Jenna
It had been two weeks, and Jenna was slowly losing any hope of ever hearing of Enid again.
Ever since their encounter, the woman had completely disappeared. Not one crime, or at least they didn't think so as nothing that happened recently really matched her typical style nor had her signature, the single red rose. She hadn't tried to contact Jenna either, and the brunette thought that was it. She had really fucked up.
She kept on thinking about that evening, it haunted her daily, and even when she managed to fall asleep, Enid was waiting for her in her dreams and nightmares.
Her piercing gaze, slender body, the way she moved so swiftly. The thing Jenna couldn't forget at all was her voice though, which, despite the coldness, had some hint of softness in it that made her head spin madly. Enid drove her crazy, even when she wasn't physically there.
Ever since that evening, Jenna's days had been dull. The case wasn't progressing at all and the fact that Enid had decided to go off radars didn't make it easier for them at all.
Sure, not having new murders was rather a good thing, but everyone was getting tenser every day knowing that a serial killer was still on the loose and ready to strike any time. They needed to catch her, but how?
Jenna spent her evenings imagining new strategies to get to her again, whether it was to arrest her or help her, she wasn't sure. The good and evil parts in her kept on fighting, making her more confused by the second. But at last, no matter what it was for, she needed to see her again. It was like her life depended on it.
Their captain had grown tired of the situation as well, obviously, and eventually decided that this case wasn't so critical anymore. Both Jenna and Georgie had been assigned to other less relevant cases and the brunette was wondering if there was even a point in trying anymore.
She felt like she was slowly dying.
Olivia had stopped trying to get to her, Jenna knew it was her turn to make a move if she didn't want to lose her only friend, but she didn't have the strength to do anything about it. She'd just wait, see what happen.
Hopefully, at some point, Enid would come back and give her the second chance Jenna was so despairingly waiting for. This time, she swore to herself that she would do anything to get back on the woman's good side.
Emma
"Jules?" Emma called, a bouquet of roses in her hands, the girl instantly turned around, looking back at the woman with big eyes, "This is for Ms. LeBlanc, please be careful," she said as she handed the younger girl the flowers.
Jules's hands were shaking, which didn't go unnoticed by Emma as a concerned frown appeared on her face.
"Is everything okay?"
Jules only nodded before quickly leaving the small room to give their customer her order. Emma only got more confused, wondering what was up with the young apprentice. She had been acting strangely around her for a while now which worried her. She thought their relationship was good, would she disappoint her too?
Hell, Emma didn't want to have to get rid of her too. She kinda liked Jules, she was obedient at least.
Shaking her head, she got back to work, unconsciously humming quietly to some songs while picking out the perfect flowers for her new bouquet. Everything else in her life was falling apart. She had found some kind of stability before, but ever since her pretty brunette broke her trust... Emma was having a hard time recovering from it.
Sure, she understood why Jenna did that. She still saw her as a threat, it was only normal that she had brought something to defend herself if needed. But Emma needed her to trust her fully, to give her all of the power. Emma wasn't one to share that.
She hoped that the small break she was giving to the brunette would make her understand how much she needed Emma. She hoped she wouldn't do such a silly mistake once more.
It would be a real shame if Emma had to get rid of Jenna as well. It might even sadden her a little.
Oh, well. She would see how things go later anyway. She had a bouquet to finish, for now, that was enough concern at a time.
The blonde girl released a loud sigh when she noticed that she was out of daisies. Just her luck. Deciding against calling Jules to bring her some, she made her way to the outside of their shop where she knew they still had some, and brought them back inside.
She was expecting to see her apprentice at the counter, dealing with some customers or waiting for them if the shop was empty. Instead, though, she saw the girl rearranging the roses and clenched her fists at the sight. She had told her multiple times not to touch them. She wasn't allowed to.
Emma quietly walked over to her and grabbed her shoulder roughly, making Jules jump at the sudden contact. The younger girl instantly turned around, looking up at the woman with big eyes.
