18. That Zing

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"I can't believeyou're here. You were so brave. But why would you do that?" Eve slugged my arm. "Wyoming, you put yourself in danger. And I've already lost enough people in my life. I can't lose you, too."

Stunned about everything, I could only think about the next steps, not ready yet to dive into Eve or Tess and the emotions boiling under the surface about us. Not ready to admit how our bodies fit so well together with her in my arms right now, or how heartbroken I was for her situation, that I didn't want to let her go.

And the current of electricity that flowed between us, so strong. No matter who she was, we didn't lose the connection at all. It was still a lot to think about.

"Uh, I we should check on Heath, tie him up or something. And, um, I need to report the bear situation. The rangers can follow the trail to see if Stan is still alive and handle the wildlife. And…oh, call the police."

"No police. This is bigger, Wyoming." She parted from me, her voice resigned. "My dad was trying to sell our technology to enemies of state. I would think the FBI would be more concerned about this."

I cocked my head. "Lucky for you then. I know someone who could help."

"I'm so sorry about all of this, that I got you into this mess?—"

"Hey. Let's just stay on task for now. We'll have time to talk later, I'm sure." And that gave me time to wrap my head around it all.

We carried Heath into the cabin and tied him to a chair with some old rope we found. He suffered a few scratches, nothing major, as long as there were no internal injuries. While waiting to see if he'd come around, we turned our attention to making phone calls.

The Wi-Fi was decent for once and we took advantage of it. I called the ranger's emergency line and reported the incident. They had a crew out an hour later.

I called Joe next, and he drove out to be with us, if nothing, at least for support.

Then came the call to Mitch. After making introductions and giving him a brief rundown, I let Eve go into the bedroom with the phone so she could answer some of his questions in depth.

I sunk into a seat at the table, numb, as if all the adrenaline had left my body. Joe scoured her kitchen and brought me a glass of a milk. I scowled at it, wishing for a beer or a shot of something stronger instead.

"Sorry. She had little else." He shrugged, taking a seat as well. I filled him in on everything that I knew, and the milk actually helped coat my worried stomach. He looked as shocked as I was. "Now what?"

"We'll see what Mitch says when they're done talking," I replied, still in the mode of getting things done.

"No, about Eve, I mean. What are you going to do with her?"

I just couldn't go there yet, with too many questions in my head. "Honestly, Joe, yesterday I thought I was falling for Eve, and today I don't know who she is."

"Come on. You do. If you take some time and stop thinking with your head and go with what your heart tells you."

"I can't trust my heart either. I felt something with Eve. A connection? A magnet pulling us? A-a…"

"Zing?" He grinned in a goofy way.

"Yeah. That. But how can it be when I was feeling that with Eve, but she's not who she says she is. Ugh. Fucking confusing." With my elbows on the table, I scrubbed my hair with my hands.

He reached out and patted my arm. "That's love, my brother. The only thing I know is this. If you've got the zing, then all the rest doesn't matter. It's a good foundation to build from. Give it time. All this stuff that Eve's gone through will sort itself out. Right now, I think she's going to need someone on her side who doesn't abandon her. That's you."

I didn't have to suffer through much more of this from him since Heath awoke. He blinked his eyes in rapid succession and glanced around the room in a daze. When he realized he couldn't move his arms or legs, his mouth returned full force.

"What's going on? How dare you tie me up? Let me go. Do you know who I am? I'm Heath Arnault."

"Yeah. You're the asshole who hurt Eve." I stood and hovered over him, fists in balls ready to strike.

"You? And Joe?" In his eyes, I could only describe it as an insane person flipping a switch in their head, turning into his role as a businessman. "Hey, this has all been a misunderstanding. A family squabble. I'm sure you know how that is. I just need to talk with my daughter alone and we'll get this all squared away."

She must have heard the commotion and came running back into the room, handing me my phone. Only our fingers brushed, taking me by storm with the same zing as we always had before.

"There's no one left who will believe you, Dad," she warned. "Wyoming, Mitch is calling the local police. They'll be here any minute to arrest him and detain him here until he and his FBI team arrive tomorrow morning to take over."

"The FBI? Are you insane, honey? They'll treat me as nothing but a common criminal," Heath scowled, pleading when no one here cared.

"You are one. In fact, I don't even know if I can call you Dad anymore after everything you've done," she spoke with a tremor in her voice and she swiped a tear away. "You locked me up and threatened my life. What kind of father does that to his own daughter?"

"You took my technology!" His face reddened with another flip of the switch back to the insane man. For what he did to Eve, I hoped they'd lock him up forever.

"It was mine. I developed it as a side project, hoping for a cure for Mom by infusing a chip into her that, with the help of artificial intelligence, would help her mind and body connection and spur the natural healing process. You're the one who convinced me to bring it into your company, promising support to get it tested and finished faster. I couldn't believe the day I discovered your plans to turn this into a weapon for military use. I had to stop you."

Heath smugly smiled. "Well, yes, you are the developer. But as I've told you before, my little insurance policy is that I added your name right next to mine on the incorporation documents, and you're on every email and document, every communication I've sent to the various military contacts and countries. You're right there next to me. If I'm going down, sweetheart, we're going down together."

She openly cried, wiping tears away as fast as they fell. Incredible pain hit me with such a force, almost knocking me back into my chair, but nothing physically had hit me.

This had happened before though, like I could feel Eve's trauma shared between us. This time, it landed stronger, an ache piercing my heart. What must she be going through? Losing her sibling and mother, and now her father and his unspeakable insanity.

"Guess what?" She straightened, drawing in a deep breath. "I'm tired of living under your threats, and hiding and running, and I don't care if they lock me away for a hundred years. I'll tell them everything I know about you and your company and your insane plans. As long as they put you away, they can do what they want with me."

The police sirens echoed, coming closer, and Heath hung his head with not another word.

An hour later, the tight knot in my back relaxed once I saw him driven away in the back of a police car.

"Well, I should get home to Molly and the kids." Joe took the steps in two. "You know, we have plenty of room at the house, if both of you want to come stay the night…or longer."

He left and Eve and I were alone at last, this entire ordeal over. At least until tomorrow, when she'd face a barrage of questions from Mitch and the FBI. And, of course, when she'd have to pick up the pieces of her life.

I doubted they'd arrest her. She did nothing wrong. Besides, I recorded every word Heath said on my phone, so that should help.

"Well. What now?" She whispered.

We locked eyes across the porch. Only something was different about her. Not just the tired under-eye circles, or the stress lining her face. Something brown.

I drew closer to her and darted my looks between both of her eyes, not believing what I was seeing. "Do you have brown eyes?"

She sucked in a breath and nodded. Using her finger and thumb, she removed the other blue one. I stumbled back a step.

She reached up to her hair, removing pins from it, unravelling the pretty coiled bun she'd had it in at the party all night. Like a comb, she fingered through her hair, letting it loose, falling in waves around her shoulders.

"Well, this is real me. Hi, Wyoming. I'm Contessa Arnault. But you can call me Tess. Everyone does."