x

242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiCvNNLVy1
"Dorian."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXRoOdQfmf
"Huh?" Nick looked over at the Vixen -- Dorian -- who walked next to him, no longer adorned in his suspicious all black attire but instead in a warm grey turtleneck and open front jacket with jeans.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7LbYTMw1o
He had, much to Nick's confusion and astonishment, been waiting outside of the school doors just a week after he'd slipped through Nick's bedroom window. Nick had more or less ignored him as he walked past, hoping he was looking for someone other than himself -- that flame of hope was stomped out when the Vixen began to walk beside him, taking Marco's usual place at his side.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPo3BGGIXS
The two had walked in tense silence for a while -- the tense piece of that entirely of Nick's own creation. The Vixen, on the other hand, looked as comfortable as could be, hands shoved into his pockets as he closed his eyes and tipped his chin upwards, breathing in the pleasantly warm air. Soon it would be Spring and the warmth would be brought back to Sweetport, coloring trees green once again.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ehj0WPetX
"My name is Dorian."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPybU5MsFI
Nick turned his head but didn't stop walking, regarding Dorian curiously. "Like The Picture of Dorian Gray?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nTEXSBHY6
Dorian grinned. "You know it?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Wr41WbZLy
"Of course, it's a classic."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DzSNEHZLa
"I didn't take you for the classic type."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsH7C0HzZ0J
Nick shook his head, scratching the back of his neck as he kicked the toe of his sneaker against the concrete. "Not anymore." He hadn't been for a long time actually.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jccIIV5Kv
"Hmm." Silence for a moment.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnECe2dCtWc
"So, why are you following me?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ui84EhnRt
"I'm not following you," Dorian said, a sly grin on his handsome face, "That would mean I am behind you and we're clearly walking next to each other."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckMJQD672v
"Okay smartass, why are you walking with me?" Nick threw him a withering glare that was all bark and no bite. Dorian was silent for a moment -- he tended to do that a lot as Nick was beginning to notice -- before he shrugged.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7PYYfK1cM
"Warren is a last name that means something in my business."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylpdhTY0BD
Nick felt his lungs deflate. "Vixen business?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMmbC7FPKS
"That's the only business I have." Dorian was watching him like a therapist watches a patient -- evaluating, digging for unspoken emotions. Nick felt his dread drain away and instead be substituted with a cold anger.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDvb862OST
"Maybe," he began, walking faster, "You should mind your own while I mind mine. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJMpX4nqDZ
"And you'll do what if I don't?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJiLZ79hFu
"I might kill you." He hoped Dorian couldn't tell that Nick wasn't sure if the threat was serious or not.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXDmhEe4mJ
"You spent seven years in the foster system." Dorian said it as if he was telling Nick something new. "That's a long time."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoM7BB1Dmxg
"Yeah." His words were clipped, spoken through a clenched jaw.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34tym6WRPe
"Your mother is dead."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWxlx8craV
"Thanks for reminding me."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jEMfYr7C2
"And your father is in prison." Nick said nothing. "For now." He nearly tripped over his own heart as it plummeted to his feet.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvUZjYGd31
"What do you mean," Nick asked, frozen in place as he stared at his new tagalong. "What the fuck do you mean, for now."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnBXQRKa3j
"I mean-" Dorian waved his hand through the air dismissively- "Men like him don't spend long in prison."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNnqxrxFm7
"Men like him?" Nick, despite the coolness of the air around him, felt sweat drip down the back of his neck. His fingers were curled so tight around the straps of his bag that the joints in his fingers ached and his nails dug into his palms.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW28GB4eSav
"You don't know?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnuwnZubaP
"Stop beating around the fucking bush and get on with it. What the fuck do you mean." Nick hadn't meant for the words to come out so aggressively, in a low growl that surprised even himself. A voice that reminded him very much of his father. He shuttered, eyes closing as he pulled in a deep breath meant to calm him. "Sorry. Tell me."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXdyyKqRXZ
"A man with money," Dorian said, any and all dismissal in his voice now gone. "A man who can buy his way out of prison with money and fear. Your father was an important man in the business."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIbthUbhti
"Vixen business." Nick spat the words out bitterly, turning away from Dorian and moving forward, trying desperately to ignore the fluttering wings of panic settling in his chest. Dorian did not follow him.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiCBAS2cQ1
"Yes."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQT4Ri37Or
"It wasn't a question."
