A/N - Oh Ray. Ray, Ray, Ray. You got problems, love. Enjoy, I certainly did and the next one's even better.
Ray spent the next couple of days keeping his head down. He played nice with the little bully from school, made sure Tommy spoiled Conor rotten in front of that asshole and made sure the press took plenty of good pictures of them on the red carpet. That should keep some lips buttoned for now. Abby had very deliberately not mentioned the smell of another woman soaked on Ray's skin when he had come home that night, raging and drunk. All in all, he had slipped into his a very mundane, very low-key kind of lifestyle and he hated it.
Every moment he could spare he spent in his Mercedes, parked on the opposite side of the street to her apartment block. She stuck to her routine, the Equinox health club at six a.m. followed by the office all day until nine. And then she'd get home, draw her curtains and Ray would be left wondering what she was doing. He didn't want to leave her alone, he couldn't, it didn't seem right. Even when he was called away for work, he made Avy sit in the car, staring at something Ray refused to brief him on.
He'd never meant to upset her so enormously. It seemed so stupid now, he was so used to taking those two phones out of his pockets and putting them on the side. Maybe it was because she'd been standing there, she had distracted him from his perfect routine. But it had been a fatal mistake. After a few days, he tried to send flowers by way of apology. Long-stemmed roses with a touch of purple to them, she'd once said she liked them but they were hard to find. Ray thought it would be a nice gesture, until he saw the guy refused and the flowers shoved back into the back of the delivery van.
She didn't go to the gym that Wednesday, as she had planned, but Ray waited eagerly on the canvas the following week. He was winding bandages around his hands as he bounced up and down on the canvas. She'd probably beat the hell out of him, and he didn't blame her, he felt it was the least he deserved for upsetting her so monumentally. He couldn't imagine how it must have felt, to hear Abby say those words to him. For so long, Abby had been nothing more than a talking point. Now she was a physical being, another woman, with emotions and a life. Now she wasn't just hypothetical.
Terry dragged his feet out of the office and shrugged at Ray apologetically. "She's not coming."
Ray's expression grew dark. "She say why?"
"Just a message." Terry shook his head, that regular private lesson had been good money for the gym. "Said she'd pay out the month here."
"Fuck the money." Ray was almost spitting, he was pissed. Sure, she was mad, but it was unlike her to change her behaviour patterns for anyone. Once she was scheduled, that was it, she would do the same damn thing until her dying day. Was what had happened so significant that she'd throw that all away? "Where is she?"
He was already climbing out of the ring, unravelling the straps from his hands as he jumped down to the ground. Terry sighed, his arm shaking nervously as he saw Ray stalk to the side and pull a grey T-shirt on over his head. He tugged it over his stomach, it wasn't his usual smart wear but he had only one intention and that was to go and find her. Terry put his hands up in despair.
"Maybe you scared her away, Ray. The way you used to look at her, fuck, I'm surprised she stuck along for as long as she did. What was it? Six weeks?"
"Seven," Ray corrected sharply. "I didn't scare her. She liked coming here."
"Well she doesn't any more," Terry muttered, annoyed. "Nice job." He could see how annoyed Ray looked, he kicked one of the metal chairs hard, sending it flying and making Bunchy scarper nervously into the office. "What did you do, Ray? Did you fuck her?"
Ray's eyes narrowed. "You shut your goddamn mouth, Terry, you know fuck all."
Terry could tell it was too close to the truth and he groaned, putting his face in his hands for a second and shaking his head. "Don't you get it? Don't you get that you can't do that?" He lowered his voice. "That you're married, that you've got kids?"
"Keep your mouth shut," Ray reiterated, seeing Bunchy edging out of the office. "Nothing happened. She's just pissy, she'll come back."
He didn't want to talk about it any more. Flinging his suit jacket over his arm, he headed out towards his car. He called her office to be told that she had been unwell and left, and when he circled around to her house, her spot was empty. Ray frowned, she was a creature of habit, she only ever did the same damn things. So where was she?
He waited for about an hour, flexing his fingertips as he stared at her apartment constantly, looking for even the slightest sign of life. There was nothing, not even the smallest movement. There was no way she was there. Ray dragged his hand over his face, it was unlikely she was so ill she'd had to go to hospital but he ran her name with Lena anyway and waited for the expected text. She wasn't checked in anywhere.
He tapped his thumbs against his wheel for a while before he tracked his way back towards the place where he'd seen her with the meathead. He drove around the block a couple of times, looking for any sign of her but she wasn't there either. He scowled, irritated, he hated coming up so short. He leaned back and called Avy.
"You at hers?" he asked shortly. Avy smiled, he could tell Ray was frustrated.
"I am, boss. No sign of her."
