This has probably been on my computer for a year now, so I figured I might as well put it up.

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven, James Patterson does. Nor do I own The Women's Murder Club series.

A Killer's Promise

"Why do you do this, Hawk?" I shouted at the blond boy sitting on the edge of my bed. "Why do you have to kill them?" I flung the newspaper at his face angrily, still shouting. Their deeds were on the front page, the bold headline in all caps reading: WEATHY FAMILIES TARGETED IN SAN FRANCISCO FIRES. "Do you know what would happen if you and Pidge got caught? You would get the death sentence! You would die, and leave me here…" I trailed off. "Why would you do that to me?"

Hawk looked at me. "It's something we have to do, Lee. You wouldn't understand."

God. I hated when he said that. You wouldn't understand. Why wouldn't I understand? I was a student at Stanford just like them, I was just as smart, just as talented. So why? "Is it because I'm a girl, Hawk? Is that why?"

Hawk stood up, putting his arms around me. "You know that's not the reason."

"Then what is it?" I tucked a strand of dark hair behind my ear and gazed up into his blue eyes.

"It's like…I don't know. Pidge and I, we just have to do this. Those rich people are all so arrogant, so high and mighty. Too powerful. I don't know, Lee. It's just that they…" He was cut off by the sound of the door opening. A sturdy dark haired boy with a square jaw walked in. "Hey Pidge," Hawk greeted him. Pidge didn't answer. He tossed a piece of paper at him and walked out again. I read the paper over Hawk's shoulder. It was information on another rich family. The Campions.

"Oh no, Brett," I whispered, using his real name. "Not the Campions. They don't deserve this, especially not after their son died."

"Leticia…" Hawk said, using my full name. "This is the last one, okay? Then everything will be back to normal."

"Not if…" Hawk shushed me with a finger on my lips.

"Shhh. Don't say it. It's bad luck." He smiled and kissed me. I leaned into him, savoring the taste of his lips, remembering the first time we had ever kissed.

We were walking around campus, Pidge and I. He was talking about a computer arts class he was taking, and I was only half listening. Instead, I was thinking about Pidge's best friend, Brett, otherwise known as Hawk. Handsome and blond with blue eyes, he was any girl's dream guy. Pidge nudged me, shaking me out of my reverie. "Hey, Lee, you listening? Whatcha thinking about?" I looked at him.

"Hmmm? Oh. I guess I'm just spacing out. Sorry Hans," I replied, using his real name. No one could know their aliases. We were in public.

"It's fine." He continued talking. I walked by his side, trying to listen this time.

"Hans! Hey, Hans!" A voice called out from behind us. I tried not to smile. I would know that voice anywhere. Brett's voice. Pidge and I turned, watching Hawk come running toward us. He was waving a book. "Hans, look at this! What do you think?" He handed the book to Pidge, who flipped through it. It was full of manga style drawings and speech bubbles. On the cover, it read, 7th Heaven. By Brett Atkinson. Illustrated by Hans Vetter. I looked at Hawk.

"Did you write this?"

"Yeah." He looked at Pidge. Pidge nodded. "Come on, Lee. I want to show you something." He grabbed my hand and lead me away. I allowed him to, smiling.

We ended up at Hawk's house, in his room. Hawk sat on the bed, patting the spot next to him. I sat down. He smiled. "Pidge told you about us, right?" I nodded. "Did he tell you about our book?" I shook my head. "We're writing a book."

"I noticed."

His smile grew. "Do you want to read it?"

"Sure." He handed it to me. "Tell me what you think." I took the book from his outstretched hand and walked out. "Leticia?" He called after me.

I turned around to look at him. "Yeah?"

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Besides reading your book?"

"Besides that."

"Nothing much. Why?" Was he asking me out?

"I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie with me. Dinner after. Sound good?"

"…Yeah. That sounds nice. I'm starved."

He grinned. "Let's go."

The movie was a dumb action flick. We enjoyed it though, laughing and making fun of it the whole time. After the movie, we drove to a restaurant and sat down to order. While we waited for our food, I opened the book and began reading. Hawk watched me, drumming his fingers on the table. When our food arrived, I was too engrossed in the pages to eat. It wasn't until I finished that I finally began eating. Hawk's food was untouched. "Well?"

I looked up. "It's you."

"What?" He looked puzzled.

"The fires. It's you and Hans."

"…yeah. It is."

I looked at him. "I don't know how I feel about that, Brett. I agree with your way of thinking, but the murder…" I trailed off. "I don't know."

