Page 2 of Keeping Her Safe

“But they want to read yours. You have one coming out in a month, and you have pre-sold over fifty thousand already. Which number is this?” He leaned back in his chair again.

“It’s the eighth in the series.”

It seemed odd, talking about her books with him. She never talked to anyone about her books. Nobody even knew she wrote books. Not that she had many friends, but the few she did have had no clue. And her family comprised of just Zachary now. Not that he considered her family.

“You want there to be a ninth, right?” His eye's dark eyes were staring at her again. What were they seeing? she wondered.

“I have already written the next three, and I’m almost done with the next one,” she told him calmly.

“How long is this series?” He looked more interested than she had ever thought he would be.

She smiled. “I’m on the last one, so thirteen.”

He put his hand over his eyes. “You do realize, Zephyr Hart, that you are twenty-two-years-old. You’ve written thirteen books before most kids your age have finished college.”

“I’m twenty-three, actually, and I had four done before I graduated from high school, so not as great of an accomplishment as you think.” She didn’t like praise.

He sat up quickly, and she saw a flash of anger in his eyes. “Don’t you ever say what you have accomplished is nothing. I heard they were thinking about making a movie about the first one,” Zachary said.

“That’s just a rumor.” She had heard nothing about making a movie.

“Every one of the books you’ve released has been on the bestsellers list, Zephyr. The rest will be, too. You are an amazing writer, so don’t belittle what you’ve done.”

“Have you read them?” She leaned towards him, betting money he hadn’t.

“I started the first one,” he admitted after a moment. “I have the next couple that were at Dad’s when I cleaned out the place. I never got through it.”

She smiled at him. “Those are worth money. First-edition signed copies. They’re the only ones I’ve ever signed.”

Her pen name was Z Connor. Connor was her middle name, so it had been an easy name to come up with when she showed up with her three first manuscripts at eighteen. Ken Jackson had told her it was perfect, that the kids wouldn’t know if the writer was male or female. Her books hadn’t been pigeon-holed as books for girls, even if her main characters were girls.

“I guess I have something to retire on then,” he said with a laugh.

His whole body seemed to relax when he laughed. There hadn’t been a lot of laughs between the two of them over the years, mostly just tension and anger. Maybe after this visit, they could be friends … or at least not enemies.

“Why are you here, Zachary?” she asked pointedly. So far, he had wasted a lot of her time, most of it watching him watch the ocean.

“I’m here to keep you safe from this guy.” The laughter vanished from his eyes.

“I don’t need you here.”

“You won’t be here, anyway. He knows you live here, remember?”

“Where am I going?” she demanded. She did not want to leave. This is where she lived.

“Tomorrow, we’re going someplace else,” he answered cryptically.

“I don’t want to leave, Zachary,” she whispered. The house was her sanctuary, and she had left it rarely in the last five years.

“You have to leave, Zephyr. You can work anywhere, but you’re in danger here.”

“You have to work. You’re a big-time cop,” she argued. She was not leaving.

“I’ve taken personal time. My little sister is in danger.” He smiled at her.

“I am not your sister; you made sure of that,” she hissed. Getting up, she walked into the house, leaving him sitting at the table. The same old tension reared its head in an instant. Once again, she couldn’t be in the same room with him, and that included the entire outdoors.

CHAPTER 2

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