Chapter 41
Zach
Zach’s heart beat pounded in his ears. He shouldn’t have left her alone. He’d broken his own rule, and now she was hurt.
Red tinged the edges of his vision, and he wasn’t finished with Nick. Not by a long shot. He had calls to make, but the guy would get what he deserved and then extra for touching Lauren.
Zach’s worst fear was staring him in the face. He’d exposed her to this. He’d brought her here. She didn’t deserve any of it.
He opened the passenger door, and she slid into the seat on shaky legs. When he closed the door, he scooped up a handful of snow as he rounded the front of the vehicle and got in on the other side. “This should help.” He put the snowball in her hand and guided it to her cheek.
Shifting into gear and grabbing the wheel, he said, “We have a problem, guys. Call me.”
A second later, the phone in Zach’s pocket rang, and he pulled it out, answering the call on speaker and handing it to Lauren. “Eric wants us to stay at his house tonight.”
Lauren gasped, and he made the mistake of looking her way. Her cheek was already swollen. How many hits had she taken before he got to her?
Anger boiled just below his skin, and he gripped the wheel, twisting it in his grip until it burned. “I told him we had a room, but he wouldn’t budge.”
“Everything is set up at the hotel,” Dawson said. “We have security, video and listening devices. Our team is in the area.”
“Yeah. Thanks for reminding me of all the protection we’d be giving up, but how can we get out of this?”
“You can’t. You have to do what he wants. We’ll move things here and get you the same surveillance.”
Zach jammed the heel of his hand against the wheel. “This is a trap. I know it.”
Someone spoke to Dawson on the other end of the line, then he came back. “We’re working on it. Just get back to the hotel, and we’ll talk.”
The call ended, and Lauren slowly lowered the phone. “It’s okay. We can stay at Eric’s. We’ll be careful.”
“That’s not good enough! They split us up immediately, and look what happened!”
Silence lingered in the car after his outburst. At least she didn’t deny it. This whole thing was a stupid idea, and he had to figure out a way to get Lauren out of here.
Neither of them said anything on the way back to the hotel. When they stepped into the elevator, Lauren stopped in front of him as the doors closed. She rested her hands on his folded arms, looking up at him with her pleading eyes and swollen cheek.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too. You’re hurt because of me.”
She squeezed his arms. “That’s not true, and you know it. Please don’t shut down on me. We have to be in this together.”
“You can stay here, and I’ll go.”
Lauren huffed. “Yeah, like Eric is going to believe you would spend the night alone after a party. He knows we came all the way from Blackwater together.”
“Yeah, but the old me would have done what we came to do at the hotel, then given you cash for a bus and said, ‘Have a nice life.’”
Lauren’s petite nose scrunched. “You would not.”
It was the truth, even if Lauren didn’t want to admit it. She’d changed more than his present and future. Looking at the past always made him wonder why an angel ever gave him the time of day. It was times like this that made him hyperaware of the impending moment when she’d wise up and leave.
The elevator dinged, and Lauren stretched up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips.
It ended as quickly as it started, and the small glimpse of peace wasn’t enough.
He wrapped his arms around her and claimed her mouth in a desperate kiss.
The elevator door closed, and he leaned back against the wall, pulling her to him as they both fell into the kiss.
Her hands gripped his back, holding him close. He could easily forget how strong she was until she sparred with him like this. She gave him a taste of her determination and fire whenever she took control.
The elevator stopped, and Lauren took a step back. Her chest rose and fell in deep waves. “Tell me we’re in this together.”
Zach crushed her to his chest and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We’re in this together, angel.”
With that, she turned and pressed the button again.
They were both quiet as the team laid out the new plan.
Zach and Lauren were to stay at Eric’s house, keep the mics and tracking devices on them at all times, and report in hourly using either the buttons on the phone and mic or by saying a code word.
Zach carried their bags as they exited the hotel. On the way back to Eric’s, he kept a tight hold on Lauren’s hand. He prayed the entire drive, and he’d bet good money she was doing the same. If he’d ever needed guidance and protection from the one and only God, it was now.
