To Finish the Job {{Soul +&+ The PG}}

”Remember me?” A dark, soulless voice echoed, distinctively male. I’m sure you do. After all, I’d hate it if you forgot... But it’s alright now. I’m here to make sure that you never do, that my face will be one you see everywhere.” In the darkness, it was clear that a malicious smirk had pulled across the male’s shadowed features, and without any further warning, he lunged…

The hour had just turned past midnight as the DJ turned up the music to pump out a new dance beat. For a Friday night, Gold wing, an up-scale night club’s, dance floor was oddly lacking in participants and customers alike. The clear glass bar was relatively populated though, with only a few seats left open for new customers to take up, and that was good enough.

“Jai? Jai. Hey!”

A young man dressed in a simple white oxford shirt and black slacks had approached a woman leaning upon one elbow against the back half of the bar-counter. Long golden blonde hair, streaked with bouts of soft brown highlights had created a curtain over her face, shielding her ocean-blue, almond shaped eyes. A black, airy halter-top adorned the upper half of her body, draping down just below the hips of dark, slim fitting jeans. She had dozed off during a lull, and the sudden voice that had hit her ears caused her to physically lurch, a soft gasp escaping her lips as she was immediately ripped awake, and she whipped around to face the man who had approached her, black pumps clicking softly against the tiled floor.

“Don’t!” She squeaked reflexively, though when her eyes landed on the man, she blinked, her cheeks instantly flushing as she tried to regain her composure. “Oh, Pratt. H-Hi. What’s up?” Her words left her mouth quickly, with only a slight stammer of nerves.

His eyebrows furrowed gently as he cocked his head curiously, searching her eyes with slight concern. “Uh… Hey… You uh… You alright Jam?” Jam: a pet-name that people who were familiar with her had picked up due to her initials.

“Yup.” She didn’t miss a beat, responding quickly and flatly. “What’s up? What do you need? Everything okay? ”

Pratt didn’t seem very convinced, but he let it go for the time being, instead relaxing in his stance as he glanced around the bar and then back at her. “I’m taking off. Mel cut me so that I could go home and be more… productive.” The smug little smirk that spread across his face made it all too obvious.
She nodded in response, fighting the urge to roll her eyes as she straightened and looked at him., her eyes shifting in the direction he’d pointed for a split second before returning to him. “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

“My side of the bar’s all set; all customers ordered, refilled, and tabbed out. So the bar's all yours for the rest of the night.” He quickly added, clearly cutting her off from something she’d been about to say.

“Ok, ok, go.” Jai spoke with a slight smile. “Drive safe, ok? And try not to have too much fun. You’ve gotta work tomorrow night too and I expect you to be on your game.”

“Yeah, like you are? Miss dozing off over here?”

Her eyes diverted from his gaze, and she remained quiet for a split second of hesitation. “Just get your ass outta here before I get a bouncer to throw you out.” She teased with a slight grin.
Pratt grinned, offering her a wink and playful salute as he leaned to grab a jacket from below the counter, then turned and dashed out from behind the bar without another word.

She watched him leave, waiting until he disappeared out the club’s front doors before she heaved a long, heavy sigh. The night will be over before you know it, she told herself as her gaze swept over her side of the bar counter, making a note of the customers that had already been served and which ones were going to need to be tended to for refills, her focus hesitating for a long moment on a particular regular by the name of Brandon, offering him the slightest flirty smile. Hearing a stool nearby move, her focus was brought back to her work, and she tilted her head as she watched someone new take up a seat at the far corner. The club was relatively popular, yes, but even on Fridays, Jai knew just about every person that sat at her side of the bar, even if only by their faces, and this guy… This guy was new, and he sure as hell didn’t look like he quite belonged there.

He sat down slowly, lazily, and folded his arms across the surface of the counter, keeping his head down. Only his mussed black hair, about an inch or two in length, she guessed, was visible, aside from the black, hooded sweatshirt that he wore. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but something about the way he had carried himself, the way he sat so lazily, or perhaps tiredly, the way he looked… it screamed of familiarity. And worse than that, what made her tuck her lower lip between her teeth, was the fact that something about this man, this new customer, sent icy chills crawling up Jai’s spine.

She shook her head to try to dismiss her thoughts, her right hand lifting to tuck her hair back from the side of her face and over the back of her shoulder as she straightened and started for the end of the bar, black, strappy pumps clicking softly against the tile floor. She stopped short when another young man, a regular by the name of Henry, held up his hand and offered her a warm, tipsy, toothy smile, and she couldn’t help but to smirk back at him.

“Jaime! Jai!” He called out over the music, using the hand he’d flagged her attention with to hold up an emptied rock glass, ice chinking against the walls of it. “I need a refill!” He slurred as he grinned happily.

Jai shook her head and laughed softly under her breath before she nodded and held up one finger, using her free hand to reach behind herself and grab a new bottle of bourbon from the display counter, having memorized the location of every bottle set up there. “Alright Henry,” she replied. “Just gimme one second okay?”

She didn’t wait before she returned her attention to the new guy and approached him, leaning over just slightly against the inner edge of the counter. “Hey there,” her voice spoke out just loud enough over the music for the man to hear. “Welcome to Gold-Wing, my name’s Jaime. What can I get to start you off for the night?” Straight and to the point. Any other day she may have been more animated with her approach, but she was exhausted and far from in a mood to try and be flirtatiously cute.

The man’s head lifted slowly, eyes about as dark as granite lifting slowly over her body to meet her eyes, and Jai felt the air hitch in her lungs, her heart nearly stopping. “Yeah actually,” his voice was low, deep, gruff, and a slight smirk pulled across his lips. “You can start me off… with a rum and coke, add lime.” He’d paused just long enough to let the slight, far from smooth comment sink in, his eyes bearing deep into Jai’s.

She just stood there, frozen in her place, unaware of the fact that she had pressed her palm down atop the bar-counter to keep herself balanced. Her eyes were glued to his, unable to look away no matter how desperately she needed to, and it was as if everything in her world had suddenly slammed on the breaks and shattered out of existence. It’s not… It can’t be… There’s no way… Breathe…

“S-sure.” Her voice betrayed her composure, stuttering over the first consonant of her acknowledgement to his order. “One moment…” With a grinding effort, she turned her back to him and strode back over to where Henry sat, all life seemingly having escaped her, leaving her body in a pale, trembling state. With trembling hands, she fought to unscrew the cork from the bottle of bourbon in her hands, feeling eyes on her back and ice in her veins, and she bit down on her bottom lip to try to maintain some semblance of composure. Thoughts were raging through her mind, making it near impossible for her to consciously focus on the bottle she was working so anxiously to open, and just as she was sure she’d gotten a good enough grip on the cork to jerk her hand back in an attempt to tug it off, her fingers felt nothing but air, cold air. The bottle slid from her shaking hands as if in slow motion, and conveniently, or rather, inconveniently, the song that had been playing on the speakers ended just as the bottle connected with the tile below and shattered against the floor.

All eyes were on her, she could feel it, and it unnerved her even further than she already had been. Her emotions doubled, overwhelming every ounce of her senses to a point where she was on the brink of either complete mental shut-down, or tears, and her gaze fell blankly to the floor beneath her feet as her hands moved to grasp the edge of the counter, desperately clinging onto it to keep herself standing upright. Never, never once, had she ever had trouble here at the club, her sanctuary, and never once had she broken a single thing here, not a glass nor bottle of beer or plate of food, nothing. She’d also never been so tired and anxious during a shift. Of all the days for a hundred firsts to pile up, today was just… well, no. There was no day that she ever would have welcomed a hundred first experiences, especially if the vast majority of them were negative and mentally unnerving.

She could feel her knees starting to wobble, begging to give out as she leaned to reach for a bar-sweeper that was kept beneath the counter, and her vision was starting to get blurry. That was him, that was him, and she was powerless to do anything about it and with a severe lacking of any way to prove it other than a victim's scarred memories, and she was about to go into a level of panic so high that she was quite literally seconds away from hitting the deck.

Anthony Michael Acerbi brushed a hand through his black hair, mussing it enough to remove any bit of order or unnaturalness. It was the one bit of rebelliousness he held towards his familia. There was nowhere in the rules that said he needed to constantly be dressed as if he were going to be attending a funeral, no matter how many times The Godfather was watched it was simply not his style. Anthony, or Tony as he preferred, though he preferred his nickname 'Bloody Tony' even more, liked to dress in comfortable clothes that fit whatever job he was on. Right now his job was to blend in and do next to nothing. Simply observe what was placed in front of him and perhaps later, much later, or never even more information would be presented that would allow them to act on it. This club was perhaps ones of the busiest within the city, and as such, quite the money maker. The rest of his familia was interested in money, so naturally they were interested in this club.

It was not much of a job, but these were the kind Tony liked after the ones that he really liked.

Last night had been one of those. Tony had not really cared that it was a judge, but he immensely enjoyed the fact that it had been a judge's family, and that family included one of the sexiest pieces of seventeen year old ass he'd ever had. Almost as good as the cop's, he thought to himself in a moment of enjoyable reliving the past. He wasn't sure what he liked more; the look of absolute and terrified fear on their faces, or the sudden wetness when he stole their innocence. He supposed it really didn't matter, as he always got both. Killing them was a far third, but that he still enjoyed as well, along with their pleading, screeching faces. Yea, he needed a day to relax after that night. In fact, he was still sore from the fucking he'd given last night, and his ears were ringing a little bit from the explosion that had made sure in triplicate the entire family was dead.

Flipping the hood of his comfortable sweatshirt over the mat of loose hairs, he walked into the club without much trouble after showing his ID. There wasn't a dress code unless it was a fight night, which this was not, and Tony liked the comfortable clothes he was wearing presently; a hooded sweatshirt, white tee beneath, and an equally dark pair of khaki's. The pants were bulky and covered the legally concealed snub .38 revolver that he carried at all times attached to his calf. He had far too many enemies to go anywhere unarmed, and it wasn't as if he could count on the police, could he? The thought brought a smile to his face as he lazily settled into the bar stool and folded his arms onto the bar.

“Jaime! Jai! I need a refill!”

Only because of the recent memory flash did the name set off any bells. The cops daughter was named Jaime, wasn't she?

“Alright Henry, just gimme one second okay?”

The voice was close enough, but the ringing in his ear from the last night was still chiming like an annoyingly soft bird. Could it really be her? The thought passed his mind, and immediately Tony dismissed it. He'd beaten her into a pulp, and while it hadn't been the most well executed of his disposals, it was what made him Bloody Tony. There was always a lot of blood, and that meant the job was done, finished, dead.

“Hey there, welcome to Gold-Wing, my name’s Jaime. What can I get to start you off for the night?”

For the briefest of seconds Tony's world slowed until he was sure he was dying, but then when nothing happened he realized that it was not a mistake. She was alive, alive and well. Briefly he wondered if she would recognize him, and then he knew she would. Tony had not been careful about showing his face to her, after all she was going to die after he had finished having his fun with her. There was a cop down the bar, and things could quickly get ugly, but he knew she would be afraid. Perhaps... Just perhaps there was a way out of this without getting an APB put on him. What a stupid mistake, was his last thought before lifting his head slowly and speaking quietly, "Yea actually... you can start me off... with a rum and coke, add lime." Then he let his eyes simply bore into hers. He remembered them, fear crystallized in tears, despair frozen in those darling and unblinking ocean blue. Bloody Tony grinned, he could almost taste the memory of her sweaty skin, bloodied and full of fear as he raped her tiny body.

“S-sure. One moment…”

Those words, that tone, and that look convinced Tony that he would be able to leave without an issue. So he took a moment or two more to consider his little... Mistake. She was once again petrified to stone and a sudden urge to take her just as he had all those years ago overcame Tony, he nearly reached for her right then, but the sudden shift in his body woke him from his daze. It was time to leave. He would figure out how to deal with this mistake later. With a casual glance down the bar from under his hood he noticed the cop was beginning to stare, fucking pig, was his only thought as he turned and slipped from the stool. The back door was a better option, so he took it.

-

Brandon Thomas Caito was strangely in a good mood this evening. He'd been on patrol for just over ten hours and typically just wanted a stiff drink, a look at Jai, and then some solid sleep. It was such bullshit that rookies got all of shittiest details, but he put up with it all with only his silent curses to keep himself sane. Being a cop in this city was a good gig, and one he had wanted since he was the age of eight. It had started with the TV shows, comics, toy cars, and action figures. Then just as quickly it went from fantasy to reality when his father, a fire-fighter, had introduced him to a friend on the blue side. Brandon had gotten to go on a ride-a-long, then started spending as much time as he could down at the station. While his mother had worried, his father had known that Brandon was going to be a cop whether he tried to stop it or not, and had decided to do all he could to get Brandon in with the men he knew on the force.

High school, college, the academy had all been a blur. His strict upbringing had kept him well within the legal side of partying, drinking and co-eds were the only substances Brandon had ever indulged in. His grades were good, physical fitness even better, and to boot the Blue's always enjoyed stealing a family member from the other side of the city.

But none of that was the reason Brandon was excited.

Tonight is the night! He had made the promise to his partner Chavez, after explaining in a moment of boredom induced confessions, to her about the bartender at Golden Eagle he had developed a crush over. Jaime. Every cop knew or knew about her dad. How he had nearly single-handily brought the majority of the familia behind bars, at least all the important ones. Brandon only knew about the man, having joined the force after his murder and Jai's rape and near murder. The entire police force visited this club from time to time to check up on her now, and even though the investigation had only given them a name 'Bloody Tony' was perhaps the most wanted man in the state. Unfortunately nobody knew what he looked like, or if his name was even Tony, and even if it was half the members of the Mafia along the East Coast were named Tony. Still, they tried, and for Brandon, well, it had led to the biggest crush of his life.

Jaime was pretty, sexy even, but Brandon didn't care about that nearly as much as how cute and innocent she seemed.

At first he thought it was just over protectiveness like he had for his sisters. After that confession to Chavez, she had convinced him it was not nearly the same thing, and tonight he was going to ask her on a date. That was why he was so happy, nothing to worry about, even if she said no he would have at least asked her. Brandon didn't like leaving things unsaid or undone, so the fact that he was going to ask was enough for him, and when she threw him that flirty grin earlier it only had strengthened his resolve. He observed her easy handling of Henry and the arrival of the newcomer. Brandon had taken Henry to the station twice before, but it had never required any paperwork and the man even offered to clean up Brandon's car after he had left some of what he had drunk the night before in the back seat. The newcomer was nobody Brandon recognized, but that wasn't horribly abnormal for him, it was a rather large city and he was a new cop. It wouldn't take him long, but he was not nearly as good with faces as Jaime was.

Turning his attention back to Jaime, Brandon felt his spine tingle, why wasn't she moving?

Jaime was one of the more active bartenders, and her nearly endless energy was another thing he adored. She was just napping, Brandon reminded himself, maybe it had been a long day? Only there was something off about the way she was acting. As a cop his job was to know when something was wrong, and the moment he caught the hooded figure flinch, before glancing down the bar, Brandon knew something was wrong. However, he was unsure exactly what was going on, so he glanced behind to see if the hooded man had been looking at something else. When he turned back, the man was gone, and Jaime had just dropped a bottle. Something is really wrong. Brandon was on his feet in a flash, and behind the bar just in time to catch Jai as she toppled forwards. Catching her gently, he looked once more for the hooded figure and only saw the back door closing. Well it wouldn't due to go chasing the man now. Not to mention, Brandon was far too concerned about Jaime at this point.

"Jai?" He queried gently, while giving her a little shake as he lifted her to her feet. It was incredible how light she felt, compared to handling the normal drunken slobs that were part of a rookies duties on the force. "Jam?" He said a bit louder, and more insistently with another shake, this one a little firmer. "Are you okay? You need a break?"

For years, Jaime had been waiting for this moment; the time when Bloody Tony finally brought his horrific face back around to stare into her eyes once more, and for the last time. She had been convinced that he’d known about her miraculous survival, her near impossible swim across the water and back to shore, the way she’d somehow managed to drag herself a long enough distance to wind up on the doorstep of her closest family friends. She’d been convinced that he’d known they found her limp and near lifeless body on their front porch in a heap of blood and grit, about the paramedics rushing her to hospital, her long and agonizing four month recovery for just the physical wounds, never mind the permanent mental scarring. All those years, she’d thought he knew, and she’d done her absolute best to keep her head down, make her presence as little known as possible, make it that much harder for him to find her. All those years, and it was suddenly clear by the look of misery that reflected back in his eyes that he hadn’t known of her survival, until now.

The environment of the bar blurred and faded, and the thing she knew it was flooded with dark, murky, icy water, trapping her far beneath the surface, and she was immediately struggling for air. Her lungs felt near to bursting with the need for oxygen, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing seemed to come, nothing seemed to sequester the need. Pain started to throb in the back of her head, and a thick smog seemed to eclipse itself around her, deeming her body entirely useless, engulfing her form in tight, strong arms. It growled into her ear, something deep and unclear, giving her form a couple of sturdy shakes. She struggled against it, unintelligible sounds of denial and resistance escaping her lips as her eyes stung with unshed salty tears. The surface was there, just outside of her reach, and Jai was desperately prying at it, silently pleading for reality to come back into existence and save her from the sudden nightmare. Much as she wanted and needed it though, the nightmare had now officially become reality, and with Bloody Tony now knowing of her existence and place of work, it was only a matter of time before he figured everything else out too.

In the midst of Jaime’s haze, one of the floor workers at the bar had taken it upon themselves to rush into the back to fetch the owner, Melanie Carmichael. The woman was only two years older than Jai, attractive, and smart. She stood at a comfortable five feet seven inches, with a slender frame and proportionate features, bright blue eyes and flowing, wavy sienna hair. She had a smile to kill for and the looks to die for, but, just like Jaime, it was well known that she was very much a hands-off young woman. Indeed, Mel and her parents had been close family friends of the Marks’ since before either woman was ever born, and as such, Mel and Jai had nearly been raised together, forming a friendship strong enough to question whether or not they were actually related; it was Mel who had found Jaime on the front stoop of her family’s home all those years ago, and the two were nearly inseparable ever since, especially when Jai’s mom passed.

That evening, Mel had been busying herself with paperwork and a glass of wine in her office at the back of the club, lounging in a pair of skin-hugging jeans and a flowing brown halter top, her heels kicked off to the side somewhere beneath her desk and her legs sprawled out in front of her beneath the desktop. Having someone abruptly crashing into her office and barking off disjointed details about what had happened up front at the bar was enough to cause the woman to immediately rush from her seat and push past the person in her doorway to get up there, a surge of panic settling into her veins strongly enough that she hardly even noticed the fact she’d forgotten to put shoes back on.

Rounding the corner of the bar, Mel quickly took in the sight behind the counter and the worrying patrons on the other side, her dearest friend being held supportively in the arms of a young police officer she was remotely familiar with. “Brandon!” She called to him, scurrying around to the swinging door that led behind the counter. “What happened? What’s going on? Is she okay?” With quick and careful strides, making sure not to accidentally wind up with a bit of glass wedged into her bare foot, Mel leaned towards the pair, her hands fluttering upwards to curve around Jaime’s cheeks. “Hey, Jaime,” her voice was raised slightly, tone firm. “Babe look at me, talk to me.”

