Chapter 20
TWENTY
“ Z ack?”
His face paled.
Naya closed the distance between her and Zack and took hold of his trembling hands. “What’s wrong?” She stared into his dark eyes. Ones that a few moments ago had glistened with spunk and made her laugh.
That was one of many qualities she appreciated about Zack. His wit had a way of soothing the edges of any situation and reminding her that life was full of joyful moments, no matter how small, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
She couldn’t believe he’d maintained enough control of the truck that he’d been able to keep everyone safe. He’d saved lives today. She could have lost him. For good. They hadn’t had a chance yet to make things right between each other.
“What’s wrong?” Naya lifted her gaze from his shaking hands. Now, those same eyes held determination and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Protection? For her?
She wanted them to clear the air. To agree to fight on the same team, not against each other. Life was too short, and today had reminded her of that reality. Their end goal was the same. To have justice and truth exposed.
Could they find a way to see eye to eye?
“Someone has taken these threats too far.” Zack’s jaw twitched. “A threat against you is a threat against me.”
Naya lifted the note out of Zack’s grip and read the words.
“This note makes it sound like your story is connected to my parents.” Zack scrunched his brow. “But that doesn’t make sense.”
Naya finished reading and folded the paper again. “Actually?—”
A door slammed shut, and baritone voices filled the air. The rest of the crew was back.
That would make it more difficult to share what she’d discovered today with Zack. The information wasn’t confidential, but she didn’t want speculation and gossip starting over details that weren’t confirmed.
Would he want to get coffee?
“Anyone want pizza from Backdraft?” Ridge yelled from somewhere, and a few seconds later he meandered into the common area. “I thought you were heading home to chill, hero.” Ridge plopped down on a sofa and pulled out his phone.
“That was the plan. Until I found a note in my mailbox. Did you grab the mail today?” Zack asked.
“Ah, I do remember that handwritten card being in the pile. A love note?” Ridge winked.
“Far from it.” Zack’s body tensed next to Naya. “You didn’t see anyone drop something off?”
“Sorry, man. I just took the mail, then distributed it in our boxes. Security cams might show someone.” Ridge tapped a few buttons on his phone. “Do you two want pizza?”
It might be a tad selfish, but Naya didn’t want to stick around for dinner. Not when she had details to share with Zack. The two of them debriefing alone was more appealing.
“Would you like to stay here and eat?” Zack turned to Naya.
She bit her lip.
Zack turned to his colleague. “We have some other things to take care of. Later.”
Ridge chuckled. “Have a good night, you two.”
Naya stepped out into the hall with Zack, and he said, “Do you mind if we check the security footage?”
“Good idea. It might show something.”
Naya followed him into a room with three monitors. Several camera angles were displayed in tiny boxes on the screens with real-time footage.
Her stomach growled. “After, we can head back to my place to talk. I can make some dinner.” Why was she so nervous? “If you want…”
Zack pulled out a chair and sat down, then swiveled to face her. “It’s a date.”
Naya swallowed. She couldn’t read Zack’s expression. Did he mean a date for the two of them, or a work date? Why am I so bad at this?
“You can sit down.” Zack slid another chair closer. “If you want…”
She caught the tug of amusement on his lips and cleared her throat. “I don’t mind standing.”
The distance should keep her heart from racing and leaving her breathless. Too bad the closer she was to Zack, the harder it was to focus.
This is about work, remember?
Zack clicked a few buttons and rewound to the beginning of the day. His mouse hovered over orange-marked areas, which indicated when the cameras had picked up on activity.
The first timeframe had the crew coming in and out of the garage, getting ready for the festival.
Zack sped up the playback, and several minutes passed by until someone came into the frame.
“There.” Naya pointed at the screen.
Zack slowed the recording while the mailman walked up to the mailbox, grabbed letters from his satchel, and put down the flag.
Two minutes later, another person walked into view of the camera. Their ball cap rested low over their face. After a quick glance to check the surroundings, they pulled the folded letter from inside a jacket and shoved it in the mailbox before hurrying out of view.
