Lined With Silver (4 page)

He unlocked her door first, walked through
the room to inspect it, watched with some amusement as Sondra made
sure the lock between their rooms was secure, handed over her key
card, and then shut the door firmly behind him.

“Hmmmph.” Sondra grumbled. “I’m perfectly
capable of taking care of myself,” she addressed the connecting
door.

She emptied her bags, carried her new pajamas
into the bathroom, and settled in for a long, hot bath.

When she got out of the tub, she dried off
with a thirsty towel and then stared at the pajamas. It was two
hours earlier in Salt Lake. It was only 8:30 pm here. She wasn’t
tired, and bed wasn’t appealing.

She packed her clothes back out to the room
and changed into the jeans she’d purchased along with low-heeled
winter boots and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She opened the curtains
and stared out at the cityscape. The monuments and the National
Mall were lit up. Lights reflecting on fresh snow gave it a festive
feel.

She grabbed her coat, new gloves, and camera
and headed out the door. As she was stepping into the elevator,
stuffing her camera in her purse, Zack stepped off. The door shut
as he was standing there, his mouth open in surprise. He looked
like he was trying to say something, but she wasn’t going to stop
and listen. This was her trip, and she was going to enjoy it—pseudo
fiancée or not.

As she stepped out the front doors, she
realized she didn’t have the ticket for her car. Zack had kept the
valet slip. She slumped in defeat.

Re-energized by the bright yellow of an
oncoming taxi, she stepped out from under the awning and waved
vigorously. As she slid across the seat, shaking snow out of her
hair, she said, “The National Mall, please.”

The driver looked back at her. “Are ya sure?
That place ain’t safe afta dock.”

“Come on, this is the United States of
America. It can’t be that bad. I want to take some night photos of
the monuments.”

He stared at her a moment.
“This ain’t da USA. Dis iz
DC
.”

For a brief moment, she considered jumping
out of the taxi and heading back to her room. But she’d had this on
her bucket list for too many years, and to get a bonus of fresh
snow? She wasn’t going to miss it. “I thought there were rangers at
the monuments until eleven.”

“Day ain’t packin’ heat an’ day verra gud at
disappearin’ when ya need ‘em.”

Frustrated, Sondra turned to bribery.
“There’s an extra Jackson if you’ll hang around a few minutes. I
won’t be long.”

“I tried.” He took the twenty. “Not on muh
conscience, Ma’am.” He pulled the taxi into the nearly-empty street
and headed the few blocks to the National Mall.

The place looked deserted. Despite the
website touting the presence of rangers on the National Mall, there
didn’t seem to be anyone there.

As she stepped out of the cab, she hesitated.
It was eerie standing there on the vacant mall. In a nation of
millions, how could the monuments here be empty? She glanced back
at the cabby, who was watching her with narrowed eyes. Maybe
flashing the twenties had been a bad idea.

She squared her shoulders, adjusted her purse
strap, and headed to the Lincoln Memorial. She’d just take a few
pictures. She’d come back to do the tour during the day.

She snapped several pictures of the glowing
Lincoln building, moved inside the shelter and read the plaques
around the room. She stood a moment at the feet of the giant
statue. This replica of the man who had led the country during a
time when the states could have dissolved into separate countries
had power. It symbolized everything this great nation had
achieved.

The civil war had turned the country from a
mesh of quarrelling states into a “nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.” She hesitated a moment, then
reached out to touch the stone base. A thrill shot up her back.
What a wonderful time she lived in. Black, white, male, and female
were all equal under the law.

She stepped back and took a couple more
photos and then turned to look over the quiet Mall. The falling
snow muffled the sounds of traffic. Unbroken snow led to the other
monuments. She hesitated a moment, not certain she wanted to plow
her way through, but her desire for night pictures enhanced by the
glistening snow was a motivation. She forced her cold feet to
move.

As she approached the long black Vietnam
Memorial, images of soldiers fighting in the mud flashed in her
mind. She was kneeling in the snow, concentrating on focusing when
her skin crawled. “Run.” Rang through her mind.

