"You bitch. I can't believe you didn't say anything," Cora sighs shaking her head at me. "You know Haruto saw you at the hospital when you went back but kept a distance when he saw you with the officer."

"Yeah, a lot has happened this past couple of days," I tell her as I pour another drink.

"So, are you going to share? Or will I have to pick your brain apart? Business is slow today so I'm not needed anywhere," she says crossing her arms over her chest. I let out another sigh knowing she won't let me go until she can get something out of me.

"He came over to my apartment last week with his nephew," I tell her. She looks at me in surprise, her jaw dropping.

"You, Victoria Marshall, let a man come to your house? After not letting any kind of man in your space for the last four years?" she asks incredulously. "Wait, how did he find your house?"

"He's a police officer so it wasn't hard for him to find me and he came to apologize to me for something he said on Friday and brought Oli to see me since I snuck out of their house instead of staying with them," I answer. "He knows that's was taking advantage of what he was doing but he wanted to make things right and for his nephew to cheer up."

"Okay, and what of what happened on Wednesday? How did you end up the hospital?" she questions.

"Ah, that was a bad decision on my part. My car died and I decided to walk, not a good one considering I was attacked on the way home. Jason found me just as I was going to pass out in the snow," I tell her. "He took me to the hospital after that to get checked and stitched."

"And where'd you go after?" she asks. 

"He took me to his house, he said he wasn't going to leave me that night. Honestly he when he heard I had no way home he got pissed I didn't call him," I say to her as pick up a wine bottle and pour a cup for a customer.

"Look at him, he's already protective of you," she teases. "So what now, where do you guys stand? When will I be meeting him?

"Well, about that, he said he wants me and whatever pace I want to set I go along with it," I confess to her and I ignore her question of meeting him. For now, I still have to see if whatever is happening is going to go anywhere.

"Don't just stop there, what did you tell him?" she asks, her hand gripping my arm eagerly awaiting my answer.

"I said okay but we're not anything right now, for the moment we're just Victoria and Jason. No labels," I tell her. She lets out a loud squeal that has other patrons and employees looking at us as if we're crazy.

"I can't believe you're in the dating scene again, after so long. I'm so happy for you and you found such a sexy man, I wonder how he is in bed?" she muses. I smack her arm, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, you have Haruto and if we ever reach that stage, there's no fucking way I'm telling you," I tell her as I walk to the backroom to go grab two tequila bottles. I hear her protesting from behind me but I ignore her, way too nosy for her own good. I walk past a couple of people who are taking a break and go down a set of stairs to where we keep our alcohol, the bar's underground cellar. I see a familiar man by the wine rack, pulling out bottles to bring upstairs.

"Hey Cruz," I tell him as I walk over to him.

"Hey Victoria. You know, you and Cora we're pretty loud out there when I was walking by. You're dating again?" Cruz tells me as places bottles in a crate. 

"Well, not really but I am seeing someone I guess," I answer. "It's been a long time."

"I'd say I'm happy for you, but I'm not, I'm actually fucking pissed," he says with a deep scowl. I look up at him as he put's down the bottle in his hand and walks up to me, cornering me against the wall. I feel a chill go down my spine and it's not because of the cold wall against my back.

Since I started here last year December, I've gotten to know Cruz a bit and he's laidback kind of guy. He's huge and looks to be physically intimidating but I've never seen him like that. I've gone out with him and Cora to have lunch but I never bothered to go out with him on my own. This is the first time I'm seeing him like this and it unnerves me. 

"What the fuck Cruz? What's wrong with you?" I ask pissed.

"When you came, I decided I'd wait before making any moves on you but you just met a man a week ago and whore yourself to hop into bed with him?" he asks gripping my arm tightly. I wince for a moment before a scowl takes over.

"I am not a whore as you so eloquently put it, I have dignity for myself though I can't say the same for you," I hiss as I pry his fingers off my arm. 

"You're the bitch that decided to open her legs to someone she doesn't know," he sneers, leaning in close to my face, spittle coming out of his mouth.

