.”
“Hey, Mom.”
His voice sounded so weak and boyish that she wanted to burst into tears. She sucked in a breath and smiled. “Hey, baby.”
“I get to pick some new lightsabers.”
She struggled to hold back her emotions and respond normally. “That’s great, baby.”
Zane took her hand. She could see a sheen of tears in his eyes.
It wouldn’t do to scare Tyler, though. “I’m gonna meet you later. You be good, and I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Okay. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, baby.” Her voice broke.
Harris was back. “Tell Sutton and Zane and their little soldier buddies that as long as my cargo is safe and sound, yours will be too. I’ll call back later.” The line went dead.
Zane took the phone and pulled her into his arms. “Shh. We’ll get him.”
The others rallied around her. “We’ll get your boy,” Sutton agreed. “Don’t you worry.”
Zane kept her in his arms and turned to River. “Let’s meet back at the control room.”
Chapter 25
At midnight, Sarah stood in the control room with half a dozen SEALs and watched via satellite as the military vehicles crossed the Mexican border. She let out a sigh of relief, then looked at her phone expectantly.
All the main members of the team were there, all ready and poised to act if they needed them. They’d already done a major search of Harris’s home, of his bank assets, of everything they could find about him.
Agatha, who’d been at her side for hours, squeezed her hand. “He won’t hurt the child,” she said softly. She’d been saying that since this afternoon when they found out he was missing.
Sarah had only felt one thing since they’d discovered her son was gone. Terror. She stared at her phone, waiting for him to call.
Zane wandered over and took her hand, but he didn’t look terrified like she did. No, he was terrifying. Like he would single-handedly take out a whole battalion of soldiers if he could. He and Sutton had been plotting and strategizing about a million different places Harris could have taken Tyler.
They’d seized his yacht, which hadn’t had any signs of Harris or Tyler. What they had begun to uncover were limitless bank accounts overseas that had money sent from Harris’s account. After that, the trace went dead.
At one point, Agatha had let out a sardonic laugh. “We thought he was squandering away the family fortune, but it looks like he was building and hiding it.”
Now, they all hovered around Sarah, watching her phone. It was nerve-racking, and Sarah wondered when she would break. When she would collapse under the apprehension.
Finally, her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
You delivered. I’ll text you at nine tomorrow morning with details on where to get the kid.
As she read the words, Zane took the phone from her hands and repeated them to all the team members. He swore and pulled her into his arms, and she snuggled into his chest and prayed, as she’d been doing all day, that her baby would be okay.
Zane let out a long sigh. “Okay, let’s rally back here at oh seven hundred just to be safe.”
The rest of the team trailed out of the control room, and Zane gently nudged her out, her phone tucked into his hand. “Let’s get some rest.”
Sarah felt more and more exhausted as she walked down the long halls of Sutton’s house to her wing. When she slowed to the point of barely moving, she felt Zane bend, put a hand beneath her knees, and scoop her up. Normally, she would have refused this, but she didn’t care anymore. “My baby, Zane. My baby.”
His lips brushed the top of her head as he began walking through Sutton’s house to their wing.
Finally, they got to her room, and he gently put her on the bed. The motion of him letting her go, and of being in the same bed she shared with Tyler, made her dissolve into tears all over again.
Zane pushed his boots off and settled in beside her on the bed, holding her, reaching for a blanket and pulling it over them. “Is it okay if I stay with you tonight?”
Clutching his chest like her life depended on it, she let out a sound that was half laugh, half cry. “Like I would let you go.”
He held her and brushed a hand down her head.
She continued to cry. It took some time before she calmed down.
Zane sat up. “Sarah, can I suggest something? We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
Unsure about what he would ask, she nodded.
“Can we pray?”
She nodded. “Of course.”
Zane got off the bed and knelt, and she joined him. Moonlight streamed into the room, highlighting tears on his face. “Who do you want to say it?”
She burst into sobs. “All I can think about right now is how I prayed for you when you left on that mission. Then I found out you were dead. Then you came back, but everything had fallen apart.”
