In Zach's Arms (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 1) (13 page)

Detective Wolfe jerked to a stop and was getting out of his Crown Victoria as she raced toward him.

“Gun! He’s got a gun,” she yelled.

He immediately pulled his own weapon and dropped into a crouch. “Get down.”

Elizabeth had almost reached him when he started shouting and the shots rang out. Searing pain tore through her upper right arm, throwing her off-balance and sending her face-first into the gravel. The next shot went whizzing over where her head would have been and slammed into Detective Wolfe’s chest.
 

He stumbled back and got one shot off that went high and wide. Her vision blurred, but she thought she heard Zach’s voice. She wanted to see his handsome face so badly that she might have imagined hearing his voice.

“Zach,” she whispered.

Sound muffled as the ringing in her ears increased and her stomach rolled and pitched. The pain in her arm overwhelmed her and the coppery smell of blood mixed with gun powder stung her nose. Her last thought before surrendering to unconsciousness was that she hoped she didn’t throw up on Zach when she finally told him that she loved him.

“No!”
 

Zach launched himself, hitting the man hard in the back, using his superior size and the element of surprise to force the smaller man to the ground. The man rolled and hit Zach in the jaw, trying to knock him off and bring his gun up to fire.

“I’ll kill you. You defiled her,” he screamed.

Madness gave him strength as Zach wrestled with him in the gravel. He squirmed, hitting out and kicking his legs. Zach punched him with one hand while keeping the hand with the gun pointed harmlessly out into the forest.

Jesse was there in an instant, having moved from his position in the thick brush. Jesse kicked the gun from Jeffrey’s hand so hard that Zach thought he heard the bone crack. Jeffery’s agonized scream and the odd angle of his wrist confirmed the break.

He thrashed and bucked. Zach punched him hard in the center of his chest, causing the air to whoosh out of his body. Then, he leaned forward with a forearm against Jeffrey’s throat, cutting off any remaining air.
 

It only took a couple of moments before Jeffrey stopped struggling, his eyes rolled back and he went unconscious. Zach was up and running to Beth as soon as he felt the body under him go limp.

“Shoot him if he so much as twitches,” he yelled back at Jesse.
 

“He’s not going anywhere,” Jesse responded.

“Beth,” he whispered.

Zach landed on his knees next to her and pulled her into his arms. She was so white she was almost translucent and had scratches on her cheek and forehead from the fall. She still hadn’t come around, so Zach used that moment to do a body check for breaks.
 

Finding none, he gently moved her arm towards him so he could check the gunshot wound she’d sustained. He ripped her sweater and saw the bullet had gone clean through the fleshy part of her upper arm, missing bone and major arteries.
 

Sighing with relief, he hugged her fiercely saying, “Come on, baby, wake up.”

“Thanks for the caring, Steele,” came a hoarse voice.

“You shouldn’t even be here, Wolfe,” Jesse said, coming into the conversation. He dropped down next to where the Detective was leaning against his car to check the status of his wounds.

“You should have picked him up as soon as DNA came through,” Zach snarled. “Instead, you left him loose and he was able to get here.”

“You were wearing your vest. Good. That’s the first smart thing you’ve done so far,” Jesse broke in while he peeled the detective’s shirt off. “You got lucky.”

“We have procedures and protocols, Steele. Besides, the crafty bastard had already skipped town when the damn results came in. I figured he was here somewhere, since he obviously had the address,” Wolfe snapped, ignoring Jesse. “How’s Elizabeth doing?”

“She’s been shot, that’s how she’s doing.”

“Why’d you have someone tailing me?”

“I heard you were a hot-shot in the department and I wanted to make sure you had back-up in case you were tempted to try and arrest that maniac by yourself. Plus I didn’t like that you had a prior connection with Beth.”

“I’m touched, Steele. And I didn’t even know about that until I started looking into her past.”

“Don’t be. I just didn’t want you to fuck this up.”

“If anyone cares, I called for the local cops and an ambulance,” Jesse announced.

A soft moan stopped the arguing. All three men looked at Elizabeth. She opened her eyes and grimaced in pain. He couldn’t help himself, he smiled. She was going to be okay.

“Why are you smiling?” she groused.

“Because you’re not dead.”

She blinked, confused. “Why does my arm hurt?”

“You were shot. How do you feel?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked around. When she saw her agent, her breath caught and the tears rolled down her cheeks. Jesse had him tied up and he was still unconscious.

“I just can’t believe it.”

“It’s over now. He’ll never bother you again.”

And when she started crying in earnest, he pulled her close and just held her.
 

Chapter 14

Elizabeth woke up groggy, trying not to move her right arm. As comfortable as Zach’s bed was, it didn’t cushion the pain. Maneuvering into a sitting position caused her to break a sweat.

“Ow, ow, ow.”

It had been two days since the shooting, but her arm still hurt like crazy. She and Wolfe had been whisked away to the hospital where she’d had to stay overnight. Detective Wolfe had been released almost immediately after a cursory exam. His vest had taken the impact, like it was supposed to.

He’d stayed around, much to Zach’s dismay, making sure she was doing well and to take the statements of everyone involved. He was adding to his case, but Zach groused that he was just hanging around to annoy everyone.

“What are you doing?” Zach came in with a tray of food.

“Trying to get comfortable,” she complained.

“You’re supposed to call me to help, damn it.”

“I wanted to sit up by myself, damn it.”

