Chapter 36 Zach
Zach
Walking into the police station of his own free will wasn’t something Zach ever expected to do, but here he was, waltzing in like he belonged.
He did belong. Sort of. He had an appointment—one where he would supposedly walk out after and not in handcuffs.
The lobby of the police department was sparse and gray.
A long counter ran along one side, and a row of chairs lined the opposite wall.
Framed news articles showed various law enforcement takedowns and heroic moments.
A towering Christmas tree dominated one corner of the room, filled with white lights and big red globe ornaments.
Zach pointed to the tree as he approached the woman sitting behind the counter. A clear pane with a silver speaker spanned from the counter to the ceiling. “It’s a little early for decorations, isn’t it?”
The woman with fake red hair clasped her hands in front of her chest. “It’s never too early to bring out the Christmas cheer. I just love the glowing lights. Doesn’t it just make you happy?”
Zach glanced back at the tree. Lauren’s voice echoed in his head, urging him to say something kind or positive. “Um, sure.”
The woman’s smile beamed as she scooted up to her computer. “How can I help you?”
“I have an appointment with Asa and Dawson,” Zach said.
“Oh, Officer Scott and Sergeant Keller? What’s your name?”
“Zach Wilson.”
There was a quick flicker of surprise in her eyes before it disappeared.
She adjusted the black-framed glasses on her nose and clicked at her mouse.
“Got you right here. Actually, Officer Scott and Sergeant Keller are waiting for you in meeting room three.” Pushing away from her desk, the key ring clamped to her belt loop jingled. “I’ll show you the way.”
Zach followed her down a short hallway to a metal door with a simple plaque on it. Meeting Room Three. He could have found it himself.
The woman opened the door to reveal Asa and Dawson. Both were wearing their dark uniforms and sitting at a large wooden table. Asa was holding his phone and pointing to something on the screen, and Dawson threw his head back as he belted out a loud laugh.
“Officer Scott. Sergeant Keller.” She stepped to the side and gestured for Zach to enter the room. “Mr. Wilson is here.”
Asa and Dawson both stood and offered Zach a hand.
“Hey, man. Good to see you,” Asa said.
Dawson was still laughing, and he reached for Asa’s phone. “You’ve got to see this picture of Jacob’s carpentry project at school. The kid made a step stool.”
“Calling it a step stool is a stretch,” Asa added. “It’s not even level. How can he build a vehicle from the ground up but not pass shop class?”
Jacob was Asa and Lyric’s son, and the kid really did have some skill when it came to cars. Zach had gotten a peek at the Porsche Jacob rebuilt a few weeks ago, and it could have come straight out of a magazine.
Asa turned the phone to show Zach the supposed stool. The sides weren’t even the same shapes, and screws jutted out under each step where he’d missed the mark a few times. “Wow. That looks like a broken ankle waiting to happen.”
Dawson continued laughing, but Asa tilted his head toward the table. “Have a seat. Lauren should be here soon.”
Zach pulled out a rolling chair and sat. “There’s something I want to talk to you about before she gets here.”
Dawson’s eyes widened. “Is it a secret?”
Zach’s brows pinched as he glared at Dawson. “What are you, twelve? It’s not a secret. I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page about this.”
Dawson nodded and flipped to a clean page on the legal pad in front of him. “Right. Same page. Tell me about your page.”
Clasping his hands on the table, Zach looked at Dawson, then Asa. “Do you know Lauren is still looking for Anthony?”
“Yeah. She never stopped,” Dawson said.
Zach paused. Their lack of reaction was the opposite of his overreaction. “And do you know what she did last week before the storm?”
Asa glanced at Dawson before answering. “We do.”
“You shouldn’t have told her about the sightings,” Zach said. “Lauren isn’t going to just sit on information like that.”
Dawson clicked his tongue behind his teeth. “Lauren is a grown woman, and she had every right to know about the sightings.”
