Zach Slater had never been in so much pain in his life. Physically he was fine, he had all of the comfort that he wanted, plenty of income; from most people's standpoints, he wasn't suffering at all. But as he sat in his office at the Seasons casino, he felt suffocated by his grief. Losing Kendall and Ethan, essentially in the same night, shattered him. As time went on, Ethan did not frequent Zach's every thought or every nightmare but having to wake up and walk to his living room and to look out the window and to see Kendall, his wife, bobbing around her condo was torture. Well, technically Kendall wasn't his wife anymore, Zach thought but that was just a technicality. Kendall didn't know that Zach noticed that she still wore the engagement ring that he gave her at the Mardi Gras ball, and he still wore the wedding band from when they had been married before. He never wanted to let go of her and as long as he wore his wedding band, he would never have to. But lately, Kendall hadn't spoken more than two words to him and they were always casino related. He regretted those times when she had reached out to him but he was so wrapped up in Ethan and his death to simply hold out his hand and take solace in her company. And now that he simply couldn't walk over to her condo and take her in his arms as he once did, he ached for her. Zach felt this immense agony knowing how Kendall felt in his arms and not being to hold her, knowing how her hair felt against his cheek and not being able to smell the intoxicating scent of her shampoo, knowing how soft her lips were without being able to caress them with his own… He was in his own private hell. So many times he had caught himself wanting to jump in his car, drive to her house, and keep her in her house until she forgave him for the entire blackout at Madden's clinic but no. Kendall didn't want him in her life, he thought, and the last thing that he ever wanted to do was to make her unhappy by forcing his presence on her. Suddenly the phone rang and Zach perked up from his musing.

"Hello?" He asked, hoarsely.

"Zach?" a woman on the other side asked.

"Dixie? Are you alright? You sound frightened." he asked, clearing his throat.

"I just—I just heard… Tad… He—he said…" she stammered.

"Did he see you? Slow down and tell me what happened?" Zach asked with a sense of urgency.

"No… He was on the phone with Ryan Lavery… He said something about Joshua Madden finding out that Erica was his mother and he totally lost it. He—He thinks… Oh my god…" Dixie started.

"He thinks what Dixie?" Zach asked, his voice rising.

"He thinks that Josh might go after Kendall." She blurted.

Zach felt his body turn cold. His eyes widened, his entire body froze and could barely ask what she just said for verification.

"Zach? Are you still there?" Zach heard Dixie say over the phone.

After a few silent moments, he managed to say, "Yeah… I'm still here… I have to go."

He hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and left his office. As he waited for the elevator, he dialed Kendall's cell phone.

"Hey, this is Kendall. I'm not at my phone right now so, you know what to do. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible"

'Damn it… No answer' he thought as it went straight to her answering machine. The tone sounded and Zach debated whether to leave a message or not.

"Hey Kendall, I don't wanna scare you but I need to see you now. It's important and I can't say it over the phone." Zach said gruffly and he snapped his phone shut.