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Naya might not have picked up on it initially when they’d been together, but the telltale signs were there now. His pride wouldn’t let it go any other way than to see her crash and burn.
To get her riled up so she spun out.
And abandoned her goal.
Giving him the joy of victory without a fair fight.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Naya stepped up onto the sidewalk to get out of the way, but someone brushed against her back, and she stumbled forward. Her ankle twisted, and she winced.
A hand grabbed her arm, and Naya let out a cry.
She was done. Today had beentoomuch.
She spun, ready to push away whoever it was.
“Whoa. It’s just me.” Zack stood in front of her, holding her. “I thought I told you to watch your back?” His brow creased. “You don’t need another injury.”
“I was doing my job.” She shifted to favor her good leg and rose to her full height. Was he going to reprimand her, thinking she couldn’t hold her own, just like the other men she knew? “I’ll be fine.”
“But you’ll put yourself in jeopardy to do it?”
He thought she was doing that on purpose? “If I recall, you stepped into the crosshairs tonight too.”
“I’m just looking out for you.” Zack’s jaw twitched.
Naya stayed quiet for a moment. Was that really his motive? She didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Regardless, she wasn’t going to let him deter her from doing her job. “Actually, the information I gathered could keep others from being put in harm’s way.” Of course, he wouldn’t understand her full reasoning. She’d never told him the whole story of why she did what she did.
“Good. Then you’re done?” He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes for a brief second.
There wasn’t any use explaining her why at the moment. “Yes, I’m done.”
All that mattered was that she’d uncovered valuable insight from Sylvia and Callahan.
Now she needed to figure out who was behind this attack tonight and what exactly Callahan’s best practices were. She’d just skimmed the film off the top of a murky lake, and Naya intended to dive deeper to discover what lay beneath.
“Great. Let’s go.” Zack turned, and his firm hand on her back escorted her to the car. He opened her door and stood there, as if to help her in.
Naya stared back at the fire a second before getting in the car.
He closed the door and rounded to the driver’s side. Given her throbbing arm and the flames still licking the house in the distance, how many more people would suffer before she got to the bottom of the truth?
ELEVEN
Flames roared in Zack’s ears, and the smoke shrouded him, threatening to take him to an early grave.
Can’t breathe.
He raced to the window in his room and yanked on the lever, but it wouldn’t budge. His parents stood on the grass below.
His mom dropped to her knees while his dad whipped his hands in the air. One glance behind him at the smoke funneling through the cracks in the door told Zack he was trapped.
Mom! Dad!
An alarm buzzed and Zack shot up in bed. The sheets cascaded to the floor, and the cool air in his room enveloped his sweaty body.
Dreaming. Or rather, a nightmare.
Zack sucked in a ragged breath before leaning back against the headboard.