Naya touched his shoulder and leaned down. “Can you zoom in?”
“Definitely a guy. His stature and gait give it away.”
Naya stared at the grainy image. Something else familiar tickled her brain. “The hat.” She gasped.
“What about it?”
“It has the same logo on it as the person who attacked me on the mountain.” The crisscross pinstripes etched into the circular emblem mocked her. “It has to be the same person.”
Her heart sank. The image on the screen was too blurry, and the man’s face was averted. There was no telling who hid under the disguise.
No way to identify the man who’d nearly killed her.
After a few clicks, Zack had an email pulled up. “I’ll see if Detective Wilcox can run this for any facial recognition.”
Naya wouldn’t hold her breath. The chances of an ID coming back were slim on such a grainy photo, but she appreciated him for trying. Maybe Savannah would recognize the man and they’d be able to ID him some other way.
She needed to do something, though.
Naya said, “I’ll see what I can find on the hat. Figure out what stores sell that specific logo.” Sometimes the minor details held the greatest significance.
Zack clicked out of the replay, then stood up. “Good thinking.”
“You’re okay with me investigating this thread?” Naya held her breath.
Just the other day Zack had wanted her to stay out of danger. Thanks to Ingram, she understood why he’d view it that way. Trauma impacted each person differently. And after his parents’ deaths, of course he wouldn’t want to live through other people being hurt.
She would be careful, for his sake. But it wasn’t going to change her mind on getting to the bottom of this story.
“I’m not going to let you do this alone.” He took her hands in his. “I trust you to know what you’re doing. And someone’s got to have your back.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“Thanks.” Naya relaxed in his embrace. His strong arms brought comfort. Safety.
Zack leaned back and settled his hand against her cheek. His eyes searched hers, and she didn’t want to look away. There was no need to hide or cower.
She wouldn’t have to pick sides—Zack or the story. Which was a good thing because she wanted both.
Zack lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers.
He hovered there.
Waiting.
His breath tickled her skin, and Naya cocked her head and wrapped her hand around his neck.
She sealed her lips on his and he deepened the kiss.
Naya never wanted to leave. She wanted to stay in this moment where they would choose to fight for each other.
She eased back to catch her breath, and a smile captured Zack’s face.
“Well, that was one way to clear the air.” She swallowed. For the first time in a while, Naya couldn’t breathe for all the right reasons.
Zack stepped back and cleared his throat. The space between them left Naya cold and missing his sturdy frame wrapped around hers. “What did you have to tell me?”
“Why don’t we head back to my place, and I’ll give you the rundown.”
Zack followed behind her car in his white rental sedan. Ten minutes later they pulled into her driveway.
Naya unlocked the door, and paint fumes still hung in the air. “Sorry about the smell.” She dropped her keys on the entryway table. “Guess I haven’t aired it out enough yet.”
Zack peeked into the office space they’d worked on the other day. “The new color looks good.”
“It should be all finished by next week.” The DIY had turned into a fun hobby. Gave her something to do when she wasn’t working. Although, except for right now, when wasn’t she working?
Naya opened the fridge and wrinkled her nose. The smell of rotten eggs was prominent. She’d just gotten groceries a few days ago. Surely they wouldn’t have gone bad already. She’d have to inspect them later.
Naya pulled out a tray of mac and cheese and grabbed two bowls from the cupboard. She heated each one up in the microwave.
“Here you go.” She set the bowl down and handed Zack a fork.
“This looks amazing.” He took a bite. “And certainly not a box mix.”
She chuckled. “Homemade. I make a pan of something on the weekends so I don’t have to cook every night after work.”
“I could eat this every day.” The stringy cheese dangled from his fork. “My mom used to make it from a box, and we’d eat it straight out of the pot.” He smiled. “A Friday night tradition before watching a movie.”
“Do you ever feel like you’re going to forget your parents?” Naya frowned.
Zack set his fork down. “That’s why I think about the good moments whenever I can. Helps me remember life with them. Then they’ll always be in here.” He placed a hand on his chest.
