Skye's P.O.V
"Hey, Sarah, do you remember Christopher? That guy I was dating? Well, you will never what." No, wait, scratch that. Try again, Skye, you can frame it better. "Sarah, Christopher owns a drug cartel! And arms and..." God, I'm hopeless.
I sigh, defeated, as I pace the hallway of the precinct, practicing my lines. "Hey Sarah, there are some very important things that I have to tell you, trust me." Now I just sound desperate, ugh!
"Sarah, Christopher isn't the good guy. He never has been... Oh shit, I'm so screwed." I face the wall and place my forehead on it.
"Hey Reid," Sarah's voice rings out and I immediately stand straighter. This is it. This is either make or break. I turn around to face her and plaster a small smile on my face.
"Hey, Sarah." I say, rather awkwardly.
"I heard you needed to tell me something?" She places the files she has in her hands on her desk and I go over to her. Her expression tells me to carry on but I feel my mouth get locked up.
"I... I..." Why can't the ground just swallow me up right now? "There was a..." I can't do this.
"Excuse me, are you miss Michaels?" A woman came up to us with a man behind her.
"Yes, how may I help you?" Sarah turns to face them and I let out a breath. I wasn't going to say it anyways. Which makes me a traitor, doesn't it? Someone to scared to rat a person out because... because of what? Love? Pfft, there is no way I could love someone like Christopher. Right? Right?!
"We have reason to believe our... daughter has been kidnapped." The woman's lower lip trembles and her husband places a hand on her shoulder.
"Please have a seat," Sarah motions for them to sit at her desk and I grab another chair for myself. The couple seem to be well off working people. Both of them in suits. The man an inch or two taller than her in a navy blue suit while the woman with blonde hair in a peach one with a pearl necklace.
"I'm Alison and this is my husband Tom Winters." Alison places her hand in his and he squeezes it for support.
"Our daughter," he says, "Audrey was taken from school at about 11am." He hands over a photograph of a young girl with dirty blonde hair and chubby cheeks.
"She is cute." I smile and Alison nods.
"The school has a surveillance system and we saw a man in a brown leather jacket and baseball cap standing near the fence." Alison says and she is on the verge of breaking down. "We have... seen this..." She cries into her husbands chest and he comforts her, whispering words of courage in her ear.
"We checked our own surveillance and saw the man outside our home. It has been happening since yesterday. He avoided all the cameras but he wore the same attire so we know it is him."
"Mr. Winters, do you recognize these two?" Sarah hands them pictures of the two other victims but the couple shakes their heads.
"No. I'm sorry."
"So he is taking random people." I whisper to Sarah and gives a pained nod.
"We would like to see the surveillance footage, Mr. Winters." Sarah says and Tom gives a nod of agreement.
"Our suspect's identity is still unknown. We have put out a BOLO to find the black van he uses and we are still trying to confirm if it is stolen or owned by him. No reports have come in about disturbances in any warehouses. We should keep an eye out for any abandoned warehouses as this is where he chooses to commit the crime." Sarah says.
"We believe the suspect is in his 40's and he thinks he is playing a game with the police. He has no solid M.O except that he, in certain ways, saws his victims in half. Our first victim was Erica Park. A young woman who worked at a law firm. Then came Toby Blunt, a political activist. Our third is believed to be Audrey Winters who was reported missing this morning from school. She is 10 and her picture is in your files. We have three days to find her." I continue.
"The victims have no connection except for the killer himself. He picks up random people and hence, his moves are unpredictable. We need to find this man fast, people. Let's go." Our meeting ends and the officers disperse. "We better find him, Sarah or I don't know what I am going to do."
I slumped down on my couch and took a huge gulp of my wine. Placing the glass on the coffee table, I rested my head back and took in a deep breath. As far as compartmentalizing goes, I've screwed up pretty badly. That's the only thing I've been doing these days, I guess. Screwing up. Not only is my job getting shredded to pieces but so is my mind.
Sarah finally had it with me today. She has given me the next two days off to sort out my problems. If she thinks I haven't, after we get back Audrey Winters then I can say bye bye to being a consultant, permanently. I can't help but think that maybe that is the best thing that could possibly happen to me. After the things Christopher told me, and my reluctance to share them with Sarah, I feel like a criminal. I have no right to work in a precinct. I just deserve to be in jail.
Christopher's words invade my mind even though I do my best not to let it. Involuntary tears stream down my face at the horrid memory. I don't want to love him. Not after what I did. Not after what he did! A monster like him does not deserve love. It leads to nothing but heartbreak. Heartbreak, and betrayal.
