Joel crouched down beside her so he could be on eye level with her brother. "What's going on, buddy?"
Zach met his gaze without the cocky, brash attitude he'd displayed toward Joel only hours before. "Is your offer still on the table?"
"That all depends on what changed your mind," Joel replied mildly.
Zach dragged both his hands down his face and released a rough exhale of breath, and it was clear to Lora that this wasn't easy for her brother. "I got as far as the main road when my car ran out of gas and I realized I didn't even have enough money to fill even a quarter of the tank." He shook his head pathetically. "So, I walked back here in the rain while drinking my last bottle of booze, and now I have nothing left. No money. No place to live. No job. And pretty soon, no life."
Emotion clogged Lora's throat, and she swallowed back the pressure so she could reassure her brother of the one thing that mattered the most. "You have us, Zach."
He looked at her, the pain and hopelessness in his gaze more honest and real than anything he'd shown them so far. "I can't do this anymore, Lora," he said in a choked voice. "I'm just so damn tired of running and looking over my shoulder and not knowing if every day is going to be my last. I want out, and I want my life back," he whispered.
"Well, we can definitely help you with that," Joel said, and straightened to his full height once again. "It's not going to be a quick, easy process, but I do need a verbal commitment from you that you're willing to do whatever it takes to get the help you need for your addictions, and your life is yours again."
Zach nodded in understanding. "I'll do it." He pushed to his feet and stood.
"Good," Joel said, pleased with Zach's acquiescence. "Let's get you back inside the cabin. There's enough food here for at least another week, and I'm going to call and see which one of the guys can stay out here with you until we settle your debt and make sure your life, and Lora's, are no longer in danger."
At the mention of her name, Zach glanced at her. "I know I royally screwed things up, and I'm sorry, Lora," he said gruffly, putting aside his own pride to extend the apology she deserved. "I swear, I'll make this up to you."
She offered him a tremulous smile. "As of right now, you are." As grateful as Lora was for Zach's turnaround, she knew her brother had a long road ahead of him, most of which would be an uphill struggle before things smoothed out for him.
Zach turned back to Joel. "Thank you." He extended his hand to the other man. "Semper fi, Wilde Man."
The beginnings of a smile curved the corner of Joel's mouth. "Semper fi, Marshall," he replied, then shook the hand Zach offered, in friendship, camaraderie, and the kind of brotherhood that could have only been formed by their time in the military together.
Semper fi. Always faithful.
Lora could see and feel the integrity between the two men, and it made her believe that everything, in time, might just be okay for her brother.
Chapter Seventeen
DANIEL parked his Volvo in front of The Electric Blue and cut the engine. Other than Sydney's car, the lot was completely empty, which was strange to see since he'd only been there in the evenings, when the area was crammed with vehicles and there was usually a long line of customers waiting outside in hopes of getting into the bar for a guaranteed good time. Having his own intimate connections with the bar owner, he was always lucky enough to bypass that queue of people no matter when he arrived.
But his visit this afternoon had more to do with business than the kind of pleasure The Electric Blue had to offer. After watching Cassie over the past two weeks, throughout normal class time and again during after school tutoring, he'd finally figured out what was going on with the teen and the reason she was exhibiting inconsistent grades in her homework and math tests.
As soon as his students left his classroom after tutoring that afternoon, he'd called Sydney and told her that they needed to talk. Since she was trying to finish up payroll and inventory before her crew showed up in a few hours, he'd offered to stop by The Electric Blue on his way home.
He exited his car, hit the lock and alarm switch, and headed toward the establishment's front doors. Judging by Sydney's reaction over the phone, he knew she was anxious to discover why her daughter was having a difficult time in his class when Cassie had never had an issue with math before. Daniel had found the whole cause behind Cassie's apparent struggle in math amusing and typical of a teenager, but he'd learned enough about Sydney, and how overly protective she was of her daughter, to know that she was not going to take the news of Cassie's deception well at all.
He knocked hard on the establishment's main door, and less than a minute later Sydney was there, letting him inside, looking gorgeous and sexy, as always. Soft auburn curls spilled over her shoulders in a sultry disarray, and she was wearing a long-sleeved, low-cut cotton top that hugged her voluptuous curves, as did her skinny jeans. After a quick hello, she led him back to her office, where they could sit down and talk. She sat down behind her desk, and he took one of the chairs in front of her.
"So, what's up with Cass?" she asked, getting right to the point.
As Sydney stared at him impatiently, Daniel had the distinct and unsettling feeling that today's conversation was going to be a turning point for them, and not in a good way. That all the emotional headway he'd made with her over the past few weeks, all the dates and getting-to-know-you conversations they'd had, and the hot foreplay that he never let turn into the actual sex she wanted from him, was going to go up in smoke right before his very eyes.
He could tell by her rigid posture and the guarded look in her gaze that she'd already erected those frustrating barriers between them. The ones that told him she was falling back into that self-preservation mode of hers that shut down her emotions and kept him at a distance. It was such a natural, ingrained response from her that he was pretty sure she didn't even realize she'd done it. But he read those signals loud and clear, and it didn't bode well for him at all.
"Earth to Daniel," she said, waving a hand in front of him to get his attention. "Are you still with me?"
"Sorry." He shook his head to wipe those other thoughts from his mind, and redirected his focus on the reason he was there. "You know I've been working with Cass over the past few weeks, and watching her during tutoring, and I'm pretty sure I've discovered what's up with her inconsistent homework and test scores."
She folded her hands on top of her desk, her fingers clasped tight. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, that depends on your definition of 'okay,' " he said lightly. Knowing they were about to tread upon a very serious topic, he choose his words, and explanation, carefully. "The good news is, Cassie is completely capable of doing the math homework I give out, and her test scores have improved."
"Thank God," she said, breathing a sigh of relief that also released the beginnings of a smile. "I've been trying to stay on top of her at home on a nightly basis, and I'm sure the after school tutoring is helping, too."
"Tutoring does have something to do with her improvement, but not in the way you think. The thing is, Cassie never needed the help in the first place."
Sydney's smile immediately faded, and confusion creased her auburn brows. "I'm not quite sure I'm following you on this."
Standing, he came around to where she was sitting, and propped himself on an edge of the desk that wasn't piled with paperwork. "Remember when I told you that I encourage students to pair up during after school tutoring sessions to help one another while I'm working one on one with someone?"
She leaned back in her chair and nodded. "Yes."