Chapter 4

It was 12:50pm by the time I made it back to the café. I waited in my car from a distance and watched her head out the front door. She pulled her green jacket tighter, obviously cold, she should be wearing warmer clothes. Based on the address Lou gave me, she lived walking distance from here. I waited until she was enough away and followed her on foot. I'd trailed many people before, but somehow this situation had me on edge. I watched a young man cat call her with lewd innuendos…I slowed down and when she turned the corner, I swiftly kicked out one of his knee caps and struck his vocal cords before he could yell. I kept on behind her and the whole time I was thinking how I didn't like her living in this neighbourhood. I would have to have someone stake out her place or get Winston to push things along. I wouldn't let anything ever happen to her. I watched her head above an old run-down print shop to a few apartments above it and once she closed the door, I called in a guy to watch over her while I saw to the rest.

Celest's POV

When I went back to collect my first customer's bill, I was surprised to see a generous tip and note that read:

"See you next time Snow-White,

-John wick"

I'll admit I was both blushing and at the same time had this gut feeling that I shouldn't be blushing. See you next time? I mean, I did joke about him becoming a regular, that's likely what he was implying. I showed jess, who chirped like a bird and said that next time I should leave him my number after pointing out to me that technically the tip was half hers. Casper always shared her tips anyways.

On the way home from work I could not help but feeling followed, and the cat calls by some guy did not help settle the feeling. I picked up the pace and was thankful to finally be home. After a quick shower, and a bite to eat, I hit the books. Eventually I was falling asleep on them, so I headed into bed, hopeful I was too tired to be woken by another nightmare.

Wick's POV

For the next few weeks I found out everything I could about Celest. Every Sunday, I was her first customer and each Sunday we had our usual banter. I was officially her friendly regular and each time we spoke, it became more apparent she was attracted to me. I had watched her enough to know her mannerisms, she had the same blushing smile when she spoke out in her lectures and was unsure of the answer. I knew I made her nervous. If she knew who I was, she would be, but she was nervous because she had to think about what she would say to me. Of all the days I surveyed her routine, I loved watching her in action at the hospital. She was kind, efficient, hard working, and compassionate. All her patients seemed to think so, some coming back with thank you cards. My disguises were ever changing and she walked by me many times without a second glance. The more I got close to her, the more I wanted her. I went looking for Khalid, but he was nowhere to be found, word was he was vacationing in Mexico. He'd be back soon and I'd be waiting. Winston assured me everything was now ready and legally doctored. But I was waiting for the right time.

At night, I had Chase stake the house, he was expensive but it was worth it for the peace of mind. I think he was growing fond of her a little, but if he was, he dared not mention it. He couldn't work tonight and I figured a night of thinking would be beneficial if I was to figure out the last details. Friday nights she sometimes picked up a shift at the café so here I was getting a drink.

"Now you're really becoming a regular," she chirped as I approached her at the bar.

"Figured the coffee and morning service was good, why wouldn't a night cap be the same?"

"What can I get for you?"

"If you were drinking, what would you be having?"

"This again eh? Okay, well I'm a gin and tonic kind of girl, but I think you're a bourbon kind of guy, am I right?"

"Sure am, Snow-white, one bourbon please, maybe another night I'll have a gin and tonic, been a long time since I had one of those."

"Well, enjoy, and let me know if I can get you anything else, we close up in an hour, so I'm just going to start tidying up, seeing as how I only have three customers in for a drink."

She was putting away some glassware when five guys came crashing in, loudly conversing with one another. They were all dressed in low riding jeans, dress shirts, and two of them were holstered up. A regular bunch of thugs. When I heard one of them whistle her name, my hand instinctively went to my glock 17 and poor Celest dropped a glass, shattering it on the bar floor. I guess Khalid was back from his vacation. She was sweeping frantically up the broken shards when the men quit their chuckling to approach her at the bar.

"5 tequila shots and 5 beers, babe," grinned Khalid, he was shorter than his friends, but built like a brick shit house. He had a Spanish-Arabic accent and the site of him made me twitch. I wanted to blow his fucking brains out all over the bar. But I didn't want to shock her.

"Sorry, Riad, we're closing soon and you guys missed last call."

"This, gringo here has a full beer, where's the love babe?"

"Riad, he was here before last call."

"Whatever bitch, we need to talk , maybe I'll see you after your done work." He smiled at her evilly as he motioned for his lackeys to follow him out.

The other two customers left moments afterwards and I was alone with her for the first time. The only time I ever felt like hurting someone this badly was when Viggo's idiot son took my car and killed my dog.

"I'm really sorry about that," she said softly while she clearly tried to hold back some tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, that guy's an asshole."

She reached down to pick a shard of glass wedged under the bar and hissed when she cut her hand. Blood trickled down her hand and I knew the cut was deep, she wouldn't need stitches, but definitely needed some good pressure.

"Give me your hand and pass me the water jug," I directed. Without hesitation, she did what I asked.

I carefully pulled out the shard and plunged her hand into the cold-water jug. She made a wincing noise.

"Hold your hand in there for a few more seconds."

I went behind the bar and grabbed the medical kit hanging on the wall.

"Take out your hand and I want you to apply pressure using this," I said as I handed her the gauze. "Okay, good, sit over there," I said pointing to the table I always sat at. The one with the vantage point.

I pulled out the rubbing alcohol and she let me pour it over the wound, wincing as the cut hissed and crackled.

"Salt water is better then alcohol, it doesn't kill all the healthy cells in the process too."

"Really? Where'd you learn that?"

"Nursing school"

"Oh, so just not all beauty, but brains too?" I continued to pull out fresh gauze and began wrapping up her hand.

"Your too kind," she said with a soft smile, looking down at her hand.

"So, tell me how did a smart girl like you get mixed up with that lot?" I went to the bar, grabbed two glasses and the bourbon, giving her a chance to decide if she wanted to talk about it. I poured her and I a small glass.

"Well, he wasn't always like that…in fact quite the opposite when we met, and there were red flags but I ignored them I guess. I guess it felt nice to be taken care of."

"Let me guess, then being taken care of turned into a controlling, paranoid, and an abusive boyfriend?"

"Pretty much," she said taking a sip of the bourbon.

"What made you leave?"

"I don't know, I guess I woke one day, and after a chat with a nurse who saw me through an incident, I realized I wanted to be a better person and help people…so now here I am two years later trying to finish school."

"I'm sure you were a good person back then too," I reassured.

"Maybe, but I certainly wasn't being good to myself," she said, again looking down, as if embarrassed to look me in the eyes. A curl fell from her messy bun and I'll I wanted to do was brush it to the side, I resisted the impulse.

She finished her glass and I mine. It was in this moment I was ready to take her, I knew her independence was something she valued. But it wouldn't be like that, she'd come to understand the tradition and still have a better sense of self. I was thinking it over, it upset me that my first time to touch her, was to bandage up a wound. As soon as she was home and safe, I'd kill him.

I took the glasses to the bar and finished sweeping away all the glass.

"You've been so kind already, you don't need to do that."

"Well, with that hand you cannot, so tell me what to do."

After I finished helping her close up the café, I turned to face her. I wanted to kiss her. She began to lean into me and realized she was going in for a hug. I held her tightly.

"You're going to be okay, I promised," whispering in her ear.

"Thank you, John, thank you for being a kind stranger."

"Kind, regular," I corrected with a smile.

"Please let me give you a ride home."

"No, I couldn't and besides I'm a quick walk away."

"I insist," I pressed on.

"No, really, I need the fresh air anyways." She smiled.

"It's not safe out this late."

"Thank you again, John, see you again on Sunday I hope," she said turning away and cutting me off. It took everything in me not to just pick her up and put her in the car. I told myself right now is as good a time as any other, but I didn't want to do so with the way her night had already gone.

I resolved to wait a bit for her to turn the first corner around the block ahead and then to follow after her and make sure she got home okay. I was keeping my usual pace behind, when I heard her scream. I took off in a bolt, there was nothing around the corner, she wasn't there, I kept on running until I heard laughter a few paces back behind an alley way. I began approaching the sound slowly when I heard Khalid speaking in a slur;

"Thought you could just leave me, did you? Thought that I'd let you humiliate me, hold her down," he ordered.

I heard her cry out again and I began running towards the next alley where her next cry came from;

"Please Riad, please don't do this," she pleaded.

"It's a little late to beg like the whore you are."

I rounded the corner to the third back alley behind the building, finding her pinned against a wall with a knife to her throat. My glock 17 equipped with a sound suppressor was already out and I took aim for Khalid's head, point blank, he dropped while I swiftly carried out the execution for his two friends, point blank again in the heads. Celest gave out a little cry before sliding down the wall she had been pinned against.

I ran over to her, and immediately checked for a pulse, looking for any mortal injuries. He had cut open her shirt and had been slicing at her chest, but the cuts were minor. Her pulse was thready and bounding, she must be in shock.

"I promised you everything will be ok, and it will. No one will ever hurt you again," I kissed her on the forehead. She was cold, I needed to get her out of here. Picking her up and carrying her over my shoulders, I got out my phone.

Ring…. Ring

"Chase, meet me at 5th and Wilson Drive, hurry"

Click…

Ring…Ring…

"I'll be making a dinner reservation for three."

"Good to hear from you, John."

"5th and Wilson Drive."

Click…

Celest started to stir in my arms and with my phone away…I moved her back into a bridal position hold. This is not how I intended to carry her over the threshold… but that's how it happened.