Zarek was on one of his twenty-four-hour shifts.  She’d dropped him off at the station so she could use his truck to go to her appointment.  Hell, she didn’t even have to be tricked to go, she was beginning to look forward to her time with Dr. Michaels. 

It was like a cloud was lifting and she could see the world a little more clearly.  But in some ways it made things suckier.  Eventually she would need to leave Dallas, get a job, deal with her family.  It was the last that made her shudder.  Maybe she would move away from Tennessee, she had always wanted to move North, maybe Montana.  As soon as she thought that she discarded the idea.  Too cold.

She wandered around Zarek’s house, Slayer following her.  He had his leash in his mouth.  Couldn’t be more blatant then that.  These days she could actually trust herself to walk around the neighborhood without a panic attack.  Of course, having a dog that weighed more than she did definitely added to her sense of security.

“Come on boy, I’ll take you out.”  She swore she could see him smiling under all that hair.  She attached the leash and took him out the front door.  This time she only had to check twice that the door was locked.  Progress.

She decided to go towards the small park, that way they could take a mild run around the swings.  Slayer loved that, and God knew she could use some exercise.  She’d lost a lot of muscle mass with her weight loss, so a little bit of a jog and then some of Zarek’s protein powder should help her out.  When Slayer figured out where they were headed he pulled at the leash in excitement.

“Hey, not too hard.”  As soon as she said the words, he immediately came to her side.  He looked up at her, his eyes filled with apology.  Would Zarek allow her to take his dog to Montana?  She bit her lip.  She didn’t just want Slayer to go with her, she wanted Zarek to go with her too.

She got to the park, and gave the leash more play so that Slayer could run with her following him.  He kept her running, so she didn’t have time to think, thank God. 

“Okay, done boy.”

She sat down on one of the swings, breathing hard.  She tried not to think anything but the pretty Texas day.  It sure was a pretty state.  No, must consider Montana.

Slayer barked.  She looked at eyes that were level with hers.

“Okay, is it Miller time?”

Slayer barked again.  Apparently, it was.  She got up from the swing.  They could both use some water.  She should have brought some with her.  What was she thinking?

She took a sedate pace back to the house, talking to Slayer the entire way.

“So what do you think.  Does Montana sound good.  You’ve got a mountain of fur, you’d probably love the snow.  Now that I’m feeling better I’m not cold all the time.”  Still the idea of winter six months out of the year did not sound good. 

Slayer barked three times.

“Well I guess you’re in agreement.”  He barked some more, and that’s when she looked up and saw another car in the driveway.  “What the hell?”

The garage door was open.  She fumbled for her phone, and pressed in Zarek’s number.  He answered on the first ring.

“Somebody’s at the house.”

“I know Cupcake.  It’s me.  You’re outside with Slayer, right?”

“Yes, I took him for a walk.”

“Stay outside. I’ll come out in a minute, okay?”

He sounded pissed off.

Before she could respond, he hung up.

What the hell?

Well, time for the old Chloe to step up.  She sure wasn’t going to just stand outside with her thumb up her ass.  Something was up.  She peeked inside the sedan and saw the paperwork for the rental car agency in the backseat.  She’d bet her bottom dollar that it was one of her family who was inside with Zarek.  He was mad because she was being ambushed.

But she could handle Zoe, this was her sister and her problem, not his.  She looked down at Slayer.  “Come on boy.  Time for you to meet my twin.  Let’s see how you handle two of us.”

She went through the garage and started opening the kitchen door, and heard angry male voices.  She cringed.

“You’ve put us off long enough.”

“If she wanted to see you, she would have called,” Zarek’s voice was icy.

“Look Post, if she were getting better like you said, she would have reached out to one of us.  The fact that she hasn’t proves that you’re just letting her hide out and wallow.  I know about PTSD.  She needs a doctor.  She needs a support system.”  Even though Drake was practically yelling, she could hear the desperation in his voice.  Her heart melted at the amount of caring in her big brother’s voice.

“Drake, I’m not going to argue with you.  You’re her brother.  I wished we could have met under better circumstances, but we haven’t.  You’ll have to trust me that she’s getting better and she’ll tell you what she wants, when she wants.”

 “Zarek, you have to understand why we’re here.”  That was Evie talking.  Chloe gripped the doorknob so hard she thought either the brass would dent or the bones in her hand would break.  “We have to see for ourselves.  We love her.”

“If you loved and respected your sister, you would have given her the time and space she wanted.”

