A.N. I know, two chapters in less then 24 hours, I'm on a roll. Hopefully it continues this way. Thank you for the people who reviewed tonight, hopefully you enjoy this chapter since it is quite a bit longer. Please review and let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy.

As the day wound down, Ariadne packed up her belongings and nodded a goodnight to the rest of the team. As she was walking towards the door, Hannah fell into step beside her. Ariadne glanced at her out of the corner of her eye but said nothing until they had cleared the warehouse, "Yes?"

Hannah grabbed her arm to stop her from walking any further and glanced down at her angrily. "Why did you say you weren't interested in seeing George? He's a good guy and I've never seen him so interested in a woman before."

Ariadne sighed a bit and pulled her arm from Hannah's grasp, "I don't date coworkers."

With a frown, Hannah crossed her arms. "That's a bullshit excuse."

Narrowing her eyes, Ariadne turned and began walking again only for Hannah to continue to walk beside her. "What is it then? Seeing someone? Lesbian?"

Ariadne nearly let at a growl at the woman's persistence but bit it back, she didn't want to make enemies of her coworkers before she even finished with her plan. "No, on both counts."

She knew the tone of her voice had given her away and she didn't have to look at Hannah to know the woman was shooting her a sympathetic look. "Who was it then? The guy who broke your heart."

"It would take a mass amount of alcohol for me to talk about that." She stated, her eyes darting back just in time to see Hannah's face light up.

"Good thing I brought my purse then, girls night out it is."

Before Ariadne could refuse her, the woman had wrapped her arm around Ariadne's shoulders and was leading her towards her car. "I know the perfect spot."

After they arrived at the classy bar and sat at a table, Hannah ordered them both martini's and turned to look at Ariadne expectantly. "So what was his name?"

Ariadne shifted, uncomfortably, she hadn't told anyone about Arthur and she didn't think now would be the proper time to open up. Especially if it could be used against her once this was all over. Then again if she just switched his profession and his name, the odds of anyone making the connection were slim to nil.

"Mark," She said slowly so she could memorize the name and not mess it up later once she'd had a few drinks.

Hannah nodded and Ariadne figured she knew what she was doing but she didn't object to not being told the complete truth so it didn't set Ariadne on edge, at least not yet. Once their drinks were brought over, Ariadne took a sip and studied Hannah. "Why are you so interested anyway?"

Hannah gave her a cheeky smile and shrugged slightly, "It's not often I get the chance to have girl talk with someone."

A little twinge of guilt built in Ariadne's stomach but she refused to acknowledge it and instead nodded, "I know what you mean. You're only the second woman I've ever worked with."

"Yes, well I've been working with Paul and George for years. We recently lost our architect after a job…" Hannah trailed off and Ariadne could immediately tell it was a sore subject. She wondered if the two had had a relationship but decided not to press. It had been a long time since her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she wasn't about to begin letting it now. The less she knew about these people, the better.

Hannah shook her head and turned her attention back to Ariadne, "Enough of that, tell me more about this…Mark."

The way she said it and slight smirk on her face confirmed Ariadne's suspicions that Hannah knew it wasn't his real name. "We met in Paris. I suppose I mistook the relationship for more then what it was."

Ariadne shrugged and Hannah gave her yet another sympathetic look, "Don't be too sure about that one, love."

Ariadne shot her a questioning look, "What do you mean?"

"Well, judging by the fact that you don't want to give away too many details I'd say he works in the business and people in our line of business tend to not want to get too deeply involved. Not for ourselves but for the people we care about because at the end of the day we're all on the wrong side of the law and we can be putting that person in danger just by being with them."

Shaking her head a bit, Ariadne took another sip of her drink. "No, that's not what it was."

Hannah lifted an eyebrow at her, but instead of answering she merely lifted her drink to her lips and motioned for Ariadne to continue. "He's not involved with this line of work, he was my mentor at uni."

Hannah's eyes widened a bit and Ariadne knew then that she believed her because it was a firm reason to be uncomfortable giving away his true identity. "Now that's an interesting twist."