He gripped her hand tighter. “Shh, shh …” Gently, he lifted her chin and peered into her eyes. “But it all worked out, and it’s going to work out. God did answer our prayers,” he said fervently, looking almost desperate.
For the first time in a long time, chills rippled along her skin, and her chest burned. She nodded. “Will you say it?”
Zane bowed his head and started the most heartfelt prayer she’d ever heard. “Dear Lord, we ask you, we come to you right now and we beg, we plead for our precious Tyler.”
More tears fell down her face, but peace continued to flood her, and she knew that Tyler would be okay.
“We know we don’t deserve your blessings. Well, Sarah does, and Tyler does.” His voice broke, and she felt him shaking with sobs.
She put her arm around him, trying to pull him closer.
“Please take mercy on us, on Sarah and Tyler and bring him back to us. Keep him safe. Please help the boy to be strong and not afraid. Please keep him safe in your hands.”
Sarah held this man and knew she didn’t understand the past. She didn’t understand why all this was happening. But God was real, and he was working some kind of miracle. At least, she would have faith that he was.
Zane finished. “Thank you, Lord, Amen.”
“Amen.”
They both stayed like that for several moments. Eventually, he turned his tear-filled face to her and kissed her. “Sarah, I promise you. I promise I will do everything to get Tyler back. I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. I was involved with Harris before you showed up. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up.” She let out another sigh. “You are my hero. You showed up right when I needed you.”
“No, it is my fault.” The look on his face, of utter humility and love, made her want to be with this man the rest of her life.
They climbed back onto the bed and held each other. Even though she was terrified and even though she worried about Tyler, the peace left in the wake of their prayer let her drift off to sleep in his arms.
Chapter 26
Zane woke with a start and felt the sun on his face. All of the horror of yesterday washed over him. Sarah was still in his arms, and he tried to be quiet. He looked at the watch on his wrist. Oh seven hundred. Slowly, trying not to disturb her, he carefully extracted himself from her embrace. He thought about taking the cell phone locked in her hand, but knew she would freak out if he did. His mind whirled with all the events from yesterday.
He quietly picked up his boots and padded out the door, heading for Sutton’s control room. When he got there, he wasn’t surprised to see River, Blayze, Corbin, and Cannon there. They all turned to him as he walked in. Without batting an eye, he went to the large screen and asked, “Do we know anything?”
They all shook their heads, and Sutton pointed to the screen. “I’ve called in some favors and found out Harris is trickier than we thought. H
e has set up accounts and aliases in multiple names. From what my people keep finding, there’s no limit to the money he has been building and hiding away.”
Zane stood there and looked at all the information. The desire to do something pounded inside his chest. He was tired of this. Tired of waiting around.
Out of the blue, Sarah flung back the door, looking disheveled. She held out the phone. “He texted me. He took Tyler to Disneyland. To the Star Wars exhibit. If I show up with anyone else, he’ll kill him. He said he’ll text me from another number.”
Chapter 27
Sarah rushed into Tomorrowland, fragile and out of sorts. Frantically, she looked around.
She had ridden on Sutton’s helicopter up to Anaheim with Zane and the rest of the team, who were stationed around the outskirts of the parking lot. Zane was in a different part of the park in full disguise this time: wig, mustache, glasses. Even Sarah hadn’t recognized him. She thought about Harris’s threat to kill Tyler. Cheryse kept telling her he wouldn’t, but she didn’t know for sure.
It disgusted Sarah that she’d found Harris interesting and handsome before Zane had come back into her life. She’d actually thought his flattery was nice.
She was stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Her phone suddenly rang from an unknown number. When she answered, Harris spoke without preamble. “I see you came by yourself. I’m sure the rest are around somewhere. Your son will be coming out of Path of the Jedi, a film. I just dropped him off and told him you would be there when he got out. He really is a sweet boy.”
The smug note in his voice ticked her off. Frantically, she searched her map for Path of the Jedi and sprinted that direction.
