Authors: Unknown
But this was what his sister loved. She thrived in the suburban lifestyle. Patty’s success reflected in her home. They lived in a mansion with a pool, gardens and wrap-around driveway that had three heated garages. Why they needed to be heated was beyond him since they lived in Arizona. The giggles from his niece and nephew playing in the pool got his attention. They were well-behaved and got excellent grades in school. Then there was her husband Dan, the successful software developer. He was completely at ease wearing checkerboard shorts and rubber flip-flops while pulling cooking duties.
This compared to his life, showed Zach definitely was the black sheep of the family. He hardly stayed in the one bedroom apartment he rented in Virginia and didn’t own anything of value other than his 1996 Collector Edition Corvette that never left the garage. He drank more lemonade wishing for something stronger. Patty didn’t allow hard liquor in the house.
Patty snapped her fingers in front of his face bringing him back. “Where did you go? I’m talking to you one minute and the next you’re off in la-la land somewhere.”
He finished the glass of lemonade and sucked on an ice cube. “My bad, the checkers on Dan’s shorts hypnotized me.”
Patty turned up her lip. She brushed strands of blonde hair away from her face. “Zach, not every woman wants a hunk for a husband. What you see when you look at Dan and what I see is different.”
“Patty, where are you going with this cause I’m not looking at him in any kind of way.”
“Sweetie, when I look at my husband, I see the full curve of his biceps, the ripples of his abdomen and the deeply shadowed groove down his back. Dan’s 150-pound frame is sexy to me. When you look at him, you see dork, wearing dorkier clothing.”
Zach lifted his brow. “He makes you happy and that’s all that matters to me. You have a great life here, and I’m not knocking it.”
She reached across the table and took his hand. “You could have the same, Zach. I’ve seen you playing with the kids. I’ve also seen you sitting out here alone at night just staring at the sky. You’re missing her. Why can’t you let Carla in your life?”
“Carla is not in my life and I don’t follow the institution that white men are expected to live by. I’ll never get married, have kids or own a house in the suburbs. And God forbid if I ever drive a damn minivan. The only way I’ll be caught behind the wheel of one of those things is if it’s revved up to chase criminals.”
Patty rested her chin on her hands. “Sweetie, those blue eyes of yours is telling me a whole ‘nother story. This woman has captured your heart, and you’re shaking in your boots with fear. The man who is afraid of nothing is afraid of love.”
He frowned. “Stop analyzing me. I’m not a patient of yours.”
“Then stop lying to me. Zach, I want to help you. People pay me big money to drag this crap from them; I’m doing it for you for free. Plus, I can say what I want and not get sued by you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“I’m putting the cards on the table, Zach. How you react will reveal if I’m right or wrong. You’re in love, aren’t you?”
He kept a poker face. “Wrong.”
Patty smiled and leaned back in her chair. “I’m right. I can always tell when you’re lying.”
Zach stood up. “I’m going inside. I refuse to sit here and be interrogated.”
“Sit down, Zachery.”
Unknowingly to him, he sat down. Patty’s voice suddenly sounded like his deceased mother. “Make it quick. I feel lucky and Vegas is calling me all of a sudden.”
Patty smacked her lips. “I’m not surprised you want to run. You’re running away to avoid the truth. I have one question, and I want an honest answer. Are you running away from the woman with the loud mouth because she doesn’t fit your profile?”
He leaned back in the chair and crossed a leg over his knee and laced his fingers together. “Nope. It doesn’t bother me that she is black or loud. I’m running because you’re getting on my nerves with this crap. I don’t have those types of emotions and I wish you would drop it already.”
“You have them, Zach. Just gave a woman a chance to bring them out of you.”
“Not with what I do. I can’t let women get close to me. I use them for one purpose only and they are fine with that.”
Patty exhaled. “Let me try another approach. Your job is gruesome. What you see and deal with is not for everyone. But you need a wife or steady girlfriend in your life. When you’re home at night, she’ll remove the harsh reality of your job, Zach.”
Zach shook his head. “I’m a loner and happy that way.”
