Chapter 1:

"...And I swear to God, Mickey literally flew through the air! Like he flew through the fucking air dad!"

Rick smirked as he tore his gaze away from his son, driving again as the traffic light turned green, "No way? And watch your mouth."

Carl rolled his eyes, "Alright, sorry, but I swear! You can ask Duane! He was there!"

"You guys better be careful. I don't want the school calling me or your mother complaining about you damaging their shit"

"We are. I think Mickey just chipped his tooth or something… his mom didn't even notice"

"Or maybe she did but she knew that bill wouldn't be a nice one", Rick muttered to himself as he parked the car on the side of the street, "Come on, I need to have a quick word with your mother"

"Alright"

The eleven year old boy climbed out the truck, and Rick did the same, being sure to tuck a small brown envelope in the back of his jeans pocket. It was early in the evening, and the father and son duo had spent the weekend together, as they had been doing for the past year and a half. Rick would have preferred to have his son more often, but his work was unscheduled, and often unpredictable.

They skipped up the steps to his estranged wife's townhouse, and Carl rang the doorbell. Rick adjusted his black baseball cap, not entirely sure why he always felt slightly nervous seeing the woman face to face, though he knew it was possible that his pathetic amount of willpower had something to do with it.

The door opened, and the Brunette appeared, drying her hands on a dish cloth as she began to glow, "Hey buddy! You're back"

"Hey mom", Carl flashed her a quick smile before turning back to his father, "See you next week, dad"

"Bye son, and remember what I said", Rick tousled the boy's hair as stepped into the home.

"Got it!".

His mother glanced behind her, obviously waiting until Carl was out of earshot to speak, "So… everything went fine this weekend?"

Rick nodded as he retrieved the envelope from his back pocket, "Yeah, fine. Here you go"

She hesitated, though still took it, "I thought we could maybe set up some kind of bank transfer? I don't like keeping this much money in the house…"

He gave her a little shrug, "I give it how I get it, but if you want to do all that then, sure"

"Yeah. Thanks", She leaned against the doorframe, "So… You have a job tonight?"

"Yeah, I've got to get to it pretty soon…", He shifted his stance when he noticed a familiar look in her big brown eyes, "...I can come by later… might be after midnight though, Lori"

The corners of her lips curled into a smile, "Yeah… just message me or something… let me know"

He nodded as he backed up, "Alright. Later"

"Bye."

Rick's relationship with his wife was a strange one, to say the least. He didn't like to think about it too much, as he knew it would leave him feeling empty. He still loved her greatly, and truth be told, he would call off the divorce in a heartbeat if she agreed to give their marriage another chance, but the fact of the matter was, she didn't want to be with him in such a way again, which crushed him.

He couldn't explain how the two of them had started their purely sexual arrangement, but he was almost happy to oblige to her needs. He would take whatever he could get from her, and when they were sleeping together, she showed him that love, affection and attention that he wanted. His friends thought he was ludicrous for entertaining her, knowing that he was secretly hoping for her to change her mind, and he wished he wasn't such a fool, but he just couldn't turn away when she called.

"Hey! Where the fuck are you man?"

Rick tapped his phone screen on the dashboard of his car as he drove, "Speak up, you're on loudspeaker, I'm driving"

"I said, where the fuck are you?", His friend and partner quizzed hurriedly.

"Did you find him? Where is he?"

"That club on eighth, we just saw him go in, so get your ass over here now!"

"Alright Glenn, I'll be there in two minutes"

He tapped the screen again, and slowly pressed his foot down on the accelerator, speeding down the nearly bare streets.

Only one security guard was stood outside the club, leaning against the door as he read a newspaper. Rick reached into his glove compartment and slipped on his earpiece, pulling his hat down even lower than usual.

"Alright, I'm going in".