It was then that some semblance of life seemed to return to Jai’s form, and her eyes blinked, the fog dissipating and water rushing out from beneath her feet. She dragged in a sharp gasp of air, near choking on it as the bonds of reality quickly started to settle back in. “T-T-Tony…” Her voice was small, meek, stammering in sync with how hard she was shaking. “H-h-he’s h-here…”

Mel’s eyes widened a bit then, and she immediately rounded her attention around the bar, seeing none but familiar faces, before her attention returned to Jai and then up to meet Brandon’s eyes. “I think we need some fresh air, hmm? Come on, we’ll go out around to the back lot; there’s some patio chairs out there so she can sit.” Her words were quick and solid, clear, unfaltering, and orderly enough to get the point across, while still holding a semblance of politeness. Without a moment’s hesitation, Mel stepped out from behind the bar, wasting no time at all in leading the two from the front of the club and around through the back hallways, down a corridor, and outside through a set of heavy double doors. The air was cool and crisp, refreshing even to Mel after cooping herself up in a stuffy office for so long, though it was chilled enough to bring goosebumps to the woman’s arms as well.

She waited until Brandon had helped Jai settle down into one of the chairs just outside the door, her gaze watching his every movement with fixation, reflecting strong protectiveness and care, and with a brief hesitation, she knelt down in front of her friend, meeting the girl’s eyes. “Jai? Honey talk to me, please. You’ve got us all very worried here. What happened? Tell me everything, you can do it.”

Though the fog and water had cleared, Jai was still in a bit of a haze, losing track of time and motion as the world around her shifted and changed, and a sudden cold air was licking at her skin, causing her to drawn in on herself with a hard shiver. Stricken hues met those of Mel’s, and then Brandon’s, then back to Mel, and she swallowed hard, trying to regain her bearings. “I-I was… getting someone a drink, a-and… he was there… watching… he knows… he knows now… he’s going to find me Mel, he’s going to kill me. He’s gonna come after me, it’s all over, it’s over. What do I do? What do I do Mel, what do I do? He found me… he was here…” What started out as a slow recount of the events that had just occurred, quickly turned into a rapid conjunction of panicked phrases, and Jai’s eyes were wild with terror and pain. It broke Mel’s heart to see her like that, hear how shaken she’d become, and worry settled into her slowly and deeply, engraining itself into her bloodstream.

“We’re going to send you home,” Melanie said slowly, softly, after a brief moment of thought. “Right Brandon?” Her gaze lifted to meet the man’s. “He’s going to take you home and stay with you to make sure you’re safe and help you. I’ll run the bar for the night and get Pratt to cover your shift tomorrow night too. And don’t you worry about it one single fraction of a second or even attempt to say otherwise. I want to make sure you’re okay above all else, and I know that right now is a really tough time for you. I’d rather you be at home and know that someone upstanding is helping to take care of you and protect you. Right Brandon?” Her attention flickered to Brandon then, a look in her eyes that dared him to say otherwise.

Jai swallowed hard, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth for a long moment of silence before she finally nodded her head the slightest bit, and her own eyes lifted to look into Brandon’s, her gaze similar to that of a lost and broken puppy. “You will? You’re sure that’s alright?”

“Yes,” Mel cut in before he would have a chance, her attention going back to Jai. “Yes he will and it’s no problem at all. In fact he’s going to take you right now. I gotta head back inside though babe; I’ll call you first thing tomorrow to check in.” With that, Mel leaned to kiss Jai’s cheek quickly, her gaze then lifting to meet Brandon’s one final time before she hurried back inside, leaving the pair alone.

Silence hung in the air for a long moment then, and Jai swallowed, sliding her arms over and around her chest to feebly seek warmth, her gaze having deflected to stare off at a place on the pavement between them. “I won’t say it around her,” she murmured quietly, her voice trembling, choked with emotion. “And I don’t know why I’m saying it to you now, but… I’m scared, Brandon… I’m scared to be alone…”

Brandon had just been about to call an ambulance when Melanie showed up from seemingly out of nowhere. Immediately he noticed her bare feet, but with typical awareness and intelligence she was able to avoid the glass without a warning. Something about her touch woke Jaime from her sudden physical state, and Brandon knew that she no longer needed EMT's. When the questions began, the only thing he was able to slip in was that Tony, fucking Bloody Tony, had already given them the slip and when Melanie gave him a questioning look asking why he had not chased the nightmare of a man, he could only shake his head. It would not have made a difference. The man was like a shadow with a sickening appetite for young girls and toying with cops. The only thing that a rookie cop could do was report the situation, and Brandon fired up his radio on the way to the back. He gave his report in brief, concise, and slightly angered words that any good cop would when faced with a situation where they could little with all their considerable power to help.

The fresh air was a relief, and Brandon took a deep breath. He had not realized that he was as tense as a coiled snake.

As Melanie comforted, consoled, and began to build Jaime's confidence all Brandon could say or do with the fiery woman there was nod and give terse, brave answers to her machine-gun style questions. Yes, of course he would take Jaime home, and yes, of course they'd watch over her. The fear was real, not only for Jaime, Melanie, and the other victims of Bloody Tony but the police as well. This man, if he was indeed a man, seemed to slip through their fingers like a ghost whenever they came close to catching him. The worst part was that whenever Bloody Tony had a victim in his grasp, his fingers were like steel traps that did not come undone until his victim was dead. Except for Jaime, and I'm going to keep it that way. Brandon decided with a final curt nod to Melanie as she walked briskly off back into the club to invariably set everything right for giving Jaime a few days off.

“I won’t say it around her,” she murmured quietly, her voice trembling, choked with emotion. “And I don’t know why I’m saying it to you now, but… I’m scared, Brandon… I’m scared to be alone…”

His heart gave a tug and all of Brandon's emotions threatened to spill out right then. He wanted to tell Jaime that she didn't need to be alone, and he could be there for the rest of her life if she would have him. Not a good time for a proposal, dufus. That thought bottled all the emotions, save two, right back up. The first was anger, anger at himself for not having been able to protect not only a civilian, but Jaime, the girl everyone knew and everyone loved from the evil that still lurked in their city. Anger at himself for not having been able to come forward earlier and give Jaime just the ounce or two more of courage that could have made it possible for her to speak up moments ago; enabling Brandon to catch the piece of shit that had ruined her life and was trying to do it again. Finally, anger at the rest of the force that he was proudly a member of for not catching this dickbag sooner. The man was pure evil, and whatever was protecting him was certainly either unnatural or at least powerful enough that the simple forces of good could do nothing.

The second emotion came on even stronger with a quick glance at Jaime. She was scared, frightened, lonely, and so vulnerable that a surge swam through Brandon's heart, lungs, and head briefly leaving him unable to speak. It was empathy. He felt bad for her, for failing her, for the police that failed her, for the failure of protecting her father before her, he felt absolutely horrible and he wanted to fix it. Deciding that he needed to speak, and to do something he sat on the chair next to Jaime. Careful not to get too close, but also placing his powerful and steady around her shoulders. He gave her a brilliant smile, one that he reserved for nieces, nephews, and his sisters.

"I'm going to make it okay." He knew that common platitudes would not work, and besides he had decided that he was going to make it okay. It wasn't just going to be okay, he would make it so. Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and tucked her small body into his larger frame. Inhaling her scent briefly, for a moment, everything seemed alright until the world came swirling back into focus. He had stuff to do.

Brandon broke the embrace after a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

Reaching first for his radio, he decided against it quickly as this wasn't official business just yet. Instead he pulled his cell phone and first dialed his partners number.

-

Michelle Maria Chavez was lazing in her comfortable, but untidy apartment on one of the overstuffed sofa's she purchased on her Sergeant's salary. Not a typical girl in anyways, she was approaching thirty rapidly much to her own chagrin, and she'd taken perhaps one of the hardest careers for a women headfirst. Being a cop was tough, being a Latino cop was harder, and being a female Latino cop was even harder then that. It probably could only have been harder if her Uncle Alejandro hadn't also been a cop. She had worked her tail off every step of the way, first fighting her way through the academy and making sure she passed every physical and mental standard at least better than half of the men. Then she had to work her way through the prejudice that already existed on the force. That had taken saving not only a few lives, but having the good grace to ask for help when she'd needed it. Michelle, or 'Chavez' as she was typically referred to had learned that the hard way after being shot twice in the back during what was supposed to have been a standard traffic stop.

Once she had learned what being and having a partner meant, it had gotten much easier.

The guys thought of her as one of them now. They treated her like one, except that they were slightly overprotective of course, and made it quite hard to get a date unless it was with one of their own. She'd dated a few, but never from her precinct and never above or below her pay grade, just to make sure all the proper appearances were equal. Chavez quickly became known as a good partner to have, especially in the Latino parts of town where her heritage and first language enabled her to quickly calm down most situations that arose. She was quickly promoted to Sergeant, but only a few of the most racist cops had begrudged her that. They all understood that she was more than qualified, and had fully deserved it.

The hard part for Michelle was now she was teaching young kids, and it was tough to realize she was getting older and the rookies were getting younger. It wasn't so much a headache, as a worry, always praying that they'd survive long enough to learn enough to become good cops.

Brandon, her current partner-in-training, was well on his way to becoming a good cop.

The hardest part about teaching him was all the questions he asked, on-and-off duty, and the fact that he was absolutely gorgeous. It was becoming harder and harder to keep to her own rules of only dating equals when she was stuck in a patrol car for ten hours with a man that was not only good looking, but kind, gentle, and incredibly intelligent. She almost disliked him for being so... Good. If only he was a douchebag... He'd be so much easier to ignore in that respect. Chavez also dated women, and her only defense at this point were a string of one night stands with either sex that kept her from salivating over her young partner.

Almost as if it could hear her thoughts, her phone rang, and it was Brandon.

"Hello?"

"Chavez, I'm at Golden Eagle... Jai saw him, saw Bloody Tony."

"What!? Did you get him!?"

"Nope, he was gone before anyone knew it was him. He... He might have been checking in on Jai, and well, she's a bit shaken up. I'm going to take her back to her apartment... Do you think we could talk Chief into getting us assigned to her for a couple days, until we can set up something more permanent?"

"Uhhh, maybe, I'll give him a ring. I'll meet you over there later and let you know. Is Jaime okay?"

"Yes, she'll be fine, I- we'll make sure of it."

"Okay Brandon, talk to you soon."

With that Michelle hung up with a sigh. She knew the story, everyone on the force knew the story, but she knew a bit more about why Brandon would want to be the one protecting Jaime. Of course it had to be today. When he was going to finally grow some cajones and talk to her. Chavez knew she was the one who had convinced him, in an effort to push him away and give her another reason not to be interested in him. If there was one weakness Brandon had, it was talking to someone he really liked. It wasn't as if he was shy, he could flirt and pick up just about any woman in any bar, but Brandon definitely had an issue talking to Jaime. And she was the only one he had ever shown any real interest in. With another sigh, Chavez decided to call the Chief, she knew he would approve until they could work something out. With Jaime the cops would bend over backwards, they had to, she was one of them whether she liked it or not.

-

Brandon led Jaime by the hand to his patrol car after Melanie had taken care of everything in the Golden Eagle. He sat her in the front seat, and took his customary place behind the wheel. She hadn't said much, and he wondered if she was just deciding how much she could trust him or if it was something else. A glance told him it was probably something else, of course she trusted him! He was a police officer for crying out loud, that comforted him enough to start the car and head out, but not towards Jaime's house. He explained a second later, "I don't sleep in my uniform." He added a grin for the sake of lightening the mood.

Stopping at his apartment he brought Jaime up with him, and let her carry a bag full of his clothes and toiletries back down to the car while he carried a cot, not trusting that her couches would be comfortable enough. The ride to her apartment was quiet, and so was the walk up the steps. Once they were inside, Brandon closed and locked the door behind them. "Sergeant Chavez will probably be here soon to let us know what's going on... Where should I set up, or, do you wanna order some chow first?"

At first, Brandon’s silence and slow movement to take up the seat beside her gave cause for Jai to worry that she’d said too much, been too honest, made herself to look like the fragile, delicate, innocent girl that she really was, rather than the strong and confident, flirtatiously outgoing woman that she portrayed. She feared that he, in now seeing her true self, was put off, seeing that she was a lot more to handle than her work appearance and personality gave off. He believed her, of course, and that was good enough, but at the same time she couldn’t help but to worry if he was contemplating having her committed, given that her sanity was fast slipping through the cracks in that moment. But he didn’t; instead, he slid his arm around her shoulders, something that she’d have flinched or ducked away from if it were any other man, and he smiled, oh did he smile.

She felt her heart warm and swell as she looked aside to meet his eyes, observe that boyish, handsome smile, and Jai found herself leaning into his side, pressing herself into his hold. She found comfort in it, warmth, and a sense of protection and safety that she’d never had before with anyone, not since her father had been murdered before her eyes at least. The comfort was only solidified when he did finally speak, offering a finite resolve to keep her safe and bring down her enemy for good, in not so many words, and when he leaned in to engulf her into his embrace, brushing his lips against her forehead… Her heart fluttered, skipped a beat and then worked double time to make up for it. She felt color rise in her cheeks and a shy smile pry at the corners of her mouth. It was almost embarrassing really, getting to giddily worked up over a hug a peck on the forehead, but it was Brandon, and she’d had a soft spot for him ever since she’d first met him that night at the bar. She still remembered it clear as day, and mentally cringed every time she remembered how girlishly she’d smiled at him, how she’d nearly knocked over her male co-bartender in her quick approach to greet Brandon and welcome him to the club... Truly, something about the man brought out the long since buried and destroyed girlish-romantic in her. She was still working out whether or not she liked it, but in good time, certainly that would sort itself out.

The moment, as well as the sudden warm haze that Jai had melted into, quickly and abruptly ended when he pulled back with a final soft squeeze of her form and pulled out his cell phone instead. At first, she felt a pang of disappointment and rejection, but it became immediately clear that his reasoning was innocent, well-intended. He’d called Michelle, as Jai referred to the woman that he was partnered with on the force, to give her the update on everything going on, to find out about placing Jai under protected surveillance until the tides went back down. It was enough to make a tiny, relieved smile form over her lips as she gazed up at him, and idly she found herself wondering his intentions. After all, the man was at the bar nearly every night, and always from the start of her shift until the very end. It would have made sense if he’d been a raving alcoholic; but he wasn’t, in fact, she’d started to notice that he didn’t seem to drink much at all on his nights at the bar, but he certainly talked to her a bit, and his gaze was most always fixated on her too. For any other man it would have put her off, scared her, made her uncomfortable, but with him, knowing that he was on the force, being introduced to him formally by the police chief and Michelle when he’d been hired, and that almost impossible to resist attitude her carried, both physically in his expressions and demeanor and in his personality, well, she wasn’t threatened. In fact, she was drawn to him like a moth to flame.

Again, she was pulled from her haze when he encouraged her to her feet, leading her away from the building and out to the parking lot, his hand finding its way into hers. She found herself pressing in close to him, her fingers gripping firmly around his hand for support and protection, as it was dark and dimly lit in the parking lot, and there was no telling who was out there waiting for her. Once they’d gotten to his car, she’d worked herself back up into a panic all over again, thankfully at a lessened height than it initially had been, and she was grateful when he closed and locked the doors to his safe, impenetrable steel box. From that point on though, she was silent, her memories and imagination far too occupied for her to even focus much on the changing surroundings, or the fact that he made a left turn when he should have made a right to get her back to her apartment. And when they did arrive at his apartment, she had half-hoped that he was intending for her to stay there with him for the night; the best possible way to keep her safe and undetected; leading any potential followers to the wrong address. It wasn’t so though, and she wasn’t about to beg him to let her sleep on his couch for the evening. So instead, she held quiet, helping him where possible, and it wasn’t much longer before they pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building.

It was nearing the end of August, and thus the end of the summer season in the run-down city, so the nights were starting to get cooler while the days were as warm and humid as ever. The maintenance tech that managed the central air systems hadn't changed the settings of the building yet, so the moment that they walked through the front door, they were met with icy cold air. Any other night Jai would have been fine with it, indifferent, but she'd felt as if the warmth and life in her body had completely vanished from existence the moment she had seen that Tony's eyes and recognized his voice. The memory caused her to shudder, and subconsciously she pressed closer to Brandon as she led him up the stairs and towards the third floor, where her apartment was.

It wasn't overly fancy or expensive, but it was tasteful and comfortable. The color scheme consisted of soft browns and baby blues, those being two of her favorite colors. The living room furniture was leather and anything with wood grain was cherry-wood. In her bedroom, she had a full sized oak dresser with matching vanity and bed-frame, and the bed itself was queen sized with a tempurpedic memory foam mattress, extra soft. The kitchen had been something she'd had no part in the design of, nor the time to redesign, but the granite counter-tops and beech-wood cabinets with stainless steel appliances were nice enough that she couldn't complain, especially not with the island bar-counter- roomy enough to seat up to five people on.

The light fragrance of honey and vanilla floated into her nose when she finished with all five locks on the outside of the door and pushed it inwards, causing her nerves to all but turn to jell-o with the amount of calm it brought out in her. Home, where she knew that she was safe and no one could get to her that wasn't expressly invited. Home, the one place she knew she could be entirely herself, with no fronts and no barriers and no walls, and not a single person to ruin that for her. Home... where she was often alone, and incredibly lonely, secretly longing for the company of someone that could, in some mystical way, make a bad day turn good with nothing more than a simple smile.

Leaning down in the darkness, Jaime unfastened the straps of her pumps and slid them off, allowing her bare feet to sink into the soft white carpet on the floor beneath her as she heard Brandon fastening the locks on the door behind her. The darkness didn't allow her to see very much, especially not with the late hour that it was, but she knew the layout of her apartment like the lines of her palms, and there was just enough light entering through the window of the sliding glass door in the back of the room- which led to a small balcony overlooking the city- for her to make out the shadow of her couch.

Any other time, she'd have shrugged out of her work clothes and been clad in none but her underwear and bra by the time she got to the couch, but with Brandon there she knew better, and given the night and day she'd had, having clothes on or off wasn't really going to affect her ability to relax. So instead, she quietly padded across the carpet, nodding her head gently in response to what Brandon had said. Turning slowly, Jai sank down onto the cushion, drawing her knees up toward her chest and tucking her legs beside herself before she leaned over and pressed her cheek into the arm, her gaze peering across the room to Brandon. “I’m not very hungry,” she admitted quietly, her voice small. “But if you want something to eat I’ve got plenty of stuff in the fridge; I’d be happy to make you something. What are you in the mood for? I can make you a drink too if you like, what’ll it be? Gin, whiskey, rum…? I’ve got some brandy too I think, and vodka is always a staple for drinks. Unless you just want a beer or something?” Before she even knew it, she was listing off the inventory of her bar-fridge as if she was back behind the counter at work, talking to Brandon as if he was a customer. She wasn’t accustomed to having people over, despite the fact that the place was spacious and designed enough to be a perfect weekend get-together spot. But she wasn’t comfortable around people, no matter who they were or how close, and most days she wasn’t even fully comfortable with just herself there either. The worst part was that it was Brandon, someone she’d been interested in for some time, and now there he was, in her apartment, under less… informal pretenses. It had her on a bit of an edge, especially with the way everything else had gone on, and she fidgeted listlessly as she looked over at him, caught between getting up to head into the kitchen and just staying comfortably where she was repeatedly. “I’d be happy to serve you,” she added on a final note, her voice pitching slightly, revealing just how nervous and unsure she was.

