Chapter Fifteen
Movie production was winding down, and the atmosphere on set carried that excitement. The crew seemed lighter, laughing a little louder and carrying equipment more slowly instead of the rat race it had been for weeks.
Still, Church couldn’t shake the sense that things weren’t right.
The set looked the same. The crew moved the same. Conversation carried on the air as they all loosened up as things started winding down.
But his instincts only sharpened more.
His gaze moved across the set and the landscape beyond automatically by now, taking in movement and noting faces. One of the grips made several trips carrying equipment. A truck idled somewhere nearby.
He shifted his stance and placed himself where he could see both Zee and the road leading to the set at the same time. Just in case. After all, Colorado was only a drive away.
If he’d learned anything from his time as a SEAL, it was that the worst hits came when everything looked normal.
Church took note of Miss Collins’s position before his attention drifted back to Zee.
Earlier when they left the loft suite, she’d been carrying a tote bag with an awkward-looking shape inside. Church offered to carry it, but she only shook her head and placed it on the floor of the truck.
“Should I know what’s in the bag, Zee?” he’d asked as he drove to the set.
Her lips tightened for a brief moment, then she nodded. “It’s Matt’s ashes. We’ll pass that gorgeous view on the way. I’m…I’m ready, Church. I never wanted to scatter his ashes where I wasn’t always going to be—and this is where I’m planning to stay.”
Her words had soothed him, not just because of Matt but because this was where she saw herself. The world she wanted to live in.
His throat tightened again, and he could only reach over and lay his hand on hers.
When they’d reached the place she mentioned, he pulled off the side of the road. But Zee shook her head. “Not yet. At sunset.”
“I’ll go with you,” he’d said.
“I’d like that.”
But as the sun began to dip lower in the sky, the production crew hit a snag with filming. They took a long break that had him checking the time over and over. Then he got the worst news he could. There was going to be nighttime filming so they could get the lighting right.
“Fuck,” he muttered, raking his fingers through his hair.
He needed to get Zee to the spot before sunset. He spotted Nigel Baker and waved him over. The man looked a little harried thanks to all the changes in the schedule as he approached Church.
“I need a short break.”
The man eyed him. “How short? Miss Collins has a wardrobe change, and we need you here.”
“Half an hour.” What if Zee was broken and needed him? “An hour,” he amended.
Nigel shook his head. “We need you here. Your contract—”
“I know what the contract says,” he cut in. Anger blazed through him, sharp and hot. But duty came first—that had always been a fact in Church’s life.
Nigel walked away, and Church glanced over at Zee. She was standing near her usual chair, facing the lowering sun, arms folded.
He didn’t know how to tell her that he couldn’t leave the set, that she’d have to put her plan on the back burner. It was like telling her that she couldn’t hold a memorial service and needed to reschedule because he had to work.
He issued a low growl and braced his legs wider to keep himself riveted to the spot and not walk off set.
The scene started again, and he stared at the actors, silently urging them to give clean performances on the first take so he could get the hell out of here.
When he looked up, Zee was walking toward him, and the air seized in his lungs.
He swept a quick glance around to ensure his ward was safe before crossing the grounds to meet Zee.
She tipped her head to meet his gaze, and he drew off his sunglasses. She gave him a steady look. “It’s time.”
He darted a look around. “I can’t break away. I’m so damn sorry—”
She shook her head, a flash of sadness passing over her face. “I understand. You have a job to do.”
Christ, she was already resigned to accept that she didn’t come first because it had to be that way for a military wife.
“Zee, it’s not that I don’t want to—”
“I know. It’s okay, Church. I’d…like to go alone. If you don’t mind.” She chewed her lower lip. “If it’s safe.”
Church studied her for a long beat before taking out his phone. He shot Theo a text asking for the current status of Lucian’s finances and whereabouts.
It didn’t take long to get a reply since the security team was monitoring him closely.
He looked up from his phone to Zee’s face. “Lucian’s credit cards show activity in Michigan. Nowhere near here.”
Some of the tension left her shoulders. “So it’s okay for me to do it?”
He could see she already had half a foot in that field where she planned to scatter her late husband—his friend’s—ashes.
He stepped close and lifted a hand to her face, drawing her attention back to him. “You can go. If there were even a whisper of danger, I’d never let you go alone.”