"I-"
Just as she was about to scream at her, Emma's gaze landed on the girl's finger, her fair skin was now tinted by blood, and the blonde woman closed her eyes at the sight.
Her mind was instantly clouded by dark memories she had despairingly tried to bury. Images flashed, making it harder and harder for her to breathe.
She heard shouts, thunder, the loud bangs of doors slamming and-
"M-miss Myers?" She heard Jules stutter out and let her go, only noticing now that she was still tightly gripping her shoulder, and she took a step back, trying despairingly to calm down and go back to a normal state.
Emma looked up, avoiding the girl's hand. "I thought I told you not to touch the roses," She said, her voice apparently more menacing than she thought as the younger took a step back.
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"What happened to your hand?" She cut her off.
"Oh- This?" She brought her hand up and Emma instinctively looked away, making Jules frown. "Uh, it's nothing, I guess I just cut myself a bit with the thorns but- It doesn't even hurt, really-"
"Go clean that and go home." She said, already starting to leave toward the back of the shop to recompose herself.
"But-"
"Jules, now." She grunted, and that was all the younger needed.
As soon as Emma was alone again, she finally released the breath she had been holding for so long and slumped down on her chair. She was too stressed out, she needed to let go.
Emma took her phone out of her pocket and checked her list as a small smile made its way to her lips. There weren't many names left, and tonight seemed like a good occasion to reduce it even more.
It would at least take her mind off everything a little.
Jenna
"Look at who we have here,"
The brunette immediately recognized the voice and it took everything in her not to groan out loud. It was nearly nine in the evening, she had decided to work extra hours to distract herself a little but was not expecting anyone to disturb her.
She really should've known better.
"I'm busy, Jack." Jenna said, ignoring the other detective as he sat down next to her desk.
"Paperwork sucks, huh?" She could perfectly hear his smile as he said the words, only increasing even more her frustration. "Want a little help, babe? I can teach you how to do your job right."
"Don't call me that," Jenna grunted, ignoring the last bit.
"Or what, babe?"
Jenna bit the tip of her finger. A habit she had developed whenever she felt her anger take over and needed something to ground her.
"Now obviously my help won't be free," Jack added when she didn't answer. "I expect a little... something in return."
She wanted to throw up. His tone was teasing, but she could tell he actually meant every word, and it made her sick to her stomach. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of reacting to it though if Jenna had learned one thing in all those years spent there, it was that it was sometimes better to ignore than to fuel the fire, especially with men like Jack.
So the brunette only shook her head slightly, still not sparing him a glance, "Can't you leave? I'm working."
He laughed at her words, and there was nothing Jenna wanted more than to punch the teasing smirk off his face.
She sighed.
Control yourself.
"How's your case going? The rose killer huh? Was that it?"
Asshole.
"I swear-"
"Jack C'mon, leave her alone." This time it was Hunter who talked, and Jenna wished she could bury herself alive instead of having to listen to them. "How are you doing Jen?"
Hunter was less of an idiot, but it didn't mean she was in the mood for that.
"I'm ok."
I want to kill every single person in this room and then myself. She almost laughed.
Maybe there was something wrong with her.
"D'you actually need help? I-"
Oh, no.
That was it.
"Just leave me the fuck alone, I'm really not in the mood right now."
The detectives seemed surprised by her sudden change of mood as Hunter shook his head slightly, scoffing, "Wow, okay? I was just asking if you needed help, but.."
"Leave it," Jack cut him off and Jenna sighed, "Not only are you incompetent, but you're also an ungrateful cunt huh?"
The brunette eyes went wide at the last word as she gasped loudly, standing up to face the other man with her fists clenched.
She wasn't sure what she would do or say. No matter what happened next, she knew it'd be her fault in the end. But she couldn't let anyone talk to her that way and not do anything about it.
Before she could say a thing though, she heard her name being called from the other side of the room and turned around toward the sound, quickly followed by the two other detectives.
Georgie was there, looking slightly panicked yet... excited?