Lauren’s thumb brushed against the back of his hand, reminding him of how she’d completely changed his life.
He would have never been afraid to walk into a place like this.
He wouldn’t have cared if he lived or died.
He’d never had anything to live for. At least, that’s what he’d thought.
She’d shown him just how much he had, and he’d do whatever it took to keep it.
More cars were parked around the house when they returned to the party. Several people were passed out on the lawn, and Lauren squeezed his hand.
“We should—”
“We should stick to the plan,” Zach said, hefting their backpacks higher on his shoulder.
“But these people are going to freeze to death,” Lauren said in a low voice as she stepped over another limp body on the porch.
“You’d be surprised how little you feel when you’re blackout drunk.”
“I wouldn’t know,” she whispered beside him.
Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder to pull her in closer. “And I pray you never do.”
He stopped at the door and turned to Lauren. “Are you ready?”
He couldn’t make out her features in the darkness, but she nodded. Inside, the music was louder, and the smell was stronger. Fewer people were still standing, and everything about the main room seemed darker.
Zach spotted Eric talking with two older men wearing cuts from Iron Coffin MC. When Eric saw them, he dismissed the two men with a wave but stayed put until Zach and Lauren reached him.
“It looks as if you’re ready to call it a night,” Eric said, holding up a crystal tumbler with a couple of fingers of dark liquor in it. “The night is young.”
It was close to three in the morning, but Zach bit back the urge to correct his host. “We drove a long way today. I’m looking forward to talking business with you tomorrow.”
Eric’s expression didn’t change. In fact, the man hadn’t reacted to anything. It was as if he didn’t have a care in the world as chaos swirled around him. He set his glass on the entertainment center and waved a hand for Zach and Lauren to follow. “I’ll show you to your room.”
Keeping a tight grip on Lauren’s hand, Zach followed Eric through the house, past sweating bodies and loud voices. They stepped through a door and into the cold night. A black Aston Martin was parked in a gravel drive. The headlights were on, and exhaust billowed out the tailpipe.
Lauren pressed against his side when she saw the car. “We’re not staying here?” she whispered.
Eric opened the back door of the car and gestured for Lauren to enter. “You didn’t think you were staying here, did you?” He chuckled.
The team knew there were multiple buildings on Eric’s property, but getting into a car he couldn’t control wasn’t sitting well with Zach. Not answering the question was the best response. There’d be less chance for him to slip up and reveal something he wasn’t supposed to know.
With Lauren in the back seat, Zach sat in the front, and Eric settled into the driver’s seat. The gravel path soon transformed into a paved drive with huge trees lining both sides at even intervals. Lampposts with flickering lights lead the way to a mansion known to be Eric’s private residence.
The tracking device sewn into his clothes might as well have been burning against his skin. One misstep. One wrong word. It wouldn’t take much at all to blow their cover when they were deep in the heart of darkness.
And what did he have to defend Lauren with here? A gun and a prayer that whoever was listening in would be able to get to them before it was too late? Relying on someone else for help was difficult on a regular day. Tonight, his hope was shriveling like a raisin.
Lights pointed at the extravagant home from every direction, bathing it in a daylight glow. Four columns stood like sentries on the front, and a fountain dripped smoothly in the center of the circle drive.
It was the largest house Zach had ever seen in person. The idea that one man lived here was ridiculous, but it wasn’t just any man. It was a man who’d made his fortune from mostly illegal trade and lived the life of a free man.
Eric shifted the car into park. “Welcome to my home.”
He got out and shut the door, leaving the car running.
Zach climbed out and quickly opened Lauren’s door.
The bright lights shining on the house gave him a full view of her face and the bruise beginning to turn on her cheek, but it was the strained expression on her face that had him on edge.
She was taking it all in, and something about the place made her uncomfortable.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
Her eyes darted left, then right and back again. She gave him a small nod, but it did nothing to calm his erratic heart.
Zach grabbed their bags and Lauren’s hand as they followed Eric up the stairs to the grand front entrance.