Her eyes softened to warm hazel pools. “I know.”
He kissed her, a tender brush on her lips and then her forehead. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
She held his gaze for a moment before nodding. “I won’t be long.” She turned and walked toward the parking area. He watched her every step of the way. When she got in the truck, he tracked the taillights until they were out of sight.
The sun hovered low on the horizon, casting the world in a warm, cinematic glow. Dust kicked up behind her tires, catching the light too and giving the entire scene an unreal quality.
He stood there unmoving, the shot framed in his mind like he’d lined it up for the cameras.
Only this wasn’t a shot he could call cut on.
The view didn’t relax him—it instead sharpened his senses. He didn’t like the distance from Zee. The instinct to go after her blazed like some of the pyrotechnics going off for the next scene.
He shot Theo a text.
Church: I let her go.
Theo: She’s safe. Pike is states away.
Church dragged his hand down his face, unable to shake the feeling that anything could slip past him if he dropped his guard for even a second.
The light faded, gold bleeding into deep orange. Production continued around him. Zee was on her way to the spot to scatter Matt’s ashes.
And the longer he stood there, the more it felt like the day’s calm was about to break.
* * * * *
The wind was softer out here.
Or maybe it only felt that way because Zee was alone with the murmur of the breeze through the grass, surrounded by mountains and the glorious colors of the sky.
She was glad to be away from the noise of the set. The constant hustle and bustle had been setting her on edge as the minutes ticked down to sunset.
She squeezed her fingers around the small box containing the man she had chosen for her forever. That wasn’t meant to be, and now it was time to let him go.
Matt would be in her heart always, but she needed closure.
Or at least what people called closure. She wasn’t sure such a thing existed when it came to grief, but she needed this moment anyway. In a way, she was glad she’d come alone too. Though Church would have been a solid presence at her back, it was probably better that it was just her and Matt.
Zee sucked in a slow breath, the taste of pine filling her mouth.
“You would have loved this place,” she whispered, voice carried away by the breeze. Her eyes blurred with tears as they always did when she talked to Matt.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
Three years had passed. Time and grief had changed shape so many times she barely remembered them all. Sharp and suffocating at first, then dull and constant. Finally, it had shifted into a part of her that lived under her skin instead of crushing her from the outside.
“This is where I’ve chosen to put down roots at last. Now you’ll always be here with me. With Church too.”
Her heart flexed as she fumbled with the latch of the box. When she opened the lid, she didn’t look inside, just turned the box over and let the wind do the rest.
A tear slipped out, trailing warm down her cheek. “I always loved you. I still do. I hope…wherever you are…you know that.”
Gone.
The box was empty. Matt was part of this place now.
Her chest hitched and a sob caught in her throat as the final pieces of him disappeared into the air.
“Goodbye.” The word broke as it passed her lips. She lowered the box slowly and stared out over the horizon. For a long minute, there was only the wind and the setting sun and the hollow ache of an ending.
She swiped the tears off her face and turned.
She froze.
A man stood a few feet away watching her. Recognition slammed into her with so much force it launched her heart into her throat.
Lucian Pike.
Every instinct inside her screamed at the same time—to run, fight, scream. But none of it mattered because Zee knew what she was dealing with.
A Navy SEAL.
The trained, lethal man who had tracked her across states.
“I thought you were in Michigan.”
He snorted. “As soon as I discovered I was being monitored, I gave a kid my card and told him to knock himself out.”
Her mind reeled, and she braced her knees to remain on her feet.
He took a slow step forward, cold gaze fixed on her. “Do you have it?”
Her pulse roared in her ears.
“The card,” he snapped. “The QR code.”
She forced the knot of fear down where he couldn’t see it. “You were with him.” Her voice shook despite her effort. “When he died.”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed, a flicker moving in his gaze. “I was.”
“Tell me what happened. Did he have any last words?”
“Yeah.” Lucian’s lips twisted. “He said, ‘You should have let me live—’ But he died before he could finish the sentence.”
Icy pain lanced through her. Her knees quivered, threatening to buckle. But if they buckled, she couldn’t run.
He continued studying her with that same cold, calculating expression in his eyes. “Then I realized he had something I needed. And I’ve been looking for it ever since.”
