Midnight Secrets

chapter

THIRTY-FOUR


Zach pulled up in front of Lamont’s office. When Bart had called about the Ingrams moving out in a hurry, he’d hoped they’d finally found their killers. Unfortunately, in his eagerness to help, Bart had jumped the gun. What looked like Noreen and Kyle moving out was late spring cleaning. They’d piled both of their cars up with stuff they were taking to the Baptist church for a garage sale.

Still, he’d taken a few minutes to talk with Kyle again and confirmed Savannah’s suspicions. Kyle Ingram had indeed been the one to ask if he could adopt Savannah. That churned Zach’s guts and he’d taken the opportunity to have another frank, open, one-sided talk with the son of a bitch. Finally, at last, the man got the message. Unless he misinterpreted Kyle’s wide-eyed terror, Savannah would never have problems with the man. Taking the time to scare the shit out of Kyle had been well worth Zach’s time.

Since he’d only been gone about twenty minutes, Zach figured Savannah was still visiting with Lamont. It was going to take some time to mend the rift in their relationship. He put his hand on the doorknob and then jerked to a halt. He’d trusted his gut his whole life. The one time he hadn’t, he’d gotten the hell beaten out of him and it had almost destroyed his and Savannah’s lives. That same feeling was hitting him now. Something wasn’t right.

He turned and ran around to the back of the building. Lamont’s office window faced a small alleyway where he normally parked his car. For some reason, seeing Nesta’s car parked beside Lamont’s didn’t surprise him. He pulled his weapon. Staying low, he ran to the window, then eased his head up to peer inside.

In seconds, Zach took in the bizarre, nightmarish scene. Nesta was waving a gun around the room like a maniac. Tears streamed down her face as she shouted obscenities he hadn’t heard since he’d left the army. Lamont was handcuffed to a chair, hunkered down into his seat as if he was trying to disappear. And Savannah had her gun pointed at Nesta. Her hand was steady as a rock and she had the determined look on her face he knew well. She believed she was in control. Only problem was, Nesta had her finger on the trigger. The way she was waving the damn thing, there was no telling what she’d hit when it went off. The instant he had that thought, a bullet zinged from Nesta’s gun, embedding itself in the door behind Savannah.

Zach aimed his weapon, focusing on Nesta’s hand, which had momentarily stilled. Savannah fired off a shot an instant before he could. Zach watched amazed as Nesta’s gun flew across the room. Then the woman grabbed her bleeding hand and dropped down to the floor, howling in pain.

Zach busted through the back door and ran into the office. A pale Savannah was sitting in a chair, her gun in her lap. Nesta was in a corner of the room, holding her bleeding hand, howling and spitting obscenities like a seasoned drill sergeant. Poor Lamont looked to be in the worst shape. He was almost lying in his chair, sobbing like a child.

Striding across the room, he secured Nesta’s weapon, emptying the chamber. He turned to Nesta and handcuffed her, ignoring her expletives about his ancestry. Couldn’t deny that she was right.

Deciding any threat had been neutralized, he finally allowed himself to focus on Savannah. “Are you okay?”

Pale but incredibly composed, she rose to her feet. “What took you so long?”

Grabbing a crime victim and kissing her soundly was probably against somebody’s rules, but damned if Zach cared. Holding her as close as possible, he let his mouth show her how grateful he was to have her safe.

“What’s going to happen?”

Lamont’s tearful question interrupted them. Savannah pulled away slightly to look over at the man. “How could you hide something like that?”

“I had no choice, Savannah. She was my wife. I had to protect her.”

Using the radio mic on his sleeve, Zach called for backup and an ambulance. When Hazel assured him both were on their way, he turned to Savannah and said, “Want to tell me what the hell happened?”

Savannah shuddered out a long shaky breath. She was still too pale for his liking. Pulling her back into his arms, he listened in astonishment as she explained what had happened eighteen years ago. She began with the most startling part of all. “Nesta killed my parents.”

Hours later, the three Wilde sisters sat on the carpet in their parents’ bedroom. A tray with a bottle of wine and three glasses sat in front of them. It seemed only natural to congregate here. Even after all that had happened today, Savannah felt such relief to be able to think of her father in a warm, loving way again. He had been unjustly judged by everyone, most especially by his daughters.

Savannah poured the wine and handed each of her sisters a glass. Taking a sip from her own glass, she gazed around the room. “I wish so much I could tell him how sorry I am.”

Sammie sipped her wine and sighed. “I do, too, but somehow I think he knows.”

“I hope so.”

She looked over at Bri, who seemed even more pensive than usual. “You okay, Bri?”

Bri shook her head. “I just wish people weren’t so f*cked up.”

“Succinct as always,” Sammie said. “Having Nesta and Lamont in jail and clearing Daddy’s name is a good day’s work.”

“I guess.” Bri raised her glass and said, “To Mama and Daddy.”

Tears glazing her eyes, Savannah clinked glasses with her sisters. “Mama and Daddy … the most beautiful couple in the world.”

“Speaking of beautiful couples, what’s going on with you and Zach?” Sammie asked.

“We haven’t really had a chance to talk about the future yet. We’re going to be together, I know that. Just not sure where yet.”

“What do you want to do?”

She had yet to broach the idea she’d come up with yesterday. After having a long talk with each sister, she knew both of them were dealing with some issues in their personal lives. Sammie had even mentioned she needed a major change in her life. The suggestion Savannah was about to make would definitely qualify.

“I want to start a security agency here in Midnight.”

It was the first time she’d said the words out loud. And even to her own ears, they sounded damn good.

“A what?” Sammie asked.