“But she’s out of her element. She doesn’t need to be investigating on her own. That’s your job,” Zach said.
Asa nodded. “It is our job, but she’s probably more qualified to handle this investigation anyway.”
Zach’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? She’s a librarian.”
Dawson held up a finger. “Not anymore. She’s a trauma counselor, but she has a master’s degree in criminal justice. She’d outrank me if she ever applied for a job with the department.”
The room was suddenly too hot. “A what?” Zach asked.
Dawson twisted the pen in his hands. “She’s devoted her life to finding her cousin, and she counsels inmates at the county jail once a week. She’s uniquely equipped to handle this.”
The information clicked into place in slow motion. Zach knew she had three graduate degrees, but he’d never thought to ask about the third one. Criminal justice? She’d never brought it up.
Zach scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m sorry. I’m having trouble processing.”
Asa cleared his throat. “She knows what she did was wrong. I think she’s had to live with at least some of the consequences these last few days.”
Zach’s head popped up. “I’m sorry, but a sprained ankle is chump change compared to what could have happened to her out there.”
“That’s not what we’re talking about,” Dawson said. “She almost compromised an open investigation.”
Zach stared at Dawson, but the words didn’t make sense. “What are you talking about?”
Dawson propped on his elbows, leaning over the table toward Zach. “Did you think we didn’t know? The police have been watching that operation since you were in diapers.”
“You have no idea what it is,” Zach countered.
A sly grin spread over Dawson’s face. “Oh, really? We know the exact date you went back after your release. The hour,” he clarified.
Zach stared Dawson down. Could he bluff his way out of this one? Did he even have to anymore if the whole purpose of the meeting was to come clean and become an informant?
A rat. He was a rat, and he’d have to live with that for the rest of his life. There was no going back now. Lauren’s safety was at stake.
“Really?”
“Really,” Asa confirmed.
“And did you say anything to Lauren?” Zach asked.
“Nope,” Dawson said with a pop at the end.
“Why not? Some friends you two are. You knew she was spending time with me, and you didn’t try to warn her away? You suck. Jerks.”
Dawson looked at Asa. “That’s the tamest thing I’ve been called all day.”
“I know. You’d think he could come up with something better.” Asa said.
Zach lifted his hands in the air. “Lauren’s been working on my vocabulary, okay? Seriously, why didn’t you say something?”
“Because we were hoping you’d come to your senses and tell her,” Asa said. “Then, she would tell you to come here and take us up on the whole informant offer.”
“Ta-da!” Dawson said. “Here we are.”
“And you were just banking on that happening?” Zach asked. “What if I’d gotten her in trouble?”
“We had eyes on the situation,” Dawson said. “You’re not very sneaky.”
Zach rubbed his temple. “Wait, do you think Lauren knew? She acted like she didn’t know?”
“We didn’t tell her,” Asa said. “The point was that you should have told her.”
“I did!”
“Eventually!” Dawson added. “Took you long enough. I was starting to sweat.”
Zach leaned over the table, trying not to do any sweating of his own. “What do you know about what goes on at that warehouse?”
Dawson cupped his hand beside his mouth and whispered, “Everything.”
“You can’t know everything,” Zach said. “I need specifics.”
Asa leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers over his abdomen. “Want to get the file?” he asked Dawson.
“Not really. It’s heavy, and I already went to the gym this morning.”
“We’re not the only ones onto you,” Asa said. “ATF’s file is probably twice the size of ours.”
Zach stood and ran his hand through his hair. ATF knew about him, and all of the precautions he’d put into place were for nothing. Lauren had kept things from him even after promising the truth.
Dawson pointed his pen at Zach. “The ATF is a federal organization that stands for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and—”
“I know what it is!” Zach shouted. “And you couldn’t have given me a heads-up about this?”
Dawson fell into a laughing fit. He turned to Asa and pointed a thumb at Zach. “He thinks we should tell the criminals we’re onto them.”
