Chapter 14
14
Nina nibbled on her nail and listened to the plan Lorelei and Adam had in mind. Clearly, they weren’t just coming up with this. They’d been thinking about it for a while.
“Do you really think she’ll show up?” Nina asked.
Lorelei shrugged. “We don’t know. She’s smart, so it’s possible she won’t. But even if she sends someone else, it’ll be another person we can take into custody and get information out of. We don’t think she’d send anyone in her place unless they were someone she trusted.”
“She doesn’t trust anyone,” Nina said.
“Except you and Frannie. You two are the only ones we think she ever trusted,” Adam said.
“That’s why you want us together. At a coffee shop. In broad daylight, where she can come and capture us,” Nina said. She was liking the plan less and less. Yeah, she wanted to take down Gwendolyn. Yeah, she knew others would get hurt. But she was just starting to figure out what life could look like. Giving it all up was not appealing.
But it was necessary.
Nina made her choice. She knew it was the right thing. She just hoped she would walk away and be back in Zeke’s arms. If he’d still have her.
“You don’t have to do this, Nina,” Monty said. He hadn’t left her side, a solid wall of strength beside her.
Nina looked up at her brother. She missed so much with him. She wasn’t ready to miss more. “They’re not going to let anything happen to me.”
“They better not,” Monty growled. “I want to be there.”
Lorelei and Adam both shook their heads. “You know that’s not a good idea. We have every reason to believe she knows who you are.”
“I don’t think I can watch from far away.”
“We will figure it out,” Lorelei said before Adam could argue again. “We know this is not an easy thing to do. But we believe it’s the best option.”
“So you’ll capture this bitch and put her away forever?” Zeke asked from the door.
Nina’s head snapped up so fast her neck cracked. He came back. She didn’t know what it meant, but she was relieved he was standing there.
“Yes,” Lorelei said. “No one wants that more than me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Zeke said.
“Zeke?” Nina whispered.
He looked at her. The emotions she was feeling were reflected in his gaze. One side of his mouth lifted in a small smile. “When is this happening?”
“Tomorrow for breakfast,” Adam said.
“Not wasting any time, are you?” Zeke’s question was rhetorical, but Lorelei and Adam both nodded.
“She’s too dangerous to give her time to come up with another plan,” Lorelei said.
Nina sucked in a breath. She was scared. In less than twenty-four hours, she would see Gwendolyn again. Anything could happen. It might be her last moments alive. Frannie could be hurt. When Gwendolyn was involved, it was bound to be a disaster.
But so was leaving her to continue her operation. So Nina was going to do what she had to do.
“Are we done here? I think Nina needs some time to relax,” Zeke said.
Lorelei and Adam both rose. They shook hands with Nina, then Monty. “We will meet here in the morning and run down the plan one more time.”
Monty nodded. “See you then.”
Lorelei and Adam shook hands with Zeke, then made their way to the front of the building and out the door. Before the door swung closed, Berkeley came through, carrying two bags of food in each hand.
“Lunch is here,” Nina said, knowing her brother and Zeke would go help Berkeley and Nina would have a minute to herself.
Both men left the office, and Nina watched as they approached Berkeley. Monty took two of the bags from her, and another man took the other two. Zeke followed Berkeley out of the office, laughing at something she said.
Nina was absolutely not at all jealous of the pretty, curvy, confident assistant who’d known Zeke for years and was completely appropriate for him to date.
Monty came back into the office carrying two sandwiches. He handed one to Nina, then went behind his desk and unwrapped the other one.
Nina unwrapped her sandwich and took a deep breath. She knew Monty didn’t want her to put herself at risk. “Thank you for letting me do this.”
Monty sighed. He stared at her long enough that Nina fidgeted in her seat. “I hate it. I want to send you away with Zeke and find that bitch and make sure she can’t ever get close to you again. But instead, I’m letting you walk into a meeting with her. One that she doesn’t know about and is likely going to be a disaster.”
“I have to do it, Monty. I can’t let her hurt anyone else.”
“What if she hurts you?”
“Then she’ll be caught.”
Monty swallowed roughly and leaned back in his chair. “I’m not sure I can handle that.”
“I know. But I can’t handle knowing she’s out there and other people could be hurt.”
Monty shook his head. “I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I know you’re doing this. Just… be careful, okay?”
Nina nodded. “Yeah.”
Zeke wanted to go back in and pretend like nothing was wrong, but he couldn’t. It might be the last night he had with Nina, but it was also the last night for Montgomery. Zeke was not going to intrude on the siblings’ time together. He would have Nina overnight, and that had to be enough.
“What did the FBI want?” Berkeley asked when they walked back up front. She had two more bags of food on her desk, chips and drinks and more sandwiches. She grabbed one and handed it to Zeke, leaving one sandwich and a bag of chips on the desk.
