Leap of Faith (La Flor #1) (24 page)

Much later, my father comes to my side.

“Pumpkin, you’ve done well. He’s a good man—Special Forces and now a firefighter. Damn good man you got there, pumpkin. He treats y’all like I treat your mother and you kids. He’s always watchin’ y’all, makin’ sure there’s no danger—I like that and I can rest comfortable at home now. And, he held his own when I questioned him. Jake would’ve liked him. I can imagine he’s sittin’ up there in heaven drinkin’ a beer and watchin’ Zane take care of his girls. I love y’all, Pumpkin. You, Skylar, and Rylee.”

Despite being in the military for over three decades and living in numerous countries, neither he nor momma have lost their accent. Or their pride in their home state. As they always say, “God bless Texas!”

The night continues with drinks—for me anyway, since Zane is driving—and lots of talking. My parents and I haven’t seen each other in well over a year and we want to know everything that has occurred during that time period. We share pictures and Zane tells them his side of “our story,” making my parents laugh with his description of my escape attempts and the scrapes I got myself into. Everything is wonderful and good.

Then it is time for my parents to leave.

After a tearful “see you soon” to my parents, Zane helps a very tipsy me into the Jeep and straps a sleepy Skylar into her car seat. He ensures we’re both buckled in before getting into the vehicle and taking us home.

“Babe, do I need to carry you inside and put you to bed too?” He asks.

“Nah, honey, I’m good.” I giggle. “I’m feelin’ soooo good; you’re gonna be a very lucky man tonight.” I look at him as seductively as I can after a few drinks. “I just need you to get our little peanut to bed and then I’m gonna
Rock. Your. World.
”

“Alright,” he replies chucking. “Ready. Set. Go!”

He hurries out of the Jeep and grabs Skylar, and I quickly follow him.

When the hell did these shoes get so hard to walk in? I’m only wearing four-and-a-half-inch heels, but still . . . I stumble into the house and head up the stairs to Skylar’s room. I give her a goodnight kiss and make sure she has her nightlight on.

After Zane gives her his kiss, I grab him by his shirt and basically drag him to our room. I throw him on the bed and watch his body bounce. He looks at me smiling and my heart stops. He’s so handsome and he’s all mine.
All mine.
I’m one lucky woman.

I take a few steps back and take my clothes off, leaving only my bra, panties, and heels on. I make my way to the bed, swaying my hips like Jessica Rabbit. I unpin my hair on the way and shake it loose. I feel so sexy walking towards him—due largely in part to the alcohol, as well as the look he’s giving me—like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world and the only thing that exists for him.

I reach him, climb on top, and straddle him. I grab his head and bring his lips to mine. I moan at how delicious he tastes. He takes a firm hold of my hips. Soon he takes over the kiss and I rub myself against him. I pull back and lift his shirt, shucking it off him. He takes my mouth again and I move my hands down to his belt. I undo it, unbutton his pants, and slide my hand in to cup him. He’s hard and it’s all for me. He lets me go and helps me get the rest of his clothes off.

Holy freakin’ crap!

His body is a work of art. His panther tattoo looks wicked and dangerous—“the ghost of the rainforest,” I’ve heard panthers are called because they are so rare and elusive. And just like the man, it stares back at me, claiming me. I love how it makes me feel, and I love Zane. He’s
all mine.

I push him back onto the bed and I look at his cock. It’s beautiful—long, thick, and
hard.
Very hard. I look at him and smile. I lick my lips and tell him, “It’s my turn now.”

I move my lips up and down one thigh and then the other. I go over and around his cock, feeling him move. He’s anxious for me to take him into my mouth, but I want to make him lose control just like he makes me. I torture him for a while longer, kissing, licking, and nipping everywhere but where he really wants me to. Finally, he begs me and I take him into my mouth. I swirl my tongue and suck him, like I do a lollypop.

Just as I’m really enjoying myself, thinking I’m going to make myself come by blowing him, he jerks me away, turns us, and pounces on me.

“No fair, honey,” I say with a pout. “Tonight is my turn . . .”

