Chapter 14 Zach
Zach
The truck jostled over the potholes as Zach drove along the path Matt had sent him on. There was supposed to be a cabin out here somewhere, but trees were the only things Zach had seen so far. Muddy gouges in the earth said he was following tracks someone else had made recently.
A rustic cabin finally peeked out from behind the pines. A dilapidated porch was attached to the front, and the railing on one side leaned out, barely holding on by rusty nails.
Matt had called it a “project,” but it looked more like a punishment. He really thought this cabin could be saved? It would be much easier to tear it down and start over.
As he neared the cabin, another vehicle came into view.
Great. It seemed today was the day to face old demons. Gage Howard’s truck was parked in front of the building with a bundle of two-by-fours sticking out the bed.
Zach shifted into park and got out. There wasn’t any use delaying. He’d worked with Gage years ago, but nothing about working at Silver Falls Ranch was like running guns and shine.
The boards creaked beneath his weight as he stepped onto the porch. The wooden door was cracked, and he gave a quick rap before stepping inside. Gage ripped a warped door off of a lower cabinet in the small kitchen.
Gage didn’t turn from his work. “Hey. Grab a crowbar.”
Finding one on the table, Zach squatted by the cabinets and started ripping them out. They worked in silence until they’d filled the wheelbarrow with scraps of the broken-down cabinets.
“You can dump it in the bin outside,” Gage said.
Working with Gage could be a piece of cake if they could both avoid the past looming over them. As much as Lauren liked to preach that the past was the past, it wasn’t.
When Zach returned from dumping the wheelbarrow, Gage was leaning against what was left of the kitchen counters. He set his water bottle on the table and crossed his arms. “I didn’t mean to do it.”
Zach crouched next to the cabinets and resumed ripping them apart. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. I didn’t like Rome, but I never wanted to kill him. Or anyone.”
Zach grabbed a board that was barely hanging on and pried the nail out of it with the split forks of a hammer. “What happened?”
Gage listed off the events as if they were items on a to-do list. “He wanted me to work with him. I didn’t want to do that anymore. He didn’t like my answer. He tried to hurt someone I love.”
“Sounds like Rome. He always thought people should do whatever he told them to do. Was it Hadley?”
Lauren had mentioned Gage and Hadley a few times, but it was hard to picture Gage Howard settling down with a woman. At least, not a self-respecting woman.
Gage rubbed a hand down his face. “Yeah. She didn’t deserve to get caught up in my mistakes.”
Didn’t that sound like the voices in Zach’s head? He thought the same thing about Lauren all the time.
“It wasn’t your mistakes. Rome didn’t like to be told no, and he had zero respect for women.”
Gage hung his head until his chin rested on his chest. “Tell me about it. I still think about the things he could have done if I hadn’t gotten to her when I did. Actually, I wasn’t even the one who saved her. Rome pushed her off a cliff, and Travis got to her first. I thank God every day for that.”
Travis? The guy Zach had been grumbling at since his first day on the job? Travis looked like he wanted to set Zach on fire just to watch him burn most days. He was too high and mighty to waste time on the scum of the earth, but he’d been there when Gage needed help.
“I’m glad he was there. Innocent people shouldn’t die because Rome was a narcissistic idiot.”
“But I don’t think he should have died either. You and I grew up in a world where death was normal, but being around Hadley changed me. I took a life, and I hate it.”
Zach gripped the edge of the counter and stood.
Watching Gage squirm over something he’d done wrong didn’t give Zach the satisfaction it might have a year ago.
Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Lauren had changed him too.
He’d been raised to think of people as disposable, but it was her life’s mission to take care of everyone exactly the same.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Rome liked to punish women because of what our mom did. That wasn’t Hadley’s fault.”
Gage pushed off the counter in a rush. “That’s not it. Don’t you get it? We were lied to our whole lives. Our parents conditioned us to have zero emotion. They dehumanized us.” He stopped his pacing and propped his hands on his hips. “We’ve got a second chance. A chance to do things right.”
“Oh, this is a motivational speech. You can save your breath. I’ve heard plenty since I got out.”
“I don’t think you’ve heard enough.” Gage huffed a laugh. “Lauren is a good woman. Whatever she says, you should do it. If she says jump, your response should be ‘how high?’”
“And where do you get off thinking you can tell me what to do?”
“I can’t. I know that better than anyone. I’m telling you the truth I wish someone had told me a long time ago. God put a good woman who cares in front of you. Don’t push her away. You can thank me later.”