Brandon couldn't help but smile at Jaime's sudden nervousness. It was easily distinguished from the paralyzing fear from earlier, and to the cop it meant it was more than okay and allow just a bit more of the tension slip from the situation. The fact that so much had already slipped from Jaime's shoulders was good to see, he knew he had made the right choice in bringing her home. One of the most satisfying things that nobody in the Academy had ever told Brandon was the sudden conclusion situations could come to, and you wouldn't even know it until people started worrying about other stuff. For a second he wondered vaguely if the other stuff for Jaime included him. He thought it was actually possible, and that turned his grin into a smile for the briefest of seconds before he turned to the side and set the cot down. It was heavy, and figuring out where to put it could come later. That last little comment Jai had made certainly started Brandon thinking about other things, and he used the opportunity to hide his flush in the shadows.

Feeling the heat dissipate from his face Brandon turned back towards Jaime, but angled for the kitchen and started walking.

"How about we mix things up a little? I'll serve you, for me a gin & tonic, and for some..." His hands and eyes searched the bar briefly, "Captain and Coke, for being quite the brave little thing."

As he began to fix the drinks over some half-heard protests, Brandon wondered why it was so hard to even flirt with Jaime? Maybe that was what Chavez meant. He thought, I can't treat her like any other woman because she isn't like any other one to me. Damn, this is hard! The drinks were done rather quickly, and he returned to the living room stepping carefully in the dark. Before handing over the drink, he pulled the curtain over the door to the balcony. The dim sunlight of a falling sun cascaded over the well decorated apartment. Upon turning, for a moment Brandon was struck rather breathless. Jaime was still sitting on the couch, her head arched and twisted toward him. The sunlight caught her deep blue eyes just perfectly, and captured her moments in what would have been a very expensive picture had anyone managed to capture the snapshot. It was only Brandon that would ever see the sight, however, and he was totally good with that.

"Wow..." When he realized Jaime was expecting him to explain what was wow, he grinned with a blush, she would know it was a lie if he tried to tell her anything else. "Your eyes, they're beautiful."

Walking over he handed Jaime her drink, and gave it a soft clink with his glass. After a sip, he sat next to her on the rather comfortable couch. "Nice place, and I suppose I didn't really need the cot. This sofa is comfy." He gave a little wiggle, and wink, trying rather desperately to make her not dwell too long on his previous comment. With a wry grin, as he realized it wasn't quite working yet, he added, "I'm not quite comfortable though. Bathroom? I'll throw on a change of clothes, and shower if you don't mind." She pointed, and Brandon left in a slightly embarrassed hurry to grab his bag. Man that was stupid. The confident, strong, intelligent, and rather sociable cop felt as if he had just bobbled all of that with the grace of a horse running on ice. He knew that he had been a half second away from spilling his guts and whatever interest he thought he felt coming from Jaime had to be placed on the back burner because of the situation. It was going to take quite some doing to keep it up, but he would do it and only after the situation was resolved would he ask Jaime for anything. With that decided, he began to strip and turned on the hot water.

-

Tony smiled a rather dangerously clever little smile. His finger snapped the shot that Brandon thought nobody would get. The look on her face made his cock surge in it's confines, but he batted down the urge with practiced ease. Instead snapping a few more photos of the apartment building itself, street in front, and buildings around. Of course those pigs assumed I wouldn't double back. What man in his right mind would? They were right about one thing though, Tony had no intention of acting on any of the information he was gathering for quite some time. As stupid as the pigs could be, they did do security very well when there was an active interest. Of course in a few days, a week or two at the most, the interest would die down and it would just be Jaime again. Jaime Marks, I'm so glad we're going to get to meet again! Tony slid off his perch, and began the long walk down through the apartment building back to his car.

The only question here was whether to let the bosses know.

They had learned to give Tony a rather long leash, but Detective Marks had been a pet project for everyone left, and they would probably want to know. There would not be an issue with his failure, they all knew that if Bloody Tony was caught he would gladly die for them. And that was true. The thought crossed his mind without a blink, death was favorable to ratting on his friends and la familia. Not to mention either that he had one of the best reputations as an enforcer, and most of the other ones had more than a few mistakes to clean up. Tony only messed up, maybe, one in twenty jobs, while the others were more of a one in three, or one in five. He felt fairly confident that they would not be upset, but at the same time they also might interfere. Some of them were too smart for their own good, or not nearly smart enough. Some would want him to fix the mistake immediately, while others might want someone else to fix his mistake.

Tony would have neither.

He stepped into his car, and headed out of the city. Well someone else is going to have to case Golden Eagle, that's for sure, I can just tell them that a cop recognized me, or thought he did. That'll work. Then in a week or two I'll take a small vacation, something I've done before, and they won't question it. That's when I'll deal with Jaime... I can hardly wait!

-

Sgt Chavez had dressed rather haphazardly as was typical for her off duty. She was wearing a pay of grey sweatpants that hugged her slim hips lightly, and a black sleeveless shirt that revealed her midriff when she lifted her hand above her head to stretch. A pair of Jordan's, her watch, and aviator shades completed the outfit. Her hair was not in a ponytail for once, but rather flowing freely in the messy way her abuela hated. She drove her black Camaro, her only concession to shopping as women should, with practiced ease flying through the streets and staying just within legal limits. She'd called the Chief already, and he was working on a schedule of patrolmen to follow Jaime Parks around starting tomorrow, so for the evening it was just Chavez and Brandon. Hopefully just him... She thought briefly, wondering if the two of them had finally fucking... Fucked! It was like watching two steroided freaks jump around during a street fight, shouting, cursing, and taunting each other while they were both too scared to throw the first punch.

With a sigh, Chavez glanced at the oncoming traffic briefly, a smart little red Mustang was tearing in the opposite direction.

The driver was smiling, looking oddly pleased with himself, black hair, and black eyes with a rather dangerous glint to them. Michelle briefly contemplated pulling him over, or calling him in, but then decided fuck it she was off duty and traffic stops always turned into something more when you were off duty. The rest of the trip to Jaime's passed without instance, and she rang the buzzer to Parks apartment while ripping off the placard that displayed her name as the resident. Rookies, she thought with a brief shake of her head while pocketing the placard.

"Hello?" Was the voice on the other end, not horribly frightened, but still a bit shaken.

"Hola chica, it's Sgt Chavez, Officer Caito- er, Brandon's partner."

"Oh, yea he said you were coming, come on in."

The door buzzed, and Chavez took the stairs as was typically her style. The place was cool, frigid almost, and she could feel her nipples hardening even through the sports bra she wore underneath the sleeveless. Upon arriving, she knocked, and listened to all the noises as at least three, probably five, locks were opened before she could step inside. With a friendly smile, Chavez finally removed her shades, pushing them over her forehead. Taking Jaime in with a glance, she remembered first the battered and bruised victim that she had interviewed, then the much more confident bartender that probably had more crushes on her than the head cheerleader. With a curt little nod she stated, "Good. You look good Jaime, it's been awhile." She looked much closer to the strong willed, flirty, and rather sexy bartender than the victim. She was just a little shaken. Reaching in for a hug, and taking the opportunity to remember just how sexy Jaime was, Chavez then moved past her towards the little island bar.

Tossing a notepad on the table, and clicking a pen ready, Chavez turned back to Jaime. "Anything new you can remember about this guy Jai? And what the fuck is Brandon doing," She'd just realized the rookie was taking a shower, "Que idiota..." With a shake of her head, and incredulous laugh she continued, "He's a little awkward, si? He hasn't been... Hmm... He's been a good little boy, yea?" It was a way to ask if he'd said anything, like he promised he was going to, but also just to double check that he hadn't made any other rookie mistakes.

It was a stark difference to be getting served, especially in her own home and by Brandon of all people. It wasn’t that she thought him incapable of pouring a drink, it was just that, well, the roles were always on the reverse and the setting was always public, calm, safe. Somehow, in a short matter of hours- no, seconds- everything in the world had turned upside down and backwards, and Jai was lost as to where to even being trying to make sense of it all. Still, his comment about bravery caused a hint of color to rise in her cheeks, and she quickly pulled herself back into reality, sitting up just enough to look off in the direction he’d gone. “You’re my guest; you’re not supposed to be serving me; I’m supposed to be serving you… Brandon.” It was too late though; she could hear the glasses sliding over the counter followed by the soft echo of his approaching footsteps, and the next she knew he’d drawn back the door curtains to the balcony, allowing soft sunset light to flood into the room and bask it in a soft orange glow.

The look that suddenly overtook his features was enough to leave Jai tilting her head just the slightest bit more, curiosity forming in her gaze. “Hmm?” She inquired softly when he made his comment. “What is it?” The response caused her to turn her face away in order to hide the color that instantly rose in her cheeks and the girlishly shy smile that traced the corners of her lips. “It’s not that big of a deal,” she murmured dismissively, softly, managing to regain her composure just in time for him to round the couch and offer up the drink he’d made. Taking it with a gentle hand, her eyes lifted to meet his, attempting to decipher his gaze for anything… well, anything really, and as he lifted his own glass to his lips, she lifted hers in sync, being far less modest with it. In fact, by the time he got settled on the seat beside her, she was already about halfway through with it, and she decided it best to hold off for a moment, lest he start to worry that she was an alcoholic or hitting it hard to drown out the evening’s events. Instead, she lowered the glass to hold it against her knee, sitting up just enough to more comfortably look over at him, and a smile formed across her face when he admitted that her couch was very comfortable.

“I told you so,” she remarked with a knowing look. “You should have believed me.” The slight smugness in her expression faded into puzzlement as she watched him shifting in his seat, easily picking up on his sudden awkwardness, and subconsciously she tucked her lower lip between her teeth. It only took a moment for him to speak up about what he was so fidgety about, and Jai offered him a practiced, polite smile, nodding her head just slightly as she lifted her free hand to point down the hall. “On the left, across from the bedroom.” She informed him quietly, watching with a slight frown as he wasted no time at all in hurrying from the living area, out of her direct presence. In silence then, she waited and listened until the sound of the water pipes in the shower growled to life, and she found herself heaving a deep sigh that she hadn’t even realized she been holding.

More alcohol. Lifting her hand, Jai finished off the rest of her glass and reluctantly pushed herself to her feet, her gaze roving around the inside of her apartment cautiously. Paranoia was a common occurrence for her, but with all that had happened, she was on her highest nerve, pushing the barrier against sanity to its near breaking point. If they didn’t catch Tony, and soon, there was no telling how long it was going to be before someone had her forcibly committed, and Jai could only hope and wish on the former. In the meantime though, in an attempt to try and relax herself, she moved back into the kitchen to set about making herself another drink. The options were various and plentiful, and on any other night could easily have made a simple mixed drink based on her mood and how her day had gone, but at current she was fried, and what she ended up mixing into her glass was a little bit of just about every bottle of alcohol she had. With a sigh, she leaned her hip into the counter, sliding her eyes closed as she lifted the glass to her lips and drew in a small sip.

To say the least, it was bitter, and had the strongest burn she’d ever felt, even as a bartender, but it was tolerable, and there was no doubt at all in her mind that it was going to do the trick without a need for a single additional drink save for maybe a glass of water. Still, she remained in the kitchen for the time being, distracting and pacing herself by counting to twenty mentally in between each hearty sip that she took. The glass was about halfway done when the buzzer went off, catching Jai so strongly that she yelped and nearly dropped the glass, her breath seizing in her lungs and heart skipping a beat before doubling in speed. It took her a moment before she remembered that Brandon had informed there would be a guest, and she swallowed hard, shaking her head as if to dismiss the sudden fright, before making her way to the call device. “Hello?”

"Hola chica, it's Sgt Chavez, Officer Caito- er, Brandon's partner."

She heaved a sigh, nodding her head to herself in relief. She recognized that voice anywhere, and had for the better second half of her life. Michelle was the first person that Jai had talked to when she woke up in the hospital, the first one she’d seen, and regardless of who her father had been or the requirements of the job, Michelle had seemed to be there for her just as much as anyone outside of the force that cared about her, enough to even rival Mel. “Oh, yeah he said you were coming. Come on in.” With that, she pressed the code button to unlock the main door before moving to wait by her own front door. She wasn’t about to just leave it unlocked or unattended, and when the knock finally came, Jai wasted no time in unlatching everything to let her friend inside.

The smile that was met with was a tremendous comfort, and Jai relaxed even more as she slid the door closed behind her Michelle and re-did all of the locks before turning to look back at the woman, who was observing her just as carefully. The first words out of her mouth caused Jai to push on the slightest of smiles, and she shrugged slightly, shaking her head. “I do my best,” she corrected gently, leaning in to accept her hug generously. “A while?” She repeated incredulously as she leaned back. “Try too damn long.” Jai smiled then, if only slightly, and she watched as Michelle made her way across the apartment with ease, a brow raising when she so casually dropped a pad on the coffee table. Her unasked question was answered when the woman turned back to face her, and Jai swallowed thickly, ducking her head as she remembered the glass she’d left on the kitchen counter. In silence, she quickly made her way back into the kitchen, pausing only long enough to offer a soft laugh in response to the woman’s impatience with Brandon. It was clear that she was motherly of him, at least in regards to making sure he did the right thing and learned the right way and didn’t make a complete fool of himself in the process, but then and again it could simply have been more sibling-like too, and either way, it still attested to the fact that everyone at the precinct was family in one way or another, by blood or not.

“Um…” She started quietly, shyly, as she ducked into the kitchen and retrieved her glass, quickly buying herself some time by taking a generous swig from it as she peered around at her friend. “He’s been a gem, really.” She spoke as she rolled her jaw, fighting the urge to pucker from the bitter burn in her mouth and throat. “I um… I lost it a little bit… a lot, at the bar… Today’s a hard enough day as it is… Ten years ago today he killed my dad… and five years later, five years ago, today, he came after me… It’s safe to assume I hardly slept at all last night, and then…” Her voice trailed, emotion getting the better part of her, and Jai shuffled her feet along the carpet numbly so that she could sink down onto the edge of the sofa, her gaze staring off distantly. “It was going fine, just like any other Friday, maybe a bit slower but that was fine, and then Pratt left early and I saw someone new come in and he just… I could tell; he didn’t belong there, but I did my job… I went over, introduced myself like I always do and asked for his order.” Again, she hesitated, swallowing hard as she felt the ice start to settle back into her veins, a shiver crawling up her spine as she cupped her lass tightly between her hands. “He looked at me, met my eyes… I know that look anywhere, those eyes… but I could see it… he wasn’t expecting it to be me… he didn’t know… and now he does… and… I tried to play it cool, turned around to get someone else a drink and the bottle just… I was shaking so hard… I didn’t mean to drop it… and then I was back in that river all over again and I couldn’t breathe or move or anything, and it was just so… and then Mel and Brandon were there, holding me up and worrying, and he was gone…” Her gaze lifted then, tears forming in her eyes as she looked into Michelle’s. “He was gone, like a thief in the night he was gone and now… now he’s out there and he knows… he won’t stop… he’ll never stop… I…” Her throat closed, emotion cutting her off mid-sentence, and she had mind enough to reach to put her glass back down on the coffee table before drawing her arms in on herself. “It’s only of time… I’d be better to push myself off the balcony, it’d be a lot faster than what he’s going to do to me…”

Her mind wandered from the present then, as if the very words she’d spoken had triggered a memory to resurface, and she subconsciously curled up into the corner of the couch, biting down on her bottom lip. "P-p-please..." Her raw, choked voice all but gurgled. "S-s-st-op..." An agonized gurgle left her lips, drowned by the sound of an annoyed, guttural male growl, as she stumbled back a step, her knees buckling when a blunt knife dug deep into her abdomen.
“I said shut the fuck up.” The male voice growled; the heat of his breath sliding down her ear canal as his lips just barely touched the side of her face...
"You'll never forget.
With a sudden yelp, Jai lurched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, her widened, stricken hues lifting to identify the culprit, meeting with Michelle’s gaze even, and she swallowed hard, shifting slightly so that she could reach up to wrap her arms tightly around her friend, holding onto her for what seemed like dear life.

Chavez had been a good cop for a long time, and those sort of qualities did not fade away or get forgotten. The entire time Jaime was speaking the officer inside took control, writing copious amounts of notes. All while getting as many piercing glances as possible in on the victim. Anniversary of death of father, and rape point towards no coincidence. But victim knows that perp was just as surprised. That would be one Michelle needed to think about a lot. To an impartial observer the timing would be everything, things like that only happened in movies and on the television. In real life it meant that the perp had planned it, but in the movies it happened every single time so whether it was planned or random was in the air. Yet a good cop knew that victim's reports could be strikingly correct on the little details. They had caught one rapist before because the victim remembered the perp's cologne. Another attempted murder had been resolved when the victim had remembered the perp's social security number dangling from his dog tags. Most victim's were incredibly confused about the normal things, hair color, height, eye color, but sometimes the tiniest details really just stuck out as their panicked mind reached out for something to sear into their mind other than what was happening.

Jaime also had not been quite the victim this time, and the fact that the perp had bailed so quickly also let Chavez lean toward and unfortunate chance meeting.

Really unfortunate, she thought with sad smile as she noticed just how worked up Jaime was getting about the entire thing. Her last comment really startled Chavez. Up until this point Jaime had never thought about the possibility of death being better, and that comment set off enough red flags for Michelle to let go of her pad, pen, and get up just as Jaime slipped into a horrible memory. It was rather stunning and a little frightening to watch as her eyes darted too and fro seeing only the past, her breathing increased and tears began to slid down Jaime's cheeks. Chavez knew that the frightened little girl could no longer see or hear her anymore, and she moved quickly to break up the nightmare, and just as her soft hand rested on Jaime's shoulder she nearly jumped out of her skin.

The pleading look and trembling lower lip were almost enough to melt Chavez's heart. In fact they did.

Just enough to sink down onto the couch next to Jaime and pull her slightly smaller frame into a powerful bear hug.

Not knowing quite what else to do, Chavez brushed her lips against Jaime's before pulling her head back and giving her the look that all Latino women were born with. The look of a patriarch who knew everything about everything. "I don't want to hear you say nothin' bout killing yourself again mi pequino chicita. Comprende? You hear me little one?" The voice was gently reproaching and full of warmth. "We're going to get that fucking puta, and fuck his shit up. All you need to do is be Jai, and relax. Bad timing, that's all it was, if this had happened tomorrow or yesterday it would have been bad, but you wouldn't be all worked up like this, would you?" Chavez tilted her head and gave a knowing look, "No, of course not... You just need to... Relax." Michelle did not know what came over her, this wasn't what she normally did, but something about Jaime just made it happen. Her hand that had been holding Jaime tightly had loosened and slid slowly down over a trembling abdomen, and to the inside of her thighs.

