Chapter Four
Zak tried to focus on the situation at hand as he drove through the darkened streets to Zoe’s house.
The itch on the back of his neck told him Dunning’s murder was just a small piece of a big puzzle, and Zoe was being staked out as the sacrificial goat. Even as he tried to anticipate any problems that might be waiting, his brain was still processing the shock of hearing her voice tonight after all this time. He’d lost count of the number of times during the past two years he’d regretted the words he’d thrown at her. Wished he could take them back. Wished the whole thing had never happened.
But she’d been quickly wrapped up in her business and developing a relationship with Nate—although he’d never known exactly how intimate that was. He’d just waited too long to tell her what an ass he’d been. That he’d only had her best interests at heart. That he wasn’t trying to run her life, only help her. Too bad his testosterone had gotten out of control and in the way of his brain. She’d just made him so fucking mad, pushing back every time he brought it up. He reminded himself not to point out she’d let her emotions override her smarts, since he’d done the same thing.
He took a quick moment to call Reno and let him know what he was doing. The agency had a firm rule and a good one. Never walk into danger without checking in. Someone had to know where you were at all times, just in case.
Just in case is right.
Zak parked one street over, behind another car pulled into the curb, one that looked as if it was parked for the night. He had a feeling whoever had orchestrated the death of Nate Dunning would be keeping an eye on Zoe’s place. Unexpectedly, she’d slipped through their fingers, so it stood to reason they’d try to pick up her trail. She was a loose end they couldn’t afford to leave dangling in the wind.
As he eased through darkened backyards, hugging shrubbery and trees, he wondered if his connection to Zoe would be on their radar or if the two years since the breakup would be enough to keep him off the list of people she might contact. Once he got back to his house and got her squared away, he’d have to do some research there and make sure no one decided to connect the two of them. Otherwise, they’d both have to hide until he could find some answers.
Zoe’s neat backyard looked pristine in the moonlight. The patio was furnished with wrought iron table and chairs, a lounge chair, and a swing with an awning, all covered in bright cushions. Huge pots of flowers stood at each corner of the concrete rectangle.
Zak crouched low as he broke from the cover of two tall oaks and headed for the back steps.
As he approached the back porch, he took his time to examine the flowerbeds that bordered the house, checking for signs of recent visitors. He easily identified the indentations of ladies’ sneakers, an indication Zoe had worked in her gardens not too long ago. But his senses cranked up when he saw many of them wiped out in places, as if someone else had stepped here and brushed away the trace.
He mounted the stairs, stepping carefully, checking for thin wires or anything else that might indicate a trap. Then, looking left and right and not seeing or hearing anything, he inserted the key in the lock and turned the knob. But instead of pushing the door, he kicked it open and jumped back. Just in case.
An explosion erupted inside the house.
Zak leaped down the steps and threw himself on the lawn, covering his head as pieces of wood, brick, and glass rained down around him. When he’d told Zoe he didn’t want any surprises at her house, this wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind. He pulled the gun from the small of his back and rolled over, waiting to see who might appear.
Suddenly, lights popped on in the surrounding houses, and he heard people shouting. Brushing the debris from his body as best he could and gritting his teeth against the sting of cuts and bruises, he rolled over again and belly-crawled to the back end of the yard. He made it safely through the hedges and slipped out to the street where he’d parked. Before he’d gotten out of his car, he’d turned off the switch to the inside lights so there was only blackness when he quietly opened the door and inched inside. Nothing to give him away.
Looking through the window on the passenger’s side, he could see flames shooting into the air as Zoe’s house succumbed to the bomb that had been set. Reaching in the glove box for a rag he kept there, he wiped his face and arms, wincing as he saw the smears of blood on the cloth. His back felt as if he’d been stabbed multiple times, and he knew he’d have some bruising from his flying leap to the ground, but at least he was alive.
If nothing else, it was very clear that someone heavy was behind this. Someone who could kill a man and set a woman up to take the fall. Who could, in a short amount of time, rig a house to explode? If they couldn’t have Zoe in jail with no logical defense for murder, then they’d simply kill her. And they obviously had the ability to move fast and do what needed to be done.
God knew what else they had up their sleeves.