“What are you doing?” Zeke asked, eyeing the food.
“Eating my lunch.” Berkeley looked at him like he was crazy. “What am I supposed to be doing?”
“Come back and eat with everyone else.”
Berkeley shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Zeke tossed her food into the bag and grabbed the second one. “Let’s go.”
Berkeley scowled but followed him to the back where everyone else was going through the bags of food and looking for a sandwich.
Zeke added the other two bags to the mix and pulled Berkeley’s food out before the rest of them could steal her lunch. “Here.”
She grabbed the sandwich and eyed him.
“Don’t run back out there. Sit and talk. We haven’t seen much of you lately. It’s like you’re hiding from us back here,” Zeke said.
“Yeah, Berk. What gives?” Austin asked. Austin flirted with Berkeley as much as anyone else, but she told Zeke she knew Austin was a good man, even though he and Samuel got into it sometimes about Samuel’s daughter.
“It’s been busy,” Berkeley said, smiling at Austin. “It’s a full-time job keeping all of you in line.”
The men chorused boos at her and laughed when she winked.
“That’s mean, Berk. We are perfect gentlemen,” Samuel said.
“You are. Valerie trained you right,” Berkeley teased.
Samuel chuckled while the others razzed him. “She did. I’m not going to argue with that one. The rest of you are just jealous that I have a good woman to go home to at the end of the day and you’re all playing with yourselves.”
Berkeley laughed. The other men cursed at Samuel. Zeke just sat back and listened. He wasn’t really either at the moment. He had a good woman to go home to, but she wasn’t his woman. Not entirely. What would happen when Gwendolyn Lennox was no longer a threat? Where would Nina go? Would Nina go?
Zeke hoped she wouldn’t. He wanted her with him for good. But Samuel was right earlier when he told Zeke he had to let her make her own choices. Would she choose him?
The question rattled around in his mind the rest of the day. Montgomery and Nina spent time together in his office, probably planning out the next day. Zeke struggled to focus on his work and answered questions when any of the guys needed something, telling them to leave Mont alone so he could spend time with Nina.
Zeke hated that he was planning for her to not come back, but he preferred to think he was being considerate. Giving her time with her brother. They hadn’t had a lot together with Nina staying at Zeke’s house. He was trying to be thoughtful.
“Are you ready to head out?” Mont asked from the door.
“Yeah, whenever.” Zeke stood, closing his laptop and locking his desk. He avoided meeting his best friend’s gaze. A part of Zeke felt guilty for talking to Samuel about Nina, but another part of him knew it was easier to talk to Samuel than Montgomery.
Their whole lives, Montgomery and Zeke agreed they weren’t meant for permanent relationships. That women were lucky to have dodged a bullet where they were concerned. It never bothered Zeke because he felt that way. He wasn’t a good fit for any other woman because he always compared them to Nina. Nina was his model, his angel, his fantasy woman. He never wanted another woman.
But it didn’t mean Montgomery would change his mind about Zeke and what any woman deserved when she set her sights on him.
Mont wasn’t any different, but he was a good man. If he decided there was a woman who suited him, Zeke had no doubt Mont would change his entire life for her. But he wasn’t sure Mont would see the same in Zeke. If he would be okay with Zeke getting involved with Nina. Especially after all she’d been through.
“Listen, I know you don’t like this. I don’t either, but we both know she’s stubborn and telling her not to do something is only going to make her want to do it more.”
Zeke nodded. “I get it.” He tried to walk past Montgomery, but Mont put a hand on his shoulder and waited until Zeke looked up at him.
Montgomery’s eyes narrowed, studying Zeke in a way he didn’t like at all.
Zeke resisted the urge to shuffle his feet and get the hell out, knowing that would only make Mont more suspicious. More curious. He stared down his best friend, waiting for the judgement that would come.
“I know you’re mad at me for agreeing.”
Zeke shook his head, but Mont pushed on.
“I am, too. Fuck, I hate all of this. If it was any other witness, I wouldn’t think twice about letting them, if they wanted to. But it’s Nina. I mean, fuck, it’s my baby sister.”
Zeke knew he couldn’t say anything that would make it better. He accepted Nina’s choice, but he didn’t like it. He wanted to tell her no, but Samuel was right. More than Mont, Samuel’s words kept rolling around in Zeke’s head.
“I know you’re feeling the same way I am. I’m sorry. We both love her. We are going to make sure she’s safe.”
Zeke nodded sharply.
“Are you going to come in the morning?”
Zeke exhaled. He’d hoped Montgomery wasn’t going to ask him that. He didn’t want to be there, but he had to be there. He had to make sure she was safe. “Whatever you want me to do.”
