Coming Under Fire

As soon as I wake up the next morning I call and set up a visit with Dom. Its been four days since the shooting and I'm growing more anxious with each passing day.

When I step out into the cold breezy air I scan the parking lot for Scully's guy, but can't see anything out of the ordinary. I think back to my conversation with John last night. He said he wasnt in Lawrence, but somehow he knew there was someone guarding me.

Once I get to the police station I breeze in and go straight to the interrigation room. Dominic is waiting for me.

"Morning, sunshine." I say, tossing my big black handbag on the table.

"Morning. I take it you're here to bitch me out about Joe putting a guard on you."

"While I do not appreciate having a bunch of mobsters break into my apartment and lurk around my parking lot, that is not why I'm here."

"I'm guessing sisterly concern is out of the question." I smirk.

"I need information, and you are going to give it to me."

"What information?"

"I need every single person who works for Joe Scully. Names and where I can locate them."

"No way. No fucking way. You're fucking high if you think I'm telling you shit." He says. I can feel the controlled anger radiating off of him, but I don't back down.

"Dom, I've had it. There are now two people coming after my boyfriend and I need to stop it before he gets killed for something he never would have been involved in if it hadnt been for you." I point my finger in his face and I can hear my own voice shaking in anger.

"Isabelle, don't put your finger in my face." He says calmly.

"Give me the names or I will get them somewhere else."

"The first thing you learn in this business is you don't snitch on anybody. A snitch is the lowest form of human on this earth. You won't get names from anyone." He says.

"You're not snitching. I'm not a cop. I don't plan on involving the cops at this point."

"I can't help you." He sits back in his chair and folds his hands together in his lap. I stare at him for a full minute in silence.

"Damn, Dominic. I thought I meant something to you. I thought John meant something to you. But you're just going to sit there, like some kind of king, and let him get killed." I stand up and grab my purse.

"Izzy."

"Go to hell, Dominic. I'll do this myself. If anything happens to John, its blood on your hands."

I stomp out of the police station and hold my breath all the way across the lot. Once I'm in my car I realize my hands are shaking. I let out my breath and it comes out in a sob that racks my whole body. I squeeze the steering wheel tightly and lean my forehead against it.

Dominic and I have gotten in fights before, but this was by far the worst. I've never been so mad at him, but he really just showed me the dark side of him.

So, now I'm on my own. I wish John would contact me again. Things would be so much easier if we could work together. But then again, everytime I see him or hear from him all I can focus on is my own confusion and the feeling of betrayal. I shake my head, trying to rid it of those thoughts. Right now I need to focus on the topic at hand. My boss, Mike can't help me, he doesnt have the connections. I consider my brother, Carmine, but I don't really want to involve him.

I think for five minutes when my phone rings with a restricted number. I quickly answer.

"John?"

"Whats going on? You've been sitting outside the cop shop for ten minutes." I spin around in my seat.

"Where are you?"

"Not yet. What does Dom have to say today?"

"Nothing. We actually got in a bad fight and I left." He doesnt say anything.

"By the way, do you happen to know any of Joe Scully's guys?" I ask.

"Not names, but I could find them." He seems to already be thinking the same thing as I am.

"We need to find the rat." I say.

"And then find the rats boss." He finishes. Neither of us say anything for a minute.

"I'll get back to you." He says.

"When?"

"Today sometime. Stay vigilant. I'll call when I can." Then he's gone. I hang up the phone and start my car, suddenly feeling conspicuous sitting in the parking lot.

For lack of anything better to do, I take myself to the hair salon at the mall in Methuen county. A guy named Andrew has done my hair for years and has dutifully stood by me through all of my spontanious phases. Today, I have him do something subtle, but noticible. He cuts in some long layers, a left side bang and some dark brown highlights.

After spending $100 and several hours on my hair, I slink out to my car without buying anything else. I drive home and make myself a frozen pizza for dinner and have a beer. I'm waiting very impatiently for John's call and I'm starting to get worried. What if something happened and he can't call?

I eat half the pizza and drink another beer, then spend an hour watching The Voice. I eat the other half of the pizza and watch another show. Still no word from John. My eyes are fighting to stay open, so I drag myself to the bedroom and change into a pair of tiny cotton shorts that barely cover my ass and a white tank top.

I take my time doing my nightly skincare routine, with my cell phone sitting on the bathroom vanity beside me. Still no call. My stomach has a slight gurgle going on, but I can't tell if its because of worry over John or the whole pizza I ate.

I plug my phone in by my bed and turn off all the lights before I crawl in. I roll around under my big navy blue comforter until I'm mostly comfortable. I hug one of John's pillows and his scent on it almost knocks me over. You never realize how much you miss someone until some little thing just sneaks up on you and takes you down.

I sleep for a few hours until I'm dragged awake by a noise out in the living room. My eyes snap open and my heart stops dead in my chest in terror. I listen but don't hear anything else. I just start to relax when I hear feet shuffling across the carpet, coming towards my room.

