All Is Fair

Alexandria wandered to the alleyway where she saw Louis yesterday, searching in the dark corners to see if he was hiding from her.

“I don’t feel comfortable here.” The other young officer in her squad said from behind her, his hands clasping and unclasping behind him.

“You didn’t have to come.” Alexandria snapped. She was annoyed at the fact that she had to drag the newbie along. He didn’t need to be on this case and needed to go home.

“Alex, are you sure about this? What if he kills us? What do I need to do?” His eyes dart back and forth nervously.

“Listen kid. Just go home, now before I run you off myself.” Alexandria almost contemplates tasering the kid because he was getting on her last nerve when he scampered off, a scared look on his face, climbing into his squad car and speeding off.

“What’s got his knickers in a bunch? Rudely leaving like that? And I was going to give him a hug.” A smug voice sounded behind Alex and she turned around, hand over her heart, her hand twitching towards her gun.

“Geez, Lou, don’t do that.” Alexandria sighed, blushing when she realized what she said.

Louis is taken aback for a moment then smiled. “You remember me don’t you?”

Alex shrugged, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red. ‘Alex, stop it. This is a mafia member, not the boy you had a crush on when you two were kids.’ “Maybe mafia boy, but that doesn’t mean we can be friends again. We are still on opposite sides of the law.”

“It worked for Sly and Carmelita. It can work for us.” Louis grinned, knowing the names would pull at a memory.

“Louis, you cannot compare life to video games!” She screamed, falling back into the patterns she had when the two were kids. Alexandria calmed herself down, took a deep breath, and exhaled. “Now, Mr. Tomlinson, do you have the names I asked you for, or do I need to pull out my handcuffs?”

“So straightforward. We can’t catch up since we last saw each other before my parents die. I still remember our old life. I thought I would have been happy with you. Our parents always said we were a perfect match.” Louis’ eyes sadden, the grief bearing down on him even more, the memory of his real parents deaths making him relive seeing his adopted brother buried six feet under.

“Louis…” His name falls off her lips and before she can help it, her hand reached forward and cupped his cheek, wiping away the stray tear. She didn’t want to admit it, but she still loved the boy standing in front of her, her mind flashing back to the days shortly after his parents had died. The days her parents pushed her to forget him, knowing exactly where he went, wanting her to pursue being in the law enforcement.

“Here are the names Alex. Just promise me one thing, please.” Louis’ eyes lock onto hers and she nodded. “Let me be the one to kill the person who killed my brother.”

Those words broke Alexandria’s spell. They reminded her just how deadly the boy here had become compared to the sweet, innocent boy she knew before. “I am not promising a mafia member anything.” She turned her head, grabbing the papers from Louis and started to storm down the alleyway, leaving Louis behind.

As she reached her squad car, a hand grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around so quick, pinning her against the squad car. She only had a moment to see Louis’ darkened eyes before he crashed his lips onto hers, his hands gripping her hips.

She tried not to respond, her fingers wanting to grab one of her many tools to use against him, but after a few seconds, those same fingers locked into Louis’ hair.

Alexandria pulled away first, a small smirk on her lips. “Fine. I will promise that you can kill him, but you promise me something.”

“Anything.” Louis whispered, his breath still labored.

Alexandria leaned forward, closer to Louis’ ear. “Never kiss me again.” Alexandria shoved Louis backwards, causing him to fall in a puddle. She flipped her hair in his direction and climbed into the squad car, driving away, watching Louis stand in her rearview mirror.