Donnie Ramos

It'd been some four days since Rei had left and she'd been quite annoyed his own seemingly stupid decisions had endangered her, still was. However, it was just that. Merely annoyance. As time brought a distance from when she was so incensed, she felt herself tinting pink with mortification everytime she remembered all she'd said in her anger. All that about respecting the boundaries they'd set in place and whatnot.

He'd never said anything about wanting to get back together with her or seeking to start something up again despite how easily they still clicked. It'd more or less been mostly her own wishful thinking as all he'd been doing was harmlessly flirting.

Well, not all that harmless, if her heart rate was anything to go by. The knowledge just left her not knowing what to do with any annoyance, if there was even a smidgen left, and simmering in her awkward embarrassment at the thought of what she'd connoted with her words.

It'd been years since he'd shown his remote interest in her and she couldn't even clearly read him anymore. What if it was really just her own wishful thinking?

Lips pursing, she snapped out of her wistful melancholy to pick up her cell phone, eyes smarting at the lack of a text, much less a call before putting it aside again in clear irritation. So much for promising to protect her.

Was this it for them?

She hadn't even felt this note of crippling finality at the time of their breakup and that had been as intense as the word could give precedent to. Her lip twitched as she found a random memory rising unbidden in her mind.

She slipped her legs off the bed, fingers dipping near the foot of the bed to the bed to swoop up her discarded undies.

"Babe," she'd traipsed towards the wall where a full-length mirror hung and chanced a glance over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at the sight of Rei making his way off the bed to take his place behind her.

"Want to get some clothes on?" she snorted at the feel of his ripped, naked body pressing into hers.

"Not really," he chuckled, voice husky and warm against the slope of her neck as his arms wrapped around her lithe waist from behind.

"I have work," she shrugged him off at the feel of his lower half poking up a storm, a snicker on her face when he huffed but relented, going to lean against the vanity shoved against her wall.

He watched her but Donnie made no move to glance back, not wanting to be drawn back by the searing heat she was sure to find there lying in wait, as she walked over to her closet.

"Thanks," he said, easily catching the tee and sweatpants she'd chucked over.

Donnie glanced back then, fingers curling around a cinched bottle green gown as she arched a brow, sure he had to be thanking her for something else. She'd like to believe their relationship went far deeper than that.

"It means a lot you don't mind my work," he finally said, throat working as he watched her gaze deepen.

"I don't." She closed the distance between them, raising her hand to gently cradle his cheek.

His eyes fluttered shut as he held onto her wrist.

"In fact," she continued, voice lowering as she waited for the change. "I think it's really hot."

His eyes snapped open and there was no mistaking the heat in those eyes. "You don't say," he smirked lightly, snagging an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "I'm sure no one would notice if you're a couple minutes late."

"Sure," she gave a hacksnort before shimmying out of his grasp and going to pull the gown free so she could put it on.

"Mads."

She ignored him.

"Babe."

"Rub one off or something," she said carelessly, crossing back so she could put on some light makeup on. She paused at the sight of him staring at her for all of a minute before huffily tugging on the sweats. "You weren't always like this."

Rei had always put her first in the beginning, not taking much of anything and treating her with almost too much gentility, leaving her to seriously question the possibility of him being asexual. She just didn't know what she had done to have this horny bastard dropped in her laps.

"No," he admitted. He'd always prided himself on his restraint. Much before he met her, anyway. "You changed me."

"Sure, sure," she drawled, tone mocking as she dabbed some red on her lips. "Blame the femme fatale."

A grin. "You narcissist."

"You love it."

He didn't say anything, just closing the few inches between them to tug her against him and press his lips against hers. Hot, needy, plundering, ravishing.

"That's it," she slammed her lipstick down, breathless as she shoved him off and took in the sight of the smudged red. "You need to leave."

He stole another quick kiss and promptly ran off before she could erupt.

