“I don’t know what to do. It’s a great offer. I won’t get one better. It’s a dream offer.”

  “But?”

  “I’m just not sure I want to go back to it.”

  Slapping the lid down on his laptop, Cooper stood and tucked it under his arm.

  “Jesus, you are one of the smartest people I know, but you’re so stupid sometimes.”

  Cooper had that disgusted expression on his face again. He looked pissed off.

  “What crawled up your ass? I’m not stupid. This is a huge decision about my future career. I’m not sure I should be listening to any advice you would have about that subject.”

  Shit, Zack hadn’t meant to say that. It was a crap-ass thing to do, and he immediately wanted to take it all back.

  “Listen—” he began, but Cooper shut him down.

  “You’re right,” his brother said with a laugh. “I don’t know anything about high finance or Wall Street, but I do know one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “If you wanted to take that job – which, according to you is the best offer you could ever hope for - you would have already taken it. There wouldn’t be any hesitation. Not one second. Now I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”

  Cooper disappeared into the bedroom leaving Zack rooted to his chair, the words echoing in his ears. The truth was bashing him between the eyes repeatedly.

  His brother was right.

  If Zack had truly wanted to go back to Wall Street, he would have jumped at the chance. But he didn’t, and all this teeth gnashing and whining were just because he didn’t want to admit that part of his life was over. Done. He didn’t want to go back, and even though he didn’t know what he wanted to do, he was one step closer to figuring it out now that he’d taken one option off the table.

  He was going to turn down the job in the morning.

  Then he’d tell Lucy that he wasn’t going anywhere, at least not for a while. He wanted to see where their relationship might go.

  Zack was ready to fall in love with her.

  22

  The next morning, Lucy was getting dressed and ready to go see Lloyd Daniels who Zack had found out lived in a rented apartment in the next town over. Later, Zack would go meet with his high school friends, but Lloyd was higher on their priority list since he had known the huge secret of Sarah’s real paternity. He just might know a few more bombshells.

  She heard a door slam and then the stomping of feet. There were raised voices - Zack and Cooper - and she quickly slipped on her shoes and went out to the living room to see what was going on.

  Zack and Cooper both looked furious, matching scowls on their faces. When they saw her, they both tried to school their expressions, but it was far too late. The two of them were angry, and she wanted to know what had set them off.

  “Okay, what’s going on?”

  Zack took a deep breath while Cooper stomped over to the coffeemaker to pour a cup.

  “I went out to the car to grab my travel mug, and someone had vandalized it. It looks like they took a key to the paint job and scratched every surface before smashing the headlights and slicing the tires. I’ll have to call the rental company. They did it to Cooper’s car as well. They were parked next to each other.”

  “At least you took the insurance,” Cooper barked from the kitchen, pouring a second cup and handing it to Lucy. “This is going to be a hassle to deal with. I guess this answers the fucking question about whether Lucy’s apartment was unrelated to what’s going on. Clearly, someone is out there trying to scare us off. Well, fuck them because all they’ve done is make me more determined to find our answers. The joke’s on them. I didn’t even like that fucking car. I’ve been wanting a new one.”

  Cooper had just dropped several “fucks” all in the space of a few sentences. He was brilliantly furious, and she didn’t blame him. Even with good insurance, it was going to be several phone calls and paperwork.

  “Are they drivable?”

  She didn’t know why she’d asked that question, but it was one of the first that popped into her mind.

  “Not without four new tires,” Zack growled. “They’re trying to keep us from meeting and talking to people.”

  “They’re not thinking it through very carefully,” she replied. “All we have to do is walk to my condo and get my car. It’s not that far.”

  They’d driven here last night, but honestly, they could have walked. They’d gone farther that night that Zack couldn’t sleep.

  “We don’t know what shape your car is in,” Zack warned. “It could be damaged as well.”

  “I’ve already called Tate and asked him if we can borrow his car,” Cooper said. “He gave the go-ahead so I’m going to walk over there and get the key. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and we can go see Lloyd Daniels.”

  Cooper strode out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

  “Did you call Finn to let him know?”

  “Cooper did. He said that he’ll send over Blake later to take our statements. We’re going to need a police report for insurance and the rental company also.”

  Needing police reports was becoming a bad habit.

  “I’m not sure what to even say. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. To both of you.”

  “I’m just angry and frustrated,” Zack said. “But I’m with Cooper on this. No one is going to scare me away. If they think that scratching up a rental is going to spook me, they’re dead wrong.”

  “Funny that you used that word…dead. Has it occurred to you that this someone you’re referring to might go that route? After all, Ethan is fighting for his life in the hospital right this minute.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” Zack agreed. “That’s why I think that you should go in to the bookstore today. Cooper and I will seek out Lloyd Daniels. I want you firmly out of the firing line.”

  That would be fine, except…

  “But you’d still be in danger,” she said. “And just because I’m not with you, doesn’t mean I won’t be. We’re a team here. We work together.”

  “Until now, I would have agreed, but I won’t let you get hurt. I can’t tell you what to do. I realize that. But I can’t concentrate on what I need to do if I’m worried about your safety, too.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She knew what it meant, but he needed to say it.

