"You two are such over-achievers." Maddie set down her knife. "I mean, I always knew you would be. You're both so smart and talented. I feel like a big loser compared to you."

"Fuck that," Aidan said at the same time as Zack said, "That's bullshit."

She grinned. "Okay, not a loser. But you know...I just have my little public relations job."

"Sweetheart, your job is important. The Endicott Foundation is one of the biggest philanthropy groups in the city."

"I'm sure you're great at your job," Zack added.

"Of course I am." She winked, still smiling. "But I'm not some kind of rock star like you two."

They both snorted at that. "Fuck, I don't feel like a rock star." Zack rubbed his face. "I'm the one who feels like a big loser right now. Shit. I'm homeless, don't have much more than the shirt on my back, and my employer doesn't want me back."

Maddie gasped. "What? They fired you over this?"

"No, no. I still have a job. But they're making me take six weeks off before I can work again."

"Oh." Maddie's shoulders relaxed. "Well, of course you should have time off. You need to recuperate." She lifted the cutting board and slid the slices of red pepper into the salad bowl. "Okay. I just need to toss this and we can eat. Aidan, honey, can you set the table?"

"Sure." Aidan stood.

"I'll help," Zack said.

"Nah, it's fine. Everything's right here." Aidan slid open a kitchen drawer and counted out sets of cutlery, then pulled plates out of the cupboard and carried them to the dining table. It only took a moment to arrange the place settings. Then he set the big lasagna on a hot pad on the table.

Maddie carried over the salad. "Zack, can you grab that bread?"

Zack brought the bread, Aidan refilled their wine glasses, offering one to Zack for dinner, which he accepted, and they sat down to eat.

"This is unbelievable," Zack said moments later. He'd already wolfed down two thick slices of the warm, crusty bread and was digging into a big piece of seafood lasagna.

"Thanks." Maddie picked up her glass of wine for a sip. "Eat up. You look like you could use twenty or forty pounds."

"Yeah. I did lose weight."

"Did they feed you?" she asked quietly. "At all?"

"Yeah. Our captors gave us their leftovers to eat. It wasn't much, but it was something."

Aidan watched Zack, saw his face tighten, and waited, wondering if their friend would share any more about his ordeal.

"How awful was it?" Maddie asked.

"You don't want to hear."

She pressed her lips together. "I think you need to talk about it."

"Maybe so, but I don't want to bring you guys down hearing about it."

"We can take it."

"Maddie," Aidan said quietly. "He'll talk when he feels like it."

Aidan met her eyes and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I just want to help." She reached out and gave Zack's hand a squeeze.

"You are helping." Zack gave her a tight smile. "Letting me come and stay here...feeding me this great food."

Aidan wasn't about to say it in front of Maddie, but possibly Zack would be more willing to open up about what had happened with him rather than Maddie, especially if Zack was trying to protect Maddie. Because that was what they both did, what they'd always done-protect Maddie.

"Another piece?" She reached for the serving dish as Zack finished off his first.

"Sure." As he took a second helping, he said, "When I was in the hospital in Germany I couldn't eat much. I'd totally lost my appetite. And the food in the hospital wasn't that great. But gradually they got me eating more. I can't tell you how good this tastes."

Maddie looked pleased.

After dinner they carried their wine glasses out onto the balcony. The south-east exposure had the low sun shining on them. With a light evening breeze it was comfortable. They settled into the thickly-padded chairs.

"This is nice." Zack gazed out at the view of the harbor. "Very urban and sophisticated."

"That's us." Maddie gave a soft snort. "Sophisticated, you bet."

"It's Saturday night," Zack said. "You don't have plans?"

Aidan glanced at Maddie. They'd cancelled plans to attend a fundraising dinner that evening when they'd heard back from Zack that he was coming. "Nothing important."

"You don't have to entertain me while I'm here," Zack said. "Just go on living your lives like you always do."

"Yeah, we know that."

"It's your first night here." Maddie curled her legs under her. "Of course we're going to be here. We haven't seen you for seven years. Okay. So. You don't want to talk about what happened in Syria. Tell us some of the other things you've done since you left. I know you've been to some amazing places."

Chapter Four.

The next morning, while Aidan headed out for his run, Maddie mixed ingredients in a bowl to make pancakes. She was determined to feed Zack. She pulled bacon out of the fridge and separated slices so it was ready to cook once he was awake. She had real butter and maple syrup for the pancakes and she'd make sure he loaded up.

Last night they'd sat and finished off the bottle of wine, the conversation flowing easier, but mostly light and superficial. That was fine. If Zack wanted to keep it that way, they could do that. Whatever he needed. He'd been tired, so they'd all gone to bed early.

She heard noises down the hall, a door opening, another closing, then the shower running in the guest bathroom. She turned on the stove to start cooking.