He hopped out of his truck, slipping his 9mm in the back of his waistband, as well as a pair of handcuffs while peered further down the street at the black minivan. He gave a discrete wave of the hand as he approached the building, and Glenn flashed the hazard lights back. The guard barely even glanced at Rick as he walked in, and he was grateful for the man's disinterest.

He walked through a dimly lit passageway with red lights flashing rhythmically above his head, until he reached a small entry room, where a slender, older woman sat behind a counter, flicking aimlessly through a magazine. A large flat screen sat on the wall behind her, and pictures of scantily clad women would slide past occasionally.

He noticed two doorways; one leading to a flight of stairs behind a beaded curtain, and the other leading to a bar area with a stage, where a young blonde woman was dancing sensually around a pole with a small audience in front of her. Four men sat at the bar, looking very out of place, as they wore all black suits and appeared very clean shaven.

The woman at the counter looked up at him, and flashed a well-rehearsed smile, "Hey there handsome, what are you here for?"

"Blake's in one of the back rooms, getting a private dance", Glenn chirped in his ear.

"Can I get a private dance?", Rick requested, resting his forearms on the counter.

"Of course you can", The woman picked up a remote and aimed it at the screen, "Here's who we have in tonight…"

Rick's eyes darted behind the silver haired woman, and scanned the individual pictures on the screen. It only took him a few seconds to choose, "Can I get a dance from… Mimi Frost, please?"

"Yes, you can. It's fifty dollars a song, but this dancer doesn't offer strip teases, sorry, and we ask kindly that you keep your hands to yourself, and security is always operating throughout the club so please be mindful of that", the woman explained, "You pay fifty now, and any subsequent dances, you pay Frost. Alright?"

Rick reached into his pocket and fished out a fifty from a bundle of cash, "That's fine by me"

"Great", The woman took the bill, and quickly picked up the phone beside her, "Sending one up, doll... Alright, bye"

Rick straightened up as he looked towards the bar, keeping an eye on the men had he spotted earlier.

"Alright, so up those stairs, last door on the right".

Rick thanked the woman with a nod of his head, before making his way to the second floor. He had been in strip clubs many times before due to his work, but he still wasn't used to the atmosphere he often encountered. There was a clash of music as he strolled along the narrow hallway, where another security guard was sat at the end, reading a book with a little flash light, not even attempting to look at Rick. He found himself at his designated room, and knocked twice.

The door slowly opened after a short moment, and Rick found himself stunned. A woman with dark, glowing skin stood in front of him, wearing a white, cleavage baring cat suit, with horizontal slits at the sides. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, with little silver clips glistening from her locks, and her glitter covered nails sparkled when she moved.

She sent him a warm smile, as she stepped back, "Come on in"

Rick did what she said automatically, closing the door behind him with his foot, "Hey"

"So how about you take a seat while I put the first song on", She offered, gesturing towards the love seat in the small room.

Rick tugged out his earpiece as he caught up with himself, "How about you have a seat? I'd like to have a little talk, if you don't mind?"

Her smile seemed to be glued on, though her brows furrowed, "Excuse me?"

"I just wanna have a little talk… that's all", Rick raised his hands innocently.

"...You don't want a dance?"

"...I didn't say that, I said I'd like to talk"

She eyed him suspiciously as she crossed her arms over her chest, her smile slowly fading away, "A talk?"

"That's right. Please?"

She seemed to mull over the request for a while, still looking him head to toe, before finally strutting over to the seat, "Alright. Go on"

Rick crouched down in front of her, "Mimi Frost?"

"Yes."

"What's your real name, Mimi?"

"Why does it matter?", She challenged.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know once I know all that I need to know from you, deal?"

She narrowed her eyes at him as she crossed her legs, "Michonne."

"Michonne?", He tilted his head as he repeated her name.

She rose her eyebrows, signalling he was correct.

"Alright, Michonne, what's the most you make in a night here? And how many hours do you have to do, to get that?"

She began to frown, "... I don't know… maybe a thousand… eight hours?"