Ariadne shrugged, "Yes, I suppose it would be for someone who doesn't know the story. He was wonderful, if not a little withdrawn. He didn't smile often but I knew the first time I made him smile, I had to do it again. It was one of the most wonderful things I'd ever seen. I suppose that's where it started, with a smile."

Ariadne frowned and downed the rest of her drink before motioning for the waiter to bring her another. Hannah had a soft smile on her face, "That's awfully romantic."

Instead of replying, Ariadne glanced around and waited for the waiter to bring her drink. When he did, Ariadne turned her attention back to Hannah. "It was, in the beginning, but I think it was more one-sided then anything else. He was attracted to me but knew it wouldn't go very far."

"So how far did it go then?"

Ariadne sighed, lost for a moment in the better memories before shrugging. "Too far, too quickly and it ended just as quickly. Obviously it meant more to me then to him and he said as much before walking out of my life."

Hannah frowned, "Prick." She raised her glass, clinking it with Ariadne's before drinking some of it. "Must be a bit more then that, if you're still hung up on it."

"There isn't enough alcohol in the world for me to finish that story in any more detail." Ariadne answered honestly because no one knew her secret not even Arthur and she planned to keep it that way. With a sigh, she sipped her drink some more before putting some money on the table. "I'm sorry to cut this short but I need to get back to my hotel and get a good nights sleep before I start working tomorrow."

Hannah nodded and put some money down for her own drink before standing and following Ariadne out to the parking lot. After giving her a ride back to her car which was parked near the warehouse, Hannah waved good night to her and drove off. Ariadne slipped into her car and began driving around the city. Making sure to drive far more then was necessary to spot yet another run down motel, she pulled in and rented a room for the night before dragging her luggage into her room. Locking the door behind her she stepped out of her shoes and collapsed on top of the bed.

It was somewhat nice to talk about what had happened with Arthur even if she hadn't divulged the real truth. It was relieving in a way because she'd played it so close to the chest for so long that it was like a breath of fresh air. Maybe she would be able to move past this and put it behind her, that is if Arthur stopped popping up at the most inconvenient times.

With a sigh she fell back and closed her eyes, falling to sleep without even changing her clothes. She woke up several hours later, feeling a little groggy but the taste in her mouth pushed her to get up and stumble to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She shimmied out of her pants before walking back into the main room only to stop and stare at the figure standing by the window. It was impossible to ignore the imposing figure and instead of saying anything she dove for her purse.

His laugh rang out in her ears, "Don't bother I already pocketed it."

Ariadne stood and without saying a word sat on the bed, with her back to the wall, crossing her legs at the ankles. "What is it you want now?"

He turned slowly, his eyes roving over her form slowly. She could see the lust filling his eyes even in the dim light but she did nothing to cover up. "Tell me what your planning, little one, and maybe I'll let you live."

A light laugh spilled from her lips, "Kill me then."

He slipped his suit jacket off and laid it over the back of the chair near the window before removing the gun from it's holster at his side. "There's so many other things I could do to you instead."

He laid the gun down on top of his jacket and turned back to Ariadne to see her smiling sardonically, a small berretta pointed at his head. "Thinking with the wrong head, aren't you Arthur?"

Arthur scowled deeply and tucked his hands into his pockets. "I was thinking you would tell me what I need to know so that neither of us have to do something that we really don't want to."

"Who says I don't want to?"

It was Arthur's turn to smile wickedly at her, "It all started with a smile…"

Ariadne didn't bother to bite back the growl that escaped her lips. "That was a private conversation."

Arthur took a step towards her but stopped when she cocked the gun, "Ariadne I think it's time we discussed things."

"Really? Because I think it's time you bowed out gracefully before you wind up missing a precious part of your anatomy."

Before she could say another word he dove for her and the gun went off, he fell to the side of the bed gripping his arm. She cursed under her breath and sprang into action. Ripping her shirt off she dusted the room for prints and pulled on her slacks before pulling her shirt back on and grabbing her toothbrush and other belongings, tossing them into the open suitcase along with the gun. Zipping it closed, she grasped it in one hand and tucked Arthur's in the back of her pants before tossing his jacket over her arm and dashing to her car, throwing everything in the back seat. Going back to the room she grabbed her purse, car keys, and room key.