“Sarah, I hope you know I am sad things had to end this way. I had so much planned for us.” He sighed. “Well, see you in my dreams, princess.” Then the line was dead.
She took off running as fast as she could. Harder than she’d ever run before. She pressed Zane’s number.
“Sarah.” He sounded out of breath.
“Path of the Jedi—Harris left him there.”
“I’m coming.”
She hung up and ran and ran and ran, dodging in and out of crowd.
Finally, she saw the sign. It didn’t surprise her to see Zane rounding the corner at the same time to meet her.
They ran to the movie, and it was like a miracle. At exactly the moment they arrived, her son came out. “Mommy!” he said happily, holding a new lightsaber in his hand and wearing new clothes.
She rushed to him, opening her arms. “My baby.” She held him so tight.
“Ouch,” Tyler yipped.
She laughed and let go.
Tyler frowned at her. “Why are you crying, Mommy? Harris said you would be doing the rest of Disneyland with me.” He turned and looked at Zane, who had clearly ripped off his costume while he was running to them. “Hey, Zane.”
Zane picked him up, holding him close, looking over Tyler’s shoulder at her. “Hey, buddy.”
Tyler giggled and said, “Put me down.” He put up his lightsaber. “Look, I got a new one!”
Zane did, and Sarah took him back into a hug.
Tyler hugged her. “I missed you, Mommy, but we had so much fun. I got to go swimming at the Disney pool, the one with Goofy.” He laughed. “It was so funny.”
Sarah nodded and told herself to keep it together.
She and Zane exchanged glances, and he took her hand in his. He picked up his phone and pressed it to his ear. “Got it,” he said before clicking it off.
Tyler held up the lightsaber. “Zane, you need a lightsaber. Do you want to get one?” He pointed to a store that had them displayed on the sidewalk in front.
Zane smiled at Tyler, ruffling his hair and nodding. “Yes.”
Tyler grinned back at him. He looked at their hands. He frowned and then looked at his mom. “Mom, are you okay?”
“I am now,” she said, trying to hold back her tears but not succeeding.
Zane reached for her and Tyler, pulling them both into him. “We’re okay.” He breathed deeply. “We’re all okay.”
Chapter 28
The next evening, Zane stood on the beach in back of Sarah’s house and held out his new Star Wars lightsaber he’d purchased at Disneyland. He lowered his voice to a Darth Vader impression. “You will never defeat me, Luke Skywalker. I shall destroy the galaxy.”
Tyler giggled, then made his face serious. “Never!” He charged him with the lightsaber, and Zane pulled him in and took his lightsaber and dropped it on the ground, dropping his own, too. “No! My weapon!” Tyler yelled.
Zane kept him over his head, holding him up.
Finally, Tyler quit struggling and put his arms out. “Hey, maybe I’m Superman!”
The center of Zane’s chest warmed as he stared up at the boy, thinking about the complete fear he’d felt the past couple of days when they thought they’d lost him.
Gratefully, Harris had been caught trying to cross the border into Mexico. Cheryse had notified them early this morning that he was in custody.
Zane thought about how it had been a crazy couple of days. After getting Tyler back at Disneyland, they had stayed in the park because Tyler was so excited about being there and didn’t even realize he’d been kidnapped. They’d made the decision in whispered conversations that they wouldn’t tell him, either. Why terrify the kid?
So they’d done the park, and Zane found that even he had begun to relax by the end of the day, when he and Tyler and Sarah were sitting on the Main Street, eating ice cream with Mickey Mouse ears and wearing glow stick necklaces while watching the parade. Tyler had been sitting on the step between them, and Zane had decided then and there that he wanted this. He wanted it now. He wanted it forever.
In the present, Sarah’s arms slipped around his waist. “Got ya.”
Carefully, he put Tyler down. Sarah turned to hug both of them, but Tyler wiggled free and ran to his discarded lightsaber. “I will get you!”
