"We don't have to do this." Lily said, for what felt like the hundredth time that night, as she and Claire sat on her car.
"I want to." Claire responded, also for what felt like the hundredth time.
Lily sighed, and reached for her cellphone when it vibrated beside her.
JJ: We're ready if you are.
Lily: Yeah, we're going in.
"Okay." She said, putting it back in her purse, as she pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Let's go then, shall we?"
Claire opened her door and left the car, fixing her dress slightly before Lily reached her and they both walked side by side into the restaurant. The place was quite nice, but not fancy. Big, but not huge. It had taken Lily and Connor almost a whole week just to agree on a restaurant, but since she was bringing Spencer and JJ for reassurance, she thought it would be only fair to let him have the last word.
"Hum... Table for Floyd?" Lily asked for the lady in the entrance.
The woman looked down at the book in front of her and then smiled at them both. If only she knew why they were there in the first place...
"You are the first ones to arrive. Would you like to be seated?"
"Yes, please." Claire nodded.
As soon as the woman made sure they were comfortable in their seat, Lily ordered a glass of wine as Claire settled for a water. Lily couldn't stop fidgeting. It wasn't until both, Spencer and JJ sat at a table a few meters away from hers – close enough so they could see each other, but far enough so they couldn't really hear their conversation if it wasn't for the mic attached to the neckline of her dress – that she settled.
"It'll be alright." Claire said, as she placed a hand over her shaky thigh. "Trust me."
"I trust you, Claire." Lily responded without a second of hesitation. "I just don't trust him."
Claire gave her a small smile and Lily squeezed her hand in her, before taking a sip of her wine. As soon as she placed the glass down, though, a voice made a shiver down her spine.
"Well, good night, ladies." He said, and, even if she couldn't see it, Spencer's body also stiffened at his presence.
JJ reached out for him and gave him a reassuring smile. It'd be fine, she had promised earlier. Well, he sure hoped so.
Despite being completely ignored by the two young women, Connor sat down in front of them, still trying to get either of them to look at him. Claire was the first to, lifting her bright green eyes to meet his.
"Oh, you look beautiful, Claire..." He said, as Lily scoffed. "I knew the moment I saw you that you'd be become a beautiful woman. Maybe even prettier than your mother."
"Cut the crap, Floyd." Lily growled, as she finally glared at him. "Why did you bring us here?"
"I didn't bring anyone anywhere." He defended with a smirk. "You came here willingly."
Before Lily could open her mouth to speak, a waiter came by and politely asked if they wanted to see the menu.
"I'm not hungry." Lily mumbled, after Floyd took one of the menus from the guy.
"I'd take one." Claire said, glaring at Lily as she reached out to get another. "We'll be here for a while."
Lily turned to look at Claire, before glancing quickly at Spencer.
"It's okay, Lily." His voice came through the point in her ear. "We're here for you."
With a sigh, she accepted the menu from the waiter. He left them to pick their plates, which they all did in silence. When Connor called him back around, he had decided on a steak, while Claire picked pasta and Lily ordered just a salad. She didn't think her stomach would be able to handle much more.
"So..." Floyd spoke up when the waiter left for the second time. "Why is it that you demanded to my lawyer that you brought two of your... Friends to this dinner, Lily?"
He nodded slightly toward JJ and Spencer and Lily bit her lip, annoyed. Her hand travelled discreetly down her thigh, where her own weapon laid in case anything got out of hand.
"Because last time we've met, you've pointed your gun at the both of us." She responded with a deadly glare.
"Oh, come on..." Connor smirked, as he leaned back against his chair. "You can't still be mad about it, girls... I was a bit... Sick during those days."
Lily frowned. Six years ago, when they've met after he abducted three little girls before finally finding Claire, he was indeed sick. He was insecure and instable. Now he was cocky and confident. How could've that had happened?
"That doesn't give the right to kill young girls like you did." Claire accused, as Lily placed a hand on her thigh, stopping her from saying anything else.