And even though all the warning signs flash before my eyes, blinking with red lights and screaming danger, I can't help it, I can't help being in love with him. It has been so long since a person has loved me so... unconditionally. I could be my carefree self with him and I could trust him to not hurt me. Despite all the differences, all the bad, he has been so good. So nice and sweet and amazing. But it only took a name to destroy everything we had. Caleb Johnson.
Our pasts are destroying our present. And soon enough, our future. If I am right, and he wants a fresh start, I just want revenge. But am I capable of forgiveness? I'm afraid to accept the answer as yes. He knows well enough that he has got to me. That is why all this happened. If only I want strong enough to fight back. If only I wanted revenge more that happiness. If only I never fell in love.
The doorbell rang, breaking me away from my thoughts. I quickly wipe away the tears and go to the door. The person turned out to be the last person I wanted here.
"What are you doing here?" I narrow my eyes and try to keep a strong front but Christopher walks in anyways. "Get the hell out, you aren't welcome here." I turn around to face him and cross my arms on my chest.
"Make me." He smirks and takes a step closer. Damn him. Just... damn him. He reaches behind me and closes the door and locks it.
"Get the fuck out, Christopher, or so help me God, I will..."
"Do what?"
"Kill you," I say and he laughs. He takes another step and I am forced to go against the door.
"I'd like to see you try." He places both his hands on either side of my face, effectively trapping me. I hate to admit it but he is right. Hell, I'd like to see myself try!
"Back off." I push against his chest but he doesn't even shift. Damn, he's heavy. "Why are you doing this?" I sigh and crane my head up to look at him.
"I have no choice." He states so simply I could just cry.
"You have a choice. Just end it."
"Ending it depends on you, Skye." He says and I feel we aren't talking about the same thing right now. He leans in so close I stop breathing just so I don't take in that damnly wonderful cologne of his. "If you are smart, Skye, you will run."
"You keep on saying that. Why?" I whisper.
"Because it is true. You should run, Skye, before it too late." His eyes hold something. They twinkle with the secret.
"Why? What are you up too?"
"A fresh start." He says and my eyes widen in surprise. I'm right. A fresh start. That is what he wants.
"You... You want me to help you find your parents' killer?"
"If you want to. I need all the help I can get."
"And what about your... cartel?"
"I am handling it." I have a hard time believing it, is what I wanted to say but I keep quiet. For some reason, I believe him. And I hate that. I absolutely hate that. "Say it, Skye." He whispers and leans down to kiss my neck.
"Say what?"
"Say you love me."
"Damn..." I couldn't complete as his lips came to mine. Silent tears streamed down my face as I kissed him back.
"I'll help you get a fresh start. If that is what you want." I say after he pulls back.
"By all means." He carries me in his arms, bridal style, and takes me to the bedroom.
"I hate you." I whisper. "And I love you," I say a second later.
"I know." He replies as he lowers me on the bed and my I felt my heart break a little.
"Why me?" My voice cracks as I say the words and he wipes away my tears and looks down at me.
"Because you, are mine."
Day 1
The next morning, Christopher forced me out of bed and made me eat breakfast.
"You are confusing." I remark after I'm done.
"I am." He simply smiles and I narrow my eyes.
"You are a puzzle."
"Yes."
"What the hell is my role in all of this?" I ask, frustrated. "Solve you? Uncover some hidden truth? Kill you? Why can't you just give it to me straight?!" I think I can accept I am starting to lose it. But is it my fault? My feelings are contradictory. And so is my mind.
"It is not time, darling." He takes my plate and his and washes them in the sink.
"Why are you being so cryptic?"
"Why aren't you running away?" He asks instead and I stare at his back, thinking for an answer. I find it stupid that I don't know why I do things. Not running for instance.
"I don't know." I reply since I have nothing else to say.
"Simple, because of me." He places the dishes on the rack and turns to face me.
"I am right where you want me to be, aren't I?"
"Not yet." He gives his secretive smile I have been seeing for so many days now. "Get dressed."
"Why? Where are we going?"
"New York needs their consultant back."
I get dressed, mostly because of curiosity. Simple dark wash jeans and a baby pink sweater. My hair is in a messy bun and with just a touch of lip gloss, I am ready to go.
"You look beautiful." He kisses my cheek and I blush. Damn him.
"I have decided to solve you before I run." I say in a determined voice. He raises an eyebrow and gives me a cheeky smile.
"Just make sure you can run after you solve me." He puts his arm around my waist and we leave the apartment.
We ended up going to a shooting range. I raised an eyebrow at his choice of venue.
"You need to learn to shoot."
"Why? Afraid I will miss?" I ask, making sure he understands there is no way I will miss where he is concerned.
"Just to be safe." He winks.
When we go inside, there are a few people there. Christopher talks to someone and then we go to a booth. He puts some earmuffs and goggles on me and hands me the gun.