Zach scoffed, but the sound died in his throat. Everything Gage said had the same ring of truth as Lauren’s words. There was a desperation behind them that had the hairs on the back of Zach’s neck standing on end.
He leaned both hands on the counter and stared at the busted-up linoleum. “She knows everything. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be around her?”
Gage chuckled. “I’ve known Lauren for a while. She’s even smarter than you know, and the best thing you can do for yourself is accept it.”
“I’m starting to think you’re right. I don’t want you to be right, but…”
“But you’ve got a chance here. The Bensons genuinely care about people, and Lauren does too. Isn’t this better than chasing something that’s always trying to kill you?”
Zach shrugged. “I don’t know. These hours are crap, and I smell like a barn after work every day.”
Gage’s shoulders loosened, and he leaned against the counter beside Zach. “It’s peaceful here, and I’ll do anything to hold on to it. Do you understand?”
It wasn’t a threat. There were few things in the world worth fighting for, and Gage and Lauren had something Zach didn’t. “I’m starting to.”
Gage’s hand landed heavy on Zach’s shoulder. “Let’s finish this up. Matt and Tammy want this place fixed up as soon as possible.”
The rest of the day passed quickly. Gage talked about the people he’d met since leaving his family behind, and many of the names overlapped with ones he’d heard Lauren talk about.
It was like Blackwater had a good-guys club, and they were letting Zach peek inside every once in a while.
He didn’t belong, but it was interesting to see how the other side worked.
At the end of the day, they’d torn out the cabinets, counters, and door facings. The place looked even better without the old trimmings, and Zach had already put the place back together in his head. Working for Lauren these last few weeks had rewired his brain.
Zach’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. A message from an unknown number lit up the screen.
Unknown: 137
The drop was crossing the county line. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and backed toward the door. “I have to head out.”
Gage tipped his chin. “See you tomorrow.”
Everything about working at the ranch was mundane.
The physical labor was a welcome rest from the logistics of his other job.
Four barrels of scopes would arrive at the warehouse in less than an hour, and it was his job to make sure they were transferred to wooden crates and loaded into a different vehicle within the hour.
From there, they’d meet up with their other parts somewhere west of Boise and become the rifles they were meant to be.
The sky was inky dark when Zach pulled up at the warehouse half an hour later. A rusty pickup was already parked by the side entrance.
Nick. He wasn’t in charge anymore, and he needed to take a hint. Zach couldn’t trust him as far as he could throw him, and that wasn’t a partnership that interested him.
What did interest Zach was how Nick knew about the drop. Justin was second-in-command, and he was the only one who’d be sitting in on the meet-up tonight.
The lights were on inside, and rustling from the back room led Zach straight to Nick, who was bent over a crate with his hands inside it.
“Find what you’re looking for?” Zach asked.
Nick’s chin lifted, revealing the look that said it all. He’d been busted. Recovering quickly, he stood and lifted his shoulders. “Just checking the crates.”
Zach leaned his elbows on an empty crate. “Checking them for what? Rats? Bugs?”
Eyes narrowed and chest puffed out, Nick took a step forward. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
“I said what I said.” Zach raised to his full height—a good three inches on Nick. “Whatever I find when I search those crates is going in your body bag.”
Nick took another step, and Zach held his ground, waiting for the idiot to make the first move so he could go all out.
“Evenin’, fellas.”
Nick stopped as Justin moved behind Zach. His footfalls echoed in the small room.
“We were just having a chat about Nick’s quality of life.” Zach winked at Nick. “You better get home before Mommy calls looking for you.”
Deciding to die another day, Nick bumped Zach’s shoulder as he stormed out.
When the outside door slammed shut, Justin crossed his arms over his chest. “What was that?”
Moving to the crates, Zach pulled the straw lining out by the handful. “Change the locks. I don’t want him here anymore. Search every one of these crates and watch every second of surveillance video from tonight.”
Justin’s eyes widened. “Now?”
“Now. I’ll break down the barrels myself.”
Justin dug into another crate without complaint. If Nick had put something in the crates, it couldn’t leave this warehouse. Getting tracked was every runner’s nightmare.
The phone in Zach’s pocket dinged, and he jerked it out of his pocket. The text wasn’t about the drop, but from Lauren.
Lauren: Do you like chicken alfredo? I was thinking about making it tomorrow night.
Zach shoved the phone back into his pocket and focused on pulling straw from the crate. He had a long night ahead of him, and the guilt couldn’t eat at him if he kept his mind off her.