-

The shower had worked great, and Brandon found that Jaime was one of the few women he knew to keep her bathroom rather well organized and clean. His sisters on the other hand, well it was like a tornado touched down every morning and night in that room. Thank God I have my own place. He thought with a shake of his head as beads of water flew from his head and onto the mirror. With a slight 'woops' and shrug of his shoulders he wiped the mirror down. Then Brandon proceeded to shave, and pull on his clothes. A perfectly white V neck that hugged his chiseled frame very well, boxers, and a pair of baggy navy blue sweatpants. He carried his fresh socks in one hand, while using his towel to rub the remaining dampness from his head as he exited the bathroom.

He heard soft whispers as he moved down the hallway and into the living room. Sgt Chavez must be here. He couldn't think of anyone else that Jaime would have let in, besides Melanie, and she was probably still working.

Entering the room he saw them both close on the couch, they were very close, and whispering. He couldn't make out anything they said, but certainly neither of the females had noticed him. With a couch, he cleared his throat, and announced his presence. A sudden chuckle seemed to come over Chavez, while Jaime was giggling softly, whatever was going on it didn't seem as bad as he thought. That quickly vanished from his mind as he rounded the corner of the couch and sat on the one that was caddy corner to it. Only after putting his socks on did he look up and noticed Jaime's tear stained face, and Chavez's more serious one. Though they both had the faintest of grins curling their lips too, what the hell is going on?

"What's up?"

"Jai was filling me in, you didn't get a good luck at the guy did you Brandon?"

"Negative Sarge, he was gone. Wearing mostly black, a hoodie, black eyes."

"Hmm, okay. Jaime here is pretty sure it was an accident, him showing up."

"Isn't the guy connected? Nothing he does is an accident."

"Maybe, but he was certainly not there to find our Jaime, don't you agree?"

"Yep. Totally... You hungry yet Jaime?"

Chavez interrupted before Jaime could say anything, "Si si, she is going to eat. I will cook."

The Sergeant stood, and gave Brandon a devious look. Before she even opened her mouth he knew what she was going to say and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. Immediately his cheeks went red, and he could feel the sweat suddenly pouring out onto his palms. Why does she always have to be a busy body?

"Jaime, did Brandon tell you he had something to say to you before all this happened? No? Well well, you better get movin there rook. Nice guys finish last."

The blush, if possible, increased to an even darker shade on Brandon's face. He quickly looked to Jaime and saw her confusion, but it was mild and maybe even a little happy? To be confused about something other than what had already happened today. Brandon glared at Michelle as she walked away chuckling, and held up a finger to Jaime so he could take a few more moments to compose himself. What should I tell her? Obviously I can't tell her I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her, fuck, I'm not even sure if that is how I feel about her. But I definitely like her, and I certainly want to date her and see where it leads. Why? Why the hell would Chavez add this on top of everything that happened today? It took him a moment, but finally he realized that he had already had the thought earlier. Anything to distract Jaime from what was currently happening in life. To have her worrying about other things was always better than having her worry about something that she had very little control over. It wasn't like she would have to even worry over Brandon, it was a decision, maybe a little bigger than a small decision, but it was not one that would effect her in any important way, well, maybe it would, but that could be a very good thing.

With a deep breath, and glance towards the kitchen before locking eyes with Jaime he started.

"I'm going to need a drink after this, not because I don't want to do it, but because... Well, you'll figure it out." Another deep breath passed his lips before Brandon continued, "Today, earlier, I was, well... Hmm... I wanted to ask you out tonight, at the end of your shift, I've been. Wanting to, but I guess... I guess I needed a kick in the pants about it." Grinning to hide the blush, which was failing miserably, Brandon looked carefully at Jaime. "Well, Jam, do you think you'd want to date me?"

Jai’s eyes slid tightly shut, blocking out the memories, blocking out the sight of him, and instead fixating on the simple darkness that shrouded her vision. She could smell the soft scent of the detergent Michelle used, feel the warmth and safety in her hug, and quickly enough, her memories shifted to reflect on all of the times that she saw Michelle during her time in the hospital, the surprise visits, the late night stays, and the way that her hugs always seemed to make everything fade away, as if she’d been encompassed in an all-protective barrier or shield. With a soft sigh, the tension in her body eased down slowly, and her eyes suddenly pulled back open when she felt a soft pressure on her mouth. She hadn’t hardly any time to even fully process it when she felt herself being pushed back, and her gaze landed evenly on Michelle’s.

The tone she’d used was firmly gentle, oddly enough, and Jai found herself nodding mutely to the woman as she searched her gaze, and as Michelle continued to speak, Jai couldn’t help the small smile that formed across her lips, and the bubble of quiet chuckles that crawled up her throat. A shiver moved through her spine as the woman’s hand moved over her form, and it was slightly distracting, though in combination with that Michelle was saying and the way that she was saying it, Jai didn’t have it in her to solely focus on the physical things. Instead, she smiled softly at her old friend, a hint of life returning to her eyes, and swallowed to clear her throat. “I started to relax,” she murmured quietly, her gaze idly moving from hers to look at her emptied glass on the coffee table. “And it’s starting to kick in now… there’s a very good chance I’m going to be very drunk in the next ten minutes or so.”

Looking back, Jai watched as Chavez lifted a brow, and she pulled on her best innocent smile as she shrugged her shoulders casually. “I made myself a couple very strong drinks,” she further explained, beating Chavez to needing to ask. “Like… a hefty mix of every alcohol I have with a splash of ‘fuck-it-all’.” There was a moment of pause, and then the both of them started laughing. It was then that Brandon finally returned to the room, and Jai easily picked up the smell of his body wash as she shifted her attention to the other couch, watching him sit. Idly, she couldn’t help but admire how attractive he was, and though she’d always found him to be easy on the eyes when he was still in his uniform at the bar, she’d never seen him in everyday clothes outside of the working atmosphere, and it was definitely something that she could easily get used to.

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts from her mind, she piqued up to catch the tail end of the brief conversation between the two, her brows lifting slightly when she was so easily volunteered to eat, and Michelle’s cooking apparently at that. Michelle could cook? It brought a smile to her lips as she shook her head and started to laugh softly. However, for the umpteenth time in just the last few minutes it seemed, Jai was once again cut short, and her brows knit delicately together as she looked between them, her gaze first focusing on Chavez and then on Brandon, curiosity and confusion reflected in her oceanic hues. What are they talking about?

She was about to ask as Michelle was walking away, seemingly feeling quite smug, but just as she’d parted her lips, Brandon held up a finger and she immediately stoppered, her confusion growing even more. It only took a moment, and then his eyes were on hers, boring past the surface and digging much, much deeper, causing her breath to hitch momentarily as she tilted her head. “Brandon?” She inquired softly.

"I'm going to need a drink after this, not because I don't want to do it, but because... Well, you'll figure it out."

Her brows quirked, and she found herself nodding slightly, hunting his eyes and expression for some clue. “Alright…”
"Today, earlier, I was, well... Hmm... I wanted to ask you out tonight, at the end of your shift, I've been. Wanting to, but I guess... I guess I needed a kick in the pants about it."

Blinking, Jai’s eyes widened, though she remained oddly calm, relaxed, the softest smile forming across her lips as she tilted her head a bit more, and her heart caught with a flighty sensation when he flashed her that awarding smile, causing even her eyes to light up a bit. She hardly even heard his finished inquisition, catching primarily on his use of her uncommon nickname, and it brought a wider smile to her face as she sat up in her seat. “I’ve always liked it when you call me that,” she found herself murmuring absently, her attention glued to him like clouds in the sky. “I think…” Her voice trailed, and she brought her hands together to rest in her lap, idly interlocking her fingers. She’d never dated, not once in her entire life. In school, her focus had always been on her studies and her future goals and dreams, devotedly keeping to a promise she’d made her father at the age of eight that she would never let boy or girls or dating get in the way of her future or distract her from what mattered most. And when everything happened after her dad died, when Tony went after her next, well, people stayed clear away, and she didn’t much mind it that way. The trauma and scarring that it had left behind had implanted a fear of intimacy in Jai so strong that, until that moment, had prevented her from ever so much as fantasizing about anything remotely intimate or romantic.

Swallowed, she cleared her throat, mentally shaking herself back into focus as she watched him. “No,” she said softly. “No, I mean yes! I mean…” she paused, sliding her eyes closed and heaving a deep sigh. Of all the times to lose her mind and completely forget how to even form a clear sentence or thought… “What I mean is,” she started slowly, deliberately. “No, I don’t think I’d want to date you; I do. I want to, try it, at least. I mean… well I’m betting you have experience, and well… I don’t… but, if you’re really willing to accept and work around that… Then yes. Yes, Brandon, I would be very happy to try it with you.”

Shifting nervously in her seat then, feeling a sudden wave of nerves and heat, she pushed herself to stand, reaching carefully to retrieve the emptied glass that she left on the coffee table between them. Of all the times, that alcohol was already starting to make itself comfortable in her system, and figured that she’d just blame her inability to form a logical sentence on that fact at a later time, if it were to come up. For the moment though, she offered him a warm smile, a real one at that, and not her typical professional one. “Did you still need another drink? I had a few while you were in the shower and I don’t think you’ve ever had my ten-minute blitzer. Basically, it’s just a healthy mix of every different booze I’ve got in the bar, and well, the name says it all; ten minutes goes by and you’re pretty much blitzed. I’ve had two… And it’s been almost twenty minutes so…” She giggled then, feigning innocence with a light shrug of her shoulders. “You know what, I’m just going to go make you one.” She didn’t even give him the time to respond, filling in the answer for him, and without a moment more of wasted time to make herself look even more like an ass, she scooted from the room and hurried to the bar to set about pouring a few more drinks, one for him, one for Michelle, and something a little lighter for herself.

"Then yes. Yes, Brandon, I would be very happy to try it with you.”

There was not much that Brandon heard after those words finally slipped from Jaime's lips. It had been quite a roller coaster up until this point, in fact it was exactly like a roller coaster, the more he thought about it. It had started out with all the protective features. Deciding just because it was the right thing to do, to hang around the Golden Eagle as often as possible, and keep an eye on Jaime. Just like eyeing the track out in front once you had settled into the coasters seats. Then it started off nice and subtle. A twist or two perhaps before the climb; like the smiles Jaime had thrown him and he'd returned in kind. Or when she decided to spend most of her time chatting to him as the bar at the club quieted down for the night. Then there was the last glance back at the starting point, when Brandon made sure Jaime was in a car, or on the bus safely back to her apartment. A steady climb followed all of that. The growing feelings, the anticipation that built, the excitement of knowing soon they were going to go over the edge. However, the climb lasted much longer and he had wondered if they were ever going to get there, if he could actually ever ask her out. Finally, the apex. Knowing it would happen shortly, asking Chavez for advice and her easily deciding that yes indeed, he did have to go over the edge and ask.

Then the dive.

The incident at the bar, pulling them directly into each other for reasons that seemed entirely random, but straight and true. Like the feelings of fear and uncertainty as you hurtled downward knowing that you were safe and secure, but still scared. Because what if something happened. No smiling yet, no knowing what could possibly happen. Finally the feeling of gravity as he came out of the dive, and actually asked the question. Now a smile would grace his face as he realized it indeed was safe. That was the scariest part, and now it was fun, wasn't it? That was when Jaime had sent him on more loops, twists, turns, and flips than any roller coaster had even considered. Just like a coaster, in theory he knew he was safe now, but there were still those moments, pangs of doubt as the human body sped around and twisted in ways that weren't natural. In theory he knew Jaime was happy with the question, and rather too drunk to make coherent sentences, but the 'no's' and stutters caused a panic that maybe the coaster would just come right off the tracks. Finally her brain caught up with what she wanted to say, just as his might catch up with his body on the coaster and realize for the last few seconds that everything was going to be alright.

He finally caught up with her alcoholic, and nerve induced talk about drinks just as Brandon's body would realize how much fun he had on the roller coaster.

“You know what, I’m just going to go make you one.”

"Okay," He muttered with the faintest of smiles as he remembered the look that Jaime had given him somewhere amiss everything that had just happened. She had really smiled at him, happily. Every once-in-awhile he thought he had caught glimpses of it at the club. Just an extra ounce of emotion or reality slipping across delicate features to entice him into riding the roller coaster. But now that he had really seen it, for the first time, plastered across her face without any inhibition he was unsure if he had really seen it before. The smile was so full of life, drawing it seemed from the pools of liquid blue in her face, that it had been contagious. Brandon had returned it without even realizing it and now the smile was stuck to his face as he leaned back into the plush sofa with a short sigh. Finally! He thought to himself with a mental shout that had it been verbal might have frightened not only Chavez & Jaime, but several of her neighbors.

-

Chavez couldn't help but overhear the conversation so close to her, but as she prepared quesidllia's for the three of them, she felt a slight twisting in her stomach. As much as she wanted her rookie, she thought of all the rookies she partnered with as hers, to open his wings and take some independence it was hard letting go of her own feelings. Not just the typically overprotective ones, but also the ones that she admitted to no one but herself. Not to mention, she always wondered if Jaime was available to her, and with the interaction that had just taken place the question had turned into at least more of a possibility. It was enough to get the typical passionate Latino inside of her rather fired up. The tension did not help anything, but as Jaime walked back into the kitchen and the phone rang the tension evaporated with a click as Michelle quickly swapped back into Sgt Chavez. She answered the phone, and it was the Chief, he wanted to talk to Jaime.

"Hello Miss Marks, Chief O'Reily here."

"Hello Chief,"

"Officer Cuito and Sgt Chavez will here this later in the morning, but I just wanted to fill you in and make sure you are comfortable with the arrangement first, is that okay?"

"Uh, sure..."

"Well, for tonight Cuito and Chavez will hang around your place if that is okay with you, and tomorrow we will have one of them take you over to your job... Golden Eagles, right?"

"Yes..."

"Okay, excellent. Once you are there we'll have patrols swinging by every ninety minutes. At the end of the day an officer will bring you home, and check out your place for any signs of tampering. We'll leave a patrol car on your building through the evening, with another check in every two hours or so from another patrol. Meanwhile, we're putting a lot of resources into finding this bastard. If there is anything knew you remember, don't hesitate to call the station. Chavez will give you my personal cell as well. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"Uhm, no, no sir. Thank you."

"Okay then dear, could you hand me back over to Sgt Chavez?"

The same information was roughly repeated to Chavez, who in turn repeated it to Brandon, who by this time had entered the kitchen since he'd overheard enough to know it was important. For a moment there was silence, and then Chavez's motherly side kicked in. She forced them to sit, and eat. The drink Jaime had poured Brandon did not stay empty for long, and it also was not long until she noticed a few things that made up her mind for the night. The looks the rookie and Jaime were sharing could not be subtle since they were both feeling the alcohol, and there was enough good will left within the Sergeant to decide to leave these two alone for the night. She knew Brandon would not drink too much more, and even inebriated his presence combined with the patrol car that would soon arrive downstairs would be more than enough to deter anything happening this evening. There was that, and the surge of desire from looking at the new couple that made Chavez want to leave. After a while of light conversation, and cleaning up, she left. Kissing Jaime on the cheek with a soft hug, and a stern lecture to Brandon to keep up his guard.

-

The warm fuzzy feelings from Jaime's acceptance, the drink, and knowing both Chief and more immediately Sgt Chavez had there back was enough to keep Brandon from feeling any sort of apprehension about the night as Michelle left the apartment. After locking the door, he turned back to Jaime with a bright smile.

"So you should definitely start serving that drink at the Eagle." He stated, with a slight slur.

Somehow his slightly fuzzled mind thought that Jaime was still a little nervous after the sudden burst of realism after things had been looking up. Deciding to end it before it could grow into anything resembling the fear that had petrified her early, he walked over to where she was standing, fidgeting a bit, by the island bar. Leaning over he brushed some hair behind her ear, and without really thinking about it, kissed her. His strong hand held the back of her head softly, and his lips pressed against hers with no insistence, but only a gentle wanting. Blinking, and realizing what he had just done at the same time a smile slipped back across his features as the kiss broke. "You okay?" It was a general question, but even Brandon was not sure if he was asking if she was okay because of the kiss, or everything else that had happened today.

As if on a fast-forwarded blur, the evening passed in the blink of an eye, and as Jai stood quietly by the bar, focusing very carefully on putting a few bottles back away, everything started to come back in a hazy fog. To start, it had just been a really long night, with exhaustion and dread, and in the blink of an eye the world had turned upside down and a heart-stopping terror had filled the void. Then came Brandon, and Mel, his apartment, her apartment, booze, Michelle, talking, tears, laughter, more talking, more laughter, more booze. Then the chief called, and everything went to a sobered back-burner for a long moment as she considered heavily the terms of her protection. It had sounded like a good plan, and indeed it was, but for Jai, it wasn’t enough, and she had idly wondered if anything was going to be enough. Tony wasn’t the type to take no for an answer, and he didn’t even take resistance and fighting for an answer either. He took what he wanted and he didn’t care who tried to stop him or tell him no or get in his way. There was no doubting it either; with knowledge of her existence, he was definitely going to want to go after her again, and she doubted if anyone was going to be able to truly protect her from him.

The night surged on though, filled with food, more talking, more laughter, and even more booze, and before long everything had seemed to slow down to a crawl, concluding with a quick clean up, insisting on Michelle staying just a few hours more, being unable to convince her, giving of hugs and assurance, and finally it seemed that it had ended right where it began- at the island bar. Something about alcohol gave Jai the ability to more heavily reflect and think, set her mind into a hyperdrive of sorts, with the gracious benefit of lowering her ability to truly sink into her thoughts and emotions, numbing feelings to a tolerable degree. And as she stood there, swaying just slightly on her feet, fumbling with the bottles carefully, she was able to keep a straight face, keep from sinking into the dangerous pit of fear and anxiety and doubt.

Brandon’s sudden suggestion brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked over her shoulder at him with a doe-like gaze before a slow and lazy grin etched across her expression, a melodic laugh escaping her throat. “I could do that,” she responded, her own words a bit slurred, though still easily decipherable. “But I would have to charge a fair price, and I’m sure you guys at the station wouldn’t like hauling rambling drunks back and forth all night every night.”

There was a pause then, and she acutely noticed a shift in his gaze, her smile faltering just slightly as she observed the expression on his face. As he started walking towards her, she froze in her stance, the sudden worry coming over her mind that maybe it wasn’t her that he was giving that funny look; maybe he’d seen something behind her, through the door out on the balcony, or in the kitchen, maybe hiding behind the couch. She swallowed hard, feeling a bout of mild nervousness, but as he got closer, he stopped before her, and she tilted her had back to search his gaze. There was something there, that was certain, something she’d never seen before in anyone, and it left her in a bit of a heavier haze until his hand came up and brushed her hair behind her ear, eliciting a soft shiver to trail down the length of her spine, and magnifying in strength when his hand slid down over her cheek and around the back of her neck immediately after. There was no time to decipher or even think really before he got even got even closes, blurred out by the lack of distance, and she could suddenly feel his lips press to hers. Her eyelids fluttered, falling slowly closed, and she felt her breath hitch, her heart stutter, and a flood of warmth rushed through her blood stream. So this is what it’s like to be really kissed…

Just as quickly as it had happened though, it was over, and she found herself forcing her eyes back open to look up at him in a haze of slight confusion and unfulfillment. His question seeped in gently, and she found herself half-nodding in mute response before managing to find half of her voice. “Perfect…” She whispered distantly, unable to help herself from getting wrapped up in the smile that he was offering her, or the sudden ache and burn of desire that was coursing through her blood stream. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the way he was looking at her, or maybe it was the fact that she had gone nearly her entire life without ever so much as even fantasizing about what real intimacy was like, and now it was teasing itself right in front of her with what seemed to be complete opportunity. Whatever it was, she didn’t fully know, and she didn’t care either, all she knew was that what little, fleeting kiss he had given her was simply enough, and she wanted more.

