Behind the Lies (Montgomery Justice #2)(22)

In one fluid motion, he scooped Sam up and away from the drop-off. Jenna’s throat closed off as Zach, his eyes closed and his chin lifted to heaven, hugged her boy tight. The emotion painted on his face made Jenna swallow to avoid a sob escaping. His shoulders sagged and he carried Sam to the car.

Jenna fell back against the seat, boneless in relief.

“Don’t wander off without an adult,” Zach’s firm voice counseled Sam. “You could get lost. Or fall.”

“Like the truck.”

“Just like the truck.”

“It got smashed,” Sam said as he scrambled into the backseat. “I wanted to see.” The door closed.

Jenna shut her eyes. Her son was safe.

They were both safe.

For the moment.

Except now Zach knew about them.

If Brad ever found out…she’d discovered in his records exactly what he did to people who crossed him. Had she made Zach a target, too?

She tried to shake her head and groaned as the throbbing behind her eyes exploded.

“Mommy!”

Her son leaned into the front seat of the Range Rover. His small hand touched her face. She couldn’t move her head, but his cool touch reminded her why every sacrifice would be worth it.

The car door opened and a warm body leaned over her. “Jenna. Can you open your eyes? Look at me.”

She focused on lifting her lids. Such a small thing, but her body rebelled this time. She just couldn’t seem to compel her muscles to obey.

A large hand folded into hers. “Can you squeeze my fingers?”

She gripped him tight, holding on to the strong hand as if clinging to a lifeline. He’d saved her son. Saved them both.

“Good girl.”

His fingers tightened around hers, his strength frightening and calming at the same time. She didn’t want to let go.

Her son’s small sniffles filtered from behind her. “Why won’t she wake up, Dark Avenger? Make her wake up.”

“Don’t worry, Sam. I’m taking your mommy to the clinic. The doctors will get her all better.”

She gripped his arm, her fingernails digging into his skin. “No, please,” she whispered. “No doctors. He’ll find us.”

Zach leaned closer. The lingering scent of lavender and shampoo made something inside of him shift.

“Your husband?” he whispered.

She nodded, then winced. “Please.” She clutched his hand harder.

“You have a head injury. You may need a CAT scan.”

“No one can know,” she whispered. She opened her eyes. His icy-blue ones stared back at her. He studied her for a moment, his pointed gaze probing, searching for the truth. His thumb touched an area on her forehead. Even his gentle stroke made her wince as a shard of pain burrowed into her head.

He let his finger follow the line of her cheekbone to her chin. “Rest, Jenna. Nothing will happen to you. I promise.”

She shouldn’t believe him. He didn’t know about Brad. Her husband appeared to be a nonthreatening, mild-mannered traveling computer expert. Zach Montgomery was no match for a killer. He might be the Dark Avenger in movies, but Jenna knew the truth. Zach Montgomery wasn’t a real hero, only a professional pretender. He couldn’t help them.

She tried to push away from him to sit up, but her body betrayed her again. With a groan, she sagged in the seat. She couldn’t afford faith, but here she was, relying on a man she didn’t know, who could very well be another disappointment.

“Just don’t let Brad find us,” she whispered.




The Hidden Springs medical clinic sat nestled at the base of Fools Peak, in a small valley with a few fields and a sparkling spring nearby. Luckily, the small town housed state-of-the-art equipment, mostly due to the numerous mountaineers going after the surrounding thirteen-and fourteen-thousand-foot peaks. Jenna would get the best care here, even though she’d tried to refuse the CAT scan.

Now, he and Sam just waited for the results. What was taking so long? Zach scratched at the cut across his chest. It had started to itch. Healing, he hoped. Maybe he could palm some more butterflies off the nurse.

A woman whispered to her husband across the waiting room. He nodded slightly and she smiled tentatively at Zach.

Damn. He’d spent too much time sitting, too many chances to be identified. He normally wore his Zane Morgan disguise into town, but with Jenna hurt, he hadn’t taken the time. It wouldn’t take long for word to get out Zach Montgomery had been in Hidden Springs, Colorado. He’d blown his secret, and he really liked his cabin. If he survived the next few weeks, he’d have to sell.

Zach shifted his gaze away, hoping they’d get the hint.

Within a few minutes, a nurse escorted the couple out, but the knot at the base of Zach’s neck didn’t ease. Hopefully he could get Jenna and Sam back to the cabin and away from small-town questions soon.

The little boy beside him squirmed in his chair. Zach looked down at Sam. “How are those scratches?”

Jenna’s son sat cross-legged in the chair worrying his jeans. He flipped over his hands and stared at his palms, reddened but now clean and doctored with antiseptic. He straightened his back and looked up at Zach. “I didn’t cry. I’m a big boy. My mommy said so.”

Zach quirked a smile. “I can see that.”