Ray watched as the curtains of the house twitched, he was sure that piece of shit asshole was in the house. He wondered idly if he knew where she was. As the thought crossed his mind, Ray couldn't help but become obsessed with it. Maybe he did know. In fact, he probably did.
"Call me when she gets back," he said gruffly. He dropped the glove compartment and pulled out his handgun, checking the ammunition before he latched the safety and shoved it into the front of his pants. He glanced at himself in the rearview for just a second, contemplating what he was doing. This was crazy. Ploughing into this guy's house, demanding answers? It seemed insane but right now, Ray felt helpless and frustrated. He wanted to see her and he couldn't find her. This idiot was the only other person he knew might know where she was.
Pulling on his sunglasses, Ray slipped out of the car and crossed the road. He glanced along the sidewalks, nobody was around. It was the middle of the afternoon, the stay-at-home moms were on the school runs and he was free to go... exploring. He knocked twice and waited just out of sight of the viewer. When he heard someone moving on the other side of the door, he stilled and waited for it to open. Instead, he heard the metal chain being dragged across the door inching back.
"Lex?"
"Sorta." Ray slammed his foot into the door and whacked his elbow into it hard. The wood wrenched and splintered, the chain snapping easily. He was too used to this shit. The guy inside was sent sprawling into the couch by the force of the door and he swallowed, terrified, as he groped awkwardly for a baseball bat on the floor near the door. Ray looked at him with a small sort of amusement as he pulled out his gun. "I wouldn't do that."
"Just take whatever you want," the man stuttered, dropping it and raising his hands quickly. His breathing was quick and shallow, he was clearly scared. Ray smirked a little as he unlocked the safety just to see the man wince.
"Where is she?" he demanded furiously. "Lex. Where is she?"
The guy shook his head apologetically. "I don't, I don't know, man, I'm sorry. I just, I need you to, you have to leave." He was panting now harder, wheezing as he tried to get the oxygen into his body quicker. Ray scowled, he hated losers. What the hell did she see in this little fraidycat? He was tall and built, sure, but he was a wuss. He could see tears forming in his eyes and he laughed.
"Don't be an asshole. What's your name?" When he didn't answer, Ray fired a warning shot into the ceiling. "What's your goddamn name?"
"Freddy, it's Freddy," he stuttered quickly. Ray smiled.
"Now we're getting somewhere, Freddy." He rested his gun on the table, just within his reach but far enough that the stranger wouldn't make a sudden jump for it. "Now tell me where she is."
"I told you, I don't know. I was worried about her, I've been trying to call her but she won't answer me. She said she thought some guy was following her." He itched nervously at his jaw. "Shit, that's you, isn't it? You can't hurt her, she hasn't done anything."
"I'm not going to hurt her, don't worry." Ray flexed his fingers, he was sure as hell debating punching some masculinity into this idiot. He was just about to relax when Freddy launched at him, strong, trying to grapple for the gun. Ray responded the only way he knew how to, he swung his fist into his face hard, slamming into him with his knuckles. Freddy yelped as he collapsed back against the wall, he was desperately reaching for the phone to try and call someone. Ray was already bored with this, he simply grabbed his gun and slammed the butt against Freddy's head.
"Don't be a hero," he muttered as he slumped down to the ground. "Not that heroes cry like fucking girls, Jesus. Get a hold of your damn self, what the fuck does she see in you?"
Freddy gulped, keeping his mouth closed. He had been given strict instructions not to talk about her, Lexi was fiercely private and she didn't like sharing her life with anybody. "Please don't hurt her."
Ray was about to make another disparaging comment when Avy called him. His phone ringing broke the silence between them and he held his gun steadily aimed at Freddy's head as he answered.
"Yeah?"
"She's home," Avy informed. Ray nodded.
"Don't go until I get there," he said firmly. He hung up and smiled at Freddy. "You want to be a hero, Freddy?" Freddy didn't answer and he smirked, stepping close. "Course you do," he muttered, grabbing the scruff of Freddy's shirt. Freddy roared with panic as Ray pushed him outside, he was violently shaking from the second he stepped foot outside the door in the sunshine. He gave him a rough shove out of the house and towards his car, making no attempt to even hide the gun in his hand as he walked him around to the passenger side. He could see the thick sweat pooling on Freddy's face as he pushed his head down and shoved him into his seat.
Freddy was frozen to the spot as Ray paced around the car calmly and took his own seat, his gun resting on his lap with one hand on the trigger as he eased the Mercedes out of park and headed towards Lexi's apartment.
"Now you just sit there and keep your mouth shut. Don't try anything stupid, do as you're told and I won't kill you. You and I can get on just fine." He smiled as he glanced over to see Freddy had his eyes screwed closed as he gripped onto the sides of his seat, his knuckles were white with terror. Ray chuckled, this guy was the complete antithesis of him, how on earth did she want to fuck him? "You hear me? How's that for a deal?"
