Page 18 of Secret Redemption

Zack was not known for his talkative nature, but he found himself opening up to Lucy.

“What if I can’t protect them? What if I fail my son and his mother?” he asked and saw Lucy’s face falter.

She reached across the space and touched Zack’s arm. “We do everything we can and pray it’s enough. If I have learned anything this last year, it’s that you must live every day to its fullest and see and enjoy the beauty in it. You can’t worry about what might happen. You have to stand and fight and live every fucking day.”

Zack saw the tears fill her eyes as she thought about her sisters. One they had brought home, and one lost forever because of those assholes. He patted her arm and nodded.

Lucy blinked back tears and forced a smile, “Now show me a picture of this gorgeous boy of yours.”

Zack immediately passed her his phone with the image of Riley open. He saw her smile, look at him, then back at his son.

“No getting out of this one boss. He’s the spitting image of you!”

Zack chuckled, “Yeah he is.” A sense of pride filled him at the thought. “Okay enough mush,” he stated and snatched his phone back. “Have you got hold of Roz?”

“Yes, she’s on board and bringing most of her team with her. They should be here by tonight.”

“Good. Sly has contacted Jack. I really need to set up a meeting with everyone. But I’m also aware after what happened with Zin, that we aren’t sure who to trust.”

“About that, Zack. I’m not convinced that he has flipped. I’ve been talking to Celeste and nothing, not a single thought he had around her or Jace, indicated that he was a double agent. I say our best bet is to keep it quiet about Celeste and Jace having abilities and then have them around for the meeting. They can let us know about any traitors.”

“What about Celeste? We don’t know her that well,” Zack said. “She could be working with Zin for all we know.”

Lucy shook her head, “I don’t think so, but then I don’t believe Zin is a traitor either.”

Zack was intrigued to know why Lucy was adamant about Zin not being a double agent. “Why?”

She tilted her head, “It doesn’t fit his profile, and something about how it all went down doesn’t ring true. I’ve worked with Zin for two years and had numerous run-ins with him before. Don’t forget Zack, without Zin we never would have gotten you out that barren hell hole. It was his intel and him putting his neck on the line, risking his cover to help us get you out.”

Zack nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. This was the very reason he had never doubted Zin. They had formed a bond while he was captive, and Zin was undercover as an arms dealer and sex trafficker.

He’d seen Zin brutally beat and torture a man that had tried to rape one of the young female captives. He’d said it was because nobody was allowed to touch the ‘merchandise’, but Zack had seen the loathing and disgust on Zin’s face in that split second when he’d caught the man entering the cold, dank cell next to his own. The cell that held three girls of about ten and twelve years old.

Zack had hung from the metal chains, hooked to a crude rock ceiling, and felt hope for the first time since his men had been killed and he had been captured. He’d smiled as he heard the man screaming when Zin had dragged him out of the cell by his hair and beaten him unconscious. Zin had looked at Zack as he spat on the man and the look they shared had shown Zack that they were on the same side, just different teams.

He snapped back to the present when Lucy stood.

“We need to find Zin, and fast, because either way we need to know,” she said.

Zack followed behind, as they headed the conference room, but then stopped and turned as Nate walked in with Liam. “Ah Nate, I need to see you and Liam,” he motioned for them to proceed him into his office.

He spent the next half hour telling Nate and Liam how he wanted the security increased around Fortis. Not long after Nate and Liam left, a tap at his door had his head coming up, as beautiful red hair came around the door frame followed by lush, shapely legs.

“Sorry to disturb you,” Ava said and walked towards the desk, coming to stand beside him. Without conscious thought, he snaked out a hand and pulled her towards him, her ass landing in his lap and her arms coming up to his chest to steady herself.

The feel of her hands on him was like tiny electric shocks, tingling all the way down to his dick.

“You could never disturb me,” he stated with a sexy grin. He had resisted for so many months, and now he had no fight left. She was his, and he was hers. He just needed to convince her of that. The blush that crept up her cheeks made his blood burn. His hand gently stroked the curve of her ass as the other drew patterns on her thigh.

She made to move off him, and he stilled her. “Please Ava, just let me hold you.” Zack implored, suddenly feeling exhausted by it all. He watched as a war raged in her eyes before she relented and settled back down. He knew she was protecting her heart and guarding against him and he hated that. He wished he could reach her, tell her how thoughts of her had kept him sane while he was being beaten and starved and almost begging for death. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want her to see him as weak when she had been so strong.

Sliding his arms around her tiny waist he hugged her close, laying his head on her chest, listening to her heart beating so strong and steady. He didn’t know what he would have done if something had happened to her or Riley last night.

He felt her tentative fingers move through his hair, as she had done a hundred times when they were together in Kandahar. For a non-demonstrative person, he sure liked her touching him, and he didn’t care who saw it either.

“Zack,” she stammered as he kissed her neck, where his head was lying.

“Um,” he murmured, enjoying the entire tactile experience of her. The smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, the way the pulse in her neck sped up when he kissed her, hammering out her feelings.