by Naomi West
But, this wasn't six days ago. This was today. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, I know you wouldn't.”
“Then I hope you understand why I have to leave. If I stay here, I'm putting you in harm's way. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you because of me.”
“But what about me?” she said, her voice taking on a desperate whine she hadn't wanted to be there. “Why should you take that burden, and leave me without a choice in the matter?”
“Because you agreed to the rules, Abby,” he said, his voice perfectly even as he squeezed her tightly in his embrace. “Didn't you?”
She sighed as she saw Zed's peculiar brand of weird logic in all this. “Yes, sir, I guess I did.”
He released her and, with that settled, they silently went about stuffing the bags that would become her ‘body double.’
“It won't win any awards,” he admitted, as he put the double together and stuffed an empty silk pillowcase over the misshapen head,” but your windows are pretty heavily tinted.”
Abby chewed at her lip, shaking her head. “No, it definitely won't.”
He turned to her. “Now, once I take off, the cops are going to follow me. Don't leave the house till they take off, okay?”
Still worrying at her lip, she nodded.
“After all of this is said and done, you can go on with your life. Okay? That's what I want for you, after I show that Mark and the board are to blame for this.”
She nodded, her face turned away so he couldn't see the tears.
“You got it?” he asked, touching her shoulders, gripping her more roughly than before. “Huh?”
She nodded, more forcefully than before. “Yes,” she said. “I understand.”
“I just want the best for you,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “You know that, right?”
Through red-rimmed eyes, she glanced up at him. “I know,” she replied, her voice as quiet as his. “I know you do.”
They stared into one another's eyes, their gaze not breaking, their eyes not glancing away.
Abby could feel the emotion between them like a palpable tension that hung in the air, a pregnant feeling that filled the room. She wanted to tell him how much she cared for him and how she didn't want to see him hurt, but she couldn't put her thoughts and emotions into words.
He broke their moment first, pulling her into his arms again, his strong, controlling, gentle, brutal arms wrapping themselves around her and pulling her close. He pressed her head to his chest. “I . . . I love you, Abby Winters,” he whispered.
“I'll never testify against you,” she replied, as she encircled him in her arms, clinging desperately to him. “Never. They can threaten me with whatever they want, but I'll never do it.”
Zed laughed quietly, the sound a knowing one that had more depth than Abby could understand. “Oh, Abby,” he said. “They have more on me, I'm sure, than what you could give them. And I know it. But it's okay. As long as I know you're safe, I'll be fine.”
Abby, though, didn't have that luxury. How could she ever be happy, knowing he was the one taking the fall for her?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Abby
Zed was the one to break the embrace, letting her go reluctantly. “We need to start preparing this.”
“You said Mark had four hours,” she replied, as she put her arms around his neck and forced him to look down at her. “It's not that far to the office.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him lightly, softly, warmly.
He returned her kiss, his lips insistent, but gentle.
“We have time,” Abby whispered, as she broke the kiss, her voice low and brimming with desire.
He nodded, a faint smile coming to his lips. They began to slowly strip each of their clothes, their lips passionately finding each other’s whenever they could.
Soon, they were on the bed together, a tangle of limbs and searching hands. Abby explored Zed's body, her hands running over his hard muscles and soft skin.
His hands caressed her breasts, her flat tummy, her hips, and her ass as she moved against him, writhing under his touch.
She pushed him back onto the bed and kissed his neck and chest, her hands finding his lengthened manhood. She wrapped her fingers around him, stroking him as she kissed his nipples and his abs.
“Oh, Abby,” he whispered, his hand entangling in her hair, but not pulling. This was a gentle love-making, with none of the roughness and darkness of before. Here there were just wet kisses, determined hands, and warmth.
She lowered herself to his rod, ran her tongue around his crown, and bathed him all over. Eyes closed, Abby pressed her lips to the underside of him, massaging him up and down as she gently squeezed his sack. With her sad eyes on him, she took him into her mouth, wetting him.
He stroked her hair as he watched her pleasure him, his eyes half-closed from the sensations. He brushed the bangs from her face and stroked the back of his finger down her cheek.
Smiling wistfully, she took him from her mouth and crawled up his body. She threw a naked thigh over his waist, straddling him. She reached between them, her fingers encircling his tool, and guided him in. They groaned together as she settled down onto him, the fingers of her petite hands splayed on his chest.
“Oh Zed,” she moaned, her eyes rolling back as he filled her.
# # #
Zed
He cupped her breasts, his thumbs gently teasing her nipples as she rode him in long, languid movements. She would rise almost all the way off of him, till just his head was inside, then slide slowly back down.