Donnie massaged the throbbing vein in her temple, using a wetwipe and then carefully reapplying the lipstick. She was just giving a self-satisfied smile when she was suddenly being turned around and a much softer, almost floaty kiss was being forced on her. "You–"

"Going, going," he grinned before picking up the shirt he'd neglected to wear and leaving with a parting wink.

Donnie rolled her eyes and had to pat her pink cheeks in a bid to calm herself.

He'd changed her too.

Now, she was always lovesick.

"Donnie."

That snapped her out of it effectively, heat flooding her cheeks at Vyn's soft voice, sounding like she'd been calling her for a while now, then Gio and Aleks' looks of concern.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." Just peachy. All this for some man who'd all but fallen off her radar once more. In all honesty, she really hadn't minded him being a mercenary back then and it had made him a thousand times hotter. Until reality caught up fast and they realized the values he'd picked up  contrasted far too deeply with hers to consider trying to prolong the inevitable.

This was it then, if his radio silence was anything to go by.

Time to call back her private bodyguards.

Vynessa Patel

Rei's absence affected her, and it showed. In the little light that got squashed from her eyes everytime her phone beeped a notification and she eagerly picked it only to be disappointed when it wasn't him, in her obvious absentmindedness and in the soft, almost negligible, bouncing of her right leg that was one of her nervous tells.

"Gio got something," she said, handing the sealed button over. Since she didn't want to comment on it, she decided to get onto the more pressing matters. "He went visiting the families of some of the victims."

"Oh?" Donnie's gaze snapped to him in what seemed a lot like surprise and then her features were softening at the speed of light. "Thanks, Gio."

He blushed as though he wasn't expecting much of an acknowledgement but then promptly shook his head as though urging her not to worry at all about it. Vyn was just glad. Glad that she and Rei were willing to bury the hatchet where it concerned him.

Aleks and Rei, though– well, that was another story.

"So, what'd you get?" she asked, brows furrowing together as she turned the piece of cellophaned button in her hand. "I've seen this before."

Her voice was barely more than a whisper but had Aleks jerking upright in his chair. Her face turned tenser, gaze dimming when all her effort at recalling seemed to be for naught and had her shoulders slumping.

"It's alright, Donnie," Aleks said, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. "We're taking it to the station soon. We'll run tests for prints and look into its source. We will find something."

"Yeah," she smiled, relaxing a bit at the conviction that laced his voice.

Vynessa frowned instinctively, not sure why she suddenly found her friend's smile so jarring, no matter how bright.

"So," she said, turning back to survey Gio. "How did this come about? Maybe I'll remember something."

"Nando Suarez gave it to me," he said simply. "Said he found it while he was cleaning up after the whole murder and police visit."

Donnie said nothing. Nando was her mentor's son and the one who'd discovered his mother's body in the first place. They were close, in a sense, brought on by her mentor's want to matchmake them but merely remained platonic friends.

"Why didn't he turn it in?" Aleks asked.

Donnie felt Nando would rather he have been killed alongside his mother before doing such a thing. He didn't see the point and had refused to answer any questions, whether it be from journalists or the police, the latter he was even more unwilling to offer the time of day.

"That's stalling investigation," Aleks pointed out placidly.

"Want to go cuff him?" Donnie asked, leaving him flushing and then dropping it. She turned to Gio again, curiosity getting the better of her. "How'd you get him to speak to you anyway?"

"Donnie's depressed," he shrugged.

"No, I'm not."

"He cares, for whatever reason," Gio continued, being painfully to the point. "Just projected on that and voila. We have a lead."

Donnie's lip twitched but she refrained from speaking.

"A footage was pulled up," Vyn supplied before an all-out bickering could start. "From the Hart's. Aleks and I are leaning to the possibility it was one of many. Lindsey seemed too familiar getting to their meetup spot."

"Can I see it?" Donnie asked after a beat and Vynessa felt a pang at the flash of pain in the other's eyes. She couldn't even begin to fathom what the other felt, being marked as a target.

"Sure, we exported it and have it in a drive at the precinct," she related. "We can head over so you check it out, maybe you can provide more to aid our deductions."