The question now was whether or not these people, whoever they were, could connect the two of them and whether Zoe would be safe at his house after all.
Turning the corner, he punched speed dial on his phone for Reno.
“More problems,” he said when his partner answered the phone He gave him a rundown on what had happened.
“Are you hurt?” was Reno’s first question.
“Scrapes and bruises, that’s all.”
“I’ll get one of the men over there,” Reno told him. “Someone who can blend in and sniff out what’s happening. I’ll call you in a little while at your house. Just make sure Miss Lombardo’s safe.” He paused a moment. “You, too, Zak. These aren’t amateurs.”
“Don’t worry. I will.” He punched the End button.
Zoe, Zoe, Zoe. What in the name of all that’s holy have you gotten yourself into?
****
Zoe had been pacing from the moment Zak left, unable to sit in one place, her still-foggy mind working overtime to pull together the loose threads dangling in it. When she heard the garage door slide up, she rushed to the side door to open it. One look as Zak walked in from the garage and panic sluiced through her again. He was streaked with dirt and blood and grass stains, and his face and arms were peppered with tiny cuts.
“Ohmigod, what happened?” She stared at him. “You’re bleeding. Look at you.”
“Nothing a shower won’t take care of.” He tossed two plastic bags he was holding onto a chair and pulled his T-shirt off over his head as he made his way toward the stairs. “Good thing you didn’t see me before I cleaned up a little.”
“But what happened?” she asked again. “Did you have trouble at my house? That’s it, isn’t it?”
He turned, and she nearly bumped into him. Anger raged in his eyes, but she sensed it wasn’t against her.
“Don’t freak.” His voice was low and soothing. “I’m fine. I’m just glad I was the one who went there, not you. And that my business makes me naturally suspicious.”
“Tell me everything,” she demanded.
As she listened to him describe in detail what had happened, the blood drained from her face and her heart stuttered erratically.
“My house?” She couldn’t absorb what he was saying. “Someone blew up my house?”
He nodded. “I’d say it’s pretty well destroyed. Whoever set the explosives did a good job. These people are playing very, very rough.” He let out a long slow breath. “Even this house may not be safe enough for you if they get any idea you came to me.”
“Zak—”
“It’ll be okay. I’ll make it okay. But before I do anything else, I need to wash off this junk. Then we’ll talk.” He reached out to touch her, then drew his hand back. “Everything’s gone. I am so sorry.”
“Gone?” She took in a steadying breath. This was no time to fall apart any more than she already had. She swallowed and clenched her fists. “It’s nothing that can’t be replaced. Even the laptop, as you pointed out. At least you’re alive. Go take your shower while I make some fresh coffee.” She tried on a weak smile. “I think I still remember where things are.”
“Coffee sounds terrific. I don’t think we’ll be getting sleep any time soon.”
They were so close she could feel his breath, fanning her cheek. Without warning, his head lowered and his lips brushed against hers. She was totally unprepared for the spike of electricity that jolted her system.
From the look in his eyes, so was Zak. He stared at her, heat in his eyes, then backed away and walked upstairs to the master suite.
“See you in a few minutes,” he called over his shoulder.
Zoe was only able to hang onto her control with superhuman effort. Her hands shook slightly as she filled the coffee reservoir with water, fiddled with filters and grounds, rinsed out their mugs from earlier, and set them back on the counter. Things she could do automatically, without thinking, because her mind was racing.
She hated the fact Zak had been injured because of her. The thought he might have been killed was like a ball of ice in her stomach. And what about that kiss? God! It singed her all the way down to her toes, enough so that she wanted to rip off both their clothes and press herself all over him.
She was still scrabbling to pull her thoughts together when Zak walked into the kitchen. His still-damp hair lay in familiar unruly waves, and the way the clean T-shirt and jeans outlined his lean body made her think of the kiss all over again. His face and arms were marked with tiny scratches that he’d applied antiseptic ointment to.
“Coffee’s ready,” she told him. “We need to sit down and figure out what to do now.”
Zak opened his mouth to say something when a chirping sounded in his jeans pocket. He fished out his cell phone and hit Answer.
“Delaney.” He listened intently, mouthing a Thank you as Zoe handed him a mug of coffee. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You’re sure, right? Okay, thanks. Later.” He snapped the phone shut. “That was Kenny.”
