"Investigator?" Taryn raised an eyebrow at the revelation, impressed that the man had actually had the means and know-how to hire someone like that. She never would have done it, and therefore likely would have never found the truth about her boyfriend - soon to be ex boyfriend. "Sorry? For what? Giving me a truth that is far less painful than being cheated on. Trust me, you're doing both of us a favour, I'd say." Giving him a small smile, though the sadness behind her eyes was evident, she glanced towards the case in his hands.

once sitting, miles began to sort through the small stack of pages, photographs included, that he'd brought. everything was dated and labeled with a brightly colored sticky tab, markings of his meticulous nature as an attorney. " it wasn't easy seeing these. his report is typed up and copied there in the front, and the rest are, well... " he trailed off, waiting bleakly for her to shift through the copied pages. some of the phots were slightly blurred, or with less definite features, but there was enough similiarity in each of them to eventually become undeniable.

the two were meeting. their spouses, sneaking around together, and miles wasn't even sure he wanted to know their story. how did they meet, when did this happen... he knew how painful truth was. sometimes, it was best to choose not to know it. " that's my wife. " he said quietly, not looking at the images in her hand, but his jaw worked. it was impossible to think of any comfort to offer, so he didn't try.

no longer the boy with the dark hair and sad eyes, this interaction felt awkward and anxiety driven given the things she's said to him in the past. Like Raleigh she too changed maybe not in appearance, many found it fascinating how she hadn’t aged a day, her gorgeous face still immaculate despite the years. She saw the way his eyes settled on her face like if he was seeing a ghost. Trudy couldn’t blame him for whatever he was thinking now, she was never a saint. It felt nice to hear him say her name, to think he even remembered impressed her after all these years. Normally when you ran into old high school buddies either you vibe with them again or you don't. This, she had noticed over the years the more she ran into familiar faces and old friendships. And truth be told she simply lost touch with everyone, especially what most considered the cool kids in high school. Her career made her invest time and build real friendships and long lasting connections. Dark red stained lips curled into a smile once she heard the familiarity of his voice, tone deeper now compared to back in the day.

she was just as he remembered, at least on the surface. that willowy way of speaking, direct but said so effervescently. to the point, confident, dripping with sex appeal. it almost made him shiver, the hit of nostalgia that came with her and cloaked him in an uncomfortable warmth. " no, no, it's not bad. i just- " he didn't finish, only shrugged. i just thought you hated me sounded too juvenile to say out loud. " clients and travel? sounds fancy. i'm not up to much. i game fulltime for work, so, you know. i'm home a lot. "

pale eyes watched her fingers as they delicately stole his drink, and he considered warning her it had soured by now, but watched instead with a twisted little half smirk. " yeah, not a big, uh, olive guy... " he mumbled, eyes lingering on her hands thoughtfully before finally braving it to meet her gaze head on.

" yeah, i'm nervous. you and your friends terrorized me and mine, if you forgot. " he said it before he meant to, finally growing a spine in the conversation as the frustration bubbled to the surface over his shocked nerves. " if i was 15 again, you sitting here would be a cruel joke. sorry if i have pause. no, i'm not nervous, i just... don't trust you. " slowly, the fire sputtered out, and his words slowed until trailing off entirely. now he was staring at her hands again, but this time, one was on his. " people never really change. buuuut.... " finally, he conceded with a genuine ghost of a smile. " i'm not minding it, either. "

“My discretion for your discretion,” he repeats a bit more intensely, staring her down. His jaw clenches. He’s running out of patience, but the pay is fucking good and he needs that money…

“You want me to answer your questions, you’ll have to answer mine,” he says pointedly, voice softening just a hair. Bright blue hues fall to the counter, then flit back up when she repeats the question of who he is. He blinks hard once, twice, three times.

“Shiloh,” he says plainly, tapping the name tag on his apron with a lifted brow. Then, his hands fall back to his hips. Briefly, his gaze wanders toward the other customer now milling about. He looks the girl up and down again. Her curiosity is not something he has patience to entertain. He shrugs, blinks, sniffles…

the fairness in his words was infuriating, but she played it off with a small, hesitant smile. " touché, i guess. " avery tried her best not to be, but there was a little bit of the spoiled rotten little girl in there still, and ever being told no or not getting her way was irksome. there was more than a shitty temper than met the eye with this guy. shiloh. avery pushed her smile further, and extended a small, manicured hand to his.

