Page 31 of Secret Redemption

Chapter Fourteen

As Zack manoeuvred through the afternoon traffic, his thoughts went to the confrontation with Zin and Roz. He prided himself on his instincts and yet nothing had prepared him for the revelation that Roz and Zin were siblings. Was he losing his touch?

“Don’t Zack!” Ava exclaimed softly, her body angled towards him.

“Don’t what?” he asked in confusion.

“Don’t start doubting yourself. I see that look. Nobody could have known or suspected that they were siblings. None of your team had a clue either, and you wouldn’t doubt their abilities.”

“How did you know I was thinking that?” he asked, incredulous at how easy she could read him.

“Because, Zack, I know you, the real you. I see what you try so hard to hide. To the outside world, you are the hardened ex-SAS soldier, with an immaculate record. Always in control never letting anyone see you have a weakness.”

He looked at her then, and she was facing the window as they drove towards his home instead of making the turn for Fortis.

“And what am I to you Ava?” he asked gently. Never had he so wanted an honest answer. She twisted to look at him then but didn’t answer as a succession of emotions sped across her face.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought we should check on Riley. You haven’t seen him for so long, and I know this is hard for both of you. Plus, I want to check on him too.”

“Thank you, Zack,” she murmured, and her eyes crinkled into a smile that he hadn’t had from her in nearly three years.

“My pleasure,” he replied, and reaching across, took her hand, holding it in his, just to have the contact.

They pulled up outside his house, and Zack activated the remote for the garage door. Pulling in, he switched off the ignition and watched in the rear-view mirror as the door closed them in.

His fingers rubbed across her knuckles, then he spoke, “You never answered me Green Eyes. What am I to you?”

“Dangerous, Zack. You are dangerous to me. Because, more than anyone else, you have the power to destroy me.”

He was shocked at her answer and quickly moved to dispel any notion that he would hurt her. Pulling her across the centre console, he sat her on his lap as he threaded his hand in her thick beautiful hair.

“I would never hurt a hair on your head Ava!” he stated, and his mouth slammed down on hers. She was like a drug, and the more he took, the more he needed. She kissed him back with such passion that he was ready to take her here-and-now in his car, even knowing that the CCTV would catch it all. He didn’t care, he wanted her, just a touch or a taste, but he also didn’t want their first time in over three years to be like this. He wanted to take his time and relish her, worship her gorgeous body as she deserved.

Pulling away with restraint he didn’t know he had; he heard her soft cry of denial.

“Why would you never harm a hair on my head, Zack?”

He saw something flash in her eyes as she waited for his answer. “Because you are the mother of my child, Ava and I respect you too much.” He knew as he watched her face close down that he had made a fatal error.

She wriggled back to her side of the car and reached for the door handle, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her to face him. “Believe me, Ava I won’t hurt you,” he said trying to fix what he had done but not knowing what it was.

“You just did Zack.” There was such anguish her voice that he was stunned for a second, and that was all the time it took for her to exit the car and run for the house.

Zack sat there for a minute trying to figure out how it had all gone wrong. Why was life so complicated with women? When did telling someone you respected them, and wouldn’t hurt them suddenly become an insult?

Would she have preferred he tell her how she made him burn for her every time he was near her? Or that he’d jacked off to thoughts of their time together until he thought his dick would fall off? Would she prefer him to show her how weak she made him, that he would die before he let anyone hurt her?

Maybe she wanted to know how one smile from her could turn his day around or to hear her laugh with Celeste gave him a warm feeling in his chest and also made him burn with jealousy because he couldn’t seem to give her that.

Surely having grown up with Frank as a father, she would know that real men didn’t show that kind of weakness, especially men in his line of work. He thought of his parents and couldn’t remember his father ever showing affection to his mother, or his children come to think of it.

Ava made him crazy and weak, and so damned turned on that he thought perhaps he had brain cells dying from lack of blood. Never in all his thirty-eight years had a woman done this to him. Yet, he was more determined than ever to marry her and tie her to him. He was coming to realise that he couldn’t imagine a future without her.

Now he just had to convince a stubborn redhead of that. He had the most important mission of his life to defeat the Watchers, and all he wanted to do was take Ava and his son and disappear until he could convince her they belonged together.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to figure it out right then, he went inside and looked for his family.