•••
It was eight in the afternoon when Marco got off work. He worked shifts at a moving company that had a square building nestled in between an arts and crafts store and a law firm; Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and every other weekend. Today was a Friday.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarnOh0Ypvr
Nick had been standing outside with a cigarette burning at the tip of his fingers, back pressed against the brick as he waited for Marco to clock out. He was lost in his own thoughts.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamW5eHItel
His father, a man he did not like to think about, would be out of prison soon. Panic spiked in his chest at the mere thought. It wasn't a forsure thing -- from what he knew -- and yet he was inclined to believe Dorian even if he was a cunning and dangerous Vixen.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gcEGRCOc1
Nick couldn't quite remember his father; he had bits and pieces of his childhood missing; his father's face, his mothers voice. What he did know though, was that he was a horrible man who had done horrible things -- he had killed Nick's mother after all and he suspected many others had come before her.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVP1fBORi6S
"Sweeper," Marco called as he stepped through the doors, pulling Nick from his thoughts. "You're here." The teenager was wearing khakis and a hideous polo shirt that he somehow managed to pull off despite it's unflattering uniformness. It had to be the dimples.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPmTGIGDTD
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddS7a2LQ7U
"Because it's butt fuck cold?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PywH4IlTH
"We both know that wouldn't stop me," Nick grinned, though it felt forced. "If I was really all that cold I would have come inside. I needed some time to sort my thoughts and I can't do that when you're around because you talk so much." His cigarette had burnt down to the filter and was nothing but ash that fell apart when he dropped it on the ground and put it out with the heel of his shoe. For a moment he stared at the blackish-grey streak it left behind.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLK61IVI66Y
"Asshole. Listen, I heard there's this discount for regulars down at Swingin' Blues, what do you say we grab a bite?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkeWiAaJWY
"Are we regulars?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nep3GykHe
"We go there every week, if we're not regulars I'm going to sue." Marco gave Nick a look that said 'Yes, I know I wouldn't sue but it's the principle.'
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNppGoHMuh
"Of course you would," Nick said, if not to give his friend a brief victory. "Why not, let's eat."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWldNN1XNjq
By the time they were pushing their way into the small burger joint, Swingin' Blues and Burgers, the sun had set, leaving the sky painted deep blue. They were starving: Nick's stress had eaten a hole through his stomach and Marco simply was always hungry.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2r8TPu5p8
The two of them took a seat at their normal booth in the back of the room, a spot where Nick could easily watch the door and look out the wide fixed windows that gave a pleasant view of the old train tracks that led into an opened and lightly forested area. They hadn't been used in God knows how long but every once in a while there is a train that slowly rolls by, loud and obnoxious as it blocks cars from their route.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCfPko8UZT
Marco dropped into the booth with a grunt and Nick followed a lot more gracefully. Neither of them bothered glancing at the menus that sat at the end of the table: they both had their orders cemented in their memories whether they were considered regulars or not.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgEqSxf2JI
"Is Miranda working a late shift tonight?" It was idle conversation that Nick appreciated, if not to distract him from dark swirling thoughts.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTY6fcwBv2W
Nick nodded, rubbing a finger over a coffee rings on the table, faded brown against brilliant red. It had been there for God knows how long and he'd grown oddly fond of it -- it was familiar. "Yeah, she said there was a surgery she had to stand in on so she should be home a little later than usual."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOtBNc4n8J
Marco shuddered, shoulders pulling up to his ears. "I don't know how she does it. All the blood and shit, I would die on the spot."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0m9ueAGAH
"For someone who talks big you've got a surprisingly low tolerance for so much."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnLvuCU29N