  “It means I’m asking you to step aside and stay safe. Go to the bookstore. Have people around you all day. I don’t think anyone is going to try anything in a crowd. Don’t be alone. If I can’t be there to protect you, then we need to make sure that you aren’t in a position to be hurt.”

  Lucy wanted to be there with him. She wanted to see Lloyd Daniels.

  She had, however, been spending a great deal of time with Zack, and that meant she wasn’t in her own bookstore, leaving the running of it to Jane. Her friend did an amazing job, but it wasn’t fair to dump it all on her. She had other priorities. Lucy was the owner, and that meant that her business had to come first. She had employees that depended on her for their livelihood. Running off and playing private investigator was fun, but in the end, Zack didn’t need her to do it.

  “I’ll go to the bookstore,” she replied. “Will you keep me apprised of what’s going on? Let me know if you learn anything?”

  “You’ll be the first one I call,” he assured her. “I promise you. Thank you, Lucy. I appreciate your understanding. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”

  “You mean a lot to me.”

  “You mean a lot to me, too.”

  There was something in his expression that she couldn’t quite decipher. He wasn’t smiling but his anger had dissolved, leaving him serious and sober.

  “What I’m trying to say—”

  He broke off, his gaze on his shoes as he struggled to find the words. A little voice was in her ear urging her to fill the silence and smooth it all over. Awkward moments were…well…awkward, but she forced herself to stay quiet and let him gather his thoughts.

  After a long moment, he lifted his head and spoke.

  “What I’m trying to say is that I’m not going to take that job on Wall Street. I don’t want to go back. I’m not sure what I want to do, but I do know that I want to give this relationship - you and me - a try. I hope that you feel the same. If you don’t—”

  She didn’t let him get any farther, launching herself into his arms as her heart pounded against her ribcage. This wonderful man had come into her life and turned it upside down. She’d been living a quiet existence, content with her day-to-day, but now it all seemed better just because she could share it with him. She wanted to do that every single day.

  “I do feel the same,” her voice husky and full of emotion. “I’m glad you want to try. I want to do that, too.”

  “I think…I think I might be in love with you, Lucy Gilbert.”

  The happiness that was bubbling inside of her was like a gigantic bottle of champagne that threatened to spill over. He’d sounded so earnest, so serious, and here she was grinning and almost laughing. She couldn’t help it. She was relieved and thrilled all at the same time. She’d been bracing for heartbreak, but somehow, she was getting something that she’d desperately wanted but couldn’t admit even to herself.

  “I think I love you, too, Zack. It’s kind of scary, but I can’t imagine my life without you now. I didn’t expect this, but I’m so glad you came back for that wedding.”

  When they kissed, it was different somehow. Warmer, deeper, more…something. It simply meant more to be kissing someone that she loved and loved her back.

  The door swung open, and Cooper stepped in, his eyes widening at the sight before him like a deer in headlights. Clearing his throat, he hastily stepped back out again.

  “Pardon me, I’ll just wait downstairs.”

  Zack and Lucy both burst into laughter, breaking the romantic bubble they’d wrapped themselves in, if only for a few minutes.

  “I think we scared him,” Lucy giggled.

  “We were standing up with all our clothes on,” Zack observed. “And that sent him flying back downstairs. I guess we should get going since he’s waiting for us. I want to make sure that you get to the bookstore safely.”

  She’d be walking on clouds the entire way. She and Zack were in love.

  Zack and Cooper pulled up in front of Lloyd Daniels’s rundown apartment building on the outskirts of an even smaller town about a half-hour from Winslow Heights. They didn’t know if he’d be home, but they’d decided to wait for a while if he wasn’t. They really wanted to talk with him about Sarah.

  Pushing open the driver’s side door, Zack didn’t even have time to step out of the vehicle before Cooper spoke.

  “You got a good woman, bro. Don’t blow it.”

  Zack’s first instinct was to tell Cooper to go fuck himself; the second was to realize that this was his brother’s awkward way of worrying and trying to give advice. It came from a place of love and concern, although the manner in which it was expressed left a great deal to be desired.

  “I wasn’t planning to mess it up, but it’s clear that you think that I might.”

  “You’ve said out loud that you’re not sure if you want to go back to the city. I’m just making sure that you don’t make a life-altering decision that you’ll regret.”

  “Do you have any decisions that you regret?”

  “Yes, one.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite. What is it?”

  “I should have told our father to shove it up his ass years earlier than I actually did.”

  That sounded like something Cooper would do.

  “If you’d done it any earlier, you would have been a toddler and typing him an email on a Fisher-Price toy computer.”

  Cooper threw back his head and laughed.

  “I wasn’t much older than that when I realized that Dad was a jerk. Seriously, Lucy is the real deal. She’s perfect for you.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m not going back to New York City. I’m going to stick around for a while, see what happens. Is that okay? I intend to find my own place, but I might be around a little longer until I do.”

  “I told you that you can stay as long as you need to. And good for you. You’ve finally realized that you don’t have to have all of the answers all of the time.”