"Let's do that then," Donnie agreed, pocketing her cell.

So, they all piled into Aleks' van and started for the station. Vynessa couldn't help the hope rippling in her and could only hope the button gave them more to work with and Donnie was able to get something, anything at all, from the footage that had not sparked a thing with either she or Aleks, no matter how clear it was.

"Alright," Donnie remarked once they were settled in Aleks' office, she positioned in front of the laptop, taking a deep breath and then hitting play. They all crowded her as she watched, right from when Lindsey had stepped out of her house, on a call before walking through her garden maze and then a vineyard before coming to stop at the side of a gazebo.

Donnie hit pause, taking in the sight of the figure, hooded in all black with a face cap and a dark mask to go. Vyn gave her a moment to process, holding on as she hit play again. The conversation was quiet, too quiet and then there was arguing, mostly Lindsey losing it and shoving the other.

"We sent it to forensics. Speech readers," Aleks supplied as Donnie progressed with her watching, stopping when Lindsey was gone and the hooded person had chanced a glance around before raising their hand to adjust the cap. She just looked pained. "There's something. You know who it is?"

"Felicity Reed," Donnie said, a frown pulling her features as she probably contemplated why. "The hoodie's mine. Rei got it, a pair. His was white. Anyway, I gave her mine while trying to tone down her frostbite one cold morning. There's a white rose stitched into the cuff. I can't mistake it." Her next words were like a spell. "He. . . He stitched it himself. Was clumsy, at best."

No one said a word, not sure exactly what to use to break such a charged atmosphere. "Well, who's. . ." Gio was the one to pluck up his courage trailer but promptly trailed off, looking just as lost as he felt.

"Victoria's assistant." She'd done the necessary digging ever since Donnie had asked her to after having her suspicions raised.

"Is this a good thing?" he asked.

"The best," Aleksei said. "Now, we know where to direct our questions to. Finally."

Vynessa glanced at her friend who was still fixated on the screen, gaze deep.

Had she been close with this Felicity? Maybe. Was she betrayed? It certainly looked like it.

Aleksei Thompson

"Chief," he started at the urgent knocks that fell on his plated door, precedent to Kaiden bursting through the doors. He frowned. Officer Vaughn was the most meticulous and collected person he knew and he hardly knew of something that could effectively rile him up. "An emergency. There was a shooting up on the fifth. It's someone in entertainment."

Aleks didn't need to look to notice that Donnie had turn pale with fright. He could only hope, despite the curdling feeling of dread pooling in his gut that assured him his guess was as good as it got, that the victim wasn't the one person whose death would put a hamper on the investigation thus far.

It was.

But Aleks was helpless against the scene that now faced him. Donnie was beside herself, gaze welled up as she gnawed on her lip and tried to fight against her frustration. So much for having so much hope. They were officially back to the drawing board.

He glanced across the evidence markers set up by forensics, gaze stopping on Felicity slumped on the hardwood floor, a bullet wound to her chest and leaving her blood darkening the wood. Her coffee table was shattered, a still lit lamp overturned in a probable struggle and now just a few meters away from her deceased form.

It shed light on her face and a contemplative expression stealing into his features as he approached, crouching down next to her and using his gloved hands to turn her head the other way, knowing he'd been spot on when he saw the jab to her temple that had caused blood to flow underneath her head and out of the bullet's range.

"Must have been something sharp," he stiffened slightly at Vyn's soft voice floating over a shoulder. "Or blunt, but used with extra force."

He nodded before standing up and striding over through the adjoining dining and into the kitchen. "A plaque," he said, taking in the crystal clear object. It'll go in for a print search but if it was lying here so carelessly, he surmised that not much would be found.

Glancing at the forensics snapping still snapping up the scene, he turned back out into the dining area in the non-porous boots he had on, expression souring as he glimpsed sight of Donnie walking back in from the foyer area, not even having time to catch her breath before she was being hounded by Reed, who was unwilling to be deterred by Vaughn's vice like grip on his upper arm.

