Behind the Lies (A Montgomery Justice Novel) (14 page)

But not with his father.

She’d barely gotten to the bear winning his magical powers from the wicked wizard when Sam began to snore softly in her arms. Quietly, Jenna rose, turned on the hall light, and left the door cracked open.

She glanced around the living room and recognized the outline of Zach’s broad shoulders on the porch that surrounded his cabin.

He sipped from a mug. She hesitated. Maybe she’d be better off just going back to bed. Her head still ached a bit, despite the ibuprofen she’d downed. Not so much because of the accident. Maybe more because of the uncertainty of tomorrow.

She couldn’t stay. Brad would eventually find her. Of that, she had no doubt. She had to cut the last line between them—Zach.

She eased open the outside door. Zach’s back stiffened a bit. She paused. “You want to be alone.”

“Not really,” Zach said. “Sam asleep?”

“It’s been an eventful day. He couldn’t stop talking about your secret room,” she said, her voice full of questions.

Zach shrugged. “Just a computer room with some way-too-expensive toys.” He faced her and leaned back against the
wooden railing. “I ran a quick search of the news websites in California. Brad hasn’t reported you or Sam missing. He doesn’t want the publicity.”

“What does that tell you?” Jenna asked.

“That your life is in danger. And you need me. You have since you hid out in my pool house.”

A chill raced up her arms. “You knew I was there.”

“I’m an observant kind of guy,” he said. “I saw the towel and the empty water bottles.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t know you’d stowed away in the truck, though. You surprised me, and that doesn’t often happen.”

She stared at him as if he were an alien. “Who are you, Zach? Why do you say you can help me disappear? What’s the truth?”

“I play a superhero on the silver screen,” he said. “You pick up a few things here and there.”

She reached out a hand and laid it on Zach’s arm. His muscles tensed under her touch, but she didn’t let go. “You’re…not what I expected, Zach Montgomery. Why get involved?”

“Everyone needs choices.”

His warm, strong hand covered hers. Her breath stuttered at his hooded gaze. She still couldn’t get over the truth that he’d tried to help her when he didn’t even know her. Who did that?

A hero?

A
real
hero?

Not a fake. Not a man who lived a lie. Not a man like her husband.

Her husband.

He lifted a finger to her cheek and trailed down the softness of her skin. She leaned into his touch.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, his voice dropping low and husky.

“Not like the women you know.”

He raised her chin.

“You’re real, Jenna. You have courage and guts. That makes you more beautiful than you realize.”

His gaze dropped to her lips. Jenna’s body stilled, wanting to deny what he said. She’d been a coward for far too long, but she couldn’t speak. He held her captive with one look. The heat generated between them entangled her, wrapping her entire being in temptation.

“I wish—” she whispered.

“So do I,” he muttered quietly. “More than you know. But it can’t be.”

She took a shuddering step away from him. Her entire body grew cold and chilled. She rubbed her arms. “I’d better go back inside. Before I do something…”

He clutched her. “Jenna.” His gaze softened. “Tomorrow we’ll find a way out of here for you.”

She wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him, but she knew if he ever held her in that way, she wouldn’t want to let him go. And she had to let him go.

“Leave,” he ordered softly as if reading her mind. He touched her shoulder. “You’re too tempting to me, and we both know giving in to temptation leads to disaster.”

She nodded and backed away. He turned, the stillness in his body almost eerie.

She’d found a man who didn’t take everything he wanted. Who did the right thing.

Zach Montgomery might be an enigma, but she believed in him. She’d seen him for who he was. But could she trust herself? She’d been fooled before.

She shuffled down the hall and checked on Sam.

She’d believed Brad, too.

A shiver quaked through her. How could Zach help her? Really? If Brad wanted to find her, all the money in the world wouldn’t stop him.

Jenna sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees.

For a moment, in Zach’s presence, she’d felt hope. Hope for the first time since she’d recognized the lie her marriage had become, and the dangerous man with whom she’d entwined her life.

In the silence of this room, she couldn’t stop the beasts of uncertainty from clawing at her memory. Betrayal lurked everywhere. But in the still, small space within her heart, hope glowed bright.

Maybe this time. Maybe this time she could believe.

Brad watched the ambulance pull away from the curb.
Damn it.
He should have known this assignment would be a disaster. John Garrison was a SWAT captain, but he’d seen better days. He should be dead.

Instead, he was alive.

More importantly, Brad didn’t like the smell of the assignment. He knew this house.

Knew this street.

Knew this woman.

Five years ago. Five years of jobs that had grown steadily more and more risky. During the last eighteen months his client had become even more unmanageable. Brad had lost control of the situation, and now he’d screwed up. Alerted his target of the danger.

The job would be that much harder.

His phone rang.

He cursed, but knew he couldn’t avoid answering. His deadly customer had too much power. Too many connections.

He regretted the day he’d ever agreed to that first contract.

“He’s not dead,” the filtered voice accused through the phone.

“Stating the obvious, are you?”

“You’ve lost your edge, Mr. Walters.” Fingers drummed against the phone, each sound skewering Brad’s brain with irritation. “Should I remind you once again what you have to lose?”

“You didn’t tell me Garrison was dating Montgomery’s widow.”

A small gasp made Brad smile. Perhaps his employer didn’t know everything.

“I’ll get the job done,” Brad added. “And I have a bone to pick with the Montgomerys, so just back the hell off.”

He ended the call and watched as the house fire blazed on.

Brad didn’t like coincidence. The moment he’d realized who Zach Montgomery was, he should have moved. But moving attracted attention. Caused records to be created. He’d played it safe.

Too safe.

