Zed

 

The corrections officer working the property desk at prison outtake looked over the card and glanced up at him. He was an older man, with big, puffy, white eyebrows like ancient graying caterpillars crawling over the tops of his eyes. “Zed Hesse?”

 

Zed nodded, taking a deep breath. It had been too long since he was referred to as a name and not a number. “That's me.”

 

The CO took the voucher, tapped it on the metal window counter, then turned back around and went deep into the room to find the plastic tub that contained Zed's worldly possessions. He came back with it all sealed in a plastic bag.

 

“Wallet containing one-hundred-fifteen-dollars, silver Bulova dress watch, ID, public library card . . .” the man droned on and on, listing every little bit of every item right off the catalog card as he slid it back to Zed through the slot beneath the plexiglass window.

 

Zed stuffed the items in the various pockets of the suit Kai and his lawyer had gotten him for his last court date, the one where he'd plead guilty on all charges related to that night.

 

“Finally, one cell phone,” the old corrections officer said.

 

“Thanks,” Zed replied, as he took it, checked the phone to see if, on an off change in hell, the mobile device had any power or service after this long. No luck, though. The phone didn't power up.

 

“Hey,” the corrections officer asked, as Zed turned to leave this life finally behind.

 

Zed stopped in his tracks. “What?” he growled, a little more abrasively than he probably needed to. He'd spent a year locked up in here, dealing with criminals who and other shady folk. He'd learned quickly that you had to assert your dominance and prove you were more trouble than you worth.

 

The CO held up his hands, a defensive look in his eyes. “Hey, buddy, just wanted to see if you was the guy who busted that big drug company, that's all.”

 

The vet nodded. “Yeah, that's me, I guess.”

 

“Well, just wanted to say thanks, you know? I used to be a full-on guard, and them papers you released kept me and my wife from splitting up when the medication made things worse. Won my lawsuit cause of you.”

 

The gratitude from this man should have helped things, should have lessened the hurt he was feeling for having a year of his life taken away from him, or the ache he felt from Abby finding another man. It should have helped, but it didn't. Zed didn't smile, just nodded instead. “Welcome,” he simply said, then headed out to finish the rest of his outtake.

 

Only a week had passed since he had seen the interview with Kai and Abby on Kara Singh's talk show. Seven days, seven nights.

 

The guards marched him out down the walk, through the chain-linked corridor, and to the road, where a cab was waiting, idle. “Good luck,” the guards said, as he stepped out beyond the fences, a free man for the first time in over a year. He took a deep breath, inhaling as much freedom as he could hold.

 

He looked up and down the empty, desolate road, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t called for a car. He hadn't wanted to tell Kai about his release date because he didn't want him standing out here. He had wanted to figure it out on his own. Now, honestly, he regretted that decision a little bit.

 

This was the second time he'd been free like this. The first time was after the military. That freedom had been cut short by the problems with Kai, and Zed had never really experienced a fresh start. Just a false one.

 

“You Zed Hesse?” the cabby asked, as Zed looked up and down the road.

 

“Who's asking?”

 

The cabby, an older black woman, who looked like she could handle herself if she had to, just grinned. “Me. Husband said you were the one who busted up that drug company and saved our marriage. Wanted you to have a ride outta here.”

 

Zed looked back over his shoulder at the prison gate, like he could see the property officer beyond. “Yeah, I'm Zed,” he replied as he walked up to the cab.

 

“Where you headed, then?”

 

He told her the address as he walked around to the passenger side. “Mind if I sit up front? Metal grating is the last thing I want right now.”

 

The older woman didn't think twice. She just grinned again. “Hop in, sugar. I trust you.”

 

They drove away from the prison with no more words exchanged between them. This was the first woman he'd seen, besides a prison guard, in almost a year, and he had forgotten how much he missed the entire gender.

 

They pulled up in front of the house almost an hour later and Zed took out his wallet. “How much I owe you?” he asked, as he thumbed through the money that amounted to pretty much all his worldly possessions.

