come one, come all.

The thing about Riggs having a son was that it felt like a constant reminder to Greer that she’d not only not been the woman to give him a son, but that he’d forever be tied to another woman and she could never, ever come between that. It crushed her every time she thought about it, and hearing his name only made it hurt worse. Greer had seen pictures of Franklin, had heard Riggs talk about the boy and saw the way he lit up. She wanted to be part of that, wanted to be around for the moments Riggs described, but she also worried that it’d blow up in her face. How could she face the child that would forever remind her that Riggs had slept with someone else? She inhaled slowly and deeply as Riggs started telling her about his son, stilling her features so she didn’t make the same mistake as last time and wince. Or the time before, when she’d rolled her eyes slightly and started an entire argument that had lasted a week and a half. After tonight’s shift, she just wasn’t ready to fight. She didn’t have it in her, which was saying something.  “I bet he’s gonna be the tallest kid in his class, just like you were.” It was a start, really, an olive branch she wanted to offer because she missed him so damn much. Riggs was her person, as much as she put them both through hell, and she’d always found her way back to him. It had to mean something, had to be a sign, that the two of them couldn’t seem to move on. Greer believed it more than she’d ever believed anything in her entire life, and that was why she found herself rocking back onto her heels and shifting her weight, not entirely hesitant but not wanting to jump right into his offer. “I could come by,” she said softly, scratching gently at her arm underneath the hem of the gas station polo she hated. “What’s on the menu?”

***

For a man who didn’t believe in fate and fairytales, he sure did hope for something to eventually work out in his favor. It felt like he’d spent a lifetime loving the woman before him, but she’d spent just as long running from him. Just when things felt good, something happened and crumbled the steady foundation they’d built. Time and time again, they got one step closer to forever and like clockwork, it never panned out the way he desperately wanted. “He’s getting there. He looks an awful like me these days. His hair is still light and he’s got my eyes too. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s a spitting image of me back in the day.” God, sometimes it easy to forget just how long they’d known one another and how he’d spent half of his life loving her. 

With the offer out between them, he braced himself for rejection. Anytime it came to Franklin and Greer being in the same room together, the two just didn’t mix. However, her response caught him by surprise. He’d be so concerned with her saying no that he hadn’t even considered that she would say yes. Brows lifted upwards and lips parted, the man left speechless for a few seconds before he swallowed down the surprise and choked out a nervous laugh. “I was thinking if you’re coming by, I could pull out a personal favorite? It’s the least I could do. It’ll even be served with that wine you like.” He was mindful to keep a bottle stored in the back of the fridge on the off chance she ever wanted to come back. It was pathetic, truthfully, but Riggs couldn’t help himself.

Josie held up a finger after he expressed his gratitude, moving swiftly into the hall to get a styrofoam cup filled with water for Drew. Tucking a straw into it as she stepped back into his room, she made her way over to the bed and held it close enough for him to drink from. It was second nature, caring for someone, but even more so when it was someone she cared about. “I’m happy to be here, you know that. I couldn’t stand the thought of you waking up alone.” Her voice was soft as she reached up and ran a finger gently over his jawbone. “You’re going to be okay,” she said again, clearly more for herself than for his own benefit this time. Her voice lowered, landing somewhere just above a whisper as she continued. “When the call came in, I panicked. I don’t even remember what happened after they said it was you, I was like a zombie.” 

“I’m not saying she can’t date, I’m just saying I want to know who she’s dating, and how many priors he’s got. Preferably none, but knowing Imani, she’s going to find herself a little wannabe thug,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. Malik honestly thought better of his sister, he just knew how vulnerable she could be sometimes, and he’d hate to see any boy take advantage of that. More than anything, it was his own insecurities as a guardian that had him questioning everything in times like these. “Hold up, she tells you stuff about me? What kind of stuff are we talking about here? ‘cause I’m not saying she’s a liar but I don’t think she’s always truthful… Unless it’s about how great I am as a brother, then she’s not wrong.”

