makes my heart heavier. When he reaches over to take my hand, my stomach knots, my heart wrenches.
What the hell am I doing? Why did I suggest going to his house?
Zack and I both know we aren’t going there just to walk on the beach.
Liz’s face is stark and rigid in my head. Disapproving. Her words of warning and wisdom ring in my ear. I know she means well. I know she’s right. I know that if I really, truly care for Zack, I need to protect him.
I need to end things with him.
Soon.
CHAPTER 24
I’d hoped the walk on the beach would clear my head, and for a while it does. Zack and I stroll in silence, watching the water, listening to the pounding of the surf. Our pace is leisurely. Clouds are beginning to roll in from the horizon. A stiff breeze batters the waves.
Explains why we have the beach to ourselves.
Still, I don’t complain. The chill in the air is a balm to my troubled spirit.
My head is spinning. There’s what to do about Zack, of course. But Sarah and Kallistos are also weighing on my mind.
Kallistos. I led him to Alan. He read me during that kiss, when I thought I was reading him. I’m sure of it now. It’s the only explanation I can think of. The memory of his kiss lingers in my head. I keep replaying it over and over, trying to pinpoint the moment of my monumental failure. I’ve grown too out of touch with the supernatural community. I’m out of practice. It would be wise to reacquaint myself with those in control as well as their politics. There is a certain amount of safety in anonymity, but knowledge is power, and the lack of it I possessed today about Kallistos Kouros has cost others and me. I can’t let him take me by surprise again. I need to find out all I can about Kallistos, and I know where I’m going to start.
Liz.
Then there’s Sarah. Did she and Zack really sleep together the other night? Does it matter? Either way, I know I should tell him she confronted me. Why am I so hesitant? Because part of me is afraid. Not for myself, for Zack. I know about werewolves and pack dynamics. Politics and power in their community, unlike that of the vampires, is constantly shifting. Some pack leaders rule with an iron fist and they can be brutal in their dealings with those over whom they have authority. I don’t know if Zack’s told me everything about why he left South Carolina. I don’t know if his going back would place him in danger. I do know the way he feels about me would. It could be Sarah isn’t all that bad. Perhaps she’d even be good for Zack, make him happy. Maybe if she was to stick around, and I was out of the picture, whatever they had could be rekindled.
Zack’s arm is suddenly draped over my shoulders. “What are you thinking about?” he asks.
“I’m thinking maybe it’s time we start back?” Not true, but safe.
His grip tightens. “Are you cold? You can have my jacket.”
I shake my head. “No. Just a little tired. The events of the week are catching up to me.”
“How’s the headache?”
“Better. I think the fresh air did the trick.”
We swing around and retrace our footsteps, still outlined in the damp sand.
“Do you think our version of what happened is going to hold?” I ask after a moment.
“Yes.”
I give his arm a playful swat. “You spin a pretty convincing tale.”
He shrugs. “Well, Amy’s home, so that case is closed. And we just handed Garner the evidence to close the case that everyone will be talking about tomorrow. We stick to the story. Mager will go down and pay for the crimes he’s committed.” He gives me a sideways glance. “How are you at lying?”
I grin. “I’m betting not as good as you!”
“We’ll practice.”
Then another troublesome thought occurs to me. I’ve seen thrall wear off on occasion. “What happens if Alan starts to remember what really happened? It’s going to be a shock when his mother’s body is discovered in that burned-out clinic and the story hits the papers. How do you think Kallistos will react then? I want to believe that Alan’s safe and that no more humans will be hurt. I want to believe it’s over, but maybe it’s not.”
Zack squeezes my shoulders. “You’re worrying too much. Kallistos is ancient. He’s a king. His thrall will hold.”
“Maybe he had one of his henchmen do it.”
Zack shakes his head. “A vampire as old as he is has to be an expert at tying off loose ends. He left the note for you in Alan’s office, so we know he was there. No. He wouldn’t have left the task to anyone else. He knows Alan poses a threat. He would have tied off that loose end himself, too.”
I feel a shudder pass through my body. Zack has nailed it. That’s what Alan would be to Kallistos, nothing but a loose end.
Zack feels the tremor. “There’s something else on your mind. What is it?”
I hesitate a moment before answering, “I’m thinking about how all this will affect the organ recipients on Pierce’s log. Do you think they’ll escape prosecution?”
“Don’t know,” Zack replies with a shrug. “My guess is they’ll cooperate. Mager will go down. He’s a three- time loser. One more conviction and he’ll be put away for life.”
I let my head rest on Zack’s shoulder as we walk. “I hope so. I’d hate to see someone in Michael’s situation dragged through the media and punished. If we’d arrive just a few hours later, his name would have been on that list.”
I think of all the people—friends—I lost before organ transplants were available. I shake my head. “It’s not so black-and-white to me. If you were dying, or a friend was dying, and someone came to you with the way to save him, wouldn’t you take it? Regardless of whether it was breaking the law?”
Zack’s arm tightens around my shoulder. “I don’t know. But I have a feeling I know what your answer would be.”
To my relief, his tone is neither judgmental nor condescending.
He stops and draws me into his arms. “Let’s stop talking about work and start thinking about something much more pleasant.”
I smile up at him. “And what would that be?”
He’s leaning down, his lips now a whisper away. “This.”
And then we’re kissing and all misgivings about Kallistos and Alan and Sarah and the complications of the case are chased from my mind. Right now there’s only Zack.
Our case is closed. And for the moment, being in his arms feels wonderful. I try to focus on the sensation and block out everything else.
Tomorrow will be a new day. With it will come a new case.
But I don’t want to think about what’s to come tomorrow. I’m tired of sacrificing my present because of my past.
Right now I just want to live. And I can. At least for one night.
Tonight will be about Zack and me.
Tomorrow will come soon enough.
CHAPTER 25
I really need to have a talk with Zack about leaving his door unlocked. Maybe it’s still safe to do on the beach in South Carolina. It most definitely isn’t in San Diego. Especially with Stalker Sarah around. I close and lock the door before setting the brown paper bag filled to the brim with cartons of Thai food on his countertop.
After our short walk on the beach, I was starving. Zack, however, was a ball of pent-up energy. So I
