My Hard-hearted Hero

Chapter 6 √

Before going to the drugstore, Zach drove around to where he'd seen the model rocket land. It took him only a few minutes to locate it, payload bay intact, at the edge of the woods near a road. It was a miracle no one had stumbled on it yet, he had no doubt it would have been found in the morning. Pure dumb luck had saved his butt not once, but twice today. Earlier, he'd left the garage to get some tools from shed, and just happened to see the damn thing arc over the distant treetops. A quick perusal of the attic had told him all he needed to know.

Part of him was filled with grudging admiration. He supposed he could be accused of carelessness, but who would have thought she'd do so much with so little? He'd come within a hairbreadth of being arrested for kidnapping.

And convicted. He knew that legal precedent was on Ariana's side, no matter what slime ball practice's  Lucas might have employed.

Zach could have laughed at the irony. Here he was, one of a handful of the most superbly trained warriors in the world, a top expert in explosives_his specialty in the Delta Force and what weapon does his little commune cutie use against him? A toy rocket!

And it had almost worked.

The part of him that wasn't awestruck at Ariana's audacious move was sobered by the desperation that led to it. What did she imagine he was going to do to her? Did she think he planned to keep her prisoner forever? Or exact some horrendous revenge for what she'd done to Ashton.

The way Zach had terrorized her that first night, he wouldn't blame her if she did. It gave him no pleasure to do that to her. God knew he wasn't in the habit of victimizing defenseless women. He'd approached this as just another mission, one he was determined to see through the end.

That part, at least, hadn't changed. He still had a job to do, for Ashton, even if he found it increasingly difficult to stay focused. He'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit his brother's version of events had always seemed  a little.....off, especially Ariana's horrendous treatment of him. If Ashton hadn't been so devastated_if he hadn't killed himself over her! Zach might have suspected he'd embellished the facts.

In the few days he'd known Ariana, those initial doubts about Ashton's story had returned with a vengeance. Could this be the woman his brother had spoken of so scathingly? The woman who'd belittled him, savaged his pride?

Somehow Zach had a hard time imagining it.

He sat in the Land Rover reading and rereading her message—her appeal for help—before shoving it into the pocket of his black leather jacket.

No. It gave him no pleasure to do that to her.

Ariana had tried on several occasions to reiterate her story about joining the commune undercover to investigate Ashton's suicide. But even if Zach were inclined to believe her, the evidence couldn't denied, she'd given them all her money and let them tattoo her! Those acts bespoke genuine commitment.

Dutiful deprogrammer that he was, he'd attempted to discuss the dangers of Underground with her, but soon realized the futility of that approach when she pretended to agree with everything he said. Eventually he'd realized she'd have to come around on her own.

He only hoped it wouldn't take too long. Things weren't going exactly the way he'd envisioned. He found he no longer had the stomach for the rough stuff.

And the rough stuff was precisely what he'd promised her if she pulled this kind of stunt.

Mulling over that quandary, he turned the key in the ignition and drove as fast as he dared to the drugstore. By the time he arrived back home, night had descended and a full moon had risen.