Tim had been shaken after his meeting with Romero Donnelley but he was still bound by the contract to Roxanne. Killer or not, he would have to protect her and play the part of her boyfriend.

However, Bruce was looking deeply into Adrian Castellan's case and had already dispatched Jason to Ireland to find out what had actually happened. Jason had offered to go as he had no missions with the Outlaws and was getting bored in Gotham. The Castellan case seemed like a good opportunity for him and his team to work on.

Back in Gotham, preparations for the Fall Gala were underway. And that preoccupation with the Gala was the only thing that had stopped Tim from giving into his spiraling thoughts regarding Roxanne.

He didn't think she could kill someone but he wasn't sure anymore.

Perhaps she was right and he was starting to trust her too much. She had clearly said that being nice to her would only end in his own demise.

How much truth those words held was still something he wasn't certain of.

Romero could have been lying to scare him off and even Bruce didn't think Roxanne could have killed Adrian. But if she had then the elder Donnelley wasn't the only one of them who should be kept under observation.

Either way, Tim was royally screwed.

He couldn't terminate the contract and if he followed the conditions of staying with Roxanne and protecting her, it would end up in Romero killing him out of jealousy, possessiveness or anger, whatever the man got fired up in to see them together.

But it was going to be no use dwelling upon the thought of not signing the contract when he had the chance. He was caught up in the middle of it all by then and there seemed no way out.

He was at the venue of the Fall Gala, knowing that Roxanne would be coming with her brother so he didn't need to go and pick her up from her place. And true enough, the Donnelleys showed up amid a lot of hustle bustle being created by the press.

With rumors of Tim and Roxanne dating flying around, naturally, the paparazzi were going to stay focused on the two.

Roxanne was dressed in classic fall shades; a vermilion off-shoulder dress paired with dark brown heels. He noticed that the bruises on her neck had faded or rather concealed carefully under the layer of makeup instead of being hidden by some expensive piece of jewelry.

She had rebelled against her brother's order for her to wear the alexandrite necklace and ended up covering the bruise with concealer and some foundation. 

She looked stunning and Tim found himself unable to look away from her but at the same time, the thoughts in his head were jumbled up.

Could that stunning woman really be that cruel to take the life of her last boyfriend mercilessly?

He shook himself out of that trance and turned to look for something to distract himself with.

On the other hand, Roxanne was reluctant to leave Romero's side as she didn't want to give him a reason to get angry at her and Tim again.

But surprisingly, the man nudged her forward himself, his voice low as he whispered in her ear, "go on, your pet is waiting for you."

She found it odd. The last time they had talked about Tim, he had warned her to stay away from him. Yet that once he was letting her go to him and she searched his face again for any sign of anger or mockery.

But he let go of her arm and walked away himself, freeing her to do whatever she wanted.

She considered if it was some sort of test and if Romero would punish her for her rebellion later. But the man looked quite at ease with other people from his circle, conversing with them normally.

He caught her skeptical gaze and raised his glass to her with a smile. He looked in a cheerful mood, much to her disbelief.

Knowing that it would seem odd if she stayed rooted to one spot, she walked in Tim's direction, finding him talking to the event planner.

She stood at a considerable distance, waiting for them to finish talking, and then when he turned to leave, he saw her.

"Hey," she smiled and noticed his eyes flicker slightly.

"Hi," he replied, very aware of all the attention on them, "do you want me to show you around?"

She nodded so he offered her his arm. He also stole a glance in Romero's direction but the man looked too busy to notice them.

Roxanne placed her hand gently on his offered arm, following him through the venue. But she felt as if he was stiff, perhaps he was nervous because it was the first time they would be seen together at a public event.

"Is everything alright?" She asked gently, brown eyes meeting anxious blue.

"Yeah, couldn't be better," he replied with a slight smile but she could see it was a bit forced.

"Maybe we should have practiced more," she mumbled, "you seem worried."

"I'm not," he replied immediately and took her hand in his, placing a light kiss on her knuckles, "I am fine, see."

