003. BEG

Rory was being followed.

That became evident the moment she left the apartment. What pissed her off wasn't that they were following her, but choosing today of all days to stalk her properly. 

Maybe one of her insults had stuck with Cheese and made him realize that he was doing a shit job of intimidating her. God, was this going to be her life now? Coddling man-children disguised as wannabe criminals on how to do their job properly?

But her future endeavours into teaching the basics of how to intimidate and stalk their victims properly would have to wait.

Because now she had someone on her tail.

She had caught him following her the moment she left her apartment. Spotted his car tailing her bus. Saw his reflection in the distance through a storefront window as she walked. Noticed him parked on the far end of the street as she walked up to the house.

If Rory was the idiot they assumed her to be, he would have gone unnoticed. But she was far from the fool they took her for. Stepping foot inside the house, she was quick to close the curtains near the front windows, excusing her sudden act by saying she felt a slight migraine coming on. And after countless times of saying she was okay, Rory was finally able to move the conversation along to something else.

"I can't take this," the older woman beside her said, shaking her head.

"Yes, you can."

"It's too much, Rory. You've been helping us out far too often."

Placing a hand on top of the women's, Rory gave her a comforting smile. "I got a bonus at work. It's not a big deal. Besides, I know you could use it."

There was a beat of silence. But Rory knew it wouldn't last long before she gave in.

"You are an Angel, Miss Rory. I've said that since the day you arrived on my doorstep and I'll keep saying it even when I'm six feet under." Despite her age and the few strands of grey hair on her head caused by stress, Helen didn't look a day over forty. "I still don't know how you can work behind those damn computers all day long but, boy, am I ever grateful that you work there."

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Rory didn't give her a verbal response. 

A cover for her specific ways of collecting cash was that she worked in IT. The ins and outs of her job were never discussed, resulting in the details of what she did aside from working behind a computer all day not being necessary. It wouldn't be hard for Rory to convince anyone that she worked in the industry, but a simple story was always the best approach. And once you brought up technology to Helen, she would go off on a rant about the days when life was simpler and easier without it - so it was a perfect cover.

Rory wasn't embarrassed that she worked at Sal's and did what she needed outside of her job for money. But Helen was the one that always kept her in school and ensured she graduated at the top of her class. It would have been easy to give up; Helen never let that happen. Helen wanted Rory to have the type of life she pretended to have - a steady job with a decent monthly income and the ability to support herself. Rory had those things. Just not in the field of work Helen would approve of. Or, more specifically, Helen wouldn't approve of the ways she went about getting her so-called bonuses outside of work hours.

Instead of putting the woman into an early grave, Rory did what she knew best - she lied.

"Next time you come around, I want you to stay for a meal. Alright?" A buzzer went off in the distance. "I got to change the laundry over. It seems like the clothes are just never clean around here these days. Are you alright to see yourself off?"

Rory nodded. "Always am."

"Bye, honey!"

"Bye, Helen," Rory called after the woman.

Walking to the front door, she checked over her shoulder to ensure Helen had disappeared down the basement steps. Swinging the front door open, she waited for a second and then slammed it shut, pretending to exit the home.

The last thing she was going to was give her stalker an easy time. Creeping out the back door was her best option - and thankfully, there were no kids around to rat her out.

Rory did a quick check of her surroundings to ensure no other snot bubbles were running around before tossing her backpack over the chainlink fence with herself quickly following. Landing down on the other side, she scooped up her backpack, adjusted the strap on her arm, and headed down the alleyway.

That house was the closest thing she had to a real home outside of Seattle. She missed coming by - she said it to herself all the time. The fact that it took her almost an hour on the bus wasn't a good enough excuse to keep saying over and over in her head anymore. At the end of the day, she loved who she was living on her own. And she couldn't be that in Helen's house.

Helen was too sweet of a woman to see the real person Rory had turned into.

The person that would go out to bars and clubs only to find someone to outsmart and steal from. The person that enjoyed inflicting pain on herself and others. The person who found it humorous waiting for her stalker to realize her exit strategy as she stood at the end of the alley and lit up a cigarette.

She was giving her stalker a chance to catch on. It was the polite thing for her to do, after all.

Growing bored of the waiting game and not wanting to finish her pack while the idiot in the car took his sweet time figuring out she had left, she flicked the butt to the ground. Rubbing it into the pavement with the bottom of her shoe, she released her last bit of smoke from her lungs and headed down the street.

Her phone vibrated.

UNKNOWN CALLER.

Rory couldn't help but laugh as she answered. "You know, I could just save you the time and tell you where I am." Met with an eerie silence, she added, "Does it take sixty seconds to trace a call like it does in the movies? Or, does it take you guys longer because you're not very good at your job?"

Hearing the sound of tires screeching against the pavement, Rory turned her head to see the black SUV turn onto her street.