When he reached their level, he couldn't fight his grin anymore. "She struck again." He said, ignoring the other men and Jenna almost gasped in disbelief.
Really..?
"And you're happy about it?" Jack scoffed, side-eyeing Georgie who couldn't hide his excitement anymore.
"I- no, not about the death but-" He smiled, "She fucked up, big time. There's no way we don't catch her this time."
***
It would be a lie to say that Jenna hadn't missed the crime scenes.
After two weeks of staying stuck at her desk staring at her computer screen, it felt amazing to be out and able to keep her mind actually busy, doing the job she had weirdly grown to love.
She had missed the rush of adrenaline that came with it, especially after so many dull days.
Jenna wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation though.
This murder was so unlike Enid.
All of her previous ones were carefully executed, probably even planned. Even if she had broken the pattern by strangling her last victim, all of the deaths were pretty similar. The men were tied up, at home (or in their hotel room, which was basically the same), and everything indicated that Enid had used seduction to get to them.
Hell, Jenna would've been fooled too.
(Or, well, she had been.)
Yet this time, the whole thing was messy.
The victim had been killed while still at work, only a few minutes before the police had been called, and the crime scene was gruesome.
The man dead's body was laying on his company's building's bathroom floor, his arms and face covered by bruises which surely indicated that there had been a fight involved this time. He had her signature red rose in his hand, which might be the only thing that indicated Enid was the woman behind it, except the choice of victims maybe.
A middle-aged rich man. Was he an asshole too?
One of the sinks was still filled with water, and even though they had to wait for the forensic report to be sure, it didn't take a genius to guess that Enid had somehow drowned that man. There was water everywhere, which showed that he had tried to fight for his life, and Jenna couldn't help but wonder just how strong Enid was.
She had Jenna on the floor in a matter of seconds a few weeks prior, though. So it wasn't a complete surprise, but still. This woman was a mystery.
Besides all of that, it wasn't the first time that Enid had killed a man in a public place, but it was never that crowded. Even at this hour of the day, the offices were still filled by people trying to finish their work, or some cleaning staff making sure that this place stayed as neat as possible.
That only meant that there were a lot of witnesses who would confirm that Enid was the one behind it, though the woman had somehow made sure that her face was never shown on the CCTVs cameras.
Enid's biggest mistake this time probably came from the fight.
All of her previous murders were neat, there were absolutely no traces of her on the crime scene. This would've been nearly impossible to achieve this time, and Jenna wasn't so surprised to find a single hair on the man's dead body. Given the length and colour, it definitely belonged to her.
Jenna wasn't sure how to feel about it, truthfully.
The detective in her was happy that the case was finally progressing and that she might be able to arrest her. The other, darker part of her wished that Enid hadn't made such a silly mistake.
She still wanted to help her or to figure the woman out before making any decision at the very least.
But with that record, if they were to catch her, there was no way that Enid would escape jail.
This shouldn't sadden Jenna so much.
Georgie came into the room when Jenna was still inspecting the body, a wide grin on his face. "Showed the photofit to a few witnesses, it matches. She's definitely the one behind it." He said, and Jenna nodded slowly.
"Well... It'll only be a matter of hours until we have her DNA so... I guess we're almost there." The brunette answered.
Georgie crouched down beside her, giving her a comforting smile.
"Think she already had a criminal record before all of that?"
Jenna only shrugged. "I doubt it's her first, don't know if she's been caught before tho."
"Yeah.."
They stayed silent for a few seconds after that, as Jenna tried hard to remain professional. She was still at work, surrounded by other policemen, and she couldn't allow herself to feel pity for the woman.
She had fucked up, it was on her.
"You okay?" Georgie asked after a while and Jenna nodded.
"Yeah, it's just... don't you think it's weird? She's never been so reckless, I don't get it..."
Georgie chuckled lowly. "Yeah, I guess one can only stay perfect for so long. You know what they say, play with fire and you're gonna get burned."
The detective hummed.