She shot up and glanced toward the trees. A
group of three men approached. The taxi was still waiting, its
lights shining in the darkness. She took off, adrenaline speeding
her flight. Wet snow pulled at her feet.

Movement muffled by the piled snow sounded
behind her. There was terror in their unrelenting pursuit.

An indistinct blur passed her. It was human
and male but she wasn’t stopping for an inspection, and he was
moving faster in the other direction than she was moving
forward.

The sounds and cries of some kind of fight
assaulted her ears.

Her muscles screamed in protest. She hadn’t
moved like this since high school. Pain seared her lungs. It forced
her to slow as she approached the taxi. She jumped in the car and
could hardly pant out. “The hotel, please.”

The driver smirked. “
DC.
”

“Hurry. We need to get out of here.”

“We in no danja. I ain’t had dis much fun in
yeuhs. Look at dat dude fight. He lak a pitbull. Those gangstas
ain’t gunna fight nobody no tam soon.”

Like a train wreck, Sondra couldn’t resist
looking. There was enough light around the monuments to see.
“Zack!” she screamed.

He’d laid out all three of them. They were
moaning and crawling away as she screamed his name. He turned to
her and stalked over, the rage on his face clear. She’d never seen
anyone look at her that way.

The taxi driver shifted the car into gear and
stepped on the gas. “STOP.” Sondra commanded. Her experience with
Zack at trek gave her some reassurance she was safe even through
his anger.

The driver slammed on the brakes, and the
taxi squealed to a stop. Zack threw open the door. “
What
were you thinking? Utah might be safe for you to go out alone, but
DC definitely isn’t. Don’t ever scare me like that.” He thrust a
bill at the taxi driver, which seemed to make the man happy, then
he reached for Sondra’s hand and pulled her out. “You’re coming
with me.”

Since she had been the unintentional cause of
his bloody lip and swelling eye, she meekly followed.

After they were settled into the rental car
and were driving away, Sondra asked softly, “Where did you learn to
fight like that?”

“I served some time in Afghanistan,” he
managed through clenched teeth.

Hoping he would relax if she kept him
talking, she asked, “How long?”

He took a deep breath, and then let it out
slowly. “Two years.”

“That must’ve been tough.” Her voice
trembled. She had only heard nightmare stories about the conflict.
She couldn’t imagine having to live through it for two years.

“You have no idea.” The look that met hers
showed he was calming. His eyes steered back to traffic. “I saw
things there no human should ever see.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“So am I.” He sighed. “And I’m sorry for the
overreaction. Instinct kind of took over.”

“Nice instincts.” She paused, her glance
raking over his injuries. “How did you know where to find me?”

“You’ve made no secret you wanted to see the
monuments.” He sent a dimpled smile her direction. “I didn’t think
you’d be crazy enough to explore by yourself.”

Her answering smile was sheepish. “I didn’t
realize I was in danger… although to be fair, the driver did try to
warn me.”

“Why did he drop you off?” His brows drew
together in a puzzled frown.

Sondra couldn’t stop the guilty flush which
spread up her face. “I bribed him.”

Zack sighed and turned his attention back to
traffic. “I’m going to have my work cut out for me, that’s for
sure.”

“What work?”

“Keeping you safe.”

Sondra bounced in irritation. “It’s not your
job to keep me safe. The arrangement I suggested is a temporary
one. You don’t need to take on any responsibilities.”

He glanced at her as he was pulling under the
awning of the now-familiar hotel. “You don’t know me… at all. I
take my responsibilities seriously—even if they’re temporary.”

Sondra gulped. This wasn’t what she’d
envisioned when she’d blurted out her proposal. As they were
heading back inside the building, Zack asked, “Since it’s not safe
to sightsee here after dark, was there something else you’d like to
do?”

She stomped the remaining snow off her boots
as she answered. “Is there anything safe nearby?”

“I’d have to recommend something outside of
DC, I’m afraid.”

Sondra shuddered. “I think I’m done
travelling for the night.” She reached out to touch his arm.
“Thanks for the rescue. It’s more than I deserved. It was stupid of
me to venture out.”