Aleks stalked over, Vyn hot on his heels as he forced a hot glare on the junior officer. "This isn't going to be of help to anyone," he said coldly. He sympathized with the guy. Really, he did. Everyone knew Jamison Reed hated the entertainment industry with a crippling scorn despite his own sister being a part of it, despite merely being an assistant.

He didn't have time to say anymore because things went to shit too suddenly. They'd stood next to the larger than life glass windows. Felicity had lived in an apartment on the eastern end so that placed the house in view against the road. The sound of a bullet piercing past shattered glass had his and Vyn's gaze widening in horror.

They'd all dropped to the ground as soon as the glass showed signs of giving in, imagining they'd all been able to tell, stat, right at the same time. He, Vyn, Kaiden and Jamison. Gio was prancing around the evidence further in, deflating at the good story around him he wasn't going to be allowed to document or report on.

But that left Donnie who'd been just a tad slower.

She'd only been staring at Jamison with a rather vacant expression, hardly taking cognizance of her surroundings. He saw, from his position on the floor, how her expression had flickered in painful awareness after her delay of a second.

But a second was usually all that it took.

Aleks screwed his eyes shut. He was by no means a coward but could do without the image of seeing his dear friend being shot down.

"R– Rei?" What?

He parted his eyes, heart aflood with relief when he caught sight of Rei just a couple of meters away, a grimace on his face as he lay with Donnie atop of him, hand wrapped around her as he waited for the crisis to avert.

He was glad. If there was anyone he had any faith in at all, save the bad blood between them, then it was Rei.

"Let–" his facial muscles were tight and Aleks soon saw why in the blood soaking the glass shards underneath him. "Let me up."

Donnie hastily scrambled up, expression souring and then her eyes filling up at the sight of his own wounds as he got up, pallid as hell. "You–" she said, not even knowing where to begin and just having her tears start to fall with the effort.

He looked haggard, hazel eyes sunken with stress. "It's alright," he reassured, bringing his gaze away from the spot he'd focused on across the opening the fallen glass had left. Aleks had followed his gaze, frowning at the person moving off on the opposite rooftop. A sniper? "Are you okay?"

Aleks brought his attention back to Rei, who despite his obvious wounds was cradling Donnie's shoulders like she was porcelain, gaze halting sadly at the scratch mark on her cheek.

That. . . That was barely even a nick.

But what could he say?

Love was blind, and apparently made you incapable of feeling for yourself.

Reinhardt Rodriguez

"I'm fine, Rei," Donnie reassured as they walked into Gio's trailer, far more spent from having to physically reassure the brooding man rather than the testy afternoon she'd just been put through. "Really. You, on the other hand, are obviously not."

"I am," he'd been scared out of his senses when he'd received the intel. He'd accompanied Donnie to her private gathering and had no intention of stealing anyone's heart. But still he had and soon a woman was in his inbox, shamelessly throwing herself at him. He couldn't fathom how she had gotten his private line and had prepared to drag her into his block list.

For some reason he'd still be boggled trying to explain, he hadn't and was thankful every second after. She was the one to warn him of a threat to her and Donnie and had messaged him hours prior that the psycho was on to her, wanting to eliminate her, maybe hoping he'd descend like her knight in shining armor.

Rei didn't care for her but knew Vyn and the others were looking into the people around Felicity ever since the watch your back comment she'd made to Donnie. Now that he saw it, it wasn't so much as a threat as it was a warning.

He'd rushed over here knowing if anything was to happen to the woman, then Donnie and the others wouldn't be far behind. Imagine his fear on seeing the laser dot trained on his Maddie's temple. He was a mercenary with work ranging various stations, and had once been in the military but he was also a sniper and sharpshooting and the familiar marksmanship was something he was all too familiar with.

He hadn't even stopped to think.

"You're bleeding, Rei," she said, words falling through her gritted teeth.

