Getting Lucky

Chapter 25

LILY HAD SEEN TOO MANY SLASHER MOVIES.

When the car lights found her by the side of the road she was so unnerved that the first thing to pop into her mind was the standard plotline of those films—woman gets hacked/slashed/chainsawed by resilient, utterly invincible killer. Fresh adrenaline roared through her and, since she'd already done the fight thing tonight, flight seemed the better choice.

And the worst of it was, it was her own darn fault. It hadn't taken five minutes alone in the dark, after her escape from Miguel, for her to realize just how badly she'd screwed up. Rather than taking the car keys to prevent the young thug from gunning for her the moment he regained consciousness, she should have just shoved him out of the car and taken the vehicle for herself. This pockmarked, rock-strewn, pitch-black wilderness was no place for a city-bred woman—particularly not one whose hands were bound and whose feet had been shod in her highest pair of heels until she'd fallen flat on her face trying to run in them down the goat-path that passed for a road.

Of course by the time she'd figured out her mistake, it had been too late to go back and rectify the matter. For all she knew Miguel might have already come to, and she hadn't wanted to be anywhere in the vicinity if that were the case. But after her second tumble to the rough ground, she'd started to rethink even that —until the vehicle with the blinding lights had slammed to a halt in front of her.

That's when her fantasy of taking over Miguel's car with its sturdy, lockable doors vanished, and the young man—who in her mind had been growing increasingly more easily conquered—suddenly morphed into a monster with foot-long steel blade fingernails. Dear God, he'd found her! Gripped by terror, she didn't stop to wonder how he'd managed to get the car started or why he was approaching from the wrong direction. She simply turned tail and ran.

Hearing her name called as she crashed through the underbrush unnerved her even more, but it was the sound of pursuit that really shot her panic up into the stratosphere. Ignoring the branches snagging her clothing and catching at her hair, she battled her way through the foliage, and when some small gleaming-eyed creature suddenly scurried in front of her before just as abruptly skittering out of her way, a sob pushed its way past the lump of terror clogging her throat.

A rebounding branch she'd turned loose too quickly whipped back and thwacked her left elbow, and a battalion of pins-and-needles charged down a pathway of nerves to her fingertips. One of her shoes tumbled to the ground, but she didn't dare stop for it. Instead, she desperately tightened her grip on the remaining one. She didn't have a clue how effective it would prove as a weapon now that the element of surprise had been removed. But it was all she had to defend herself, and she wasn't about to lose it, too.

The trees and undergrowth suddenly thinned, and her heart lifted at the prospect of picking up her speed—only to drop crashing to her stomach when she pushed into a small clearing and found the way in front of her blocked by an almost vertical rocky cliff. Whirling to the right, she discovered that avenue obstructed also by an impenetrable thicket of brambles and young trees.

Breath sawing in and out of her lungs, she swung around to examine her options, and found there weren't any. So she turned back to face her pursuer, whom she could hear rapidly closing the distance between them. When a nocturnal bird suddenly screeched on the bluff above her, she screamed.

Trembling as she teetered on the slippery slope of hysteria, she tried to regulate the speed of her breathing. To keep herself from tumbling into an abyss from which she feared she'd begin to scream and scream and never stop, she sucked air deep into her lungs and held each inhalation as long as she could before exhaling it. Then, her breath still coming too fast but feeling marginally more in control, she raised her shoe with its spiked heel out, ready to swing the makeshift weapon the moment anyone got too near.

That's how Zach found her, hair wild, eyes ablaze with equal amounts of terror and determination, her nyIons in shreds, her clothing snagged and streaked with dirt. Blood was a black trickle down her right leg from an abrasion on her knee, and her hands and face sported a number of welts and scratches. She looked one scant nudge away from a total meltdown, but still she stood like a rookie up to bat, her stiletto-heeled shoe gripped between her bound hands, ready and willing to inflict damage on anything that came within reach.

Aw, man. And he'd actually thought he had a prayer of not loving this woman?

"Stay back!"

"Lily." He inched nearer, wishing he'd thought to grab the flashlight so she could see his face. "It's me, sweetheart. It's Zach."

"Stay away from me, I said!" Her voice wobbled and she adjusted her stance, lifting the shoe a fraction higher. "I cold-cocked you once, buster—don't think I won't do it again."