He touched my hand gently. "It's okay Lee. You're the sweetest girl I know. I won't get you involved in this. But I do want you to know that I like you."

"I like you too, Brett. But…"

"No buts, Lee. It's going to be all right. Trust me." He smiled at me, then tilted his head to the side, observing my face carefully. I gave my mental image a once over. My dark hair waved down my back. I was wearing a denim miniskirt with a black beaded top and silver necklace. My green eyes were outlined gently in black eyeliner and mascara. I hoped I looked okay. Hawk read my mind. "You look beautiful, Lee. Beautiful and gentle. Like a dove. That's what you are." Dove. A peaceful white dove. Hawk thought I was beautiful. I smiled to myself. How unexpected. We finished our food and paid. Outside, the sky was dotted with stars. It was gorgeous. We got into Hawk's car, rolling down the windows. On the way home, Hawk and I talked about life, love, and the book. I knew I had found a great friend in him. He even had the potential to be a boyfriend. And he thought I was beautiful…

Hawk dropped me off at my apartment that I shared with a roommate. He opened the car door and walked me to the front door. I smiled at him. "I had a good time tonight, Brett."

"Me too, Lee." He smiled back.

"Well…bye." I started to open the door.

"Lee…" I turned. He took my face in his hands and kissed me, sweet and gentle. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers wrapped in his blond hair. It was getting deeper, more passionate when a car drove by, honking its horn. We jumped apart, startled. I laughed nervously. He grinned. "We'll continue this later. See you tomorrow?" I nodded.

"Bye, Brett."

"Bye, Lee. I love you."

I grinned at the memory of Hawk telling me he loved me. I loved him too. I didn't know what I would do if he died. I shook the thought out of my head. He wouldn't die. He promised. But who knew how good his promise was? A killer's promise. How could I trust it? How could I trust him?

I headed back to my apartment an hour later. I had not started my weekend homework at all. Of course, it was only Saturday, but I knew I was in for a busy day tomorrow. Might as well get it over with, I thought. On the bright side, I'm spending the whole day with Hawk tomorrow. We'll watch movies, eat popcorn, cuddle… I stopped myself before my imagination ran away with me. I was quite over-imaginative sometime. Hell, it was because I was an English major. Same as Hawk. That was where we had met, in Creative Writing, my personal favorite class. One of my dreams had always been to write a novel. Hawk had beat me to it. But I suppose he was a better novelist than I was.

It turned out that Hawk was also in my English class. Later, I found out that he was best friends with Pidge aka Hans, my best friend. Naturally, the three of us became extremely close. And I was the only one who knew about their secret life of arson.

I reached my apartment and walked in, calling out my roommate's name as I did. "Martha? Martha, you in here?" I heard a crash from the kitchen, and ran toward the sound. "Martha? What…?" I looked at the scene before me. A pretty blonde was lying on the ground, a dark haired boy I didn't recognize straddling her with her legs. Both of them were still fully dressed, thank God. "Martha, what the hell?" I asked, my hands on my hips, indignant. "At least go to your room!"

"Come on, Leticia, our hormones overcame us in the hallway. And the kitchen was closer…" she pouted, a mischievous glint in her eyes. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. I'm getting some food. I'll leave in a second." I ran to the refrigerator, grabbing an apple and some string cheese. Martha and the boy watched me. I turned and left, shutting the door behind me.

Three hours later, I was sitting up in my room in my jammies, my iPod headphones in my ears, listening to music full blast. My door opened, and I watched as Martha walked in, smiling. I took my headphones out. "Have fun with What's-his-face?"

"Trent. His name is Trent."

"Yeah, yeah. Did he leave already? I thought for sure he was going to spend the night." I smirked at my roommate, who was now sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Nah. He had to go to rehearsal. He's in the band, you know. Bright Lights."

"Oh," I said, remembering the band she was talking about. "I don't remember Trent though. What does he do?"

"Bass," she told me.

"Mmm. You should've gone for the singer, Brendan. He's sexy."

" Leticia Morris, you have a boyfriend!"

"So?"

Martha looked appalled. "Are you cheating on Brett?"

"No! No, of course not. I'm just saying that Brendan's sexy. I'm allowed to think he's cute, right?"

Martha rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, okay. I guess you are. But anyway, I wanted to talk to you. About you and Brett, actually."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah? What about us?"

"Have you, you know, done the deed?"

"Way to come right out with it, M," I told her.

"Well?"

"No." I told her, my face heating up as I remembered her and Trent in the kitchen.

"But you want to?"

I paused. "Yes."

