Behind the Lies (Montgomery Justice #2)(28)

Ouch. A chill skittered down Zach’s back. Like him. An actor was a professional liar. And his job with the Company…yep, he was a killer, too. Her disgust at Brad’s life hit a target in Zach’s conscience.

“You asked why I ran.” She let out a small laugh. “This is why. Who’s going to believe a mild-mannered, very rich computer salesman is an assassin? I didn’t believe it either.” She rubbed her temple and winced. “Not for a long time. He was the perfect husband,” she whispered.

At the heartfelt truth in her words, Zach’s gut churned with mixed emotions. Jenna had clearly loved Brad, which was more than Zach had ever experienced or even witnessed, except between his parents. But he hated that she’d loved Brad, hated that her husband had betrayed her, hated that he couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to be loved by her.

“He was charming and considerate after he came home from traveling.” Bitterness crept into her voice. “The first five years were great. He was attentive. Even when we fought, he simply turned cold and reserved. Then about a year and a half ago he changed. He grew even more distant, except with Sam. He was gone more often.” She swallowed. “He couldn’t control his temper any longer. Looking back, I think his fa?ade cracked. Suddenly, I saw the man I married, a man who could kill, a man who could hurt the same person he claimed to love.”

She rubbed her forearm. Zach moved her hand away. A fading bruise in the shape of four fingers colored her pale skin. Gut-burning anger boiled in Zach’s belly. “He did this?”

She covered the offending mark. “It doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

“He’s hurt you worse.”

She refused to meet his gaze, and bile erupted into Zach’s throat. “What about Sam?”

“You have to believe, Sam came first. I protected him. Always,” she said, clutching his arm. “But he knows his dad gets mad sometimes.”

Zach could hear the embarrassment in her voice. “Jenna—”

“I was stupid, OK? I thought it was me. Everything was so perfect for so long. I thought it was me.”

She buried her face against her knees, hiding from him.

“You know that’s not true,” he said. With gentle strokes, he caressed her ebony locks, all the while forcing his intense desire to kill Brad Walters into that cold, still place in his heart he never allowed anyone to see.

“I stayed,” she choked out. “I stayed too long. I couldn’t let Sam see any more than he’d already seen. Brad’s temper, the screams. Sam started acting out, hitting the kids at school. I had to do something. I had to know why Brad had changed.”

“So you started asking questions.”

She raised her head and swallowed. “God, no. He blew up the one time I tried to get information out of him.” She pressed her hand against her cheek. “I wasn’t risking him losing control again. I snuck into his office. I wondered if business was bad…or if he’d met someone else.”

Zach wanted to ease her pain, kiss her cheek where Brad had hurt her, but he knew he couldn’t. “You found something.”

“For the first month I denied the truth. It had to be a mistake. All the secrets; all the lies. All the strange phone calls and hang-ups.” She picked at imaginary lint on the quilt. “An affair would have made divorcing him easy.”

Zach didn’t quench the spark of hope that flickered within him. “You’re divorced?” He edged closer.

“I have the paperwork ready to be signed, but I never gave it to Brad because I found a ledger, some notes. I searched the Internet and I pieced together the truth. Brad’s trips almost always coincided with someone newsworthy being killed. Accidents, explosions, kidnappings. A few suicides.”

“It could have been coincidence.”

“Not when I discovered the bank accounts. Millions of dollars. A ledger with dates. I had proof. I went to the FBI.”

She’d made all the right moves, so how had everything gone wrong enough for her to end up terrified, stowing away in his truck with no money and no plans?

“Did they arrest him?”

“Agent Fallon listened to my story. He believed me. All I wanted was a divorce and a new identity for me and Sam. In exchange, I would give them everything I had.”

“You were like manna from heaven,” Zach said. “Fallon must have kissed your feet.”

“He wanted more. They asked me not to start divorce proceedings until I gathered more proof. Now I wonder if Brad has a spy at the FBI. Maybe the whole thing was a ruse so I could have an accident. That would take care of all his problems, wouldn’t it?”

“The feds asked you to stay?” Zach couldn’t keep the shock from his voice. “With the evidence you gave them already wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow?”

“Not complete enough, evidently. Not after a decade of trying to catch him. They wanted a sure thing. They gave me listening devices to hide in the house.”

Zach could see the cliff a mile away. She’d been set up. “You agreed, and somehow, Brad found out.”

“I was dusting, making certain when Brad came home this time the house looked perfect and nothing was out of place so he had no reason to…”

Her voice trailed off and Zach had to fight the growl growing in his chest. He struggled to maintain control. He didn’t want to frighten her. She’d been through enough.