" shiloh. i'm avery... avery bryant. " no way he'd recognize her name, so she felt perfectly comfortable giving it. even if bryant rang a bell, she doubted him to be the type to assume things off of vague connections. sure, she shared the same last name as the state senator, but it didn't mean everyone knew she was his daughter. nobody watches the news anymore. " i feel like we got off on the wrong foot here. that's my fault, and i apologize. "

one hand gently strokes the side of the brunette's face, an almost jarring contrast to the overall threatening aura of the encounter. ❛ nobody wants to die, darling. ❜ hell, she didn't. the only difference being is that she came back — from beyond the grave. but, there was a catch, of course. being undead was much like life itself, after all.

head tilts slightly to the side at the woman's proposition. a desperate attempt to save her own skin, emmeline knew that. after a few moments, a slight chuckle tumbled loose from her lips — still stained with the ichor of her most recent feed. still lying maybe a hundred feet from where they stood. ' does it look like i have a hard time feeding myself? ' she spat out, laughter quickly dying and words becoming cold.

emmeline could smell the liquor on the other woman from the other side of the alley. heightened senses or not, it was clear that the brunette was...not in her right mind. even if she tried to tell anybody about what she saw tonight, it was unlikely any would believe her. besides. humans tended to believe what they wanted. nobody wanted to believe in the creatures that prowled the night, even when the signs were there. by the time she sobered up enough to truly realize what she had seen was in fact real, there would be no body to back up her tale. it would likely be written off as some drunken game that she was playing.

and yet...

the vampire tuts softly, watching the woman who had flattened herself against the cold brick. ❛ besides. if i wanted a human blood bag, i could just go out and get one. what possible use could you have other than that? what's so special about you? ❜

gruesome and gorgeous, carmen recoiled from the creature as much as she could, her vision turning crimson. all blood and needled teeth and bright red hair. her eyes shut and her heart stopped, panic truly setting in and freezing her dead cold, when the vampire stroked her cheek.

carmen always said she wanted death to be dazzling. a glorious show, a spectacular story, all fire and smoke and blown bits of car flying. she'd known her whole life she'd die behind a steering wheel, and now she couldn't face her death in the eye. it wasn't around a corner, it wasn't another car, it wasn't a wall or anything she had thought would be the last sight she saw.

instead it was impossibly deep dark chocolate eyes rimmed with the longest eyelashes the racer had ever seen.

for carmen was truly believing she was dead now. once you frustrate a vampire, it was surely lights out, and she swallowed hard when the other's voice turned cold. it felt like frost against her skin now, undead hand on her face impossibly cool to the touch. carmen began to tremble from the cold, the terror, the stench of death.

" m- my blood type is the rarest one. " did that make her a delicacy to night prowlers? " and i'm- you could- yeah, going and getting a human blood bag, i'm sure you could do. but you have one right here, totally willing. " her own dark eyes blinked slowly, feeling surprisingly alert. fear must be sobering, like a greasy cheeseburger. " and i'm interesting. i'm fun i'm hot. my diet is super clean. i'm smart. i can do a lot of stuff. "

there was a pause, the only sound between them was a distant siren, and the pounding of carmen's heart. " and because it would be really, really cool for me. "

" that could be a good start. " the idea of having her around fulltime, able to pursue her passions and dreams and focus on her own relaxation. . . . it made his heart jump in anticipation. and knowing that he would be the one caring for her, well. the smile spoke for itself. " i know. " he answered fondly, eyes adoring as he pulled her into him, careful of the cigarette. " but think about it. never worrying about money, choosing to spend your time how you desire. you'll be happier. won't you? you won't go looking for things to fuss over, because i know you, and that's exactly what you'll try to do. "

“ perfect ? ” she  let  the  word  out  on  a  short,  dry  breath,  the  blue  in  her  eyes  sharpening  as  she  looked  at  his  mouth.  the  lingering  doubt. the  small,  irritating  friction  that  had  tried  to  keep  her  from  crossing  the  parking  lot  to  find  him. all of it evaporated.  she  was  right  to  come  over.  she  was  always  right.  the  lord  didn't  make  mistakes  with  her  intuition. “ of  course,  sugar.  i  have  missed  you. ” her  hand  slid  down  the  stiff  denim  of  his  sleeve,  her  fingers  finding  his  knuckles.  she  didn't  hesitate. she  worked  her  fingers  between  his  until  their  palms  flat - lined  against  each  other.  took  one  step  into  his  space.  the  townspeople  could  look  if  they  wanted  to,  but  they  were  just  ghosts  anyway.

the way raleigh felt as if he knew her so intimately, and seemingly she to him, made him wonder if he had fallen into a fever dream. an alternate reality, something yanked from a science fiction game, but he felt himself rooted and alive. nerve endings on alert, lips parted with a heavy breath, and his eyes focused solely on the ethereal enchantress before him.

