Breaking Point (49 page)

He saw understanding in each man’s eyes.

Darcangelo clapped him on the shoulder. “You did well. Natalie is a class act.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you all for what you did.” Maybe it was the champagne and the beer, but Zach had to say it. “Each of you risked your own life and the happiness of your wife and children to help Natalie. You saved her life, and mine. I’ll never forget that.”

Hunter met his gaze. “I told you, McBride. We take care of our own. You’d do the same for us.”

Darcangelo nodded. “For once, Hunter, you and I agree.”

“To friends.” Zach raised his glass. Then he smiled, chuckling. “And to the women none of us deserve.”

The men laughed, shouting out their agreement, beer mugs clinking.

 

HOT FROM DANCING, Natalie took a sip of cool champagne.

“Mmm, I love the sight of my husband in a tux.” Sophie nibbled on the olive from her martini. “Makes me want to rip his clothes off.”

Holly smiled. “I love the sight of all of your husbands in tuxes. Anytime you want to share, just let me know.”

“Poor Julian.” Tessa put a hand against her lower back. “When I get home, all I’m going to want is a back rub and sleep.”

Natalie gave Tessa a nudge. “Julian is so crazy in love with you, I don’t think he’ll be disappointed.”

“I think I must be the only woman in the world who feels sexier when I’m pregnant.” Kat took a drink of bottled water. “I want sex all the time now.”

“No, you’re not the only one.” Kara sipped her chocolatini. “My labors with Caitlyn and Brendan were brought on by sex.”

“So was mine with Alissa,” Kat confessed.

Natalie found herself looking forward to the day when she would be part of this sisterhood of women who’d given birth. Then she caught sight of Zach toward the back of the room. He seemed to be arguing with a man whose face Natalie couldn’t see. He grabbed the man by his jacket and marched him toward the foyer.

“What is it?” Sophie followed the direction of Natalie’s gaze.

“I don’t know. Trouble of some kind.” She hurried after her husband, arriving just in time to see Zach step out the front door, pushing the man ahead of him.

“You weren’t invited,” he was saying.

“I shouldn’t need an invitation. I’m your father.”

Natalie stopped in her tracks.
His father?

“How did you get in?”

“I told them I was the groom’s father, and they let me in.”

“So you bullied your way through the door. You need to leave.”

“You’re not going to introduce me to that beautiful young woman you married?”

“I told you when Mom died that I didn’t want to see you again.”

Natalie knew why Zach didn’t want to be around his father, knew his father had mistreated his wife and his elected office. But something about this situation tore at her, and she found herself hurting for both men—the father who seemed to want to be reconciled to his only living relative and the son who had been disappointed so many times that he’d lost all respect for his father.

Then Zach’s father’s voice took on a resigned tone. “Why do we do this? Why do we always fight? That’s not why I came here. I wanted you to know I’m not the man I was, Zach. I left the senate. I resigned.”

“What?” Zach sounded stunned. “Why?”

“I wasn’t doing anyone but myself any good. I realized it was time for me to leave. I’m no leader. I’m not a hero. You showed me what a hero really is.”

Zach had only begun to take this in when he saw Natalie standing in the foyer, her face flushed from champagne and dancing.

She came to stand beside him. “Is something wrong?”

“No. My father was just leaving.”

Her gaze shifted from him to his father. She graciously held out her hand. “I’m Natalie, Zach’s wife.”

Zach’s father’s face split in a wide smile. “Hi, Natalie. I’m Robert McBride. I’m so pleased to meet you. You’ve very beautiful—and very brave, from what I’ve read.”

“Thank you, Mr. McBride. That’s very kind of you. Do you mind if I speak with Zach for just a moment?”

Uh-oh, McBride. It’s your wedding night, and already you’re in trouble.

Zach let Natalie draw him deeper into the foyer, leaving his father on the manor’s front steps. “He wasn’t invited, Natalie.”

She turned, took his hands. “I know he wasn’t. If you want to send him away, that’s your decision. He’s your father. I’ll support you, no matter what you choose. I just wanted to say that it took courage for him to come here, knowing he wasn’t welcome. It would have been easier for him to stay away.”