He pulled one thousand and fifty dollars from his pocket and thumbed the bills—the money Zach Montgomery had obviously
left for Jenna. Proof of his lies. And a potential lead to his traitor wife. Brad needed to question Zach.

Perhaps this awkward situation would work out for the best. Zach Montgomery would care that his mother had been hurt. He’d come home. He could have a lead on Jenna.

Brad’s phone rang again. He cursed at the number and didn’t pick up.

A huge risk. And another loose end.

Brad flicked his thumb over his pinky. Yes, if Montgomery cooperated, Brad might be able to tie up his loose ends sooner than he’d expected.

A
BOVE
Z
ACH, THE
stars gleamed. A hermit thrush trilled from the pines surrounding his cabin. Crickets chirped a farewell to Jenna as she left him standing alone in the night.

Zach glanced over his shoulder and sighed at the sway of her hips as she disappeared into his haven. He couldn’t deny the attraction. His entire body thrummed with want, but Jenna Walters wasn’t an affair kind of woman.

She was the forever kind.

Something he could never have. Even if he survived the next few days.

He leaned forward against the pine rails. Knots from the hand-carved wood pressed into his palms. The crispness of snow tickled his throat. He couldn’t see the peaks through the surrounding forest, but he could feel their snow-covered majesty. If they could only hide him from the world, he might very well follow Jenna back into the house and beg her to stay.

A week ago, he wouldn’t have doubted his next move; he would have called the Company. But the cut across his chest remained a grim reminder of betrayal on that airplane. Once he made a phone call, no matter how secure his connection, they’d track him eventually. He could route through numerous towers to delay the tracking dogs, but he couldn’t hide forever.

A second bird joined in with the thrush, maybe a blackbird. The two very different species had quite a dialogue going on before one went silent. Not unlike him and Jenna. Two birds passing each other in flight, yet destined to travel alone.

Zach wished he didn’t care. He shouldn’t. She’d stolen his truck, run from him…tempted him in ways she shouldn’t. But he did care. He wanted her and Sam to be safe. To accomplish that, he needed information on Brad.

To get the data he needed, Zach had to hang in the wind—a big target nailed to his naked ass.

With a last look at the one place on earth he’d felt completely secure, he turned his back on serenity and walked inside. After locking the door, he did a quick check on Jenna and Sam before heading down the stairs, his footsteps heavy on the wood floors.

He entered the communications center, booted everything up, and connected his cell to the relay program.

A flurry of tones sounded after he entered in his access code. This should be interesting.

“Where have you been?” Theresa shouted through the phone, more concerned than he’d ever heard her.

Zach pulled the receiver away from his ear. “Lying low.”

Not exactly the truth. The trip to the clinic and being scoped out by tourists wasn’t exactly covert.

“They’ve cut you off,” she said tensely. “They discovered you were going through files you weren’t authorized to access, but I don’t know who ordered the block. You’re not helping me keep your job, Zach.”

He leaned back in his chair. His father’s files. About nine months ago, Luke had told the family that their father hadn’t been forthright about his military service. Zach had wanted
to know why. He’d needed to know. He’d thought he’d been careful.

“I didn’t compromise national security, Theresa. And I already figured out someone cut me off. I tried to get into the system.”

A sailor’s curse escaped her. “You need to come in. If you stay AWOL too long, I can’t protect you.”

“I need a bit more than reassurance from the Company. Who got to those two pilots?”

He allowed the words to settle between them.

“I don’t know,” she said after a long silence. “I haven’t been able to discover who leaked your location in Turkey or who paid off the pilots, but I’ll keep pushing. It might go high up, Zach. I’m just not sure.”

He didn’t like the doubt in her voice. A few clicks sounded on the phone. He recognized them. Someone was listening. And not on his end. “Don’t say anything else,” he muttered and cleared his throat, a signal between them from way back. “What would you think if you were me?”

“I wouldn’t trust anyone,” she said, her voice understanding his hidden signal. “Not even me.”

She tapped a few keys and a small hum sounded. “Clear,” she said.

“I need information. Brad Walters. Who is he? I want deep background. ASAP.”

Silence lingered over the phone, and with no comforting birdcalls or quaking aspens in the background, only busy office mumblings. She muttered under her breath, phrases with so many four-letter words it would’ve caused his mother to rinse out her mouth with soap. The click-click of typing sounded. Zach smiled. Finally he’d get what he needed.

“What a white-bread guy,” Theresa mused. “Barely a blip. Which in itself is—”

“Suspicious.” Zach shoved his hand through his hair. “Dig deeper. I need to know who this guy’s contacts are, what he does for a living, his bank balance, and what he likes for breakfast.”

“You don’t ask for much. How long do I have?”

Zach glanced at his watch. “Nine in the morning.” Even Theresa couldn’t cut through enough red tape to arrange for transportation, get from DC to Denver and then to his cabin that quickly—
if
they’d been able to follow his signal. He studied the communication center’s control panel. He still showed green…meaning he hadn’t been tracked yet.

“What are you into, Zach? You’re not asking for information on who’s out to get you. This guy’s name comes from nowhere.” Her voice lowered. “Have you picked up another stray kitten? That could be as dangerous for your new pet as it was for Pendar.”

Ouch.
She knew just where to hurt him, and she’d done it on purpose. She’d been part of his evaluation team when he’d twisted Seth’s arm into getting Zach into the Company. She knew his buttons. He wouldn’t mention Jenna. He’d keep her invisible until he could get her out of his life. “I’m not taking the bait. Just run Brad Walters.”

She sighed. “I can’t guarantee your safety. I don’t know who ordered the hit, but I can find out. Let’s meet. You give me the time or the place. I’ll be there.”

“I have business to deal with before I put myself out in the open as bait. First, find out who Brad Walters is, and then we’ll talk.”