“She would have been in my face if the positions were reversed,” Evie said quietly.

“I would not,” Chloe yelled from the kitchen.

Three heads swiveled towards her.  Evie and Drake rushed forward and Slayer immediately jerked against his leash, barking like crazy.  Drake halted, his hands in the air. When Evie continued moving forward Drake grabbed her. 

“Settle!” Zarek commanded.  He said it again, and this time Slayer must have heard him, because he immediately stopped barking, and sat down.  Zarek took the leash out of her hand.  “You did good Cupcake.” He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. 

He turned his attention to the dog, “Come Slayer.”  He took him to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard.  “Out.”

“Zarek, he needs fresh water,” Chloe said.  “I ran him pretty ragged at the park.”

“He can wait a few more minutes.  We still have a family reunion to get through.”

“That dog is a menace.” Evie said. 

“Actually Evie, he’s really well trained.  In his mind, we descended on his mistress and he went into protection mode.  He responded perfectly.” Drake defended Slayer.

Chloe smiled at her big brother, then looked at Zarek for confirmation. 

“He’s right.  Russian Terriers are highly devoted to those people they consider theirs, and will go down fighting to protect them.  I was happy for you to have that added layer of protection.”

“Well, she’s definitely protected with that dog around.  You’re right to name him Slayer,” Evie admitted reluctantly.

Drake and Zarek laughed.

“I really didn’t want you to come,” Chloe said quietly.  She looked at the floor, unable to look at either of her siblings. 

“We were just discussing that,” Zarek said.  “I asked you to stay outside and let me handle this.”

Finally, something besides her family, to focus on.

Chloe rounded on him.  “I don’t need you fighting my battles.”  She turned back to her brother and sister. 

Zarek lifted his hand towards her, but she avoided his touch.  “Chloe, I didn’t want you upset.”

“Well it’s too late for that.  Poor little delicate Chloe is upset.”

“Hey, I don’t deserve that.”

Chloe let out a breath and sucked in another.  “You’re right.  I’m not mad at you.  I’m sorry Zarek.”  She turned to look at Evie and Drake.  “I’m mad at you two.  If I was ready to see you, I would have returned your million and one calls.”

“Sweets, your voicemail is full, I wasn’t sure I was getting through,” Drake said gently.

“Come on, you texted me twice a day.  Didn’t you think that caught my attention?” Chloe said with her hands on her hips.

“And mine?  Did they catch your attention too?” Evie asked in the same soothing tone as Drake, only it grated like nails on a chalkboard.  Chloe flinched, and Evie caught it.

“It would have been okay if only Drake were here, wouldn’t it, Sis?” This time Evie’s voice had a bit of a bite to it.

“Slayer needs water.”  Chloe picked up Slayer’s bowl off the floor and went to the tap to fill it up.

“I’ve nailed it, haven’t I?” 

Chloe started walking past everyone to put the bowl out on the patio for Slayer when Evie stepped in front of her.  Some of the water spilled on the tile floor.

“Look what you made me do!” Chloe cried out.

“Talk to me.”

“No.”  She just needed to keep it together for a few more minutes, then Evie would be gone.

“Zoe told me what you said to her.  If you feel that way about her, you have to hate me ten times worse.” 

The bowl trembled, more water spilled. 

“Evie, don’t do this.  It’s better we don’t talk.  Just leave it,” Chloe said hoarsely.

“We are not going to shove this under the carpet,” Evie said fiercely.  “If it hadn’t been for me, you would never have been held hostage.  Don’t you ever think of that?  I do.”  Evie was shaking.  “I should have been able to figure out a way to keep you from getting hurt.”  Chloe watched helplessly as tears ran down Evie’s face.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is.”

“It’s not,” Chloe insisted.  “But―”

“But you hate me anyway,” Evie said tiredly. 

“I’ve hated you so much,” Chloe whispered in horror.  She gulped a sob.  Her eyes flashed.  “I’ve been so mad!  I’ve been mad at you, and then I’ve been mad at me for being mad at you.  I’ve been so messed up.”

More water spilled.

Evie opened up her arms.  “Come here baby.  Let me give you a hug.”

Evie dropped the bowl on the floor, uncaring that the water spilled all over the tile.  She launched herself into her older sister’s arms.

“I’m so sorry for being mad,” Chloe sobbed.

“Shhhh.  It’s all good.”

“But Evie.”