Naya finished chewing. “The festival reminded me of a time like that too.”
“How so?”
“We had what’s called a kanaval —it’s Haitian for ‘carnival.’ My dad would take Dominic and me. We’d dance to the music and marvel at all the crafts people had for sale. We always had to get a beignet too.” She laughed. “It’s a crepe-like dessert made with bananas. By the time the sugar set in, my dad probably wished he’d had my brother and me split one.”
“See, they’ll always live on. No matter how much time passes.” Zack reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
Naya wanted to make more memories to treasure.
This time with Zack.
She wanted to admit how scared she’d been about losing him today. Naya swallowed. If she did, he might vanish again. No, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She smiled, then pulled her hand away.
“Your parents’ story deserves to be told. So you can move on and remember only the good times.” She slid her notebook over to Zack. “That’s what I was coming to tell you when the truck went out of control.” She sighed. “I think your parents’ deaths are connected to my water contamination story.”
“Why do you say that?” Zack grabbed a napkin from the holder on the table.
“Remember how you said your dad got a new boss and office? Well, ProEco Plant, the company he originally worked for was bought out. By Ethos.”
Zack’s hand froze. “Interesting.”
“I spoke with Sylvia today, the woman from the Green Warriors group. She confirmed that she works for Ethos.”
Zack furrowed his brow. “Why would she be part of the environmental group?”
“Hang with me for a second.” Naya pushed her empty plate to the side. “She claims it’s undercover work for Ethos. Rumor has it that the Green Warriors are the ones using the river as a dumping ground for waste that is contaminating the water.”
“Okay. That sounds more like blame shifting, but go on…” Zack pulled a pen from his pocket and scribbled down notes. “What do they gain from that?”
“Grants from the government. Money from donors who think they’re trying to protect the environment. Insurance coverage for those who are sick.”
“If that’s the case, the environmental group is hurting for funding.”
“Exactly. But I haven’t come across any information to support that claim—yet.”
“If they are behind it, where are they dropping off their waste?”
“That’s what Sylvia is trying to find out too.”
“The sandbag. On the mountain.” Zack stood up and paced the length of the table.
“That’s an idea. You did say the burlap bag didn’t fit the typical kind used to put out fires.”
“The river’s not far from the mountain. What if those bags are being used to transport the waste?”
“It still doesn’t answer the why. Or how the two cases are connected.” Naya tapped her knuckles on the table. “But it’s absolutely worth looking into.”
“I still think we’re missing a big piece to this puzzle.” Zack paused and ran his fingers through his hair. “Does it seem like the paint fumes are getting worse?”
She should open a window.
Naya headed for the kitchen. “If the note was only a warning for me to stop writing this story…”
“Then that means the explosion at Powells’s house and my car were intended for you.”
Naya turned from the window and frowned. There were too many parts to this story that could be interconnected or one-sided.
How were they going to put this together?
“Powells’s comments suggest the opposite. He seems convinced whoever killed my parents is still out there and doesn’t want to be found.” Zack opened the fridge and sniffed. “Nothing in here smells bad.”
“You sure?” Naya bent her head toward the appliance. All good. But the rotten smell wafted to her nostrils too, different than the paint fumes. “Then where’s it coming from?”
“Do you have natural gas?”
She nodded.
Zack slammed the refrigerator door shut and yanked her stove away from the wall. “I think you have a leak.”
Naya stepped back and gripped the counter.
Zack opened her cupboards until he found a cup, then filled it with water and soap. “Where’s a brush?”
She pointed to the canister of utensils under the microwave.
Zack rubbed the solution on the pipe.
“Open the windows and call the fire department.” Zack’s tone was sharp.
Naya raced to the windows off the eating area and yanked them open. She rushed back to him, pulling out her phone.
Zack moved to the back of the oven and twisted the pipe’s valve. He straightened, then grabbed her hand. “We need to get out until the crew can vent the place.” Zack pushed open the back door. “One spark and your house could be seconds away from exploding.”