“Faith, when I come, I’m gonna come inside of you. I want to feel your pussy stroke my juices out of me and leave me dry. I want to feel you surrounding me, love.”

He tears off my lingerie and begins to stroke my body, knowing how to make me fall apart with pleasure. He takes me higher than ever before. My legs are wrapped around him and my heels are digging into his back. It’s freaking hot and I love it. When we explode, I’m so exhausted that I fall asleep immediately.

My last conscious thought is Zane taking off my heels, kissing my lips, and whispering.

“I love you, Faith.”

Hours later, I hear a phone ringing.

Ugh!

Thinking it’s mine, I lift my hand to my nightstand.

It’s not. Mine is dead—great.

It’s Zane’s.

I try to wake him but the man is dead to the world. Work has been exhausting lately and he hasn’t been getting enough sleep.

Well, crap. I’m actually going to have to get up. This stinks big time.

I wriggle out of his hold, find his pants and search his pockets until I find his phone. I take the phone out to check and make sure it’s not the station. I notice something fall out, and then I see a strange number on the screen. Missed call.

It’s midnight—strange.

I use the light from his phone to pick up what fell out of his pants and notice a patch. Not just any patch—an Army patch. I’m about to put it back when I notice that a set of dog tags is attached to the patch. I think nothing of it at first until I take a closer look at the patch, and then I look at the tags.

WTF?!

DUVAL

JACOB H.

638–18–9821

AB POS

ROM CATH

These are Jake’s tags!

“Zane! Zane, wake up,” I yell.

He immediately wakes and looks around, searching for the unknown threat.

“Turn on the light,” I say harshly.

He does as I ask and looks at me, confused.

“What the fuck is this?” I ask with deadly calm, holding the dog tags up in the air. At first he’s baffled by my attitude and language, but then he sees the tags in my hand.

“Faith, I can explain—” he says, but I don’t let him finish.

“Really? How could you possibly explain why you have Jake’s dog tags? Is this some sick joke?”

My voice is calm and emotionless. I feel like a knife is going through my body. I feel betrayed. I don’t understand what’s going on. Was everything a lie? By why . . . how?

“Those are mine,” he tells me. “Jake gave me those tags.”

“No!” I finally yell, losing the calmness I felt before. How dare he lie to me? “He couldn’t have given you anything, Zane. HE’S DEAD. Jake is dead and he’s never comin’ back!” My eyes fill with angry tears. “He’s never gonna see our daughter grow up and marry or our grandchildren born. We’re never gonna grow old together like we planned. Because he’s gone forever. He’s dead, Zane.”

“Faith, let me explain before you go off your rocker.”

“Excuse me? Are. You. Fuckin.’ Serious?! Don’t tell me to calm down because I‘m calm—I’m just fuckin’ pissed right now. And I have every right to be because I’m not the one that has Jake’s tags in my pocket. Even if I did, it wouldn’t be strange because he was MY husband.”

At this point, I don’t care if I sound irrational. Jake’s tags were in Zane’s pockets. Zane never mentioned meeting Jake before, and he had plenty of opportunities to inform me if they had met. He lied to me. Why would he keep it to himself?

“Calm down, Faith, and let me explain,” he says, but he’s interrupted by his phone ringing again.

“It’s that strange number that was callin’ you before, and after you answer, I want you out of here,” I say angrily, handing him the phone. “I need time to think.”

He answers the phone.

“Yes, this is her household. This is Zane Knight . . . No, I’m not. Is she okay? . . . What hospital? Okay—we’re on our way,” he says and hangs up.

“Get dressed. Now. Hospital. It’s Rylee. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not her next of kin. Let’s get movin’—the sooner we get there, the sooner we find out what’s going on.”

My world stops.

Rylee’s in the hospital.

I can’t lose her. Please, God, let her be okay.

Everything else is forgotten and I start to pray.

Zane comes to me and puts his hands on my shoulders. He forces me to look at him.

“It’s gonna be okay, Faith. I’m here with you. Now, I need you to go get ready to go while I get the Jeep out of the garage.”

