Ring-ring Ring-ring
The blonde picked up the phone and placed it against her ear, then took her hand off and kept her phone still with the support of her shoulder as she cooked some breakfast.
"Hello?" She spoke up.
One hand was shaking some salt into the pan whilst the other mixed the scrambled egg.
"Hey Lucy." Answered a masculine voice from the call line. "Are you busy right now?"
"Wait a second."
She took her cellphone off her ear and activated the speaker, then placed it on the kitchen counter.
"Ok, can you hear me?" She asked as she continued on scrambling the eggs.
"Yes." He responded. "What are you doing?"
"Just cooking some breakfast. Come over, I'm making plenty."
"I will be, and the cops are coming with me. Did you forget what day it is?"
"Umm..." The blonde buffered for a second before it hit her.
"Oh crap!" She dropped her slotted spoon in the pan as her eyes widened, realizing that today was the day the investigation begins.
"Dang it, for a moment I thought it was Tuesday." She turned off the flame.
He chuckled,
"C'mon, get ready. We'll be there in less than ten."
With that, Loke hung up the phone, leaving Lucy standing in the kitchen with her hands on her waist, zoned out, thinking about whether or not the officers will find any evidence to support her case.
After her awful experience, she had been struggling to feel safe in her own home, justifiably. But what concerned her the most was why she was targeted in the first place...and by who?
She hoped that whatever evidence the officers would find would answer some of her questions at least.
The blonde sighed at the thought and undid her apron, throwing it on the kitchen table before grabbing a plate from the cupboard and pouring her well-done eggs into it. She grabbed a fork and began to eat whilst standing, her mind still swarming with endless thoughts.
After eating, she placed her plate in the dishes and washed her hands, then headed over to her couch to lazily sit back and relax.
Ding Dong
The blonde swiftly turned to the door at the sound of her doorbell ring.
"It's me, Lucy," He reassured from the other end of the door.
She sighed in relief after recognizing her friend's voice. She stood up from the couch and quickly walked towards the entrance, unlocked the door, and opened it wide to welcome her guests.
"Smells really good in here, did you leave me some?" Loke snarkily said as he walked into the apartment in the company of three policemen behind him.
"Ma'am, we'd like to access your backyard." One of the officers spoke out with one hand straightened out by his side and the other resting on his gun, still standing outside her door due to the law.
"Uh...okay, follow me." She hesitated as she walked out the door in between two officers, then stopped and turned to them. "This is a compound apartment, so the backyard is downstairs." She explained.
"So you're telling me that no one was around to witness this attempted murder in a shared backyard?" The other officer questioned with narrowed eyebrows.
"Not a soul, unfortunately." Her voice fell sad.
"That's weird," Loke added. "Statistically speaking, in compound backyards, there'd be at least two people around to witness a crime scene."
"Lead us to it, ma'am." The third officer speaks out.
She nodded and began leading them down the hall, down the elevator, and to the crime scene-- all in silence. She walked nervously as four men walked behind her, ready to start this damn investigation.
After arriving, she sighed shakily as her eyes met with the muddy grass and broken branches here and there. Her gaze fixates on the corner by the tree, where the murder attempt occurred, as she visited the memories of that awful night.
The cops bent under the yellow caution sign and walked into the crime scene, calling other officers to come down here through their pager.
Suddenly, the blonde felt an arm lay itself around her shoulders,
"C'mon Lucy, your job is done. Let's go upstairs." He so gently said as he calmly swayed her around and walked her back into the building.
If there was anything Loke hated, it was seeing her upset.
.oOo.
Dragneel's Tract
"You're going on a date with her tomorrow?!" Gray burst out in shock from his place on the bar stool, looking at his Don who was sitting right next to him.
"Do I have to repeat myself?" Natsu asked sarcastically, looking at Gray in frustration.
