Free Smother by Lindy Zart

building, making her way up the stairs to her apartment. Confused by his actions and words, and how none of their conversation connected in a sensible way, she grabbed her lighter and a cigarette and climbed out the living room window.
    Perched on the rooftop, she smoked a cigarette and watched him drive away in his SUV. Reese wondered where he was going, who he would see, and what he would do while in their presence. The cigarette tasted like dirt, and after three puffs, she put it out.

    Leo called her the next morning to tell her not to come in to work. She hung up on him without replying. Today was a day Reese generally enjoyed for the candy, costumes, and party atmosphere, but she wasn’t feeling it. Dressed in a tight black cat suit that made it difficult to walk or breathe, she stiffly made her way down the hallway toward the stairs. She was supposed to meet Amber at a club to drink and dance her woes away—and those she always had in abundance.
    The air stung her cheeks and made her eyes water. Gray skies and tumultuous clouds were overhead as she left the apartment building. Reese’s gaze immediately went to the tattoo shop and her stomach flip-flopped when she saw that Leo stood outside with his arms crossed. His stance told the world to stay away, and yet the large, orange bowl of what she assumed was candy, contradicted that.
    Reese was surprised when a handful of kids stopped by the bowl and dug their hands in, waving as they took off. Her mouth twisted. Maybe she perceived him to be more frightening to others than he was. She quickly tossed that out, deciding it had to be that others didn’t find him terrifying enough.
    Her steps were supposed to move in one direction and instead moved in another. She crossed the street, noting the tautness of his posture as she got closer. She should keep heading toward the bar. That would keep things simple. He didn’t want to see her, but that was too bad. She never took the easy route.
    She shivered in her shiny black cat suit, flipping the mask to her forehead to better see. “What are you doing?”
    Leo gave her a look, silently telling her to figure it out.
    Reese sucked in a sharp breath. “What happened to your face?” she demanded and moved closer.
    Leo scowled as he averted his busted lip and a long scratch on the left side of his face from her view. “Ran into barbed wire.”
    He was lying, but she knew if he didn’t want her to know something, she wouldn’t. “Ran into barbed wire? Have a lot of that here in town, do we? Or were you jumping fences at the local farms, cow-tipping your way through the community?”
    Someone did this to him. Someone hurt him. Seeing him like this made him more human and added vulnerability she hadn’t thought possible. Her heart squeezed. It was a minor wound. It could have been much worse. Knowing that didn’t make her sense of indignation and anger lessen.
    How do you know it wasn’t given to him in self-defense?
    Even as she thought it, she tossed it away. Maybe it was wrong of her to so easily see him as a good guy instead of bad, but even with how secretive and careful he was about revealing any information of himself to her, her instincts were usually trustworthy. That, and she couldn’t stand the thought of him being something other than what she wanted and needed him to be. He was her ever-enduring fence. There were nicks and gouges in it, but it still held strong. He had to stay that way or she wouldn’t be able to deal.
    You don’t know him. You don’t know what he is or isn’t.
    She looked down, swallowing around a tight throat. His wounded face was messing with her. She couldn’t stand it. Leo should not be hurt, not in any way. Why did she care? She shouldn’t. Reese told herself to drop it, but she couldn’t.
    “Does this have anything to do with that man that showed up? And cancelling all the appointments yesterday and today?” Her voice got firmer as she talked, until it bristled.
    He looked at