Marco leaned towards him, hands spread out on the table. "Listen, it's not my fault I prefer blood to stay on the inside. I may, in your words, have a low tolerance but I think that's a healthy thing -- I'd be worried if I'd seen enough blood to be unbothered."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0ecfI0KEE
"Pussy."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZGeGW1l93
"Asshole," Marco muttered, crumbling up a napkin that sat in the condiment holder and throwing it at Nick. It smacked him in the forehead and Nick was debating tossing it back when the waitress behind the counter looked up from her notepad and glared.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68KIeMJfLv
"Marco, Sweeper, don't make a mess or I'm not giving you the damn discount." Marla, their favorite grumpy and foul-mouthed waitress, ripped the paper from her notepad and put it on the surface of the open kitchen window. "You two always start shit here and don't clean up after yourselves." Nick frowned, they most certainly did.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKPW7bPiGQ
"Now Marla," chided Marco, giving her a charming smile, "That's no way to talk to paying customers." Nick had to give Marla credit where credit was due, she did not immediately suffocate Marco for saying that.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxUG6g5IMi
Marla was, in short, a very tall woman with long, thin legs and wavy, chin length blonde hair. One glance at her porcelain skin and you'd think she'd never seen the light of day -- or maybe she was a vampire. That was certainly plausible given her temper. The Swingin' Blues belonged to her father some years ago until he died -- heart attack, if Nick was remembering correctly -- and after she graduated she took ownership of the diner while participating in online college classes for marketing. She was two years older than him and yet she had the demeanor of a prickly adult: he may have saw her as an older sister but that did not stop her from giving him lip.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmPVeGqxuJ
Nick had learned last year that Marco had a die hard crush on her.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMP9eU9ams
"I'll talk to my customers anyway I want," she muttered, turning away to take the order of an elderly man who Nick heard ask for a coffee and a breakfast special.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdPRKyfePQ
"She is-" Marco waved his hands in front of him, searching for the words- "amazing, spectacular, a heart-stopper." Nick rolled his eyes and scoffed, a noise that made Marco look at him like he was stupid. "Hey, no, don't make that sound, you know I'm right. I mean look at her- no don't, I don't want to fight you for her."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAqESJRFVC
"I am not interested in your highly flammable crush."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxr6SNAVpe
"I don't even know what that is supposed to mean. Are you saying she's hot?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBouNhsmwz8
"She's a fire hazard dude, you say the wrong thing and she'll set you on fire."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhdz9TBElz
Marco sighed, resting his head in his hand. "I wouldn't mind."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDqkzcZuWr
"Oh my god." Nick swore if he rolled his eyes any harder they'd fall out of his head.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKo9Uby0RX
"Sweeper, your tastes are as bland as ever. A beautiful woman could tell you she wants you to ravage her in bed and you would say no thank you." Marco shook his head solemnly like Nick's lack of interest was truly a loss. "You're hot enough too, it's a shame you don't smile. All of the ladies would swoon."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VEZVYtBFD
"I don't know how I feel about you of all people calling me hot, your standards are incredibly low. And I do smile. Just not at you because you're not funny."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNngz5R8lam
Marco sniffed. "Okay, we both know you don't mean that -- either of those things because I'm a great judge of character when it comes to the ladies -- but I'm being serious, if you tried a little more you'd definitely get a girlfriend within the week. Hell, I'm pretty sure Mona Smith already has a crush on you!" Nick opened his mouth to object but Marco cut him off with a raised hand, "Ah. Enough about your nonexistent love life," Nick bristled, "Tell me about your day. We haven't talked since you hung up on me this morning." He'd hung up because Marco's morning phonecalls usually consisted of him grumbling incoherently into the phone while he ate his way through a loaf of bread.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1G6QbpBmS
"Oh, well..." Nick's relaxed mood immediately shifted, turning into raw and true nervousness. Should he say anything about Dorian?
