He stood and paced in front of the fireplace. “I can’t listen when all I hear are danger sirens in my head!”
Lauren got to her feet and slid her hand into his, pulling it to her chest. “This is a good thing. We can help each other.”
“I don’t want help. I want you safe. I’ll have to lie to Eric. It won’t be a quick thing.”
Her shoulders lowered as the tension in her muscles faded. He was trying to do the right thing, not push her aside. They’d worked as a team for weeks, and they trusted each other.
“AndIcan tellyouif he’s lying. We’ll have each other’s backs. We’ll both be on the lookout. We’ll see twice as much when we’re working together.”
Zach’s chest rattled as he sucked in a deep breath. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“No. It’s fine. Everything is fine.” She brushed her knuckles over his cheek and slid her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. “We can prepare and meet this head-on. I know a lot about Anthony, and the fact that he was spotted in Winchester says he probably has something to do with Eric. We might be able to find Anthony and bring down two arms of the operation at the same time. Winchester and Blackwater.”
Zach wrapped his arms around her and buried hisface against her neck. “It terrifies me to think about you being there,” he whispered.
She relaxed into his arms. “But I always know I’m safe when you’re around.”
“I would do anything to protect you.” His soft breath brushed against the sensitive skin of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.
“I know. That’s the only reason this will work. I would do anything for you too.”
Zach quickly raised his head. “No. That’s not the way this works.”
“Yes, it is.”
He framed her face with his large hands and leveled her with a piercing stare. “You are the one that comes out of this without a scratch. Do you hear me? That’s the only goal. Promise me you’ll do everything to make that happen.”
She moved out of his grip and pressed her cheek to his chest, wrapping him in a tight embrace. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You’re so important to me. We both have to make it out of this. Do you understand?”
His hand rubbed circles over her back as she waited for him to answer. They were both going to be making a difference, and she needed him to value his life in the same way she did.
“I’ll do my best to keep both of us safe.”
“Good. Then we’re ready to do this? Our first mission as a team?”
“Our first mission period. I’ve neverdone this before. I’ve never been scared to do anything, and now I’m suddenly terrified to move because I’m afraid it’ll come back to bite you.”
Resting her chin on his chest, she looked up at him. The way he cared for her was something she’d never take for granted. No one since Anthony had put her first.
“You know, it means a lot to me that you care. My parents didn’t even care,” she whispered.
He wrapped his arms tighter around her. “They’re stupid.”
She tucked her chin and rested the side of her head against his chest. The love she had for him was growing stronger by the day, and maybe soon he’d be able to understand it when she told him.
38
Zach
Zach’s foot tapped a wild rhythm on the rug in Lauren’s living room. He’d been waiting for seventeen minutes. Not even conversation with Gage could distract him from what was going on down the hallway.
“You think Nick is mad about you kicking him out of his spot?” Gage asked.
There had been a time in a different life when Zach and Gage had run in the same circles. Gage’s family had always made moonshine, and Zach’s brother, Rome, had the bright idea to use the runner cars to move shine for the Howards. Things were going well until Gage decided to step out of the picture before Rome was ready. There was plenty of money to be made in smuggling.
“I don’t know. The kid is pretty evil at his core, but I think he’s too chicken to do anything about it even if he is mad,” Zach said.
“Just keep an eye on him. And I always had a bad feeling about Devin too.”