Somewhere, a press member had struck the jackpot and captured that moment on camera. Of course, the next morning's gossip news was going to be filled with Tim and Roxanne's potential relationship.

He wanted to ask her about Adrian but couldn't. And until he found out the truth, he would be restless around her. He had to stop making her suspicious that he knew something.

"Maybe I should grab us some drinks," he offered, "I will be back in a minute."

He returned shortly with two chutes of champagne and she took one from him. He seemed to ease up a bit after that drink. 

Perhaps it was just nerves that were making him so skittish, she thought, because she had no idea that Rom had told him about Adrian and warned him to stay away from her.

She couldn't see her brother anywhere around so she relaxed as well, not feeling that suffocated as he wasn't there. She stayed close to Tim, seeing the whole exhibition with her arm linked through his. 

He had downed two more chutes and so had she to keep him company and it was safe to say that he was a bit light-headed.

"Is your brother watching us?" He asked out of the blue and she shrugged, looking around for Romero's familiar features.

"I think Rom left," she told him, "he comes to these events mostly to find someone to take home and have fun with. Guess he found that someone and left for good."

"Roxanne, people can hear you," he rebuked her lightly and she laughed, her head resting against her shoulder and brown eyes looking up at him in amusement.

Could she really be a killer? 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a low voice asked that question again.

"Can you drop me back home?" She asked him as the event was coming to a close, "or wait, don't... I don't want to interrupt Romero. Or rather, I want to sleep peacefully which won't be possible if I go back home. So don't take me home..."

"Even if I said yes, I wouldn't be able to drive," he told her, "you are a terrible drinking partner. You don't stop and now I have lost count."

"Really? Isn't that the sign of a good drinking buddy? Some of us can hold their liquor really well," she remarked, a light giggle escaping her as she interlaced their hands together.

"I can't. My head started spinning after the third one."

"And that's why I didn't let you drink anymore," she replied with a light shrug but lost track of what she had been saying, distracted by the twinkling lights of the venue.

"By drinking my share of the drinks too... Sure," he remarked.

"Or we could stay here all night. No worries about going back home," she spoke up, leaning against him again.

"Roxanne, you are going home. If you don't want to go back to yours, you can stay over at ours."

"Yours... Ours... Are you rhyming now?" Her cheeks were red too like the shade of her dress and he shook his head, realizing she was quite wasted.

He had pulled her into a corner earlier where the press wouldn't be able to get a shot of her and post a scandalous article on the Donnelley heiress getting awfully drunk at a public event. But he knew he had to get her to the Manor safely before any unwanted scene was caused.

"Okay, I am calling Alfred. Sit still," he took out his phone to dial the most reliable person he could think of in any situation; Alfred Pennyworth. After telling him the situation and cutting the call, he turned to face her with a soft sigh, "how much did you drink?"

"Do I look like I counted?"

"Certainly not." Alfred had arrived to escort them to the Manor, so he pulled her up, his arm draping round her waist, "can you walk straight?"

"I can walk a tightrope, you know."

"I don't know if you are being honest or not but please don't stumble. And I can see you hate these heels but just keep them on for a little longer. You can kick them off in the car later," he remarked, feeling that he was treating her quite like a child but right then she seemed no different from a child too.

"Alright," she straightened and linked her arm through his like earlier, blinking to clear her vision, and took in a deep breath, "ready to be impressed?"

"I don't know what you mean by that, just please don't do anything outrageous," he whispered, leading her out.

But he had to admit, she was a whole different personality when drunk. 

To his surprise and relief, she did not stumble even once as he led her out of the venue, managing to walk just fine. It seemed she really had practice holding in her liquor and had just let herself have some fun when he was the only person who could see her.

He held the door open for her and she got in the car, flashing him a bright smile.

That smile was dazzling and before he could recover from it, her hand had closed onto his wrist, pulling him down and kissing his cheek right as a camera flashed.

Tim's face blushed redder than a tomato knowing that shot was going to end up on the front page of Gotham Weekly.

He was royally screwed indeed.

***