The car ride home was somber. They were both lost in their own thoughts. Zach realized how helpful and misleading the information from his past was. There was no guarantee that events that happened before would happen again, and he was unconsciously influenced by things and events he hadn’t come into contact with as yet.

Memory was a funny thing. It was impossible to remember everything, and he almost mentioned something that Brad Maxwell hadn’t done yet. He was afraid to write down and keep a record of things he’d been through. There was no guarantee that someone wouldn’t find it.

He glanced over at Tynan. His jaw was set in a hard line. Zach could hazard a guess as to what Tynan was thinking about. He turned to look at the brightly lit buildings. They hadn’t changed to towering skyscrapers yet, but there were signs that time and the city were changing.

A warm hand grabbed his hand. He turned to see Tynan staring at him intensely.

“I can’t figure it out.” Tynan wanted to devour Zach. He wanted to swallow him straight into his belly. At times like this, his lover seemed distant and out of reach. Tynan panicked during those moments because it seemed that Zach could disappear at any moment. He wanted to say more, but the words choked in his throat at the sad smile Zach gave him.

“I will tell you,” Zach said. It was a promise he planned to keep. The more he thought on it, the more he realized he should tell Tynan sooner than later. It was hard to tell his partner about the happy and tragic things that happened to him, but if he left it too long, Tynan might find it harder to accept and be hurt by it more.

Tynan didn’t respond. He squeezed the soft palm, memorizing the feeling. He was a patient person, but he was also used to being in control. It was hard knowing that there was something Zach was hiding from him. “Are you in danger?” After ruminating on it for weeks, that was his biggest concern.

“No.” Zach huffed a laugh. 

Others were in more danger than him. The knowledge he possessed, while not infallible, would be a benefit moving forward. If he knew he would have the opportunity to be reborn, he would have paid attention to a wider range of topics and industries.

“I pose more danger to others than they do to me.” Zach considered himself to be a kind person, but he wasn’t nice. His concern also didn’t extend to many people. 

“It’s hypocritical of me to demand answers when I have secrets of my own, but I hate it. I hate that there are parts of your life I don’t know about. I hate that you suffered and I wasn’t there.” 

Zach was irritated that they were having this conversion in the car and that Tynan was driving. If they’d been elsewhere he would have hugged Tynan and burrowed into the safety of his arms. 

“You weren’t there in the past, but you will be walking with me in the future. We have years to get to know each other.” He wasn’t the best at emotional speeches or emotions at all, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel them or know how important they were. 

“Will it take years for you to tell me what your hiding?” 

Zach choked at that question. He’d just committed to confessing sooner, but he wasn’t ready yet. “No. It won't be that long.”

“Should I brace myself?” Tynan tried to lighten the mood, but with everything that was happening, it was hard. Rain and Brad Maxwell were constantly at the back of his mind. 

Zach didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You will have to suspend your disbelief.” He made it a joke, but Tynan would have to do a lot more than that to accept that he’d been reborn. At least he could do a bit of prophetic work to prove that he knew things that were going to happen in the future.

This brought him to another dilemma surrounding Ron. He’d out it off since that incident wasn’t going to happen any time soon, but he would have to act sooner or later. 

Tynan stroked a finger down Zach's cheek. He kept an eye on the road, but he would be lying if he said his focus wasn’t on Zach. In the future, he would have to use a driver when they were traveling together. He wanted to pull his blue-eyed lover into his lap. “Is your life a fantasy novel?”

Zach turned away so that Tynan wouldn’t see his expression. “Close enough.” His tone was light and he made sure to laugh. It came out sounded natural and wasn’t strained like the expression on his face reflected in the glass.

“Have you fought demons and angels?” Tynan laughed at his own joke. He thought of Zach as his personal devil. The youth's looks were closer to that of an angel, but his actions left no room to doubt how dangerous he was. It was attractive.

“Which am I? The angel or the devil?” Zach ran with it and left his morbid thoughts behind.

“Haven’t I said your my personal imp?”

Zach leaned over to kiss Tynan on the cheek. “You can’t hold it against me when you find out how devilish I am.” He dropped his voice low, whispering the words against Tynan’s ear.

“Behave.” Tyna had no intention of ending up in an accident. He was torn between admonishing and encouraging Zach’s behavior.

“When you tell me to behave it makes me want to misbehave more.” Zach sat back in his seat before things got too out of hand. Things between him and Tynan tended to escalate quickly.

Tyna was regretful, but it was the best choice. “I will be out of the country next week. I put together a team to target my uncle’s slush fun. I will be acting as bait to pull him overseas.” 