Looking at Arthur, who looked dazed and she wasn't surprised with the amount of blood flowing from the wound in his right bicep. Glaring at him, angrily she wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and helped to drag him to her car. She practically threw him into the passenger seat before slamming the door and getting into the drivers seat. After starting the car, she pulled out and sped away from the hotel. She refused to look at Arthur who she knew as studying her curiously.

She had no idea what she was doing, she should have left him there but for some reason she couldn't leave him to deal with whatever repercussions would have come with that. She came across another motel, not quite as shabby as the last but more removed from general population. Once she stopped the car, she looked at Arthur. "I'm going to get a room, you can either leave or I'll patch you up once we're inside and you can leave then."

Ariadne didn't wait for a response, but took the keys and stepped out of the car. She pulled the shirt over the gun to hide it and walked into the office, renting a room under a different name. Once she'd paid for it and been given the key she walked back to the car. She was a little surprised to find that Arthur was still sitting in there, but she hid it well. Driving towards the door that sported the number she'd been given she parked the car and stepped out grabbing her bag from the bag seat.

Once she shut her door she walked over to the motel door and opened it, inwardly cursing herself the entire way. What was she doing? It was like she couldn't stop herself from putting herself in dangerous situations. With a sigh she walked back to the car and saw Arthur standing. She walked over and shut the door behind him before locking the car and helping him inside towards the bed.

Gently, she pushed him down onto the bed before turning and walking to her luggage to pull out the first aid kit inside. Luckily, she'd carried them with her since she'd been injured shortly after a job. It was much neater then going to a hospital. She pulled out the bottle of whiskey she'd stored in the bottom for such occasions and handed it to Arthur.

He pulled off the cap with his good arm and took a long swig as she pulled the gun from her back and placed it on the table out of his reach. She could tell he followed her with his eyes as she set the first aid kit down on the bed next to him. Opening it she pulled out the thread and needle she'd placed in there along with some antiseptic to clean the wound.

Glancing up at Arthur, she met his eyes hesitantly and found him staring her at her. "Take your shirt off," She said quietly, not letting any emotion cross her face and keeping her eyes closed off. She couldn't let him get under her skin again or it would mean the end of her and everything she was trying to do.

Arthur studied her for a moment longer before nodding and removing his shirt. When he winced trying to get it over his wound she helped him out of it as gently as possible. "Why are you helping me? You did shoot me."

Ariadne scoffed quietly, "You instigated it. Besides I couldn't leave you there to the police. If anyone's going to hurt you, it's going to be me."

She didn't have to look at Arthur to know he was smirking at her and it was positively infuriating. She soaked a cotton ball in the antiseptic and pressed it against his wound a little harder then necessary and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath. Ariadne continued cleaning the wound but was more gentle then before. Once that was through she pulled out a lighter and sanitized the needle with the flame before lacing the thread through it.

Ariadne spared a glance at Arthur's face before she began undoing his belt. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch before stilling her hand with his good one. "I'll take care of it." He pulled the belt from his waist and placed it in his mouth, clenching down.

Ariadne lifted her hand to his wound and squeezed the two ends of his wound together and began stitching it together. Luckily for them both the bullet had gone right through. She moved to sit behind him when she was done with the front of the wound and stitched that up as well. Arthur barely made a sound but she heard a grunt or two. Once she was done stitching him up she grabbed the antiseptic and a new cotton ball and cleaned both sides of the wound again as he pulled his belt from his mouth.

"You know that suit was Armani and you ruined it."

Ariadne snorted as she stood and grabbed the trashcan to clean up everything she'd used, "I'm sure you've got at least another hundred laying around somewhere to take it's place." Grabbing a few pieces of gauze she taped it over the wound before packing away her first aid kit and placing it in her suitcase. Glancing up, she saw he hadn't moved so she reached for his gun and removed the cartridge from the gun and shot from the chamber.