Slowly, Jai reached her arms up between their bodies, softly laying her palms against his chest, and she edged a step closer to him, rising up on her tiptoes as her gaze lowered from his to glance over his lips, falling closed once more as she pressed her mouth back against his. It was soft, with just the slightest sense of firmness, urgency, pressure, and behind it was an immensity of desire that, to her, seemed strong enough to all but taste.

Perfect? Yes, Perfect! Thinking he had replied, Brandon said nothing else as Jaime closed the cap between them and rested her hands on his chest. Just touching was enough, but then suddenly it wasn't. Not as her lips drew closer to his and his mouth suddenly went dry as as a bone. That touch brought the moisture back just as quickly as it had gone and as he returned the kiss by way of both his lips and wrapping his arms around Jaime both protectively and wantonly. The amount of emotions being conveyed without a word rather astounded the young police officer. Certainly the amount of building, growing, and patient expansion of their relationship was what allowed so much to pass between them without muttering a single word.

Brandon pushed his lips back, and in doing so split their lips just the smallest of amounts.

His tongue darted out tentatively, and quickly found she was receptive to the thoughts and feelings that were pounding through his body unchecked at this moment. In order to firm up their connection, Brandon shifted his arms. Placing a hand against her butt and pulling her up while the other large hand spread like a spider against the small of her back to pull her in. He was surprised by how light and relaxed her smaller frame felt against his, it induced the softest of groans in his chest. Like a word that gets caught before it is fully formed and able to transfer up through the throat and mouth. Another kiss followed, this one exponentially more passionate and desirable. It was wet, their tongues brushing against each others, it was hot enough that Brandon felt his cheeks beginning to flush and the smallest beginnings of sweat to dampen his brow.

All of a sudden it was nearly too much, and he wanted more.

Without realizing he had lifted her from the floor and taken two steps forward until Jaime sat upon the bar.

There his hand on her back drifted down, and met the other that had drifted up slightly from her butt.

Together they met at the hem of her shirt and began to slowly lift the fabric upwards. He paused then, the kiss and the movement, just to be sure. The bodily reaction he felt was enough to again proceed without words. He slipped the shirt up and off just as he felt her hands digging into his hips to find the edge of his own clothes. God, it's happening, finally, yes! The thought crossed his mind briefly, ever so briefly, before he was pulled back to just what was happening in front of him. Now his own shirt was gone, revealing dedication and an intelligent work out regime that kept him fit and healthy. A rock solid chest with plenty of definition that spread to his strong arms and dipped to his rippling abdomen where a fully defined six pat was tense, in contrast to the way his mind felt.

He was relaxed, as Jaime had said this was perfect. It felt so right to be doing this with her, and everything was perfect. She had to understand just as clearly as Brandon saw it that this was not anything other than a culmination of their rather child-like relationship that had finally bloomed into something more adult like at only the wrong time. But there was never a right time for things like this to happen, and perhaps, hopefully, surely it was going to do more good than harm in any case. To take both their minds off everything else and just focus on them. This was nothing more than about how they felt about each other and showing exactly that, Brandon almost felt like he could say that he loved her, and this was not a test of that. It was just a way of showing it without saying anything that could unbalance or upset either of them at the moment. They were cutting right through everything to just show and share what they felt, and that truly was perfect.

Brandon displayed one skill that he was unsure if Jaime knew, or cared to know that he had. Her bra clasp came undone easily, and it hung half open upon her shoulders.

Now that she was nearly the same height as him, Brandon's kisses suddenly broke from Jaime's hot lips, and trailed a line of fire and wetness that chilled in the cool apartment as he worked his way down her silken skin. Trailing along the underside of her jaw, across the nape of her neck, and down to her shoulder. Then his kisses moved further out, slowly, agonizingly slowly, pushing the bra strap off the side until it slipped down across her bicep. Stopping there, Brandon brought his face in front of Jaime's and breathed softly. The first words after all that had happened between them, "You're perfect."

No words; there were no absolutely no tangible words to describe the flood that coursed through her body. Heat, chills, nervousness, boldness, fear, bravery, lust, passion, uncertainty, and yet none of it seemed to truly define how she felt. This was unchartered territory, and he was quickly becoming the first soul to ever traipse across her unbeaten path. And it was all happening so quickly that she couldn’t seem to get a firm grasp on it; maybe it was the alcohol, though, with all that was going on, it seemed that even the alcohol was getting burned off faster than usual with the heat that escalating. Maybe it was just that she was caught up in everything; there just simply wasn’t ability for her to actually soak it in as deeply as she could simpler things.

His arms were around her though, firm, warm, protective, encompassing, trapping a smoldering fire between them that was beginning to lick so fiercely at her skin it was unbearable to remain in that position. And as if he’d been reading her mind, she felt his arms lock more tightly around her, grasping her firmly by her hips, and her feet suddenly left the floor, her bottom sliding across the cool surface of the marble bar counter. Their mouths hadn’t once come apart, and she was breathing heavily and shakily through her nose, her hands having curled to grasp gently at his shirt, press more firmly into his chest, and then she pulled absently on him, tugging him closer to her until her knees were pressing into his hips and she could feel the heat of his chest radiating back against her body. Time seemed to slow, and for an agonizing moment, their lips were parted, her eyes sliding part-way open to hazily look at him in near disappointment, and the next she knew, the icy air of the apartment was licking her bared torso, causing goosebumps to rise up along her arms and strong shiver to etch its way along her spine. Without a moment’s hesitation, her hands quickly slid down his body, fingers fumbling at the fabric of his shirt to find the hem, and when she finally felt the loose edge flutter over her fingertips, she eagerly pushed it upwards, leaning up just enough to tug the pesky thing from his head and arms before carelessly dropping it onto the floor beneath them.

Her eyes took him in then, and she felt her breath hitch at the sight of his bared torso, the chiseled muscle, the firmness of his stomach, the evident strength in both of his arms that she had only briefly felt from his embraces. It was all so… so… unmarred. Near immediately, her thoughts shifted, and she found herself biting down on her bottom with a sudden strike of nervousness. His skin was perfect, smooth, and hers… well, she had scars, long, rigged, discolored scars from stab wounds and lacerations and fighting with tooth and nail to try and save herself. They riddled her arms, her stomach, her ribs, and suddenly, in the midst of everything going on, she felt intensely insecure. She was about to say something, anything, attempt to get him to look away before he could change his mind, when she suddenly felt her bra come loose, the cold air immediately rushing through the gap between skin and material to glaze over her breasts, causing her already piqued nipples to harden, and she shivered once again.

His lips met with her once again, for a fleeting, brief, fraction of a second, and next she knew, he was trailing a line of fire and ice across her skin, causing her eye lids to flutter and her breath the catch in the back of her throat, her head tilting back loosely. It was like torture, slow, tedious, drawn out torture, but in the best way for once, and she could hardly stand to bear it, finally managing a breath as a soft, pitched whimper trailed behind it. He leaned back then, and she once again forced her eyes open in the absence of his touch, meeting his gaze evenly.

You’re perfect.

A blush crept along her cheek, and she smiled softly, slowly, visibly relaxing and allowing every ounce of pent tension to escape her form as she heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m flawed,” she murmured softly, gently, pausing to tuck her lower lip between her teeth as she slid her palms slowly over his chest, down his ribs, to rest against his stomach. “But in the best way… Now… please… you’re killing me…” Without hesitation then, her fingers curled, digging into his stomach as if to bunch his very skin against her slight fists, and she leaned in eagerly, sealing her mouth against his, pressing her body closer, the movement causing the straps of her bra to easily slide the rest of the way from her arms and catch against the crook of her elbows, and she shook her arms to remove it with near irritation before returning her grasp to his skin, a soft sound of desire forming in the pit of her throat.

The need he heard and felt was something familiar to Brandon. While the high level of emotions that made this the best he had ever experienced, and the most unknown at the same time, the physical sensations of need and want were not new entirely. The way they came from Jai was new, different, delectable and desirable, but the actual want was not. He reacted both instinctively and cautiously at the same time. Knowing what she wanted but not how or why she wanted it. That did not seem to make a large difference to either of them though. The soft sounds of desire were enough, combined with the foreplay, to suddenly make Brandon rock hard between his legs. He did not break or even loosen the kiss between them, but even so his concentration shifted to his hands. Drawing them down her sides; his fingertips trailing along her back, while his palms brushed over old wounds on her ribs and stomach. The knowledge of them made him momentarily angry, but just as quickly made Brandon desire to please Jaime even more.

Gently his hands closed on pants, and after an insistent tug that caused Jaime to wiggle a gap between her and the granite top, pulled the waistband down over her hips.

Brandon finally did break the kiss there, to follow the pants to the floor and make sure they cleared her ankles. Taking one delicate foot in his hand, he kissed upwards, allowing his tongue to softly rasp against skin until he slid over her inner thigh. Gently his head moved forward, pushing Jaime onto her back atop the counter. Looming over her tiny form, Brandon took a long inhale as he gazed at her nearly completely uncovered body. Yes, the scars were there, but underneath was soft white skin, quivering over firm but flexible muscles that rippled just beneath the surface. He bent forwards again and kissed just above her navel, his tongue lingering on a scar that trailed to the side. Brandon repeated the process twice, kissing, and then drawing his tongue along the rigid, scarred flesh. He was not sure why, but he could feel Jaime's reaction underneath him and they were not unpleasant.

Sliding further upwards, he took her breasts into his hands while breathing between short breaths, "You're... Perfect... To me."

Brandon squeezed each soft mound of flesh gently, but firmly. Allowing the skin to slip through his rough hands until it was just his fingertips holding the rigid ends. He pinched each softly, and once again took each full breast into his massive hands. Again they started to slide from his grasp, only this time he caught the right one with his mouth, suctioning the rock hard nub into his mouth with a small vacuum sound. The other breast he pinched again, before mauling it in his hand as he let the vibrations from a moan travel into the sensitive flesh between his teeth. Lightly at first, and then more insistently his tongue rasped over the nerve endings, back and forth. Finally, his now free hand drifted between them, sliding over the scars he had previously wet with his tongue until it came in contact with the waistband of her panties.

He teased the entrance for a moment while his other hand, and mouth continued to lick, nibble, squeeze, and pinch her breasts.

Then with an unconscious breath, his hand darted between her legs.

The reason was unclear, but something about the way that his hands moved over her ribs and stomach, paying careful attention to the riddled scars, sent a flurry of sensation through her body, and Jai’s teeth caught his bottom lip as she felt her muscles tense and ripple, an uninhibited and soft moan escaping her lips, muffled only by his own mouth still pressed to hers. Breathing was fast becoming a laborious effort, and all conscious mental processes were being eliminated and forgotten one by one, that number doubling when his hands found the hem of her jeans, forcefully, yet effortlessly, removing the article from her body, and again cold air engulfed her skin, sending a tide of cold and shivers along her nerve stream. He had moved in the process, breaking both mouth and hand contact from her, and she found herself ineptly reaching for his shoulders, her vision too clouded to clearly trace his form.

Her hands ended up finding his shoulders, taking a firm grasp as her short nails bit at his skin, holding onto him as a means of keeping herself grounded when his treacherous mouth began a new trail of fire along her leg, and once he reached her thigh she was all but a puddle before him, both metaphorically and between her legs. Her breath hitched in her throat with an audible sound, and she easily laid back with his encouragement, finally managing to clear her vision enough to see him looming over her exposed body, and the sight in and of itself was a drive that pushed her into an even higher gear of need and passion and lust. She was only able to keep her eyes open long enough to see him lean back down though, as the moment his lips met her stomach, his tongue flecking delicately along the rigid flesh, she was unable to even remotely function comprehensively. She’d heard of sensitive spots before, seen them exploited in movies and in books and recounts from friends, but usually it seemed to be the neck that was most sensitive, and inner thighs too, never once had she heard anyone mention their stomach. But for her, the sensation was almost unbearable, even more so than when he had been teasing along her inner thigh, and it rendered her breathless, eliciting a pronounced, stammered moan of pure pleasure when air finally made its way back in.

It dawned on her then, as he rose up, his hands easily encompassing her breasts, that she had spoken too soon when she’d told him that he was, pleasurably, killing her. His words did manage to land on her ears though, however, she was rendered once again unable to form an intelligible response from what followed. Fast, it was all so fast, and yet agonizingly slow at the same time, and she was finally brought to understand the meaning of having the breath taken away in a moment of pure, insane, intimacy. Nearly drowning was difficult, terrifying, painful; but this, this was…

Pressure formed between her legs, causing her lungs to all but collapse in combination with what he was doing to her breasts, and the air only returned, fleetingly, for her to all but cry out when she felt his fingers move beneath the thin material of her panties, pressing against her moistened region, rubbing against her hardened nub, and finally pressing into her body. Struggling for air in the aftermath of her cry, her nails all but clawed at his shoulders, sliding down the sides to grip into his biceps, and her head lolled to the side as she lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, tugging with every ounce of her strength to pull him closer.

“Brandon…” His name left her lips in a pitched, breathless whimper, and she struggled to get her eyes open, to even remember what breathing or speaking was. Deftly, her hands moved from his biceps and down his sides, over his ribs, landing along the hem of the sweatpants that he wore, and she pushed at them listlessly, impatiently. It didn’t take much effort, for which she was thankful, and within a few moments the article was pushed far enough from his hips that they landed around his ankles, and Jai drew her arms back then, pushing both hands through his hair, attempting to push him back. In all of her efforts, he hadn’t even remotely relented, in fact it seemed that he was only driven to push further, pressing two fingers into her tight, moist region, rocking them back and forth slowly and firmly as the pad of his thumb rubbed against her hardened nub, picking up speed and force gradually.

“Brandon…” His name left her lips again, a desperately whimpered, pleading cry, as she curled her fingers into his hair, gripping tightly, tugging as she felt her stomach and legs clench and tremble, her whole body seeming to tense over and hold shakily still before her head tilted back, a breathlessly cry leaving her body as she felt herself all but explode from the inside out, leaving her in a shaking, trembling, panting mess beneath him and entirely at his mercy.

While Brandon's underlying experience expected Jaime's reaction, the rest of him was so stunned by it's magnificence he froze. Fingers inside of her being squeezed and soaked, the tip of her left breast being squeeze gently between his teeth, while the right one was trying but failing to slip through his grasp. His manhood, now only covered by flimsy boxers knocked against the fabric in time with his heart which was pounding. The exquisite arch of pleasure that consumed Jaime pulled her nipple from his teeth, releasing a quiet, "God..." From his lips as he watched the most beautiful scene of pleasure happening right beneath him, because of him. The subsequent shudder brought his hand from her breast and the continuing squeezes of her insides slowly pushed his fingers from inside her womanhood. The last thing touching was his rigid manhood, through boxers and against panties, to her hot inner thigh. The physical was not even the most pleasurable feeling coursing through Brandon's veins as he watched Jai come down from her high.

I made her feel good.

It was such a basic, carnal, human feeling that made the pleasure electrify in his toes and the tips of his fingers. The latter where her juices continued to soak his two fingers. Deciding very quickly that he did not want to stop doing that, Brandon shrugged out of his boxers and kicked them off his feet. At the same time while he tried to delicately remove Jaime panties, he was in too much of a rush and the band snapped. He grinned, bashfully, and happily at the same time as he leaned over to wrap Jai in another close embrace. He removed her from the bar table, it was a little too high, and a little too cold to do anything more on. At least that is what the basic, experienced part of Brandon told him. Instead with two steps, and a slight spin Brandon placed Jaime gently on her back on the thick carpeting.

He was on his knees for a second, drinking with rapture the sight laid out before him.

No longer did he even see the scars that marred her skin. With a hungry light in his eyes Brandon swooped down to kiss Jaime just off center to her lips. Another kiss, and his lips nestled against her ear just as cock nestled between her ears. The way she had said his name earlier, for some reason, crossed his mind at that moment and he repeated hers in much the same tone only with more desire and and the will to take it. "Jai..." He whispered softly, inserting the words with a breath of air just as his manhood pushed against her lips. They resisted momentarily, "Jai..." He breathed again he slipped inside of her. The hunger was real, and while not sharp, he did push until he could feel her resistance grow, and then just a bit further. Brandon held still then, and whispered into her ear, "God... Jai... I, this, you," Then all he could think of was what he had already said, "You..." A slight tug and he slipped the head of his cock to her entrance, "Are..." Once again he drove in and up, his elbows supported most of his weight, and his large hands held her head so he could stare directly into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Perfect..."

The absence of his touch left a cold sensation that trailed over her entire body, though she was too far gone at the moment to consciously react, and even her eye lids felt too heavy to fight against. Instead, she took the brief moment to attempt to catch up on her breaths, taking them in short, raspy spurts as she lie sprawled over the countertop, the sweat on her back causing her skin to just lightly stick to the smooth surface. A spent smile tugged at the corners of her lips when he broke the band of her panties, the slightest, breathy laugh escaping her lips, and she managed to squint up at him as his arms slid around her back, lifting her up and against his chest. Subconsciously, her arms draped around his shoulders to hold on to him and to gain better balance, chin dipping to allow her cheek to press against his, and the next she knew he had lay her out on the carpet below. Thank god I was so insistent on a soft carpet, the thought idly crossed her mind as she felt the gentle cushion mold against her skin, and her eyes finally finished opening to allow her to look back up into his.

There was a smoldering flame burning so brightly in his eyes that she could see it, tangibly, and feel it too, and it only pushed her further beyond the limits of gravity, and off into the clouds as she lifted her hands to grasp at his shoulders, sliding her feet back slowly to bend her knees and press them against his hips, submitting to him, inviting him, willing him. The kiss he’d press to the corner of her mouth was sweet, and it would have left her hungering for more had he not suddenly breathed her name so closely to her ear that she could feel his warm breath slide down the canal, causing her entire body to tingle with the singe that it left. “Mmm…” the murmur was soft, near inaudible, buried deep within the back of her throat, and her eyes fell to half-lid as they rolled back slightly, a pitched gasp escaping her mouth as she felt him enter her body. The burn was sharp, searing almost, and she dug her nails into his skin as she felt her body tense over, biting down softly on her lower lip.

