Midnight Secrets (44 page)

“It was a normal pregnancy … at least that’s what my doctor told me. I started spotting at about thirty-one weeks. She said that often happened and to just stay off my feet. I got through the first semester of college. Granddad came to stay with me.” She shook her head as she remembered all that he had done for her. “He amazed me. No judgment or censure. He waited on me hand and foot. I did everything I was supposed to do.”

She took a breath and trudged on. “It just wasn’t enough. I woke in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my belly. Granddad carried me to the hospital. They told me I was in labor. They assured me that even though she was premature, everything looked fine.”

A soft little sob escaped her as she remembered. “Oh, Zach, she was perfect. So incredibly beautiful. I held her in my arms and felt so blessed and happy. I had a part of you that no one could take away from me. On the third day, she just stopped breathing. They rushed her to the NICU, put her on a breathing machine. Nothing they did brought her back. We buried her in a beautiful cemetery right outside of Nashville.”

That had been one of the hardest decisions she’d ever made. Rationally she knew she was being silly, but she had wanted her daughter to be placed next to her namesake, Savannah’s mother. Her grandfather had convinced her otherwise. No one in Midnight knew about her pregnancy. And though Savannah wasn’t ashamed of Maggie Rose, neither did she want all the gossip and spitefulness that would follow if she had brought her daughter back to her hometown to bury.

She forced herself to go on, wanting to get everything said and out in the open at last. “That was a really bad time for me, Zach. When you called me, Maggie had just been gone twelve days. I couldn’t talk to you. I could barely talk to anyone. Could barely function.” Closing her eyes, she admitted, “God help me, I hated you. I needed to blame someone and you were a convenient target.”

At some point, she had overcome her hatred, but unfortunately, something much worse had replaced it.

“I fell into a depression, a hole so dark and deep I didn’t think I’d ever come out of it. Couldn’t eat or sleep. Poor Granddad was beside himself. I went for counseling and then group therapy. I finally remembered all the things I had to live for, all the people who loved me.”

It had been a long, hard road back. College and then law school had helped but most of the credit had to be given to her sisters and grandfather. Without them, she wasn’t sure she would have survived.

Zach’s silence was stark and chilling. Did he blame her for not trying harder to get in touch with him? Was he angry she hadn’t told him sooner?

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before.” She leaned toward him. “Zach, please.” Reaching out, her fingers barely skimmed his shoulders when he jerked away from her and jumped to his feet. The rejection smashed her heart into a million pieces.

His head shaking in denial, Zach paced around the room in a mindless circle. He thought he’d seen and been through hell before. Nothing compared to this. He’d had a daughter. A precious little girl and she had died before he could see her, hold her in his arms.

And the woman he had abandoned, left pregnant and alone, lay on the bed. Her nonjudgmental acceptance of his treatment of her tore at his gut. She had said she hated him for a while … she should still hate him.

All of his life, he had done his best to take care of the people he loved. That had been his driving need for as long as he remembered. A code of honor he’d taken on because he’d known it was the right thing to do. The one time he’d taken the coward’s way out, had let his pride get in the way of honor, he had lost more than his self-respect, he’d broken Savannah’s heart and denied his daughter a father.

Like a roaring beast in a frenzy of fury, agony ripped at his chest, his throat closed, and tears blurred his vision. A harsh sob erupted from deep within him; a gut-wrenching anguish washed over him, threatening to drown him. He had failed the two people who meant more than life to him. And because of his sheer selfishness, he would never know one of them.

Savannah reached out her hand to him again. “Oh, Zach, no … please don’t. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It just happened.”

The emotion he saw on her face, the tears falling from her eyes, the pain he heard in her voice reinforced his self-disgust. He had hurt her once and now, dammit, he was doing it again.

He went to his feet and stalked out the door. He couldn’t talk right now. He had to think, clear his head. What in the hell had he done?

Oh God, she had known she would hurt him when she told him the truth. She just hadn’t realized the depth of that hurt. Guilt sliced through her. She should have told him sooner, in a different way. She should have tried harder to find him. She should have taken his calls. So many should haves … so much regret.

Maybe she shouldn’t have told him at all. What good had come from him knowing the truth? The man she adored was hurting and she was responsible.

Grabbing her robe from the end of the bed, Savannah pulled it on and hurried out the door. She couldn’t just let him leave like this. He was blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault … wasn’t anyone’s fault. She ran down the landing toward the stairs. The only lights were from the lamps in the foyer below and the light coming from her bedroom. Had everyone gone to bed? Where was Zach? Had he left already? Was she too late?

She was almost to the stairway when a masculine shadow appeared at the other end of the landing, coming from the direction of her parents’ room. “Zach?”

He didn’t answer. Savannah stayed still, afraid if she went closer he’d walk away from her again. She had to make him understand. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before … I couldn’t. Reliving that time again … it brought back so many bad memories.” She shook her head rapidly. “No, that’s no excuse. I know I should have told you sooner.” She took a step closer. “I’m so sorry … please forgive me.”

“Savannah.”

She jerked to a stop, startled that Zach’s voice, harsh and urgent, came from behind her and not from the man standing a few feet away.

Who? What … Before she could finish the thought, Zach shouted, “Get down!”

Savannah dropped to the floor. Shots were fired; bullets whizzed over her head. Her shocked brain registered multiple gunshots as if bullets were flying everywhere, in every direction. In a distant part of her frozen mind, she knew Zach was shooting at someone.
Please, please, please, let him be okay.

Seconds later, as if someone had abruptly shoved her into a soundproof room, there was nothing but dead silence. Then the thundering noise of people running and shouting hit her ear. Lights blazed above her. Before she could assimilate all the nuances of the past ten seconds, hands grabbed her and turned her over.

