Behind the Lies (Montgomery Justice #2)(71)

“’Kay.” He nodded, but his eyes were blinking hard. “Thanks, Zach. Mommy said I could call you that, ’cause there are so many Mr. Montgomerys.” He looked around the table. “You all kind of look alike.”

Luke swallowed back a laugh.

Zach chucked Sam under his chin. “Have a good night, buddy.”

He followed Jenna out of the room. Gabe closed the sliding doors to shut off the kitchen from the rest of the house.

The brothers waited until they heard a door’s lock click and water start to run. Then they pounced.

“What the hell is going on?” Nick demanded.

“What do you know about Mom’s house?” Caleb asked.

Resigned, Zach sank into the chair and stared from brother to brother. They were all so different, but right now they shared identical determined expressions. Zach didn’t blame them.

“Don’t even try with the lies,” Seth said. “This is Mom we’re talking about.”

“What I thought doesn’t matter anymore.” Zach methodically folded the napkin on his plate, half by half by half. “I had two theories since my cabin near Hidden Springs exploded just like Mom’s, but neither one falls in line with an attack on John.”

“Whoa, brother,” Gabe said. “Start from the beginning.”

Zach sank into the chair, then brought them up to speed. “I don’t know what to tell you. If John hadn’t been the target, I’d say that my…colleagues aren’t very happy with me and they’ve gone way too far—”

“You think?” Seth muttered, shaking his head. “Your name popped up on the CIA’s list of potential traitors. I assume that’s who you’ve been working for. They’re setting you up, big brother.”

“Then why not just wait until he was in his cabin to blow it up?” Luke offered. “That’s what I’d do if I wanted to get rid of him.”

Zach grinned. “You’ve got an evil mind, Luke. Ditto.”

“Except you don’t just have the CIA after you, do you? There’s also the Chameleon,” Luke offered.

“Jenna’s husband,” Zach clarified at Caleb’s confused look. “I planned to help her start a new life.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Nick said. “I could have put her in touch with WitSec.”

“I have two words,” Jenna said, opening the door. “Joseph Romero. My husband killed him, and he was in WitSec.”

“Why would your husband try to hurt Mom or John?” Caleb said, his face skeptical.

“I thought he might be using Zach to draw me out so he could take Sam.”

“An assassin doesn’t kill indiscriminately. It’s bad for business,” Seth said. “Unless he’s gone psycho or it’s personal.”

“Zach’s right about one thing,” Nick added. “The speculation doesn’t matter. We have two sets of targets. We need to split up until we figure out exactly what’s going on. Three of us need to watch Mom. The others need to do a little…sensitive research.”

“Agreed. Nick, Caleb, and I will head to the hospital,” Gabe said. “Seth and Luke are the info guys. Zach…I’m guessing the news is wrong and you’re not AWOL on your big comeback break and having fun with your boyfriend in the Bahamas, so you better hang with the spy guys on this.”

Zach threw up a third-finger salute then rubbed his chin. “Let us know if there are any changes in Mom’s condition.”

The mirth in Gabe’s eyes vanished. “Hopefully she’ll wake up soon and can tell us who attacked her and John.”

With an agreement on communication and weapons doled out, Gabe, Nick, and Caleb left. Zach locked the door behind them. The kitchen had closed in on him. He turned and faced Luke and Seth—the brothers who understood more than anyone exactly what he was up against. “First things first. I had a plan in place for Jenna and Sam to start over. I need to recreate all the documentation. Can you help me?”

Jenna laced her fingers through Zach’s. He gazed down into her eyes, knowing once more they’d have to say good-bye. He couldn’t ignore the twinge in his heart at the thought.

“Do you want to disappear with Jenna and her son, Zach?” Seth asked quietly.

“I can’t until I stop whoever wants me dead,” Zach said, struggling between what his heart longed for and what his head knew should happen. He scribbled down the addresses, bank account numbers, and the identification numbers of the new identities he’d created for Jenna and Sam. “I won’t risk their lives.”

“And I won’t take you from your family,” Jenna said. “They love you. We both know what has to be. Brad will never stop, not until he kills me and has the evidence. As my husband, if he ever found me and the location of the safety deposit box, he could gain access to it once I’m dead.”

“Um, Jenna. That might not be quite accurate,” Luke said, opening a file folder and flipping through the papers.

A small hitch of hope simmered within Zach.

“I dug into Brad Walters’s life and found some very interesting information.”

Leaning forward in his chair, Zach tugged the file from Luke’s fingertips.

“Brad Walters isn’t his real name. In fact, Jenna, your husband isn’t who he pretends to be.”