"It's not Miguel, honey; it's me. Shh, shh, shh, now," he crooned. "It's all right. You're safe and nobody's gonna hurt you. I just want to get you out of these woods."

It was the latter, he suspected, that finally got through to her. He watched as she blinked and then leaned forward, eyes narrowed, to peer suspiciously at him through the meager illumination provided by the fingernail moon drifting in and out of the clouds.

"Zach?" She took a tentative step forward, but didn't lower the shoe.

"That's right, baby, it's me." He eased toward her. "You're safe now, Lily. Let me take you back to the car."

The stiletto heel tumbled from her grasp. Her arms dropped, and she seemed to sag where she stood.

It only took him three strides to cover the ground between them, but even as he reached for her, she rallied. Her posture snapped erect, and she swung her clasped hands at his chest, connecting with a solid thump. "You wretch! You scared me to death—I thought you were him ." Then she threw herself into his arms.

He held her tightly, aware of the rapid drumming of her heartbeat against his abdomen.

She rocked her forehead back and forth against his chest. "Of course, I also thought he was Freddy Kruger. I guess both assumptions were pretty stupid." A wild laugh exploded out of her throat. "Stupid seems to be the order of the night. I can't believe I lost it over my shoes , of all things."

He didn't have a clue what she was babbling about and didn't particularly care—he was just grateful to have her back safe and sound. He tucked in his chin to peer down at her. "Are you all right? Escavez didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No. I'm shook up, isall." She pressed closer. "Just hold me."

"Oh, yeah; I intend to." He'd forgotten how tiny she was without her four-inch shoes, and being reminded caused him to hunch over her protectively, tightening his hold. But her bound hands between their bodies kept him from enfolding her as closely as he'd like, and with an exasperated murmur, he swept her up off her poor abused feet and turned to stride back to the road.

Teeth chattering, she burrowed against him on the short journey to the car, and stayed close when he set her on her feet.

He grabbed a knife out of the toolbox and cut the cord that tethered her wrists together, then watched helplessly as she rubbed the skin where the ligature had chafed. Guilt and love welled up in him and, reaching out, he gently smoothed back her hair, plucking bits of flora from it. "God, Lily, I am so damn sorry I got you involved in this mess. The instant I knew Glynnie was safe I should have checked up on Escavez's whereabouts. If I'd called the base sooner you could have been spared all this."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. And I was surprised that he's just a kid. To tell you the truth, I wasn't half as scared of him as I am of these horrid woods."

"Still, I screwed up. It was unprofessional of me, even if I don't understand why he fixated on you. But it's gotta be due to his grudge against me."

"He said you were responsible for the loss of his woman, so in return he was taking your woman from you." Her eyes cooled then, and she took a step back. "You needn't worry, though. I set him straight on that score."

Zach winced. He had really hoped to put off his groveling until he could put some thought into what he wanted to say, but it looked as if he was out of luck on that score. "Listen, about that. I owe you an apology for my behavior after dinner tonight. I was wrong, and I acted like a jerk. You, on the other hand, were one hundred percent right."

She blinked. "I was?"

"Yeah."

"Well, as much as hearing that is music to my ears, I'm not quite sure I understand just what it is you think I was right about."

He shifted uncomfortably, because this was uncharted territory and he was a man who liked to prepare. Still, he had to give it a shot. He owed her that, at the very least. "You know… love." He opened the passenger door of the Jeep and lifted her onto the seat, but sat her sideways, facing him. "The relationship thing."

"What about it?"

"I've decided I'm for it. I think we should have one." He eyed her expectantly.

To his dismay, Lily looked more confused than ecstatic. "Isn't that quite a turnaround?"

"Yeah, well, what can I say. I'm"—he cleared his throat, drew a deep breath—"crazy about you." He exhaled in relief. Whataya know? That hadn't been so damn difficult after all.

"Or perhaps just plain crazy," she said flatly. "And you sure as sugar picked the wrong night for it, because I am so, so not in the mood for your charity." Her chin came up even as her voiced cracked.

His head snapped back as if she'd slapped him. "Say what?"

"You sat across a table from me not more than two hours ago, and informed me in no uncertain terms that you don't—how did you put it?—' do' love, but now I'm supposed to believe you're suddenly wild about me? Don't insult my intelligence, Taylor. You think I don't recognize your overactive Mr. Accountability streak at work when I see it?" She crossed her arms over her breasts. "You've decided it's your fault I had a big, bad uncomfortable hour at Miguel Escavez's hands, so you're offering yourself up as consolation prize."

