Bonus Epilogue
ZACH
If Zach Wilson ever saw another pen, he might stab himself in the eye with it. How many papers could they really make him sign?
The sweaty man with a red beard and fat fingers slid another page across the table to Zach. “This one outlines the dates and times you will meet with your parole agent.”
“And I have to sign it? Why do I have to sign it if it’s just information?”
The big guy’s expression didn’t change. “We will make a copy for you to take with you.”
Zach scribbled his signature on the line with enough force to tear the paper in a couple of places. “Great. I’ll add these dates to my schedule.”
With his lips pressed into a thin line, Zach handed over the papers. “That all?”
The man—Joe, if his name badge was correct—reached behind him to grab a stack of papers. “These are the conditions of your parole. I assume these have been explained to you.”
“Yep. They said I could walk around outside as long as I don’t kill anybody else.”
Joe actually rolled his eyes. It was official, he was human.
Zach took the papers and rolled them up before stuffing them into the top of his backpack. It was amazing how few things he’d kept over the last three years.
Well, it wasn’t much of a surprise since no one had brought him a single cent since he’d been at Wyoming State Penitentiary. Any money he had before the lock-up was long gone.
“Anything else?” Zach asked, clasping his hands on the desk.
Joe jerked his head toward the door, and that was as much of a farewell as Zach would get.
The guard who’d been in charge of escorting Zach to the admin building opened the door and pointed the way toward the exit. When he opened the door and Zach stepped out, he was greeted by a boring gray sky and a cold wind.
A bus waited at the far end of the sidewalk. That was his ticket to freedom.
Ha! Freedom was a myth. He’d been a slave to the system way too long to think he was free now. His parole agent’s job was to “supervise” him for the foreseeable future.
Just what Zach needed—another person who wanted to control him. Dad, uncle, brother, teacher, principal, boss, officer, judge. Someone was always trying to tell him what to do.
A car door shut, and Zach looked over as he hiked his backpack onto his shoulder.
He’d been thinking this whole release thing was a dream anyway. Now he knew it for sure. There was no way Lauren Vincent just happened to be hanging out at the pen the morning of his release.
Her long hair streamed in the icy wind, and she seemed to move in slow motion as she rounded the front of the van.
Of course she was driving a minivan. Lauren was the oldest thirty-year-old he’d ever met. She was as straight-laced, high-strung, and as by-the-book as they came.
She was everything he wasn’t. Dressed in a pink top and white pants, she was a firework of color against the concrete buildings of the compound.
Zach changed course and headed her way. Just like every time he saw her, a glimpse of the night she’d almost died flashed in his mind.
The cold. Her cries. The screams. He couldn’t forget it no matter how hard he tried.
When she was close enough to hear him, he stopped walking. “What are you doing here? ”
Lauren pushed her sunglasses onto her head and leveled him with a look that dared him to mess with her. “No one else is coming for you.”
Great. She’d gone out of her way to pick him up from his prison release. She truly was a saint.
Too bad he was the king of ruining good things.
Funny she would show up today, since she was the reason he was locked up in the first place. It wasn’t her fault. He’d chosen the wrong day to try to be the hero.
Shaking his head, he stared her down. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah, well, neither should you,” she spat back.
See? That’s where she was wrong. Guys like him did belong in prison. He’d bet the shoes on his feet he’d be back within six months.
He jerked his chin at her vehicle. “Go home.”
Instead of turning around and doing as he said, she crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her hip out to the side. “No one else is coming to pick you up. Get in the van.”
Zach crossed his arms and stared down at her with a look that had made men three times her size cower. “You’re not the boss of me.”
Lauren quirked one brow. Why did he like it when she did that?
No. You’re not allowed to like her.
Real life didn’t give second chances or happy endings to the devil. Real life chewed him up and spit him out over and over.
Nothing made sense when it came to Lauren Vincent. She’d almost died because of him, but she was the only visitor he’d had in three years.
Worse than that, the sick feeling he got whenever he saw her was getting worse, not better. It was probably guilt or shame or something else he’d never experienced before, but how was he to know?
Instead of exploring the uneasy feelings she gave him, he narrowed his eyes and glanced toward the van. “Is there candy inside?”
Lauren rolled her eyes and reached into her jacket pocket. She pulled out a Snickers bar and shoved it at his chest.
“You are an angel.” He tore the wrapper off and bit off a quarter of the snack.
When she didn’t move or say anything, Zach pointed the candy bar at her. “Wait. Are you trying to butter me up?”
Her shoulders sank slightly. “I have a proposition for you.”
“Good. It’s been a while.”
Her open hand hit his chest before he had a chance to regret his poor choice of words.
“Ow. Rude.”
“Not that kind of proposition,” she said. “I need your help.”
Zach spread his arms out, showcasing everything he owned. The white T-shirt and gym pants he wore were given to him yesterday, and his backpack wasn’t even half full. “I’m not in a position to help anyone, sweetheart.”
She jerked her thumb at the vehicle. “Just get in. We’ll talk about it on the way home.”
“I don’t have a home.”
Lauren hung her head. She’d clearly underestimated his situation. “Just get in. I’ll make some phone calls.”
“What kind of phone calls could you make to get me a place to live? Any chance you have a connection for cars too because I don’t have one.”
Lauren turned around and headed back toward the van. “I’m not your fairy godmother, Zach.”
He was following her before he even realized his feet were moving. “Nah. More like an angel.”
She pointed a finger toward the passenger side of the van. “You do the sitting. I’ll do the talking.”
Zach bit his tongue between his teeth as Lauren bossed him around. At least he’d have an entertaining ride back to Blackwater.