“Savannah … baby, are you okay?”

She looked into Zach’s worried face and almost sobbed her relief. He was here … he was okay. Sitting up, she threw herself into his arms and held on tightly. If she had lost him … She shook her head. She didn’t even want to finish that thought.

“What the hell happened?”

Her face buried against Zach’s naked chest, she didn’t have to look up to know that was Brody’s voice.

“Someone broke in and tried to kill Savannah.”

She raised her head at that. “Me? Are you sure?”

Zach’s face was dark, grimmer than she could ever imagine, as he nodded. “He was pointing the gun right at you. I saw his eyes right before I took the shot. He was focused solely on you.”

“I don’t understand. Why me? There are a whole lot more people on the case now. I don’t know more than anyone else. Could he have intended to kill all of us?”

Pulling her to her feet, Zach held on to her as if afraid to let her go. That was perfectly fine with her. She never wanted him to let her go.

“Anyone recognize the shooter?” Brody asked.

Turning, she looked at the body lying a few feet in front of her. Samantha pushed him over onto his back. The man was thirtyish, balding, medium height and very fit. Even in death, he looked wicked and hardened.

Shaking her head, Savannah answered, “I’ve never seen him before.”

Zach held her away slightly to look down at her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a little shaky.”

His hands cupped her face and he reverently and softly kissed her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Savannah. For everything.”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the events of the last five minutes but what they’d been discussing beforehand. “Don’t, Zach. Please. We have to get past that. Okay?”

The smile she so loved brightened his face like a thousand candles. “We’ve got a lot of things to talk about … decisions to make.”

Despite the fact that someone had just tried to kill her, a wave of happiness swept over her. Her smile as bright as his, she answered, “Yes, we certainly do.”

“Hey, Chief,” Brody’s amused sarcasm broke up the tender moment, “wouldn’t want a dead guy to spoil a tender moment. Want me to take over for you?”

Laughing at Zach’s raised eyebrows and the searing glare he shot Brody, she said, “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but first …” He looked left and right and then pulled her into a corner, out of sight from everyone. Lowering his mouth, he covered her lips tenderly, passionately, lovingly, and whispered, “I love you, Savannah Wilde.”

Filled with so much emotion she could hardly speak, she said thickly, “And I love you, Zach Tanner. For now. Always. Forever.” Caressing his face, she whispered, “Go, do your job. We’ll talk later.”

The instant his arms dropped and he walked away, she felt alone and bereft. As soon as this was solved, her parents’ murderer caught, she wanted to go somewhere alone with Zach—someplace where guns, fires, and bad people existed only in books and movies.

Sabrina and Samantha rushed to her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just can’t believe all of this is happening.”

Sammie shook her head in shared disbelief. “I’m beginning to think Atlanta has nothing on Midnight for mayhem and murder.”

A crazy idea sprang into her mind. Blurry and unformed, it seemed too insane to even contemplate. But was it really? She eyed her two sisters speculatively. Would they even consider such a thing?

Chapter

Thirty-two

Zach ran his fingers through his hair for about the thousandth time in the last two hours. He’d been on the phone all morning. First he’d called Savannah’s boss. The man who had tried to kill Savannah was most definitely a hired gun. Had the X-Kings hired a hit man to find Savannah and exact revenge?

The news of a hit man had gotten Reid Garrison’s attention in a big way. He hadn’t believed the other things that had happened to Savannah, including the fire, had anything to do with the X-Kings, saying that the gang would have been much more direct and brutal if they had wanted to kill Savannah. But hiring a killer to take Savannah out was right up their alley. Reid was now in the process of rounding up the gang members for questioning.

After talking with Savannah’s boss, he’d given the Alabama FBI a call. After using every avenue he had available to him to identify the shooter and coming up empty, he’d hoped, with their resources, they could help. Turned out they’d helped a lot. The shooter was Bobby Tom Benson, former Walker County resident, wanted in several states for a multitude of crimes, including murder. Apparently he was skilled in various areas but his number one occupation was assassin.

There was no doubt that the bastard had targeted Savannah. Zach had been about fifteen feet from the bedroom when he’d heard Savannah walk out. He’d been about to say something when he’d noticed a shadowy movement ahead of her. Thinking it was one of her sisters, he’d waited. When the shadow had walked into a small pocket of light, he’d realized it was a man. He’d known immediately it wasn’t Brody or Logan. Not only because the guy had been shorter and more slender than either of them, but Zach had managed to catch a glimpse of his face. The deadly intent had been clear. His eyes had briefly met Zach’s before they’d focused solely on Savannah. The gun he’d raised had been pointed directly at her.

The instant Zach learned the shooter’s identity, he’d sent the information to Reid Garrison. Armed with that knowledge, if the X-Kings were responsible, hopefully the DA’s office could link the gang and Benson together.

But what if the X-Kings had nothing to do with this? Savannah still believed it was related to her parents’ murders. If so, why go after her specifically? It made no sense. And if he didn’t figure out the truth, it could well cost Savannah her life.

What she had revealed last night still cut into his mind and heart like a dull, rusty saw, tearing and ripping at him. The guilt in knowing how he had let her and their baby daughter down would be something he’d live with for the rest of his life. He’d never have a chance to make it up to Maggie Rose, but he could and would do everything in his power to make it up to her mother. If she would give him the chance.

After all they’d been through, how ludicrous was it that last night was the first time he’d told her he loved her? And she had said she loved him. They finally had a chance to be together the way he’d always wanted. Damned if some sleazebag, murdering son of a bitch would stop them.

Slamming his fist on his desk, he pulled Benson’s file toward him again. The FBI had faxed all they had, which actually was fairly extensive. Still, it didn’t tell him who had hired him.