Patty cracked her knuckles and grinned. “I have a little test for ya. If you pass it, I’ll never bring her up again.”
“Go for it,” he said refilling his glass with lemonade.
“Close your eyes and imagine Carla in the arms of another man.”
He closed his eyes and Carla came into view.
“Do you see them together? His hands are caressing her shoulders as he looks lovingly into her eyes. Then he bends his head and she ups her chin, waiting to take the lips that so eagerly want to devour hers. The kiss takes shape and his hands wander over her perfect body touching those places you once touched. You remember the way she feels right?”
Zach’s jaw twitched. He clearly saw her in the arms of another man, sharing intimacy with him and enjoying it. Blood pumped through his veins as his anger grew. Granted, she didn’t belong to him, but she wouldn’t belong to some faceless asshole either. Not if he had anything to say about it.
He opened his eyes and exhaled an angry breath. Patty almost succeeded in getting him to admit it. “Why did you do that, Patty?”
She shook her head. “You are in such denial. You’re in love with that woman and fighting it with everything you have. Let it happen, Zach. Fight the demons holding you back from true happiness.”
“Drop it, Patty.” His phone vibrated in his pocket. Taking it from the case he slid it open and read the text message. “Damn,” he said softly looking down at the phone.
“Is anything wrong?”
“It could be.”
“Zach, what’s going on?” Patty asked.
“Carla’s life could still be in danger. Her cousin Phillip was spotted in Mexico.”
“Okay, that means what to her?”
“He's careless, Patty. He’s coming out of hiding thinking the coast is clear for him to go on his merry way. We don’t know if Yezhov’s under boss is picking up where he left off. I have to get Carla to safety.”
“That poor girl.” Patty snapped her finger. “I have an idea, bring her here, Zach. There is room for her to stay in the main house or if she wants complete privacy the pool house has the facilities of a full house. We live in a gated community where visitors can’t get in or out without passing through security.”
He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. These people are not going to stop at the security gate and identify themselves as the Russian mafia. They will blow this gated community to pieces.” He punched at numbers on his cell phone and put it to his ear. “Rodney, where do you want to meet? Do you know if Carla is still in Michigan?”
“Whoa, slow down cowboy. Lowes doesn’t want you on the case, Zach.”
“That sonofabitch,” he snarled. “Who besides you is working on it now?”
“I’m not on it either. I’ve been assigned to desk duty for disobeying an order.”
“What the hell, Rodney? What did you do?”
“Lowes is pissed I went over his head and called Cooper for backup. Internal Affairs is investigating me for insubordination.”
“That’s bullshit, Rodney. Why am I not in the hot seat since we both made the decision to call the ATF for help?”
“That’s why I sent you the text, Zach. As soon as I saw the bulletin I thought Carla might be in danger. You have to help her since I can’t.”
“I’ll get Carla and then I’m coming after Lowes.”
“I got your back. Let me know what you want me to do.”
“Keep your ears open around there. It’s funny how this is happening with both of us out. Lowes knew what was going down, Rodney. I told you something is up with him.”
“I believe you. Hey, Carla moved back to Cleveland. She’s staying on the west side of town. I’ll text you her address once you’re in the air.”
“I’m on my way to the airport now,” Zach said ending the call. “Patty, I need a ride to the airport.”
“Sure, I’ll take you. Zach, don’t get me wrong because I understand that you like to put closure to your cases. But going after Carla when you aren’t on the case is a little over the top for you. Why are you putting your life on the line like that?”
He put a hand on his hip, chewing harshly on the end of a toothpick. “I have an overwhelming need to protect her. You will add more to that than is necessary and I’ll listen to your rhetoric about love and bullshit on the way to the airport.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She called to the kids playing in the pool. “Kids, come say goodbye to Uncle Zach. He’s leaving and might not be back for another two or three years.”
Zach frowned. “That’s low, Patty.”
“But true,” she said with a smirk.
Carla washed the dry crackers down her throat with Ginger Ale. “Man, this is freaking horrible,” she whined rubbing her stomach.
She stretched out on the sofa pulling the afghan over her and tucking the ends under her feet. The chill in the apartment was degrees lower than the sixty-five-degree temperature outside. The landlord had yet to turn on the heat since it was early in October and the weather remained nice outside.