"Impressive, boys. Thanks for finally making this entertaining."

Securing her phone in her back pocket, Rory took off running down the street. Weaving her body in and out of the small crowd of people on the sidewalk, she was thankful she had remembered to put a bra on before leaving this morning. At least she wouldn't look like an insane person running down the street while clutching onto her breasts. Instead, she would just look like an insane person running down the street.

Rory was quick to turn down another street and continue her sprint, checking over her shoulder to see that the car was still following her. She ducked around every corner she could remember and through the small alleyways between the buildings, knowing exactly where the car wouldn't have access.

Pausing her sprint, she thought she had lost him and had a moment to catch her breath. A car came to a stop at the far end of her hiding spot.

"Shit," Rory cursed under her breath, turning and running down her only viable route.

She thought she had a perfect exit strategy. But turning the corner, she realized both directions led to dead ends. Her only option was to hide off to the side and think of a plan. Hopefully, he was stupid enough to not walk down here before she could come up with something.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a voice sneered off in the distance. "Why don't you come down here and try chasing after her? She's fucking fast, Boss. It's not my fault."

Rory reached into the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out a small compact mirror. Angeling her tool, she spotted him not too far away from where she hid. Dallas looked around at the buildings and enclosed the alleyway, walking with his phone pressed to his ear.

Dallas was the one after her - leaving Rory pleased and more confident than she was thirty seconds ago. Were they trying to ensure she ended up victorious?

She had to think fast. The bag clutched in her hand needed to be ditched and then she needed to get the fuck out. And to do that, she needed a distraction. Two dumpsters caught her eye. One in front of her, and one pressed against the building on the opposite side.

Now she needed a weapon. Dallas already had an advantage over her with his gun. Plus, she could tell there was something under his shirt. Therefore, it was two weapons for Dallas with his gun and whatever was strapped to his torso... and zero for Rory.

Think fucking faster Rory, she scolded herself, repeatedly smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand, Think! Think! Think!

She evaluated her options.

A rock. Two sticks. A stack of newspapers. And, a used condom.

What was this? Some dumb real-life version of rock paper scissors?

Just as she was about to contemplate accepting defeat, her eyes found a shiny tube on the ground. A steel pipe.

Perfect.

Disposing of her purple backpack in the dumpster - as quietly as she could - Rory got herself into position with her tools. Her mirror, rock, steel pipe, and of course, her brain. She had protected herself before with far less - this would be easy.

Looking at her mirror, she waited until his back was turned before she tossed the rock, hitting the dumpster on the opposite side. Footsteps approached, signalling she was successful with getting his attention.

The moment Dallas's frame came into her view, Rory cranked back her arm and whacked him in the shin with the steel pole.

"Jesus, fuck, Rory!" Dallas cried out, clutching onto his leg as he fell back onto the ground. "What the fuck did you do that for? I thought we had a good thing going!"

"Why are you running after me?"

"Because you- Fuck!" He let out a groan of pain before yelling, "Because you fucking started running!"

"Then why are you following me?"

"Because that's my job!"

"No. Your job has been to watch me outside my apartment and where I work. You haven't followed me around anywhere else. So, why now?"

"Boss didn't like your little performance last night with the snacks," he winced. "Not me though. They were delicious!"

"You call him, Boss?" she scoffed. "Aren't you guys friends? Isn't that a bit, I don't know, overused-mafia-trope of you?"

Dallas ignored her comments to answer his cell phone. "Yeah, I know," he gruffed into the phone. "What? I did! And I-" He let out a gasp of air as Rory pressed her foot into his chest. "Listen, Boss. I'm going to have to call you back, alright?"

"Where is your Boss?"

"Rory, I don't think it's a good idea to play around today!"

She raised her arm, steel pipe in hand. "Take me there now or I'll fucking bash your head in!"

Dallas muttered something under his breath that she wasn't able to hear.

"What was that?"

"I said," he spoke up louder, "You're lucky Boss told me that I'm not allowed to touch you."

Crouching down beside him, her brow arched hearing the remark. "So even if you wanted to touch me, you wouldn't because your boss said so?"

His eyes were focused on the sky as a frustrated groan escaped. "Fuck that fucking poker game. Why the fuck did I have to get stuck with you today?"

Rory assumed the actual instruction was to not touch her by threatening her with the knife he had strapped to his torso or using the gun still clutched in his hand - but she couldn't help herself from toying with the poor soul on the ground further.

"What if I asked you to touch me?" she whispered. "What if I told you I haven't been able to stop thinking about you Dallas?" Leaning forward, she looked down at him with a smirk. "What if I told you I thought about you when I was alone at night? That I can barely get through a day without thinking about how you'd fuck me?"

