Body of Lies (32 page)

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Authors: Deirdre Savoy

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BOOK: Body of Lies
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Thirty-three
It wasn't until a couple of hours later that Zach and Alex ended up at South Shore Hospital in Westchester where Barbara had been taken. Jon and Dana were the only ones in the waiting room on the floor. Jon sat with his legs stretched out in front of him, Dana had her head on Jon's shoulder and they were holding hands. Both of them looked asleep or on the verge of it.
Jon was the first to notice their approach. He sat up and pulled his legs under him. He turned to Dana and whispered something that made her rouse. By the time Zach and Alex reached them, Jon was on his feet. “What are you two doing here?” Jon asked. “I thought you'd be home sleeping it off by now.”
“You heard what happened?” Zach asked.
“There were a couple of officers in here before. I asked them to let me know what they heard on the radio.”
Dana stood and wrapped her arm around Jon's waist. “You must be glad it's over,” she said to Alex.
“Very.”
He had his arm around Alex's waist. He hugged her tighter to him, hearing a variety of emotions in that one softly spoken word. “How's Barbara?”
“She made it through the surgery fine. How that will affect her long-term prognosis no one knows yet.” Dana, like Joanna, was a registered nurse.
“Can we see her?” That came from Alex. Dana told them what room to go to and gave them directions. As they walked, Alex added, “Did you see the size of the rock on Dana's finger?”
He had, and it hadn't been there the last time all of them were together. Jon must have finally decided to bite the bullet and not wait any longer despite whatever turmoil there might be in the family. The thought of it brought a smile to Zach's lips. “My baby brother must really be in love. I'm not trying to say Jon is cheap or anything, but he used to live in the South Bronx just to save on rent.”
That wasn't exactly the truth of it, but he appreciated the benefit his white lie brought him—the sound of Alex's laughter.
When they reached the room, Alex took a peek through the glass panel in the door and took a step back. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to see her.”
Wondering what caused her to say that, he took a look through the glass himself. Adam was sitting in a chair beside the bed holding Barbara's hand. Barbara was turned toward him. The body language of the moment spoke of an intimacy he didn't want to disturb either.
He glanced at Alex, who smiled back at him in a way he didn't understand. “What?”
“Barbara told me earlier that she wished Adam would stop worrying about who to blame and just appreciate the time they had left together. I think she got her wish.”
Zach thought so, too. And something odd stirred in his chest, something he hadn't felt in a long time: hope. He looked down at Alex. “Let's go home.”
Later, after a shower that was mostly rinsing the grime of the day from their bodies, they lay in bed together. After all that had happened, Zach figured he should be contented just having her there in his arms, whole, freshly clean, and relatively unscathed by Williams's actions, but he wasn't. Maybe it was seeing Adam with Barbara tonight that fueled in him the desire not to put anything off. But there was something he needed to know from her. He doubted, despite his exhaustion, if he'd get to sleep without it.
He rubbed one hand up and down her arm. “How are you holding up?” he asked.
She sighed and burrowed closer to him. “I was almost asleep, thank you very much.” He chuckled at her disgruntlement and she smacked him on the arm. “Please don't tell me you want to rehash all this now.”
No, he didn't want to rehash anything; he just needed an answer. “What if I wanted to tell you I love you?”
“I would have to tell you I knew that already and humbly request that you go to sleep before I do something terrible to you.”
“You wouldn't have something you wanted to say to me?”
She leaned up using an elbow braced on his chest for leverage. “What do you think I'm doing here, Zach?” she said in a quiet voice. “Notwithstanding the fact that I have no home to go to, I'm not without resources. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be.”
That's not what he was talking about, and she knew it. “For how long?”
“Damn it, Zach. What did you think I meant when I was talking about starting over? I meant us.”
He knew that, but she still hadn't answered the question nagging at him. “Do you love me, Alex?”
“I've been
in love
with you since I was fifteen years old. And if you want to know how I know you love me, I could give you my standard shrink's answer that I'm trained to know such things. The truth is, you've shown me in every way but with words. I trusted you meant them, even if you didn't say them.”
That was the crux of his problem right there. It had been a long time since he'd trusted in anything, and in an odd way, least of all himself. He thought back to what she'd said to him a long time ago about an optimist being nothing but a pessimist who thought he'd found
the way
. Had he found his?
All he had to do was look at her face to know the answer. If he hadn't made so damn many mistakes in his life—with her, with Sherry, with his family—there wouldn't be a question in his mind. But the truth of it was, no force existed in heaven or on earth that he would let stand between them again.
He cupped her face in his palms. “Come here, baby,” he urged, wanting to draw her down for a kiss.
She resisted. “About this baby business. I never gave my official okay on that.”
There was laughter in her eyes and a teasing smile on her lips.
He liked seeing her like that, carefree and playful. He wanted to see more of it, a lifetime's worth. He winked at her. “Give yourself a little more time to think about it. In the meantime ...” He trailed off as he leaned up and took her mouth. She melted against him, as he hoped she would. In a short while, neither of them was thinking much of anything at all.
About the Author
Native New Yorker Deirdre Savoy spent her summers on the shores of Martha's Vineyard, soaking up the sun and scribbling in her many notebooks. It was there that she first started writing romance as a teenager. The island proved to be the perfect setting for her first novel, SPELLBOUND, published by BET/Arabesque books in 1999. SPELLBOUND received rave reviews and earned her the distinction of being
Romance in Color's
first Rising Star author and Best New Author of 1999. Deidre also won the first annual Emma award for Favorite New Author, presented at the 2001 Romance Slam Jam in Orlando, Florida.
Since then, Deidre has published 11 books and two novellas, all of which have garnered critical acclaim and honors. Deirdre has been featured in a variety of publications, including
Black Issues Book Review
,
Romantic Times
,
Affaire de Coeur
, and
Blackboard Bestsellers List
. Many of her titles have been issued in hardcover by Black Expressions.
Deidre is the president of Authors Supporting Authors Positively (ASAP) and the founder of the Writer's Co-op writer's group. She lectures on such topics as Getting Your Writing Career Started, Taking Your Writing to the Next Level, and other subjects related to the craft of writing. She is listed in the
American and International Authors
and
Writer's Who's Who
, as well as the
Dictionary
of
International Biography
.
Deirdre lives in Bronx, New York with her husband of ten-plus years and their two children. In her spare time she enjoys reading, dancing, calligraphy and “wicked” crossword puzzles.
Dear Readers,
 
When I started writing
Body of Lies
, I didn't intend to include any information on children being abducted by predators from the Internet. It was an element that grew out of the story, my own concern as a parent of teenage children, and a special I saw on TV about the subject. What shocked me was the number of predators that seemed to ooze out in response to the possibility of exploiting children.
As a parent, I monitor as best I can what sites my children visit and who they maintain contact with on the Web. I also make sure my children know that meeting anyone in real life that they've met on the internet is a dangerous prospect, one they might not survive intact. I also try to let them know they are valued so that they don't go seeking validation elsewhere. Most of all, I pray.
For the parents out there, I hope I've given you a little bit of insight as to how these predators operate or at least a reminder to be vigilant.
I'd love to hear from you. Please contact me at [email protected] or write to me at:
P.O. Box 233
Baychester Station
Bronx, NY 10469
Also please join my list for readers:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ladiesinred
. This is the place for discussion of my books, giveaways and much more. Hope to see you there.
 
Wishing you all the best,
 
Deirdre Savoy
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
 
Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
 
Copyright © 2006 by Deirdre Savoy
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
 
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
 
Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
 
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8808-0

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