Lined With Silver (25 page)

“You’re right. I really don’t drive after
dark. I’ll have to find someone to help.”

“I’ll see if I can find someone.”

Granny’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Don’t
try too hard, young man.”

He looked at her with innocent eyes. “You
know me better than that. I was thinking one of the poor college
students in the area could use a few bucks. Maybe one of them can
come over and help.”

“Well,” Granny huffed, “it’d better not be
some young hunk of a guy. I don’t trust those college men, and I
doubt any girl of a sound mind would want to be handling mice.”

He continued his pretense at innocence, “I’ll
bet a nursing student wouldn’t mind. They work with lab mice all
the time.”

Granny seemed to warm up to the idea. “You’re
right. I wouldn’t mind someone helping me with the mice, and I
don’t mind paying someone if I need their services.”

Content to let the subject drop, Zack walked
over and hugged Granny. Sondra followed after. She had grown fond
of the eccentric bundle of energy. Her throat tightened as she
wondered if she’d ever get to see her again.

As they drove to the airport, Sondra turned
to Zack. “That was a perfect way to introduce extra help. With the
mouse problem, I’m kind of siding with Jade.”

He sent a hard look at Sondra. “Lots of
farmers have mice. It shouldn’t be a make or break item for sending
her to a nursing home.”

She quickly backtracked. “You’re right. It
just seems like she should have some help. A nursing student would
be perfect, but how do you make sure they’re going to be good for
Granny. How do you make sure they’re honest?”

“I’m going to have to have some kind of
weeding system, and I’m going to have to offer a high enough wage
to attract people I can choose from.”

“That sounds like a plan. Maybe Jade can help
with the selection so she’ll feel better about having Granny stay
in her own home.”

“That’s a good idea.” He approved. “I know
Jade loves her, too.”

They rode in companionable silence the rest
of the way. After they cleared security, they picked up some
breakfast sandwiches at one of the eateries.

Sondra took a couple of Dramamine that she
had left over from her trip to Washington, forcing herself to
swallow past a lump in her throat. The thought that she didn’t take
them on the flight out to protect the twins brought tears to her
eyes.

She wasn’t looking forward to going back to
the drudgery of work, and she didn’t want to think about what Zack
was going to do. He would no longer have an excuse to stay with
her. She had come to rely on his companionship. It was going to be
lonely without him, and she didn’t want to think about life without
Dewk.

Sondra was asleep before the plane left the
runway. The announcement of the approach to Salt Lake City woke
her. Before she opened her eyes, she inhaled deeply and appreciated
Zack’s scent. His woodsy cologne was as much a part of him as his
dimple. For a moment, she resisted the urge to open her eyes, but
then she wondered what the weight on her head was. She opened her
eyes and was surprised to see that Zack had fallen asleep with his
head resting on her. The emotional trauma of the last few days
must’ve worn him out.

She cleared her throat and pulled away.
“We’re landing in a few minutes.”

He shot up. “I’m so sorry. I don’t usually
nap.”

“I got that feeling. We’ve both been through
a lot the last few days.”

“We have. I didn’t realize how tired I was.”
He stretched and moved his seat upright for landing. He caught her
gaze and said, “I had a call from the office yesterday.”

“Oh.” Sondra was cautious. This felt bad.
Really bad. “When was that?”

“While I was looking for the extension
cord.”

“Thanks for getting that for me, by the way.
I wondered what took you so long.”

He stared out the window at the gray skies.
“They’ve asked me to help out in another office.”

Sondra’s brows drew together. “Where at?”

He turned to catch her eyes again. “They’re
opening an office in Germany. I’ll be hiring the engineers and
setting up the office.”

“That sounds… complicated.”

“And time consuming, I’m afraid. They’ll need
me for a few months.”

“Months?” Sondra felt like her heart had
turned to stone. She’d lost the twins, Dewk, and Zack in one
nightmarish week. How could she go on?

