Under Seige by Catherine Mann Page B

him and all those damning curses within Julia dried right up.
    "Julia," he said, the single word whispering a need that had sent her running straight to his house barely twenty-four hours ago.
    Her mouth closed. She waited. Wanted.
    What she wanted, she didn't exactly know, but she stood on the edge of something scary. Life would change for her based on what she decided in the next few seconds. "What, Zach?"
    "I guess I needed you more than I realized."
    His soft-spoken words rumbled with more of that need, tipping her right over the edge. Come one o'clock, Julia knew she would stand beside him in hell itself if he asked.
    Chapter 7
    Zach leaned to tug open the bottom desk drawer without taking his eyes off the flight data in front of him.
    Fishing by feel, he sifted through. M&M's. Licorice. Some kind of snack bar, probably granola. All pitched aside. He settled on a pack of Pop-Tarts.
    He flipped the pack in his hand. Blueberry frosted pilfered from Ivy's secret stash.
    Not much of a lunch, but it would have to do. He had zero time in his schedule for picking up anything during his lunch break except a marriage license.
    Married again.
    He ripped open the wrapper, not quite ready to go there in his thoughts yet. If he started thinking about Julia, he wouldn't be able to review the files about Lance Sinclair with any objectivity. His role as commander precluded him from being a part of the investigation. But that didn't stop him from hoping to find evidence to exonerate Lance anyway.
    Sounds wafted from the hall. Ringing phones. Jumbled conversations. Muffled boot thuds on carpet.
    Minor distractions he could work around without shutting the door.
    His open-door policy of commanding might chip away minutes from his day, but he believed it saved him far more time in the long run. Maintaining strong communication with his people made for a smoother-run squadron.
    Why couldn't an open-door policy at home be as simple?
    He bit off a quarter of the pastry. His empty stomach was snacking on itself. Of course, it had been five hours since his 6:00 a.m. breakfast with John's father. A widower, Chaplain Murdoch seemed as overwhelmed by the whole single parent deal as Zach.
    Great.
    Two Air Force officers, one in charge of national security and the other salvation, couldn't come up with much more than nailing their kids' bedroom windows shut.
    Tipping back his chair with a slow creak, Zach studied the flag in the corner by his desk. The Stars and Stripes twined with the second flag, a squadron guidon made to resemble an old cavalry-days banner leading the charge. Guiding. Inspiring.
    And not offering a single answer today.
    Chewing his way though the second Pop-Tart, Zach drowned it with a cup of coffee. His fifth. He should have arranged for Julia to ride with him to apply for the license. At least they would have had time to talk in the car. He could use her input on his fruitless meeting with John's dad, and he didn't have a second to spare in his crammed schedule.
    Echoes of past fights with Pam taunted him. Why not cancel a meeting? There were plenty of choices and the Air Force always came first.
    Zach wadded the foil snack wrapper. Easy enough for her to say from Italy or whatever country she'd cooked her way through this week.
    He finished the rest of his Pop-Tart and shoved aside doubts. In twenty-four hours, he would have the problem settled. Just one other problem to tackle before meeting Julia.
    Putting the military first again?
    He slammed the file shut. Gut instinct told him Julia's presence in his house would have a calming effect on everyone and would make it that much tougher for Shelby to run rogue on him.
    Damn it, marrying Julia was the right thing to do.
    A cleared throat sounded just before a tap. Zach looked up to find Tanner Bennett in the hall.
    "Got a minute, sir?"
    Zach brought his chair upright and pitched personal thoughts aside as quickly as the wrapper. Bronco's meeting with the crash investigation team