harsh and urgent, came from behind her and not from the man standing a few feet away.
Who? What … Before she could finish the thought, Zach shouted, “Get down!”
Savannah dropped to the floor. Shots were fired; bullets whizzed over her head. Her shocked brain registered multiple gunshots as if bullets were flying everywhere, in every direction. In a distant part of her frozen mind, she knew Zach was shooting at someone. Please, please, please, let him be okay.
Seconds later, as if someone had abruptly shoved her into a soundproof room, there was nothing but dead silence. Then the thundering noise of people running and shouting hit her ear. Lights blazed above her. Before she could assimilate all the nuances of the past ten seconds, hands grabbed her and turned her over.
“Savannah … baby, are you okay?”
She looked into Zach’s worried face and almost sobbed her relief. He was here … he was okay. Sitting up, she threw herself into his arms and held on tightly. If she had lost him … She shook her head. She didn’t even want to finish that thought.
“What the hell happened?”
Her face buried against Zach’s naked chest, she didn’t have to look up to know that was Brody’s voice.
“Someone broke in and tried to kill Savannah.”
She raised her head at that. “Me? Are you sure?”
Zach’s face was dark, grimmer than she could ever imagine, as he nodded. “He was pointing the gun right at you. I saw his eyes right before I took the shot. He was focused solely on you.”
“I don’t understand. Why me? There are a whole lot more people on the case now. I don’t know more than anyone else. Could he have intended to kill all of us?”
Pulling her to her feet, Zach held on to her as if afraid to let her go. That was perfectly fine with her. She never wanted him to let her go.
“Anyone recognize the shooter?” Brody asked.
Turning, she looked at the body lying a few feet in front of her. Samantha pushed him over onto his back. The man was thirtyish, balding, medium height and very fit. Even in death, he looked wicked and hardened.
Shaking her head, Savannah answered, “I’ve never seen him before.”
Zach held her away slightly to look down at her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a little shaky.”
His hands cupped her face and he reverently and softly kissed her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Savannah. For everything.”
She knew he wasn’t talking about the events of the last five minutes but what they’d been discussing beforehand. “Don’t, Zach. Please. We have to get past that. Okay?”
The smile she so loved brightened his face like a thousand candles. “We’ve got a lot of things to talk about … decisions to make.”
Despite the fact that someone had just tried to kill her, a wave of happiness swept over her. Her smile as bright as his, she answered, “Yes, we certainly do.”
“Hey, Chief,” Brody’s amused sarcasm broke up the tender moment, “wouldn’t want a dead guy to spoil a romantic interlude. Want me to take over for you?”
Laughing at Zach’s raised eyebrows and the searing glare he shot Brody, she said, “Go. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but first …” He looked left and right and then pulled her into a corner, out of sight from everyone. Lowering his mouth, he kissed her tenderly, passionately, lovingly, and then whispered, “I love you, Savannah Wilde.”
Filled with so much emotion she could hardly speak, she said thickly, “And I love you, Zach Tanner. For now. Always. Forever.” Caressing his face, she whispered, “Go, do your job. We’ll talk later.”
The instant his arms dropped and he walked away, she felt alone and bereft. As soon as this was solved, her parents’ murderer caught, she wanted to go somewhere alone with Zach—someplace where guns, fires, and bad people existed only in books and movies.
Sabrina and Samantha rushed to her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just can’t believe all of this is happening.”
Sammie shook her head in shared disbelief. “I’m beginning to think Atlanta has nothing on Midnight for mayhem and murder.”
A crazy idea sprang into her mind. Blurry and unformed, it seemed too insane to even contemplate. But was it really? She eyed her two sisters speculatively. Would they even consider such a thing?
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
Zach ran his fingers through his hair for about the thousandth time in the last two hours. He’d been on the phone all morning. First he’d called Savannah’s boss. The man who had tried to kill Savannah was most definitely