"That's a crock of sh—"

"The heck it is! But I've got news for you, Zachariah. Like I said, I'm not some charity case, and I deserve more than a pity proposal, or proposition, or whatever this is supposed to be. So I tell you what. You can just keep your big sacrifice. I don't want il."

I don't want you, roared in his head, and all his shields slammed into place. For one of the few times in his life he'd opened himself up and taken an emotional risk. Hell, he'd just offered her more than he'd ever offered another woman in his entire adult existence, and she'd tossed it back in his face. "Fine." Losing all expression, he essayed an indifferent shrug. "Whatever. I thought it might be fun. But if you're not interested, you're not interested. Damned if I'm going to beg."

"No," she agreed thinly. "Zach Taylor would certainly never do that, would he?"

Surprisingly, temptation was riding him with spurs of steel to do exactly that, but she obviously wasn't ready to listen and he wasn't about to toss his heart at her feet again—not when she seemed more inclined to stomp all over it with those needle-heeled shoes of hers than clutch it to her breast. He turned away and pulled Glynnie's cell phone from his pocket. "I'd better let everyone know you're okay."

His sister answered the phone and screeched so loudly when he broke the news that he had to hold the phone away from his ear. Once she'd settled down enough to carry on a coherent conversation, he said, "Is David back yet?"

"No, but he's on his way," Glynnis said.

"Okay, I'll see if I can intercept him. I need him to come pick up Lily."

"What, you got a hot date or something, that you can't bring her home yourself?"

"That's cute, Glynnie—a real knee slapper. And no. I don't. But I do have to go get Escavez and take him to the sheriff's office before he can slither off and find himself a hidey-hole to hatch a new plan to screw up my life."

"Oh. Yeah. Good idea."

"Can't tell you how relieved I am that you agree."

There was an instant of silence. Then she said, "Whoa," at the same time he muttered, "Sorry."

"Forget sorry," she snapped. "What's got your shorts in a wedgie?"

"Not a damn thing. I gotta go." He disconnected, and glanced at Lily. But she'd swung around to face front and didn't look at him. Pacing away, he punched in David's number. A moment later he disconnected again after giving the younger man a succinct update and directions on how to find them. Then he turned back to the Jeep.

He was all business as he grilled Lily regarding what direction she'd traveled since escaping from Escavez's car, but he didn't appreciate by half her own businesslike responses. As soon as David and Christopher arrived, he put her in the backseat of their car, but then stood holding the door open for a moment as he stared down at her.

This was freaking nuts. He loved her, she loved him, and he was ready and willing to make a go of it—why was she being so damned stubborn? Okay, now clearly wasn't the time to hash it out, but he couldn't just let her go like this. So he dropped to his haunches, reached into the car, and snagged a hand around the back of her neck. Pulling her toward him, he leaned in to meet her halfway, and planted a hard, hot one on her startled mouth.

Just as abruptly, he turned her loose. "I will do right by you," he warned her baldly as he rose to his feet. "You can take that to the bank." Then, closing the door, he slapped the car's roof to signal David to take off.

It didn't take him long to find Escavez's car. And miracle of miracles, something actually seemed to be going his way when he saw that the young man was still inside, head tipped back against the seat as he stared dully up at the roof liner. Zach opened the passenger door and slipped inside. "Hey, there, Miguel. I hear you and I have a little unfinished business."

"She took my keys," the younger man whined. "She hit me hard enough to break my head, and she took my keys. Just because I said her shoes were ugly."

Zach nearly laughed out loud. So that's what she'd been talking about when she'd said she couldn't believe she'd lost it over her shoes. He didn't so much as crack a smile, however, and looking at the nasty lump on Escavez's temple, he shrugged.

"Well, see, that's your problem in a nutshell, Miguel. You don't know dick about women. But instead of owning up to it like a man, you blame everyone else. It was my fault that Emilita preferred another man to you. It's Lily's fault that she didn't care to be tied up and taken to the woods and decided to change her circumstances."

Miguel roused to glare at him. "You shamed me! In front of the h'entire village you claimed that Emilita welcomed Pederson's touch."