Zach looked into Natalie’s eyes, just being near her taking the edge off his anger. “He says he resigned, left his senate seat.”

“People change.” Then she seemed to hesitate.

“What is it?”

“He’s not immortal, Zach. One of these days, he’ll be gone, along with any chance you have to mend fences. We’ve put the past behind us, haven’t we? Maybe he’s here because he wants a new start, too.”

It was on the tip of Zach’s tongue to say he didn’t want to mend fences with his father, but he could see in her eyes that this mattered to her. Was that because she’d lost her parents?

He drew a deep breath, tried to let his anger go.

“Okay.” With her hand in his, he walked back to the door, to find his father still standing on the steps, looking old and alone. “Listen, Dad, I—”

“You want me to leave. Fine. I’ll go. But first . . .” He reached into his pocket and drew out a box. “I brought you something. This belongs to you.”

Expecting to find a piece of jewelry or other object that had once belonged to his mother, Zach released Natalie’s hand, took the box, and opened it, the breath leaving his lungs when he saw what lay inside. “You . . . you saved this?”

Natalie peered into the box, gasped. “Oh, Zach!”

“Of course, I did. I’m sorry I drove you away from the ceremony. I shouldn’t have brought the media, but I was so damned proud of you, son.” His father’s voice broke. “I meant to give this to you last time I saw you in D.C., but I got so angry that I forgot. It’s yours. Keep it. You earned it.”

Zach stared at his Medal of Honor. Until he’d laid eyes on it, he hadn’t realized how deeply he regretted leaving it behind. In a very real sense, it was all he had left of Mike, Chris, Brian, and Jimmy.

He ran his finger over the silk neckband, touched the thirteen white stars, then traced the anchor and the design in the center of the five-pointed star, where the goddess Minerva raised her shield to drive away Discord.

Struggling to contain his emotions, he looked up, saw his father walking away. “Dad, stay.”

His father turned. “Is that what
you
want, or just your pretty bride?”

Natalie reached out her hand. “It’s what we both want. Come in. Let’s introduce you to our friends.”

From behind him came Darcangelo’s voice. “We’ve lost the bride and groom. What’s going on? Trouble?” Then Darcangelo’s head peered over Zach’s shoulder. “Holy shit. Is that . . . ? Whoa.”

“Put it on, McBride.” That was Hunter.

“Well, I don’t know if—”

“Let your bride put it on you, Zachariah.” His father stepped through the door.

Taking a deep breath, Zach turned, surprised to find most of their wedding guests crowded into the foyer, the music playing to an empty room behind them.

“Put it on, McBride! You earned it!” That was Joaquin.

His shout was joined by others.

His pulse thrumming, Zach nodded to Natalie, who lifted the medal out of its box with hands that seemed to tremble, then walked behind him, her fingers fastening the neckband in place. He smoothed the medal so that it lay flat, then looked down to see it lying against his tie, the gold star shining.

The foyer erupted in cheers and applause.

He looked down to find Natalie watching him, her eyes sparkling, a smile on her beautiful face. “You’re my hero.”

 

HER HEAD TICKLING from champagne, Natalie kicked the door to the bridal suite shut with her foot, her arms around her husband’s neck as he carried her over to the bed.

“Thank you,” he said as he set her on her feet. “Thank you for stopping me from sending my dad away.”

“I didn’t stop you from doing anything.” She walked behind him and carefully removed his Medal of Honor, setting it down on top of the antique chest of drawers. Such a beautiful medal, earned at such a price. She didn’t think she’d ever forget the sight of him standing there, medal around his neck, their friends cheering for him. “You made up your own mind.”

He chuckled, reaching up to remove his tie. “Nice try, but I was there, remember? I would have sent him packing if you hadn’t come along.”

“I think everyone liked him.” She sat on the bed, kicked off her heels. “He’s a very charming man.”