The feeling of relief that washed over her as his voice hit her ears gave Josie the last bit of confirmation she needed to shift forward in her seat and place her hand in his. Crossing her legs in the uncomfortable chair, the blonde looked Drew over again, taking in the damage that had been done. “You’re a little banged up, but they removed two bullets from your left shoulder.” When she’d explained this to his supervisor over the phone a little bit ago, her voice had quivered more than it was right now. Somehow, being in the room seeing him made her feel a little stronger. Her finger dragged lazily over his as she gave him a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll have to do some PT but you should have a full range of motion. Which will come in handy when I have to kick your butt for lying to me, Andrew Wolfe.” As much anger as the woman could muster went into her statement, but the tenderness was clear as day. She was mad, of course, but less so at him than at the man who had pulled the trigger. “Do you need any water? I can get you some ice. I know a nurse or two around here.”

Cohen looked up at her from where he sat on the edge of his entirely too small bed. He took a slow look around the apartment, cramped and lacking any real sign of himself beyond the basics: dirty clothes in the hamper, shoes on the floor, a single photo taped to the fridge of Cohen and his “Uncle” Sal. Sal had been in prison with Cohen but gotten out a few years ago. He’d met Cohen at the gates the day he was officially released, and been the only real family Cohen had known since. Until he met Letty, he really hadn’t cared all that much about holding on to anyone else in his life. Now, he was terrified that she’d fly away and realize exactly how out of his league she really was. “For sure, I can definitely take you to Hollister, baby. Make it rain!” He pretended to flick cash off his hand before laughing and reaching out his hands to pull her closer. Resting his chin against her stomach, he slid his hands onto her hips. “Nah, this just my way of making memories with you that don’t involve my shit hole apartment.”

There was a part of him, deeper down than he’d let on so far, that worried about her ‘coming back’ statement. Because, while Cohen knew that logistically she could, he was afraid she wouldn’t. Or worse, that she would come back to Miami but wouldn’t come back to him. Instead of thinking about that, though, Cohen pushed it aside. He sunk his teeth into his bottom lip before pushing himself up off the bed and taking a few steps backwards toward the door. “You ready? There’s a diner a few blocks over that is calling your name. Can’t you hear it?”

For a woman who had always put her career first, Cohen was quite the exception to the rules she’d made for herself. For starters, he wasn’t a wealthy jerk like the guys back in DC and secondly, he had a criminal record that would have made her father’s skin crawl. “Hollister? I don’t think I’ve been to one of those since high school.” No, she much preferred stores that didn’t blast music loudly and spray every perfume in store to make a smell they’d never be able to bottle and sell. “It’s not that bad. You should definitely call someone about your hot water situation though. Maybe even upgrade this bed to something bigger too,” she added, though she didn’t want to come off as judgemental. She was a single woman with an apartment two sizes too big for her, as was her king sized bed that she somehow managed to always leave it unmade. However, that’s what maids were for, right?

Malik’s jaw tightened slightly, shaking his head at Val’s words. “Nah, nah, nah,” he said, lifting his hand to his chest. “Big bro, right? That’s my job. I gotta protect her. I’m not going to arrest the kid for dating my little sister, but I sure as hell am going to get every bit of background info I can, ya dig?” He let his lips tug upward at the end, an inevitable smile always finding its way to his face when Val was around. “I know she’s important to you, but I think sometimes you’re blinded by the feminine energy you two share. You get to share the gossip, the girl talk, it’s like a sleepover. She knows you’ll just turn around and tell me whatever she says, so we can’t trust her. She’s like a perp, we gotta play this one by the book.”

