2 comments/ 5389 views/ 3 favorites Trouble's Familiar Face By: Hollenengel Chapter 1 "So then why are you with him?" he asked, looking over at his best friend as they sat on the brick wall behind her house. "Rayne, you know how much I love him, plus I have to be there for Sammy." Alexis defended, knowing it sounded pathetic, even to her. "Bull." he said, calling her on it immediately. "You're just as bad as him if you keep using that kid as your scape goat. Anyways, if you love him so much, you wouldn't have bothered calling me down here to bitch about him." Alexis glared at him, more because she knew he was right, like usual. She decided to end the conversation before he started to lecture her again. Not that he wouldn't anyways, she knew him well enough that if he dropped the subject now, she would hear it later. He was lounging in the over stuffed lawn chair, in his usual jeans and a t-shirt. He glared back at her and his green eyes were bright with the sun catching there color. He had longer blond hair that was forever falling into his eyes. "Maybe I called you down here for the sheer pleasure of your company." she said, smiling sweetly at him. "Ha! I know you better then that Alex. I moved and now there is no one here to listen to you bitch so you call me down once or twice a week just so you can vent." he said laughing. "Yeah, but you make it sound so ugly." she said, now laughing with him. "Alex?" a voice called from behind them. Alexis called out to her roommate to let her know where she was. "Hmm, my room mate is home. Wanna go tourist watch in our spot?" she suggested, hoping he didn't want to leave her just yet. "I have cleared my demanding schedule and now I am all yours today." he said, adding in a wiggle of the eyebrows for good measure. "Yeah right, I doubt Liz would feel like sharing you, sweetheart." Alex said laughing, but noticed Rayne's face grow serious. "Oh no, not again." Rayne nodded and gave a heavy sigh. "She packed up and moved yesterday apparently because when I got home there was nothing left of hers in the house. I didn't find a note." Alex took him in her arms. "Aww, honey. I'm so sorry, why didn't you say anything." Rayne pulled out of the embrace, smiling slightly. "Because it's not like it's the first time. She's done this four times. Honestly I think if she does call me, which I know she will, I'm just going to ask for my key back and leave it at that." As they headed for his truck Alexis' cell phone went off. She looked at the caller ID, saw that it was Rick and chose to ignore it. They got into the truck and Rayne looked at her expectantly. "What?" she asked innocently. "He isn't going to believe that you didn't hear your phone ring. He'll end up coming here looking for you." he said with a warning glance. "Then you'll be gone and your roommate will say, 'gee, I don't know Rick. She left with Rayne a little bit ago.'" he said in his fake women voice, mocking her roommate. "And believe me; I do not need him to have yet another reason to hate me." "He doesn't hate you, Ray." Alex said jumping to her boyfriends defense. "He just doesn't understand us. Not that many people do. I mean it's not often two people who have dated still talk to each other, let alone stay best of friends." Rayne rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath. "Besides, it wouldn't matter if he did hate you. I wouldn't let his opinion make decisions for me." she said, her voice full of strength. It sounded forced to Rayne, she sounded like she is going to be terrified to go home tonight and probably spend the night at his house to avoid it. His mind was raging with inner conflict on weather to call her on this or not. He had heard it all before, then days later she would seem happy, but they sadness in her eyes was louder then ever. Rayne wasn't sure how much more of it he could stand seeing. When they had gotten to the beach behind his house, he had decided not to say anything until later. As they walked the beach in silence, something they did often, he thought about his and Alex's history together. She had grown up so much since their first meeting, in her looks as well as her personality. He recalled the mousy plain brown hair, bland brown eyes that always seemed sad, and pink-purple speckled rimmed glasses that had the Disney™ logo on the frame. She was short and very uncomfortable with her early blooming body. She would use this awkwardness to beat up anyone who teased her about it, which often labeled her a scrapper. That's when they met, during their awkward years in junior high where they literally ran into each other in halls and had been close friends ever since. In high school they decided that since they were such good friends that maybe they would make a good couple. Really the decision was based on raging hormones and a jokingly placed kiss that raised questions. They had gone through so much together that, there wasn't much to their relationship when they started to date. They already knew everything about each other, so there was nothing to get to know, except the few questions they had kept silent until then. Rayne thought about those questions now and almost laughed out loud. He had never been so uncomfortable with himself until the year that they dated. Thinking about kissing her, touching her, and yet thinking about her in a best friend way as well. It was especially excruciating when the weekends came and where they use to be able to spend the night at each others houses, they were no longer allowed because they were dating now. In the end, being friends was a lot less work then dating. Neither of them really know when they stopped dating and went back to being friends, not that it mattered because dating other people was out of the question anyways. Every time they tried they would be asked to give each other up by the person they were dating. Every time it ended up them being single again because the answer was without a doubt, no questions asked, "No." Now she was still awkward, though not so much about her body anymore. Her hair turned a lovely auburn color and her eyes developed little green specks in them that made them seem honey. She only used her glasses for reading, which were now a stylish brown. The only thing she didn't grow into was her height, because she still stood no taller then 5'1'', which is where she was in junior high. Rayne gave her a sidelong glance and noticed that she had been talking while he was daydreaming and he hadn't heard a word of it. "Have you even been listening to me?" Alex said interrupting his thoughts. "Do I ever listen to you?" he joked. "What was that stupid grin on your face for?" she asked, ignoring his remark. "What were you thinking about?" "You" he said honestly. "Me? You're not thinking of doing something evil to me are you?" "No really I was thinking about us and how we came to be this force to be reckoned with that we are today." he said, his grin growing wider. "What are we doing tonight?" she asked quickly changing the subject. Rayne picked up on her ploy, but didn't bother pressing it. "Lets go out to a nice restaurant. We haven't had a date in a long time." he said enthusiastically. He grabbed a hold of her hand and they continued walking. Alex looked up at Rayne and smiled. "That's a wonderful idea." It wasn't difficult to find a suitable outfit at Rayne's house since