Page 92 of Keeping Zita

“How about we get the fuck out of here?” Sage said gently.

Zita nodded eagerly, and reopened her eyes into slits once more. It was getting easier now. The light didn’t hurt nearly as much as it had before.

“I hope someone knows where the exit is, because I sure as hell don’t,” Edge said, sounding grumpy.

Zita couldn’t help but giggle.

Giggle.

What a difference a few minutes could make.

“Fred’ll show us the way,” the woman holding his leash said confidently.

Zita stood, and the room swayed around her. Sage didn’t miss a beat; he bent and picked her up. One arm under her knees and the other around her back. Zita immediately snuggled into his embrace, laying her head on his shoulder.

They left the room with Fred in the lead, his handler right behind, Edge on her heels, Zita and Sage a few people back, and followed by a whole host of others. People who’d given up their time to look for her. Zita was overwhelmed with gratitude.

She had no doubt she’d be going to the hospital when they finally emerged from the carrier, but that was all right with her. As long as Sage stayed by her side, she’d be able to get through anything.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Obi-Wan hadn’t left Zita’s side since he’d found her in that fucking rusting beast of an aircraft carrier a week ago. It was hard to believe Silas had locked her in a room knowing the ship would be towed out to sea and sunk.

As far as the prosecutor was concerned, Carmen St. James was as guilty as Silas. She was the one who’d set everything in motion. And for what? Sex? It was ridiculous. Hard to believe.

But that definitely seemed to be her motive. Tex had retrieved a full transcript of the texts she and Silas had sent back and forth like idiots. Yes, they’d both deleted the texts, but everyone knew nothing was ever gone forever on electronic devices.

The entire plot had been spelled out in their communications. How Carmen promised Silas money, jobs, and sex with some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. And in return, all he had to do was get rid of Zita.

Thankfully for Obi-Wan and Zita—because expensive lawyers could’ve easily argued that “get rid of” didn’t translate to “murder”—she’d been more specific when Silas asked for clarification…saying she wanted the woman she saw as her “competition” dead.

If there was anything redeeming about Silas, it was that he hadn’t actually killed Zita before stashing her in the empty ship. He also hadn’t sexually assaulted her. He’d punched her twice, kicked her, and it was clear without Zita having to say a word that he’d put his hands around her neck as well…but she was alive. And thanks to Fred and his handler, she’d been found in a relatively short period of time.

If Obi-Wan and the rest of the searchers had to go through that ship room by room, the outcome might’ve been very different.

Silas squealed like a pig when he learned Zita had been found, throwing Carmen under the bus. He’d apparently decided if he was going down, so was she. The coconspirators were currently locked up and awaiting a court date.

It was a huge scandal, and Carmen St. James was most likely done with her acting career. Not to mention, the studio was shelling out a fuckton of money so Grubbner could reshoot all the scenes Carmen had been in, having already replaced the actress. It was possible cancel culture would make sure the movie tanked, no matter the effort Grubbner was going through to salvage it. Time would tell.

But as far as Carmen’s career went, no director would dare cast her now, considering how reviled she was at the moment. Not that it was even an option, as she’d be spending some time behind bars. Probably not enough for Obi-Wan’s peace of mind though.

Zita would have some stressful times coming up. She’d need to testify for sure, but Obi-Wan was confident she’d be able to handle it as well as she’d handled everything else that had been thrown at her.

She’d been missing for two days. Any longer and things could’ve been a bit dicier as far as her health went. As it was, she was dehydrated to a dangerous level and had lost almost ten pounds in that short time. She was also struggling mentally. Which wasn’t a surprise to Obi-Wan and his friends. They knew the effects that solitude and darkness could have on the human body. It was a well-known torture technique, and it made Obi-Wan sick to his stomach that his Zita had experienced it.

Her family had flown in as soon as they were able. They hadn’t arrived at the scrapyard in time to join the search, but they’d met them at the hospital, and had spent every possible minute with her that they could. They were extremely shaken up by what had happened.

Unbeknownst to Zita, Obi-Wan had talked to her parents and brother while she was napping at the hospital. It was a little weird at first, since none of them knew each other, but Obi-Wan hadn’t held anything back. He’d told them that he loved Zita more than he could put into words, and that he’d do everything in his power to keep her safe from here on out.

It wasn’t the way he’d wanted to meet her family, but he reassured them that he was in this for the long haul, no matter how recently he and Zita had met. After the initial awkwardness wore off, Obi-Wan found that he enjoyed talking to her folks and her brother. They were down to earth and obviously loved Zita very much.

When she woke, her family visited for a while longer, before Zita finally convinced them she was okay. After making her promise to come to Indiana to visit them sooner rather than later, the threesome headed back to their hotel, flying home the next day.

Now, Obi-Wan and Zita were currently holed up together at his place. Colonel Burgess had put him on convalescence leave, and Obi-Wan felt no guilt in using every day of the time he’d been given.

After Zita was discharged from the hospital the next day, he’d brought her straight to his apartment. Someone—he had no idea who, but was grateful—had brought Zita’s suitcases to his place, so she had her own things to change into.

And to Obi-Wan’s surprise, Pyro had insisted on coming to the apartment with them as well, sleeping in the guest room. In the morning, he was still there, having made them breakfast, and hadn’t seemed the least bit inclined to leave. Until getting a call from Casper, reminding him that Obi-Wan was on leave, not him. Which made both Zita and Obi-Wan chuckle.