"I'm not opening my legs for anyone and if you thought you ever had a chance with me then you're fucking wrong," I scoff in disgust. Why is my luck so terrible, the second time in a week I'm having to deal with a creep and this is someone I never even categorized as one. 

"Let me tell you, if you think that he's going to get a taste of you before me, you have another thing coming," he scoffs as he pulls my body against mine. One of his hands moves up my body as he presses me closer, nausea rolling off of me in waves. My free hand moves out and as hard as I can, I punch him in the face, my hand numbing in pain.

"What the fuck is going on? Let go of her Cruz!" Rapid footsteps descend the stairs and run over to us. Cora looks livid as Cruz let's go of me, his hand rubbing his face.

"Are you okay?" she asks looking me over.

"I'm fine, a little shaken but I'm fine," I tell her trying to calm her down. She turns her attention back to Cruz, her stance is one fury as she looks at him.

"Cruz, pack your shit and get the fuck out of here. I don't want to see your face here ever again," she tells him, her voice clipped and I see people watching us from the staircase in the corner. He looks at us, both pissed but he can't do anything there's an audience watching. 

"I'll fucking find you bitch, just you wait," he scoffs in anger stomps back up the stairs and out of the cellar.

"The world must hate your right now," Cora sighs. "I never thought Cruz was like that, he's always been polite and funny that I never noticed the darker side of his personality."

"I know, I didn't notice either," I say sighing as well.

"Did he hurt you? He didn't get far did he?" she asks in worry.

"No, he just grabbed my arms, nothing else," I tell her. 

"Are you going to file a police report against him?" she questions. I ponder on that for a couple of seconds and then nod my head deciding it'd be best. 

"You mind me leaving a little early?" I ask her.

"Go one and get out of here, take the next week off to just rest. After today and a couple of days ago you need some time to yourself. Are you going to tell your man?" she questions. 

"I'll call him later and tell him about it otherwise he'll find out the next time he goes to work," I tell her. "I'm going to go change and then leave."

"You go do that, I'll finish getting the rest of the things here, get home safe," she says hugging me. I give her a hug back before moving back and walking out of the cellar. I grab the clothes I came in earlier and go to the female change room to strip out of my uniform. I fix my hoodie as I step into my black sneakers. I fold my uniform and place it in my bag and walk out of the changeroom grabbing my jacket.

I slip out of the bar before anyone can ask me questions, not in the mood to become the latest piece of workplace gossip. I get into my car and start it up, typing out a text to Jason but clearing it after having second thoughts. I'll call him when I'm done filing a report, tell him I'm coming over tonight instead of going home. I'd rather have company instead of going home.

It's a twenty-five-minute drive to the station but with no traffic at night, it takes me just a little bit more than ten minutes. I turn into the station, killing the engine and throw the hood of my sweater on top of my head as I cross through the parking lot. I go inside and go to the front desk where there's only one man sitting doing some paperwork.

"Excuse me, hi, I'd like to file a report against someone," I tell him as I take off my hood.

"Alright, let me just grab the papers I'll have to fill and we can go from there," he says to me as he grabs a couple of papers. "What is the report your filing?"

"Assault, assault in the workplace. One of my co-workers grabbed me at my workplace, and I know his intention was rape," I tell him. I give him Cruz's name and every interaction I've had with him leading up to tonight.

"Okay," he says writing it down. "And what is your name?"

"Victoria Marshall." He looks at me for a couple of seconds in surprise as he writes it down.

"You must be the Victoria Jason and Charlotte mentioned," he tells me. Now it's my turn to look in surprise. 

"How did you know?" I ask looking at him in confusion.

"I'm Charlotte's boyfriend, Jax Beckett," he reveals to me. So this is the guy who was at the heart of the mafia story last year.

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you though it would have been nicer under better circumstances," I tell him and he chuckles. 

"A police station while filing a report isn't ideal," he says agreeing with me. Jax is an attractive man and seems polite too, I can see why Charlotte fell for him but he doesn't hold a candle to Jason. 

"All right, I've got everything down. We'll go to arrest him and do our own investigations at the bar to see if there were cameras in the cellar when this happened," he tells me.

