Here we go, the second instalment of the 'NYC Grace' storyline. This one definitely has closer links to the rest of the PJO/HoO/ToA universe than the first one.

Disclaimer - If you recognize it, I definitely don't own it.

~Tobias Grace~
Seven minutes after Tobias had called his partners, an unmarked police car pulled up in front of the entrance to the alleyway, and a tall young man with black hair got out, followed a couple of moments later by a gorgeous-looking woman with shoulder-length brown hair and eyes that seemed to change color constantly. Tobias bit back a curse. Stay strong, Tobias… Don't let your ex-girlfriend's charms confuse you. You broke it off with her because she slept with another man, remember? Do not get sidetracked. Strictly business, after all… He reminded himself, before forcing a smile and walking towards the newcomers, Monica following a few steps behind him. "Didn't expect you guys to show up so quickly"
The black-haired man smiled slightly. "We were with the captain in the bar a couple of blocks away when you called. Thought we'd just come here right away"
Monica coughed gently behind Tobias, and he smiled slightly, turning so that he could see her while still watching his partners. "I apologize. Monica, these are my partners. Detective Aaron Miles and Detective Ruby Heat. Aaron, Ruby, this is Monica Osborne. The guy we've been trying to catch was in the middle of attempting to mug her when I showed up".
The brunette woman gave a slight nod, before running her eyes over Monica appraisingly. Before she could say anything, however, Aaron, the raven-haired man, smiled. "Good timing then, partner. Be a shame to let a criminal like Brian Andrews get away with another mugging. For that matter, it would be a shame to let any criminal get away with anything".
Brian Andrews stirred slightly behind them and made to rise to his feet. Before he could, however, Aaron walked over and quickly snapped a pair of handcuffs closed around his wrists before yanking him roughly off of the ground. "Brian Andrews, you're under arrest for multiple counts of robbery, attempted robbery, and one of murder".
As Aaron led the handcuffed criminal over to his car, Ruby glanced at Monica. "I'll need to take your statement, Ms Osborne. You and Tobias here are the only witnesses, and he might be… more than a little biased, if you understand what I mean".
Monica rolled her eyes. "Mr. Andrews tried to rob me at knifepoint, and Detective Grace stepped in at just the right time to prevent him from doing so. When he refused to stop, Mr. Andrews was shot twice, once in the lower leg and once in his shoulder, and then knocked unconscious by a blow to the face".
"Are those the exact details of what occurred?"
"Yes".
Ruby nodded slightly, before heading back to where Aaron was waiting beside the car. Tobias let out a sigh of relief as soon as she was out of sight, and Monica chuckled. "Is there something going on between you and Detective Heat? I couldn't help but notice that things seemed to be a bit tense between the two of you".
"You could say that. She used to be my girlfriend, but we broke up a couple of months ago after she slept with another man. She's been trying to get me back practically ever since".
"You ever think about actually getting back together with her?" Monica queried.
Tobias shrugged. "I thought about it once or twice, yes. But it's not worth it. She broke my heart, and I'm not sure that I could ever trust her with it again. Anyway, enough of this dreary subject for now. I believe I promised you a drink, Ms Osborne".
She grinned at him and slipped her arm through his, reveling in the sensations produced as his skin touched hers. "Indeed you did".
~Twelve minutes later~
Her green eyes flashed beautifully as she laughed, and the detective couldn't help but fall for her a little more. Even if they had only just met when he saved her from some mugger in an alleyway. "Another drink?" Tobias queried.
"Please".
He signaled to the nearby waiter to bring them two more beers, before turning back to his new companion. "You never did tell me what you do for a living, Ms. Osborne. Would you mind sharing that with me?"
"Only if you tell me about your family in return" she countered.
Tobias nodded reluctantly. "Fine. You first".
"I'm a student majoring in Creative Writing at NYU and working part time as a waitress in a local cafe to pay for my courses. Now it's your turn, Detective. Tell me about your family"
He shrugged in response to her question. "What is there to tell, really? Famous father, famous mother, two younger sisters, a mysterious aunt, and a first cousin who sacrificed herself to save my aunt's life long before I was even born. My father, Jason, owns one of the most popular and well-known airlines in the world, and my mother, Piper, works at one of the most exclusive cosmetics shops in the city".
Monica gasped theatrically. "Your parents are the Jason and Piper Grace? Are you serious?"
"I am completely serious. And please, don't patronize me by pretending you hadn't already figured it out. I'm a detective, reading people is one of my specialties" Tobias replied simply.