She smiled mischievously at me, tossing a magazine my way. "Have fun." I picked up the magazine. It was one of those magazines with the articles that supposedly told you how to get the body of your dreams, how to seduce a guy, tips in the bedroom…etc. I looked up at my friend.

"Are you telling me I'm fat?"

"No! Leticia, you have a great body. You know that, I know that, Brett knows that. But," she said pointing at a pink post-it stuck in the middle of the magazine, "this could help you out."

I sighed. "Thanks, M."

She stood up. "Think about it, Leticia."

"…Okay." She walked out. I opened the magazine to the post-it page. I wasn't surprised when it opened to the page that said across it in big letters: Tips for the Bedroom. Or the kitchen, I thought. Yawning, I tossed the magazine under my bed, then rolled over, falling asleep within seconds.

Hawk picked me up the next morning at nine. I greeted him cheerfully, wearing a cute red sundress and flip flops. He appraised me carefully, a smile on his face. I slid into the passenger seat next to him, planting a kiss on his cheek. He caught my chin and turned my face to his, bringing his lips to mine. I smiled into the kiss, then pulled away. "We have time for this later, Brett."

He looked reluctant to let go of me. "Fine. I'll hold you to that, though."

"Okay."

He grinned as he pulled out of the driveway, heading down the street to his house.

I loved Hawk's house. It wasn't exactly homey, like my place, but it was large and it was private. And best of all, it was empty. Hawk's parents were at work. Hawk walked into the kitchen, pulling sodas out of the fridge and sticking a plate of pizza rolls into the microwave. I opened up a bag of chips and dumped them in a bowl, then found some cupcakes in the fridge. Sneaking up behind Hawk, I smeared blue icing all over his face. He turned, a big blue blob on his nose and cheeks. Grabbing a cupcake of his own, this one with red icing, he came at me, his hand raised threateningly. I squealed, backing up until I hit a corner. "Okay! I surrender! Have mercy!" Hawk smirked at me.

"Not good enough, Lee. I want something from you. Something only you can give."

I stared at him. Martha and I had just had this conversation last night. Had he known? He looked at my face, then burst out laughing. "Oh, Lee. You should've seen your face. You looked like I was going to rape you or something!"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Geez, Hawk. For a minute, I thought you were turning into a creeper on me."

He smiled, brushing hair out of my face. "I wouldn't do anything that you don't want me to do, Lee. I love you too much for that." He stopped and winked. "But when you're ready, let me know. I'll be waiting." Then he smashed the cupcake into my face. "Gotcha." He leaned down licking frosting from my lips. "You taste delicious."

Up in Hawk's room, we curled up on his bed, watching a movie together. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't thinking about what else we could be doing on his bed. I was. A little too much, but I knew deep down inside, I wanted to do it with Hawk. My first time was going to be with a guy I loved. And I knew that Brett Atkinson was the guy for me. I thought about Martha's magazine, still lying under my bed. Who needed tips? I knew what I had to do. Just tell Hawk that I was ready. But I couldn't find my voice. So I stopped thinking about Hawk's body, so close to mine and concentrated on the movie instead.

I stood up as the ending credits rolled by on the screen of the TV, stretching out my limbs. Hawk got up too, sliding his arms around my waist. "What now, Lee?" I tensed. It was now or never.

"Hawk."

"Yeah?

I smirked at him mischievously. "I know something we can do…"

An hour later, we lay in Hawk's bed, tired but happy. I won't go into detail, but I can guarantee that it was the most amazing thing in my life. It was something I would never forget as long as I lived. And I knew it was something Hawk would never forget either. We had a special bond now. Hawk was inside me now. And nothing could take that away.

Tonight was the night. Hawk and Pidge were ready to set their greatest and final fire. 'The Grand Finale', they had dubbed it. I didn't know what was going to happen. I couldn't have. Otherwise, I would've stopped them.

I was sitting in my apartment alone, waiting nervously for Hawk and Pidge to return. Martha was out with Trent. I sat in the living room, tearing up a stick of string cheese, too nervous to eat. What if something happened? Suddenly my phone rang. I looked at the number. Pidge.

"What happened, Pidge?"

There was a long pause. "Hawk's been shot."

I was speechless. Shot? Hawk, shot? No. This could not be happening. "Hawk's been shot? You mean with a gun? Shot?"

"Yeah."

"Where is he?"

"The hospital. The police are coming, Lee. Don't leave. I don't want you in trouble, and neither does Hawk. Just stay put."

I realized something then. "You said does."

"Huh?"

