"So, how are you feeling now, Miss Brooks?" Clarks is sitting on my old armchair next to the sofa. He takes the coffee I hand him and shoots me a thankful smile before taking a sip.

"I'm doing fine, thanks, Officer!" I reply and take a seat on my sofa. Zach, who's sitting beside me, protectively wraps his arm around me. I smile at him and then draw my attention back to Officer Clarks.

"What is it, Officer Clarks?" Zach asks the Officer.

"Right. My colleagues have found a huge amount of drugs in the house to which Mr. Vans brought Miss Brooks. We have strong reason to believe that Caleb Tremblay is or was involved in the drug business of your stepbrother. Perhaps you could help me with that. Do you know anything about Mr. Tremblay's doings? Has he anything to do with those drugs?" Clarks gives Zach a poignant look.

Zach, who easily holds the Officer's gaze, shakes his head.

"As far as I know, Caleb had nothing to do with the dark deeds of Terrence. My stepbrother forced him into helping to abduct Olivia. That's all," Zach replies with a frown. I'm impressed by the cool face he's keeping.

"That's what I thought," the Officer mutters and sighs deeply. "Mr. Wood, you could enormously help us with any information you could give us about Mr. Tremblay, and everything you tell me stays between us. Mr. Tremblay won't know from whom we got the information."

I eye the Officer's expression. He seems a little desperate and I wonder why Zach covers Caleb.

"I'm afraid I can't help you, Officer." Zach shoots Clarks an apologizing gaze and stands up. The Officer takes the hint and stands up as well.

"Well, call me if you remember anything. Sorry again for disturbing you, Miss Brooks. I find my way out, have a nice day," he says and nods in my direction before leaving my apartment.

The moment the door shuts behind him, I face Zach.

"Wanna explain that to me?" I ask him with crossed arms.

"Liv, just drop it!" Zach retorts and walks off.

I follow him to the bathroom and lean against the door frame.

"Zach, what the fuck?!"

Zach looks at me with raised eyebrows.

"What is it, Olivia?" he asks annoyed.

I huff disbelievingly.

Why is he so dismissive all of a sudden?

"Why did you cover Caleb? He obviously helped T with all his shady businesses, so why did you lie to Clarks?" My voice is harsh and cold as I speak.

Zach sighs and runs his hands through his tousled hair.

"Caleb moved on from T's shit. I know he wouldn't be that stupid to do anything which would connect him with my dumb stepbrother's business," he states angrily.

I shake my head and narrow my eyes.

"Zach, you just lied to a police officer. You know that's illegal, right? And for what? For a stupid fucker who kidnapped me. He's not worth the trouble, Zach!" I'm nearly shouting now.

Zach steps closer until his face is only inches away from mine and firmly grabs my shoulders.

"You ask me for what?! I did this to protect you. Everything I do is to keep you safe. I know those officers. They only care for their own success. Once they have the information they need, they don't give a shit about you anymore. Caleb would find out and that would put you in great danger!" he snarls. I feel his breath brushing my lips as he speaks.

"This is toxic, Zach. Don't you see that? You can't just lie to an officer only to protect me. I don't need a knight in shining armor! I don't want you to get yourself in trouble just to save me!" I spit.

Zach eyes me in disbelief.

"Fine. Maybe I should leave then. I don't want to be your toxic boyfriend!" His words are barely audible, and I blink at the coolness in his voice.

"Zach... You're not a toxic boyfriend!" I breathe and place my hand on his stubbly cheek.

Zach firmly grabs my wrist and flashes his dark eyes at me. I warily watch his harsh motions and try to hold his piercing gaze. My heart is racing, and my breath comes out shakily.

We stare at each other for a moment before Zach surprises me by smashing his mouth against mine. He roughly kisses me, and I give in. I let his tongue conquering mine and grab his hair.

*Sexual content ahead*

Zach pushes me against the wall and presses his body against mine. I feel his hardness digging into my stomach, and moan at the heated contact of our lips.

Without wasting time, Zach pulls down my sweatpants and panties, causing them to fall and scatter around my bare feet. I'm still wearing my T-shirt, but Zach doesn't take the time to get it off as well. His fingers find their way to my wet center and start circling on my little nub. I moan at the sudden contact and feel my arousal growing every second he touches me.

"Liv, I need you. Please... say you want me too!" Zach pants and faces me breathlessly.

All his anger is gone, and I can only see desperate desire in his dark and piercing eyes.

"I want you, Zach!" I breathe as he shoves two fingers into me.

Zach wastes no second and eagerly pulls out his awaiting member. He grabs my thighs and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his hips and the next moment he roughly enters me.

We both moan loudly, and I tighten my grip in his hair.

"Fuck," I scream as he grabs both my bum cheeks and starts pounding into me hard.

With every thrust he reaches deeper and I feel my pleasure building incredibly fast as all the anger from the little fight we just had turns into raw desire.

"Liv, I need you to come," Zach pants, resting his forehead against mine, "Come for me!"

He thrusts a few more times and that's it. I come undone and collapse onto Zach's shoulder, moaning loudly.

Zach's orgasm follows right away, and he groans deeply as he roughly smashes his body against mine one last time.

*smut end*

We slowly catch our breaths and Zach carefully sets me down again. I stand wobbly on my feet and chuckle.

"Wow, where did that come from?" I hoarsely ask him and run my fingers through my hair.

Zach just smirks and bends down to pull up my underwear and pants.

"I'm sorry. I should've talked to you like a normal person!" he whispers and softly kisses my cheek.

"Forget about it," I retort and raise my eyebrow, grinning mischievously, "I guess this was our first argument as a couple."

