Behind the Lies (Montgomery Justice #2)(55)

Zach bent down to Sam. “It’s all right.” He held out one hand, full of green shoots and red berries. “I brought you something to eat.”

Sam wrinkled his nose. “I don’t eat green stuff.”

“How about strawberries? Do you like those?”

Sam nodded.

“OK, then. We dine.”

“Mr. Montgomery?”

He quirked a brow at Sam.

“If we need the Dark Avenger, will he come back?”

“All you have to do is call, Sam. I’ll be there.”




Zach didn’t sleep. He watched over Jenna and Sam through the night. They lay wrapped in the space blanket, covered with both jackets. They hadn’t shivered at all.

Leaning up against the wall near the mouth of the cave, Zach recrossed his arms, taking advantage of his own body heat to warm the exposed skin. The hot coals simmered. His phone lay broken and useless on the floor of the cave, shattered by the slam against the cliff face. He considered topping the fire with another log, but the faded light of dawn eased toward the mouth of the shelter.

Their last night together.

Zach didn’t like the emptiness in his chest at the thought. In just two days, Jenna and her son had snaked their way into his life.

His mind couldn’t stop replaying Jenna’s story in his mind. Or Sam’s reaction.

He could understand Sam’s faith. The boy was five. He hadn’t had life rip the innocence from him. But Jenna. Jenna was different. She’d been betrayed.

And still, she believed.

A slight stirring captured his attention. Jenna shifted and stretched out her arms, her breasts pressing against her shirt. He could see every curve. He’d touched her just enough to imagine what those curves would look like. Soft, beautiful, comforting.

Like home. A home that would leave him in only a few hours.

He swallowed, unable to take his gaze away from the full pout of her lips or the upturned smile that seemed to always be just a moment away. Why did he always want what he couldn’t have? He’d reached for the unattainable as a kid, as a young man, and he never learned. He was the definition of insane: repeating the same behavior and expecting a different result.

She turned to her side. Her emerald eyes fluttered open and the pools sucked him right in. He couldn’t look away.

She slipped away from Sam and crawled over to him. “You’ve been up all night.”

He didn’t answer, but picked up his stick and stirred the coals, anything to avoid the temptation sitting next to him.

“You attacked me last night,” she said. “On purpose. I want to know why.”

Stunned, he flickered his gaze to hers.

“You hurt me.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “I’m afraid for you and Sam. I’m afraid you’ll leave here and make yourself vulnerable.”

Jenna hugged her knees to her chest. “I was fourteen when my father was killed in a car accident. Since my mother died of cancer when I was a baby, I was placed into foster care for a while. Then my uncle found me and took me in. He was nothing like my father. Uncle Sal was a dealer, but he was my only family. He had no clue what to do with a fourteen-year-old girl. I went from being raised by a dad who loved me to taking care of myself. When my uncle was flush, he ordered pizzas; otherwise, we didn’t eat. If I wanted to go to school, I had to find my own way. He got busted when I was sixteen, so I ended up on the streets for a while. When I was eighteen he kicked me out for good.”

“I’d wondered where you learned to hot-wire my truck.” Zach studied the woman who hadn’t seemed to fit her image. Now he understood.

“While I was on the streets a mechanic taught me how to get any car running in less than thirty seconds. I think he felt sorry for me and gave me a job in a garage that doubled as a chop shop. That and picking a few pockets on the rich side of town earned me enough to eat without walking the streets.”

Zach wanted to jump into her past and fight for the little girl who had no one. Her life could have turned out so differently. “How did you stay out of jail?”

“I was really, really good at what I did.” She smiled. “I met Brad the summer I turned eighteen, when I palmed his wallet. I should have known then he was bad news. No normal computer jockey would have felt me lift that wallet.” She picked the stick up from him and toyed with the coals. “Whatever you may think, Zach, I’m not a girl who believes life is all fairy tales and roses. My dad’s heart broke when my mom died, but he never let it stop him from making sure I believed in the future. I won’t let you or anyone else take the same dream from Sam. No matter who his father is.”

She leaned back against the rocks. “The irony is, I forgot about my dad’s lessons until I met you. You pretend to live your dreams, but you don’t. So thank you for reminding me of the truth I want Sam to know.”

She rose and walked out of the cave. Zach couldn’t stop himself. All he wanted was to scoop her into his arms and hold her close. He’d seen more beautiful women. He’d made love to more beautiful women, but none compelled him to action like she did.

Zach glanced at Sam, but the boy was still sound asleep. He followed her into the wilderness and pulled her into his arms.

“What are—?”

He nipped at the lobe of her ear, and she shivered under his touch. Her hands roamed down his back and he wanted to purr.