Monica rolled her eyes, though it was clear from the grin on her face that she was just messing with him. "So you're a Homicide Detective. That sounds like it must be quite interesting".
"Well, that depends a lot on how open-and-shut the cases that we get to work on are, to be honest. If they're simple ones, clear motive, clear suspects, no complicated chains of evidence, and an obvious killer, then they're definitely not all that interesting. The complicated ones, on the other hand, are often more than interesting enough to more than make up for the simple ones. We actually had a really interesting one just a couple of weeks ago".
"Are you allowed to talk about it?"
Tobias considered his response for a moment before nodding. "If it was an open case, one still under investigation, I would be contractually forbidden to say a word. But it's closed, so… yes, I can tell you about it".
The red-haired woman took another sip of her drink before shifting in her seat to make herself slightly more comfortable. "Then please do".
"At around 9 am on the 7th of September, a young woman jogging along the banks of the Hudson River came across a body which had been washed ashore. Thinking it to be someone who had collapsed and was in need of assistance, she ran over to lend what aid she could, only to recoil in horror when she saw how horribly disfigured the body was. Both ante and post-mortem bruising around the ribs and face, cuts on the hands of the corpse proving that the victim fought back, and three stab wounds to the chest, along with deep grooves around the wrists and ankles which suggested that the victim had previously been bound, by either rope or some other equally strong cord. The fact that the body had been in the water made it hard for our medical examiners to give the exact time of death, and the disfiguration of the face made it hard to get an id, but we did eventually manage to get a match by running a search through missing persons and then running dental records. The victim was identified as Ariana Walters, a 28-year old housewife and mother of two who was currently working as an elementary school teacher at a private school close to their home and was currently pregnant with her third child".
Tobias paused for a breather, allowing Monica to digest his words. "I heard about her disappearance a couple of days before that, but I didn't think she'd turn up dead. Who killed her?"
"It turned out to be an ex-boyfriend of hers from college. Apparently he never got over their breakup in 2004. He'd been stalking her, and when the husband left to take their kids to school, the ex-boyfriend kidnapped her".
"Humans can be so callous. It's shocking, really".
"It certainly is. It's getting kind of late, by the way, do you want me to drop you off anywhere?"
"I'll be alright, actually, but thank you very much for the offer. It's a nice night, and my apartment is only about five or six blocks away, I think I'll walk".
By this point, Tobias had paid for their drinks and they were standing on the sidewalk just outside the bar.
"If you insist. By the way, I really enjoyed spending time with you just then. It's a shame that it had to end so quickly. Do you maybe want to have dinner sometime later this week?"
Monica smiled shyly at him and pulled a small notepad from her bag, scribbling something on the top sheet before tearing it off and pressing it into his hand. "I'd like that. Call me at some point and we can set something up".
Once she finished speaking, she placed a brief kiss to his cheek before turning and walking away, her smile still on her face.
~Monica Osborne~
-Around twenty minutes later-
Monica let herself in through the door of the apartment that she and her best friend shared, placing her bag on the kitchen bench and depositing her keys in the stained-glass bowl that sat on the mantelpiece nearby. It was only a couple of seconds later that her phone chimed quietly, alerting her to a new text message. So that you have my number too - Tobias. As she quickly registered the detective's phone number, her roommate looked out from her room. "I thought I heard you come in".
"Well, you did. It's been an interesting evening, I'll say that much. Almost got mugged"
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Some detective stepped in just in time to stop him and then I ended up having a couple of drinks with him. Might be having dinner with him later this week as well".
"Cool".
Samantha vanished back into her room to do whatever it was she did in there, and Monica chuckled to herself as she switched her phone off and locked the door behind her before heading for the bathroom. She had a lot to think about, not least of which happened to be a particular handsome homicide detective, and a nice hot bath was the perfect place to do so.

There we go. Next chapter should be up Christmas Eve, probably. Definitely leave me a Review if you enjoyed the chapter, or even if you didn't, I love hearing from you!

Next chapter we really get into the Crime side of things for this story. That'll be fun.

Songs for this chapter are:

Whatever It Takes, by Imagine Dragons

Perfect, by Ed Sheeran