  Since coming home Zack hadn’t had basically any answers, and so far, he hadn’t done too badly.

  They walked up the sidewalk and the door swung open. Daniels stood there, looking a lot older than Zack remembered but it had been eighteen years. They’d all aged.

  Daniels’s hair was silver-white with a lined, tanned face. Thin as a rail, his clothes hung on him as if he had been heavier in the past. His jeans had a rip in the knee, and his t-shirt had a small stain on the arm. His eyes narrowed as he watched them approach, his lips curled into a sneer.

  “What do you want?” he barked. “I paid the rent so stop bothering me.”

  “We’re not here about rent or bills,” Cooper said quickly. “We’re here to talk to you. I’m Cooper Winslow, and this is my brother Zack Winslow. We just want a few minutes of your time.”

  The older man’s gaze ran from Cooper to Zack and then back again, no less suspicious than when he’d thought they were there to collect money.

  “You look like your mom,” he finally said. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Your stepdaughter Sarah,” Zack replied. “We were hoping you could tell us about her high school years. We want to help find out what happened to her. She was our sister, after all.”

  Zack was convinced they were going to be turned away, but then Daniels gave a curt nod and stepped back so they could enter the apartment.

  The home was small but clean and neat. There were stacks of newspapers here and there, but everything else seemed to be put away. An old desktop computer sat on the kitchen table, an open can of soda next to it.

  “Sarah was your sister,” Daniels said as they all sat down in the living room. “Your daddy was her daddy, although he didn’t want anyone to know. He didn’t want to ruin his reputation as a family man. As if anyone bought that in the first place. I knew all the way back before I ever got with Tracy that Joel Winslow was running around on your mom. There were several women, and there’s probably more kids, too. I bet he’s paying off half the county.”

  Zack didn’t doubt that Tracy wasn’t the only one, but even his dad had to sleep and work occasionally. Half of the county was probably an exaggeration. Hopefully, anyway.

  “Was there anyone in Sarah’s life that would have wanted to hurt her?” Zack asked. “Was she having trouble with anyone? Arguments or issues? Other than Ethan, who did she spend most of her time with?”

  “Sarah was a sweet girl, but naive as hell,” Daniels growled. “She thought that everyone was wonderful, but I knew that the world was a dangerous place. I tried to talk to her, but she’d tell me that I was mean and terrible. She’d run to her mom and complain, and then Tracy would be upset. All I did was try and give that girl some discipline and boundaries. Tracy let her run wild. She was gone from the house almost every day, coming home in the middle of the night even when she had school the next day. She was drinking, for sure, and more I bet although I could never prove it. She was having sex, too, with that Ethan guy. I found birth control pills in her dresser.”

  “You looked in her dresser?” Cooper asked.

  Daniels threw his arms in the air, becoming agitated.

  “I was trying to look after that girl. I could see that she was getting into things that she shouldn’t. Drinking, smoking, sex. That’s not something a teenage girl should be doing. Tracy kept saying that Sarah was almost an adult, and that she’d be out of the house after graduation, so it didn’t matter.”

  Damn, that was cold. Had Sarah’s mom been planning to simply kick out her own daughter?

  Cooper beat Zack to asking the question.

  “Sarah was going off to college then?”

  “I dunno,” Daniels shrugged. “But Tracy said that’s when the money would stop coming in from Winslow.”

  This was fucked up ten different ways. Zack couldn’t say that he blamed Sarah for never wanting to be home. If he’d grown up with these parents, he wouldn’t want to be there either.

  “Did Sarah know that my dad was her father also?” Zack queried. “If not, was Tracy ever going to tell her?”

  “Tracy said she was going to tell Sarah when she turned eighteen,” Daniels replied. “Sarah didn’t know. Tracy told her that the money came from her own deadbeat dad. That man never had two nickels to rub together, and eventually Sarah started to get suspicious. She asked a lot of questions, but she never knew. I guess your old man felt guilty when Sarah died because he paid Tracy for years. Or maybe he was so goddamn rich he didn’t even notice.”

  “Now that I believe,” Cooper muttered under his breath just loud enough for Zack to hear.

  “Do you know where she went when she was out? Who she hung out with?”

  “With that no-good boyfriend, I guess. I don’t know. I’d ask, and she’d tell me it was none of my business. That’s how the youth in this world act these days. We’re heading for the destruction of society if you ask me. People don’t know how to act or be responsible. It’s probably a good thing that the giants will eventually take over. They’ll straighten this all out.”

  Wait…the giants?

  “The giants?” Cooper echoed. “You’re not talking about the football team, are you?”

  Daniels frowned and shook his head.

  “What football team? No, I’m talking about the giants. You have to know about them. Your dad has been working with them his whole life. How do you think he has some much power and money? It was given to him by the giants. Of course, the government doesn’t want you to know about the giants. They’re hiding them, but they’re there and they’ll take over. You’re either going to be on their side or the losing side.”

  Were the giants some sort of…euphemism? And Joel Winslow was in league with them? Since their dad had inherited his wealth, did that mean that their grandfather and all the greats had been working with the giants as well?