"How would you like to make three thousand in the next five minutes?"

Her eyes widened, "Doing what?"

He reached in his black member's only jacket and pulled out a small passport sized picture, "All you have to do is find out which one of these rooms has this man in it"

She leaned forward as she squinted at the picture, "Why?"

"Because I'm a bounty hunter, and he's a wanted man, so it's time for me to take him in"

Her eyes darted back to him, "And all I have to do is find him in here and you pay me three thousand dollars?"

"That's all you have to do".

Her gaze scanned over him, "You don't look like you have three thousand dollars on you now?"

He chuckled lightly, "Because I don't. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I have class."

The ghost of a smile that he wore quickly disappeared, "How old are you?"

She rolled her eyes, "I meant college classes, I'm twenty-three"

'Thank god', Rick thought, "You go to that college not far from here?"

"Yes."

"What's your major?"

"Psychology"

"Nice", Rick raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, what time do you get off?"

"Two."

"I'll come meet you in the parking lot at two then. Hope you don't mind cash?"

"Obviously, I don't", She responded dryly.

Rick found himself chortling at her again, "Alright. So it's a deal?"

She slowly inhaled, "Fine. Deal"

He stood up and peered back at the door as he slipped his earpiece back in, "Alright, you wanna see the picture again?"

"Nah, he's younger than the guys that usually come here so he won't be hard to find", She rose from her seat and inched past him, "So I just find him, and come back and tell you where he is?"

"That's it.", Rick gave her a single nod.

"Okay".

He watched her disappear out the room, feeling slightly giddy from her presence.

"Hey, Romeo, we heard all that you know", Glenn pipped in his ear.

"Shut up", Rick dismissed, looking around the small room, "Did you call the police?"

"Yeah, they know we're bringing him in-"

"We might need back up, I spotted four guys at the bar that looked like they were probably with him"

"What? Shit, why didn't you say something? I'll call a few people out"

"Alright"

Rick took a look at himself in the mirrored wall to the left of him, suddenly concerned that he didn't look his best. He was sure he saw a few grey hairs in his beard, and his jeans were well worn out, but sadly, it was too late to worry about making better first impressions.

The door creaked open, and Michonne swiftly stepped in, closing the door behind her, "He's across the hall, second room"

"Yeah? Alright, hold on", He reached behind him in his waist band and pulled out his gun, "Glenn? Hey, I'm going in now"

Michonne's eyes widened at the sight of the weapon, "Oh boy…"

"Just stay in here, you hear me? Don't come out unless someone comes and gets you", He instructed, stepping closer to the door.

She nodded, inching past him a second time, "Okay"

"Well I'll see you tomorrow, Michonne. Don't forget, two o'clock"

"Got it.", She took a seat on the edge of the love seat.

He stepped out the room and unhooked his badge, showing the security guard at the end of the hall. The other man froze, holding his hands up in surrender, leading Rick to shake his head at him and point to the door in front of him. The security guard dropped his hands and nodded, before slowly standing up.

Rick listened to the faint moans coming from behind Blake's door, frowning when he realised he might stumble upon a scene he didn't necessarily want to witness. He looked back to the security guard, who was stuck in the offence position, for reasons unbeknownst to Rick.

He shoved the door open and held his weapon out in front of him, "Easy now, Blake!"

The dancer quickly climbed off the wanted man and ran to the corner of the room, while Blake groaned, slowly raising his hands in the air, "What the fuck is this?"

"This is me, arresting you for suspicion of fraud and money laundering. You missed the court date didn't you? That wasn't smart at all", Rick mocked as he stepped gingerly towards him, "Now Philip, I need you on your knees, hands on your head, now"

The other man snarled at Rick as he did what he was told, "Where are my guys?"