"What kind of institution were you in?" She asked, as the man turned to look at her.
"Why does it matter?" He retorted.
"Because you've changed."
"For the better." He agreed, as Lily rolled her eyes.
"I've never said that."
"But you thought."
"You want to know what I thought?" She arched an eyebrow, as he nodded and leaned forward against the table. "I thought you've changed from an insecure man with an extreme desire to be a parent and some PTSD from having your one chance of it being ripped away from you, to a cocky serial killer bastard who will do anything and everything to get what he wants just like the ones I deal with every week."
Connor's smirk only grew at her words as his eyes moved from Lily to Claire, and then back at the red headed.
"She has your eyes, Lily." He said, as he stared her dead in the eye. "But God forbid she has your mouth."
"You didn't complain about it fifteen years ago." She retorted, as his façade fell for half a second. "In fact, you very much..."
"Excuse me." The waiter interrupted her, as he placed their orders in front of them all. Lily thanked him and with a nod, he left. "Enjoy your meal."
"I thought you'd be hostile toward me, you know?" Connor shrugged, as he placed the napkin in his lap. "I just didn't think it'd be that much."
Claire glanced at Lily and noticed the woman was fuming. She gulped. Maybe coming here wasn't the best idea after all. Maybe she should've listened to her. It would have spared them both – and Spencer and JJ – to have a dreadful night with an asshole like Connor Floyd.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Lily sighed, as she stabbed a lettuce with her fork. "I'm going to ask you one more time: why are we here?"
"I saw you both." He explained, cutting his beef and eating just like he was sitting among the oldest of friends. "In San José, I mean..."
"You were there." Lily gasped, as she felt her heart beating so hard against her chest that she thought JJ and Spencer could've heard it in their points across the room.
"Of course I was there." He frowned, as if offended with her surprise. "I wouldn't miss an opportunity to see my girls like that, now, would I?"
"We are not your girls." Claire almost spat, as Floyd smiled at her.
"Not yet." He agreed. "But you will be."
"Floyd..." Lily warned, as he chuckled.
"What?" He smirked at her. "Anyway... I saw you, and I know that now you have Claire's full custody. So I was thinking..."
"I was thinking too." Claire interrupted him, as the man turned to stare at her. "I was thinking... What a coincidence, isn't it? That you leave your... Institution or whatever, the week before both of my parents are murdered."
Connor let his eyes fall on Claire for half a second, still before glancing at Lily back again.
"I bet that's how you sound every day at work, isn't it?" He asked. "I also bet everything that it was you who put that stupid idea in her head."
"Is that so much of a stupid idea, Floyd?" Lily asked. "Because looking at it from my point of view... It looks just fitting."
"Yeah?" He challenged. "How so?"
"It's your M.O." She explained. "Not really wanting to kill, but doing so anyway. You feel an incredible amount of remorse, so you clean the bodies, cloth them up and pose them to look like they're just sleeping. That's for starters..."
"Oh, please, continue..." Floyd said, nodding off at the sound of her voice. "I love it when you profile me."
"The rest of it is circumstantial." She shrugged. "But you did kidnap their daughter before. And you were unstable. So, connecting the dots..."
"But you have no substantial lead."
"No."
"So that means you can't prove anything."
"I can't."
"So why..."
"Stop." Claire yelled, as she slammed her hand against the table. "Enough. It was my idea to come here and meet you, but I'm done. The one thing I want from you is the truth!"
"Which truth?" He asked.
"Did you kill my parents?" She growled.
"Your parents are here."
"No, they're not!" She yelled again, grabbing the attention of a few people around them. "You are not my father, and as much as I love Lily she's not... She's not my mother."
"How can you say that?" Connor yelled back, as he got up from his seat. Lily followed suit and so did JJ.
"If you do anything even slightly suspicious, I swear to God, Floyd, I'll shoot you." Lily warned. She then turned to Claire and nodded toward JJ. "Go outside and wait for me with Jay, alright?"