Maybe he was an idiot for assuming that Sam was into him. But then again, he had seen the way her eyes burned with something a lot deeper than consideration or kindness. She wasn’t dating anyone, as far as he’d been able to tell, and neither was he. His eyes looked over his daughter’s sleeping form one more time as he moved past Sam. “I’m sure she had a blast, she loves hanging out with you.” Turning back to face Sam, Wade swallowed audibly before slipping his tongue over his bottom lip. He really didn’t want to talk about work right now, not when she’d been on his mind all afternoon. Reaching out to run his fingertips gently across the skin on the back of her hand, Wade flicked his gaze toward the part of the house he could only assume held a bedroom or two. “Where’s your bedroom?”

“Thank you for coming,” Charlie said as she shut the door to the passenger side of Orion’s vehicle. She’d been in a near panic since she’d realized that her son had taken off. Dylan had been arguing with her more and more lately, and tonight had been even worse. Finally, she’d snapped. His attitude was too much to handle, and then Dylan had blown up at her. He’d figured out that Orion wasn’t just his coach, or an old friend, but was his father. The words her fifteen year old son had screamed at her rattled around her brain as she waited for Orion to show up in her driveway.

The stress wasn’t just that her son was missing. The fact of the matter was that Orion was going to ask questions, and explaining exactly why Dylan had run away to begin with. Things had been going so well lately, with Orion and with Dylan. Then Dylan’s attitude had shifted, and it was the tip of the iceburg. Charlie had been pushing her luck. “Like I said on the phone, I don’t know when he left. He stormed into his room around 8:30 and I didn’t hear a sound after that. I checked on him again right before 11 and he was gone. He’s never done something like this.” // @chaosbegins​

It didn’t matter that the clock was nearing midnight or that he had an early morning practiced scheduled for the team. The moment he’d saw Charlie’s name illuminate on his phone screen, he hadn’t hestitated to swipe accept, nor had he hesitated to climb into the driver’s seat of his truck and race across town to get to her. Fingers drummed impatiently against the steering wheel and when the truck cab lit up with the open door, he blew out a deep breath and waited for her to get in before shifting into drive.

Josie hadn’t left this hospital room in fourteen hours. She wasn’t counting, or anything, but she’d been stationed here the entire time Drew had been in surgery, the entire time he’d been sedated while recovering, and every moment since they’d told her he would be waking up soon. She hated this part of hospitals: the waiting and the wondering, the silence of that rose and fell between each sound coming from the machines. She knew them by heart: the machines, what each one meant and what it should be. The numbers looked okay, she wasn’t seeing anything of concern on the screens even though she kept checking every two minutes. He was stable, that was what mattered. The bullets that had gone through his chest hadn’t taken Drew from her. Josie kept reminder herself oof that, if only to keep the reminders at bay. Last time she’d been at someone’s side in the hospital, it had ended with her mother’s death. This time was different, though, and she made sure to remind herself of that. Hearing Drew stirring, Josie shifted her gaze to the man in the bed. “Hey,” she said softly, closing her book and setting it down in her lap. “You’re not going to feel any pain right now, but your throat might be sore from the breathing tube,” she said softly. “But you’re okay, Drew, you’re okay.” // @chaosbegins​

“Are you sure you have to head home tonight?” Cohen let out a sigh, running his hand down the woman’s waist and over her hip, doing his best to memorize her curves. “You could stick around a little longer, blow off your job and slum it here with me.” It was only partly a joke, referring to time with Cohen as ‘slumming’ it when in fact Letty was far out of his league. His entire world was trash compared to hers, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was time here with this woman. They’d spent four days together, barely leaving his apartment while he called in sick at work. Claiming he had the flu was good enough to buy him a few days, and he’d been more than happy to do it for any minute with Letty. “At least we have today, I guess. Today, we’re getting out of this apartment and you’re getting to see this city.” // @chaosbegins​