"Freeze! Nobody move!", Rick could hear Shane from his earpiece and he grinned at Philip, "Don't worry, they're coming with you"

Rick used one hand to fish out the pair of handcuffs from his waistband, just as Philip decided for lunge for his waist. The gun went off, the bullet piercing a speaker on the wall, and the female dancer screamed, cowering in a ball, while the two men wrestled on the floor. Philip attempted to mount Rick, and wrestle the gun off of him, but Rick kneed the man in the groin, making him howl in pain, and giving Rick the chance to head-butt him in the nose.

Rick shoved him off, and quickly found his footing, aiming the gun at him again, "What the hell was that?!"

"Fuck you!", Philip spat venomously as he rolled around on the floor, his nose bleeding.

"Fucking asshole", He huffed, looking towards the shocked security guard, "Come over here and hold him down while I put the cuffs on him"

"Alright", The pale man nodded, quickly running over to help him.

"Hey! You alright there?", Rick asked the redheaded dancer.

The woman peeked out from behind her hands, "I-I think so?"

"Good".

The security guard did indeed help Rick get the man in the pair of handcuffs, and proceeded to carry him, kicking and screaming, down the stairs and out the building, where the other hunters were waiting. Philip joined his men in the back of the black minivan van, while Rick quickly caught up with Shane and Glenn.

"How much was his bond again?", Rick quizzed, glancing over his shoulder at the club.

"Fifty thousand", Glenn informed, "We got another big one coming in too, one hundred thousand dollars"

Rick whipped his head around to look at his friend, "Yeah? When?"

"Next few days, Daryl's going to send me over the details soon"

"Then we better be prepared for that", Shane clapped his hands together as he peered past them, "Let's get this show on the road boys"

Rick was tempted to go back into the building to check on Michonne, but he knew that chances where she was fine, so that excuse was no good, and he had to get to the police department as soon as possible.

She had unintentionally left a lasting impression on him. He had never felt at ease in someone's company in a matter of minutes before, and it captivated him. He could have easily stayed crouched at her feet for a while longer, bombarding her with questions.

It had been the first time since his separation from Lori that another woman had even caught his attention, and it put him in a confusing position, as he didn't want to throw away what he had, and what he could possibly retrieve, with his wife, despite the odds being against him. He didn't want to be so quick to give up hope.

Rick decided to put the encounter with Michonne at the back of his mind, especially when he found himself buried deep within Lori's walls later that night.

She clung to him, covering her mouth with her hand as he gave her everything she wanted, and more. He peppered her neck with little kisses, immersing himself in the little moans that left her, desperate to hear her cry out, but knowing it wasn't possible with Carl's room only feet away from hers.

The last thing she wanted was for their son to believe that they were rekindling their romance, so Rick often left shortly after their trysts, which was another part of their arrangement that he didn't like.

Lori's nails dug into his shoulder as her back arched, her orgasm taking hold. The feel of her heat pulsing around his length drew his own release from him, and his movements became sporadic, before stopping completely. They shared a sloppy kiss as they both cascaded down from their high, spent from their liaison.

"This was nice", Lori smiled, looking up at him with tired eyes.

"It was…", Rick gazed down at her as he leaned on his forearms.

"You always know how to take care of me…"

He pursed his lips at her remark, "Well… obviously not enough…"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Don't do that Rick. This was nice, I love this and I love you, too… I just think we work better this way"

"Yeah… I know", He sighed as he looked over at her alarm clock, "I have to get going soon"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm pretty tired now anyway so thanks for that", She winked at him as she chuckled quietly, and Rick hated how it made his heart warm.

"It's what I'm here for"

It was another visit to Lori that left him feeling dejected, and he was reaching the point where he'd question why he was torturing himself in such a way. He'd feel so excited whenever she messaged or called him asking him to come over, and he loved how she behaved when she wanted him, but once the sex was over, he'd come crashing back down to reality, knowing that's all he was to her now.