She was a perfect fit for him, as he was for her, and she was like a silken glove stroking him.
He let his head roll back and allowed the pleasure to overtake his world. He didn't think he'd ever felt this way about another human, as she became the center of his world.
She leaned forward, kissed him, and purred into his mouth as he lightly scraped his nails up and down her back. She arched under his touch, pressing her breasts into his chest as she continued this final ride.
“I'm cumming,” she groaned, as she settled down on his cock, her body shaking.
He pulled her close, holding her, his fingers massaging and passing over her skin as she trembled in his arms.
She moaned wordlessly, kissed him again, then, between pants, moaned some more. “Oh, Zed,” she groaned. “You're the one for me.”
He began to move his hips, thrusting himself into her. With each thrust, he felt his body moving closer to his own little death. He held her tightly in his arms, her muffled moans coming faster.
“I love you, Abby,” he whispered again, as he felt his body stiffen. He grabbed her ass, squeezed tightly, and began to cum inside her. “I love you so much.”
She smothered his moan with a kiss, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. They continued like that as the pleasure washed over them both, their bodies moving in perfect sync.
Then, like all wonderful moments, that one came to an end. It was a sad moment, made all the sadder by the perfect union they'd just experienced.
They lay there on the bed together, their bodies cooling under the breezy air of the circling ceiling fan, breathing as one as Zed began to soften and slide out of her.
“Don't go,” she whispered. “You don't have to. We can just call this off.”
Zed smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I have to. You know that. I'm so close to getting Kai out. I can just feel it.”
“We could be happy, though,” she said. “You and me.”
“I know, babe,” he replied, kissing her soft blonde hair again, “I know. But I have to see this through. He's my brother, and he doesn't deserve to be in there. This is my only chance.”
They lay there in silence for a few minutes more. Soon, Zed realized the light drops of water falling on his chest weren't beads of sweat. They were drops of tears.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Zed
He tied her to the dining room chair aga
in, leaving her in the living room.
“I just don't understand why we have to do it this way,” she said. “Why can't you just leave me in the house, not tied up?”
“Needs to look believable if they come into the house after I leave,” Zed explained. “If you're up and out when they burst through the door after I leave, they're going to think you had something to do with it. Or worse, they may think you're a viable target.”
“A viable target?” she asked, repeating back his words. “Oh. That does sound bad.”
He smiled, despite the gravity of the situation. “I know.” He grabbed the roll of tape off the table and screeched out a stretch of it, tore, and then put the strip to her lips.
“Wait,” she said, stopping him. “Can we at least, you know, kiss . . . for luck?”
He set the tape aside, took her face in both hands, then kissed her for what he knew would be the last time. They explored each other's mouths, savoring the remnants of the last week. They broke apart, panting, both wishing they'd met under better circumstances.
“They have conjugal visits, right?” she asked, a single tear slipping from her perfectly blue eyes and rolling down her cheek.
He winced. “I think that's just in the movies,” he replied, as he picked up the tape and put the strip over her mouth. “Sorry, Abby.” He stood, kissed her on the head one last time, then grabbed the keys and headed for the garage. He picked up her “body double,” a bundle of stuffed garbage bags with a crudely attached pillow case, and was out the door. He went around and stuffed body double Abby in the Escalade's passenger seat, then went around to the driver side.
He climbed in and slid the keys into the ignition. Both hands on the wheel, he drummed his fingers as he took a deep breath and reminded himself why he was doing this.
Part of his pre-mission prep had been a ritual pep-talk, a reminder for every time he hopped into the cockpit of his F16 before flying a sortie. It was a way to center himself, a way to stay frosty. He put all of his other concerns aside focused on the mission, and recalled his underlying motivation.
Before, the missions had been about his fellow soldiers, his country, his promises of service, and a better life he was working toward, after the Air Force.
Now, though, his mission was to make sure Abby had a life after him. And that his brother, Kai, could have a life after his family. None of this was their fault, and Zed had shouldered these burdens on his own. Because if he didn't protect them, if he didn't guard them against the consequences of the actions of evil men, no one else would have.
He'd only uncovered the plot at Pharma-Vitae. He hadn't caused anything. All that responsibility was on Mark Letterman and his bosses. All the wheels had been in motion long before he, or Abby, had come along to unravel everything.
Now the mission had come down to him, Zed reminded himself as he looked in the rear-view mirror. No one else.
He turned the key in the ignition, the SUV's engine rumbling to life like a sleeping jungle cat that was awoken by its next meal.
“All right,” he said to body double Abby, who was securely strapped into the seat “Let's do this shit.” Zed threw the Escalade in reverse, braced his hand on the passenger seat headrest, and looked back over his shoulder. He nodded to himself and slammed on the gas.