The lab tech.
She wrapped her hands around her mug, wishing its heat could melt the ice forming in her body. “What did he say?”
Zak took her arm and led her back into the family room. The touch of his fingers set up that little tingle again, and heat began to invade her blood stream. She’d left the television on, the volume muted, but Zak ignored it, steering her to the couch and sitting down next to her.
“What he said must be pretty awful,” she commented shakily.
“Someone laced your drink with a heavy dose of something called flunitrazepam, more commonly known as rohypnol.”
“The date rape drug?” Anger made her hand shake and coffee spilled onto her knees. She dabbed at it with the bottom of the shirt she was wearing. “Damn! They really wanted me out of it, didn’t they?”
Zak took her mug from her and set it on the coffee table, then closed both of his hands around hers. “Yes, and they used something known to be very effective. Besides that, one of the most popular properties of this drug—besides knocking out the person who it’s given to—is that it causes partial amnesia. You can’t remember things that happen while you’re under the effect of it.”
“Which is why I couldn’t remember anything prior to waking up.” Her mind was spinning.
Zak nodded. “The effects can last up to four hours. Unfortunately for whoever did this, I’m guessing you woke up long before you were supposed to.”
“My god!” She felt totally violated at what had been done to her. If she’d been angry before, she was enraged now. “Who could want to do this to me? And why?”
Zak tightened his grip on her hands, the touch of them sending waves of long suppressed need through her body. “We’re going to find out. Count on it. Listen, I got one good piece of news from Kenny.”
She looked up, a smidgen of hope in her heart. “What?”
“No gunshot residue on your dress. And the amount on your hands was so minimal it could have been blowback from someone standing close to you when Nate was shot.”
“So you believe me.”
“Zoe, I believed you from the beginning.”
Something eased inside her at his words. She’d had no right to expect anything from him, but Zak being Zak had stepped right up to the plate. The argument seemed even more idiotic looking back on it. If she didn’t already have a headache, she might bang her dumb head against a wall.
“Did you write out that list for me?” he asked, interrupting her train of thought.
She picked up the pad of paper from the coffee table and handed it to him. “There isn’t much, but maybe you can work your magic on it.”
“I’ll call the office and see who’s doing the overnight shift.” He winked, an obvious effort to relieve the strain. “One of the advantages of being part of a big agency. It never sleeps. I’ll fax this over to them and get someone started on researching everything on the list. Give me a second here.”
Zoe watched while he speed dialed a number on his cell and spoke in a low voice to whoever answered as he walked toward the den. She heard the sound of the fax machine, and in less than a minute, he was back.
“Okay,” he told her. “They’ll get started on it right away, see what they can find out about any of these companies or people. You realize these may all be fake names, right?”
“I know. But that in itself is something, right?”
“It’s a place to start. Meanwhile, let’s go back to the party at Dunning’s. Have you been able to remember who you spoke to? Chatted with? Maybe what got you into the den?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember a piece of conversation with a man who’d been at other parties. I think…maybe…he wanted to chat with me in private. I don’t know. It’s just so fuzzy. And frustrating. It’s like now I can almost catch it, but then it disappears.”
She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling at it as if she could yank the lost memories out of her brain. But nothing came. She hated this, despised how frustrated it made her feel, how out of control. This was not her at all. She needed to get her shit together and figure out with Zak how to fight back. And even more than that was the anger slowly growing that people she’d trusted, people she’d met through Nate, would treat her with such callous disregard.
“Okay.” He pulled her hands down from her head and moved them gently into her lap. “Let’s try all this from a different angle. Forget about tonight for a minute. We’ll have to hope your memory comes back more and more. But you’ve been to parties at Nate’s house before, right? Who usually went? What kind of guest list did he have?”
Zoe bit her lip in frustration. “Nate had a lot of parties, and he invited the same basic people every time. Always a few new ones thrown into the mix, but then they’d become regulars.”
“Do you think you can remember who any of them were? People you might chat with more than others? Anyone usually standing close to you? Whoever did it would have to be able to watch you without anyone thinking it curious. Someone who could get you out of the room without raising any eyebrows.”