Setting it back down, she popped all of the bullets out of the cartridge before placing them in her suitcase. Turning back to Arthur, "You're free to leave."

"Who says I'm leaving?" Arthur gave her a cocky smile and leaned back on his good arm.

Although she'd avoided it before she couldn't help but admire the changes to his body in the past two years, he was still lean but far more muscled then she remembered and she felt her mouth go dry at the image. Licking her lips slowly, Ariadne moved her gaze up to his face, "What do you want?"

He moved so quickly, she would've thought he'd never been shot to begin with. He stood and wrapped his good arm around her waist pulling her flush against his body. "When did you grow up, little one?"

She stiffened and craned her neck to look up at him, seeing his eyes full of lust for the second time that night. "Apparently when you weren't looking."

He lowered his head and rubbed his face in the crook of her neck. "You're sexy when your angry. I never thought you'd shoot me." A laugh bubbled from deep in his throat, "Or that you'd then take the time to patch me up. Still full of puzzles, aren't you?"

Ariadne, knew the moment she lost herself in his embrace and although part of her was cursing her for doing so she couldn't help it. She relaxed against his touch and moved her head slightly to turn into his touch. Her hands seemed to have minds of their own as they ran over his chest. He kissed her neck slowly, teasing her into submission. It wasn't necessary, but he didn't need to know that.

He moved backwards, pulling her with him so that he could sit on the edge of bed. He pulled her with him and she crawled onto his lap, straddling him while at the same time managing to avoid his injury. Arthur pulled back to study her face for a moment before leaning forward once more but to press his lips against her own. It was a hungry kiss and it took only a moment for her to respond and part her lips to grant him entrance.

She moaned as his tongue moved against her own, fighting for dominance. One of her arms wrapped around his waist as the other tangled itself in the hair at the nape of his neck. His own had long since found their way beneath her shirt and were running along her spine. She moaned softly into his mouth and he smiled against her own when he heard the sound. He flipped them so that she was lying beneath him on the bed and his hands moved to roam over her chest as she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist.

Ariadne could feel him hardening against her and she rubbed herself gently against him. The muffled groan from deep in his throat proved to her even more that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. He pulled back, his eyes darkening as they stared down at her, "Oh Ari, come away with me. Let's leave tonight."

She stiffened and quickly pulled her legs from around his waist before pushing them against his torso and sending him crashing to the floor. Standing, she ran towards her bag and pulled out her berretta, pointing it at his crouch. His eyes widened and he scrambled to get to his feet. "Get the fuck out," She growled.

He raised his hands, clearly surprised by her reaction. "Ariadne, please don't do this."

She cocked the gun, "I already shot you once tonight don't think I won't do it again. Only this time I'll leave you to clean up after your own mess."

He grabbed his shirt and jacket and walked towards the door, his face tightening. "I don't know why you can't accept this for what it is."

"I have, that's the problem. I'm not going to fall for your shtick again. You can't convince me to leave by trying to seduce me."

Arthur shook his head but pulled the door open and walked out. Ariadne walked over and locked it before sliding the desk in front of it for extra security. She dropped the gun to her side and sank to the floor, finally letting a few tears escape her eyes. How could he do this to her again? He had no emotions whatsoever. What kind of man seduced a woman merely to get what he wanted? Well, she was done pining over something that never existed. She needed to finish this job and get out of here. Go somewhere even Arthur wouldn't think to look for her.

Wiping her eyes she climbed into bed and decided to take George up on his offer for dinner. She'd warn him she wasn't in it for emotional attachments and if he was still interested she'd even let him take her home with him. Hell, it might be safer then checking into a place by herself. Obviously Arthur had no trouble tracking her down in this city. She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep so she instead stepped into the bathroom and began getting ready for the day.

Although it was only three in the morning, she figured she'd probably get to warehouse around five and she could continue working on the second level. She wanted to finish it by the end of the week, so that she could get the hell out of dodge.