half her wardrobe was there anyways, as was much of her make up and shoes. Rayne even made sure that weather he was with some one or not, there was an extra room for Alex when she came over. It was hardly needed since they usually watch old movies in his room until they both fall asleep. They changed cloths and went to their favorite nice restaurant in town called Adouza. They had been there often and most of the people there knew them by name. Well, the name that they gave them that is, which is why Rayne never brought his dates to this restaurant. "Mr. And Mrs. Stryker." the host greeted smiling. "Welcome back. We don't have your usual table tonight, but there is an even better one available, it's usually for reservation only, but I think of you guys as my VIP's and you don't need a reservation." Rayne smiled down at Alex and they followed the host to a huge window at the front of the restaurant. She was in front of him, so he got to appreciate the dressed that she had picked out to where. It was a simple black dress that was floor length and fit nicely to her curves. Rayne almost stumbled into the back of Alex when they had arrived at the table. The table was the only one that over looked the ocean outside and sat next to the fireplace inside. Since the sun was setting outside it made a beautiful site and it was no wonder why this was such a sought after seat. "Oh, Nick it's beautiful!" Alex gasped, holding tighter to her 'husband'. Rayne almost laughed out loud at her performance. "Not nearly enough beauty to rival your own darling." he said pulling a rose out from behind his back. She rewarded him with a kiss and they both sat down. "Nice performance." Rayne complimented after they had sat down and the host left. She took a second to look him over in his spiffy tux. She loved when they went out because he was always wearing jeans and a t-shirt and when he dressed up he looked even more handsome then normal. "Not so bad yourself, Nick." she said smiling. When the waiter came Rayne ordered them each the prime rib and then a bottle of wine. Everything was delicious, like usual and the wine was already making Alex fuzzy when he ordered another bottle. "Let's dance," Rayne said, looking over at the nearly empty dance floor. He could see that she was about to protest and was quick to silence her. "Come on, one dance. It's nothing hard, just slow dancing. How many slow dances have we shared? Please?" "Alright." she said, letting herself be led to the dance floor. Rayne took hold around Alex's waist with both arms, holding her close to him as they methodically moved to the music. "You know," Alex whispered. "If I didn't know you as well as I do, I would say that you are trying to seduce me, Mr. Smith." Alex said smiling. "Would it be so bad?" Rayne said, only half joking. "We've done it before, Rayne. It doesn't work." she said, picking up on the serious tone in his voice. Rayne pulled her closer, not sure why other then just to feel her against him. "That was in high school." he justified. "We've grown up since then. I'm not saying we have to start now, I'm just saying think about it before you continue with this creep your with." "Rayne, you don't know him you can't say–."She started to defend her boyfriend, but Rayne cut her off bringing her ear close to his mouth. "Alex, you can't pretend that the bruises don't exist just because you've covered them..." he whispered. Alex's eyes jerked up and met his, silently asking how he knew. Rayne hugged her close to him, comforting her for the past years he hadn't had the courage to let her know that he knew. "I've known from the first time you told me you fell. You are the biggest klutz, but you're usually proud of your bruises. The fact that you covered them was the key." Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at him. "I never intended to keep anything from you, I was just so scared. I wasn't sure how I could tell you and–." Rayne captured Alex's lips with his own, trying to capture her guilt and pain, take it away from her forever. "Don't cry," he begged after finally ending the kiss. "Please don't cry, I didn't want to upset you, I just want to be with you. I'm sorry, please don't cry." The song had ended and turned into another. By the time that one had ended, Alex had calmed down and was even smiling again. The owner, Tony, stopped by to cut in for a dance, while Rayne stood by and watched. By the time they reached Rayne's house, they both have had too much to drink. They reached the front door and Rayne turned to Alex, pretending to be shy. "Well, ma'am, would you like to join me inside for a night cap?" Alex feigned shock. "Why Mr. Smith, how forward of you." Alex said pretending to be shocked. "Well, I would love too." they both laughed loudly and stumbled their way inside. "Maybe we should make coffee, I have had more then enough to drink tonight." Alex said, laughing. "I'm gunna go change and scrub this crap off my face." she announced, walking toward his room. Rayne followed her into the room and leaned up against the door frame to make sure she didn't break her neck trying to get out of her dress. 'At least she was sober enough to take her shoes off first.' he thought. Her hand reached behind her, trying to find the zipper unsuccessfully. "Let me." Rayne said, quickly stepping forward. He gently brushed her hand out of the way and took hold of the zipper slowly working it down. When he finished, he intended to be a gentleman and walk away, but a hand on his wrist stopped him. When he turned to look at her, she was facing him, her hands moved so that her thumbs hooked under the straps of her dress. "I can't get these either." she said huskily. "Alex, i'm not taking advantage of you while you're drunk." Rayne said seriously, but his throat was tight at the effort it took to not pick her up and set her on the bed. "Rayne, what if I said i'm not drunk?" she asked, her thumbs easily bringing down the straps, causing the dress to fall to her feet. Alex stood before him, in only her black thong and naked glory. Rayne tried to reach past her grab a blanket to cover her with and she grabbed him around the waist, pushing her exposed breasts against him. "Please Alex, I care for you and I don't want to regret this, I want to feel nothing be bliss when I wake up in the morning." "Rayne, im not drunk, I am not perfectly sober either, but I am perfectly capable of making a serious decision. I want you." she said calmly. "Alex–." Alex grabbed him behind his neck, pulling him to her and capturing his lips in a deeply passionate kiss. Far from a sloppy drunk kiss. Rayne saw what she was doing. He brought his hands under her butt and lifter into his arms. