Love Undercover - Signed Paperback

Zach Wilson never meant for things to go so far. Abducting Lauren Vincent was supposed to get him answers—until his brother took things too far. Sparing Lauren was the only right thing Zach had ever done, but one good decision couldn't erase a lifetime of bad ones. So when he gets out of prison, he never expected to find the woman he hurt most waiting for him with forgiveness in her eyes.

Lauren has spent years haunted by that night and the man who saved her. She doesn't understand why Zach protected her, but she's never forgotten he's the reason she's still breathing. Now her cousin has been missing for years, and Zach is the only one with the connections to find him.

Living next door while helping with repairs, Zach tries to keep his distance, but Lauren sees glimpses of the honorable man he's fighting to become. Despite his reluctance to risk her safety, she's determined to find her cousin—even if it means trusting her heart to the man who once held her life in his hands.

As danger closes in and old enemies resurface, will they find answers, love, and redemption before it's too late?

The stale air inside the prison threatened to choke Lauren as her gaze darted around the room. The gray walls of the waiting room blended with the gray floor beneath her pink and white sneakers. 

She’d spent most of the morning fussing over what to wear. Now, all she wanted to do was go back in time and change everything. Not just the simple white sweater and jeans she’d chosen, but every decision that led her to this moment. She wanted to travel back in time and wipe this stupid idea from her head. What had she expected? It was a prison, not a lunch date with the girls. 

Lauren gasped for another breath. There wasn’t any air circulation in this place. And where was the ambient music? It was quieter than her library. Shouts echoed in distant parts of the compound, but the waiting room held an eerie silence. 

Good grief. What was wrong with this air? She searched the walls and ceiling for a vent. Of course, there weren’t any. The door she’d been escorted through was the only exit. That was stupid. Every room should have multiple exits. 

The creak of metal on metal split the silence, and she jerked her head up. 

“Lauren Vincent,” a deep male voice announced. 

“That’s me.”

Duh. She was the only one in the waiting room. Of course the name was hers. 

Why did the prison even have a waiting room? Were people really lining up to visit inmates? Was there a traffic jam between driving through the three-foot-thick concrete gate and the visitation room? 

The male guard looked up from the tablet propped on his arm and gave Lauren a once-over. “Did you put all of your things in the locker?”

“Yes, sir.” Ugh. Why was her voice shaking? She wasn’t the one in prison. She was only visiting, like the narrow sliver on the Monopoly board that said she was close to something dangerous but sitting safely in her lane. 

The guard took one step toward Lauren, and she moved an instinctive step back. The large man narrowed dark eyes beneath bushy brows and pointed a finger at Lauren’s face. “If you pass anything, I’ll know about it.”

Okay, was she really in the safe zone? She’d filled out the forms, showed every piece of identification she owned, and even made an appointment weeks in advance to come here.

And for what? 

That was an excellent question—one she’d be turning over in her brain late at night when she over-contemplated all of her life choices. 

When the guard didn’t move, she inhaled another lungful of still air, dusty as the books in the reference section where she should be right now. “I won’t. You took everything I could possibly give him. Including my earrings,” she reminded him. 

Not that she’d be giving Zach Wilson anything else. He’d taken enough from her. Sleep, peace, time. Things she couldn’t get back. 

The guard’s expression didn’t budge. He should get a raise or at least a pat on the back for a job well-done. She was impressed, but she would not be intimidated any longer. She hadn’t survived everything to get rattled by a scowling man. 

When he didn’t move, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “There’s nothing left but my clothes, and you can’t have those.”

Satisfied that she wasn’t going to uproot the careful balance of power the prison maintained, the guard jerked his chin toward the hallway and started walking. Lauren fell into step behind him, though he didn’t even turn to see if she followed. 

At the end of the hall, the guard opened an unassuming metal door and stepped to the side. “You have twenty minutes.”

The smell hit her first. Stale air mingled with sweat and cigarette smoke. Lauren fisted her hands at her sides and fought the urge to cover her nose as she entered the open room. 

Big surprise. More gray covered the walls. Gray tables and chairs were bolted to the cement floors. Anyone would feel out of place here. It had nothing to do with seeing the man who’d first abducted her, then fought for her freedom.

A dozen stares pinned her to the wall as every man turned her way. An itching heat burned its way through her chest and neck as they continued to gawk. 

Why was she here when she didn’t have to be? Right, because she needed answers. Answers would give her closure. Healing. She could move on with her life after this.

Scanning the room, she looked for the face she’d memorized—the one who either haunted her dreams or kept her awake at night. She hadn’t seen him since the trial, and even then, it had been through tears. 

Weak. She’d been pitiful and fragile six months ago. She’d been a grown version of her terrified childhood self.

Never again. She’d channeled her inner Scarlett O’Hara since then. Instead of vowing to never be hungry, she intended to never be scared. Well, she could at least project confidence, even if her insides were rolling.

The humming in her ears hit a crescendo as she swallowed the unease that jammed in her throat. Then she saw him. 

Zach Wilson didn’t look anything like she remembered. With the lower half of his face covered in a thick beard, he was almost unrecognizable. 

Except she would know those eyes anywhere. He’d looked at her twice during the trial, only twice, but it was enough to make an impression. 

Everything rushed back in a wave that smothered her beneath raging waters. 

The strong hands that grabbed and held her against her will.  

The moment she realized she couldn’t fight her way out. 

The soreness in her throat as she’d screamed. 

The deafening gunshot and the bullet meant for her. 

If there had been a shred of humanity left in Zach, it was gone now. Hollow eyes stared at her with no recognition. The heat that crept up her neck just moments ago drained out as the lifeless man peered into her soul—probing her deepest, darkest fears as if they were spread on the table before him. 

A bead of sweat tickled down her back. Twenty minutes. She could withstand anything for twenty minutes, but she couldn’t do it alone. Sucking in a fortifying breath, she tolerated the stench and prayed. 

God, help me. I need words and strength to get through this. 

Stalking toward him with the Lord at her back, she held Zach’s gaze until she sat on the edge of the empty seat beside him. 

Now what? She didn’t even have a purse strap to hold on to. She’d stuffed it into a locker with her other belongings half an hour ago, and her hands were inconveniently empty. 

“What are you doing here?” His voice was raspy and deeper than she’d expected. 

She’d barely heard the argument with his brother the night they’d taken her, but every word he’d said during the trial was seared into her memory. 

She clasped her hands on the table. “I came to talk to you.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Yeah. Well, here I am. I have questions.” Finally, the strength she’d been storing decided to make an appearance. 

“I’m not a lab rat. You don’t get to poke and prod just because I’m in a cage.”

Is that how he saw her? Is that how he saw himself? She hadn’t come all this way to gloat. That wouldn’t do either of them any good, and she hated wasting time. 

“That’s not why I’m here.”

“Why then?” he asked, quick and sharp like the knife he thought she twisted in his back. 

Her breaths were uneven again. She’d been preparing for this moment for weeks, and it hadn’t been enough. 

“Questions.” 

Great. Was that all she could get out? This wasn’t going the way she’d planned. 

Zach’s big hands spread over the table as he pushed to his feet. “Sorry you wasted your time.”

Every expectation she’d foolishly held onto melted away. She wanted, needed, answers to the burning questions, but the only thing she’d gotten from Zach Wilson, today and any day, was disappointment.