Her heart thundered in her chest, and she fumbled locking the door. The second the bolt engaged, she jumped for the phone.
It rang just as she grasped for it. “Hello,” she nearly screamed.
“Nora? What’s wrong?” Deke asked, the sound of movement echoing through the line.
Zach pounded on the front door.
Nora turned her head to yell at Zach. “I’m on the phone with Deke. Just stay there until we can get you some help.” She really didn’t want to go hand-to-hand with a pissed-off Zach now that he was prepared for a physical fight.
“Damn it,” Deke bellowed. “I’m on my way. What’s going on?”
The pounding stopped. Nora eyed the room wildly. “I think Zach is having mental problems. Please send somebody to take him in for tests. Somebody trained and armed. He’s dangerous. But don’t hurt him.”
“Get in the bathroom and lock the door. I’ll be right there.” Deke’s voice lowered to calm and direct.
She breathed out, her head swimming. Pounding footsteps echoed down the hallway. “He’s gone. Damn it. We have to find him.”
“I’ll send out a BOLO and call in my men. Stay there.”
Nora nodded, her gaze taking in the scattered rose petals. What now?
Nora opened the door on Deke’s knock and let him into her apartment, her hands gesturing, even though she was sucking in air to calm down. Thank God Deke was there. “Lynne and I have called everyone Zach knows, and nobody has seen or heard from him. Bobbi is really upset and is trying Twitter and Facebook to find him.”
Deke shrugged out of his jacket. “I have men scouring the city for him. He’s only been gone two hours, so he can’t have gotten far.”
The guy was a genius and would know how to hide. “This is so bad,” she murmured. “I should go and try to find him.”
Deke lifted an eyebrow. “Where exactly would you look?”
She bit her lip. “No clue.”
“Exactly. Stay here, stay safe, and we’ll get him. Where’s Lynne?” Deke tossed his coat toward the sofa.
“She left about five minutes ago, for the second time, after giving everybody orders to get a couple hours’ sleep—especially me. The poor woman could barely stand, yet she’s worried about me.” Too much energy, probably adrenaline, roared through Nora’s veins. “I think I may head into the lab and get to work early.” None of her results would be ready, but she just couldn’t sleep.
“Absolutely not. You’re staying here and getting some rest, and you’re under guard until Zach is caught. I’m protecting you tonight while my men find him. Period.” Deke’s jaw clenched. “There’s nothing either one of us can do right now, so we’re catching rest.”
Nora’s mouth gaped open and then closed on a snap. There was the bossy asshat she’d once married. Yet instead of ticking her off, she was almost giggly. It must be because she was so tired. “Your time of ordering me around has long past, Deacan McDougall.”
He rubbed whiskers that had grown rougher in the few hours they’d been apart. A black gun nestled in the harness strapped around his right leg, and a polished knife handle gleamed at his belt. In a dark shirt with faded jeans, he looked like a mixture of badass soldier and dangerous warrior from years gone by. “I’ve never ordered you around,” he said.
“Sure you did. Remember when there were those robberies in my neighborhood before we even got married?” She flushed hot.
He blinked, his green eyes narrowing. “That was different.”
Her head lifted. “Oh yeah? How?”
“Jesus, Nora. When it comes to safety, to danger, I fuckin’ know a lot more than you do about survival.” At the outburst, his brogue came on strong. “Right now, you have a guy stalking yer every move. He was alone with you in your own apartment.”
She blanched, and bile rose in her throat. The realization of how easily Zach could’ve bitten her rolled her stomach over. “You don’t need to sleep over.”
Deke grinned, and seeing the tension leave his face was like viewing the sun after a monstrous storm. “I’ll just stay until we catch Zach, and that might even be tonight. All right?”
She paused, studying him. Well, at least he’d asked. Truth be told, she wasn’t a dumbass who wouldn’t accept protection when necessary, especially since she didn’t quite know what she was dealing with concerning Zach. Deke was trained, and he was dangerous. He could handle any threat. So she nodded and gave him what he wanted. “I would very much appreciate your protection while Zach is on the loose.”
At her acquiescence, Deke’s eyes darkened. “Ah, I do so like you sweet and agreeable, Nora McDougall.”
Heat flared down her torso, and she didn’t correct his use of the wrong name. “I wouldn’t know the feeling, Deacan. I’ve never seen you agreeable or sweet.”
