Then his chest puffed up. This wasn't about her. It was about pride , and his good name, and being a man. Besides, Taylor used to preach something about discretion being the better part of valor back when he'd been showing the men of Bisinlejo how to hold their own against the cartel. So he'd stay and see this through. But right now the situation called for a quick retreat.
Miguel headed for the door. Pulling out before the master sergeant returned was not a cowardly act. it was merely subscribing to the live-to-fight-another-day credo.
Just the way the U.S. Marines had taught him.
Lily felt her temper start to rise as she stood next to Zach in the Beaumont parlor. Richard was yelling, Mrs. B. was in hysterics, and Cassidy sat on the couch grinning as if this were an amusing melodrama put on strictly for her entertainment. Christopher kept inspecting Zach with narrow-eyed suspicion, and Jessica, in between bouts of attempting to calm her aunt, stared in-credulously at everyone else in the room as if unable to believe their behavior.
Lily was having a tough time with that, herself. Pandemonium had been the rule ever since she and Zach had explained what transpired tonight in the woods. And after every thing Zach had gone through for them, she neither understood nor appreciated the Beaumonts' attitude by half. His temple sported a vicious knot the size of a golf ball and his color was awful. He looked dead on his feet, but considering the new bombshell he'd just lobbed into the mix after Christopher asked where the money was, it seemed unlikely he'd get the rest he needed anytime soon. The only thing he had going for him, apparently, was the second of blessed quiet that had fallen in the wake of his reply.
Then Christopher moved forward to stand chest-to-chest with him. "What the hell does that mean , you've put it someplace safe?"
His aggression caused Lily to take a cautious step back, her lashes batting nervously. Zach didn't so much as blink.
"Exactly what it sounds like. I'm through letting you folks comply with every damn demand the kidnapper makes without taking a single precaution to ensure Glynnis and David's safety."
Surprisingly, Christopher's militance faded, and he stepped back. But before Lily could draw a relieved breath Richard pushed forward, demanding belligerently, "What kind of precautions could we take?"
"Insisting on speaking to your cousin before forking over his ransom, for starters," Zach snapped. "Jesus. You just sent me out with a boatload of cash and not so much as one lousy assurance as to the kids' safe return—not to mention a shred of proof they're even still alive."
Mrs. Beaumont's hysterical howling immediately grew louder, but Zach kept his attention focused on the two men. "From now on," he said flatly, "we do this my way."
"The hell you say," Richard countered, and Mrs. Beaumont screeched. "You'll kill him! You'll kill my darling David!"
Zach glanced at the older woman. "No, ma'am," he disagreed. "Blind obedience to an extortionist will kill him."
"Well, you can't simply commandeer our money and tell us we have no say on how it's used." Richard said furiously. "That's thievery ."
"So call a cop." Zach pinned him in place with an ice-cold gaze. "I'd welcome it. In fact, you can all tell him where you were while I was out following your instructions."
"Listen, you—"
But when Richard took a menacing step forward, Lily's patience snapped She inserted herself between the two men. "All right, that is enough! What's the matter with you people? Zach was knocked unconscious tonight trying to protect not only David and Glynnis, but your precious money as well, and all I've heard since we got back is complaints about how he handled the drop."
"Hey, he's supposed to be the big, hotshot expert." Richard sneered.
"Yes, and isn't it amazing how that only seems to apply when it comes to putting himself in danger? When he tried to give you the benefit of his expertise, however, no one wanted to pay attention. Well, shame on all of you! You can just sit around throwing hissy fits or wallowing in your self-righteous indignation until you turn blue for all I care. But Zach was injured doing what none of the rest of you were willing to do, and we're finished listening to your grievances. I'm taking him up to his room."
And with a final glare that dared anyone to stop her, she grasped Zach's arm and marched them from the room.
Okay, that was embarrassing. Lying in bed where Lily had stripped him down and bundled him a moment ago before heading off to her own room, Zach relived the way she'd jumped in to defend him from the Beaumonts' ire. He wasn't some grade-school kid needing his mommy to fight his battles for him. Yet he had to admit it was impressive as all get-out seeing a little five-foot-nothing blonde take on an entire household and leave everyone standing around with their mouths agape.
Of course the Beaumonts weren't the only ones whose mouths had been hanging open, and he was the one who'd allowed her to hustle him out of the room. So what did that say about him? That he was a grade-A pussy, probably—a guy who hid behind a woman's skirts. Still. He'd never had anyone stand up for him like that, and it was kind of—
Shit. The truth was, his head throbbed like a bitch in heat, and he didn't know what the hell he felt, aside from the fact that a persistent little kernel of warmth glowed in the region of his tough marine heart. And that wouldn't do. No one knew better than he how dangerous it was to let anyone come to matter too much. In the end no one ever seemed to stay.
Not that he'd let it become a problem in this instance. The trick was not to depend on having anyone's company for the duration, and he'd learned how to do that long ago. He didn't plan to get used to Lily's, either. As soon as he got his sister back and made sure Beaumont was good enough for her, he'd go back to figuring out how to spend his last two years in the service. And since little Miss Lily had big plans for her restaurant, no doubt she'd go her merry way as well without so much as a backward glance.
So when the subject of his thoughts suddenly slid back into his room wearing a little piece of satin and lace that could probably raise the dead, he had a noncommittal expression firmly in place. "I'm pretty hammered, sugar. I don't think I'm gonna be of much use to you tonight."
For just an instant her mouth dropped open. The minute she snapped it closed, however, it promptly morphed into a crooked smile full of genuine amusement. "Well, darn. And here I was, too, just dreaming about sex with a guy I could whip with one arm tied behind my back." She heaved a sigh. "I guessI'll just have to be satisfied with tending to your owie."
Only then, to his embarrassment, did he notice the small tray she carried in her hands, and he said flatly, "I don't require attending."
She nodded in complete understanding. "Because you're such a big, bad Marine." Climbing up onto the bed, she reached across him and carefully set the tray down by his hip.
"Damn straight." What the hell was she up to? He stared at her uncertainly as she carefully swung a leg to kneel astride him, then lowered her lush butt, settling on his thighs with a subtle little wiggle.
"Sometimes even marines need a little TLC," she said. "It doesn't mean they're like those Navy wusses or anything." She twisted to wring a washcloth over the bowl of warm water she'd taken it from, then turned back and cautiously dabbed at the knot on his temple.
For the next several minutes Zach watched her breasts sway and shift against her nightie as she administered to him, and stewed in his own confusion. He couldn't remember anybody ever taking care of him like this. When he was a kid and got hurt, his injuries had mostly been attended to with rough efficiency by a tribesman, since his folks, more often than not, had been out ministering to the natives. And in the service he'd always been doctored by medics. God knew in neither instance had anyone ever sat on his lap to tend him. Nor had they felt like this, nor smelled like this, and they sure as hell had never kissed the injury better once they'd finished bandaging it.