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and his hands firmly under her butt, they walked out of his room and into hers. He laid her down on the bed and Alex undid his belt while distracting him with more kisses. Rayne decided to just go with it. His intention was to lave her on the bed, but he wanted her more than anything and had been waiting for a long time to get it. His kissed her deeply as his hands explored her naked flesh. She just finished unbuttoning his shirt and pulling down his boxers when the phone rang. Alex groaned against his mouth. "Don't answer it." Rayne bit her bottom lip softly and smiled. "I wasn't planning on it, in fact I was planning on turning it off as soon as this inconsiderate person was done calling." "That sounds like a plan." she said smiling. The call was on it's fourth ring when Rayne reached the phone, the answering machine picked up with a brief what to do from Rayne's voice then a loud beep. There was heavy breathing on the other end and what sounded like a crowded room, like a bar. Then a woman's voice muffled in the back ground asking if he got through. "Alexis? Are you there?" said Rick's too loud voice. Alex gasped behind Rayne, as if he could see them through the phone. "Alex, if your there pick up the phone right now, gawd damnit!" Alex started for the phone, but Rayne picked it up before her, his hand was shaking with rage. It was sickening to see what power this sicko had over his friend. "Now you listen here, Rick. This is Rayne and I don't ever want you to call my house again, do you here me?" he said with more calm then he felt. Alex motioned to give her the phone, mouthing 'it's okay.' "Rick? No, I'm not coming to your house, nor am I going home so that you can see me. I am staying right here and if you so much as come on the street I will call the police on you. We're finished Rick." she said sweetly, listening for a moment then handing the phone back to Rayne to hang up. Rayne listened to the like for a second before an almost animalistic growl escaped his throat. "Rick, I suggest you take back everything you just said." he said through clinched teeth. Alex was in shock, he had never in all their years of being friends, ever seen Rayne so angry. "Or what? Or what, you ask? Or I will personally hunt you down and murder you Rick. If you come anywhere near Alex again I swear I will murder you and do the time smiling." he said, not staying on the line to hear what he had to say about that. Alex had gone back into the room and gotten dressed in her night clothes. She was sitting on the bed crying softly into her hands. Rayne slipped on his boxers and went to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Alex? I'm sorry I flew off the handle like that, I shouldn't have." Alex cried harder, leaning into him for support, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobbing. He silently held her, hoping she wasn't crying for the relationship that just ended. When she got her self under control she looked up at him and smiled weakly. "I don't think I could forgive myself for letting him do it to me for so long. It's not as though I haven't tried to leave before. I asked my parents for help and they told me that I sleep in the bed that I make." she wiped the wet streaks from her face. "But even with all that, it's not reason I was crying. He told me that he was going to tell Sammy that I never loved him and I left because he was bad." Rayne cursed under his breath, wanting Rick to make his way here just so he had an excuse to kill the bastard. "Honey, you know that when Sammy gets older he will realize what a sick person Rick is and all that he has said to him was wrong." "I know, but I really did love that kid and it just kills me to know he's going to hurt." she said, the tears starting to well in her eyes once more. "Not only that I know that I'm going to have to deal with him as soon as I go back home." Rayne sighed exasperated." Look, obviously Rick is going to get mean with you right?" Alex nodded sadly. "Alright, so tell me, do you have anything at his place that you couldn't part with?" He asked, silently praying that she didn't. "No, no that I know of." She said with her head cocked to the side in thought. "Most of my things are at my apartment." "Move in with me." Rayne said suddenly, catching her off guard. "What?!" "I mean it! This is one place that he can't find you and if he does, I'm here." Rayne kneeled in front of her so that they were eye level with each other. "This has nothing to do with us. I want to protect you, Alex. Come on, you even already have your own room." "Not about us?" Alex repeated hesitantly. "Well it's defiantly a plus that you will be showering next to my room everyday, but that's not why I'm asking you." He said, smiling slyly. Finally Alex smiled at him, the sadness from her eyes lifted as the request sank in. 'Why not?' she thought. 'Ricks not in my life anymore, I have no reason to be afraid.' "Okay." she said after a minute pause. "I'll move in, but I have to give my roommate some notice." "I realize that," He said, then smiled wickedly. "Or I could just say that I'm moving in there and then she'd kick you out." Alex laughed and shrugged a little. "Since we're talking about it, I know that this," she gestured between them. "Started out pretty fast, mainly because of alcohol influence, but I was wondering if we could take 'us' slow." Alex averted her eyes shyly. "I know why." Rayne said reassuringly smiling. "I suppose if we do this then we should do it right." "My thoughts exactly." Alex replied happily. "Alright, well let's start this evening by ending it." Rayne stood, kissing her forehead on his way up. "'Night dear, Alexis." Trouble's Familiar Face "'Night Rayne." she said as she watched him leave her room, closing the door behind him. Chapter 2 The next morning Alexis awoke to her cell phone ringing, playing the song of the week that she liked. Groggily, she fumbled her way around the room, trying to follow the rings. She finally found it in the purse that she was using the night before and sleepily answered it. "Hello?" "Alexis? Is that you?" Asked a familiar voice on the other end. Alex struggled to focus her brain and place the voice. "Yes, speaking. Who is this?" "It's Danielle, Your roommate." she answered, and the voice clicked with the name, waking Alex up. "Danny, what's up? Is everything okay? It's funny that you called because I wanted to talk to you anyways." Alex quickly closed her mouth to stop her rambling and prevent anything else from escaping. "Alex, Rick came over last night." There was a pause and then a heavy sigh. "He banged on the doors and windows for over an hour." Her roommate explained. "Oh Danny I'm so sorry. I've broken up with him, so he's a little angry with me right now." "Alex, I'm sorry, but this isn't the first time. I cannot do this again. You're going to have to move out, honey. I'm sorry." Danielle said quietly. Alex laughed lightly, and then cleared her throat. "It's alright Danny, I understand. I would kick me out too. I'll try and be over today to collect me belongings." "You're taking this pretty well." Danielle said, laughter in her voice. "I actually thought that this would be a little harder on you." "Well I was actually going to call you today to let you know that I had found another place." Alex explained, relieved that she wasn't leaving her roommate stranded. "I was worried about how you would take it." Alex and her roommate said their goodbyes' and Alex hung up the phone. "So how did she take it?" A voice said behind her, scaring her half to death. Alex spun around to see Rayne standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in each hand. She took the one offered to her and smiled at her best friend. "She was kicking me out." Alex said smiling. "Rick came over sometime in the middle of the night and harassed Danny for over an hour banging on the windows and doors. So she's kicking me out." "Well as unfortunate as that is, it did work in our favor." Rayne said thoughtfully. "I have the day off today, so I can help you go get some of your things if you would like to." Alex rolled her eyes. "You own the company, you can have everyday off if you would like." "Yes, but it doesn't feel like I earned the money if I don't show up at least sometimes." Rayne said, though a sly smile creeped into his features. Alex took a sip of her coffee and made a face. "So, feel like helping me move?" "I wouldn't want to do anything else." He said, cocking his head at the face that she made. Alex smiled at him for noticing. "Fifteen years we've known each other and you still can't make my coffee right?" "Alright princess, I'll get dressed and we'll go get your belongings." he said rolling his eyes at her complaint. ~~~~ Several trips in Rayne's pickup truck and four hours later, Rayne and Alex managed to get all of her things to Rayne's house. They were working on bringing in the last thing which was a large, wooden, very heavy dresser into her room. "So where did you get all this crap?" Rayne said jokingly, backing into the room slowly holding one side of the dresser. "And how did all this shit fit in that tiny room that you had?" Alex laughed, trying to keep a hold on the other side of the dresser without dropping it. "Don't make me laugh or I'll drop this damn thing." They set it down against the wall and Rayne leaned on it exhausted. "So what's for dinner?" he said standing up again and walking out of the room. He got half way across the living room before plopping on the couch. Alex followed him into the living room. "I can whip up a pro style phone call to Pizza Palace." "That never sounded better." Rayne said, smiling. The pizza Alex ordered was going to take forty-five minutes to get there, so they had a few beers while they waited for their dinner. "Do you think that you'll regret leaving him?" Rayne asked suddenly. "Rick? No I won't. Sammy, yes but I know that I would be no use to him while I was with Rick." She said sadly, taking a sip of her beer. Rayne nodded thoughtfully. "You know, Rick was good for you." Seeing the look on Alex's face, he hurried up to finish the thought. "I mean he made you grow up a lot and pretty quickly too." "Was I really that immature?" She said laughing. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean, well, actually yes." He said thoughtfully. "You were too caught up in trying to please everyone around you, finding 'the one', and making sure you never rubbed anyone the wrong way. You never thought about you." "Wow, I guess I have, because just thinking that I was that way is heard to hear." Alex laughed, "I know better now, I come first." Rayne smiled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "You come first, huh? How many times?" Alex raised an eyebrow at his pun. "I don't think you can handle me that long, cowboy." "I could surprise you." Rayne leaned close, hovering inches from Alex's' lips. "I could amaze you with my self control." He whispered his breath hot against her face. He started to pull away when Alex grabbed behind his neck, capturing his lips with her own. A knock on the door startled them apart and the pizza boy identified himself. The next day Alex spent most of the day organizing her room and unpacking boxes. Well into the afternoon she realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day, so she picked herself up from the tower of boxes she was working on and wandered into the kitchen to find something to eat. After several hours, a large mess and a few burns, dinner was ready as soon as Rayne had walked through the door. "So she does cook?" Rayne said, casually leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. "You haven't tasted it yet. It doesn't count as cooking if it kills you." Alex said laughing. "Unless you're Hannibal Lector." Rayne joked. "True." She walked over to him giving him a quick kiss before shooing him off. "Go get your shower and I'll set the table." She ordered. Rayne gave her mock salute and headed off to do as he was told. Twenty minutes later they were sitting down at the table talking about their days. "So I tell this guy that the work doesn't get done until we have an advanced payment to get material with." Rayne was saying between bites of food. "Well he can't expect you to build a house on your own money on sure faith that he'll pay you." Alex said, agreeing with Rayne's point. "Exactly, so the guy looks at me all stupid and says-" A knock at the door interrupted Rayne's thought. Alex started to rise, but Rayne put out a hand to stop her. He got up from his seat and made his way to the door. "Hello, I'm here to speak with an Alexis Martin." A man in a suit said when Rayne answered the door. "My name is Ashton Phillips, I am a lawyer and I worked for Mr. Valintino." Rayne opened the door wider so that the man could enter. Alex introduced her self, offering the living room for everyone to sit. After everyone sat down, the lawyer went on with his business. "Ms. Martin, I have come here today because the family had requested a privet funeral, so my firm believed that it would be best that I visit you now." Alex cocked her head, not understanding. "Funeral? Who died? Oh my god, is Sammy alright?!" Alex panicked, jumping from her seat. The lawyer waved a hand to sit her back down. "Young Samuel is fine. Now Ms. Martin, you were unaware of Mr. Valintino's passing?" "Rick's dead?" Alex's face went pale and she started shaking her head. "No, this is a mistake. I just spoke with him two days ago. He was very much alive." "How did this happen?" Rayne asked ignoring Alex's growing hysteria. "It didn't happen because this is a mistake, it didn't happen." Alex said, now sobbing. "Take it back! You're mistaken-" A sound slap across Alex's face stopped her hysterics immediately. The room seemed to hang on the sound of the slap and no one said a word. Rayne turned back to the lawyer and took a deep breath. "Now, how did this happen?" The lawyer, who seemed unfazed by the scene, shook his head slightly. "I am not privileged to that information. I am only here to speak with Ms. Martin about the conditions of Mr. Valintino's will." Alex, who had sobered up dramatically, was the first to speak. "Conditions?" "Yes, even though you two were apparently estranged, he had you on his will as the second of only two inheritors." "Inheritors? Does that mean that she's to take on that asshole's debts?" Rayne said, rising from his seat. "No debts. In fact Ms. Martin is a very wealthy woman now." The suit replied with a slight smirk hanging on his lips. "That man didn't work a day in his life," Alex argued. "How can I be wealthy?" "Well you and young Samuel both inherited just over $300,000." "I worked my ass off for six years to support his alcoholism and he was rich this entire time?" "I suppose if that's the situation, then yes ma'am. Now if you could sign here saying you received this check and here saying I had explained everything to you." Mr. Phillips said, handing her a check and a pen. Alex signed where she was suppose to and watched the lawyer pack everything up in his briefcase. She walked him to the door and they shook hands and thanked him before he left. Alex made her way to the couch and sat back down. Neither one of them spoke, nor did they go back to the now forgotten dinner. They sat, absorbing what had just happened. Rayne stood up and walked into the kitchen. Alex heard the refrigerator door opening and closing again. Rayne reappeared in the living room with two beers in his hand, giving one to her as he sat back down. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, another knock on the door interrupted him. Mumbling a profanity under his breath, he stood up and went to the door. "Hello sir, I am Officer Rose and this here is deputy Dermon. Is there an Alexis Martin here tonight?" the police man asked. Alex walked up behind Rayne, putting her hand on his shoulder to let him know that it was okay. "I am Alexis, how can we help you officers?" Alex said as politely as possible. "May we come in and ask you a few questions regarding your whereabouts on May 26th." "Of course, come in." Alex moved out of the way to let the officers pass and then guided them all into the living room. After offering them each a drink, they got down to business. "Ms. Martin, could you please tell us where you were the night of the 26th?" Asked deputy Dermon. "Yes, I was here. Me and Rayne went out to dinner together and then came here." Alex answered without hesitation. The officer called Rose nodded and wrote a few things down in a small note pad that seemed to just appear into his hands. "Okay, so please tell me, what is your relationship with a Mr. Valintino?" "Mr. Valintino was my boyfriend. We broke up the night of May 26th." Alex explained. "So when was the last time that you two actually spoke?" The deputy asked, leaning forward. "Over the phone." She said again, without hesitation. "He was angry with me for not answering my phone earlier in the day." "Tell us about that conversation." "He called me a few names and then threatened to never let me see Sammy again." Alex's voice cracked with emotion. "I told him that I wasn't going to see him anymore and to never call here again." "Look, you've asked her quite a few questions," Rayne said, taking Alex's hand. "Could you let her gather herself a second and tell us what's going on here?" The deputy nodded to his partner and Officer Rose started explaining. "Mr. Valintino's body was found in an ally behind a residential area in upstate." "Upstate? He lives two hours from upstate." Alex said, looking at Rayne. "I'm sorry Ms. Martin, but we're going to need you to come with us to the station so that we may question you further." Deputy Derman said, standing his eye slanted to Rayne briefly then back to Alex. "If you would like to bring a lawyer, you may have them meet you there." "Wait, what? Why not just finish questioning me here?" Alex said, standing in panic. "This is just procedure for any suspect that needs to be questioned further." Officer Rose explained, raising his hand for her to calm down. Alex looked to Rayne and she could see that he was looking for something to say. "Look, our neighbors like to gossip." He said finally. "Do you think that I could just drive Alex to the station?" "Ms. Martin needs to be in by midnight tonight." The deputy said sternly. "If not she will be arrested." "We'll be along shortly, thank you officers." Rayne said, closing the door behind them. Alex just stood in the living room, staring at nothing. "Alex." Rayne said softly and then repeated it louder when she didn't respond. "Alex!" He walked over to where she stood and took a hold of her shoulders, shaking her hard enough to rattle her teeth. "Stop goddamnit." She shouted finally. "What are you going to do?" He asked, dropping his hands to his sides. "Tell them the truth, I didn't kill him, so I have nothing to hide. I'm not really worried about it." She said honestly. She picked up her untouched beer and walked into the kitchen to return it to the refrigerator. She then walked into the dinning room and started to clean up the dinner dishes. "I'm glad that you have so much faith in the system because I sure as hell don't." Rayne reached out and grabbed Alex's wrist. "Would you stop please?" "Let go Rayne." Alex said her voice in a warning tone. "No, you don't ignore me and you sure as hell don't talk back." Rayne said through clenched teeth. Alex was shocked. "Excuse me?" she said unbelievingly. She had never seen him like this before. Alex yanked her arm free of his grip and held her ground. Rayne's face immediately softened and he dropped to his knees. "Oh God Alex, I'm so sorry." He said with tears coming to his eyes. "I'm just so scared for you, I'm so sorry, please forgive me." Alex stepped forward and hugged his head to her belly. "Shhh. It's okay, honey. I'm scared too." Rayne wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her belly softly. Alex ran her fingers through his hair and he stood up taking a hold of each side of her face. Alex let Rayne's lips capture her own, without telling him a word that she forgave him. Ending the kiss almost as quickly as it began, Rayne let her face go and gave her a large hug. "Alright, stop cleaning." He said, smiling down at her. "I'll get this and let's get you to the station before you become a wanted woman." Alex nodded and headed to the front door, knowing that it was going to be a long night. ~~~~~~~~ Rayne dropped Alex off at the station and heading home again, telling her to call him when she needed a ride home. He protested the idea at first, but knew that he might as well wait at home because this was going to take a while. The questioning went on for hours and the cops, who weren't the same cops from earlier, asked the same questions over and over again, obviously trying to catch her in a lie. "Why did you brake up with Mr. Valintino that night?" asked a woman cop with the name Sharp on her name tag. "He was very abusive and I was getting away from that." Alex explained for the third time. "But you were in a six year relationship with him, were you not?" She asked, digging deeper. Alex knew the next question before she had a chance to ask it. "Yes, but you see he has a son, a beautiful boy that after six years, has become like my own." Alex explained. "The longer I stayed, the harder it was to leave Sam behind." "So I ask again, why you chose now to leave him." Officer sharp's partner asked. He didn't have a name tag so Alex referred to him as Big Nose in her own mind. "It took a friend of mine to spell it out for me that Sam would get no help from me if I was dead." The officers looked at each other and Alex could tell that there was a whole new set of questions about to be fired at her when a soft knock came at the door. The officers excused themselves and left the room quickly. Alex grabbed for her cigarettes and realized that she didn't have a lighter. Tired and exasperated, she leaned back in the chair and covered her face with her hands, her cigarette still between her fingers unlit. The door suddenly opened again and a tall man walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Alex dropped her hands from her face, glaring at the new comer. "You're another cop I suppose. Are you going to ask me the same questions that they did?" The man said nothing, but walked across the room toward her, fishing something out of his pocket. When he stopped next to her, he bent down and something flashed in his hand. It took Alex a full three seconds before realizing that he was lighting her cigarette for her. After Alex got her cigarette lit the man walked to the other end of the table, taking a seat in the chair opposite of her own, not saying a word. Alex looked at him with interest. He had jet black hair and what looked like green eyes, though the room was poorly lit. He stared at her for a while before saying anything. "Mind if I have one of those? I'm all out." He asked politely. "Be my guest, I've only been here for five hours and every hour a new set of cops come in to ask me the same questions." Alex said tossing him a cigarette and lighting another one for her self with his offered lighter. "That's because they have nothing on you." He said after taking a drag from his smoke. "What do you mean? They told me that I was a suspect." Alex said, confused. "Not to mention the fact that my being treated like a criminal the whole time that I've been here when I came her on my own. I can't even get a cup of coffee because it could be a potential weapon." "My name is Angelo Edwards and I'm going to escort you out of this room. You're not going to stop for anyone, no matter what their speech is." Angelo said his voice low and calm. "Aren't they listening to you on the other side of that mirror?" Alex asked, nodding to the large mirror on the far wall. "No, it's not a real two-way-glass. It's just a mirror," Angelo smiled slightly. "But they'd never tell you that." Alex put out her cigarette and stood up to go. Angelo was no far behind her as they walked out the door of the interrogation room. "Hay! You can't leave! Hay!" Someone shouted as they walked towards the front door of the prescient. Edwards spun around to face the voice that challenged his actions. "How long has this woman been here?" "A little over five hours." The now nervous man responded. "And in a little over five hours you haven't finished asking her all the questions you've wanted to? I think that there are still too many possibilities for her to be a solid suspect at this point." Edwards said. Then without listening to the stuttering man, he turned around and continued for the door. "Keep yourself available for questioning later, Ms. Martin." The man shouted just as they exited the building. Alex turned to the man called Angelo Edwards when they were out side and took his hand, meaning to shake it. "Thank you so much, Angelo." "No problem, state cops get a little overly excited with a case like this sometimes." He said shrugging. "May I ask you a question?" She said, not letting go of his hand as if he were some guardian angel and was going to disappear if she were to let go. "Why did you help me? Are you another cop or something?" Trouble's Familiar Face "Or something." Angelo answered. "I am FBI and I helped you because as I said, if they haven't found what they were looking for yet, then they aren't going to find it in you." "FBI? Doesn't there have to be like some sort of pattern in a link of killings for the FBI to be involved?" Alex asked. "I mean it was one murder, how much of a pattern could there be?" "That's a very good observation, which means that you also know that I'm not going to tell you." Agent Edwards said smiling. "Now I believe that you were in need of some coffee?" "Yes please." ~~~~~~~~~~ The small coffee shop was nearly deserted at the late hour, so they decided to just stay there and talk. "There is more to this case then I think, isn't there?" Alex asked, playing with the napkin in her hand. "Yes and no." Agent Edwards said, lighting a cigarette. "You see you were the prime suspect for us, but it wouldn't have taken five hours to see that you did nothing wrong. I saw that within the few moments in that room." "Okay who is your target now?" Edwards laughed. "You make it sound so 'law and order'. Well, considering you told us about the phone conversations, you explained that your roommate told Mr. Valintino that if he came near you again then he would murder him, correct?" "Yes, but Rayne was only trying to scare him. He would never hurt anyone, I swear it." Alex said, though even as she thought it, her mind brought her back to this evening when he grabbed her wrist. There were obviously some things that even Alex didn't know about Rayne. "Ms. Martin, Mr. Greay can't tell someone he's going to kill them and expect not to be a suspect." Edwards explained and then quickly went on, seeing a familiar look cross her face. "Don't you feel a bit guilty about saying any thing? There is nothing wrong with covering your own ass, especially if it's the truth." "You don't know Rayne, he'll take this personally, agent Edwards." Alex shook her head, knowing she was going to have to find someway around this. "So don't tell him." Agent Edwards said, shrugging. Alex's head snapped up in shock. "Ms. Martin, you're not lying to him if you just don't say any thing." "Stop calling me Ms. Martin." Alex said, changing the subject. Agent Edwards lifted an eyebrow at her tactic, but chose not to call her on it. "Okay, Alexis?" he asked, though thought that it some how didn't quite suite her. "Alex, please. Only my grandmother calls me Alexis." Alex said, rolling her eyes at her given name. "Good, because I don't respond to anything other than Edwards anymore." He said, smiling at the face she made. "Edwards? What about angel? That's the first thing that I thought of when you told me your name?" Alex confessed. "Angel? You mean that pansy from that show. That vampire Fabio guy?" He laughed. "I think that I prefer Edwards, thank you." "Alrighty eddy, as much as I've enjoyed our little chat here, I really should get home. It's been like seven hours and Rayne is probably going to be worried about me." Alex said, sanding up from the table. Before turning to leave she stopped in front of him with her hand out. "Thank you again for the rescue, Angel." Edwards rolled his eyes, but stood and took her offered hand. His other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "Take this and call me if anything happens or you remember something new." Alex looked at the card, seeing that he had his name and a few phone numbers. She thanked him again and headed on her way home. It took four rings before Rayne realized that the phone was ringing. He fumbled around and groggily answered the phone, mentally cursing the person that had woken him from a rather good dream. "Hi darling, have you missed me?" a woman's voice asked entirely too cheerful for so late. "Alex? Is that you?" He asked, trying to get the fog to clear from his head. "No it is not that twat Alexis. It's Eliza darling." The woman said finally. "Liz? It's three o'clock in the morning. Why are you calling me?" Rayne asked more awake now. "Well, I was hopping we could work things out between us." She said, her voice purring with the feminine allure. "I know that I've been giving you some mixed messages, but I know what I want now." "And it only took leaving me four times." He said sarcastically. "Well, I don't think that we can work things out, Liz." "Why do you say that?" she asked as if he were playing a game with her. "I have too much going on right now and I don't have the patients to deal with you right now. Honestly I don't think I'll ever have the patients again." He said simply. "Oh Rayne, you don't mean that." She dismissed easily. "You're just caught up in Alex's drama and it has nothing to do with us." Rayne was suddenly alert. "What do you know about Alex's drama?" he voice became very cold. "When doesn't Alex have some sort of drama going on?" Eliza said in her usual snobbish tone. "Fine Ray, if you don't want me back, I'll just let you be." "That would be a first." Rayne scoffed, chuckling. "Well—Humph!" The line went silent. "Goodbye, Liz." He said quietly into the receiver before hanging up. He laid there in the dark, contemplating on what Liz had said. By the time that Alex had gotten home he had already come to the conclusion that it was just a random comment that Liz often has and drifted off to sleep again. Chapter 3 The next morning Alex wanted to lay in bed all day and pretend like nothing at all that happened yesterday was real. A knock at her bedroom door brought her back to reality and she moaned with frustration. "Wakie, wakie. Enquiring minds want to know." Rayne's voice said from outside the door. "Tell the enquiring minds that the knowledge will be the same in a few hours from now." Alex called back. "Tell them to come back later." "Alex it's eleven in the morning." Rayne said back in a sing song voice. "I hate you." Alex said mocking his voice. She sighed loudly. "Fine I'm up, but I'm not getting out of bed." She said stubbornly. "Alright, I'm coming in." He warned before opening the door. He walked in and took a seat at the end of the bed. "Okay, tell me what happened." Alex took a deep breath to collect herself before telling him what had happened at the police station. "I was there for five hours while it seemed that every cop there took turns asking the same questions over and over again." She said laughing slightly at the ridiculousness of it. Rayne shook his head what looked like a mix of disbelief and disgust. " I was finally rescued by a man named Angelo Edwards, who turned out to be an FBI agent working on the case." "FBI? Isn't that a little over kill for one murder?" Rayne asked surprised. "That's what I said, but you know those FBI types." Alex joked. "They rescue you and then disappear." "They're all about the glory." Rayne chimed in. "damn, praise whores." Alex laughed, shaking her head a little. "Yeah, so my night sucked, how was yours?" I cleaned up dinner, then watched T.V. and then went to bed." Rayne said nonchalantly. "Oh yeah, and Liz called at three o'clock in the morning." "What? What did she want?" Alex didn't have to ask, she already knew. "Another go at it. I told her to get bent." Rayne said, skimming over the conversation. Alex rubbed her head, trying to work out the headache that was creeping up on her. "You okay?" Rayne asked placing a hand on her leg. Alex nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, I'm just dreading the phone call that I'm going to have to make." She said. "I have to call Sammy and see if everything is alright." She explained, seeing the funny look that Rayne had given her. Rayne nodded, finally understanding. "You didn't happen to make coffee, did you?" Alex asked, knowing that it was going to take more then just will power to get her out of bed. "No, but I can." Rayne said, hopping off the bed and heading to the door. "Thanks, Hun." She said before getting out of bed, heading straight for the shower. After a long shower, some coffee, and a light to the 'Will-Power' torch, Alex picked up the phone and dialed the number to Sammy's house. A woman picked up after the third ring. "Hello?" "Hello Mrs. Valintino, this is Alexis." Alex said in her nicest voice possible. "What do you want? You have some nerve calling this house!" The older woman spat out in hushed tones. "Excuse me?" Alex asked, not believing what she'd just heard. "I know you killed him, you home wrecker. Now Sammy is without a father! How dare you even think to call this house!?" "What?! I didn't kill Rick!" Alex yelled into the phone, her voice broke slightly. "I didn't even know that he had died until yesterday!" There was the sound of unstable breathing on the other end of the line and then a heavy sigh. "What do you want, Alex?" "I just want to speak to Sammy, please." She pleaded with the woman. "I helped raise that child for six years, at the very least let me speak to him." The phone went silent and then the faint sound of switching hands. "Hello?" "Sammy, baby. Hi buddy, it's Alex." Alex said, trying to be cheerful, but not too fake. Sam usually saw through her fake act. "How are you doing, Sweety?" "Daddy went to heaven." He said no need for a preamble. "Grandma said that I can't see you anymore." "Now honey, if you ever need me or want to see me or just want to say hi, I'll be there for you. Do you still have my cell phone number?" Alex said trying to suppress the choking feeling in her throat. "Honey, if you call me, no matter what time it is, I'll be there. I promise, okay?" "Okay." He said, but sounded unconvinced. "Sammy, this is very sad for you." "Yes." He said sadly, she could hear the tears in his voice. "Now I love you very much, I just want you to remember daddy when you two played video games together." All her will power went into not sobbing and totally losing it. "Or when you guys watched Blue's Clues. Remember how fun that was?" "Yes." He said, his voice sounding lighter. "We would always guess before the guy." "That's right. Now whenever you get sad, think of those happy times, okay" she said, wanting so bad to just hug him tight. "Alex, when can I see you again?" the question broke Alex's heart to the very fiber. "I don't know honey. Soon, I promise, okay?" "Okay." He said excepting the answer. "Alright, I love you and remember that anytime that you need me just call me, okay?" she said quickly, knowing Mrs. Valintino wasn't going to allow much more time with him. "Okay, I love you too." Alex listened long enough to hear the phone's switch hands again and then hung up, not wanting to hear the woman's insults. Rayne stood in the doorway to her room when Alex got off the phone. "What was that all about?" "Rick's mom thinks that I killed him." Alex said, still not believing such a crazy accusation. Rayne walked across the room and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his own. "What can I do?" he asked, looking up at her. Alex laughed darkly. "Erase my mind so that I can't think for at least two seconds." Rayne leaned forward and took Alex's face in his hands, kissing her gently. "Well, that was easy. Anything else?" he asked smiling. Alex smiled mischievously. "Oh I'm thinking again, if only you could stop it for a few minutes." Rayne wiggled his eyebrows and leaned forward again, pushing her back on the bed. "Well, I'll see what I can do." He captured her lips with his own, giving her a passionate kiss while his hands explored her abdomen. When the kiss ended, he remained on top of her, nibbling lightly on her neck. "Is there anything else that I could do for you, ma'am?" Alex closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of him so close. "Mmm, well a few more minutes couldn't hurt." "I was hoping that you would say that." He said against her neck. He kissed and nibbled her ear while his hands worked up her shirt. Alex let her hands explore as well, going up his shirt and lightly dragging her nails down his back. She ground her hips against his, feeling his hardness through his pants. Rayne's breath was heavier and his voice sounded in sighs. "Anything else, dear?" "How about I just tell you when I'm starting to feel better?" she said, pulling off his shirt so that she could see his beautiful chest. Rayne