“I’m sure his dozen or so mistresses agree.” He sat on a nearby chair, drew off his shoes and socks. “But I don’t want to talk about him any more.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“I don’t want talk at all.” He stood, shucked his jacket and vest, then walked toward her with slow steps, his shirt half-unbuttoned, the glimpse of sexy man chest it gave her enough to make her pulse skip. “Right now I have more important things to do with my tongue.”

His words sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine.

She stood, turning her back to him so that he could unzip her dress, the silk falling into a puddle around her ankles. She heard his quick intake of breath, felt a thrill to know he liked the lingerie she’d chosen to titillate him. She stepped out of the dress, then turned to face him, her blood going hot as his gaze raked over her, taking in the white lace corset, panties, and garters she wore, a telltale bulge appearing behind his zipper.

“We’ll have to get you out of those panties, angel. I’m going to need full access.” He reached behind her, slid his hands beneath the sheer fabric and over the bare skin of her bottom. “The corset, stockings, and garters can stay—for now.”

The moment her panties were off, he toppled her backward onto the bed. “I love you, Natalie McBride. You are everything to me.”

“I love you, Zach Black.” She looked up at him from beneath her lashes, let her hunger for him show. “Now keep your promise. Make me scream.”

And he did.

GLOSSARY

BDUs
—Battle dress uniform, commonly used for military fatigues or cammo

 

BUD/S
—Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, i.e., basic SEAL training

 

DUSM
—A deputy U.S. marshal; pronounced “DOO-zum,” and sometimes used as a pejorative term

 

EPIC
—El Paso Intelligence Center, home to fifteen government agencies, including the U.S. Marshal Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency

 

klick
—A military measurement of distance; one klick is equal to one kilometer or about 0.62 miles

 

maquiladoras
—Factories used by U.S. and multinational corporations to manufacture goods inexpensively in other countries

 

The OD
—The Operation Directorate in the U.S. Department of Justice

 

surf torture
—Being forced to remain in cold water for prolonged periods of time, a strategy used by the navy to weed out those without the resolve and strength to be SEALS

 

suppressed firearm
—A gun equipped with what most people call a “silencer”

 

USMS
—United States Marshal Service

 

VBIED
—Vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, i.e., car bomb

 

working the line
—Working as law enforcement along the U.S./Mexico border

Turn the page for a special preview of Virginia Kantra’s next Children of the Sea novel

FORGOTTEN SEA

Coming June 2011 from Berkley Sensation!

THE MAN ON the boat stripped half naked, exposing a lean golden chest and muscled arms.

In the parking lot across the street from the dock, Lara Rho sucked in her breath. Held it as he dropped his shirt to the deck and began to climb.

The top of the mast swayed, stark against the bold blue sky. Her stomach fluttered.
Nerves?
she wondered. Recognition? Or simple female appreciation?

The sun beat down, forging the water of the bay to a sheet of hammered gold. The air inside the car heated like an oven.

Beside her in the driver’s seat, Gideon stirred, chafing in the heat. His corn silk hair was pulled into a ponytail, his blue eyes narrowed against the glare. “Is he the one?”

Lara leaned forward to peer through the windshield of their nondescript gray car, testing the pull of the internal compass that had woken her at dawn. They’d driven all morning from the rolling hills of Pennsylvania through the flat Virginia tidewater, wasting precious minutes in the traffic around Norfolk before they found this place. This man.

Are you the one?

She exhaled slowly, willing herself to focus on the climber. He certainly looked like an angel, hanging in the rigging against the bold blue sky, his bronze hair tipped with gold like a halo.

“I think so.” She bit her lip. She should
know
. “Yes.”

“He’s too old,” Gideon said.

Lara swallowed her own misgivings. She was the designated Seeker on this mission. Gideon was along merely to support and defend. She wanted her instincts to be right, wanted to justify their master’s faith in her. “Late twenties,” she said. “Not much older than you.”

“He should have been found before this.”

“Maybe he wasn’t meant to be found before.” Her heartbeat quickened. Maybe she was the one meant to find him.

“Then he should be dead,” Gideon said.