 

“You, sugar? Free of charge. Told you, my husband called. We owe you one. Hell, I should be the one paying you.”

 

Zed allowed himself a little smile as he climbed out of the cab. “Thanks,” he said.

 

“This your place?” the cabby asked, as he went to shut the door.

 

“Nope,” Zed said, pausing to look around the affluent neighborhood. “Old friend's.” He shut the door and turned around to survey it. There was new grass in the front yard, and a new mailbox had been built. But, other than that, the enormous house was exactly as he remembered it.

 

He straightened out the front of his dress shirt and tried to lay down its wrinkles as he headed up the walkway to the door.

 

Behind him, the cabby seemed to wait a moment before deciding her debt to Zed was fully paid and driving off.

 

He stepped up to the door, took a deep breath, and knocked.

 

Just one last goodbye to say and then he'd truly be free.

 

# # #

 

Abby

 

The knock in early evening came as a surprise. She hadn't been expecting anyone before her dinner date, and Ethan and she had decided they'd meet at the restaurant. Even then, though, he'd be early, if he was picking her up.

 

“Coming,” she called, as she headed down the hallway in her black, backless dress and silk stockinged feet, putting on her earrings as she went. Flustered as she was, she didn't ever bother to check the peephole before swinging the door open.

 

She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw him, her hand dropping from her ear, her lips parting, and her eyes widening in surprise.

 

Cleanly shaved, hair well-trimmed, bigger than she remembered, dark suit, cream dress shirt, and no tie. And, of course, Zed had those same piercing eyes she remembered from a year ago, when she'd last seen him.

 

He swept into the house, not even bothering to say “hello.” He didn't need to, and they both knew it. He took her in his arms as he kicked the door closed behind him, slamming it shut with a resounding boom.

 

She melted at his firm hands as they grabbed her body like he knew it inside and out. Which, of course, he did. He knew her better than any man ever had. He knew all her secret, dark cravings, and he knew how to tease them from her willing body. Her breath came faster and her heart sped up as he crushed her lips with his. She opened her mouth and invited his tongue in.

 

They groaned like they'd been starving all their lives and a lavish feast had been laid out before them. As if she was light as a feather, he lifted her into his arms, his lips still pressed to hers. He carried her down the entryway, through the living room, and up the hallway to her bedroom. He didn't need to be reminded of the layout, and walked the path as if he'd lived there his whole life.

 

He dropped her on the edge of bed and, together, they began to tear his clothes off. “Zed,” she started to whisper, to protest what they were doing, what she was feeling. “We sh—”

 

“No,” he said, taking her face in both hands and kissing her again. “No speaking.”

 

She nodded, her lust taking control of her. She needed to feel him inside her. She had to be crushed in his arms as he pinned her to the mattress beneath his weight. She needed him like water, or air. She tried to think of Ethan, her fiancé, but that only lasted a moment. Here was Zed, the man she'd been longing for.

 

He shrugged out of his shirt as she gazed up at him, her hands working on his belt buckle. He pulled off his undershirt and threw it aside, then stepped out of his dress shoes as she worked the zipper on his slacks.

 

Abby couldn't take her eyes from his bare chest, his hard muscles, his knowing, sometimes cruel hands, and the new puckered scars of the bullets he'd shielded her from. She wanted him to take her, to use her, to hold her, and to love her.

 

Together, they finished stripping him of his clothes and began to work on hers. Luckily, she only had a dress and her underthings on. She reached around back and unzipped her dress, and Zed pulled it over her head.

 

His lips were on hers again in a flash, his tongue insistent. She opened her mouth to him as he unsnapped her bra and pulled it from her body. Abby nipped his tongue lightly with her teeth, pushing herself into his insistent hand as he cupped her breast and pushed her back onto the bed.

 

She moaned into his mouth as his other hand dropped between her legs, his fingers tracing up and down the front of her damp silk panties. She cried out a little as he rubbed through the thin material, pressing her hips up and into his probing fingers. She scratched her nails up and down his back, marveling at how much broader he'd become while he'd been in lockup.