"Thank you so much," I tell him. 

"Are you going to mention this to Jason?" he asks me.

"If I don't he'd find out, so better he hears from me instead of you," I reply. "Have a good night Jax, I'm pretty sure we'll see each other again," I tell him as I walk out of the station. I pull out my phone, the time close to midnight and I send a text to Jason asking if I can go see him right now. Just as I'm unlocking my car I get a reply, only four words on the screen. The door is unlocked. 

✘✘

I reach Jason's house after midnight and I park my car behind his, getting out and only taking my phone with me. I slowly open the door, the house silent and the only light filtering is the one at the staircase. I take off my shoes and socks, lock the door behind me and hang my jacket in the closet. I go up the stairs quietly, being mindful of the child sleeping in his room and I turn off the lights for the stairs, walking in the dark to Jason's room at the end of the hall.

"Hey, I'm here," I say knocking on the door softly. He puts down his phone as I walk up to him and he pulls me into his arms and I'm left straddling his thighs. I let out a sigh, my arms winding around his neck, taking comfort in the body heat he's releasing. His hands wrap around my waist, his fingers edging underneath my hoodie as they meet my skin.

"Something happened Victoria?" he questions, placing a kiss on my exposed neck.

"I had a shitty day at work, I came from the police station. I'm in need for some tlc," I sigh as I rest my head against his shoulder. He pulls back from me and his eyes scan my body and face to see if I have any new injuries. "I'm not hurt, someone at my workplace grabbed me when he overheard my best friend talking about you and in his word, whoring myself to someone I just met."

"Who the hell does that fucker think he is? Where the fuck did he get the idea you were whoring yourself to me?" he asks, his voice dripping with anger.

"I don't know, it seems he was interested in me for a while but he realized he had no chance now that I'm seeing someone. He tried to take advantage of me thinking he had a chance," I say in disgust. 

"Wait until that fucker gets arrested, I'll be sure I have the most trusted person I know in the force to take care of it," he growls out.

"Do you mean Jax? I met him tonight, he's the one who handled my report," I tell him.

"I'll leave everything to him to handle, he won't get away," he says to me, and my hand reaches out to his cheek and I give him a small smile. 

"Thank you," I tell him and he takes my hand that's on his cheek and kisses my palm softly as his dark eyes focus on me. 

"I hope you know you're far from what he was calling you Victoria," he says, his voice deep and his eyes holding mine. "Sex is far from my mind, I don't want it to be the forefront of this."

"I know, I know," I say to him. I move closer to him and it's like a gravitational pull when our lips meet, the kiss between us hungry and rough. I can feel the anger Jason feels from hearing what happened to me tonight with each bite, and tug of my lips. He grips the back of my head tightly, and my arms tighten around his neck.

He breaks the kiss and trails his lips down my neck, quiet moans coming from my lips but he can't get far considering I'm wearing a sweater. He trails his lips back up my neck, pressing a kiss at the bottom of my ear. He brings his lips back against mine, the kiss softer now before he pulls back. I open my eyes and he gives me a smirk and I give him a small of my own.

"I'm here for you sweetheart," he whispers, and I go back to resting my head on his shoulder as he hugs my body against his. I kiss his neck softly before closing my eyes and my hands drop so I'm hugging his body instead, too comfortable to get off his lap. He's certainly not complaining about me getting off of him as his arms tighten around me and he leans back against the headboard. My day might have sucked but having this sexy man here as comfort just washes everything away.

✘✘

A/N What's up everyone! How are you all doing this Sunday [not sure if I said that in my earlier chapter considering I posted the last chapter in the middle of the night, today that is] I'm pretty sure you all thought 'oh the guy from the first chapter Victoria and Cora work with is a chill dude', yeah, I wanted to shake things up a bit.

And Victoria meets Jax, though it would have been better if it was a different place and time. And Victoria and Jason, can I just say I don't know if I ship Charlotte and Jax more or Victoria and Jason, I'm torn!!!

Anyways, leave your thoughts in the chapter and I don't know if I'll have another chapter up tonight so we'll have to see!