Noticing his eyes glaze over, Rory pushed it further. "What if I begged you to touch me?" she teased, "Is that what you'd like? For me to get on my knees and beg for you, Dallas?"

As he gripped her jaw, Rory allowed a slight smugness to wash over her, thinking she had finally broken him. However, in one of the very few instances in her lifetime, Rory had made a miscalculation. Dallas shoved her back, sending her flying into the far wall.

"Jesus, you're strong," she muttered under her breath, rubbing the back of her neck.

"And you have a fucking hard swing," he retorted, still trying to regain his breath as he slowly pushed himself off the ground. Dallas, now back on his feet, walked over to Rory and extended his hand. "If you promise you're done now, I'll take you to him. Deal?"

Her brow raised in suspicion, not because of his proposal, but due to how quickly he had recovered; walking towards her without a limp, breathing back to a normal, steady pace. What the fuck was with this guy? Did he have some healing superpower or something? That had to add that to her list.

List of things Rory needs to figure the fuck out:

Number 1. Why that ugly, rusted locket is so important to Harodlina.

Number 2. How the fuck Dallas was able to recover so quickly after getting whacked in the leg by a steel pipe.

"How do I know you're not going to drive me out of the state and kill me?"

Dallas grinned. "Because the only person who's lucky enough for that opportunity is Harry," he told her, grabbing hold of her hand to pull her off the ground. "But, you already know that and yet you still want to see him. So, either you're the dumbest person alive-"

Her eyes narrowed at the remark, cutting him off with a vengeful, "I'm not fucking dumb."

"You didn't let me finish." The glee written across his face grew. "Either you're dumb, or you're one of the most interesting people I've come across because you want to voluntarily put yourself in front of him before your debt is due."

"He doesn't scare me."

"He should."

"Why? Because he makes his friends call him Boss and has them watch me from their car all day long?" She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I'm really shaking in my boots right now, Dallas."

"You're funny," he said, wagging his finger at her. "With that smart brain you got and this death wish you got... like I said, you're an interesting one, Rory."

Rory stepped forward. "You think I'm smart?"

"Shit. Yeah, I do. But don't tell the others I said that, okay?" Dallas sighed. "Let's get going before I get another call from Boss."

As Dallas turned and began walking down the alley, Rory took the opportunity to grab her trusty pipe.

"Don't even think about it, Rory!"

How the fuck did he know what she was doing without turning around? Did he have eyes at the back of his head?

Grumbling curses under her breath, Rory left the item on the ground and followed after him to the car. The last thing she wanted was for Dallas to go back on his word to take her to Harry.

Getting into the SUV, Rory looked over at him in the driver's seat. "You're different today," she commented.

"I'm in work mode."

Opening her mouth to speak, she quickly pressed her lips together. Her next move had to be smart - more calculated. Dallas was usually red in the face over eye contact with her. But now it was like she was with an entirely different person.

His eyes quickly looked to the side. "Why are you starring?"

"What does work mode mean?"

"It means I am focused on doing my job."

"Which is watching me?" she asked, faking innocence in her tone. Propping her elbow up on the centre console, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and leaned forward. "Do you get bored having to babysit me?"

"Rory," Dallas warned.

"Yes?"

"We had a deal."

She pouted her bottom lip. "I'm just making conversation."

"We both know that's not true." He had an amused grin as he added, "So either you sit there quietly or I'll duct tape your mouth shut. Got it?"

Although she was amused by his retort, she let out a fake defeated sigh. Focusing her attention on the window, she watched the buildings zoom by as Dallas sped through the city traffic. He was driving fast, almost as if he wanted to get to their destination as quickly as he could. The corner of her lips tugged up at the thought - Dallas must be worried she was close to breaking him. But Rory decided it was best to pick her battles.

He was still breakable in work mode. But she would save that knowledge for a later date.

The SUV pulled into the parking lot and Dallas cut the engine, signalling for her to follow. To both of their surprise, Rory stayed silent, not bothering to push his buttons. She was saving all her energy for someone special.

She followed him down a hallway and up a set of stairs she hadn't explored the last time she was here. It was humorous to remember this was the place where everything had started - where she fooled and stole from these men with such ease.

Stopping outside a door with a sign that read KEEP OUT, Dallas turned to her.

"Look, whatever you do, just promise me one thing," Dallas pleaded, grabbing her arm before she could walk away, "Go in there calm, okay? I'm not fucking around with you - I fucking mean it when I say be calm!"

Rory nodded, flashing him her famous innocent smile. "Of course, Dallas," she whispered, leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek. "I wouldn't go in there any other way."

The moment she turned and busted open the door to his office, Rory happened to forget the promise she just made as she stared down the devil himself and yelled, "Alright, listen up you fucking psychopath. Game over!"

PLEASE VOTE IF YOU ENJOYED <3

I wish I had a work mode lmao. whooooops. anyway happy sunday!