Zoe frowned. “Mostly it was Nate’s business associates, his clients, their wives. Max. Caz. Lombardo Simulations clients. Uncle Ivan and some of his law partners. My cousin, Sergei.”
“Yeah, Uncle Ivan.” Zak made a face. “The man who got you into this mess in the first place. I’m not as enamored of him as you are. I’d love to know if he’s got his fingers in this pie.”
“I’m positive he doesn’t. His partners would kill him. He has to work twice as hard to prove he’s not involved in anything like this. Besides, like I told you, he looked out for Mama and me since my father died.”
“All right, all right.” Zak put up a hand. “I’m a lot more suspicious than you are. It’s the nature of my business. So let’s not argue about that right now. We need to take care of the problem of the moment. Which,” he added, “I think goes beyond your partnership with Nate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something smells very bad. Something that goes beyond normal illegitimate activities. All my sense are tingling, and that’s not good. Zoe, my gut tells me Nate’s murder is connected in some way to the things you confronted him about regarding the company. The two things are so closely connected. And just from what you’ve told me, what I’m sensing is there’s a good chance Nate was using your company to launder money.”
“What?” Her throat tightened. “Launder money? For who? Why? God, Zak. Nate Dunning is…was a billionaire. He had legitimate enterprises.”
Zak looked at her steadily. “Did he? Are you sure most of it wasn’t from illegal activities and sources? Let me tell you, I know a lot more about those things than you do. That’s why I wanted to know if you’d ever discussed this with his partner or his advisor.”
She shook her head. “Whatever’s going on, they sure want to get rid of me.”
He nodded. “You must have pulled the devil’s horns when you started asking questions. They broke into your house before and then tried to kill you. Framing you for Nate’s murder was supposed to get you out of the way, but you woke up too soon and ran away. This thing obviously goes beyond whatever Nate was using Lombardo Simulations for. Someone’s playing rough here. They must be furious that you managed to slip away from Nate’s before the cops arrived. Let’s hope they think you got blown up with the house so we can keep you off their radar.”
“Isn’t blowing up my house a little extreme?”
He brushed a stray wisp of hair from her face, his touch so tender it made her heart ache. “Remember, you were supposed to be the one opening the door. I’d bet money the front door and the one from the garage into the house were set up the same way. I think they decided they’d be better off just getting rid of you.”
She stared at him as the raw truth of what he was saying hit her. What was wrong with her? Here she’d been clinging to the remnants of that disastrous argument for two years, wasting all that time they could have been together, and for what? To show him she was independent? He already knew that.
All she’d accomplished was to cost them two years of their lives over a man who apparently had brought evil into her life. If she’d just listened to Zak, she’d have seen what a cesspool she was walking into, Nate Dunning might still be alive, and tonight would never have happened.
From the moment Zak picked her up in his car tonight, those old feelings were back. She’d told herself while she waited she had no feelings for him anymore except trust. That would always be there. But a minute with him, and she knew what a lie that was. One look at him, and suppressed emotion welled up inside her, gripping her with its force and dragging her back to their past. She’d promised herself to keep this businesslike, but she couldn’t deny her feelings any longer.
She launched herself against him, forgetting everything except that he could have died at her place tonight. “You could have been killed tonight. Oh god, Zak.”
She leaned into him, feeling his warmth. When his arms came around to hold her tightly against him, the heat of his body seeping into hers, a thought suddenly popped into her mind.
Home. I’ve come home. This is where I belong.
And just as happened earlier, her nipples hardened at once, aching for his mouth. Her sex throbbed, and moisture dampened her panties. She wanted his mouth on her, his hands all over her, his cock inside her. The familiar feel of his arms around her felt so good, and she didn’t ever want to move.
But what if he didn’t feel the same way and decided her feelings were too much of a complication? Still, she couldn’t bring herself to move. She wanted him, pure and simple, and what did she do with that?
“Hey, hey, hey.” He stroked her back the way he used to, soothing her. “It’s all right. I’m not dead. I’m right here. Fine and dandy.”
When she lifted her head to look up at him, his face was so close she could count the bristles on his cheek. He dipped his head a fraction of an inch, and the kiss that followed was so natural she didn’t think twice about it. She just let herself fall into it and responded with everything she had.