I quietly throw my blankets off and crawl out of bed, making my way to the bedroom door. I have no plan, just adrenaline and fear working for me. Without thinking I throw open the door and see the silhouette of a man standing about two feet away from me. I rocket myself toward him and take him down at the waist. He grunts as we crash onto the floor. Adrenaline has taken over as we wrestle around on the floor. I'm kicking, punching and pushing. We roll around for what feels like forever but is probably more like a minute.

I feel him grab my arms and fear takes over as I feel him roll me onto my back and he's straddling me. We both stop fighting and just breathe, him holding my wrists level with my head. As I start coming down from my rush, I realize the mans touch is very familiar.

"John?"

"Nice moves, Cupcake. You should take up kick boxing." Then he kisses me. And not just a hey, how are ya? kiss. His hands are roaming up my tank top and his tounge is scavaging my mouth. I find myself wrapping my legs around his waist and grabbing the back of his shirt. We go on like this for a minute until I pull away and fall back onto the floor.

"Wait, stop. We need to talk." I say. He sits up on his knees and I slip out from under him and pad into the kitchen and flip on the light.

We both blink in the sudden brightness and stare at each other. He looks only slightly better than the last time that I saw him. He's shaven, but stubble is still shadowing his cheeks. The angled planes of his face almost seem narrowed in stress. His hair is longer than he would prefer and his clothes are clean. His gun is tucked in the back waistband of his jeans.

He stands up and comes into the kitchen, leaning against the counter.

"You fight dirty." He says, smirking.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to call."

"Calling is so impersonal. Especially for us."

"Did you get the info we were talking about earlier?" I ask. He pulls a sheet of paper out of his pocket and sets it on the counter. I walk over and look at it.

"The names I have highlighted in yellow are prospects."

"Isnt everyone a prospect?"

"I've already eliminated a few."

"So, what do we know?"

"Well, since Dom won't talk to you about it, I'm forced to have you check these guys out." I glance over at him.

"I don't like it, in fact it makes my fucking skin crawl, having you talk to these guys, but I can't do it myself and you're the only person I trust." I look up at him again.

"I mean it. You're the only one I can trust right now." He says. I feel conflicted that he's putting so much faith in me when my own trust in him is pretty shaky right now.

"I love you." I say, meaning it.

He kisses me. I tilt my head up and deepen the kiss. His hands are at my waist and he pulls me to him so our hips are touching and I can feel his desire pressing through his jeans. I pull him into the bedroom, flipping off the kitchen light on our way.

As soon as he shuts the bedroom door he pulls the tank top from my body. His hands graze my back and I bite down on my lip. He pushes the little shorts off and I kick them to the other side of the room. He kisses my shoulder and I gently push him back.

"No fair, I'm completely naked and you still have everything." He gives me a wolfish smile.

"Lets change that then." He suddenly picks me up as if I weigh nothing and drops me on the bed. I watch as he takes his gun out of his jeans and sets it on the nightstand pointing away from the bed. Then he pulls his shirt off. He bends over and quickly unties his boots and kicks them off along with his socks.

I writhe around on the bed anxiously waiting. He fumbles with his jeans before dropping them to the floor. Finally he strips off his boxer briefs and falls on top of me, kissing me when he lands. I wiggle around under him and he lifts some of his weight so I can get comfortable before dropping again. He drops kisses all the way across my collar bone before moving down.

He moves all the way down to my knees, kissing the inside and touching his tounge to my thigh. I moan at his touch and spread my legs out before him. He sits up on his knees and reaches into the drawer of the nightstand for a condom. I hear the distinct tear of the wrapper and less than a minute later he's back in action. I pull my legs up so they're squeezing his sides as he enters me. I arch up taking him in. He groans as I tighten around him.

"Baby..." He whispers. I respond by doing it again.

"Slow down, baby. We're just getting started." He says. I let out a husky laugh and he starts thrusting.

We move together rythmically until finally I break and he's not far behind. Once we're finished he falls onto his back beside me and we just lay next to each other panting. Once I've caught my breath, I roll onto my side to face him. He rolls out of bed and goes into the bathroom. The toilet flushes a second later and he comes back out and crawls back in beside me. He kisses my damp hairline and pulls me in closer into him.

"I've missed you." He says on a sigh.

"You too."

"I'm sorry all of this is happening. I know how you're feeling right now and if I had any damned sense we would be talking about it, but this feels too good."

"I know." I say quietly.

We stay like that for quite some time and I'm just dozing off when he kisses my head again and then quietly gets up. I listen as he puts on all of his clothes and picks up his gun. I don't say anything. I don't want to say goodbye, but I know its not safe for him to stay here. I listen as he makes his way out of the bedroom. I don't hear the window go up or the door open, so I'm at a loss for how he leaves.