She hid her pain with all the control she had
learned in the courtroom. It was time to be strong. This had been a
temporary arrangement from the beginning. They both new that. His
dad was dead. The twins were dead. What use was this marriage to
either of them?

Sensing her dismay, Zack reached over and
lifted her chin. “I’ll be back. I promise. You’ll need me when you
go through the next pregnancy.”

She wanted to shout,
and then you’ll go
away and never come back.
Instead, she smiled weakly. “I know I
can count on you.” She couldn’t say another word. She wasn’t that
strong.

They walked in silence to the shuttle and
rode to Sondra’s car. A few inches of snow bore testimony to the
winter storm that had swept through during their trip.

Zack turned on the car and started warming it
after he helped Sondra in. While she was sitting in the warming
car, he scraped the windows and brushed the extra snow off.

By the time he climbed into the car, Sondra
had convinced herself that she could interact sanely with this man
who had stolen her heart. She could be calm, cool, and collected
like a good attorney should be. When he sat in the car and the
scent of his cologne whispered to her, she had to turn and stare
out the window. Convincing herself of her ability and actually
having it were two different things.

She was terrified opening her mouth would
start another torrent of tears, and Zack seemed just as reluctant
to talk. What was there to say? Months seemed like an eternity when
you were looking on the wrong side.

* * *

Zack searched through the house while Sondra
stood at the door. He had the routine down from his military days.
Since Dewk had been killed, Sondra could only appreciate his extra
concern.

While she was loading the washer with her
clothes, she stared out at Dewk’s heated house. The back of his
house faced the laundry room. Her scream was primal.

Zack charged into the laundry room, searching
frantically for the source of Sondra’s terror. “What’s wrong?”

She pointed at the house. On the back was
spray painted a single word. “Shattered.”

“I was afraid of this.” Zack’s face was
grim.

“I’m sorry.” Sondra collapsed with her face
in her hands. “I just can’t do this. I can’t.”

“I don’t want you to. Not alone.” He paced
back and forth a couple of times and then stopped to pull Sondra
up. He held her in his arms and stroked her hair. “I can’t leave
you here like this.”

She looked through tear-blurred eyes. “You
mean you’re going to stay?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I
have a commitment I need to keep, but I’m not leaving you here like
this. Whoever this is knows you. He or she knows you’re married.
They know where you live. You can’t stay here.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not safe.” He led her to the front
room, where they both sat on the sofa. Sondra avoided looking at
Dewk’s rug. That was another storm waiting to happen, and she was
too near the edge. He faced her, his worried face close enough she
wanted to reach out and stroke it. His announcement wasn’t a
surprise. “You’re going to have to move.”

“I can’t just pack up and leave.” She
protested weakly.

“Why not?”

“Where would I go?”

“For starters, you can stay in my Park City
place. You can stay as long as you need. In the meantime, you can
look for another home. We’re legally married, so you can buy a new
place under your married name. Since the person who is stalking you
knows you at work, you should be safe using your married name. You
haven’t used that there.”

She took a calming breath. “You’re right.
That was probably a good move on my part. I didn’t even know how
vital that would be to my safety. I’ll start looking right
away.”

“I think you can wait a couple of days.
You’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

She shook her head. “I had no idea my life
would take such a drastic turn.”

He reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair
behind her ear. “I wish I could be here with you, but I really
think switching your home will keep you safe. If I didn’t have
faith in that, I would quit my job right now.”

She shuddered. “I’m sure that isn’t
necessary. I don’t expect you to make such a huge sacrifice.” She
didn’t say aloud what her thoughts screamed at her.
For
something so temporary.

“Let’s gather your things. We’ll put them in
the back of the Hummer. We can get your car tomorrow.”

“I can just take it tonight.” She
protested.