she knew what it was like to stare death in the eyes, and command it with her own hand. power was hers, she knew how to wield it, and when she did, oh... it made him crave her in ways so primal. there were the nights he watched her drench herself in filth, in sin, muffled moans sounding from the window panes. he'd pressed his back to the wall there and relieved the tension her performances gave.

now, raleigh stood here, defying all odds and doing the impossible. it flickered through his mind - maybe she intends to kill you now. he didn't care. being caught in her gaze had him understanding what her hours of worship on her knees meant. he saw god in the hues of her crystal blues. the universe was pressed to his palm when her soft hand met his, and he gasped quietly, lost in the trance. " you're still safe. i'd never let anybody harm you. " he promised, the words coming out slow and serious, and slid his fingers in to hold hers. " it wasn't you. i got scared. " the whisper was hoarse, but he leaned into her touch now, ribs aching from the ferocity of his heartrate threatening to crack bone. " i'd give everythin', do anythin', i was gonna lose everythin', and i thought this wasn't any good for me. you couldn't be- i knew you were heaven, i just didn't know i was invited. i'm nothing but a rotten sinner. i'm nothing like you. "

her mischievous smile widens the exact second her boyfriend announces that sunny is coming along with them, before she smoothly takes ian's hand and sunny’s into her own. all it takes is one knowing look at ian and she knows their minds have completely drifted in the same direction — a kind of wicked telepathy she shares with him that would be peculiar if they hadn't been dating for so long. the escape from the crowded charity gala is fortunately done swiftly, and so is the smooth drive back to ian’s penthouse. her fingers remain tightly entwined with ian’s in the hand-stitched leather interior of her regular, passenger-princess seat as the car tears through the midnight streets, leaving their loud circle of high-society acquaintances far behind.

even during the car ride, sunny was integrating himself into their dynamic, his hand on ivy's hair to twist it around a finger playfully. the proximity didn't fade when they arrived to his best friend's house either, never not a step behind her with ian at his side. " me please! " sunny answered dutifully, taking his flute with a lingering smile. but he didn't sit down on the couch, instead began to dance to the music a little, just gentle steps and sways while sipping from his glass. " please... dance with me. " his free hand extended, fingers wiggling under the layered leather and shell bracelets that poked out from beneath his finer clothes.

comfortable immediately on his couch, ian watched the two with a wide grin, legs splayed and arms hung slack over the back of the couch. there was a rumble of flutters low in his stomach, a warmth inside for them both. neither could cancel out the other. " well, you heard him. " he encouraged, standing to join with a smile. slugging off his jacket and loosening the top two buttons of his shirt, ian ran a hand through his hair, and put a hand on ivy's waist as he got into the music with sunny on her other side.

nothing could ever truly slow carmen down. disappointment in her defeat was enough to send her running from the scene, but it hadn’t kept her from behind the wheel. and her racing days hadn’t slowed down a bit, though they did change in technical legality. street racing had taught carmen a lot, but most importantly? confidence. she wasn’t a wide eyed girl anymore who was scared of everything. she whirled around, smiling to see his face even if she had been secretly mad as hell he’d won her race. “ no way! i wondered if i’d see you around sooner or later. “ her heart skipped a beat at the words. “ crazy, isn’t it? i didn’t think id ever come back and try again… “ but she wouldn’t tell him her secret. not yet. he didn’t need to know she had been involved in illegal street racing. he didn’t need to know she was coming back with a new set of skills and a rejuvenated hunger for thrill, victory, and praise. " but i'm feeling really good about it. what about you, then? "

The hand on his shoulder drew his attention, and he smiled softly, nodding his head in understanding at the task. He was there to help create something, to build a story into these walls that Roy would be happy with, and as his eyes took in the large walls that he was to fill, he immediately began to ponder.

" yeah, something like that. " a wave of his hand, and as quick as it arrived, the insecurity fizzled in due part to the nonchalance andy held about him. it was so different than he was used to - in this orbit, everyone was tense and uptight, wound up and ready to burst at a moment's notice. maybe it was the artistic vibes of the guy, but he seemed like he knew a thing about relaxation. royce wondered if he should take notes.

not a bit of him was worried, his smile growing as he watched the artist take in the space. " i can see those talented wheels spinning already! "

roy blinked, wondering if it was an odd question or not. he supposed not, after a moment. a big house like this, and not even a dog to fill it with? " just me, for now... " he chuckled softly, that trickle of insecurity returning. " i always wanted a big, loud family with lots of space to run around in. i guess i thought i'd be at least dating by now, but you know. " he shrugged. " work is my life right now. i can't seem to escape it. "

an eyebrow rose slowly, the lighthearted conversation turning quickly into something he had not prepared for. he sat up a little straighter. " yeah, why not, i mean... no one else i'd wanna marry. "