"Natsu," The whittete, known as Mirajane, spoke out from the other end of the bar. "it can be very dangerous for you out there by yourself." She looked at him in worry whilst wiping glasses with a white towel so she could pour some drinks for everyone.
She always liked catering for others, especially for The Don. It's not so often he specially requests a drink from her, since he has many chefs and bartenders lined up to do it for him.
"Gajeel and Laxus will be coming with me," he stated with his arms crossed, wearing his infamous all-black suit, watching her do her work with his gentle yet deadly eyes.
The whole area in the room was filled with silence as this conversation took place, all intently listening to their Don speak up about his plans since it wasn't so often that he did.
Familiar people from their Mafia group were scattered around. Some sat on the black-leathered couches in the corners and some on the black marble tables here and there.
"I don't understand what the point of it is. Why don't we just kill her and get it over with?" Gray next to him questioned, impatient and confused.
The Don turned his head slowly toward his direction,
"Like how you killed her the first time?" He mocked their failure.
Natsu, The Don, the Head and Leader of Asia's mafia had hand-picked out the best of the best to be his main mafia team. In doing so, he had brought them all here to his mansion, known as the Dragneel Tract. Everyone lived in different wings and areas in the mansion, all with their own master-bedroom that frankly looked like a whole apartment itself.
He paid for their whole livelihood, and in return, they served him till death do them part. The whole continent knew of them, not much less of the whole world, which made them constant targets at all times.
Knowing they had failed to accomplish a simple task as killing the daughter of the Heartfilia family was surely a disappointment to him. However, he had been working with them for years now and he considered them family. Everyone knew that even though he never showed it.
An exchanged silence took place before Gray began to stutter and scratch the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed at being called out so bluntly.
"Here you go." Mira placed a drink of scotch on the bar table, right in front of Natsu.
"Thank you, Mira." He grabbed his drink before turning his stool towards Gray, to fully face him.
"Don't worry about it." He looked into his eyes. "Either way, it's better to keep her alive for a little longer before I finish her off." He reassured him.
A momentary silence dawned upon them as the crowd reflected on different reasons he would want to keep her alive.
With that, Natsu stands up from his stool in intentions of returning back to his office, but instead he meets eyes with a certain redhead making her way towards the bar from a small distance.
She had walked in a few moments ago and heard enough of their conversation.
"Why do you want to keep her alive exactly?" She questioned as she stood in front of him.
"Why kill her when she can be useful?" A small, revolting smirk greeted his face as he pressed his lips against the glass and took a sip.
"Useful how?" Asked the brunette, known as Cana, out of nowhere. She had a barrel of beer in between her legs whilst animalistically sitting on one of the black marble tables, not too far from everyone, hearing their conversation but not involving herself until now.
"Wait a minute...are you actually thinking..." Gray widened his eyes as the lightbulb finally clicked on top of his head, standing up from his seat to stand by Natsu and look at him.
"Yes." The Don responded.
"Am I missing something here?" Cana looked back and forth at both of them.
"Information. You want her for information." Scarlet, the leader of the soldiers who had a very sharp mind, finally realized.
"Of course!" Mira said as she placed her hands on the bar table. "You can get all the information that we need about her father!"
"And after that's done," He confirmed their suspicions. "I'll be sure to end her myself. I'll teach Judy Heartfilia a lesson he'll never forget." He stated, his emotionless expression revealing his inner coldness.
"If that's the case," Scarlet looked him straight in the eyes. "Then why go on a date with her and not resort to your usual methods of torture?"
A small smile crept on his face,
"Let's just say... I wanna enjoy myself a little before the real fun begins."
"Just like a hungry dragon." Another voice spoke in the far distance, his roughness echoing through the large area.
The Don's eyes drifted to the door; he finds his other trusted bodyguard leaning against the wall next to it with crossed arms. He had a scar slit right across his eye; his blonde spiky hair did him no justice in covering it.
"Gazing upon its prey just before hunting it down, building the trust, then devouring it." He continued, consuming Natsu's form with his eyes, as if he can look right through him.