She forced her face to remain impassive. She couldn’t afford to give away anything now. Lucian didn’t know where the card was, so she still had time.
“So many ways Matt went wrong,” he went on in an almost conversational tone. “He should’ve minded his own business. Should’ve left things alone. But he didn’t, did he?”
Her vision blacked at the edges. With a jolt, she realized she was close to passing out. She couldn’t do that. She had to remain lucid so she could get out of this.
She sucked in a deep breath, and the oxygen seemed to push back the darkness a little.
“If I’m going to die anyway”—she forced the words through her throat that felt like flaming walls closing in—“you’re going to tell me everything.”
Lucian studied her for a long moment, then he shrugged as if sharing the story wouldn’t cost him anything. “He stuck his nose in business that wasn’t his. When we went on patrol, I was supposed to have his six.”
She stared at him through a film of tears, her stomach twisting.
“But I turned back when I heard a noise. Or rather, pretended to. I took a step away.”
Nausea pushed up her throat.
“When I looked back, it was too late.”
The loss hit her with a fresh wave of pain and finality. Matt. Gone because this man had let it happen—or organized it.
She pressed a hand to her chest, lungs searing and tears rushing hot down her cheeks.
The day the man in uniform came to her house to tell her that her husband died felt like it happened only minutes ago. Grief tore through her, but it was more muted than it had been that day.
She was on the other side of it. She missed Matt. God, she missed him. But now she had opened another chapter of her book of life…and she was happy again.
She had Church. It was a different kind of love—Matt had been blue skies and carefree happiness.
What she had with Grant ran deeper, steadier, roots sunk so far beneath the surface it could weather anything.
Lucian’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Where is it?”
Fear snapped her back into sharp focus.
“I’ve looked everywhere.” Frustration threaded through his tone now. “Your apartments. Your hotel rooms. Your vehicle.”
Her stomach dropped out.
“I even checked that locker in the yoga studio.” He took a step toward her.
She stood her ground, battling to keep her breath even.
“I tore apart every place you stayed looking for that damn card, Zee. I know you have it.” His voice dipped into a menacing growl.
If she was going to survive this, she had to stay calm.
She met his stare. “I hid it.”
He stilled. “Where?”
Her mind raced. “The movie set. I left it in my bag. I thought…with all the security…it would be the safest place.”
He narrowed his eyes again as if trying to decide if it was a lie.
If he took her to the set, she could get away. Church was there.
She held his gaze. “We can go now.”
A long heartbeat crept by, then he nodded. “Let’s go.”
Before she could react, he moved, latching on to her arm and angling it behind her as he forced her across the grass to the SUV she hadn’t even heard pull up behind Church’s truck. The wind had been too loud in her ears…she’d been too absorbed in what she was about to do to hear the danger coming.
He forced her forward, and she cried out at the way he twisted her arm higher. Struggling was pointless. He’d overpowered her too easily as he dragged her to his vehicle and shoved her in the passenger seat.
She let out a shrill scream, and he whipped out a hand. His steely fingers crashed over her face, silencing her.
He popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a roll of duct tape. She barely caught a glimpse of the extra clips for his weapon there before he leaned in, his face only inches from hers. “Don’t fight or you’ll regret it.”
He ripped off a length of tape and smacked it across her mouth.
Her heart slammed as he zip-tied her hands in front of her, so tight that the hard plastic cut in.
As he got in the driver’s seat, her chest heaved, panic clawing up her throat. She dragged in air through her nose, but it hitched, clogged from crying. She fought for breath, fought to keep from completely unraveling as the vehicle lurched into motion.
Her world narrowed to the crunch of tires on the road and the final rays of the sun sinking in her side mirror.
Not once since this all began—the break-ins, the uncertainty that came with moving to the next town—had she thought she couldn’t handle what came next. Because losing Matt was the worst thing she could think of, and that already happened.
Now…she had too much to live for.
Church.
Her new friends on the Black Heart Ranch, people who were quickly becoming her family. Willow, Rhae and Navy, Gabe and Truman and his dog Ranger. So many more.
And the future she’d only just started to let herself believe could be possible again…a life with Church, and a family in their future.
She wasn’t a woman who had nothing left to lose.
And she wasn’t going to die here.