He was so gentle about it though, slow, patient, and even his words seemed to quickly relieve the stinging that had taken over her inner canal, allowing her eyes to slid open enough to gaze into his, and a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding to escape. He started to rock back and forward, taking careful time, having immense patience, and the slightest firmness behind his weight, and with each motion, Jai breathed in sharply, the sensation quickly shifting into immeasurable pleasure. Without a single thought, she leaned up, bracing all of her strength into her abdomen, so that she could seal her lips against his in a heated, sultry kiss, and just as he pushed back in, this time with more speed and strength, she moaned into his mouth, her eyes falling closed as her hands slid along his shoulders in and in towards his neck. The one hand curled around the back of his neck, holding on for support, while the other slid up into the back of his hair, her fingers tanging into the soft locks and gripping firmly, her body trembling beneath his.

Her reaction and response only drove him further into a carnal, animalist state, causing him to lean back and all but slam back into her, eliciting a pained cry of pleasure as she nearly bit down on his bottom lip. Quickly, and apologetically, she retracted her teeth, licking at his lip softly before pressing a kiss to it, murmuring a breathless “sorry” against his mouth. It didn’t seem to hinder him though, in fact, it made him moan near gutturally back at her, and drive in again with much the same force as the last thrust, and again, she all but cried out, lifting one leg to wrap around his waist to attempt to prevent herself from sliding back along the carpet. It was incredible, and something about the rough, bruteness of his thrusting only seemed to be driving her even further onto cloud nine, something she would never have imagined; then again, she never imagined actually doing this, with anyone, let alone him. But there she was, lost in the heat of desire and lust and the moment, without a single inhibition or thought or hesitation, merely desire, need, and an uncontended heat burning her from the inside out. And the longer and harder and faster he went on, the higher and higher she got, to the point where she was near silent in her moans and cries from a lack of sufficient air, and for the second time, she felt her entire body tense over, doubly strong, and her back arched as she trembled and shook rigidly, a sharp breath managing to fill her lungs before she let out a cry loud enough to nearly echo off of the living room walls, feeling her inner workings erupt and explode like a shattering of glass.

It was like nothing out of the movies, either X rated or the somehow still lucrative romcom's that proliferated during the summer. The sensation was so visceral for Brandon that it was toeing the fine line between pleasure and pain. Not actual pain, but the sensation of something be too good, or too much. Yet the gentle toying of the line was more of an illusion than reality for the young cop. There was nothing that was going to stop him from giving her pleasure, or taking it from her either. That was perhaps the first pseudo selfish thought he had all night, and there was nothing for him to regret about it. Somewhere inside of himself Brandon knew that the more he tried to take, the more he was giving. As he drove Jaime inch by inch across the floor and ounce by ounce into a free floating state of bliss some part of him vaguely felt the burning in his knees and elbows where the rug burned softly. He relished the contrasting feeling as he smooth insides clung, slipped, and squeezed every last drop of pleasure. The epicenter of it radiating outwards from his dick that throbbed, shuddered, and expanded both it's rigidity and fullness as more blood rushed to the area to carry the pleasure elsewhere.

The groans and short breaths of bliss were not consciously made, nor the trembling in his firm abdomen as it flexed and contracted to derive the absolute most fleeing from between his legs.

The soft nip of his lips burst a bubble of liquid chocolate pleasure through his body. It released the gate that held the majority of amazing sensation on his dick. The rest of his body alternated between states of lava like intensity and granite like capturing of the fading pleasure. All of senses were both dulled and sharpened at the same time. Unless it added to his enjoyment nothing was felt, and if it did indeed to ecstasy then it was magnified a thousand fold. Like Jaime's nails that caused sharp pain, followed by even stronger, yet dull, pleasure that swam through his veins to join the rest as it ran rabid through his nervous system. The slick velvet between her legs was the most noticed, how she gripped, squirmed, flex, squeezed, and allowed his cock to slide in and out with ease but vibrating resistance. Brandon could no longer hold the kiss between them, it broke with an explosive breath, and he panted while staring at her face. He could not stare into it, for her eyes were half-lidded, and then closed in pleasure. As Jaime's lips turned, almost to a grimace, before the long cry in the face of a whiteout of pleasure crashing down the dam that had held in Brandon's own release snapped like a twig.

With a grunt and half breathed, half squeezed, "Oh God..." Poured from his lips as his own eyes closed.

The last thrust came immediately after a rapid jerk backwards as convulsion struck all over his lower abdomen, thighs, ass, and groin. He pushed with everything that time, and the last overwhelming sensation came as he allowed his weight to rest almost fully on Jaime's squirming mass beneath him. It was the sensation of his supremely sensitive cock head striking against something deep within her body. Being a cop, not a doctor, he had no idea it was indeed her cervix and that nearly all of his cock had somehow managed to snake it's way within her tiny body. The thought did not even cross his mind however, as pleasure exploded like the crescendo of an orchestra through his mind. A wrenching groan tried to escape his lips, but failed even as it echoed within his broad chest.

The fingers of one hand had found her hair, wrapped themselves in it, and were squeezing. The other hand had found Jaime's delicate one, and those fingers were intertwined and squeezing as well. His toes were curled, and the rest of his muscles locked as Brandon's entire body concentrated on the wave that began where both of his balls had risen up into his body. The flood that came was made exquisitely long and drawn out as Jaime's body squeezed back. Each pulse sent a shock wave racing through Brandon's body, causing another grunt that died a slow death with his chest. Breathing, and the pleasure was all that he could concentrate on.

His head swam, and instead of a blissful darkness like sleep he was overwhelmed by the brightest light of satisfaction that blazed behind closed eyelids.

Her body was still trembling ever so slightly, the occasional muscle giving a firm twitch as the tension slowly loosened and eased. Wave after wave was still washing over her as she lay still there, flattened beneath his body, encompassed in all that was him, connected still so very intimately. His own explosion had felt like liquid fire against her inner walls, filling her womb completely to the point of seeping back against his hard member, and the sensation that it had brought caused her to climax once more, though she had still been in the wake of one already, and thus it was achieved with a perfectly silent cry. She hadn’t even noticed that he had taken hold of both her hair and her hand, or that she was squeezing his back firmly, hell, she hadn’t even noticed the thin sheen of sweat that had formed over her entire body. It was near impossible to notice any of those things in comparison the biggest happenings, and as she lay there, partially reflecting, she slowly caught up on her breathing, laboriously filling her lungs and emptying them, over, and over.

“Mmn…” Her first attempt at speaking came out as an exhausted hum of contentment, and she swallowed lightly, ragging her eyes open to try and look up at him. “Brandon…” Her voice was soft, crackly, and very much on the verge of being lost. “That was…”

“Perfect.” He supplemented for her, offering a satisfied smile as he leaned back enough to meet her eyes, taking in the lingering look of pleasure and exhaustion in her face.

“Mmhmn..” Jai hummed back softly, tiredly, lifting her free hand to softly trace her fingertips along his cheek as she gazed up at him with newfound adoration. “Sleep with me?” She murmured after a brief pause, searching his eyes as her own softened. “My bed’s more comfortable…”

He grinned slowly, nodding his agreement and easily taking the hint. He sat back then and gathered her up in his arms carrying her easily to the bedroom and laying her down on the bed after drawing the covers back. She shifted slowly and effortlessly to get comfortable, drawing the covers up over her rapidly cooling body, and she looked over at him as he climbed in next to her and leaned over to kiss her temple, murmuring into her ear before pulling her back against his chest, cuddling into her easily and perfectly, and it wasn’t long at all before she fell into a deep sleep.

--

The wee morning hours were beginning to dawn and the sky was beginning to ignite with the first few lazy rays of sunlight creeping over the horizon. It wasn’t enough to remove the eerie, shadowy darkness of a back alley buried deep at the edge of the city, just blocks away from the bank of the river that divided the suburbs from the slums. And it certainly wasn’t late enough that anyone within a decent radius would have been awake or even lurking around the area to hear the struggle that was going on out of sight.

“Please…” A raw, choked voice all but gurgled. It belonged to a young woman. She was about average height, perhaps an inch or two shorter, with a slender, lithe, yet toned form, oceanic blue eyes, and shoulder length golden blonde hair, highlighted with light brown streaks to help bring out the color in her eyes and the olive tan of her pale skin. Now though, dark, crimson liquid stained her hair, oozing into it from a deep laceration that spread from the edge of her scalp and down to just below her left brow in a slight arch. The fitted, black hater top she wore was ripped, torn, and clung to her skin with the moisture it was soaked with, though the color of the fabric would have made it difficult for any onlooker to clearly identify it as her blood. The jeans she had been wearing were torn at one seam and dangling from her right ankle and the skin that was revealed on her legs was heavy bruised and spattered with blood, a thick stream pouring from a gash on her upper right thigh, making it nearly impossible for her to remain standing. “Stop…”

An agonized gurgle left her lips, drowned by the sound of an annoyed, guttural male growl, as she stumbled back a step, her knees buckling, when a blunt knife dug deep into her abdomen, the sixth jab she’d taken in the unknown amount of time she had been trapped in that alley by her attacker. “I said shut the fuck up.” The male voice growled; the heat of his breath sliding down her ear canal as he lips just barely touched the side of her face. Her mind shut down all but completely, leaving nothing but the instinct to do whatever it took to survive, and even if she could have come up with something to say back, her body had lost all ability to allow her to find her voice or move her lips, much less breathe.

The knife slid out of her stomach slowly, and the sound in itself was enough to make her vision swirl, never mind the damage it had caused and the already devastating amount of blood she’d lost to begin with. And when her attacker took a step back, she collapsed to her knees, desperately fighting the threads of darkness that were beginning to cloud in along the edges of her vision. She couldn’t pass out now, for if she did then there was absolutely no chance in hell that she was going to survive, and regardless of how traumatizing and horrific the night had been, she had no desire to go down now.
In the matter of seconds, feeling like years, that had passed by as she tried to regain her breath, her assailant had snatched her by the wrists and fastened them together behind her back. Desperately as she wanted to fight him off, to try and prevent it, she knew that she needed to save her strength until a moment when she absolutely needed it, a moment when she would see an opportunity to get help or make a dash for it. What she wasn’t expecting though, was for him to move and place a strip of tape over her mouth. With no way to even attempt to scream for help, and barely any ability at all to fight, there was nothing she could have done to get away when he lifted her up by the waist and roughly slung her over his shoulder, her stomach crashing against his shoulder blade and the bone pressing agonizingly into the slices on her body. Reflexes made her cry out against the tape over her mouth, and the pathetic whimper that left her throat caused her attacker to laugh sadistically as he trudged down the alley at a hastened pace.

Before she could even register what was happening, he had arrived at the edge of the river bank where a small boat dock had been built, and leaned down to dump her on the edge of the walkway. Her eyes slid closed as she forced in a deep breath through her nose, trying to prepare herself for whatever was going to happen, but the attempt was futile, because nothing could ever have prepared her for the indescribable agony that seared over every nerve in her body when the heel of his boot drove into a laceration in her back forcefully, sending her toppling into the icy water below.

Time passed like a cloudy dream then, her conscious fully submitting to the drive of her adrenaline and will to live, and somehow she found herself working every ounce of strength she could possibly muster to drag herself up the bank of the opposite side of the river. Her vision faded in and out in bouts of blackness, like a video camera being paused and resumed every ten minutes in a shaky action scene of a movie. She had no idea how on earth she’d managed to get herself to the street in the middle of what seemed like a small neighborhood, or where she even was, but what she did know was that her energy was on its last ounces, and out of instinct she pushed herself the few steps it took to get the steps of the front porch of one house before her legs gave out completely and she collapsed. Bleeding heavily, soaked to the bone and ice cold, she struggled to keep her eyes open as she tried to think of a way, any way at all to make a noise enough to get someone, anyone to know that she was there, to help, but nothing that she could think of was within her ability or strength to even attempt.

Please… don’t let me die out here… not like this…

In her sleep, Jai had begun to toss and turn near violently, thrashing at some moments, moaning and whimpering with the events of the nightmare she was having, the event she was reliving, sweat having formed over her entire shaking body, and tears having leaked out the corners of her eyes. Her breathing came in short, rapid pants, clearly hyperventilating, and as she was thrown under the water in the nightmare, she subconsciously held her breath outside of the dream, appearing as if she’d stopped breathing altogether for a long couple of minutes before she gasped in deeply for air, her whole body arching as she did so, and to any curious onlooker that wasn’t aware of her history, it may possibly have looked as if she were having a seizure of sorts perhaps, until consciousness slowly started to slip back, and she threw herself awake with a soft scream.

Jaime's reasoning seemed perfectly logical to an almost drug like induced haziness that was keeping Brandon's eyes cloudy and awash with the ripples of amazing pleasure he had just experienced. He nodded, almost zombie like, and carried the both of them into the bedroom and under the covers. However tired he felt, the slowly regained consciousness he felt creeping up on him did not allow him to fall asleep quite as quickly as his lover. She fit like the perfect puzzle piece at the end of a gigantic jigsaw right into his arms. The soft feeling of her smooth skin and gentle breaths put Brandon at enough ease that he considered dozing off right before his mind woke up completely. It was like a light bulb snapping on above him, but not nearly as harsh or frightening. Instead a pleasant feeling of contentment washed over him as he thought over what had just happened.

They'd made love, and fucked.

It was truly an awesome feeling, both of them. On the one hand was the passionate and much more emotional side that had connected and amplified all of the purely physical feelings that came from the other. It was not that either was lesser than the other, but by doing both things Brandon knew it made things even better. He had shown, felt, and helped Jaime both see, and feel just how strong his feelings were towards her. There could not be any doubt now between them, and that solid feeling of companionship was both needed and wanted right at this moment. While it had taken him quite awhile to get around to, a very long time, he almost thought it regretfully. Then he realized that the slow and steady build up was what had made it so good. The love, and the more physical fuck. Perhaps if he had been bolder they could have had one that led into the other, or vice-versa, or perhaps they would have had neither and that was almost a depressing thought. Except things had worked out, and there was no place or reason to be depressed. Not after that! He thought with a happy grin, while shifting in the bed to lay another kiss on Jaime's shoulders as he slipped into a more comfortable position.

Intent on finding that blissful blackness where he could dream about what had just occurred. Just thinking about it a little had brought his cock back to half-mast, but sleep quickly won that fight and put all of his body into slumber rather quickly.

-

There was a sniffle from beneath him. One that was trying to hide the pain and terror he had just fully committed to inflicting. That was fine by Bloody Tony, if they wanted to be brave they would just die quieter. Up until this point he had not realized just how riled up the brief, few seconds, of being so close to 'The One Who Got Away' had affected him. After trailing the cop and Jaime Marks to her apartment and taking down all the useful information he could find he had left, the long drive home had got him remembering that pleasant time. Usually he was not a spur of the moment type of guy, but the teen at the bus stop had looked so innocent, so full of false bravado, and so easy that he simply could not help himself. He'd pulled over, asked her where she was going, and got the rather sadly defiant answer of, "Anywhere but this shitty town!" While the pigtails bounced up and down and the perky little tits, face, and ass had followed into the passenger seat.

Her bad luck.

The rest was better planned after the bit of impulsive behavior. He'd stopped at a diner, giving her a chance for a last meal and even paying for it himself. They'd driven to a hotel, a nice looking one just on the outskirts of the next city over. Tony had even given her the opportunity to get out then, a bit unsure if this would even work since all he wanted was Jaime. The foolish little waif had invited him up to her room after checking in. Surely she had some horribly romantic thoughts about falling in love with a well-to-do athlete or something. Tony was almost incredulous at the upfront attitude this rebellious little one had. The thought that she knew what she was doing, and could seduce him was what sealed her fate. With a friendly smile he allowed her to lead him in, and began her sloppy french-kissing that he was sure could induce boners in high school boys, but almost made him gag.

Once she had gotten his cock free, and her panties off things changed.

She realized her mistake, but like the little rebel she was, decided she could deal with it like a woman.

True to his name sake, Bloody Tony took her in the pussy first. Tearing her insides with powerful strokes of his thick cock from behind until he could see the tears dripping from the corners of her once confident, now frightened eyes. Apparently she had not fully realized her mistake, because she was surprised when his leathery hand covered her mouth and his red cock slipped from her trembling pussy. She thought she was done, but then he had pressed against the hole she never let boys go near unless she was really drunk and it was just their finger. That one had bled even more, but still her screams died quickly to only sniffles and snobs. She still thought it was nothing more than a rough fuck. That had slightly pissed Tony off, and he'd decided there was no way it could only be that.

The sniffle came again as his last blast of hot seed filled her rectum, which was gurgling with regret, and she thought she was done.

Tony immediately rid her tiny little confused brain of that notion. Busting her nose and lip with a powerful punch as he straddled her chest and glared down. "Clean me off, and if you try and bite I will kill you." Little did she know, that was already the card being played, but sometimes it helped to let them think otherwise for a bit. She cleaned the blood and semen from his cock as quickly as her little cocksucking mouth could, and in the process got him hard again. This time he flipped her onto her back, tied her panties into her mouth as a gag with a strip of her now ruined shirt. Another strip placed her hands uncomfortably behind her back, and her ankles spread to each side of the bed. Finally she was well and truly frightened.

Sliding between her legs with an evil glint in his black eyes that mirrored the glint on his knife, he took her slowly this time. She might have been able to enjoy it, if it wasn't for the razor sharp knife that began to carve into her unblemished skin. Just little scrapes and slices first. Nothing that would keep her from enjoying the full experience. Her screams were muffled, and Tony had turned the TV up to it's highest volume. They wouldn't be bothered. As he neared climax, he stopped cutting just to make sure she was beginning to enjoy it, in fact his thick cock and practiced thumb was able to get her off twice before he had finished. It was a long night. The as the third climax approached, fueled by the previous terror filled orgasms, he stabbed her. The thud echoed in the room. He had come from the side, and aimed right between her scrawny ribs. Immediately he yanked the knife out, allowing a hiss of gurgling air to leave her lungs as he himself climaxed.

As the light drained from her eyes, and unnoticed to the little teen, Bloody Tony felt the disappointment wash over him.

"It should have been you, Jaime."

-

Brandon awoke with a start at the scream, and with less alcohol and being further removed from the bliss of sex his training took right over. Out of bed, flicking on the lights, and scanning the room in an instant. Nothing is wrong here. He thought in brief confusion, before looking back to Jaime. There is something wrong there. The thought saddened, and hurt him slightly. After the beautiful scene that was this night, to have it progress like this left him feeling as if he had failed her. Quickly he shut the overhead light, and turned on one of the side lamps after realizing how bright the damn thing was. Sliding back into the bed, he wrapped Jaime in a hug and pulled her against him. Their naked bodies quickly intertwined and Brandon waited patiently for her to calm down. All he felt he could do was rub softly along her back, and whisper soft words down into her ear.

"Shh, sh, shhhh Jam. I'm right here... It was only a nightmare... It didn't happen again... You were just, just remembering."

Scooting down the bed, so their eyes were level, he kissed her lips. Then he smiled hopefully.

"Don't think about that... Do you," A blush crossed his features, "Remember what really happened tonight?" The blush turned into a flush, and his hopeful smiled turned into one that was a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure at remembering what had really happened. He traced a finger to push her sweaty hair off her face, and kissed her again. "I remember... You were happy, and safe. And I'm gonna keep you that way."