“Chloe, do you honestly think I care if you’ve been mad at me?  Or if you thought you hated me?”  She stroked back Chloe’s hair and touched the scar on her forehead.  “The only thing that has mattered to me is you, and your well-being.  It’s been ripping my guts out that you’ve been so sick.”

“I’m getting better.  I’ve actually been seeing a shrink,” Chloe admitted.

“Are you happy about that?”

“I’m pissed that he has me taking a pill every day.  I’m even more pissed that I think it’s helping.”

Evie laughed, then Chloe started laughing too.

“I’ve missed you Chloe.  I haven’t been able to eat a cheeseburger since you stopped talking to me.  I’ve only eaten hamburgers.  What’s the point of having a hamburger without cheese?”

She looked at her smart-ass sister and grinned.  She felt like a three hundred pound weight had been lifted off her chest. 

“Cheese is life,” Chloe responded.

“Dude, are you going to get that?”

She turned to see what Drake was talking about, and realized that Zarek was looking at his buzzing phone.  Seeing the strained look on his face, she realized something was wrong. 

“What is it?”

“I have to go.  We have a big one.  This is my day on duty, I need to get back to the station house.”  He gave Drake a significant look.

“I’ve got her, Man.  Do what you need to do.”

“How bad is it?” Chloe asked.

He glanced at his phone.  “There are multiple stations involved.  I’ll know more when I get to the scene.”

“Where is it, we’ll go with you,” Evie said.

Chloe shook her head.  “That’s not how it works.  We go to the station house and wait.  Isn’t that right Zarek.” 

“That’s what you do if it is a really long fire,” he agreed.  “But just because we’re hitting it hard to begin with doesn’t mean it will last long.”

Chloe looked at him.  He was lying to make her feel better.

“If you don’t text me in an hour, we’re going to the station, is it a deal?”

“Make it two hours.  It takes time to suit up, and then load and unload.”  She eyed him.  That sounded plausible.

“I’m not bullshitting you, I promise.”

“Honey, all the gear they have us wearing takes at least a half hour to get in and out of,” Drake inserted.

“You guys are both full of shit, like you don’t do drills getting suited up,” Evie stated.

“Two hours,” Zarek stated again.

Chloe nodded.  “If I don’t hear from you in exactly two hours, I’m going to the station.”

“We’re going,” Evie said.

That made Chloe feel better.

A horn honked outside.

“That’s Luke, I’ve got to go.”  Zarek put one hand on her shoulder, and the other he used to tip up her chin.  “I’m coming back safe and sound.   We’ve got unfinished business.”  He gently pressed his lips to hers, her flesh melted, her bones seared, and her hair caught on fire.  The man could kiss.  Her eyes were still closed and she felt the smile on her face when he whispered in her ear.  “I have something important to tell you when I get back.” 

Her eyes popped open to look into his jade green ones.

She was a molten puddle on the floor and she didn’t have the wherewithal to respond.  He gave her a heart stopping grin, then was gone.

“Earth to Chloe.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been standing there looking at the door for three minutes.  Are you sure you’re better?  I’m thinking you might have some new symptoms, like the kissing disease.  Are you suffering from Zarek cooties?”

She shot her sister the bird.

Drake laughed.  “Is there anything to drink in the house?”

“Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge.”

“Evie, want to help me make something for dinner?” Drake asked.

“We could order pizza,” Chloe said.

“That is not healthy,” Drake admonished.

“She needs to gain weight,” Evie reminded him.  “Look at her.  She’s still skin and bones.”

Chloe flinched and hunched over.

“Way to go, Evie.”  Drake came over and put his arm around Chloe.  “You look gorgeous.  You always stood out as the most attractive Avery girl.” 

Evie and Chloe laughed.  It was an old joke since all of the Avery girls looked alike, then there was the fact that Zoe and Chloe were identical.

“I vote for pizza too.  Extra cheese,” Evie chimed in.  Drake looked thoughtful, then turned to Chloe.  “Is there someplace local, not a chain?”

“What changed your mind big guy?”

“Karen’s not around.  I’m being supportive to her nutritional needs right now, so we’re eating healthy things.  But yeah, if we could order pizza, a steak, a fully loaded baked potatoes, some chicken wings and ice cream, I’m in.”

Chloe’s stomach growled.  She wasn’t sure if it was in hunger or protest.

“Zarek keeps menus in a drawer in the kitchen.”

“Oh yeah, Chinese food too,” Drake mentioned.

Evie rolled her eyes.