Chapter 14: When Things Go South 

Sara walked into her apartment around seven that morning, exhausted and ready to collapse onto her bed. Before she even dared to lie on the clean white sheets, she took a shower to wash away the sweat from her body. The cold water felt good against her parched skin, and as she stood there, her thoughts began to focus on the day ahead of her. She knew there was a lot of explaining to do, especially to Deaq. If she could swing him to her side before Van had the chance, then maybe things would start to go in the right direction. Besides, she desperately needed a friend, someone she could talk to and maybe even trust with a few things. Van wasn’t that person at the moment even though he knew her deepest and darkest secret.

Sara stepped out of the shower feeling a little calmer and refreshed. She changed into a pair of crimson silk pajamas and sat on top of the bed, her body instantly becoming limp. As her head hit the pillow, Sara closed her eyes. But sleep didn’t come, not with the phone ringing again.

“I should have cut that thing off too,” she growled, getting up and walking into the living room where it was still sitting on the couch where she had left it before going to the gym. Sara looked down at the caller ID to see it was a number she didn’t know. “Pezzini, go,” she answered anyway in a grumpy tone.

“Sara?” Deaq asked.

“Yeah, what’s up?” her mood lightened as she sat down on the couch. “If this is about Nottingham being a hit man, I can seriously explain.”

“It is…” his voice trailed off. “He’s right here sitting next to me trying to explain himself. To tell you the truth, he kinda scares me, so could you please get over here so I’m not alone?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sara replied as she hung up and walked back into the bedroom to find something to wear that day. Looking at the bed, she told herself, ‘Sleep will just have to wait.’

After finding a pair of comfortable, yet tight fitting shorts and a light blue baby tee, and tying up her damp hair, Sara was off on her Buell again back to the Candy Store, a place she found herself more often than her apartment. When she arrived, she found that Van’s Mustang was parked outside, indicating a fight was looming just inside. She tried to push the morning’s events out of her mind, but that smile that surfaced on her pink lips was something she couldn’t get rid of even when she saw the somber looks on the faces of her partners and her protector.

“Why are you so happy?” Deaq questioned when she stepped into the office.

“Ask Van,” Sara replied suggestively.

“Oh, you didn’t!” Deaq almost yelled as he shot a glance over at Van, who was staring off into space.

Snapping back into attention, he replied, “I did not! You couldn’t pay me enough.”

“See, Sara, I told you he couldn’t be trusted,” Ian said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Deaq questioned, giving him a puzzled look.

“Wait, wait, wait! Couldn’t pay you enough to do what?” Sara interrupted, her eyes narrowing on Van. Putting the pieces together, she turned to Deaq and yelled, “You think I slept with him?”

“Well, he does have a thing for blondes…” Deaq began, but stopped when he saw the angry glare in her eyes.

“You discriminating little self centered bastard!” Sara hollered at Van. “You know what, it’s time to burst your ego.” She turned to Deaq and Ian and added, “Did he tell you what happened this morning?” They both shook their heads. “Van got pussy whipped by yours truly!”

Deaq burst out laughing while Ian stayed quiet, a befuddled look on his face.

“You got you ass beat up by a girl?” Deaq questioned. “Let this day go down in history! Sara Pezzini kicked Van Ray’s ass! Man, Billie will die laughing when she hears about this. So, how did this happen? Where did it go down?”

“It happened this morning. And it wasn’t just one time. I got him twice. First it was outside our building after we bumped into each other. He said something immature and I pinned him to the wall until he apologized. Then when we were at the gym, we had a little face off in the ring, and I basically had him down in no time with a left hook,” Sara explained. She looked over at Van to see he had turned bright red. He was trying to cover it up by turning his face away from them, but the attempt failed miserably.

With the moment quickly dissipating, Sara turned to Ian and asked, “So, Nottingham , why are you here? I thought you were pissed off at me.”

He held up the briefcase and she took it. “I’m returning the money and your equipment,” Ian replied.

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said this morning,” Sara apologized, leaning on the desk across from him. Remembering that Van was sitting beside them, she pressed her leg up against Ian’s and gently rubbed. “I was a real bitch to you, especially since you really did have a good point. Maybe he can’t be trusted. So, do you forgive me?” She slid into his lap and gently placed her hands on his chest. Ian simply nodded, then stared downward. Holding his chin up with her hand, she looked deep into the caramel colored eyes to find something deeper than she was expecting.

“Oh, get a room!” Van snapped, standing up and leaving the office. He was really getting sick of the mushy scene unfolding in front of him.

Sara really didn’t hear what he said. The trance Ian’s eyes had placed her in had taken her someplace else. She was seeing him as a person, someone who felt emotion, the strongest of which, love. Love for her, specifically. But fear was also another present emotion she saw in those beautiful eyes. The fear that she would slip away from him and never come back. Sara couldn’t look anymore; she pulled away, getting up off his lap so close to tears. Had Ian always felt this way about her? She began to wonder.

Things were definitely getting complicated. First there was the vision with Van, now there was that deep love that Ian felt. ‘Oh, the tangled webs we weave,’ Sara thought as she walked out of the warehouse to take a breath outside. She was beyond confused, and even further beyond figuring out why all this was happening. She started pacing, the nervous energy easing out of her body as her mind began to concentrate on something other than her current love situation. Sara walked back inside, ready to solve the Gallo case before it ruined her reputation.

“Okay, time for some explaining,” Sara said loud enough for everyone to hear her. Now that she had Deaq and Ian’s attention, she began, “Ian’s not the bad guy. Gallo is.”

“No shit,” Deaq replied. “But what about the whole hired killer thing?”