Natsu always found it impressive how he can read people so well, like a book. Aside from his bulkiness and physical strength, he was a great bodyguard due to his ability to scan someone's soul just by his gaze.
"Laxus." The Don greets. "You've come back."
"Yes," He pushed himself off the wall and made his way to everyone. "How was the meeting yesterday? We still in the lead, right?"
"There shouldn't have been any doubt, Laxus." Natsu sipped his drink.
"Y'know, gotta confirm." He chuckled. "Five years strong, all because we have you as our leader." He stood before him with a smile.
The Don and his respected soldier looked each other in the eyes, exchanging a warm look that they both understood. The blond shook his head in refusal, responding to the question he knew his Don was asking.
Natsu sighed.
The blond nodded his head in respect, speaking a language no one understood but them, before the Don walked away, out the door.
The air stood still as tension arose in the room, the members exchanging looks, confused as to what just happened.
"Aren't you going to greet your wife?" Mira teased as she placed her hands on her waist.
With that, the members began chattering amongst themselves, giving them some privacy and going back to normal.
He chuckled as he made his way into the bar, where she was.
He walked towards her with a smile plastered on his face.
"I missed you." He placed his hands on her waist, leaned down, and pressed a kiss against her cheek.
"Missed you more, lightning boy." She smiled as her cheeks flushed in warmth. She always loved calling him that due to the scar on his eye that looked like a lightning mark.
"And I missed you too." He bent down and laid his lips against her stomach, giving a kiss to their unborn child.
"He started kicking a lot today." Mira smiled as she held her little bump. She was only two months into her pregnancy, but she knew damn well it was a boy growing inside her, without a doubt.
"Oh yeah?" He straightened his back as he rubbed her stomach gently, looking down at it.
She giggled.
"Did you take your medicine today?" She looked at him.
"Yeah." He answered. "Don't worry." He kissed her forehead.
.oOo.
Lucy's apartment - 10 PM
The blonde sighed as she laid her head on her fluffy pillow and slid her cover up her body.
It had been a long day of her stressing out about what the cops might've or might've not found at the crime scene. It was just Day One and she was already losing it.
Thankfully, Loke stayed with her the whole day and even skipped out on his work. He left about twenty minutes ago.
Sighing, she picked up her phone from her bedside table and went through her messages and inbox, checking if she had missed anything.
In doing so, the memory of Nathan popped into her head.
Should she go tomorrow? Should she not?
She hadn't even told Loke about it, and she always tells him everything.
It truly was a hazard.
With perplexed thoughts, the blonde sat up on her bed and clicked her lamp open, granting the room some light.
She opened her drawer where she had kept the note she got from Nathan folded neatly and picked it out. She unfolded it and read the number, simultaneously dialing his number to her contacts.
(xxx)-7xx-2655
With every number she dialed, a bopping sound escaped her phone.
If there was anything she needed right now, it was a handsome man she could distract herself with due to all that was going on.
Everything about him seemed perfect in her eyes and she had no complaints, so... why not?
She sighed and placed her phone against her ear, waiting for him to pick it up.
"Hello?" He spoke from the other end of the line.
"Hi, Nathan! I-It's me, Lucy, remember me?"
After a brief moment of silence, he spoke up again.
"Of course."
"I just wanted to let you know that I-I got your message, and... I'll be there tomorrow." She squeezed her eyes shut after saying those words, feeling shy and embarrassed all at once.
"Sounds like you're unsure of yourself." He teased.
She giggled,
"I... had a pretty tough week till now and honestly, it'd be great to go out with you." The tension relieved itself.
"That's good to know. Not the tough week part though...I'd love to hear all about it tomorrow at dinner."
"Okay...sounds good."
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2488 Words
Hey, lovelies! Sorry about the late update!
I have so much planned for this story you don't understand.
I hope you're liking it so far! What're your thoughts on it?
What do you think will happen?😏