Chapter Four

Zach

Zach hopped up the stairs as he heard someone bursting through the front door.

“Zach! Zach, where are you? Get over here, right now!”

Zach frowned and turned around to see who dared to command his boss like that. Nobody commanded the boss!

He saw Ethan walking around, very unnerved, which was not like Ethan at all. Zach went back down the stairs quickly to meet his friend.

“Ethan, what’s wrong?”

“I need to talk to you in private. I think I have a problem, a very big one.”

“Come to my office,” Zach said, and they walked to his office. When they entered the room, Zach walked straight over to his leather chair and plopped down. Ethan shut the door quickly and started walking back and forth.

“Sit down. You are making me nervous, and you’re wearing out my carpet. What’s going on?”

“I just met my destined lover,” Ethan said, after he dropped down on one of the chairs behind the desk and looked down at the floor, his face in his hands.

“What? That is good news!” Zach said, and he got up to pat Ethan on the back. He didn’t understand Ethan’s behavior. He should be over the moon.

“Why are you acting so nervous? What are you even doing here? You should be on cloud nine! You should be with her right now, claiming her!”

“She’s not a part of our world,” Ethan said quietly, still looking down to the floor. “My destined is Joanna Ortega, the girl that is here for the nurse position.”

Zach stopped and looked at Ethan. “Wow, I didn’t see that coming. That is anticlimactic,” he said, dropping back into his chair. He rubbed his face with his hands. “What do you want to do? Do you want an outsider to be your destined?

“Or do you want to reject her? You know, she won’t even know if you do it right now. Regular people don’t feel the same as we do when it comes to destined lovers. Either way, whatever you may choose, I’ll have your back.”

“I don’t mind her being an outsider,” Ethan said quietly. “I just— I don’t know… I am afraid she will be shocked when she finds out about us. On top of that, I don’t want to put her in danger.

“What will our enemies do when they find out she’s just a normal person from the outside world? She will never be able to defend herself against other families. She will always be in danger.”

Zach brushed his hand over the stubble on his chin, deep in thought. After a couple of minutes, he suddenly spoke. “I think you need to tell her.” He looked his friend straight in the eye.

“I think she needs to form her own opinion about it. She deserves to have a say in it. Especially if you don’t mind her being an outsider. You both deserve at least a shot, and you owe it to your instincts, to this feeling. Your instincts help you fight, but they have also been trained to sense a destined, to find a love more powerful than most people can imagine.

“There is a reason she’s your destined. Destined lovers aren’t just any old partner, they’re like our other half. They balance us out. I will talk to her about us being mafia if you like. Think about it. Don’t do anything rushed.”

“I will.” Ethan sighed and got up. He looked at Zach with a desperate look on his face.

“Let me know what you decide,” Zach told Ethan. “I’ll be there for you.”

Zach picked up his phone when Ethan shut the door behind him. He rang the number of Jordyn’s office. Even though, as the boss, he should know everyone in the family, he knew some people a little bit better than the others. He just didn’t happen to know Jordyn personally.

“Redwater Creek Clinic, Jordyn speaking, how can I help you?”

“Jordyn, it’s Zach,” he said. He closed his eyes for a moment before he continued. He didn’t really know what to say. “I was just wondering, have you had your talk with the potential new nurse?”

“She has only just left my office,” Jordyn answered with a bit of surprise in her voice.

“What is your first impression of her?” he wanted to know.

“Well, I see a lot of potential. She is very qualified. She has the right papers. I really hope she wants to stay,” Jordyn said truthfully. “What is this about, Boss? Why are you so interested?”

“I can’t tell,” he said. “Don’t take it personally.”

After they made a little bit of small talk, they hung up. He stroked the stubble on his chin again, deep in thought. Zach was happy for his best friend.

Though he was a bit envious as well; Zach has still not found his destined. For years, he had been looking out for his destined but hadn’t been able to find her yet. As they said, a boss was stronger with his destined at his side.

He got the perfect example from his parents. Their relationship was solid as a rock, still going strong until the end, despite all that they had been through.

When his mom visited her parents, about three hundred miles away, his father would be miserable and moody until she came back.

And when his father died, his mom just seemed to languish away, getting weaker every day.

His mind wandered back to Ethan and his destined. Making up his mind, he suddenly got up.

He marched out of his office to the garage, where his pickup was parked, ignoring the people that greeted him on his way. He was a man on a mission. He got in his truck and dashed up the road, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

Zach stopped his truck in front of the cabin where Joanna and Irene stayed for the night. He knocked on the door and took a few steps back. While he waited for the door to open, he looked around, listening to his environment.

What was that smell? It was very faint, but it was there. So sweet, so addicting, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

His instincts were kicking in, his senses heightened—what was wrong with him? Before he could think any further, the door of the cabin opened.

“Yes?” The girl that appeared behind the door looked at him questioningly.

She was small, only about five-foot-two. He felt huge compared to her. Her hazel eyes scanned his body from head to toe.

“Good evening, my name is Zach. I am the boss here.” He introduced himself and held out his hand for her to shake.

“Joanna,” she replied, and she shook his hand.

“Is everything to your liking?” he asked. “Is there anything you need?”