The tires squealed at the sudden acceleration, their spinning rubber treads scrambling for purchase on the smooth concrete floor. When they caught, the giant black car zoomed backwards, crashing into the metal garage door, knocking its wheels from the tracks.
Zed kept his foot on the gas, even through the momentary slow down when he hit the barrier, and plowed on through the wreckage. The steel of the door shrieked as the sheet metal scraped over the roof and outsides of the car doors.
He saw police officers in their black uniforms and plain-clothed detectives scrambling out of the way of Zed's oncoming SUV. They went running behind the big utility vans and armored transports they'd lined the street with.
“Come on, fuckers!” Zed hooted, as the SUV sped down the driveway toward them.
Screams of protest erupted from the police surrounding the scene.
Zed cut the wheel at the end of the driveway, just before his car hit the street, forcing the rear-end of the SUV to careen into Abby's front yard. The top-heavy SUV swayed ominously from side-to-side as the car turned, but Zed could tell the chassis was stable. He glanced around briefly at all the SWAT trucks parked on the street and blocking off the area. He blinked at all the flashing lights.
“Zed Hesse!” announced a voice through a megaphone. “We have you surrounded! There's no way out!”
Then, another voice piped up. “He's got the woman! Hold your fire. She's inside with him! Hold your fire!”
Having not been certain the body double trick was going to work, Zed grinned to himself at his luck. He slammed the Cadillac into drive before the SUV came to a complete stop, his foot slamming back onto the gas. Sure, driving this way wasn't good for the transmission, but Zed was pretty sure nothing he was going to do to the car today would be great for it.
“He's going to ram the barricade! Out of the way!”
The SUV lurched forward again, chewing up the front lawn's turf as nearly six thousand pounds rocketed forward. He fought the steering wheel for control as the Escalade, angered at the impromptu off-roading lesson, slid sideways. Rubber hit the grass on the other side of the driveway, its rear wheels fishtailing into Abby's brick-and-mortar mailbox with a satisfying crunch. Then, he was on asphalt. The tires found purchase, and he slammed on the horn as he went flying towards the police barricades.
Cops pushed reporters and civilians out of the way, tackling them to the ground on either side of the wooden barricade, which looked more like a giant orange and white sawhorse than anything. Screams of terror rose from the crowd as the crush of people parted like Moses' sea, and the SUV slammed into the obstruction in a hail of splinters and a crash of metal and glass.
Then, he was through, the pedal still to the metal as he raced down the neighborhood’s streets, heading for the exit.
He took the first turn wide, the tires squealing like four stuck rubber pigs as he righted the SUV with another wobble of the compartment, and slammed back on the gas for the main road.
Behind him, he could hear police sirens over the roar of the engine and could see the flashing red-blue lights as the police engaged in their pursuit.
Perfect. This was exactly what he wanted. All the cops' eyes on him, the barrels of their guns pointed his direction, so Abby would be safe. That was the important part of this. “Next stop,” he said to body double Abby through gritted teeth, as he spun the wheel and raced out onto the main road without looking, “Pharma-Vitae.”
He hardly lifted his foot from the gas pedal for the next ten miles. He blew through stop lights, he went over sidewalks when he had to, and weaved in and out of traffic. The cops steadily fell behind him, trapped in the gridlock of traffic that his wild, unnerving driving created. Every minor accident he caused bought him a few more seconds.
Soon, though, the police were gone. Their lights no longer lit up his rear-view mirror and their sirens didn't fill the air. He'd lost them! Wait, he'd lost them?
What the hell was he supposed to do now? He honestly hadn't thought this far ahead, since he'd figured he'd have a tougher time getting out than this, or that they'd manage to set up blockades along the way. Now, though, he was saddled with the decision of what to do next. Not sure of his end game for the whole plan, he just kept on his way to Pharma-Vitae.
Above him, the chopper beat out their wicked tattoo, their sights set on the SUV as they shadowed him over the city. No matter how fast he went, or how many problems he could cause for the cops on the ground, the police helicopters would always find him.
He sped along to Pharma-Vitae, pulling the SUV up in front of the home office's front door. The Escalade lurched as he slammed into the curb out front, the front axle grating and breaking as the car went up ont
o the front plaza sidewalk. Zed hopped out of the car, glancing back as squaddies showed up in their black and white cars, their lights whirling like a Saturday night disco as they came down the main road toward the entrance. Above him, the choppers circled the building low, keeping him in under surveillance.
He didn't know if Kara Singh had gotten his and Abby's story out yet, so he wasn't sure if the truth was on the airwaves, but he couldn't worry about that now.