Rei took in her appearance and the clear heartache in her eyes so finally relented, sighing as Vyn returned with a clear basin of water and Aleks a medical kit. He put his fingers on the ends of his favorite hoodie, frowning at Gio who was piling towels in front of him and then tensing even more when Donnie got in place behind him.

"Just relax," she coaxed.

"This hoodie. . ." Gio trailed at the bloodstained white hoodie with a black rose stitched on either wrist of the sleeve.

Rei arched a brow in his direction. It was his hundred day anniversary gift to Donnie and the idea was his spontaneous moment of genius he still clapped himself on the back for anytime he remembered it. But how could he possibly know that? He glanced back over his shoulder at Donnie, somewhat amused at her flushed earlobes. He fleetingly wondered if she still had hers. He hoped, but didn't bring himself to ask, knowing it'd break him if she answered otherwise.

"Tell me if it hurts," was all she said before lowering her gaze.

He redirected his gaze ahead of him, not expecting her hand to suddenly still around a shard in his lower back. It left him tingly knowing she was just staring and not doing anything there, made him jittery unable to tell what was going through her mind.

"What's wrong?" Vyn asked before he could, coming around to see what had the woman so dazed.

Then Rei remembered. The lashes and the welts.

"What happened?" she asked, tone soft.

Rei's throat rolled once with his hesitation before he quietly murmured, "work casualty." It wasn't just that but he didn't think she'd be happy to hear the rest of it, especially with the sour note they ended off on previously.

His most recent assignment had been retrieving a document from a group of people on the order of a cutthroat mafioso. He'd underestimated his opponents and had upped and left to come to Donnie's aid. And then–

Well, there was no and then since he'd ended them for daring to use her as leverage against him. His mass execution directly went against the orders of his employer who simply wanted a clean steal that wouldn't come back to him. In the end, he was on the receiving end of a pay cut, dwindling credibility, a detainment and torture he wouldn't wish upon even Aleks, his enemy. And that said a whole lot.

He was still meant to be under arrest but hadn't thought twice before feeling upon realizing Donnie needed him. He couldn't trust on anyone to take care of her, least of all Aleks. And he'd been right. Just as he always was on everything that concerned the blight.

"You can hold onto this," Gio handed a thick towel over at the sight of Rei's hands sinking into his crossed legs, sweat already haven broken out on his forehead.

Rei felt his lips twitch in amusement but took the offered item anyway, preferring to sink his hands into that in favor of carving through his slit pants and into his skin. He grimaced every time Donnie dislodged a piece of glass from his skin that showed clear lacerations from his torture in the dungeon and the effects of being in the eye of an explosion.

She was only done many hours later pulling out all the shards and finally cleaning up the cuts and as Aleks and the others cleared away the bloodstained towels, reddened basin of water and the medical kit, he turned to look at her.

"Thanks, Mads," he said, putting a hand over hers as he took in her spent and half lidded expression. "I appreciate it. Really, I do."

"No, I–" she paused, gaze downcast as she tried to gather her emotions as she took his hand instead, squeezing lightly. Finally, she raised her teary gaze and Rei felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. "Thank you, Rei. I thought that was it for me and that the psycho had gotten what they wanted. I'm just glad that you were–"

"I promised, Mads," he said, that being all the explanation he felt was needed. "Nothing could ever happen to you. Not while I'm around." Even at the cost of his own life.

It was a really surmountable promise to make. But because it was him, she knew she could count on it and quietly squeezed his hand again.

"I just wish–" she began and Rei could tell how much the next words that she was about to voice was going to be all that ever mattered to him. So he listened with rapt attention as though there was going to be a pop quiz afterwards, only seeing her.

"Nevermind," she mumbled under her breath in the hand, getting up and making to take her hands away.

Rei grabbed it swiftly, like he was sinking in the sea and she was his only viable lifeline. "You just wish. . ." he prodded, hopeful.

"It's stupid," she muttered, burning. Rei didn't think he'd ever seen red look so pretty.

"Tell me," he coaxed.