"Oh, grow up. You shamed yourself. Yes, I probably should have told you in private, but if you recall, you're the one who made it public when you chose the town square to challenge my decision not to punish my soldier. And Emilita did welcome his attention. I'm sorry about that, but women dump men every day. It happens; get over it." He looked at the sullen young Latino, and shook his head. "You had potential, Miguel. You've got a good brain, leadership ability, and connections in your village. But instead of letting us teach you how to focus all that for the betterment of Bisinlejo, you tossed it away on some half-assed revenge trip because your fucking pride was bruised. Now INS will no doubt be called in and you'll be deported back to Colombia. I doubt anyone but you even cared about Emilita's defection. But when your compadres return to your village and are hailed as heros, you'll be the guy who went AWOL. That's the true disgrace here, and you've got no one to blame for it but yourself."

When Escavez merely regarded him as if he were full of it, Zach shrugged. "You just don't get it, do you? Lily was right—you're nothing but a dumb-ass kid."

Miguel slapped a hand on his puffed up chest. "I am a man."

"Listen, amigo, if you were a man, you'd know it isn't about saving face. It's about sucking it up and getting the job done. But that's a lesson you're either going to learn for yourself or you're not. I've got better things to do than to sit here debating the matter with you." He tied Miguel's wrists together with a length of sisal he'd brought from his toolbox, and escorted his prisoner to his vehicle.

It took longer than he thought it would to get Escavez settled in at the sheriff's office and figure out who had jurisdiction over the young man's fate. But finally, Zach cut himself loose and headed back to the Beaumont compound, happy to devote the drive time to the topic that mattered most—figuring out the best way to handle the situation with Lily.

If he lived to be a hundred, he was pretty certain he'd still never understand the female mind. What the hell did they—did she —want from him? He'd said he was crazy about her, told her he wanted a real, honest-to-God relationship with her. What more was he supposed to do—drop down on bended knee and profess his eternal love?

Zach stood on the brakes, and the Jeep slammed to a halt on the dark country road, its headlights slicing through the night to illuminate towering evergreens, budding alders, and rural mailboxes. The silence outside his windows was broken by a lone cricket that was soon joined by others and then by the more distant sound of a bullfrog. Zach barely noticed.

Well, duh. Give the man a cigar. That's probably exactly what she'd wanted. But what the hell had he said to her anyhow? Shoving aside all the emotion his exchange with Lily had brought into play, he thought back to the actual conversation.

And could have happily sliced his own throat. Then he laughed without humor. For he'd pretty much already accomplished that verbally, hadn't he? Nice going, dumb shit .

He'd never said he loved her at all. He'd managed to limp out the word exactly once, but hadn't linked it with "I" or "you" and had instead mumbled something about being ready for a relationship "thing." Christ on a cracker. No wonder she'd gone off on that tangent about not wanting his big sacrifice.

He had some freaking balls lecturing Miguel about letting pride get in the way. Although—he straightened— at least he knew he'd fucked up, and he planned to do something about the problem he'd created. He'd drop to his knees, if that was what it took. And Lily might not believe it, but he not only could but would beg if that was the only way she'd give him a second chance.

Feeling a powerful rush of euphoria, he put the Jeep in gear and gunned it down the road, anxious to get back. A stupid grin stretched his mouth—one that probably made him look like an imbecile on some kick-ass meds, but he didn't care. Because he had a sneaking feeling that once he got past the fear of saying "I love you" out loud, making amends might be a whole lot of fun.

He was surprised to see his sister come out of the parlor to greet him when he burst through the door a short while later, but he merely grabbed her up, whirled her in a circle, then set her back on her feet and headed for the stairs. He took them two at a time.

"Zach, hold up," she called after him. "I need to tell you something."

"It'll have to wait." He didn't break stride. "I've got to talk to Lily."

Asecond later he was rapping his knuckles against Lily's door, but he didn't bother waiting for permission before he reached for the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was empty, and when he strode into the bathroom, she wasn't there, either.

Well, okay. She was down in the parlor with everyone else. He was turning to go join them when a detail niggling in the rear of his brain stopped him. He looked back at the countertop.

It was as pristine as an unoccupied hotel room, with none of the girly clutter he'd come to associate with Lily. Euphoria fading, the muscles in his neck starting to knot up, he turned on his heel and marched into the bedroom, where he went directly to the closet. He yanked open the doors.

It was empty of all but a handful of hangers.

As he stood there staring at them, Glynnie arrived in the doorway. "I'm sorry, Zach," she said breathlessly. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Lily's gone."