“I think we’d both feel better if you were there. The FBI wants us to stay out of sight because they think Gwendolyn knows who we are, but I said there’s no way in hell we’re sitting it out. We’ll be in a van or some shit, watching the whole thing.”
“Okay,” Zeke said, a thread holding him together.
“Let’s get the hell out of here. Dinner? I can pick something up and bring it over if you’re okay with me invading you two again.”
“You’re always welcome,” Zeke said automatically. It was true. He never wanted Montgomery to feel like he couldn’t join them, or just Zeke once Nina moved out and built her own life. Not that Zeke was ready to think about that.
“Thanks. When you’re ready to head out, we’ll go.”
“I’m ready.”
Montgomery nodded, looking closely at Zeke again, but he didn’t say anything before he turned and went back to his office to get Nina.
Zeke couldn’t stand there and pretend he was okay, so he walked to the door, waiting for them and taking the front as they walked outside and got Nina in the SUV. Montgomery waved and jogged to his vehicle, and Zeke got in his SUV with Nina.
She was quiet as Zeke pulled out of the lot and headed toward home. He wasn’t any more talkative than she was, and the silence between them grew more and more awkward.
“I’m sorry I upset you,” she whispered when they were halfway to his house. “I never wanted to do that.”
Zeke drew a breath. He couldn’t have a rational conversation about her putting herself in danger, especially when he was driving, but it seemed she was ready to talk. “It’s fine.”
“Really? Because you don’t seem like it’s fine.”
“What do you want me to say? That I’m pissed off? That I hate that you’re going to do this? That I am honestly considering locking you up so you can’t go?”
She chuckled softly. “I know you’d never do that.”
Zeke shook his head. “Maybe not, but it’s tempting. I feel like I’m being torn in half. I understand now why that was a medieval torture method. It’s fucking painful when it’s not real.”
She put her hand on his arm, and he jumped. She quickly moved her hand back to her lap. “I’m sorry.”
Zeke sighed and reached for her hand. She let him take it and wind his fingers through hers. “I can’t lose you again, Nina. I won’t survive. She’s going to kill you if she gets the chance. And the FBI can’t stop that. You get that, right?”
Nina didn’t reply, so Zeke looked at her. She was staring out the window and nibbling her bottom lip.
“I’m not trying to scare you, angel. I’m trying to be honest with you. What you agreed to is not safe. Their priority is bringing her in. But if they bring her in after she shoots you in the face, you’re just a casualty. They still get what they want.”
“Is that how you would do it?” she whispered.
Zeke shook his head and knew the truth. “Yeah. I hate it, but yeah. We’ve lost witnesses that way. A perfectly planned op can go sideways in a heartbeat. An innocent person can die. A criminal gets away. The whole thing goes to hell. It happens all the time.”
“I still can’t say no.”
Zeke exhaled heavily and shook his head. He pulled into his driveway and straight into the garage before he replied. “Why not? Why is it so important that you’re the one who takes her down?”
“That’s not what matters. I don’t care who gets the credit for it. I’m not doing this so I can say I stopped her. But she needs to be stopped. No matter what, she needs to be stopped. And if that means I have to die in the process, I’m willing to do that.”
“Why? Why would you sacrifice yourself? You just came back. You’ve been gone for so long, and you’re finally back, and you’re willing to die?” Zeke’s voice cracked with emotion. He gripped her hand tighter and fought against the panic rising inside of him.
“Zeke,” she breathed.
He pulled back, removing his hand from hers and wiping at his eyes to erase the tears building. He didn’t say anything before he got out of the SUV and made his way around to her side. He opened her door, then led the way to the house.
Two meows sounded when they walked inside. Gene wrapped himself around Zeke’s legs, and Franklin jumped off the counter and made a beeline for Nina.
Zeke picked up Gene and nuzzled the cat against his chin. He pressed his cheek against the top of Gene’s head and cradled the cat.
Nina crouched down to pet Franklin, chuckling when the greedy cat jumped up on her knees and made himself at home on her lap. He stretched his front paws to her shoulder and bumped her chin with the top of his head.
Zeke watched his cat love up on his woman and knew nothing would ever be the same again. Even a week with her changed his life. She loved his cats like she’d known them forever. And they loved her like she was their person, too.
“I want more time with you,” Zeke whispered. “I’m not ready for you to be gone.”
“I’m not ready for that either,” Nina said. “I know you’re scared. I am, too. Can we… For tonight, can we not think about it? Can we just enjoy the night and not worry about tomorrow? Not worry about Gwendolyn or anyone else? Please?”
Zeke nodded slowly. He wouldn’t be able to turn his mind off, but he could try to at least act normal for Nina’s sake.
She smiled at him, the anxiety in her eyes saying she wasn’t any more sure about tomorrow than he was.
For now, that was going to have to be enough to convince him that she would be safe. Because nothing else would make him feel better about the day to come.