His expression softened. “You didn’t know…”
He paused and grinned. “Don’t make a habit of it, okay? I might get
arrested for assault and battery.”

Sondra returned his smile. “I think I know
someone who could defend you.”

“I thought you worked in civil law.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t handle a criminal
case.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“I hope you won’t need to.” She stepped back
and glanced up and down, taking in his swelling eye and injured
lip. His clothes seemed to have survived mostly intact, although
she wasn’t sure if the blood would wash out. “I’m pretty good in
the nursing department. You look like you could use one right
now.”

His half smile flashed, and his irresistible
dimple appeared again. “I’m not likely to find another one without
a trip to the emergency room. Let’s say we stop in my room and
order a movie.”

“I’ll grab some ice.” Sondra headed into her
room for a bucket. A couple of minutes later, she knocked on his
door. He’d already managed to change out of his bloodied shirt, and
his dark hair glistened with moisture. His lip looked better not
colored with blood, but his eye was swelling shut.

“That looks painful.”

“I’ve had worse.”

Sondra was silent, not wanting to think of
his time in the service. All kinds of horrible images flashed in
her mind. She pulled out a ziplock bag from her purse and added
ice. “Here. Use this. It’ll help the swelling.”

“Okay.” The twinkle in his good eye belied
his humble tone.

When she reached up to dab the oozing blood
from his lip, she was nearly overcome with a desire to kiss that
same lip. She stepped back, breathless. What was happening? She’d
never felt like this before. But then, she’d never been engaged
before, either. Maybe spending time in his room wasn’t such a good
idea.

Sondra looked up at Zack. His eyes were
smoldering, and she dropped her glance.

Zack cleared his throat. “So… about that
movie…”

“I’ve planned a big day for tomorrow. I’d
better go…” She ached to stay, an alien sensation.

She turned on her heel, feeling an invisible
magnet pulling at her, but resisted the powerful urge. This wasn’t
what she wanted.

Temporary. This arrangement was temporary.
And that’s how she wanted it, wasn’t it?

As she left his room, she remembered she had
a legal paper to write—and no computer to write with.

She stepped into her room and looked over the
guest information. There was a computer room available on the main
floor with a printer for guests.
Perfect.

She spent the next hour writing up a document
that, as far as she could tell, left both their assets intact. She
emailed herself a copy and printed off two. They could be notarized
in the morning.

She pulled the copies off the printer and
stared at the printed sheets a moment. Zachory Lee Carlson’s
financial assets would be totally off limits. It was a good thing
she’d had such an infatuation with him when she was younger. His
full name had been branded on her heart for years.

It hadn’t left room for anyone else, and when
she’d finally let go her infatuation, her studies at college and
then work in law had taken over. What a surprise he’d come back
into her life.

And what a captivating package he’d become.
She flushed. She was sure he wasn’t interested in anything but a
very short relationship. Had he ever been as interested as she had
been, he would have been at her door years before.

* * *

As she was dressing for bed, her phone rang a
familiar tone.

“Nikki.” She groaned. She’d have to answer
her sometime. This was as good a time as any, and hadn’t she
already made the move to give her the answer she wanted? “Hi.”

“Is this Sondra?” Nikki asked.

“Who else?” Sondra walked over to the window,
moved the drapes aside, and stared out over the city.

“You don’t sound like yourself.”

Sondra’s answer was wry. “I don’t feel like
myself.”

“I’m sorry you’re upset.” Nikki’s voice shook
with what sounded like unshed tears. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I don’t see you have many options.”

The air between them was silent a few
moments. Nikki broke the silence, her voice barely a whisper. “You
already turned me down. Have you changed your mind?”

“You know I couldn’t say no.” Sondra let the
curtains fall and moved to sit on the bed.

“Oh, Sondra. Do you really mean it?”

“Of course I do. Tell me what I need to
do.”

The next several minutes were spent with
Nikki going into details involving an embryo transplant. When the
conversation ended, Sondra fell back, her mind swimming with the
idea of doctor visits, immunization booster shots, blood tests,
possible hormonal injections, invasive procedures, with the end
result one she could only enjoy as an aunt.