"Don't you need some?" I ask and he smiles. "Right, you're probably used to the sound of shooting close range, aren't ya?" I look at the target and shamefully, I miss my first two shots. Christopher couldn't help but laugh and then he stood closer to me and put his hands on mine. Helping me out, the next four fell perfectly on the bulls eye. "That should probably scare me, shouldn't it?"
"Are you?" He asks and I shake my head.
"Not really. I don't think you can do anything else that could surprise me."
"We shall see." He says in that determined voice of his. For a moment, I wonderer what he is cooking up now.
After practicing for some more time, my aim improved much more. His next venue was somewhere... unexpected.
"Why?" I ask simply and he helps me out of the car.
"Let's go solve a robbery, shall we?" He says and my brows scrunch up in confusion. We enter a typical general store and the manager I think is shouting at the boy behind the register. The two cops just stare at them both, waiting for them to finish.
"Don't you know you're not supposed to keep the register open when there is a customer?!" He shouts at the boy behind the glass.
"I just turned around to get some cigarettes! I didn't know he'd put his hand through and grab a stack!" The boy shouts back in his defense.
"Can you describe this man?" An officer said and the boy shook his head.
"He ran out." I stared at the whole scene in confusion. This... so wasn't right.
"Wait. Did you say he grabbed a stack of bills?" I ask and everyone's eyes turn to me.
"Yeah," the boy says. I go to stand in front, the only thing separating me and him being the protective glass.
"Give me a pack." I say and the boy, totally confused takes one from behind him and passes it through the hold cut out. I simply push it back through, grab it with my hand and try pulling my hand out. Not so surprisingly, I couldn't, my hand is too big. "How did he grab the stack again?" I raise an eyebrow and couldn't help but smile.
"Oh... you are in so much trouble mister!" The manager and Christopher and me left after the officers said thanks.
"You just proved you can still think." Christopher says in my ear as we get in his car.
"Thank you." I say a little while later, breaking the silence.
"You're welcome." He replies and I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh.
"How did you know that was going on?"
"Saw the police car. Thought you could help.
"Where next?" I couldn't help it. I just had to ask.
"What do you want to do?" I shrug at his question so we just spend the day in each others' company.
"Why did you do all that?" I ask after we get back to my place.
"To help you relieve some of that tension." He says in a way like as if he did not have any other reason. I stare at him intently for a few seconds to see if he was speaking the truth.
"Thank you." I say when he passes the stare contest.
"Anytime." He smiles.
Day 2
"Shouldn't you be in some other country? Dealing with... your business?" I ask out of the blue.
"My people work very efficiently, Skye. Besides, you need me more."
"Pfft. Do not." I say and watch him as he makes lunch.
"Deny it as much as you want but it is the truth." I sigh. I want to ask him what he is up to but I know what he is going to say. It is my job to find out.
"Why am I still here?" I whisper more to myself but he hears it anyways.
"Because you love me."
"I'm starting to hate you though!" I reply rather angrily.
"You will never hate me enough." He looks at me as he says the words.
"Oh yeah? Why do you think that?" He sets two plates on the island.
"Because you love me too much." He kisses me on the cheek and smiles.
"Count on you to say the same." I say sarcastically. Christopher remains quiet and I feel stupid for saying it. "Sorry."
"It's okay."
We ate some spiced rice and fish with some red wine. He is a damn good cook and I know I have told him that numerous times. We spent the whole day in the apartment, Christopher giving me more attention than I deserved.
On one hand, I feel relieved. On the other, I am even more confused. Christopher's actions confuse me. And compartmentalizing only helps me for so long. I feel lost. I don't know what to do or what to think. I feel like I am living in the moment. Not bothered about what happens next until it needs to be faced.
As for dad, he has given up on me. He spent days trying to contact me, trying to talk to me and help me sort my life out. But I feel the need to avoid him at all costs. I desperately need a sense of direction! What the hell am I supposed to do?!
Ride it out was my first thought. See where this goes. Sort out Mr. Saw Man's crimes and then deal with Christopher. Dig up anything and everything I have on him and hand it over to Sarah. But at what cost? Losing someone I love. And only God knows I won't have a life after that. I'd be in limbo. I'd just spent the rest of my life like as if I am in a coma. And I don't want that. At all. As much as I hate it, I want Christopher. I enjoy his company and attention. I enjoy him. I love him.
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A/N: Hey guys!
Sorry for the bit of a long chapter .-. I am a bit sad that I haven't got many reads for the past few chapters :( Can you guys correct that?
Are you as confused as Skye? I know I am (haha). Don't worry, I have no writer's block or anything, I just miss you readers, you kinda disappeared halfway :(
Anyhoo, vote, comment or even blabber. See you later, my rare lovelies :)