tom waaler

"You can walk," Tom said, his tone flat and indifferent as he started walking towards the door leading to the hallway where the elevator was waiting for them. "...and you can think about the consequences of your actions while you do." He was being cold, but what did she really think would happen, going out dressed like that? It was a dangerous city, he'd seen it all.

Tom waited for her at the elevator, keeping the doors open as he leaned against the frame. Arms crossed over his chest, chin dipping lower as he studied her walking up to him. The silence stretched between them as the doors closed and the elevator started moving. Tom, leaning casually against the wall, kept a stern look on her, then slowly taking a few steps forward, pinning her closer to the wall.

"I wasn't talking about the dress," Tom countered, although the dress itself added to the whole thing. When she started toying with his car, which he couldn't stand, he remembered the pistol he kept in the glove compartment. Before she managed to catch a glimpse of it, he leaned over, reaching his arm out to shut it close. "Don't touch anything," Tom muttered, unable to conceal his annoyance. "You're too.. handsy."

"Someone has to clean up the shit so that everybode else can breathe freely." Spoken mostly to himself, as he had himself convinced he was doing some good in this world, despite everything. He glanced back at Liana, his gaze dropping to the sight of his hand inching closer and closer to dangerous territory. "Cute..?" Tom scoffed, meeting her eyes briefly before turning his attention back to the road. Oh, how he wanted to keep his hand there. Trail it even higher, to show her exactly how cute he could be.

She was insufferable - if her father found out about this, Tom would be in trouble. He was supposed to be one he could trust, not some creep who'd lay hands on his daughter. When she insisted on bringing his hand back to her thigh, he simply let her. His fingers spread, almost instinctively as his palm rested against her delicate skin. Even though she wanted one, he didn't give a response to her tease. He let out a grunt, resembling a laugh at how innocent she was acting.

"We don't kill the bad guys, we put them in jail." That wasn't the entire truth - his gun had gone off in 'self-defence' more than once. Even at one of his own. And after hours, well-- he had a special treatment for bad guys getting away with it.

They were bucket seats; they were not made for comfort. But Tom wouldn't call her out on it. He almost flinched when her dainty fingers brushed over his knee, keeping a firm hand on the steering wheel while looking ahead. "Why do I get the feeling you're doing all this on purpose?" There was almost a taunting tone to his words, casting a glance in her direction. "Oh, that's right.. Because you totally are, right?"

His fingers wrapped around her hand that was resting on his knee, guiding it back to her own lap. He didn't retract his hand immediately, keeping it on top of hers while warning her. "Whatever you think is going on here-- you don't want it."

Of course Liana knew that it would just be one drink that she was having with a friend. She got ready, and left a little while after Tom did. Liana wore a black dress, probably a little too short and a little too revealing yet she always looked classy. Maybe it was the way she paid attention to her hair and make-up, the accessories or the high heels she could spend hours in. Boys wanted to be with her, girls wanted to be her.

Tom spent most of the night chasing some lead which eventually led to nowhere, and then met up with a customer at midnight. After getting his point across, they finally paid up for the business they owed. With a pocket full of cash, he cruised back home, Liana barely crossing his mind until his phone chimed. Seriously?

He picked up, her words rambling out of the speakers in his car as she declared she was lost. Of course she was. "Just.. I'm a few minutes away," he told her, his right leg pressing on the accelerator as he steered towards the location she shared.

Harry: I just fucking love stairs.

Tom:

He leaned in, almost menacingly. Esme remained silent. She resolved not to speak until he’d finished. She wasn’t going to interrupt and let him tie her in knots by changing the focus every few seconds. No, Esme was going to keep her resolve. It proved hard, though, especially when Tom concluded with a not so subtle hint about ending her career, the threat making her eyes betray her, unmistakably widening for a moment. 