 

“Please, Zed,” she whispered, as his mouth moved to her ear and neck, then down to her collar bone. “ Please, I need you.”

 

Zed grabbed hold of her panties and tore hard, tearing the fabric with a loud rip. They hung from her hips by the barest of threads, destroyed and useless, as he grabbed his cock and spread her legs with his hips.

 

She reached down between them, her hands wrapping around his cock, her nails tracing along his fingers. Together, they guided him to her drenched netherlips as she held her breath and groaned.

 

He traced his crown up and down, parting her lips, and rubbing her clit. “Please don't make me wait anymore,” she pleaded. “It's been so long already.”

 

He slid into her a short distance, and she cried out, still not accustomed to his length. “You feel amazing,” he growled, as he pushed deeper into her.

 

She spread herself wider, crying out in pleasure as she wrapped her legs around his lower back and drew him deeper into her.

 

Together, they moved as one, their bodies quickly finding a steady rhythm as they continued to kiss and as their hands continued to roam. They were like one soul, one melding of flesh, as Zed pleasured her and she pleasured him, their bodies moving against one another.

 

Her first orgasm came quickly, a sudden surprise of pleasure that seemed to explode inside her body. She shuddered and clung tighter to his muscular body, her nails digging into his back as they kissed again. She'd never felt a need like this, or such pleasure before, and she screamed out again and again.

 

“I'm close,” he growled in her ear.

 

“Inside of me,” she panted. “Please, I want to feel you inside me.”

 

Soon, they were groaning as his whole body tensed, then began to pick up speed.

 

Her whole body tensed again as she felt him begin to pulse and grow inside her, until he finally loosed himself within. She cried out as he filled her, her whole body climaxing and shaking around his manhood, massaging and milking him, praying for just one more drop from her former captor. She bit down hard on his shoulder as he cried out again, his body shaking like a leaf, sending her over the edge one more time.

 

Eventually, though, it came to an end, and their panting, sweaty bodies were the only reminder of how amazing it had just been.

 

He rolled off of her and flopped onto the bed, panting with the sweet exertion. She rolled over, feeling his seed still deliciously deep inside her, and slipped inside his crooked arm. He pulled her close and kissed her again.

 

She lay there against his chest, breathing him in, her eyes closed. Thoughts of that overly long week from a year ago came drifting back, joined by all the time in between. And, as she thought about those dark times, and how erotic that had been in parts, she remembered.

 

She still had a dinner date with Ethan. Her fiancé.

 

Sighing, Abby untangled herself from Zed's body and went to rise, a sudden pang of bittersweet regret hitting her.

 

This had been it. This had been the end. She reached down, pulled at the panties Zed had just ruined and sighed again, shaking her head. Same old Zed. She got up from the bed, went over to her dresser, and pulled out fresh underwear.

 

“What's he like?” Zed asked, as he lay there on the bed, his chest still glistening with their sex-sweat.

 

“Ethan?” Abby asked, as she pulled her fresh underwear on. “He's safe.”

 

“Safe, huh?” Zed asked, chuckling. “That what you want now?”

 

“That's what I always wanted,” Abby corrected him as she went back around to grab her discarded bra from the floor. “He doesn't mind that I'm more successful than him, or that I make more money than he does. Not all men can be like that, be so accepting of their limitations.”

 

Zed frowned.

 

“But, he's nice,” she said, as she put her bra back on and snapped it into place. “We're going to be very happy together.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

Zed's frown deepened as he considered her words. He just shook his head, though, and didn't say anything to the contrary. Instead, he just began pulling on his clothes.

 

Even to her own ears, though, her assertion sounded thin and hollow. Ethan was safe. He was handsome, and he was somewhat successful. He was nothing like Zed. Abby didn't know if those were all points in his favor, though. Besides, even though she was getting married to the man, she sometimes she felt like hardly saw him, with their schedules being the way it was. This was the first time in almost a week that they'd even been able to see one another.

