Into My Heart

LXXXIV

KRISTIE

I know I have to confront her, but somehow I had a lot of trouble doing so. Nevertheless, I have to do it, otherwise I will just suffer maybe for nothing. 

When I enter the headquarters of the Dragons, right here in Press Corporation, Alex jumps a little, turning around, before relaxing when she realises it is me. Or maybe she doesn't relax: rather, her eyes express nothing but a latent wait for me to say something. As I close the door behind me, she crosses her arms against her chest.

Without really thinking, I just declare:

"I swear to the God of the gays, Alex, you better have a good explanation for all this"

The brunette sighs, closing her eyes for a moment.

"You deserve to know the truth, so here it is:" Alex slowly says, before nodding her head slowly. After a moment, she just says: "I was so afraid that someone might go after the Dragons - after you - again that I decided to form an alliance with the police. Julie told me she had strong leads about a possible rotten cop, and I thought that it would be better not to let you know. I am sorry, Kristie ; I really am. But I don't regret what I did."

I set my jaw, angry.

"I thought you and I were... partners" I let out, weighting my words carefully.

"We were... we are, Kris, but I-"

"Going behind my back is not what I call being partners, Alex" I coldly cut her, annoyed. As her bright blue eyes seems to get wet a little, I add: "I almost thought you were a traitor..."

"I know, and I apologise" the brunette insists, visibly touched. Before I can say anything, she adds: "It wasn't my intention to hurt you in any way, but rather to protect you."

I am boiling in the inside, feeling something I never felt in my insides: something that goes beyond affection. 

Alex's eyes, by seeing my own eyes get wet, soften.

"I didn't need your protecting: I needed my partner ; I needed to be right by her side and protect what's ours - our gang... Don't you get it?"

She nods.

"I realise that now, and I hope it's not too late to ask you if you'd help me take whoever The Patriarch is down?"

I smirk, quite emotional.

"Of course I will help you. Just... no more secrets, alright?"

"Alright, then" she only says, her voice becoming deeper.

Quite immediately, she takes a few steps forward, grabs my face between her hands, softly, and presses her forehead against mine.

Her blue eyes stare right into mine for a moment, until she realises they are already closed due to the overflow of emotions I am feeling right now. So, very slowly and softly, she closes the gap between us and kisses me softly, as my hands find their way to her forearms. I kiss her back immediately, as our tongues dance together for a moment. Quickly, the kiss becomes more and more heated, as I press her body against the wall, and mine against hers, kissing her wildly. She moans, doing the exact same.

After a while, we just lean away instinctively, as I take a few steps backwards, awkwardly coughing. 

"You said no more secrets" Alex then says, her voice shaking, showing her vulnerability. I blush, as she adds: "So here goes my final secret: I fell for you a long time ago, Kristie."

"I-I-" I stutter, not really knowing what to say.

As I awkwardly cross my arms against my chest, the door of our office opens, and Sam makes her entrance, closing the door behind her. She seems alarmed, so for a moment, worry takes over the awkwardness and the emotions of the moment: quite immediately, I turn toward my sister and walk toward her.

She seems so alarmed, which is confirmed when she declares:

"Guys, we have a problem: remember the USB-card that Kelley gave Mallory? (Alex and I both nod, as Sam says:) Well, it's empty."

"Empty?" Alex repeats, deeply confused. 

"How's that even possible?" I ask, frowning.

Sam shrugs.

"I have no idea: maybe someone erased the files if there were any, or maybe..." she starts, before shaking her head. As I throw her an insistant look, she shares her theory with us: "Or maybe Kelley just bought herself some time and never put anything on that card anyway..."

Deeply confused, I exchange an alarmed look with Alex, who seems quite shaken up by our recent intercourse... I stare at my sister, before thanking her by giving her a hug. Alex awkwardly steps aside, sitting down behind her computer, taking her phone in her hands.

Her face literally seems to disintegrate, as she says:

"Just got a text from Julie: Abby's missing."

*

"I should've known that something like this would happen" Christen blurts out, tears rolling down her cheeks. She is walking around the room, trying to remain composed, but she was failing at that specularly, as she continues: "I never should've left her alone, she shouldn't have gone to work, a-a-and now I'll l-l-lose her, I can't just... function, when she's not around, what if she d-d-dies...? What i-if-"

But Shelina steps forward and forces Christen into a tight hug, caressing her back to comfort her, whispering:

"Abby's one of the strongest gals I've ever met: she'll put on a fight, and we'll find her. You gotta believe that."

Christen starts crying uncontrollably in Shelina's arms, as I exchange an alarmed look with Sam and Alex: none of us could lose Abby now, so either we stay here doing nothing and there is a good chance she'll actually die, or we start doing something right now. 

I turn toward Julie and Lia, before ordering:

"We gotta speed up the investigation and find my sister"

Julie nods her head.

"Agreed" the sheriff says, before adding: "we believe Ali Krieger and some associates are holding Abby and Rose captive in an abandoned warehouse just outside of town, so we sent a police unit to raid the place. Are you coming?"

I nod my head as well, setting my jaw.

"Of course I'll come."

After a long silence, Lia gasps: she visibly saw something on her computer - from which she was checking the security cameras of the warehouse in question. We all turn toward her, as the brunette says:

"Uh, I think we have a problem..."

"What?" I ask, impatient.

"... it appears that Kelley O'Hara has escaped prison and is one step ahead of us..."