She swallowed as she thought over her reply, a few seconds passing before she finally spoke. “I’m just pointing something out,” she told him, looking up still, her eyes settled on his. She wondered what her gaze told him. “I’m sure you can agree that we must follow every lead, no? Interrogate something till we eliminate it.” As she finished, her throat felt dry, and a thought crept into Esme’s mind - the more Tom tried to persuade her to drop the image, the more she was certain it was of him. 

@prins3n

"Esme," Tom said, her name falling off his lips in a low, borderline seductive way. "Not everthing is a lead. Sometimes it’s just… where your attention keeps drifting." She’s close. Oh, she's too close to the truth, and she doesn’t even realize it yet. That makes her dangerous. Tom tries his best to blur the lines for her, to make the evidence into something personal. If she starts questioning why she's looking at him, perhaps she would forget what she actually saw.

His gaze drops briefly while taking her in. "So tell me.." He adjusts himself, leaning closer. "What is it you think you’re seeing?" Did she even dare to say it out loud? To accuse him of something like that?

Get wasted, don't be decent. Got it. Liana nodded slowly through his words, then pouted as he mentioned that she wasn't allowed to call him Tommy. She would listen to that one, for now. "I can do that." Liana moved around the room quietly, watching the view from the window, then peeked over her shoulder as he talked again. It made her chuckle a little, hands innocently raising in defense. At least he was prepared. His words about putting her into her place made her smirk even wider. Interesting. "I'll try. Can't make any promises, though. You have nothing to worry about. I bet we'll have so much fun." Liana winked at him before passing him to leave the room, intentionally letting their shoulders brush together while she made her way to the living room area of his pent house again.

"I'll leave you to it," Tom said, disgarding her before she managed to provoke another sightly unhinged line from him. Walking back to the living room, sipping on a glass of water while checking his phone, he remembered he still had some buiness to handle. It wouldn't necessarily take too long, so he would return to his babysitting duties sooner rather than later.

Liana didn't meet a lot of people who dared to talk back to her. She normally had her word ready to put it out there. But this man? He seemed to level her. It intrigued her. Not to mention that she found herself deadly attracted to him. "You're right, I know absolutely nothing of it. I wish I did, but my daddy is pretty strict about his office and that I'm not allowed in there. You know him, he doesn't like it when people touch his stuff." Or daughter. Office, clubhouse, weaponry room. Whatever you could call it. The way he so casually spoke about guns and knives gave her the good kind of chills. She had always loved trouble. Only a soft hum of approval left her lips as he finished talking. "Oh, you think you know me so well already? Cute. Tell me, Tommy, what exactly is it that you think I'm doing?" - Liana mocked him.

"The rules are simple," Tom said, gritting his teeth as he met with Liana's gaze again. How could anyone be this annoying on purpose? "Stay out of trouble, don't come back here all wasted, be decent." He already knew she would do anything to piss him off, breaking every guideline he set for her. "... also, don't call me Tommy." A nickname he dispised, as it made him sound like some hill-billy goof who was nothing like him.

It had been a very productive travel so far. Businness wise, Mirela was on the top, she wouldn't be surprised if a promotion was on the way. She knew very interesting places and people, and Tom really caught her attention. "I wanted to see you, I had a feeling I'd find you here", she leaned into him as well, "No, we aren't", she chuckled, her hand trailing down on his chest, palm pressing against his groin, "If you need, we can talk first, and then we can do exactly what we're known for", she whispered near his ear before leaning back, "I could talk about my day, if that's enough entertainment to you. Or you can talk about yours, you seem a bit tensed"

Christ, listening to Mirela's day was the last thing he'd want to do on a night like this. In fact, he didn't want to listen to anyone at this point. If he wanted to talk, he'd see a therapist. "What I need," he started, catching her wrist before it trailed any lower. "...is for you to finish that drink so that we can get out of here." Tom brought her hand up to his lips, placing a surprisingly tender kiss to the delicate skin on her wrist.

"There's nothing to talk about." Talking about it wouldn't make it any better. The only thing that could save him now was one thing, and one thing only: a bullet.