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCH5cemczFE
"No secrets, Sweeper." Shit. He guessed it was no longer an option.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5RArONmaq
"Well..." he began hesitantly, thinking of his wording, "I may or may not have met a guy."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0SexjNl8Q
Marco made a choking sound. "Met a guy? Like... met a guy, met a guy? Not that I care, you do you. Is he hot? Does he have sweet biceps? If he doesn't you've got to throw him out or I'll do it for you."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIQD2uutpJ
"What?" Nick felt his soul leave his body as heat burned its way up his neck. "No, you fucking dumbass, not like that. I met some dude on my way home from your house and he was bleeding everywhere so I took him home and stitched him up." Nick ignored the concerning look of relief on Marco's face and tossed the napkin ball at him. "Turns out he's a Vixen." The relief was gone and Nick was sure Marco was about to faint.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwBh2aYOMr
"How do you do these things?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSOhiAVhUe
"What things?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BINvaXyvI
"Get in trouble. Meet gang members after meatloaf! What the hell, Nick? Do you have a death wish? Did you forget what happens to the people who get involved with the Vixens or are you just stupid?" Right then, Nick decided he would not mention the fact that Dorian had walked with him after school and told him his Dad could be getting out of jail -- he wouldn't have mentioned that second part either way.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcObjO5lkmI
"His name's Dorian."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOyG4fGzkL
"Well good for him," Marco said incredulously. His eyes were wide in panic and he reached across the table and grabbed Nicks forearm. "Seriously, you're going to get yourself killed."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWrX4Vj4f6
For some reason Nick felt a little defensive as he squared his shoulders and met Marco's eyes. "He was bleeding out, Marco. I don't care who he is, I wasn't going to let him die."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrh3nQRntpk
"I wasn't saying that," he exclaimed. He let out a deep breath that sounded like he was giving up and closed his eyes for a moment. "You should have just called an ambulance. Or the police! God knows what types of warrants he has." Marco paled as much as his complexion would allow and he stared at Nick in thinly veiled horror. "What if he's a murderer? He knows where you live. What if he murders you."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHdwDqYvKJ
Nick opened his mouth to say "I'm sure if he wanted to murder me then he would have done it by now, I've given him plenty of chances" but was interrupted by a familiar sharp laugh.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFBB2AovEW
"I don't think that's what I'm trying to do." Dorian leaned over the back of Marco's chair, grinning between the two of them in a relaxed manner. "Unless he tries to kill me -- he's certainly threatened it."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPGuQFejcS
"Who the hell are you," Marco asked, eyebrows raised. He still looked spooked but Nick could tell he was slowly coming to terms with the fact that his best friend now had gang affiliations.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwSxaCNkL2
Dorian held out a hand. "Dorian Everleigh. Pleasure to meet you." Marco looked at Nick wide-eyed and when Nick nodded in confirmation that yes, this was the Dorian he'd been talking about he rested his forehead on the table with a whine.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcxk75g2RE
"You're going to be the death of me, Sweeper."
•••
"So. Sweeper." Dorian once again walked alongside him as he had done earlier this evening, all relaxed expressions and unbothered strides. Nick was about ready to break his own neck or maybe throw himself in front of an oncoming car.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUaPstJZtQ
As soon as they'd finished their dinner -- a dinner that Dorian decided he wanted to join without permission even though he did not eat anything -- Marco had bid his farewell with a tight hug that nearly broke Nick's ribs and a warning glare at Dorian. Nick would have thought it funny if he hadn't been very aware of the fact that Dorian was not making any moves to leave.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKV0A388Av
"It's a stupid nickname from my Freshman year. No, I will not tell you the story. No you cannot call me that." Many people had asked and many people had been turned away -- he would never tell anyone he'd earned the nickname because he'd quite nearly given Marco a concussion with a broom because the idiot had snuck up on him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAS4210Cac
"You aren't any fun."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbgc25a3nD
"Well, hard to be fun when you have a gang member following you around for no reason."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RKGCqYBWv
"My boss wants to meet you."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9ZZZ3Hvhf
Nick bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from running. "No thank you, not interested in forging a relationship with a gang leader." His mouth tasted like copper.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MWVW6J2Ve
"She said she'd wait until you were ready. She's not going to force you to meet her. Besides, you'll agree eventually." Dorian sounded so sure of himself that Nick couldn't help but second guess his answer. Was that a threat or just a simple assurance? He didn't like the prospect of either.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1XIGYF14d
"I will not. Why are you still here?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mtuvrnwW6
"I'm thinking you don't enjoy my company."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBipaBFCcL
"Because I don't," Nick dead-panned. "You quite frankly make things very complicated. I have, unhappily might I add, been thinking about my father all Goddamn day because of you."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWliRdJRano
"Aw, daddy dearest hit a sensitive spot?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFclVsUtoP3
Nick seethed, breath hissing through his teeth as he took a deep breath.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcse6Toy9J
"You tell me, Mr.Envasion-Of-Privacy. You read my file." Nick was sure that was a crime in itself but he didn't think there was much he could do about it. He could hardly go to the police and tell them that after harboring what might be a fugitive he'd learned that said fugitive was a part of a gang and his boss had access to his personal files and he most certainly did not appreciate that.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUL4lBCL8f8
"I didn't read your file actually, I was just given information from my boss. And not a lot." Nick glared at the stop sign they stopped next to, waiting for a Pontiac to cross the road. He'd hardly say that Dorian knew "not a lot" of information about him -- not even Marco knew that Nick's birth mother was dead, it was certainly a plausible idea but Marco had no concrete answers from Nick. The two of them had come to a mutual agreement to not talk about the past -- Marco was happy enough with what he knew and was content as long as Nick promised to stay with him until they died at the ripe old age of eighty.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeyYqlV3YD
Nick was beginning to worry that he wouldn't even make it to twenty.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiufgulChd
"My father murdered my mother and nearly added me to his long list of homicides, so sorry if I'm a bit sensitive about that."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3V2MBOJkdI
Dorian was silent and some part of Nick felt a little satisfaction at that.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeobIvgdvRR
"Sorry."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvklyBsyum
"It's fine. You apparently didn't know."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5CfQ7aIo7
"My boss didn't say anything about that."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9w54nHj40S
"Of course he didn't."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEH4G6revs
"I'm being serious. She didn't tell me anything I didn't need to know. She assigned me to protect you in case of the worst so my job isn't to know you, it's to keep you alive."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBG4mgtJye
Nick stopped and turned, looking up at Dorian -- he had at least four inches on him and Nick was immensely unhappy about that, he was by no means short at 5'6" (he was but he refused to admit it) but he'd be damned if Dorian was tall and pretty.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sMVTeyzGK
Dorian was, for a lack of better words, an asshole. In the short time Nick had known him he'd concluded that the Vixen was much too blunt for his own good at one time and at others he danced around the point like he was allergic. The thought of this asshole sticking around to protect him "in case of the worst" did not make him feel any better. The implied notion that if his father were let out of prison he'd come after Nick left him feeling sick with stress. What the hell was he supposed to do about that? And why did the Vixens care about protecting him? Did he owe them something? Did his father owe him something? Nick highly doubted it was an act of selfless gratitude for stitching up Oscar Wilde here.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDQvx6rtYC
"Why?" Nick asked the word quietly, daring Dorian to lie to him. You can't make it through a life of different homes, living with different stranger's, without learning how to read people and Nick was the best. It took Dorian a moment to reply, his eyes dropping to meet Nick's. They were a dark blue that were nearly tipping over into black, deep abyss' that reminded him of Alice's rabbit hole. He was not keen on falling and going on whatever adventure awaited him at the bottom.
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2nvdIna2b
"Your father," Dorian began slowly, "was an important man. You could probably guess that much." Nick could. "He was strong -- he had a high position that was not given to many and he was as ruthless as they come but he could not follow orders and so, after one too many mistakes, he was... demoted, for lack of better terms." They stood face to face on the sidewalk, Nick listening keenly with a face devoid of emotion and Dorian talking quietly, words deliberate and well thought out. The only secrets getting out were his own to keep. "He killed your mother that day, if my guess is correct. I don't suspect he was one to hold his temper."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡac1NXJKB9w
Nick, despite years having passed, felt his ribs ache and swore that, just for a moment, that his hands were slick with his own blood. "No," Nick said quietly, voice distant, "No, he was not."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkJhiyfk8S
Dorian continued. "When he went to jail, we did not go after him because he'd become a liability -- liabilities get cut off like dead meat. Important people -- people who were not our own -- went after him before others could tie up the loose ends and we suspect he may have handed over his loyalties. That's a dangerous game to play with a dangerous man. Not many people are willing to leave their scent in more than one animals dwelling."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8trMINEUzB
"What does that have to do with me?"
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpz9tb950a
"Your father does not like to leave jobs half done. If he killed your mother and figures out that you aren't buried next to her in some graveyard somewhere, he's going to want to finish the job."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswoki2xk4c
"A wolf on a trail."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLoaDjOSI9
"A wolf has no place in a den of vixen."
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrZhWh6p2O
242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqifymFIDft
