When Nikki got back to the Lyell centre she found Jack in the changing room, shirtless.
Why was he always shirtless? He had his back to her and for a moment Nikki was grateful he couldn't see the blush rise to her cheeks. Jack really had definition. Even his back was a turn on.
"Do you not have a shower at home?" Nikki joked.
Jack jumped a little and shook his head. "You really shouldn't creep up on people."
She giggled at him and leant up against the locker next to him. "Where have you been?"
Jack pulled his boxing gloves out of his locker and presented them to her. Ah, of course. Whenever she didn't know where Jack was there was only one place that he would be – the gym.
"You know for a man who keeps himself in good shape you eat a lot of pizza."
"It's my weakness." He was close to her now. She would step away from him but she was already wedged against the locker. All he had to do was take one step closer and he'd engulf her. She anticipated it, and was a bit disappointed when he didn't. Instead he stayed exactly where he knew was close enough to make her want more but not too much that she pushed him away.
"I spoke to Andrew's girlfriend." Nikki broke the silence that had fallen over them. "She mentioned that people who come to watch you boys fight-"
"Men." Jack interrupted.
"Men fight," She corrected. "That 'the watchers' place bets on you."
Jack nodded. "It happens in every sport yeah."
"She claimed you have a reputation for being the best fighter and seems to think that you losing is why Andrew was murdered."
"It's possible, but highly unlikely." Jack stepped back from her, allowing her space to move away if she wanted to. He was silently pleased when she didn't.
Instead she stepped closer to him. "You never told me that you were the best."
He smiled down at her, "I'm not, I just never lose."
"Apart from the other night you mean?"
Oh that did it.
In seconds he'd engulfed her, lifted her from the ground and pinned her against the lockers. She wrapped her legs round his waist and gripped his shoulders – it was all she could do to regain some control. Soon his lips where at hear ear, "I think I still won something, don't you?"
She was shocked to say the least. This was the second time she'd found herself in his arms in the last 48 hours and she was struggling to recall a time she'd ever felt this alive.
He put her down, but made sure to do it so it left her wanting more, and he left the locker room, putting his shirt on as he walked away.
She took 10 minutes to calm herself down.
After lunch Nikki was back at her desk finishing off the autopsy report. Jack was opposite her. He'd barely looked at her since they sat down. Not because he was angry with her, but because he knew that if he did he wouldn't stop there, and that was a very dangerous thing to do, especially at the Lyell. He'd already pushed the boundaries with her (not that she seemed to be putting up much of a fight) and he couldn't push her further…not just yet anyway.
When the call came in it surprised her.
Another body had been found, another man beaten to death in the streets nearby the gym, except this time nobody had found him right away. He'd died during the night, Nikki was sure of it after examining the body. Blow fly eggs suggested he'd been dead for over 12 hours.
They identified him as Paul Herringbone. This time Jack had recognized him.
Poole was keen to know where Jack had been the night before and wasn't surprised to learn that he'd been at Nikki's until about 9pm. He had no alibi for after that.
During the whole autopsy Nikki was hoping to be able to state that Paul's time of death was before 9pm.
But she couldn't.
"Estimated time of death is again, around midnight."
Jack sat at his desk with his head in his hands. This really did change everything. Two men from his gym, two men that he'd fought with, had been murdered in two days.
"Jack. Go home." Thomas begged. "You're too close to this."
Jack said nothing, grabbed his gear, and left.