The dreamscape slowly started to melt away as reality settled back in, and the sudden feeling of Brandon’s arms around her, rubbing her back softly, combined with his soft cooing in her ear definitely helped her to settle back down more effectively and quickly. With slow, deep breaths, she managed to calm her nerves, stoppering the trembling that overtaken her entire body, sighing softly in contentment when his lips touched hers, and she found herself pressing in closer to him, nuzzling into his chest and arms as she slowly started to nod in agreement with what he was saying. “Yeah…” She murmured quietly, her voice raw and hoarse. “Yeah, I do. I remember everything. It was… It was amazing… I can’t even begin to describe just how… I never thought it would be like that. I didn’t think it could… But it was… and you… you…” Her lips curved into a slight smile then as she searched his eyes, cuddling even more comfortably into him, her form molding into his perfectly. “Now, to thank you for that, and for everything, and to attempt to show you some appreciation, how about you lie here and I’ll go make us something to eat for breakfast and give Mel a call to let her know I’m okay and what’s all going on.”

She ignored any protest he offered then as she slipped out of bed, her form still entirely nude, and leaning over for a brief moment, she pressed a soft, tender kiss to his lips before she turned and slipped from the bedroom. Her cellphone was still in the living room entryway, along with her discarded shoes from the previous night, and she deftly leaned to pick it and his discarded T-shirt from the floor as she passed by, easily pulling the shirt on over her head and immediately breathing in the scent of his body wash that lingered on the fabric. It reminded with a hint of disdain that was most certainly going to need a shower after all the sweat she had emitted from their physical activity as well the nightmare. For the moment though, she dialed Mel’s number and slipped into the kitchen to rummage around for something quick and simple for breakfast.

“Jam-Jam! Babe I was just about to call you, literally. I had the phone in my hand. You’re sure we don’t have telepathy or something?”

She could hear the smile in her voice, and she gave a soft, hoarse laugh in response. “Hey Mel.”

“Sheesh Jai, you sound like you just got out of a rock concert. What’s going on? Are you feeling okay? You seemed really off all last night. Fever? Sore throat?”

Rolling her eyes and hiding a smile to herself, Jai sighed softly as she pulled open the fridge and stared blankly into it, heavily debating the contents. “Fine, fine, I’m fine Mel, honest. Brandon took me home last night and then Michelle came over and—“

“Michelle? Chavez Michelle?”

“…Yes, she came over and—“

“I haven’t seen her in like… a month I think! How’s she doing? Tell her to come swing by and give me a visit!”

She breathed out slowly, resisting a laugh. “Getting off the subject Mel…”

“Right. Sorry. Please, do tell me what’s going on.”

“Chavez came over for a bit last night and made us dinner and the chief called and they’re going to have a patrol take me to work and pick me up and check in every hour and a half, and keep a car in the parking lot to monitor the complex.”

“In the complex?! What good is that going to do if they pass out at two a.m. and someone sneaks in?”

Jai nearly slammed the fridge door, leaning up against the counter with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know Mel, but it doesn’t much matter. He’s going to come after me now that he knows and he’s not going to let anyone or anything get in his way, including police, in case you’ve forgotten…”

She could hear Mel sigh heavily through the phone, and in her mind she could picture her friend shaking her head. “Right… yeah… Ok so finish detailing me the reason behind you having a frog voice.”

“Brandon spent the night and I just woke up a little bit ago from a really bad nightmare.”

“Is he deaf when he sleeps?”

“…I don’t think so… why?”

“Because for you to sound like that babe, you’d have had to been screaming for at least an hour. If that guy slept through that it really makes me wonder.”

“No, no he didn’t sleep through it. Wait… what makes you think it’s so easy to hear?”

“Because I’ve been to your apartment before Jai-Jam. I can hear you singing in the shower from the kitchen.”

“Right. Yeah. Course. That. Well, maybe he just didn’t hear it at first.”

“Jam…”

“Yes?”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing?”

“Jaime Amelia Marks we have known each other since diapers. Don’t you dare try to slip something past me.”

“Brandon asked me out last night.”

“Oh! Where?!”

“Uh… Well we didn’t go anywhere, like I already told you, we had dinner and drinks here.”

“Drinks, and spending the night… ohmygod!!!!”

Jai winced, having to pull the phone away from her ear.

“Did you have sex with him?!?!?!”

Oy… “No… yes… maybe…”

“Babe!!!”

“What time am I working tonight?”

“Oh hell no you don’t! Don’t try to change the subject now! You already know fine well I’m giving you the rest of the week and Pratt and I are covering you. Now. Spill!”

“Y’know… I actually just realized I really need to hop in the shower and I’m about to make breakfast, so I’ll call you later, bye!” That said, she didn’t even hesitate to hang up and set her phone on the counter, finally deciding on just making two bowls of frosted flakes and a glass of orange juice to share, before returning to the bedroom with a soft smile.

His t-shirt fit on her body like an airy, short dress, covering her mid-thighs and hanging loosely over her shoulders, one side having draped just over the edge of her shoulder to reveal a hint of flesh on her arm. “Breakfast! Sit up!” She was feigning pleasantry, if only to a degree.

“How’d it go?”

“How’d what go?” She inquired as she slowly and carefully climbed back into bed, gazing at him patiently as she offered him one of the bowls.

“Did you call Melanie?”

“Oh. Yeah. Fine. It was fine.” She finished by cramming a large bite of cereal into her mouth, making sure to chew slowly.

Tony woke with a growl and flippant remark to his phone which was screeching loudly not six inches from his face. Taking it, and snoozing the alarm he allowed himself to think about why he was in such a bad mood. After his impulsive mistake the previous evening, and it had been a mistake, he had spent nearly the entire evening cleaning up the mess. In fact, he had spent the entire evening cleaning the room, wrapping the body, and disposing of it in the usual means. Two cinder blocks, a chain, and the bottom of one of the many deep quarries that littered the state. He had arrived home just in time to see the sunrise peeking over the mountains that covered the horizon from his cottage. It was not really just a cottage, but a resort like summer home. The money he made enabled him to live comfortably, but he enjoyed a more out-of-the-way style of living. Not that he did not have every type of creature comfort in the three thousand square foot building, or grew his own food, or hunted his own meat. He just liked living away from everyone. It also helped with his line of work. The nearly fifty acres he owned in the middle of nowhere kept unwelcome guests and the authorities from snooping too much. His nearest neighbors thought him a rich vice president of some minor company, and the nearest authority thought him the son of some industrial baron who sometimes partied too hard but certainly caused little to no trouble.

The massive open living, dining, and sitting room took up much of the first floor and square footage. The attached kitchen was large and spotless, mostly the fridge was used for beer and frozen dinners that went into the second most used appliance; the microwave. Each wing of the house had a guest bedroom and full bathroom. The second floor had two rooms, his bedroom and the game room. The game room had a pool table, humidor for cigars, a full bar, and deck that oversaw the actual pool that was less than five hundred yards from the lake. The basement had an angled driveway that led up to the gravel drive, and a second hidden room that looked a lot like a butchers shop. That was Tony's office. Steel tables, cages, an iron wrought bed frame, a large deep freezer, and several shelves of tools were down there among other items and devices. The entire room sloped to the middle where there was a two by two drain connected to the main sewage system, though it was treated first before entering the pipeline. The only entrance to the room was a hidden door in the plastered room of the garage, and Tony had the only key.

As the alarm went off for a second time, Tony again cursed, before remembering why he had set the alarm in the first place.

He had called a meeting with Alfonso Serento, the capo whom he loosely reported to in la familia.

After that he had a meeting with Desmond, an old partner who was more of a freelancer, and did not have any ties to la familia besides Bloody Tony. He had a similar 'weakness' for young girls, but his style was entirely different than Tony's and sometimes that worried Tony. However there was no denying the mans brilliance and ruthlessness. Up until this point Tony and Desmond had only worked on official projects directed by Alfonso. Tony had a rather strong premonition that Desmond would be up for helping him on this particular side project, at least with what he had planned, which wasn't entirely thought out. Though that was on purpose as he wanted Desmond, who always had input, to add his own thoughts. Admittedly, the man was more creative, but Tony preferred a sure thing while he felt Desmond played a little loose for his liking. Still, this would be right up the mans alley. Tony grunted and pulled himself from the bed, and through his morning routine.

He met Alfonso, an impeccably dressed businessman with black eyes and brown silk hair, at the Napoleano Cafe. Immediately ordering a triple-shot espresso, Tony was sure the capo could see his tiredness. He would not ask why Tony was tired though, Alfonso was quiet and hands-off about anything not of his own creating. They talked pleasantries until Tony's coffee arrived, and with a quick glance to be sure there were no eavesdroppers Tony began in the typically abstract way all Mafia members talked.

"That one place we talked about, with the birds, you remember?" This is about the Golden Eagle.

"Yes, you said it could be a nice place to plant a garden." We wanted to see how could of an investment it could be.

"It still could be, but I can no longer feed the birds." It looked promising, but I can no longer scout it out.

"Trouble with the feeder?" We are having trouble there?

"Some sort of law, I need a new one." The police might have recognized me, but someone else can take my place.

"It will cost a bit." You won't be paid for the job.

"I'm aware, but it is worth it." I know, but I have something more pressing.

"How worth it? Do we need new feed? How pressing, do we need to get involved?

"No. It's just the feeder." No, it's personal.

"Will it change the timeline?" How long?

"Perhaps a month." Perhaps a month.

"Is there anything else we can do to speed it up?" Will you be available for anything else?

"Yes, water it regularly." Yes, if it requires my attention.

"Very well." Very well.

The rest of the conversation was mostly politics of la familia, and if one subject could completely bore Tony to death it was politics. The only part that ever interested him was the possibility of hurting another members family and that was an extremely rare occurrence. He had done it once. In fact, it had been the beginnings of what led to Detective Marks death and Jamie Parks subsequent rape. One of the older capo's was clinging to an old rule of not using physical violence against the police because of the undue heat it would bring. So violence was used on his family to cow him into submission, which it ultimately did, and now the old man was behind bars. It was actually safer for him there. There was a standing hit order, if he ever was released. Tony gave Alfonso another ten minutes before excusing himself for his next appointment, and hopefully it would be much more enjoyable even if this one had at least been productive.

The drive to the Pink Flamingo, a tropicano styled strip club was not very far. Tony parked, walked in the back door, and made his way to one of the corner booths where he saw Desmond already sitting. The man's eyes were on a rather young stripper on a side stage, but when Tony arrived Desmond's attention shifted. That was another thing Tony liked about working with Desmond, while he had his fascinations, business almost always came first, and he was professional at least until the job began. Then it was just his damn ego and cleverness that took over. At least this time Tony wanted some of the cleverness, so long as it didn't get carried away.

"Hello Desmond. I'll be quite upfront with you. This job is important to me, not la familia, you understand?"

Tony reached into his pocket, and produced the picture of Jaime he had snapped the other night. Immediately it drew a reaction from Desmond.

"She's the target. She is under heavy police protection, we are going to get her, play with her and her friends, and kill her. This is a personal job. No pay, except expenses of course... This will be a favor, to me, and you know that anyone who does me a favor will certainly be given favors back. I do not ask for favors, because I do not like debt. But I like you Desmond, and I need someone with your... Style... To pull this off."

Tony was sure he had him now. A favor to Tony meant rewards of loyalty, help without question, and the might of the entire la familia behind it even if this job was not strictly for la familia. Any work for Tony was work for la familia, it just meant that they were not to know about it.

"Now, here are the details..."

-

Brandon was happy that Jaime seemed to recover so quickly. The doubt and failure left him like a breeze as Jaime left the room where he was left to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling. However before he could comfortably settle into his morning routine he heard his phone shudder on the nightstand. When did I bring that in here? He vaguely remembered getting up once in the middle of the night to piss, and realized it must have been then. Grabbing the phone, he swyped open the text message.

Chavez: Everything good rook? You get the day off. Twice lucky, I fucking hope!

With a grin, he typed back.

Brandon: All good chica, thanks again.

Settling back into his more relaxed mode, his mind wandered over his own body and how things felt besides his emotions from the night before. His knees and elbows burned, most of his internal muscles were sore, and his dick was tingling. It felt rather good just to lay there basking in the memories of the night before. He heard Jaime in the other room, talking just under the volume he needed to distinguish what she was saying. For the briefest of moments he wanted to stand and eavesdrop, but quickly he pushed the thought from his mind. There is no need to be paranoid, he thought to himself with a grin that grew, just like his manhood as his thoughts returned to the evening before. He was so surprised at how passionate Jai had been. She'd really thrown herself into this, hadn't she? Well, so had he, he reasoned out slowly as he allowed his mind to wake, and drift between memories and new thoughts. During the daze he realized time had slipped by rather quickly and Jaime was approaching the front door.

He had just adjusted himself to make it less noticeable when he heard her command to sit up. Which he did carefully to hide the pleasant evidence from the evening before. It was harder still when he noticed what Jaime was wearing. Just his tee shirt. With a thick swallow he asked, “How’d it go?”

“How’d what go?” She inquired as she slowly and carefully climbed back into bed, gazing at him patiently as she offered him one of the bowls.

“Did you call Melanie?”

“Oh. Yeah. Fine. It was fine.”

Not quite satisfied with the answer, but unable to say much more as his cock was still throbbing just under Jaime's gaze and the bed cover he took a few bites of the sugary cereal and chewed mechanically. Finally once things had settled down a bit more he smiled and asked, "She have anything to say, when do you start today?"

"Oh, she said to say hi to Michelle, they know each other, you know?"

"I think she mentioned that... I'll let her know... Uh... When do you start?"

"I uh, she said I have the week off."

Brandon was a bit surprised at that, and he shifted in the bed without realizing. The blanket dropped, revealing the bulge beneath his bowl. He did catch Jaime's glance though, and following her eyes he looked up with a embarrassed grin. A shrug of his shoulders followed, and then he said sheepishly, "Well I took my own advice and started remembering, and hey, I'm a guy! Morning, wood?" It was all he could do to not laugh.

"Well, ha, I have the day off too... But before you get any naughty ideas I need to let Sgt Chavez know you're off too."

Grabbing his phone, he shot off the text. Then he turned back, the same sheepish grin still plastered on his face. An eyebrow raised.

-

Brandon: Jaime has week off, talk to Melanie? Good idea?

Chavez was pleasantly surprised at the rookies question. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not to give Jaime all this time to think, but Melanie would know. Melanie was closer than anyone to Jaime, except perhaps Brandon, now. The thought crossed her mind unbidden, and she smiled pleasantly at that while pulling on her uniform. Like clockwork she was the first one in for day shift, and she had already worked out, going hard in the gym was one of the things that really relaxed the sergeant. After showering, she was now changing, and then she would head to the office to get some paperwork done. After that it was a lone patrol today, but before she left she would talk to the chief about Jaime not working. She would ask his opinion, but the experienced Sgt knew that the Chief would leave it up to her to decide what they should do, if anything. Chavez knew that she could not decide with the information she had, so she'd be visiting Melanie. It'd be good to catch up, and hopefully learn a bit more. Sighing at the fact that there could be even more to this entire story, she hurried upstairs to get on with it.

Arriving at the Golden Eagle a little past eleven, she was not surprised to find the door open, and a few customers at the bar.

"Mel! Hola chica, let me know when you can take a smoke?"

Desmond’s interest had been severely piqued when Tony had reached out to him, as it had been a long time since the two had been paired up for a job, and it wasn’t a common occurrence either, but the way Tony had come off in his initial contact wasn’t exactly in the most… contracted of ways. Something was up, and whatever it was, it was evidently clear that Tony didn’t want the word to go beyond his ears, and with a secret like that, it had to big, and where big secrets were involved, so were big payouts. Given the circumstances, it didn’t even take a second thought for Des to set his current jobs aside and onto a back burner, not when a special project with Tony was on the table.

Black eyes were idly scoping out the bust and curvy bottom of the new girl on the pole, a hunger hiding somewhere in his piercingly dark gaze, shielded by long, disheveled locks of black hair. Given the fact that lighting in the club was kept dark in order to give focus to the girls, he’d decided that if Tony really wanted to lay as low as he’d insisted, a pair of baggy black jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt would do just the trick to keep them more or less out of sight and out of mind, especially given the reputation that Des had in that particular club, hell, the reputation he had in general. It was known fact amongst those with dirty hands that Des had strong connections within the few different mob families, and of all, his most pronounced connection was Bloody Tony. It was also a known fact that he wasn’t a sworn member to any family in particular, making him both an ideal man to send on a hush-hush job and a force to contend with. Anyone who was anyone knew that getting on Desmond’s bad side would land them chained to the bottom of the shipyard after being beaten within an inch of death with a wooden baseball bat.

Running a slender hand through his hair to push it back from his face, his attention was immediately brought to fixate on the silhouette of his approaching contact, and he sat back in his seat, linking his fingers together over the table top, patiently waiting. Tony wasn’t exactly the kind of guy that liked to indulge in the mundaneness of small talk, and though Des was a bit the opposite, he held silence, instead leaving the talking up to Tony until it was his turn. Mutely, he nodded his assent to the first term laid out, unlinking his fingers to reach for the photo that Tony offered up, and immediately his gaze narrowed, brows raising. “Jaime Marks…” He said slowly, dragging out the vowels in her first name thoughtfully. He was tempted to make more remarks, but for the moment he held silence, instead just allowing Tony to say and finish his part, and once all was said and done, he remained silent for a few minutes longer, his fingers idly tracing over the details of the photo before him.

“Mmm… I do remember this one fondly, quite fondly,” he finally muttered, taking his words slow and calculative, deliberate. “Gotta say Tone, even I’m surprised she’s not dead. But, on the bright side, she grew up to be quite the looker, ay?” A dark smirk slid across his thin red lips, eyes catching a glint of something devious, and then he gave an idle shrug of his shoulder. “You have your terms and I have mine, as always. This,” he tapped his index finger on the picture, locking his eyes with Tony’s. “This sure as hell is some murky water to start dragging halfway through. You wanna get this chick then you’re smart to be talking to me, and that’s not pride or ego talking; that’s just flat out brains. The way to do it is get her from the inside out, literally. Fuck with her head, send her off in a bunch of different directions at the same time, and a new set every day, hell, every few hours if you really wanna push it to get done quick. You say she’s under heavy protection? Well, hell, that’s no surprise; chick’s the darling daughter of the guy that got his hands a little too dirty for his own brainless good, and I’m betting the entire police force knows her by name and face and has her height, weight, eye color and hair color memorized. Hell, I’d be surprised if they didn’t have a tracker implanted in her neck like they do with dogs. Best way to go about is to weaken the ties, weaken the credibility. If the force starts second guessing everything, we may as well be good as gold.”