When he arrived back at his apartment in the early hours of the morning, he kicked off his boots and threw his jacket down on his couch, heading straight to bed to get some rest before the sun rose again.

The next day, Rick awoke near lunch time, as he was fortunate not to have a set schedule, but still prepared for the day in a hurry. He had almost forgotten that he was meant to meet Michonne at the college, and when he did remember, he sprinted into action.

Once he was fed, washed and dressed, he went under his bed and pulled out one of the many shoe boxes that held his cash. He took out three bundles and shoved them in an envelope, before shoving the box back under the bed.

He was glad he was able to prepare to make a better impression the second time around, wearing a black t-shirt with his blue jeans and black boots. He had always worn a baseball cap, as he found that people didn't always pay attention to others that wore hats. He wanted to be inconspicuous, as it helped him to his job without fault.

He left his apartment and hopped in his truck, growling when he realised he was cutting it close. Mondays in the city where always one of the busiest days, and he wasn't able to speed as much as he'd liked to on the main streets, so instead he stuck to the side roads, racing to the college.

He seemed to arrive just in time, as he immediately spotted Michonne walking away, so he honked his horn to get her attention. She spun around with narrowed eyes, stopping when she saw it was him.

She looked incredibly different from the night before, wearing a large baseball jersey over a white t-shirt and white tennis shoes. She also looked tired, which left Rick to question what time she arrived home.

He pulled up in the parking spot closest to her and excited his truck as she approached him, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, "You alright?"

"Yeah", She nodded, shielding her eyes from the sun, "I thought you weren't coming"

"I was, but I woke up a little late and traffic…", He reached through his driver side window and took out the envelope, "Here."

She eyed him as she took it from him, taking a little peak inside, "Well. You were serious…"

"You didn't believe me?"

"I wasn't sure. It's not every day that you get an offer like that", She pulled her backpack off and shoved the money inside.

"True but… I'm a man of my word"

She looked at him with her brown, doughy eyes as she began to smile, "Great to know…"

Rick bit his lip as he leered at her, "So… what are you doing now?"

"...I have to go pick up my son"

His eyes widened, "You have a son?"

"Yeah, I know", She sighed, "Dancer that's going to college with a young child-"

"No… it's not that… I-I didn't mean it like that, it's just… I wasn't expecting to hear that. That's all. I have a son too so… and I had him when I was eighteen…"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "How old is he now?"

"Eleven."

"So you're twenty nine…"

"I am…"

"And married…", Her gaze lingered on his left hand for a moment, "I guess being a bounty hunter is the only way you get to go to a strip club when you're married, huh?"

He chuckled as he shook his head, "Well, yeah, but no… we're separated…"

"Oh… shoot. Sorry about that"

"Thanks…"

"Well, thanks for the money, I guess?", She smiled, backing away slowly.

"Yeah, no problem…", Rick didn't want their second encounter to come to an end sooner than their first, "Uh, can I see you again? Sometime?"

She stopped, "You want to see me again?"

He nodded, "If you want?"

Surprisingly, she giggled after staring at him for a moment, "I hope that's not code for 'You still owe me that dance'..."

He laughed heartily at her joke, "No, it's not… it's code for, 'I'm pretty sure I like you… and I'd like to see you again'..."

A shy smile spread across her lips, "Yeah? Okay, well, sure…"

His stomach fluttered at from her sweet demeanour, "Do you finish here the same time tomorrow?"

She nodded, her ponytail bounced at the back of her head.

"We can go get somethan' to eat? If you're not in a rush to get your son?"

"That sounds good. I can sort something out…"

"Great", He grinned, "Same time, same place?"

"Okay…", She began backing up again, "Uh.. I don't know your name?"

"Rick."

"Rick… okay. Bye Rick", She gave him a small wave, her fingers fluttering as she turned around and walked away.

Rick leaned against his car, feeling a wave of excitement crash over him as he stared after her, and for the first time in months, he felt good leaving a girl with brown eyes.