He hadn’t seen Savannah today. Though he’d been tempted to call her, he was allowing her some space. Yesterday had been about as perfect as he could have hoped for, but he didn’t want to push her. When they’d been together before, with him going into the army and her going away to school, everything had been rushed, felt desperate. And though their time was once again limited, maturity had given him patience.
Mocking laughter echoed in his mind. Patience … hell. Last night he’d taken her home and left her at the door with a quick kiss on her cheek. And all he’d been able to think of since then was the regret he felt for not kissing that luscious mouth deeply, thoroughly. He knew if he got within ten feet of her today, patience would be nothing but a word. A desire and need that went well beyond his knowledge was building up inside him. Since that kiss in her kitchen the other night, he had been on a slow simmer. One spark of encouragement from her and he’d be on full burn.
Here he stood, only a few miles away from what he wanted most in the world but unable to claim it. Instead he was waiting for two idiots to show up and spray-paint a building just so they could feel powerful. If it hadn’t been so damn aggravating, he’d say to hell with it and let them screw up their properties as much as they wanted. Problem was, if he didn’t stop them, they’d either get him fired or might even try something more drastic. He’d put up with enough shit from Ralph Henson. Damned if the man would get the best of him again.
Savannah didn’t approve of his plan. She’d made that clear yesterday. While he appreciated her concern, he wasn’t worried. Yeah, they were breaking the law, but this was a personal attack against him. And he was going to handle it on his own, in his own way.
Zach wasn’t the green kid he’d been before. He had been an Army Ranger, had killed more people than he liked to remember, and had saved lives. No, he wasn’t Superman, but neither was he naïve. Savannah feared it was a setup; Zach knew better. It was two redneck jerks who thought they were too damn smart to get caught. Nothing more, nothing less.
A small light flickered across the street. Eyes narrowed, Zach peered closer. Yeah, someone was standing on the outside of the building. The light wavered shakily and then clicked off and on a couple of times. Either someone was having battery problems or the dumbasses were too stupid to know how to use a flashlight. He was going with the second theory.
Staying low, Zach crossed the street at a run. He stopped and hunkered down behind a large mailbox, waiting. No law said Henson couldn’t enter his own building. Zach would have to catch the man in the act of spray-painting and then play it out.
He waited patiently, as he’d been trained. Soon they’d reveal themselves. Adrenaline pounded and he was distantly amused to realize that this was probably the most excitement he’d had on the job. Said a lot for sleepy little Southern towns.
“I’m getting damn tired of doing this stuff, Henson. It ain’t done no good.”
Zach recognized Clark Dayton’s voice. When he wasn’t trying to impress anyone, the guy really did sound like a country hick.
The sound of breaking glass was followed by Henson’s gruff reply. “If this one doesn’t get his ass fired, we’ll do something that’ll definitely catch everyone’s attention. I promise. By this time next month, Tanner will be out of here. With your experience, the mayor and city council will have no choice but to appoint you as police chief.”
So that was Dayton’s incentive. Apparently he didn’t realize that these crimes reflected on the entire police department, not just Zach. The mayor hadn’t yet come out and expressed his disappointment in the department’s lack of progress on the vandalism crimes, but he’d asked Zach about them frequently. Dayton might have more trouble than he anticipated getting Lamont and the city council on his side.
“Let’s get this over with,” Dayton answered. “I gotta be at work at seven in the morning.”
Zach swallowed a laugh. Yeah, Clark would definitely arrive early at the police station, only not as an employee.
The men entered the building and closed the door behind them. Zach crept closer.