His lips were warm and soft, lightly brushing hers at first, the tip of his tongue tracing the seam of her mouth before coaxing her to open for him. His tongue was like a flame, scorching the tender inner surface of her mouth, licking in a sensuous movement that woke up every dormant hormone in her body.
The surroundings faded away and nothing existed for her except this man, his very talented tongue, the exquisitely erotic kiss, and the way her body reacted to his. He buried his fingers in her hair, molding his hand to her head to hold her in place while he devoured her mouth. His arm around her pulled her tight to his body, crushing her breasts to his chest. She wanted to rip away the clothes that kept her from feeling his naked skin.
When they broke apart, they were both breathless, panting. She wasn’t sure who was more surprised at the charge in the air between them. She shifted her body slightly away but not enough to break the contact.
Let him move if he wants to. But please don’t let him want to.
It was obvious to her that what she felt for him never went away, no matter how she’d tried to bury it.
And what about him? What was this kiss about to him?
She waited for him to break the contact, but he stayed where he was, his body still touching hers. He moved his lips lightly over her cheek, peppering soft kisses along her jawline and then the column of her neck. When he placed his mouth over the hollow of her neck and licked the place where her pulse beat like a jungle drum, she grew weak, holding onto him to keep from falling.
Eventually, he lifted his head and looked at her for an endless moment. She couldn’t breathe, waiting to hear what he had to say.
“Don’t do this if you don’t mean it, Zoe. It took me two years, and I couldn’t manage to get over you. And I don’t want this as gratitude for anything.”
She wet her lips and had to swallow twice before she could speak.
“I never got over you, either. And I’ve punished myself ever since that night for being such a hotheaded, stupid idiot. There’s nobody for me except you. There never was, and there never will be. And gratitude has nothing to do with it.”
He locked his gaze with hers for so long she wondered if he was ever going to say anything.
“Okay,” he said at last. “Good. Because my life hasn’t been the same without you.”
“Mine, either.”
“We both let things get out of hand, but I’m never going down that path again. I won’t try telling you what to do—”
She touched his mouth with her fingertips. “You can always give me good advice. And I’ll be smart enough to listen to it.”
He smiled, and despite the situation they were in, her world righted itself.
“Meanwhile,” he told her, “we have a situation to deal with that is critical.”
“Yeah. That someone definitely wants me dead.”
“And that’s not gonna happen.”
His gaze strayed past her shoulder, something catching his eye, and he shifted enough to pick up the remote and turn the television volume back on.
“That reporter is back again doing his schtick in front of Nate’s house. Let’s hear what he has to say.”
“We have just learned that a canvass of the neighborhood has turned up a vehicle registered to Zoraya Lombardo, CEO of Lombardo Simulations and one of Nate Dunning’s business partners. Witnesses say she attended the party and apparently had a heated argument with the deceased during the evening. Her car was parked some distance away from the area the valet parking service was using.”
An enlarged photo of herself, one she recognized from her brochures, flashed on the screen.
“Zak.” For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. “They’re showing my picture.”
“If anyone has seen this woman or has any knowledge of her whereabouts, please call the number at the bottom of your screen,” the reporter finished.
“Lord, my mother will be going out of her mind with worry. I have to call her.” She looked around wildly for a phone.
Zak’s fingers circled her wrist. “You can’t call your mother or anyone else. You’ll lead the police straight to where you are. You can bet they’ve already got a tap on her phone and anyone else they think you might contact. They consider you a fugitive. Getting a warrant to tap phones is no problem in a situation like this.”
“But—”
The chirping of Zak’s cell startled them. He pulled it from his pocket, looked at the readout and pressed the button to answer. “Yeah? I’m watching it right now. Uh huh. Okay. Thanks for the heads up.” He looked at Zoe. “That was Reno. He’s been mining his own resources. The car being found has really kicked things into high gear. Is anything coming back to you yet that happened after someone handed you that glass of wine? Any little bits and pieces?”
Tears of anxiety, fear, and frustration threatened to spill from her eyes. She forced them back, grabbing his arm. “I swear to you. I still remember nothing. But I would have given my car to the valet service. It’s what I always did.” She frowned. “That means someone had to get my car from them and move it. Wouldn’t that have raised anyone’s suspicions?”