Interest sparkling in her eyes, Bri asked, “What do you know about running a security agency?”

“Nothing, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn. Brody and Logan would be great resources.” She shrugged. “Zach has done a lot for this town. I don’t want to see Midnight go back to the way it was. Besides, he loves his job.”

“I thought you loved your job, too,” Bri said. “You’re always working.”

“I enjoy parts of it, especially the investigative work. I thought I could bring those skills to a new business … if I had some good people working with me who had other important skills.”

Savannah waited for a response. She wasn’t going to pressure either of them if this wasn’t something they were interested in.

“You want us to come back here and work with you,” Sammie said.

“Only if you want to.”

Sammie’s eyes locked with Bri’s. “It would be wonderful to be together again.”

Bri nodded. “It would be a risky career change, especially for you, Sammie. You just made detective.”

Anguish swept over Sammie’s face and it took every bit of Savannah’s strength not to reach out and comfort her. So far, she knew very little about the things Sammie was struggling with. Her sister had made it clear that she would tell them in due time and that she wanted no sympathy or questions.

“It might be the change I need,” Sammie said.

“It could be fun,” Bri added.

Happy that they hadn’t dismissed the idea out of hand, Savannah said, “Think about it. I don’t want to push either of you, but I think we could do some good work together.” Raising her glass again, Savannah said, “To the Wilde sisters.”

The clink of glasses was a sound of an ending and a beginning, Savannah thought. Closure on a sad, painful past and the beginning of a bright, beautiful future.

Zach entered the bedroom, sure that Savannah would be asleep. It was past two in the morning. Arresting the mayor and his wife for eighteen-year-old crimes, along with all the recent crimes Nesta had been part of, was no small matter. He swore he’d be doing paperwork till Christmas. The only bright spot had been the knowledge that Savannah was at home, safe, and waiting for him. Nothing else mattered but that.

Bone tired and feeling like he hadn’t showered in days, Zach started to undress when the small lump in the bed shot up and said, “You’re home.”

“I figured you’d be asleep.”

“And miss you coming home to me? No way.”

He dropped his pants to the floor. “I’m grungy. Let me shower and I’ll be right back to kiss you hello.”

The hot spray of the shower seeped into his bones, easing the tension and washing away the filth of the last few hours. Zach turned to grab the soap and heard the shower door open. When he glanced over his shoulder, his breath caught in his throat. She was magnificent—a golden, slender goddess, naked except for a delicate silver chain at her neck. He blinked the water from his eyes and stared at what was hanging from the chain. Moved beyond words, he touched the delicate ring with a shaking hand.

“I could never throw it away, no matter how hard I tried.”

Emotion clogged his throat, making his voice husky. “I can’t believe you kept it … especially after I broke my promise.”

“Maybe I knew that someday you would keep that promise.”

“Come here.” Pulling her into his arms, Zach held her against him, close to his heart. “I will never break another promise. I love you, Savannah. You’re my sunshine when there are only clouds, light when there is only darkness.”

She lifted her head and gave him a smile so bright his heart clenched at the brilliance. “I’ve loved you forever, Zach Tanner.”

Lowering his mouth to hers, Zach kissed her, savoring this moment with the woman who’d held his heart from the moment she had called him her hero.

Hours later, replete and so relaxed she could barely move, she rose up on her elbow and looked down at the man of her dreams. Having a second chance with this wonderful, heroic man was more than she could ever have hoped for. She vowed that not a day would go by that she didn’t cherish what she had been given.

Someday soon she would take him to their daughter’s grave. Maggie Rose would have adored her father and she had no doubt that Zach would have been a wonderful daddy to her. And she had pictures at her apartment, dozens of photographs that she could share with him.

Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, there would be more babies to hold, love, and cherish.

As if he could read her thoughts, he said softly, “Tell me about Maggie Rose.”

She smiled as she remembered the tiny, precious infant she’d been gifted with for only a short time. “She was beautiful, Zach. She had a head full of blond wavy hair, a lot like mine. Her chin was all yours, kind of squarish, very determined. She had my nose. Her eyes were a dark blue, of course, but I swear I saw a hint of gray in them, too.”

“I would give anything—”

She pressed her fingers to his mouth. “Shh. I know. And she knows.” Wrapping her arms tight around him, she whispered, “I like to think that my parents and grandparents are watching over her now.”

His voice thick, he said, “I like that idea, too.”

“I have something to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“My sisters and I have been talking. I want to start a security agency here in Midnight. I’ve asked them to consider moving back here and working with me.”

He rolled onto his side. Their heads sharing a pillow, their lips almost touching, Zach said softly, “You don’t want to go back to Nashville? I was planning to quit my job and find something there. You’ve worked so hard to achieve what you have. I don’t want you to give it up.”

“I’m not giving it up … I’m just refocusing. I don’t have the training that Sammie and Bri have, but I’ve got the investigative skills and I know the law. I would love to give it a try.”

“Years ago, you told me you couldn’t wait to leave Midnight.”

She smiled. “And like you, I’ve discovered there are a lot more good things about Midnight than bad. You’ve already made a difference in this town. I want to stay here with you and make a difference, too.”

He reached for her hand, kissed it softly, and held it against his heart. Her fingers spread against his chest, she treasured the reassuring thud of his heartbeat.

“If that’s what you want, then that’s what I want, too.”

“Being with you, building a life together here … that’s what I want.”

“Then that’s what you’ll have. Anything and everything you wish for, I want to give you.”

“You’re all I want.”

He closed the distance between them and she felt the smile on his lips as he whispered against her mouth, “Then, baby, I’m yours.”