#marcus 004

It had been on her mind for a couple of weeks, but even after discussing it with her therapist, going to her ex boyfriend for business advice, especially after their last conversation took a lot more mental preparation than she had expected. She had no idea if he would even want to help her, she didn't know if she'd even be able to ask, but every time she tried to think of who else had the experience to help her, her mind came up blank.

She had been glancing over to the tattoo studio all day as she worked behind the counter in her ice cream shop and it was only after the afternoon school's out rush that she finally worked up the courage to walk over and do nothing but walk past a few times as she chickened out of going through the door each time.

Mentally slapping herself, Kira took a deep breath and walked to the door of the shop, forcing herself to push it open and step inside. "Hi, is Marcus in? I don't have an appointment, I just.." Pausing, Kira forced a smile as the girl nodded and hopped off a stool, calling her boss' name. Perching on one of the seats in the waiting area, she focused on some of the pictures on the wall, trying to anchor herself to the seat so she wouldn't just dart away and back across the street as she waited for him.

The heat of summer subsided in the late Cheshire afternoon, and under the shade of the trees, Jessica sank beneath the surface of the water, her hair flowing around her as she kicked off the edge of the pool. For a few minutes, the world slipped away: thoughts of The Manor, where a few dozen gang members paced restlessly, waiting for news; the calls made to family friends and contacts about her missing uncle, whose condition she couldn’t help worrying about; her brother, newly named Seraphim and stepping up for a plan he and Rafael had devised; her boyfriend, who had smiled when she pulled him into a corner to say hello, but whose thoughts were inscrutable as always, the Dominion ever unwilling to get her caught in a twisted web she didn’t need to be involved in.

Though hearing Evren’s name paired with hers yesterday had made her sigh in relief, keeping everyone under one roof for longer than the duration of a party felt a recipe for disaster. But time was of the essence, and the more quickly they shared information, the more chances they would have of finding their Horsemen. Besides, the cousins needed their uncle, and Rafael, his father—and as she reached the end of the pool, springing off to start her next lap, she couldn’t help wishing that she would resurface to the warm, familiar sight of Rafael Femenias Senior in his tropical print robe and colorful swim trunks, his signature margarita in each hand and a big grin on his tanned face.

When Jessica emerged above water a few laps later, she combed her slick hair out of her eyes and turned her face towards the sun. “God, that feels good,” she breathed, the cold water, the warmth of the sun, and even the gentle birdsong reminding her of the Femenias estate, of home. Then as she blinked away the chlorinated water, she saw a familiar figure at the edge of the pool—Marcus—and lit up, gracefully making her way over. “Hey, Marcy, how’s it going? Have you heard anything about Tío?” she called as she approached; she’d left the Red Drawing Room a couple of hours before, not finding the tension conducive to the task, and made her calls on one of the balconies instead. Then, as she reached the edge of the pool, facial expression attentive yet the most casual it had ever been, she put her hands together and aimed a stream of water right at her brother’s face.