"Well, I just wished things hadn't gone to shit," she said, grey gaze locking with his. "It'd have made all the difference in the world and perhaps– perhaps I'd be happier."

"And now?" he pressed, voice a mere whisper. "What do you feel right now?"

"Now?" she repeated. "Well, now, I just long for yesterday."

Rei didn't hold her back anymore, letting her slip her hand out of his and walk away when she'd said her piece. He brought his bloodied hoodie closer, gaze wistful. In the end, whether she'd been speaking of their happy past together or the past wherein her life was peaceful without the stalker's interference and threat over her life, he chose not to ask.

Simply speaking, he wasn't ready for hope to die just yet.

Giovanni Jensen

"It doesn't matter anymore," he said with a shrug, picking at the quick porridge Vynessa had whipped up for them to eat with fruits. "It's a pretty dead end anyway."

"No, you were a lot of help, Gio," Donnie said and it really meant a lot to him that she thought so. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah," Rei echoed, shrugging a shoulder when the guy's gaze widened and found him. "Pretty much a lot of help. It also means I know where next we can tackle this from."

"You do?" Aleksei asked and he obviously hadn't meant it as the scathing insult Rei took offense with, blatantly ignoring him.

"I was in contact with Felicity shortly before she died," he explained. "It's how I knew where to come to and why I was able to rescue Donnie in time."

"How–" Vyn began but was cut off before she could complete her question by Donnie who found hers more pressing.

"In contact with her?" she scoffed, face scrunching up like she'd eaten something sour. "What? Like back and forth?"

Rei paused, stiffening, and then instantly flooded with red. His ears, face and all the way down to his neck. "Not like that," it'd have been more convincing if that hadn't lapsed on a stammer. "I mean it, Mads. She got my number someplace."

"But you texted back?" she asked, gaze narrowed.

Gio, Aleks and Vyn just ducked their heads and continued their meals with amusement. They weren't dense enough to get in the middle of these two's lovers quarrel and get pushed to the forefront.

"Yeah," he paused, brows pulling together as he fought for an explanation to rectify the quickly escalating situation. "But only because she seemed to have something to say about the stalker and it concerned you so–"

"Huh," she relaxed back into her chair. Was that it? "Okay."

"Okay," Rei breathed, relief sagging his shoulders as he went back to his previous point, trying to round a safer route. "She gave plenty of signs but never got to telling me who it was. It was someone she knew, someone she was tight with."

"Alright," Aleks said. "Vyn and I would make a list of the people she's been in contact with these past few months since the stalking and killings started first thing tomorrow."

"I can follow you guys," Gio said with a slight shrug, accepting Donnie's award-winning smile with a smile of his own. "I could ask a couple more questions, see if there's any trail I can pick up on."

"I'm going to try to track down the sniper," Rei remarked, his gaze slowly drawing to Donnie who was forking fruit bits into her mouth. "Do you want to–" come with?

"Can't," she said lazily before he could complete the sentence everyone had probably helped him finish up in their heads. "I'm going to meet up with Nando tomorrow. He must be shaken up and worried about me."

Now it was Rei's turn to look like he'd eaten something sour.

The only reason Nando might be worried for Donnie was because he had mentioned her being depressed to get to him and have his questions answered. But Rei didn't know that.

"Who's Nando?" Donnie fought back an amused curve of her lips when he spoke the name like it was every filth known to man.

"Just some guy," she said, scooping up a spoonful of porridge.

"Mads," Rei called. He'd been waiting for her to elaborate but she looked like she had no desire to and saw no need in such a thankless task.

"Thanks for the food, Vyn," she smiled, getting to her feet. "It was really good." With that, she started in the direction of Vyn's allocated bedroom.

"Mads."

"Night, Art."

The door banged shut and from all indication it looked like she had won this round.

Donnie 1 – Rei 0.

–

This chapter is inspired by Yesterday by The Beatles. The line in italics spoken by Donnie conveys her long for the past and what could have been had things not gone the way it had.

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Love,
Eve.