She clicked on the television and the long-running court show Judge Judy appeared. It was the middle of the day and she hated to miss a day of work but glad she had benefits that paid her sick days. Plus she received a decent amount of money from the Victims of Crime fund. She used part of the money to move and the rest she split into savings accounts. With a baby on the way, part of the money would go toward a college fund and the rest she would save to buy a small house. Children deserved to have yards and open spaces to play.
Carla rubbed her stomach in an attempt to calm the wave of nausea rushing over her. “Okay, baby, you need to calm down. I’m all out of crackers and not in the mood to go to the store.”
The pregnancy came as a complete surprise. She used birth control since her first sexual encounter and kept taking the pill to regulate her periods when competing in races. She missed doses while on the lam, but she remembered Zach using condoms. Their spontaneous unprotected sex should not have resulted in a pregnancy.
Either way, when the physical for the EMT position revealed she was pregnant. She had to deal with it and it never crossed her mind to terminate the pregnancy knowing Zach’s commitment issues. Against Paula’s urging, she attempted to contact him to let him know about the baby, but her attempts failed. She contacted Rodney, who never returned any of the messages she left asking about Zach’s whereabouts either.
With her leads exhausted, Carla decided she could do it alone. She didn’t need Zach or his brooding demeanor to bring down her joy of becoming a mother.
Carla caressed the small baby bump through her t-shirt. Her mind drifted to the day they parted. Her stubborn streak served as her worst enemy, but it was better than being docile. She spewed her unhappiness to Greg and she’d told Zach how she felt about him. He would not have returned the sentiment. He did care about her but would never love her.
Memories of Zach invaded her mind. She touched her lips with her fingertip. His last kiss was forever burned in her memory. Nevertheless, a part of Zach would be with her forever through their baby. What hurt her was that Baby Parker would never know his father. Also, Zach’s name would be absent from the birth certificate. She yawned and closed her eyes listening to Judge Judy’s monotone voice going off on the television.
The high-pitch sound of the buzzer jarred Carla from a peaceful sleep. In a haze, she sat up on the sofa. The apartment was dark and on the television, Judge Judy had gone off and the local news was on. By the time she got her bearings together, the buzzer had stopped.
She yawned and stretched her back. “They probably had the wrong apartment, anyway. Nobody knows where I live.” Rubbing her stomach, hunger replaced the nausea. She hadn’t eaten since dusting off the roll of Ritz’s crackers, earlier. She got up to go to the kitchen when she noticed the doorknob on the front door wiggle.
She stepped back and looked closely when it did it again. “What the hell?”
Tiptoeing across the carpeted floor in bare feet, the chills enveloping Carla’s body intensified. She grabbed the heavy trophy sitting on the table by the door and raised it over her head. Whoever came through the door would feel the force of a ten-pound high-school trophy slamming down on their head.
The deadbolt on the door clicked. The lump in Carla’s throat rose. Two months and a relocation to another part of town, no one knew where she lived except Paula and her mother. Carla thought she was safe from Yezhov’s men. Pure fear had her hands shaking as she held the trophy.
Scream fool! That will scare the person off
.
Her heart raced as the door opened slowly. She held her breath thinking about the baby. She had to protect her unborn child, but this was the only door out of the apartment. When the figure stepped inside the room, she smashed the trophy down with all her might striking whatever body part in her reach.
A muffled grunt, followed by a string of curse words called out before strong arms pulled her from behind the door crossing her arms over her body. “It’s me, Zach!” He yelled.
Carla’s back pressed against his chest blocking his face from her view. She looked down and the tattoos verified his identity. Breathing heavily, she yelled. “Zach! Why are you breaking into my apartment! You scared the hell out of me.” She twisted from his grasp pulling the oversized t-shirt down around her waist.
He closed the door and said, “I pressed the damn buzzer for ten minutes and you didn’t answer the door.”
“Did it occur to you that maybe I wasn’t home?”
“But you are home?” He walked around the apartment checking the kitchen. “So are you alone?”