“Ian used to work for Kenneth Irons as a personal bodyguard and his pet assassin. I know, it sounds really bad right now, but trust me. You trusted me before, you have to trust me again. He’s not like that anymore. He’s changed. He doesn’t like to kill people. It’s just something he was trained to do. Now that he’s away from Irons’ stronghold, he’s turned into a completely different person. He’s one of the good guys,” Sara explained. “He won’t kill anyone unless I tell him to. Right, Ian?”

Hearing Sara speak his name, Ian looked at her strangely. Sara was definitely full of surprises today. He nodded again, still a little dazed from their last interaction.

“See, he’s a whipped puppy,” she added. Sara leaned closer to Deaq and said, “Just don’t tell him what that means. He’s still getting used to social settings.”

“What?” he whispered back quizzically.

“Irons kept him on a really short leash, so Ian really doesn’t have any social skills. This is all really new to him. He’s used to being in the shadows,” Sara quietly answered. “I think you’re the only person that knows besides me.”

“Oh, that explains a lot.”

“So, do you trust us?”

Deaq sighed, “Yeah, I trust you. Now all we have to do is get Van to trust you, and we’ll be set.”

“That’s where I was hoping you would give me a hand. You know him better than I do. Could you please talk to him and explain this to him? I don’t wanna do it because we’ve already got a history even after only a day. He despises me and I know he just loathes Ian. You’re the only person capable of calming him down and getting him to listen. So, could you please, pretty, pretty please, go and talk to him for me?” Sara begged, putting on her poutiest puppy dog face.

“Why?” Deaq asked quietly before he turned around. “Why do girls always have to make that face?” He walked away, knowing exactly where Van would be.

“Thank you!” Sara hollered, a smile growing on her face. She turned to Ian and it immediately disappeared. “I need to talk to you.”

He looked at her as if she had just appeared in front of him.  After a second of emotionless staring on his part, he asked, "Why?"

"Because, I’m having a problem with Van and I’m hoping you can help me," she said.  

"Problem? What kind of problem and how exactly can I help with it?" he asked in a soft tone.

"Van is an obnoxious little prick, ya know!" she said with more venom than she intended. "He is so full of himself and thinks he knows everything!" she went on in her triad.

"So, how can I help with this?" Ian asked her questioningly.

She couldn't figure out how to say this next part, so she just spat it out. "I want us to pretend to be a couple to get under Van's skin."

Ian just stood there with his mouth agape. He had silently been praying that she was going to confess her true love to him but this was the best he could have gotten.

"Well, let me think about that one for a minute," he told her. Slowly he began to pace around the show room in the Candy Store. He stopped to watch Van and Deaq having a conversation, and then paced some more.

Sara walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Earth to Nottingham ," she said in a joking tone. "You've been thinking about this for five minutes and I need your decision. Are you gonna help me?" she said quietly.  

Ian looked into her eyes and gave her the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen come out of him. "Yeah, I'll help you," he said, taking her hand and gently kissing it.

Sara blushed, thinking to herself, ‘Why can’t I have a relationship with him?’ Then she answered her own question, ‘Because he’s a contract killer and I’m a cop. How much more of a fucked up relationship can you get?’ She led him back into the office, wanting a little more privacy so they could discuss the terms of the agreement.

“We can spend time together, just no touchy feely, unless it’s around them," Sara said. “I know I can trust you not to take advantage of the situation. I just don’t want you getting any ideas. Okay?”

“I understand,” Ian replied with a slight nod.

Sara smiled. “Good. I just don’t want you getting the wrong impression, that’s all. This is just an act, nothing more. Van’s being a prick to me, so I’m gonna be a bitch to him,” she told him.

“I also know he has the hots for me so this will be great revenge. Plus," she added vehemently, "maybe it would save me from fucking another stupid-ass partner." Realizing that she had just said that to Ian, Sara’s mouth flew open. She tried covering it, but it was already too late. She looked over at him as he glared down at his shoes. Sara silently thank her lucky stars that they weren't anywhere near New York City or Jake would have been a dead man in seconds.

Reaching out for his hand, Sara whispered, "I am so sorry, Ian. I was drunk and I didn't know what I was doing." She began to wonder what made her apologize to him, then remembered those sweet puppy dog eyes staring loving back at her. As the first tear rolled down her cheek, Ian took Sara into his arms and just held her as she cried.

“Aw, isn’t that sweet?” Van snickered as he and Deaq walked up behind them. Sara quickly pulled away from Ian and just stared.

“What, do you have a problem with me getting so close to my boyfriend?” Sara emphasized as she glared at him with narrow slits for eyes.

“He’s you’re boyfriend?” Van nearly yelled. “What the… I thought you told me he was your protector and nothing else. Did you neglect to mention he was your boyfriend also?”

“Look, Van, I didn’t mention it because we were in the middle of a fight. He just happened to apologize this morning after I kicked you ass!” Sara yelled back.

“Whoa, what’s all this protector business?” Deaq interrupted.

Sara glared at Van. “I can’t believe you just let that slip!”

“What? Could somebody please clue me in!” Deaq exclaimed.

Sara grabbed Van by the arm and pulled him out of the small office and dragged him to the parking lot. “What the hell are you trying to do?” she spat. “Do you really wanna involve him in this? Do you really wanna endanger his life with this information?” He wasn’t looking at her as he shook his head. “Look at me,” Sara ordered. When he wouldn’t look, she grabbed his chin and pulled him into her gaze. “No more funny business. No more telling secrets. We are working from now on. Do you understand me?”

Van nodded as he tried to avoid those big green pools, but they drew him in so deeply that he had to stare. They were just so beautiful. ‘What the hell is she doing with that assassin, anyway? She should be with me,’ he thought, astonished by what he was actually admitting to himself. When Sara let go of his face, he looked down at his shoes as he followed her back inside.

Chapter 15: It's All in the Kiss

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