 

As she finished dressing, Zed got off the bed and grabbed his clothes from around the room. He pulled them back on, dressing himself.

 

Sure Ethan had failings, but, still, he was a better choice than Zed. She had spent the last year thinking about him and about the debt she owed to him for the scandal he'd uncovered with Pharma-Vitae. But that was all she owed him for. What they’d had before wasn't love. It was a sick fantasy world that he'd sucked her into, one caused by the situation he'd constructed around her. What kind of man would do that? And what kind of woman would fall for it?

 

Not Abby. That was for sure.

 

Soon, they both stood uncomfortably, fully-dressed in Abby's bedroom. “Guess this is it, then,” he said, his voice full of finality.

 

“Yes,” Abby agreed, nodding even as she fought her lower lip from trembling.

 

“I'll let myself out,” he replied. He turned to leave, but stopped himself at the door. Without turning around, he simply said, “Have a good life, Abby Winters. You deserve it.”

 

She watched him leave, her eyes brimming with tears. She listened to him walk down the long hallway, then into the entryway. He didn't break stride, but just opened the door and closed it behind him.

 

And that was it. That was the end.

 

God, she wanted to follow him, to be with him, to feel his beautifully hard hands on her for the rest of her life. No matter how much she looked, she'd never find a man like him again. And she knew it. The tears began to fall to her cheeks, ruining her makeup. She stuffed her knuckle in her mouth and sat down on the edge of the still-warm bed, biting her hand hard as her shoulders were wracked with sobs.

 

# # #

 

Zed

 

He shut the front door behind him and just closed his eyes, thinking about what an idiot he was. This was it. This was his chance at happiness. The one woman he'd ever loved was gone, and he didn't even do anything to fight for her, even when he'd just slept with her.

 

What was he supposed to do, though? Go back in there now? Try to ruin her life again?

 

Still with his eyes closed, Zed shook his head and growled deep in his chest, a hurt sound that didn't seem to do anything to assuage the ache deep inside him.

 

Out on the street, a car honked its horn, getting his attention.

 

He opened his eyes and saw that the cabby had come back for him. Zed just shook his head and headed down to the street to meet her.

 

“Way you looked,” she said, as he opened the cab door and slid back into the passenger seat, “was a man walking to meet a firing squad, not an old friend. Decided I should swing back around to see if you needed a ride outta here.”

 

“Thanks again,” he said, groaning.

 

“You say your peace, then? To the lady?”

 

Zed shook his head, smiling sadly. “How do you know it was even a lady?”

 

“I get to see all sorts of looks driving this cab,” she said, laughing, “and men don't look like that for much else other than a lady.”

 

He gave her the address for his brother's apartment, his final destination.

 

“Want me to stick around when we get there, too?” she asked, not prodding, but just wanting to know how her schedule looked.

 

“It's my brother's place, where I'll be staying,” he said. “So definitely won't need a ride from there. Thanks anyways, though.”

 

“No problem, sugar.”

 

They rode the rest of the way in silence. When they pulled up in front of Kai's apartment, Zed stuffed a fifty in her hand and refused to take it back. “I can't,” she said. “I really can't.”

 

“You can and will,” he said, shaking his head. “Tell your husband thanks for the call,” he said, closing the passenger door behind him.

 

He headed up to the door and searched the names listed at the entrance. He found the one labeled K. Hesse and buzzed it.

 

“Hello?” his brother answered after a long minute.

 

“Guess who, bro.”

 

“Holy shit!” Kai said, his voice electronic and filled with static. He got off the intercom and buzzed him in. Zed made his way inside and trudged up to the stairs to his brother's apartment.

 

Kai was waiting for him, the front door open, with him leaning against back the frame with his arms crossed, a broad smile on his mirror-image face. “Why didn't you say when you were gonna get out?” he called, when Zed's head popped into view over the stairs.

 

“Had to make a stop before I saw you,” Zed replied, as he dragged himself down the hall. “And I didn't want to have you talk me out of it.”

 

“Abby, huh?”

 

Zed nodded. “Yeah. Abby.”