By the time Zack walked into the kitchen, his dark curls damp, dressed in jeans and T-shirt again, the bacon was sizzling and she was starting the pancakes.

"Sweet Jesus, that smells good. Is that bacon?"

"Yes. Good morning."

A smile flickered on his lips. "Morning. God, I haven't had bacon in so long."

"Coffee?"

"Hell yeah."

She pulled a mug out of the cabinet and poured him a cup. "There's milk in the fridge if you use it, and sugar there." She nodded at her rooster-adorned sugar bowl on the counter.

"Black is good. Had to get used to going basic in some places."

"Did you sleep okay?" She poured a neat circle of batter onto the griddle.

"Yeah." He sounded surprised. "I actually did. First time in...well, that bed's really comfortable."

"Good."

"Can I help?"

"You can turn the bacon." She nodded at a set of tongs on the counter.

He began picking up strips and turning them while she watched the tops of the pancakes for bubbles, then flipped. "You still like your bacon crisp?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Very crisp. Take yours out if it's done enough for you. Leave me two or three."

"Plates are up here?" He reached for a cupboard, apparently remembering last night when Aidan had set the table.

"Yeah."

He pulled out two plates, also decorated with colorful roosters, and lifted some bacon onto one. She slid a stack of pancakes next to it.

"Whoa. That's a lot of pancakes."

"Fattening you up, remember?"

He laughed. "Right."

"Have a seat. I'll join you in two secs." She finished a couple more pancakes, nodded at the bacon and turned off the stove.

"Not waiting for Aidan to eat?"

She smiled. "He's out for a run. Sundays he does a really long run. He'll be back in a while. I'll make his breakfast when he gets home. There's orange juice too, if you want." She'd set the pitcher of juice on the counter with two glasses.

"Thanks. This is fantastic, Maddie. You're a great cook."

"Thank you." Pleasure warmed her inside.

Silence expanded around them as they ate, not completely uncomfortable but Maddie cast around in her head for a conversation topic. Then Zack beat her to it.

"I saw the Facebook page you started."

She blinked. "Oh. Did you?" She hesitated. "Did you get my emails?"

"Yeah."

Her mind churned. "All my emails?"

"Yeah."

She looked at her plate. "You didn't answer very many."

"I did, some."

Not many. But she fought back the hurt she'd felt over the years and didn't say that.

"When I got to a computer after I escaped, I read all the ones you'd sent." His voice went thick. She glanced up at him and saw his face was tight. "Saw the email you sent about the Facebook page. Checked it out." He paused, his throat working. "Can't believe you did that, Maddie."

She didn't know where to look. Looking at his face made her want to throw herself into his arms and hug him and kiss him. She blinked a few times. "I had to do something. I felt so helpless. Aidan was working hard too, staying in touch with your employer and the State Department, putting pressure on them to keep trying to find you."

He looked up and stared at her. "Jesus. Seriously?"

"Yeah." She blinked. "You're our friend, Zack. We care about you."

He just shook his head and used his knife and fork to cut a piece of pancake. "The Facebook page is amazing. I had no idea all that was going on while I was being held. Some of those other guys...I know...knew some of them. Fuck."

She nodded, her throat aching. "Zack. Don't feel guilty that you're here and they're not."

His head snapped up again, his brows pulled together. He stared at her. "How'd you know I feel guilty?"

She gave tiny shrug, sucking briefly on her bottom lip. "I think there are a lot of things you're feeling right now. You just don't want to talk about it."

After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm fine." But she could see the anguish in his eyes, thinking about some of his fellow journalists.

"I know."

He wasn't fine. But he would be. They'd make sure of it.

They talked about the Facebook page, which she still wanted to update. She'd posted that Zack was free and they were picking up him at the airport, but she hadn't updated it since seeing him. "Do you want to post something? I think people need to hear from you."

He lifted his gaze from his plate to meet her eyes and the pain she saw there made her heart clench. Then he nodded. "Sure," he said casually, returning his attention to his breakfast. "I could do that."

"We'll do it after we finish eating."

Maddie pulled Aidan's office chair over beside hers for Zack to sit on. They went to the page. First they read the comments that had been left on Maddie's post that Zack was arriving home in Chicago. It took a while to scroll through all of them and the congratulations and good wishes were overwhelming. Maddie found herself tearing up, hurting for those who were still missing family and loved ones.

She glanced at him, both of them leaning in close to see the screen. She could smell the shampoo he'd used, along with his own unique scent. Up close, could see every whisker that stubbled his jaw and cheeks, his thick eyebrows and short dark eyelashes. She let her eyes wander all over his face in profile to her while he read the comments.

"Wow." Zack rubbed his mouth.