Sarah leaned back in his arms, and both of them smiled at Tyler, then at each other.
“Hey,” Sarah said, leaning up and brushing her lips to his.
Every part of him tensed with desire for this woman and he held her longer, kissing her deeper.
He felt the tip of a lightsaber in his waist. “Give her up, Vader.”
Relaxing his grip on Sarah’s hips, he grabbed the tip of the lightsaber and yanked it forward, pulling Tyler close to him again. “Oh yeah?” he said, letting go of the tip and tickling him under the chin.
Sarah joined in, tickling Tyler under the arms. They all laughed, and Zane wanted to hold on to this moment, just being with them. Taking a chance, Zane crouched down, gesturing Tyler over. “Can I talk to ya, big guy, about something serious?”
“Yeah.” Tyler set down the toy and coyly walked to him.
Sarah must have sensed he was up to something, because she shot him a questioning look.
Winking at her, Zane put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder as he came over. Then he swallowed, deciding on the best way to say this. “Tyler, I have a question for you.”
“Okay?” Tyler said eagerly.
Zane put on a serious look. “As man of the house, I’m asking you. Can I marry your mom?”
Tyler smiled at his mom. “Do you wanna, Mom?” His voice had taken on an incredulous tone.
Sarah’s hands went to her mouth. Tears sparkled in her eyes. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
Tyler giggled. “You want to marry him?”
Sarah beamed at Tyler, then at Zane. “Yes, I do.”
Tyler shrugged one shoulder. “Well, since she wants to, I guess that would be okay. Wait.” He stuck a finger into the air. “Would that mean … you’re my dad?”
Zane blinked. “I would never take the place of your dad, but I would love to be a different kind of dad.” Zane wished he would have thought about how to answer this question.
Tyler grinned. “I bet Luke Skywalker would have wanted a second dad, don’t you?”
Zane grinned at this sweet, innocent boy. This boy he already loved so much he felt like his heart would shatter at times. He crushed Tyler in for a hug, and a tear fell down his cheek. “Yeah, I do.”
Tyler smiled and took his mother’s hand. “Cool.” He pulled back.
“Cool.” Zane repeated what he said and turned to Sarah, seeing a stream of tears running down her cheeks. Taking this as his opportunity, Zane went to one knee, feeling the emotion gather in his throat. From his pocket, he pulled the ring he’d picked out yesterday at the jewelry store.
Sarah gasped. “Zane.”
“Sarah, will you marry me?”
More tears washed down her cheeks. “Yes,” she said softly.
He slipped the ring on her finger, then picked her up and held her. Both of them laughed, and he couldn’t believe that this was real, that he had her in his arms.
Putting her down, he brushed a piece of hair of her face. “I love you.”
She laughed and cried. “I love you, too.”
Tyler wrapped his arms around both of them. “Does this make us, like … a superhero family now?”
Pulling back, Sarah laughed and put her hand on his head. “But I thought I couldn’t pull off Wonder Woman?”
Tyler shook his head and let out an annoyed grunt. “Mom, you wouldn’t be Wonder Woman now; you would be Jane Foster.” He said it matter-of-factly.
“Who?” she asked, unable to think of who he was talking about.
Zane mimicked his grunt. “You don’t know?” He reached for Tyler’s hand. “Silly woman, that would make you Jane Foster, of course, who was granted immortality by the gods when she fell in love with Thor.”
Her grin widened. “Of course.”
Zane leaned in, gently pressing his lips to hers and then whispering, “You’ve always been my Jane.”
Epilogue
Sarah wasn’t particularly thrilled by the idea of having a wedding ceremony on the beach—not when it was the same beach that Tyler had been taken from. But she’d acquiesced to letting Sutton host her and Zane’s wedding, because … well, she could tell it meant everything to Zane. Plus the fact she didn’t think Agatha would let it be any other way. Not to mention the fact, Blayze, Corbin, Cannon, and River had shown up the night they’d gotten engaged and pretty much demanded it be at Sutton’s place.