“I mean, I could have gotten Lauren wrapped up in this,” Zach said.
“Yeah. We were really worried about that,” Asa deadpanned. “Lauren is way too smart for you.”
Zach huffed. “At least we agree on one thing.”
“We could have avoided all of this,” Dawson said. “You could have decided to do this before your sentencing.”
“Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. It’s in the past,” Zach said. “I’m trying this honesty thing with Lauren, but I don’t want her caught up in something that could get her hurt.”
“We’ll protect Lauren,” Dawson promised. “She knows we care about her. Lauren has been in this world for a while. She trusts us. It’s you who doesn’t trust us yet.”
“You’re right about that.”
“But this new relationship isn’t going to work if you don’t. You’re entering into a partnership. We have to have the same goals.”
The door opened, and Lauren stepped in, closing the door behind her. “Hey. Am I late?”
Lauren wore her hair in a loose braid that fell over her shoulder and a smile that lit up the room. They’d been apart for fourteen hours, but it felt like a week. After spending a day and a half snowed in together, enough was never enough.
Asa looked at his watch. “Nope. You’re on time. We were just talking.”
Zach took her hand as he headed for the door. “Now we need to talk.”
Lauren followed him into the hallway where she walked right up to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I missed you.”
His skin warmed as he crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me about your criminal justice degree?”
Her head tilted slightly to the side. “It didn’t come up. That’s kind of an odd thing to insert in conversation.”
“Criminal justice. Psychology. Am I just a project to you?”
Lauren jerked back. “What? No. I didn’t go to school to hurt you.”
“Or fix me?” he asked.
She rested a hand on his arm. “Zach, I promise that wasn’t my intention, but I can see why you would think that.
I chose this path long before you. Growing up, it was difficult for me to understand why people did bad things—especially my parents.
I wanted justice, but I also wanted them to be better. ”
The hand resting on his arm slid off, and she wrapped her arms around her middle.
“I know I can’t change someone, but I thought if I could immerse myself in learning about others that I could help criminals make better decisions in the future.
Maybe they needed someone to listen to them?
I know it sounds naive, but it makes sense to me. I just….want to help.”
Zach’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry. I should have known you wouldn’t do that.”
She rose up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Stop worrying. We can do this. I’m on your side.”
He nodded and took her hand. “Right. Let’s go see what dumb and dumber have planned for us.”
They stepped back into the room with Asa and Dawson and shut the door.
Dawson elbowed Asa. “Look. They’re so cute.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”
“Never,” Dawson whispered.
Asa tapped his pen on the legal pad. “Can we get to the point?”
“Right,” Dawson said. “You’re being recorded, so don’t say anything stupid, and for the love of all things good, please don’t lie to us. It only makes it harder for us to protect you and our officers.”
Lauren led Zach toward a chair with their hands still linked. Could he do this? Could he really give up every secret he’d fought his entire life to keep?
“And if you ever get cold feet about this partnership, just remember it’s always best to be on the winning team,” Asa said.
“I guess that means your team?” Zach smarted off.
“It does,” Dawson said. “We can offer you immunity. Your other option guarantees you end up in prison.”
It was a good thing Lauren was still holding onto Zach’s hand because he needed something to remind him that this was real. He was about to do the one thing he swore never to do, and he needed to remember why he was doing it.
He glanced at her, and she squeezed his hand a little tighter.
He could do this, but only for her. He’d been turning the word love around in his head for days.
He didn’t understand love, and he didn’t understand Lauren and why she was completely devoted to him.
One thing was for sure. Lauren and love belonged in the same sentence.
She embodied the one thing he’d always thought was a myth.
She’d done more for him than anyone in his life, and he’d never come close to repaying her.
But love wasn’t meant for people like him. Loving her and letting her love him back would shackle her to a life sentence she didn’t deserve. She was innocent, and putting up with him and the mess he carried was a punishment. Coming clean was the only way to keep her safe.