Pausing then, Des gave Tony a minute to soak it all in, though he started speaking again before Tony would have a chance to respond. “So here’s what I’ll do for you partner: I’ll scope out Gold Wing, lay low, keep my head down. Turns out you’re lucky enough that I’ve got an old connection that, last I heard, works there, and since I always play my cards right, with a little talking and a couple beers I can easily get the scoop on what’s what and when’s when and who’s who and where. I’ll keep you updated with daily reports, once a day, eight in the morning sharp, hand-written and delivered by a different random each time. We start having regular meetings and it risks getting noticed and tailed. Phone, text e-mail, that shit all leaves a trail right to us. But a hand-written note delivered by a random paper boy won’t draw a spec of attention. Gotta be smart about it. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on the bitch, keep my head down, and get in her head. Girl with a history like hers’ll be easy to fuck with. Leave a note here, cross a shadow there, a little bump in the middle of the night, and it’ll be good as gold.”

Again, he paused, this time leaning forward over the table and lowering his voice a tad. “I give it a week minimum, two tops, and then she’ll be in our hands. Now, a favor owed to me by you is a pretty hefty bargaining tool, but I’m giving up a few stacks of green for you on this one, so to make up for it, I expect to play too. I’ll do the talking and the walking for you, but I expect to get in on the goods too. Doesn’t have to be a fifty fifty split, but I expect a share at least every other day. I can only assume that you don’t plan to let this one end within a few hours, rather, drag it out for a few days, really get your fill in. It’s in your nature after all buddy. Those are my terms, and since we’re both on the same page and on clear understanding,” he slowly rose to his feet, sliding the picture from the table and inserting it into his sweatshirt pocket before holding out his hand. “I have business to tend to. I’ll be in touch.”

--

The conversation about her phone call with Mel was brief, curt almost, and Jai wanted to keep it that way. She wasn’t mad, or irritated, nothing of the sort, just a bit flustered and bashful about it, and she knew that Mel was going to be demanding of a fully detailed report before long. So, for the time being, it was simply a matter of delaying it as long as possible, ideally to a point of time where Brandon wasn’t around and then she wouldn’t feel quite to nervous and shy about explaining it all. But even then, everything had happened so fast and in such a blur, even she wasn’t entirely sure just when or how it had even started. It just did, and it was… the best experience of her life that she could currently come up with.

His awkward shifting drew her attention, and when the blanket fell away she quirked a brow, a slow smile crawling across her face before full on laughter at the words that left his mouth. Shaking her head with a grin, she took a moment to cram another small bite of cereal into her mouth, chewing it over slowly, and she nearly choked on it when he playfully remarked about her being the one to have a mind in the gutter, swallowing hard before laughing again, and as soon as he set his phone back down and returned his attention to her, she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Actually,” she murmured softly, slowly. “I was just thinking about finishing this bowl of cereal and jumping in the shower. So, if you don’t have any other plans…”

--

Mel had been at the club all night; in fact she hadn’t even left after everything that happened, instead opting to curl up on the cot in her office for the few hours she had before the day shift and the prep for a busy Saturday night. There was an excellent line up for cage and the turnout was expected to be even better. So, rather than waste precious time in heading home to sleep and then waking up early to show and dress and head back, the easiest bet was to just sleep in her office. She had her own private full bathroom and a stocked closet for just such occasions, and they happened at least once a week, and she expected to be sleeping in the club that Saturday evening as well given the roster for the evening.

She’d finished getting ready and dressed in a low-cut black cocktail dress, pairing it off with a pair of black stilettos and a neat application of make-up, just enough to bring out her eyes and accentuate her lips, and it was just as she had finished that Jai had called. The way it ended was a bit abrupt and unexpected, but Mel had no doubts whatsoever that she was going to be able to get Jaime alone to flesh out all the details she was looking for, and at the moment, she was understanding enough given the circumstances.

When Chavaz turned up at the bar, Mel had been idly chatting with a couple of visitors that had popped to say hello and have a quick drink before heading off to tend to other business, and the moment that Michelle’s voice rang out over the counter, Mel perked up, her eyes widening and bright smile lighting up her face. One quick glance at the uniform the other was wearing and the way she spoke told Mel instantly that this wasn’t a visit for old time’s sake; it was business, and it was important. Still, Mel was never one to be all serious and all work without a few laughs and moments of fun, so as she raised a brow and regard her old friend, she slid her arms across her chest and cocked her hip, regarding the woman with a disbelieving gaze. “Really Michelle?” She called back. “You come in here and ask when I’m going on break? What am I? Chopped liver?” It was clear that Mel was fighting a smile, but she was managing no less. “I own this club. I can take a break to chat with an old friend and damn time I please!” That elicited a few laughs from the guys at the bar, and Mel was no longer able to resist from smiling as she rounded the bar counter and strode up to Michelle, pulling her into a gentle hug without a single care nor hesitation.

She lingered for a moment, discreetly inhaling the scent of the woman’s shampoo, before she leaned back and offered her a bright, flirty smile. “Come on you, step into my office and we’ll catch up. Don’t think you’re really going to get away with dropping by to see me for strictly business reasons. You’re going to stay a while and hang out with me. I’ll show you the line-up for the cage tonight too, it’s gonna be great!” Without further ado then, Mel hooked her arm around Michelle’s, offering an idle wave to the guys at the bar and a brief “See you later!”, before tugging the sergeant past the bar and along the back hallway before ducking into her office, sliding out leather plus office chair as she pointed the couch for Michelle to sit. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” she started once Michelle had settled. “I can withhold answers to any and all questions regarding the job until after we’ve caught up, or we can get it out of the way now if I get your word as an officer that you’ll actually stick around to chat. What’s it gonna be?”

Tony listened carefully to Desmond, and though his off-handed remarks, and long winded monologue somewhat irked the terser speaking Italian, he did hear what he had hoped to hear. This was almost be easy. Was his first thought when Desmond had finished and left. No, not easier, but less time consuming. That would be something Alfonso would be appreciative of. The easiest way was always the most simplistic, and that had originally been Tony's plan. Wait. All he would have to do is wait until the memory of his presence was hazy to everyone, and the smarter ones would draw it up as a coincidence. The stupid ones would begin to have their own doubts that he had even been present in the Golden Eagle in the first place. Yet with Jaime and the entire collection of people surrounding her the wait would have dragged for over a month, perhaps even two. Assuredly Bloody Tony still would have found his mark, and she would still have ended up deader than a doorknob, but this way... Desmond's way that could all happen a lot quicker. It was a smart scheme, of that Tony was sure, but it also required someone of Desmond's talents to pull it off. In way this would be easier for Tony, and the wait would be much shorter. The only problem could be, would be, if a mistake occurred like the one from his previous night. With a swear, he promised that would not happen again.

There were certainly more little nuggets that Desmond had thrown out, but belatedly he realized the man had not spelled out any specific plan. It did not matter ultimately, as only promises had been made, and even if Desmond failed Tony could be patient. He was a very patient man, when it suited him to be as it did now.

Sharing his prize was not an issue, and it had even been something Tony had actually thought of before his associate even mentioned it. A tag team approach could be even more brutal than a one-on-one. It had the added benefit of keeping Desmond around if he needed any assistance to tie up any other loose ends that came from this job. There was little to know worry about the eccentric man killing Jaime, as he had said, Tony had his own style and it was not one to be questioned. That though finally brought the faintest of smiles back to Tony's face after a long, productive day, and even longer night. Glancing at his watch, and then to the stage, he decided he could and would stay. If Desmond needed him in the next forty-eight hours than Tony was wrong to consider him as the right man for the job, the note business was rather brilliant too, and he settled back into the comfortable bench to enjoy the show.

-

Brandon laughed, finally rid of the nervousness after the reveal of his embarrassment. The kiss Jaime placed on the corner of his lips was both seductive, and had a welcome softness to it. With a smile he nodded, glad to move off the subject of what was between his legs for the moment at least.

"I could certainly use one, you know what they say?" He asked in between bites, "Save water, shower together." With he wink he continued to eat.

His eyes rarely left Jaime the entire short meal, only to make sure he was actually scooping cereal and not just milk into his mouth. She looked... Serene, peaceful even, and royally fucked! The thought had sneaked into his mind so suddenly that he spit a mouthful of cereal back into the bowl and began to laugh. It took him a few hilarious seconds to settle down to just a chuckle, and explain what was so funny. He thought she might appreciate it, even if it wasn't quite as funny to her.

"I was just thinking about how," The word slipped out before he could remember where it was from, "Perfect." He remembered then, and a more satisfied but infinitely more happy smile slipped over his face. "Then, and I swear to God I don't know why, I thought you looked, and I quote, royally fucked." He waited a second to make sure her reaction was at least happy about the thought he'd just had. "I'm sure I look much the same, but that even makes it better," He added as an offering to end the conversation.

"You full yet?" She asked.

"Definitely." He replied to both her question and the twinkle he thought he could see in her eyes.

Throwing the covers to the side without a hint of the previous shame, Brandon stood and collected the bowls. As he walked past Jaime he leaned over to kiss her, and then kept moving to the kitchen. He rinsed the dishes and stuffed them in the dishwasher, meanwhile he heard the shower start, before he followed the alluring sounds.

-

For more than a few moments Michelle completely forgot why she had come to the Golden Eagle. Dios mio, I haven't seen her in ages! She had not realized how much she enjoyed Melanie's company until once again she was in it. A rush of words, the friendly hug and, was it a little long? The easy grace that she possessed. It was almost too easy to be friendly as she tried to get a word in edgewise, but for one of the few times in her rather outspoken Latina life failed. "It is good to see you again Mel, I'm sorry I haven't been over more often. I really am. It's work, you know, I'm sure you know, look at this place! Things are working out, no? I'm so glad..." She tried to keep up, but Chavez finally found herself outspoken and befriended much too powerfully to do anything else but smile and listen. That was until they were finally back in Melanie's office and she began to 'lay down the law' so to speak and Chavez remembered why she had come there in the first place.

“I can withhold answers to any and all questions regarding the job until after we’ve caught up, or we can get it out of the way now if I get your word as an officer that you’ll actually stick around to chat. What’s it gonna be?”

"Well, as much as I want to, this one is kind of important and involves you too, to a degree."

With a sigh, Chavez went on.

"You know I will certainly stick around, and I think I will stop by tonight once I can get out of this stiff thing. Fight night right?"

Chavez tugged on her uniform and grinned briefly.

"So the thing is, you know what happened to Jaime better than anyone, and I trust your judgement with her completely. The thing is, my partner, Brandon, the rook. He asked, and I agree that it needs to be asked, is it really wise to give Jai so much time to herself? She's a little," Chavez twisted her wrist from side to side, "Unstable right now. We're taught that routine is the best thing in a crisis, and well, it took a rookie to remind me of that. So I just wanted to hear your... Reasoning, into giving Jaime the week off?"

Chavez wished briefly that she had spent more time with Melanie at this point. It was not simply because the question felt rather awkward, and their friendship felt like it was being squeezed a bit at the moment. That was bound to happen even if they saw each other every day. Prying into others lives, especially on this level, was just an uncomfortable thing. No, the other reason was a lot more selfish and a lot more pressing for Michelle at the moment after realizing that Brandon was happily with someone else. Melanie was beautiful, intelligent, free-spirited, and just, well, hot. One of Chavez's few sins was certainly judging a book by it's cover. It served her well in the field dealing with crooks and low-life's, but in relationships one of the main reasons her flings were just flings was that she always went for the hottest senorita or senor in the room. It was superficial, and sometimes she did not like it, but it certainly had led to plenty of fun nights. She was pretty sure that Melanie would be a lot of fun.

Just before Melanie's reply, Chavez pushed all of the previous thoughts from her mind. This was business, and she needed the information.

A hint of color rose in Jai’s cheeks at his unsubtle reference about showering together, not only because he’d been so bold as to actually say it aloud, but because she found herself idly looking forward to what a shower together would entail. She’d never before in her entire life fantasized or even idly pondered about sex or anything of the like, and now, not only had she actually done it, but she was finding herself thinking about it, fantasizing about it, looking forward to it. And the more she thought about just thinking about it, the more color rose in her cheeks, until, at last, he suddenly did something that drew her from her pervasive thoughts.

With a lifted brow and a puzzled expression, Jai stared at him as he started so heartily laughing, for a fleeting moment she wondered if he’d suddenly picked up the ability to read her mind or something. What came out of his mouth for explanation was at first a bit surprising, perhaps even appalling to some degree, to some at least, but she was able to see the humor in it above all else, and even she started to laugh softly once she’d finished chewing the bite of cereal she’d just taken. He’d left it open for her to offer up a response, to agree or disagree of whether or not he looked the same, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually answer, she was still reveling in the fact that she had actually gone past all inhibition and partaken in things she’d never imagined. She didn’t regret, not in the slightest, but it was still a wonder to her.

Before long, she finished her cereal off, carefully drinking the last of the milk as she looked over at him. “Full yet?” She asked quietly.

”Definitely.”

He threw the blankets aside, taking her bowl, giving her a kiss, and then disappearing from the room, al in such a way that she couldn’t help but stare after him for a long moment, idly taking in the view of his bare skin and toned muscle. It was only for a few minutes, and then she finally pulled herself together and got to her feet, silently padding from the bedroom and across the hall to the bathroom. Turning the shower on a lukewarm temperature, she turned to face herself in the mirror, idly tracing the tips of her fingers over the skin of her cheek and exposed shoulder, reflecting on the previous evening, dim memories coming back. A soft smile slid across her lips then, and she shrugged out of his borrowed t-shirt, turning her back and stepping under the water with a heavy sigh of comfort.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head under the rushing water, feeling it beat and massage against her scalp, her arms lifting so that she could rifle her fingers through it, making sure that every inch was thoroughly wetted. A gasp of shock left her throat then, when she felt warm, strong arms slide around her waist, and a chest press softly against her back, feeling a hard heat pressing softly between her legs, and she squinted her eyes open to look up over her shoulder, seeing his smiling face. She returned the smile back in kind, searching his eyes as best she could as she felt his hands move over her body, sliding smoothly and easily with the water, and it elicited a shiver from her, causing her eyes to flutter. His one hand was moving up over her stomach and chest, along her breasts delicately and finally to her neck, curling loosely around her throat, his thumb and forefinger pressing against the backs of her jaw, tilting her head back a little more and encouraging her closer as he leaned down and sealed his mouth over hers. His other hand, in the meantime, was tracing tantalizing patterns along her abdomen, tracing scars, seducing her clearly sensitive skin, and with each trail of a finger, she shivered, until, at last, his hand slid down over the top of her thigh, and then torturously slowly back up along the inside, and then the touch stopped, though she could feel his hand hovering there between her legs, and it was nearly agonizing. A soft whimper of a moan finally left her lips, flooding his mouth, when at last his hand moved in, and she could feel his touch on her sex.

--

Being informed that the business Chavez was there to discuss also involved Mel was enough to cause the smile on her face to falter, and Mel nodded slowly as she watched her friend. Her lips curved back upwards when the woman agreed to stick around, and even offered to visit later in the evening with the faintest of grins, and Mel relaxed. “Good,” she responded back briefly, quietly, only having enough time to get that one word out before Chavez started speaking again, and Mel’s expression quickly sobered and sank, she nodding just slightly as she shifted in her seat. When she’d finished her piece, Mel drew in a slow, deep breath through parted lips, heaving it back as a quiet sigh.

“You’re right,” she said quietly, slowly. “I do know all too well what happened, and I tell you, I may as well have been there myself from the way I found her. There is nothing, nothing like stepping out your front door at six in the morning, backpack slung over one shoulder, all dressed and prettied up for school, excited to walk to school and hunt down your best friend- who you were raised alongside since diapers, and who your family took in after her dad was killed, scold her for being out so late the night before and not waking you up when she got home, for leaving for school without waiting for you, to talk about the dreams from last night, chat about how crazy dinner was, about the latest episode of our favorite show that she missed while studying... But instead…” She paused, her voice faltering for a moment. “Instead you open the front door, your back turned while you tell your parents you’re heading out, and nearly fall flat on your face because your foot slips in a pool of blood on the porch, and you immediately turn your head around to figure out what just happened because it’s spring, it’s warm enough that there’s no snow and no ice and it hasn’t rained, and you look down and you see blood, so… much… blood… and your eyes follow the trail and all you see is this body lying there on the porch floor, slumped over, face down, curled up. You can tell right off the bat that they’ve been through hell, not only by the obvious but you can see all the wounds on them, all the blood in their clothes, the mud caked in their hair and on their feet… and you scream for your dad, but you can’t see this person’s face; you don’t know yet; not until you nervously edge closer and reach down to try and put your fingers on their throat to see if they really are as dead as they look, and when you brush their hair out of the way you notice the earring in their ear and you recognize it.”

She paused, taking a deep, quiet breath, shifting in her seat. “You recognize it because it’s the same exact earring that you bought your best friend just two weeks ago for her birthday, and feel everything inside of you just… stop, and you collapse to your knees and you push the body to turn it over, and at first you can’t even recognize the face it’s so beaten, but after a second you get your bearings and you really look and sure enough it is. It’s Jaime, and I’m just sitting there in too much shock and horror to even remember how to breathe, and then my dad comes running out the door and my mom comes behind him with the phone in her hand and everything just, becomes a blur…” With a thick swallow, Mel found herself nodding as she met Chavez’s eyes, twinkling, tear-filled baby hues searching her reaction an expression. “Yes, you’re right. I do know Jai best of anyone, and I know what happened better than anyone, and especially I know how long and hard and torturous healing was. She was only in the hospital for a few months of recovery, but it took years, years for her to finally feel okay enough to stand on her own two feet again, to get a decent night’s sleep without me having to hold her or waking up screaming every hour. I stood by her side for everything, and I still do, and you can believe me when I say that Jai would not be living in that apartment by herself if I didn’t think she was ready to.”

Again, Mel paused, this time shaking her head a little bit as she pushed herself to stand and pace back and forth. God, she hadn’t talked about this stuff in a long time, a long, long time, and it never got any easier, never got any better, and it never made an ounce more of sense. “But you’re right, she’s vulnerable, and always has been, and given the… time of year that it is, she’s especially jumpy. But last night… Look I know how this is going to sound but I need you to bear with me alright?” She paused for response, and then continued. “Jai gets these periods of paranoia like women get periods; they come and they go, and she needs to learn how to deal with them, how to be strong, be able to know that what happened was in the past and no one could possibly get through all of us to her without being stopped first. It’s not like she doesn’t want to work; she does, and if she didn’t want to work she would be here working. But a little time to herself is something she needs, and something she can benefit from. Now… I’m not saying that I don’t believe her, it’s just… There’s no hard proof. There’s nothing on the security cameras and when I talked to the bouncers and security they all said that there was nothing out of the ordinary, and there’s no way that Bloody Tony could have gotten in here without being recognized by someone, someone other than Jai. Even Pratt didn’t see anyone on his way out last night. So…”

Finally, Mel stopped pacing, her arms falling to rest against her sides as she looked back at Chavez, sighing softly, and then moving to take up the seat on the couch next to her. “Now that that’s out of the way,” she muttered quietly, taking a breath to loosen up her shoulders. “I open a nightclub with a basement MMA cage, while managing to keep it entirely legal, get Jai to run the bar, and only see you once in a blue moon! What’s up with that chickee? What, am I not good enough for you?” She was smiling now, clearly teasing, and the slightly deviant glint in her eyes was reflective of that, especially when she prodded the sergeant’s arm gently. “Or have you just gotten too old to have a little careless fun?”