"But Lily..."
"I'll be fine." She assured. "Just go."
Claire nodded and reluctantly left the table, walking toward the awaiting blonde, just a few feet away from her. JJ gave her a nod, and Lily visibly relaxed, before glaring at Connor one more time.
"Sit down." She demanded. "And behave. You've already lost your chance with Claire. Don't blow it off with me."
"So you do want to talk to me." He said, as he sat down back down, followed by Lily.
"You only wish." She groaned. "I just want a few answers."
"Ask away." He shrugged, motioning for her to continue as he took another bite of his beef.
"Why were in San José?"
"Can't answer that."
"Oh, please... That's not how it works with me." Lily said. "You killed the Todd's, didn't you? You studied Claire and her family. You knew that if ever came to it, the chances of her going to live with me were incredibly big. You wanted me to have her full custody."
"Did I?" Connor asked, as Lily let out an annoyed huff. "And why would that be?"
"Because it's easier to prove I'm an unfit mother than it was proving Stacey was."
"You think I want to prove you are an unfit mother?" He asked, sounding as if he didn't even believe she had thought that of him.
"No." Lily responded. "I know you do."
"This is not about you, Lily." He growled, for the first time showing his true self that night. "I'm over you."
"I know." Lily nodded. "I've never said it was about me. I know it is all about Claire and how you think you can have with her what Ian did. But let me tell you, Floyd. You can't. If you hadn't killed the Todd's maybe they would've let you near their daughter. But now that you've done what you've done... You'll never come near her ever again, do you understand me?"
"You can't do that." He said, as Lily smirked.
"Yes, I can. Because the one flaw in your plan, Floyd is that I became Claire's legal guardian, which means she responds to me and obeys to me. It also means I'm responsible for her health and safety and knowing you are a threat to both, I have all the right to forbid you to ever talk to her again."
Floyd was pissed and anyone could see it. Even if she was scared, Lily had to be strong for Claire, so even when he glared at her, her posture didn't hesitate once.
"Thinking it back... It was a stupid plan, don't you think?" She asked. She needed him to talk. She needed him to admit, so she could leave. "Maybe you could've gained Claire's trust without killing her parents."
"I didn't kill them."
"That's bull." She spat. "Tell me, did it feel good? Did you enjoy watching them both plead for mercy under your grip? Or did it hurt? I bet it hurt. I bet it hurt a lot when you..."
"I didn't kill them!" He yelled.
"Then tell me... How did they die?"
"I don't know."
"That's a lie." She kept pressing. "I have no idea how you got hold of your old gun, but what I do know is that you shot them both, execution style. And then you changed them... Didn't it feel weird? Did it help with your remorse, or do you still..."
"I still can't sleep at night, if that's what you're wondering." He said, as Lily glanced at Spencer and he finally got up from his chair to walk toward them. "I can't because I didn't mean to kill them. I had to."
"Connor Floyd, you are under arrest." Spencer said, as he stood behind Connor.
The man only glared at Lily and got up from his seat. He allowed Spencer to place the cuffs around his wrists with his head down, and Lily kept looking at him, until he finally lifted his head and locked eyes with her.
"If I do this one inside the law, can you let Claire visit me?"
Lily got up, smoothed down her dress and placed a few dollars down on the table to pay for the almost untouched plates of food none of them had eaten.
"That's not up to me, Floyd."
With that, she left, finally meeting up with Claire and JJ just outside the restaurant, beside the SUV she and Spencer had taken to drive there. As soon as she saw Lily, Claire ran to her and engulfed her in a hug.
"I'm sorry..." She mumbled. "I'm sorry."
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about." Lily assured, as she placed a lose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "It all worked out in the end."
Claire nodded and allowed Lily to walk over to JJ. The red haired woman pulled her friend in for a hug.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"That's what friends are for." She giggled. "Did he..."
"Yeah." Lily nodded, as JJ pulled away from her and sighed. "But it's over now. It really is."