Zak shrugged. “Whoever it was could have used a million plausible excuses. This is a hired service, Zoe. Working for a billionaire. They would have no reason to question anything, nor would they want to.”
She looked up at him. “And you? What do you say?”
“I say someone is hammering one more nail in your coffin.” He muted the sound again and tossed the remote back onto the table. “Do you remember the name of the service Dunning used? Anything about it?”
“No. I really never paid any attention.” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to call up an image, then shook her head. “No. All I can remember is the uniforms they wore—black pants, white shirts and gray jackets. No company logo. But I’ll keep trying,” she told him with desperation. “Something has to come to me.”
“Maybe. Let me call the office again and have someone start digging up that little piece of information.” He made his call, then turned to her with a sigh. “In any event, we’re in deep shit now. The cops will be looking for you and pulling out all the stops, so we’re on a short leash with time here.”
“I am just so damn sorry I got you involved in this. I just didn’t know—”
“Hush.” His voice was firm yet soothing. “It just means we have to regroup here a little.” Zak pulled her gently against the hard wall of his chest. “We’ll handle this, kitten. I promise you.”
Kitten. No one had ever called her that besides Zak. For a moment, the tears she’d been holding back threatened. She swallowed them back and leaned into him, drawing on his strength.
“Not to worry, we’ll figure this out.” His voice was calm, comforting. “That’s what I do, remember?” He tucked strands of hair behind her ears. “Let me talk to Reno again. It looks like we’re going to have to move you out of here sooner than I’d hoped.”
“Okay. I’ll do whatever you say. Whatever you think is best.” Because he knew what he was doing. Wasn’t that why she’d called him?
“Time to get you someplace safe. I’d keep you here, but if they come looking for you, they’ll know Guardian is involved and that would complicate things more. Right now, we aren’t even on their radar with this. I promise you someone will always be with you. More than one person. I’m going to be very careful with your safety.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I have to get away from here. Away from you.”
“That’s right. Zoe, both the police and the bad guys will be doing an all-out manhunt for you. My name is bound to pop up sooner or later, and I’d rather it be later. Much later.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath. “But where will I go? Do you have some place you can take me?”
“I do. I also picked up a few things to tide you over, since obviously, I couldn’t get anything from your house. Hold on a sec.” Zak jogged to the door that led from the house into the garage, the car door slammed, then he returned, holding two plastic bags. He handed them to her. “Temporary substitutes,” he told her. “I made a speedy trip through an all-night Wal-Mart.” His lips twitched in a grin. “I think I remembered the sizes.”
She gawked at him. “You nearly got your head blown off, and you thought about buying me clothes?”
He sighed. “It’s just a bag from Wal-Mart, Zoe not a wardrobe from Saks.”
“Didn’t anyone wonder why you looked the way you did?”
He laughed. “Have you ever seen the people who go to Wal-Mart at this hour of the morning? Now go on, wash your face while I make some calls and set things up.”
“What about my mother?” she asked again. “Are you sure there isn’t some way I can let her know I’m all right?”
Zak shook his head. “I’m truly sorry, but she’s just going to have to worry until I can figure out how to get word to her.”
“Thank you.”
“Listen. Your mother is a strong woman.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, a light touch like before. “Like you. She’s not going to fall apart.”
Zoe was touched at his thoughtfulness in such a dangerous situation. This was far more than she had a right to expect from him after the way things had ended between them. She clutched the bags to her chest, unable to find the right words to thank him, blinking back yet another flood of tears that threatened.
Damn tears. All these waterworks weren’t her style and wouldn’t do her any good. What she needed to do was hold onto her anger.
Again she realized what a stupid fool she’d been. Look what he’d done for her tonight, and all she’d done was wring her hands, cry all over him, and bemoan what happened to her. For someone so smart, she’d been really, really stupid.
But she wasn’t going to be stupid now. She’d made a huge mistake going into business with Nate Dunning, but that was the last mistake she was going to make. She was a computer genius, for heaven’s sake. A woman who headed her own corporation. Zak had always told her how smart she was. Now she needed to prove him right.
He lifted his hand and ran his knuckles lightly along her cheeks, giving her a tiny smile. “It’s okay. Go on. Go clean up. Then we’ll talk.”