"You said 'Neither does Hawk'. He's alive?"

"Yeah. He's in the hospital, remember?"

"Yes, but…never mind." I hung up. Pidge had told me to stay put. Too bad. That wasn't going to happen. Not while Hawk was still alive and I could still save him.

I rushed to the hospital in my car, speeding and running stop signs left and right. When I reached the hospital, I ran to the lady behind the counter, shouting, "Brett Atkinson? Where is he?" I wouldn't stop until she finally gave in and gave me a room number. Then I took off down the hallway.

As I neared Hawk's room, I suddenly became very nervous. What if he wasn't okay? What if there were police? I didn't want to get involved with the police. But I knew I had to be brave. So I took a deep breath and walked in.

The first thing I saw was an attractive blonde policewoman standing over the bed. A handsome policeman stood next to her. The second thing I saw, of course, was Hawk.

He looked awful. Every part of his body was strapped down by four-point restraints, even his head. IVs were everywhere, attached to his body, dripping who-knows-what into him. A chest tube was draining liquid from his lungs, a canister under the bed was there for waste, and a mask was taped to his face, supplying oxygen to his body. I felt my eyes tear up just looking at him. The two police officers looked up at me as I walked up to the bed. "Hello," the man said. I ignored him. I only had eyes for Hawk. Just over a week ago, we had made love for the first time. And now, here he was, dying in a hospital room. No! He wouldn't die! He promised! But I knew that wasn't true. A killer's promise. He couldn't keep his word, even if he tried. "What are you doing here?" The woman asked.

"Oh, Brett," I whispered. "Brett, don't die on me now. You told me you wouldn't. You promised!"

Behind me, I was vaguely aware of the police officers talking.

You think she's involved in these murders?

I don't know. Maybe.

She knows the guy, that's for sure.

Yeah. We'll have to take her in for questioning.

Brett's eyes flickered open. "Lee?"

"Brett!" I grabbed his hand. "Brett, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," he told me weakly. "Where…am I?"

"The hospital, Brett. You've been shot."

He looked behind me, at the police. "Those…officers?"

"Yes. But don't mind them! Are you all right?"

"My work here is done, Lee. I love you. I always will. But…" He gasped in pain as his back arched. It looked like he was being electrocuted.

"Brett! Brett! NO!" I screamed. He looked up at me, defeat in his eyes.

"I love you, Leticia." His eyes closed. An alarm went off, high pitched and annoying. I collapsed on the ground, sobbing. I didn't need to look at the monitor to know that it was all over the place right now as Hawk's heart rate spiked and dropped. Then there was nothing.

The police took me in for questioning. I wouldn't tell them anything. The only thing they got out of me was my name, Leticia Atkinson. The female officer, Lindsay Boxer, had looked puzzled as I gave her Brett's last name as mine, but hadn't said anything. She had simply flipped through the college yearbook until she found me. "Morris," she murmured to her partner. They kept me overnight, but didn't have enough evidence to incriminate me. So they had to let me go.

I didn't have anything to live for anymore. Hawk was dead, and Pidge was dead. I had watched as they carried his body into the morgue earlier. My best friend and my boyfriend, all dead within a day. I had no hope. So it was purely by accident that I found out what I did. It had been a month since Hawk and Pidge had died. I wasn't over their deaths. Martha knew I wasn't. Still, she kept trying to cheer me up. She had even declined to see Trent a couple times to make sure I was all right. She was a good friend, and I knew it. But I couldn't have known what she would do.

It was a beautiful day outside. Summer was here, and everyone was excited for break. That is, except me. I was lying on my bed, staring out the window aimlessly when Martha rushed in, squealing, holding a little tube in her hand. "Leticia! Look!"

"Uhhh…yeah?" I looked at the thing in her hand. It was a pregnancy test. "You're pregnant?"

"No. Not me. You."

I gaped at her, momentarily stunned.

She continued talking. "I looked at our calendar, where we record our time of the month right? And I realized yours is a good two weeks late. So I tested you."

"How?"

She smiled a little bit. "I have my ways."

"Oh." That was all I could say. I was speechless. A baby. Hawk's baby. The feeling growing inside me was almost foreign, seeing as I hadn't felt it in more than a month. But I recognized it. It was happiness. Happiness and hope. I had something to live for again. Hawk had broken the promise he made to me long ago, when he promised he wouldn't die during the last fire they would set. But not entirely. A part of him was alive in me. And I was going to keep it alive. A killer's promise. Could it be trusted? I often ask myself. And the answer is: yes. Sometimes it can.

The End