His lips twitched at her disgruntled tone and she couldn’t help but smile back. He was such a growly bear and she loved him. Loved everything about him. From his protectiveness to his certainty that they belonged together. Too bad it took a psycho stalker and getting shot to make it sink in.

“What’s going on with Jeffery?”

Zach set the tray down across her lap, fussed with some pillows and then sat next to her on the bed. Fluffy eggs, turkey bacon, potatoes and orange juice. The man knew how to make a good breakfast.

“Flagstaff police didn’t take kindly to Jeffery showing up in their town and causing problems, so they filed their own charges for felony assault, attempted murder, as well as any other charge they could think of for shooting a fellow officer.”

“And then he gets shipped back to Phoenix to face the charges pending there?”

He nodded. “He’s going away for a very long time.”

Elizabeth hoped that the feeling of helplessness that had taken over her life would eventually fade. She couldn’t get that look out of her mind, the way his eyes changed and his voice changed. The insanity.

“I just don’t understand why he went after me.”

“My buddy, Little Mike, was looking into the investigation. Jeffery wasn’t originally a suspect because he had an alibi. Turns out the alibi didn’t hold, so he started digging into Jeffery’s past. Your agent has been in and out of several very exclusive hospitals that specialize in treating mental disorders since he was a teenager.”

“That was not on his resume when I was looking for an agent.”

“He became fixated on a woman ten years ago and she ended up dead.”

“Oh my God. That’s horrible.”

Zach shrugged. “There wasn’t enough evidence of Jeffery’s involvement to have him arrested and charged, just some witnesses that had seen him with the victim a couple of times. His family stepped in, hired a very good lawyer, and kept his name from being formally linked with the investigation.”

“That was going to be me next, wasn’t it?” She shivered again, thinking how close she had come to being his next victim.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Elizabeth turned her attention to Zach. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of baggy gray sweatpants. Her stomach growled, pulling a smile out of Zach as he held a fork up to her lips.
 

“I don’t want my effort wasted this morning.”

“I’m starved,” she replied with a smile, looking him up and down while obediently opening her mouth.

“Mmm.” She chewed and swallowed. “You’re too good to me.”

He stretched toward her and gave her a quick kiss. “You deserve it.”

Then he pulled back, reached over and stole one half of her bagel.
 

“Where’s your food?” She tried glaring at him because swatting at his hand wasn’t working. She was actually full, but swatting at him while he stole bits of her breakfast had become a game they were playing.

“I already ate, but I’m hungry again.” He looked at her breasts as he said it.
 

“You’re always hungry,” she laughed.

“Take the pills, Beth.”

She stuck her tongue out at him before taking the antibiotic and pain killer that he had thoughtfully put on her tray. “Yes, sir.”
 

“Sassy.”

He got off the bed, making sure not to jostle her in any way. Then he took the tray and disappeared down the hall and into the kitchen.

“Bully,” she yelled down the hall.

While he was gone, she tried to think of the best way to broach the subject of their future. She’d been in too much pain to bring it up before, and then trying to sleep off the pain killers they had pumped her full of in the hospital.

Today was the first time she felt clear enough to actually talk to Zach. She bit her lower lip, thinking of the best way to tell him that she loved him. It’s not like she could just blurt it out.

“What’s going on in your head, Beth?”

She looked up, slightly startled, having never heard him re-enter the room. “What are you talking about?”

He leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his muscled chest looking at her. Zach knew she’d been worrying. He always knew.

“What’s in that locked room?”
 

He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, “Been driving you crazy, hasn’t it?”

God, he was sexy. “You know it has!”
 

“Grouchy.”

“Being shot has that effect on me.”

He moved from the doorjamb and walked to her side of the bed. He threw the covers off of her and slid his arms under her knees and her back, easily lifting her from the mattress.

“Maybe you’re finally ready. I hope to God that you are.”

She thought she was going to have to argue with him and was at a loss when he gave in. There was a pinch of pain as he lifted her, but Zach was very careful about carrying her so that her arm moved very little.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and settled into his body, loving his unique smell. Everything about him made her feel safe and loved. And she wanted all of it. All of him.

They stopped in front of the double doors that had been a massive curiosity for her. Okay, mild obsession. She wanted to see inside so badly that she was about to bounce herself out of his arms in excitement.
 

“Close your eyes and do not open them until I tell you,” Zach commanded.
 

“Okay.”

She was a little concerned about his tone. He actually sounded worried. She obediently closed her eyes but couldn’t help teasing, “You don’t have an entire room devoted to porn do you?”

Elizabeth smiled when she heard the heavy sigh and could just imagine the eye rolling he was doing. Well, she didn’t
really
think he had a room full of porn, but it never hurt to ask.

She tightened her hold on Zach as she felt him dip down to open the door. He never struggled and she realized that the door must have been unlocked. She wondered if he had been planning on showing her the room anyway, before she asked.

“You already unlocked the door, didn’t you?”

She felt his shrug. “You weren’t in any condition to go snooping.”

They moved through the doors and she could tell it was still dark inside. Zach set her down and told her not to move. The rustling sounded like the drapes covering the bay window. When the light hit her face, she knew she was right.

“Open your eyes, Beth.”
 

She slowly opened her eyes, blinded by the light streaming in the windows. What she saw when her vision cleared, stunned her. She looked in every direction and suddenly she understood what Zach had accomplished in building this room.

He was telling her that he loved her, without ever saying the words. She knew it in her heart and soul, and, as she looked around in wonder, she knew he had built this room specifically for her.