nodded and kissed her deeply following her lead and pulled off her shirt. Alex bucked her hips underneath of him as she started to work on the buttons to his pants. Rayne suddenly stopped her, moving her hands from his buttons. "I'm moving to fast." "I thought I was the one leading this parade." Alex joked, confused about what he was getting at. "You've been through so much and I just want to do this right. I want to protect you from getting hurt anymore then you already have these past couple days." Rayne explained. Rayne got up off of the bed and gave her one last kiss before heading for his own room and shutting the door. Alex sat on her bed and couldn't help but feel as if she had just missed something. Eliza Livingston does not get blown of for some half-wit twat that doesn't know Proda™ from Wal-Mart™ brands. Sometimes Rayne Greay drove her so damn crazy, she could kill him. Though, that wouldn't do her any good right now. She needed Rayne in more ways then one at the moment. She needed to be patient. Alexis will show her true colors and when she does, Eliza will be there to scoop up the pieces of Rayne's broken heart. Rayne may not be rich, but the sex is good and he'll take care of her until a rich bloke comes along. Yes, Eliza will wait, like she always does. Except this time, there won't be a speck on her when the dust settles. Angelo Edwards entered his small townhouse late the next night. Not even turning on a light, he plopped down on his over stuffed couch in the living room. He'd spent the last 24 hours working non-stop on the Valintino murder case. A case so open and shut shouldn't be so gawd damn hard. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. All he has come up with was one person that has a motive, but was no where near the victim and a dozen people were near him, but had no motive. Edwards got up, still not turning on a light and walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. He stood for a second, inspecting his nearly empty fridge and then grabbed a beer and two day old Chinese food. He took his dinner into his office and turned on the computer, going through his emails and checking the news headlines. What he considered his nightly ritual, though sometimes he felt frisky and watched the news on television. Edwards decided to look up more on the ex-girlfriend Alexis Martin. She might be hiding something in her past that could be of some use. So far Edwards had been looking into the friend Mr. Greay's background. Maybe those dumb cops had a reason other then boredom to be looking at Alexis's profile, though probably not. Using his FBI access he looked into her court records, mainly for anything sort of criminal activity. He didn't find any, as predicted, though what he did find sparked his interest. Half a dozen dropped domestic violence orders, five dropped restraining orders and for some reason there was a hospital stay recorded with her court files. "Lass has a secret." He said to the empty room. He studied the listing and first thing he noticed was they were all against Mr. Valintino. Edwards decided to look into the hospital record and try to figure out why it was filed with her court documents. The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He cleared his throat and picked up the phone on the second ring. " 'Ello?" "Is this detective or agent or whatever Edwards?" asked a man with a harsh voice. "This is agent Edwards, who am I speaking to?" he asked causously. "Marco Reed, I am the bar tender at the Hill Crest Bar." The raspy man informed. "You gave me your card earlier incase I remembered anything that might be helpful?" Edwards sat up suddenly, paying close attention. "Yes, Mr. Reed. How can I help you tonight?" "Hell, I didn't just remember this, I've always known it. I just don't like state cops. They couldn't find their dicks if you gave them a map." He said, chuckling at his own joke. "Alright, my regards of them aren't all that high either." Edwards said honestly. "Good man. Alright, there was a woman with Rick that night." He said without hesitation. She was short with curly hair and kind of reddish-brown. " "Start from the top. Well, from when Rick first arrived." Edwards said calmly. His body's every cell was buzzing with excitement from the news. "Rick came in around I'd say one o'clock and drank a few beers and then made a few phone calls." Marco explained. "An hour later this woman shows up and is hanging on Rick's every move. If you ask me she was much too beautiful to be with Rick. They are in the corner making out for a while and then Rick makes another phone call. That's when he started yelling and cussing up'a storm." "Alright," Edwards said, writing furiously. "So did this woman leave with him?" "Yes, around 3:50am, they finally left." The bartender confirmed. "Thank you so much Mr. Reed." Edwards was saying. "If you can think if anything else, please let me know." Almost as soon as he hung up with the bartender, he picked up the phone again and was dialing. "Hello?" "Alexis Martin? This is agent Edwards. Is there somewhere that we could meet?" "Eddy? Yes, there is a small coffee shop around the corner from my house." Alex said, thinking quickly. "Alright, don't bring Mr. Greay." Edwards said before hanging up. "I got to go." Alex said hanging up the phone. "Where to?" Rayne said, sitting up in her bed. They had fallen asleep earlier after hours of Rayne trying to explain how preventing Alex from getting laid was protecting her. Alex was glad for the chance to get away for a bit. "To meet Agent Edwards, he has some questions. It should take only an hour." Alex said, kissing him quickly before leaving the room. Edwards was waiting outside with two cups of coffee in hand when Alex got there. "Common, I want to walk." He said handing her a cup, offering no greeting as if they'd known each other for years. They walked down the sidewalk in silence for several minutes. Alex lit a cigarette and looked over at him. "So did you miss me or is there a point to this." She said finally. "I got a call from the bartender at the bar that Rick was at the night he was murdered." He said, as if he was waiting for her reaction before saying anything. "Okay and he told you that Rick was loud and drunk and didn't leave until late." Alex said sarcastically. "Yes, but he also said that there was a woman with him." Edwards said watching her reaction. Alex stopped in mid-step. "There was what?" "A woman was with Rick. Alex," he said carefully. "If there is anything that you want to say now, you should really say it now to me." "What? No please, not you too." Alex moaned tiredly and rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Please don't tell me that you think that woman was me." "The guy described you, Alex." Edwards reasoned. "It wasn't me! Look I have no reason to kill Rick, not only that I have a restaurant full of people and Rayne to prove that was no where near up state that night." Alex argued. "Let's go talk to him." Agent Edwards said suddenly, heading back towards his car. "What? Right now, that's a two hour drive." Alex shouted after him. She quickly jogged to catch up. "I told Rayne that I would be gone only an hour." They got Edwards car and he turned to face her suddenly. "Then you'd better call him." He said simply. Alex sighed and got into the car as agent Edwards opened it for her.