He met her eyes. She felt like he was
searching her soul. He must’ve been able to see the terror there,
because he drew in a deep breath. “I have some arrangements to make
in Salt Lake tomorrow, so I can drop you off here and you can spend
some time at a realtors office before heading back to my place.” He
reached for her hand and gently rubbed the back of her hand with
his thumb. “Whoever poisoned Dewk didn’t get in the house, so your
car should be safe in the garage.” He wrapped his arms around her.
“I don’t feel like leaving you tonight. Can you humor me this once?
And besides,” he flashed his dimple, “I dared you to drive the
Hummer. You can do it today.”

She stared at him a moment. “I thought you
had something more adventurous in mind than a trip down the highway
to Park City.”

“You convinced me you don’t like four
wheeling. The freeway is good enough. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

She pushed out her lip in a pout. “I doubt
anything that big would be fun to drive, but I’m game.” Anything to
keep her mind off that black-lettered threat.

“I want the police in on this.” Zack was
pulling out his phone. She was glad he was willing to do it.
Despite her work as an attorney, she wasn’t sure she would be able
to stop a waterfall from starting if she had to talk about the
event. All her court cases involved other people. She’d never had
to deal with her own issues like this. She suddenly saw life from a
whole new point of view, and it wasn’t pretty.

A police officer arrived a few minutes later.
He talked to them, inspected the house and took some pictures.
After he left, she turned to Zack and asked, “Could you grab the
clothes I put in the washer?” She shuddered. “I just can’t go in
there again.”

“No problem.”

It took about an hour to load all of her
other clothes and essential items. After the Hummer was loaded,
Sondra climbed up behind the wheel and was pleasantly surprised by
how easily it handled. She had expected to feel like she was
driving a bus, but after the initial few minutes of figuring out
how much space she needed to give herself, she enjoyed being able
to see where she was going.

As they headed down Parley’s Summit, she was
speeding up more than she wanted and tapped the brakes. The brake
went all the way to the floor. She tried again. No response.

White with fear, she grated through clenched
teeth, “The brakes don’t work.”

“Use the emergency brake.”

“Where is it?” She forced between her
teeth.

He reached for the brake and eased up on it
so the Humvee wouldn’t jerk. Smoke from the brake filled her back
mirror.

“This isn’t working. We aren’t slowing.”
Panic sounded in her voice.

“There’s a good spot to turn off just a mile
down the road.” Zack’s voice remained calm, soothing.

“What do you mean—run off the road?”

“Trust me. This is a Humvee. It’ll work. Just
hang on.” He pressed the horn and turned the flashers on while she
gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles.

He dialed 911. “I have a runaway Humvee
heading toward Park City. Send someone to alert the other drivers.
We’re going to run off the road close to Kimball Junction.”

He dropped the phone without bothering to
turn it off and continued to press the horn while she wove around a
minivan, narrowly missing the van and the edge of the road.

With teeth still clenched, she gritted out.
“I can’t do this.”

“Just a few more feet. We’re almost there.”
With some relief, he jerked the wheel to the right and onto a
graveled shoulder and then into the dirt up the side of a
foothill.

Sirens blared somewhere behind them.

The Humvee continued to slow as it headed up
the hill. It stopped just a couple of feet from the top. “Step on
the brake.” Zack said. Not knowing what good it would do, she
complied. He jerked the Humvee into park.

Sondra dropped her head on the steering
wheel, her whole body shaking. She took a shuddering breath.

Zack’s face was white. “That was the most
terrifying thing I’ve ever lived through. Bar none.”

Sondra, her face still on the steering wheel,
said, “The mouse was worse.”

An officer appeared at their window a few
minutes later, shaking his head at the laughing couple. He took a
report and was followed shortly after by a tow truck.

Sondra called Nikki. “Can you come pick us
up? We’re almost at Park City just past the brake check area.”

“What are you doing there?”

“I was driving Zack’s Humvee when the brakes
failed.” Sondra’s light tone was a triumph of will.

“They failed? Wasn’t that scary?” Nikki’s
voice conveyed all the horror she was feeling.

“Terrifying.” Sondra confirmed.

“Are you okay?” Nikki’s voice shook.

“Not a scratch. Not even on the Hummer.”
Sondra reassured her.