She really wishes she could understand her. Know what was inside her mind for her to do all that.
Suddenly, Jenna felt her phone buzz inside her pocket and excused herself.
She didn't know what to expect, to be completely honest. She had lost any hope of hearing of Enid again like that after the last time, and yet...
The message that flashed on her screen made bile rise in her throat.
Oh, god.
She was in so much trouble.
Destroying the evidence meant going against the law and against her own morals. Besides, she was putting herself in danger as she would be immediately suspected if some critical evidence were to disappear, and it wouldn't take much for them to find out the texts she had exchanged with Enid, and then...
Jenna didn't even want to think about what would happen.
But, not destroying them meant going against Enid's wishes, and after what happened the last time she had disappointed her and how empty she had felt these last two weeks, this wasn't even an option.
Which meant one thing.
If Jenna listened to Enid, and of course she would, she would never go back to her previous life. This made her a criminal too, indirectly. Maybe it wasn't as bad as actually being a murderer, but she was still willingly protecting one. Once she did it, there was no coming back.
Fortunately, it wouldn't be too hard. They hadn't reported any evidence yet, and the only thing that might actually incriminate Enid was the hair they had found. She only had to destroy it and convince Georgie not to tell anyone about it and that would be enough.
She had to be extremely careful and convincing if she wanted it to work though.
Sighing, Jenna quickly deleted the texts and went back to work. What was even the point of following the law if her job only made her feel more miserable every day? At least, Enid gave her the rush of adrenaline she didn't even know she needed. The woman made her feel reborn and made her see life in a completely new way. One that made her want to stay alive and keep on fighting.
Georgie was still inspecting the scene when she came back inside, fresh determination taking over her body.
It shouldn't feel so good to do something so bad.
Jenna crouched down beside the body, they were alone in the room, except for the cop that was securing the scene, and the brunette almost wanted to laugh. She collected a few of the pieces of evidence they had gathered, and when Georgie shot her a confused look she only shrugged and muttered, "We should wrap it up for now, there's a lot of paperwork waiting for us.", and it seemed to be enough for her partner as he nodded his answer.
After all, it was late already, and they had been looking around for nearly an hour without finding anything more.
Now, Jenna only needed to find a way to get rid of it, and most importantly to think of the lie she'd tell Georgie.
She hoped she'd be convincing enough.
She'd do everything to make it work anyway. Jenna needed Enid, and she was ready to prove to the woman that she needed her just as much.
Emma
Emma watched the scene on her computer screen with a devilish smile.
Fucking millionaires, and they weren't even capable of protecting their security system from hackers. Not that Emma wasn't skilled anyway, but still, they made the job almost too easy.
Emma was attentively keeping an eye on Jenna.
She had expected her to be scared, even too scared to follow her instructions, but the pretty brunette was always full of surprises, and Emma's smile got even wider when she saw her obey and hide the evidence.
It truly seemed like she was made for that.
Emma could almost squeal in delight. Maybe she had been right to give Jenna a second chance.
Eventually, the detectives got out of the building and Emma's sight and the young woman thought it was finally time for her to get some sleep.
Her whole body felt sore, and the rush of adrenaline she had had earlier was dying down, making her more exhausted by the second.
Part of her was a little worried. She had been reckless that evening, almost willingly guiding the detective to her, but she was so tired of being careful. Tasting danger like she had done earlier today was truly... incredible.
The terror on his face, the look in his eyes when he recognized her.
Oh, Emma truly loved it all.
Even when he had tried to defend himself and fought back, even as she felt the pain of his fist against her jaw, she felt amazing, way more than she thought was possible.
And then...
Holding the man's body tightly in place as he was struggling to stay alive with his face under the water, feeling him twitch until finally he gave up and his body went limp under her.
God.
Nothing could feel better.
She wondered if Jenna would feel the same way too when she'd make her do all that.
She was pretty sure that she would.
Ever since she had first seen her, saw the glimpse in her eyes, Emma knew.
Jenna Ortega was never meant to do good.