 

Kai sighed and shook his head. “Tough, man. Real tough. Come here.” He wrapped Zed into a warm embrace, clapping him on the back. It was the first time they'd hugged in years, and something about it felt right. Like Zed was having an arm returned to him.

 

“Thanks,” Zed said as they broke apart.

 

“Well, come on in and have a beer while we get you settled. It ain't Hesse's Hops, but it still ain't bad.”

 

The two brothers went into the small apartment. It was a spartan one bedroom place, with no pictures on the walls, and no television even. There were just books and half-empty boxes and cheap furniture. On one table, next to the couch, sat the pictures of Kai's deceased wife and their children together. They were memories from a happier time, memories of the life Zed's brother used to have.

 

“Still unpacking?” Zed asked, as he followed his brother into the kitchen.

 

“Yeah,” Kai said, as he opened the fridge and poked his head inside to grab a beer. He pushed one into his brother's hand and gave him the bottle opener. “Little here, a little there. Just getting everything put up still while I try to figure out everything. Still weird being out and working on being healthy, you know?”

 

Zed popped the lid on his beer and took a long, grateful drink. He hadn't tasted a good beer in he didn't know how long. Since before prison, that was for sure. It was cool and effervescent, with a good bite of bitter hops.

 

They stood there in the kitchen, a mutually agreed silence falling over them as they sucked on their beers.

 

“Sucks, doesn't it?” Kai asked, smirking.

 

Zed shook his head. “It's like I don't have a heart anymore, but I'm still fucking living for some reason. I don't know how I'm going to do it.”

 

His one-minute-older brother nodded and took a long drink. “I hear ya, man. The whole time I was in there, I was thinking about how I didn't want out. I didn't deserve to be out. You know that?”

 

Kai had never told him this before. He shook his head.

 

“I thought that you were barking up the wrong tree about Dimalerax. I'd accepted the blame, shouldered it entirely. But, you, Zed, you little brother, you kept pushing and pushing and pushing and finally did it.”

 

Zed set his beer aside. “I didn't know, man.”

 

“I was ready to die in there,” Kai said, nodding, licking his lips free of beer as he set his own bottle on the counter. “Ready to just give it up entirely and accept full responsibility. But, then, you came along with actual proof of the damage those bastards caused. You know how that makes a man feel? To be told he's not entirely to blame, that there really wasn't anything he could do?”

 

He shook his head at Kai's words. “I don't know what to say.”

 

“You set me free, man. I mean, we're still the only family we have, and now the settlement's almost entirely gone.”

 

The settlement was almost gone? There had been enough in there to pay for his legal fund twice over. What had he wasted it on? “Wait,” Zed said, his voice rising. “What did you just say about the settlement? What the fuck did you do with your money?”

 

“Relax,” Kai said, smiling as he took another drink of beer. “Invested it.”

 

“Invested it?” he repeated back, his voice still just below a shout. “In what, Kai?”

 

“A business. Demolition work. Hesse & Hesse Demolitions.”

 

“You . . . both of us?”

 

“Yep,” Kai replied, grinning. “Partner. Just look at it as a way for us to build something together. We're both starting off from scratch, right? What better way to honor someone than to create something new? Especially when we put a portion of the money to helping vets and first responders with PTSD?”

 

Zed grinned and lifted his beer back to his lips, tilting it back as he took a swallow. “Believe it or not, that actually sounds nice.”

 

“I mean, it won't fill the holes left by anyone. But, it might help. Besides, we probably need some work to take our minds off things. That was the best part about the service, right? Always having something to do.”

 

Yeah, Zed thought. His brother was right. Idle hands, and all that. Something like this, a business he needed to build up from scratch, was perfect for two military vets, and two ex-cons, like them. Hell, he'd helped to take down a multinational drug company, hadn't he? If he could do that, he could manage whatever he put his mind to.

 

Zed raised his beer in a toast to his brother. “To better days,” he said.

 

Kai toasted him back, and they clinked their bottles together. “To better days.”