“Can that be traced back to you?” Zach knew that Tynan was planning something. “Is there anything I can help with?”

“We suspect that he did unlicensed construction of the building. It would be good if we could know what changes he made. Also, his security system needs to be bypassed.” This was a good opportunity. He’d planned to ask Zach to help anyway. “Can you take a look at what the tech guy on the crew put together?”

“Sure.” He’d never robbed anyone before. This wasn’t the type of new experience he had in mind when he said that he was going to live this life differently. 

Thanks.” As Tynan approached, the gate to the estate opened. “Do you drive?” He’d never seen Zach drive. He always used a driver.

Zach was an old man at heart. He’d reached the stage in life where he didn’t stand if he could sit, and his favorite thing other than putting around on the golf course was to lie down and do nothing. “I can.”

“Do you have a driver's license for S Country?” Tynan knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. “I remember what happened with your passport.”

Zach rolled his eyes with disgust. The minute the car stopped, he jumped out. He didn’t turn back or pay attention to Tynan calling his name. The other party needed to be punished for bringing up his black history. No sexy time for him. 

Tynan parked the car and jumped out to follow Zach. He did his best not to laugh because he knew that would irritate Zach more. Tynan signaled for one of the staff to put the car in the garage as he ran after Zach.

He wondered what it would take to appease his little spitfire. Tynan caught up to Zach and pulled the huffy man against his chest. He kissed Zach's neck and cheek, trying to soothe away his ire. 

It didn’t work. Instead, he got a sharp elbow to the chest. As the wind was knocked out of him, Zach used the time to escape.

Tynan followed behind. This time he refrained from touching. “I’m sorry.”

Zach snorted. “Try saying that when you aren’t grinning like a lunatic.”

He lifted a hand to his mouth, hiding his expression. He worked his jaw, trying to control the smile. It didn’t work. Every time he managed to put on a serious expression, a funny thought or moment with Zach would pop into his head and ruin his hard work.

Zach stormed off muttering curses. Tynan didn’t stop him. He nodded to Mrs. Brown as he went by. He didn’t want to know what his capable butler was thinking about as she watched their antics. 

Their journey ended in their bedroom. Zach huffed his way into the bathroom. Tynan almost regretted his actions as he heard the distinct click of the lock being closed. He would miss having shower time with Zach, but it was a different sort of pleasure seeing the stoic man act his age.

Tynan gathered his things and moved to the guest bathroom. He was going to have a crew come in and renovate the bathroom so that it was his and his. It was a new experience to be organizing his life to accommodate another person. It took a bit of work to get used to, but it wasn’t unpleasant. 

That had more to do with the person he was accommodating. It was the quickest shower he ever took. He wanted to be in bed when his darling came out of the shower.

Tynan relaxed on the bed. His heated gaze almost burnt a hole through the door. He regretted it. He would turn back time if he could. Zach was in the bathroom for over thirty minutes. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was doing in there. 

He wanted to be a fly on the wall. Hell, he wanted to give a helping hand. He had other body parts that were equally useful. Would it be childish to go and press his ear to the door? He’d asked himself that multiple times but just managed to keep himself from doing it. 

It was another ten minutes before Zach came out. His eyes were hooded and relaxed. He floated more than walked to the bed.  

Tynan snaked out and grab the man pulling him to the bed.

“Punishment,” Zach said. His words were slurred as sleep pulled him under.

Tynan’s teeth were clenched so hard they ached. He cut off his nose to spite his face. He pulled Zach closer, grinding his teeth against his neck. He didn’t use enough pressure to wake his partner. 

They would sort this out in the morning. He had his own brand of punishment to deliver to his lover. “Enjoy it now. Wait and see how I punish you tomorrow.”

Tynan threw his leg over Zach and settled in. It didn’t take long till he was asleep. It had been a long day filled. 

It was bound to be a sleepless night for many people. Everyone was making silent plans to ensure that they managed to make the most of the situation and secure their interests. 

Morris sat on his balcony with a glass in hand. His eyes didn’t focus on anything, but his gaze took in the city beneath him.

Cain curled up next to Theo. He did his best not to give the other man hope, but he couldn’t turn down the comfort he was offering. 

Theo resolved to do everything to ensure that Cain didn’t slip away from him again. He’d stepped aside on multiple occasions. Never again. 

Heavy hits landed on the sandbag as Ron executed a punching routine. He couldn’t quiet his mind. Rain’s expression kept popping up over and over again. His knuckles were split and bleeding.

Rain paced the length of his cell. This wasn’t the end. He wouldn’t let it be.