I look at him and see the sincerity in his eyes. I blink and gather myself. I take a deep breath and nod my head in understanding. Nothing matters right now but my daughter.

I move faster than I thought possible as I get dressed. I grab my purse and run out to get our little peanut, but Zane beats me to her. He picks up a sleepy Skylar, murmuring calming words, and we rush out of the house.

We get to the hospital in record time and I run to the front desk.

“My daughter was brought in. Her name is Rylee Duval. Is—is she okay? ” I ask. My throat closes up.

The nurse types something into the computer and then looks up into my terrified face, then at Zane, who is holding a sleeping Skylar.

Her eyes are full of sympathy. “Just a second, ma’am, the doctor wants to see you and then we’ll take you to see your daughter.”

“Is she alive?” I ask in a whisper, afraid that she might say no.

“Yes, ma’am.” At her words I let out a sigh of relief, and I hear Zane do the same. “The doctor needs to speak with you first. She’ll be here in just a minute.”

Zane and I step away from the desk and I turn to him. He takes me in one arm and I let him. Regardless of what is going on with us, Rylee comes first and I’m glad he’s here with me.

“It’s okay, baby. She’s alive and that’s all that matters. Let’s wait to hear what the doctor has to say,” he says to me.

“The parents of Rylee Duval?” I hear behind me. I turn and see a female doctor standing in a doorway.

“I’m her mother,” I say. “How is my daughter, Doctor?”

She looks at me. “I’m Dr. Smith. Could you follow me, please? I need to speak with you.”

Before I can say anything, Zane says, “You’ll be speakin’ with me as well, Doctor.”

Dr. Smith looks at me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It’s not about him or me, it’s about Rylee. I nod in confirmation. I need him with me.

“Very well. Please follow me,” she says, leading us to the back.

We go into a small office and she closes the door. This scares me because she didn’t take me directly to Rylee.

“Doctor, I need to see my daughter,” I tell her.

“I know you do,” she tells me. “There are just some things I need to let you know before you do. Your daughter was brought in about an hour ago. She was conscious, but I’m sorry to inform you that she was badly beaten. She managed to tell us that she wasn’t raped before she became unconscious due to the pain. However, there were signs of a rape attempt. The police were informed about the situation, but because she’s a minor and unconscious, they have to wait to begin their questioning. I’m informing you so you’re prepared.” Looking at Skylar, she asks, “Is there anyone you can call to help with your little one? I don’t think it would be wise to have her see her sister right this moment.”

I can’t breathe.

“Badly beaten” and “attempted rape” were all I heard.

Rylee was hurt to the point she had to pass out to escape the pain. Oh, God! How could this happen? I feel arms come around me. I turn to him, seeing he has put Skylar down, who’s still sleeping, and I let myself fall into him.

“My baby girl was hurt, Zane,” I tell him, crying. “My Rylee. My baby. Oh, God . . .”

I feel his chin on my head and some wetness. I look up and see tears. Zane is crying for my daughter. My poor innocent baby girl. This just makes me cry harder.

After several minutes, he says, “Faith, do you want to call Julia to come get Skylar? The doctor is right, she shouldn’t see Rylee right now.” I nod and move numbly to my purse to get my phone.

“My phone is dead, Zane.”

“Here’s mine, baby.”

I call Julia and ask her to come get Skylar. She tells me she’ll be here in about ten minutes. I hang up and turn to Doctor Smith.

“Why wasn’t I notified sooner?” I ask.

“As soon as she arrived to the hospital, we treated her and waited until she became conscious to gather her contact information. We tried the first number she gave us and when we received no answer, we dialed the second number.”

I nod and close my eyes.

A few minutes later, Julia messages Zane to let him know she’s here. We meet her in the waiting area and explain the situation. She hugs me and we both start crying. Zane separates us, after giving us some time together, and hands Skylar to her. We explain that Rylee’s been given pain medication and is sleeping, but we want to get to her as soon as possible. We didn’t think it was the time to let Skylar see her in her current state.