"If every fight leads on to steamy sex, I'm up for more fighting then," Zach states and leans forward to kiss me.

After a few seconds he pulls back.

"I go have a shower, then I have to see Caleb. I must warn him against Clarks," he says and gets undressed.

"Can I come?" I ask and Zach smirks down at me.

"Ready for round two, huh?" he questions me with a raised eyebrow.

I roll my eyes and chuckle. "I mean when you see Caleb. I'm involved in this whole shit too after all."

Zach clenches his teeth and steps into the shower.

"I'm not happy taking you there, but if you insist, I'm okay with it," he mutters and turns on the water.

I quickly strip and follow him into the glassy shower stall.

"Perfect, handsome!" I retort and wrap my arms around his defined torso from behind.

Zach turns around and beams down at me.

"Better get us clean then!" he mumbles and licks his full lips.

~

"Is that Caleb's place?" I whisper as we approach a massive, modern urban villa.

"Yeah. He inherited a lot of money from his Granddad and invested it quite cleverly," Zach replies, grabs my hand, and pulls me towards the entry.

I disbelievingly eye the huge building in front of us while Zach rings the bell.

A minute passes until the giant front door opens and Caleb appears. Topless, just wearing blue jeans. His usually slicked-back blonde hair is ruffled, and a loose strand falls into his blushed face.

"What are you two doing here?" he asks out of breath and looks over his shoulder back into the house.

"Can we talk inside?" Zach counters. He obviously doesn't want to talk in public.

Caleb rolls his eyes and huffs, but steps aside, letting us enter.

We walk into a spacious hallway with a white, matte tiled floor. Here and there some big modern paintings adorn the neat white walls, but other than that not much decoration is to be seen. In the middle of the room, a simple yet noble concrete staircase leads to the top floor and down to the cellar.

I try to hide it, but I'm quite intimidated by Caleb's house. Zach is either unimpressed or has seen Caleb's place before. I'm guessing second.

"Lead the way," Zach speaks to Caleb who passes by and walks through one of the many doors. We're in his living room where two brown Chesterfield sofas dominate the otherwise simple kept room. He motions us to take a seat and walks over to a side table with a crystal carafe.

"Want one as well?" he asks while pouring himself a glass full of whiskey.

Zach shoots me a questioning look and I shake my head.

"No, thank you," Zach replies for the both of us and wraps his arms around my waist.

Caleb walks to the second sofa opposite the one Zach and I are sitting and sinks into the sleek leather.

"So, what do you want from me?" he asks, swinging his crystal glass, his dark green eyes fixed on us.

Zach clears his throat and returns Caleb's piercing gaze before speaking.

"The Officer who was working the case when T shot me paid us a visit today." He pauses for a second and Caleb raises his eyebrows and shoots Zach an expecting look.

"He told us his colleagues had found a huge amount of drugs in that rundown house I killed Terrence. He asked me if you have something to do with it."

Caleb narrows his eyes and threateningly bends forward.

"What did you tell that motherfucker?" he asks in a low and deep voice.

Unfazed by Caleb's menacing gesture Zach speaks on, "I told him you were never involved in T's shady businesses. That you only were forced into abducting Olivia, but never played an active part in his drug business."

The door flings open and a scantily clad woman appears in the door frame.

"Cay! Baby, won't you come back into bed?" she purrs and licks her bright red lips.

Caleb huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Ash, not now!" he grunts without looking at the light blonde woman.

Her expression tells she's slightly pissed off at Caleb's rejection, and she straightens herself and pouts.

"Well, I'll start without you then," she hisses and rushes off after darting an angry glance at Zach.

"Ashley, Caleb? Are you fucking serious? Are you fucking T's girlfriend now?" Zach snaps with a frown after the door clicks shut again.

Caleb rubs his eyes with his thumb and index and then looks up to face Zach.

"She came to me, okay?" He sighs deeply. "She was devastated after she heard of T's death, and didn't know where to go. Well, I told her she could stay for a couple of days and then yeah..."

A dirty smirk plays upon Caleb's lips as he adds, "I brought comfort to her, if you know what I mean?"

He winks at me at the last words and I look away in disgust.

"Fine, do what you want. I just came to warn you against the Officer. Be careful who you're around and don't do any deals for a while. I'm sure Clarks has some rats in the scene." Zach stands up and turns to me. "You ready to leave?"

I frown but nod.

"Hey!" Caleb shouts as we're about to leave the room. "Thanks for the warning, guys! I appreciate it."

Zach looks over his shoulder and nods before we head to the front door.

Just as Zach places his hand on the doorknob, Caleb hurries towards us.

"Stop!" he whispers forcefully.

Zach gives him a questioning look.

"This Officer just entered the property!" Caleb hisses and then points towards the stairs leading to the cellar. "Go downstairs and wait until I get you!"

Zach grabs my wrist and pulls me towards the concrete stairs. The doorbell rings and we run downstairs and get out of sight just in time as Caleb opens the door.

Zach pushes me against the wall under the stairs and puts his finger to his lips. I just nod and try to control my shaky breath. I feel like a fugitive offender although I did nothing wrong. This situation gets more messed up each day!

I hear the dimmed voices of Caleb and Officer Clarks but can't make out what they are talking about.

Zach shoots me a comforting glance, but I spot the worry in his eyes. The voices from upstairs disappear and nothing than our fast breathing is audible.

A few minutes pass until we hear voices again. They draw closer and I make out footsteps on the tiled floor of the hallway above us.

"So, you won't mind if I have a look around, Mr. Tremblay?" That's Clarks' voice and the next moment the footsteps move to the stairs.

Right towards the place where Zach and I are hiding.