Sam had helped them out a few times now, and Wade was feeling extra grateful for her as he gently rapped his knuckles against Sam’s front door. It’d been a last minute issue at the shop that had him asking her for a favor, asking her if she could swing by the daycare and pick his kid up before they closed. She’d agreed, thankfully, and he’d been thinking about how he could show her his gratitude ever since. There was no doubting that Sam was gorgeous, and Wade had been thinking about their chemistry a lot lately. Usually late at night when he was by himself in bed. The way Sam looked at him was good enough to convince Wade that she’d be interested, if he ever did go for it. Tonight, he was doing just that. “Hey,” he said as soon as the door opened, glancing toward the kid on the couch that was clearly fast asleep. “I owe you big time.” // @chaosbegins​

Malik’s fingers tapped the steering wheel more out of habit than anything. He wasn’t anxious, feeling fully in control of himself and the situation. After all, he had two of the city’s finest detectives scouting his sister’s high school right before school let out, so he knew things would go as smooth as ever. “So, remember when I said I was just here on a hunch? Hear me out, I think Imani has a boyfriend. This kid’s been coming around our street way more than usual. If they’re dating, I gotta figure out who he is so I can run his rap sheet.” Ignoring the fact that the boy he was referring to was probably only fifteen or sixteen, Malik shifted his gaze from the front of the school to Val’s face, knowing exactly what look to expect on it. “Don’t even give me that look,” he said with a quick shake of his head. “I’m her big bro, I gotta look out for her. You’d do the same if you were in my shoes.” // @chaosbegins​

From one side of the world to the other, there wasn’t another place that she wanted to be than in the heart of Atlanta. It was a beautifully busy city that always stole her heart whenever she dropped in for a visit. Upon hearing of her friend’s birthday celebration, it wasn’t something she was willing to miss, despite having booked a flight to Dubai a few months earlier. It was easy to cancel though, considering that nothing was more important the woman herself. What Aksel hadn’t planned for was the older brother being part of the packaged deal. Elijah wasn’t terrible by any means, but after sleeping together, she hadn’t bothered looking back. He had his life and she had hers, neither of which meshed well with the other.

With an uptight father like her own, it was rare that Letty got to do anything as wild as take off to the state without rules for a week with people her father didn’t approve of. Even at almost thirty years of age, he held the reigns tight and reminded her of the control he had and would continue to have. At least, the control he wanted to have. Seeing as she was in the sunshine state with the very people she adored, it was control that her diplomatic father was lacking. Round after round, Letty found himself intoxicated by the liquor and the people. For someone who wanted to be out as much as she did, it lost it’s appeal all too quickly. Then again, maybe that had something to do with the way men continued to squeeze in between her and the bar, desperate for whatever attention she’d give. After failing to entertain one too many, she let one of friends know that she needed to go outside for a breath of fresh air. Despite offering her company, Letty opted for going alone.

“Maybe you just see right through me,” he admitted without a single ounce of hesitation, allowing himself to sit in the midst of the truth. Her question was the dangerous kind, the kind that held two very different answers that could completely ruin the moment they were in the midst of. For some reason, Keiran felt somewhat nervous, a feeling he rarely ever felt outside of the courtroom where he almost never experienced it to begin with. It was a strange feeling, but he pushed it from his mind as he raised his brow slightly, glancing down at the bottle of wine in one hand and the bottle of bourbon in the other. “I don’t know,” he said softly, letting his gaze move upward slowly to meet hers. He decided to put the ball back in her court, shifting his weight as he started moving toward the counter with both bottles. “You tell me: am I drinking alone tonight or are you coming over?”

Malik didn’t dignify her point with anything more than a grunt, one low enough in his chest that it appeared second nature despite how much he hated doing it. It always made him feel like shit to take the easy way out, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about her husband anymore. Malik didn’t exactly hate the guy, he just had zero real respect for him and the way he treated Val. “If you don’t, that’s on you,” he replied, pointing at her with a finger before he lifted the drink in his hand back and finished it off. “I’m an open book. Everyone knows that.” He raised a brow in her direction before giving a soft shrug. “If you’re scared of getting shown up by my dance moves, you could just say it.”