I'm so sorry for the long wait, guys. I've been sick, then went to my best friend's for two weeks and then writer's block...
But I'm back with a chapter longer than usually.
I hope you'll like it, and thank you so much for the reviews they make my day!
They froze at the sight. The living room was a mess. Broken furniture scattered on the floor mingled with glass shards from the torn framed pictures welcomed them.
"What the …" Liz breathed taking a step inside followed by Red.
Together they walked the room, noting the damages Tom's fury had caused. Liz took a sharp breath and suddenly halted, eyes fixed on the floor. Red was at her side in a matter of seconds, his hands on her shoulders. He followed her stare and spotted what had distressed her. Blood. Stains of blood on the cream carpet.
"Zuma hit Tom in the face, he must have broken his nose," Liz said matter of fact.
"He did." The voice coming from the stairs startled them both.
They turned around to face Tom and both recoiled at his appearance, Dembe must have hit him stronger than they had thought. Both of Tom's eyes were black, the left one swollen shut and he couldn't wear his glasses because of the splint on his nose, a cast on his right hand jutted out his shirtsleeve. He was a mess.
"What are you doing here?" Liz asked feeling Red's presence behind her.
"I could ask the same," Tom replied. "Did you come to finish the job? Is your… boyfriend," he spat the world disgustingly, "here to make me disappear?"
"I'm here to get my things back," she relied choosing not to play along his sick game.
"Oh yeah… Your what about ours? Do not touch her!" he yelled when Red put his hand on Liz's shoulder.
"It's ok, Red. Please can you wait in the kitchen for a minute, I need to talk to him," Liz said softly, squeezing Raymond's hand still on her shoulder.
"You sure?" Red asked concerned. He really didn't like the way Tom was clenching his hand at his side.
She nodded silently and felt his fingers close around her shoulder for a second before hearing his steps fade away. Her eyes never left Tom. He was a dangerous man, she had learnt it the hard way the day before and she wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. She had to get her belongings back and leave him behind. Her life was waiting for her in the kitchen and she didn't want to let it fly away once again.
"Look Tom, I'm not here to fight. I just want to get what's mine, you can keep everything else," she said calmly, hoping he would not make a fuss.
"Why? Why are you leaving me? What did I do?" Tom asked, seeming a little calmer now that Red had left the room.
"You know perfectly well why I'm leaving you," she replied coldly, taking out the ring Red had given her back a few minutes earlier and putting it on the table beside her. "We're done, Tom."
"Don't. Please, don't," Tom almost begged suddenly. "You can't please. I love you. I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm so sorry. Please Liz. I shouldn't have lost my temper, but those pictures… please Liz, give me another chance, please," he pleaded, taking a step forward.
She raised her hands to stop him and shook her head.
"Liz, please. We lived together for three years; you can't forget that that easily, can you? Please forgive me, I'm sorry. I've already forgiven you, babe."
"You what?" she said suddenly angry.
"I forgive you."
"You forgive me?" she breathed.
"Yes, I forgive you," he repeated, thinking he had gained some ground. "I know you slept with him and I forgive you," he began his eyes on the red marks on her neck. "Can't you do the same for me? I had reasons to be angry. I shouldn't have tried to hit you, I know that, but I lost it and I'm sorry. Can't we try and work it out?" he added inching slowly toward her.
"You forgive me? You forgive me!? Are you fucking kidding me?" she shrieked, finally losing it, taking a step toward him. "You're the fucking cheater here! Don't even try to blame me for something YOU did! I know Tom… I fucking know," she breathed, shaking her head.
She finally saw understanding shine in his eyes and he cringed. He was busted and knew it. Slowly, she pulled out the envelope she had retrieved from the coffee table at Red's before leaving the house and threw it at her 'fiancé'. He caught it before it fell on the floor and opened it, knowing perfectly well what was inside. He peaked inside anyway and cringed when the image of him and Lucy fucking in a hotel room met his eyes.
He felt fury burn in his guts, knowing perfectly from whom those pictures came. Since the moment he met that Raymond Reddington and saw him interact with Liz, he had known something was going on between the two of them. Of course he had been the one cheating on her in the first place, but he was the man. He was supposed to be the one cheating, not her and not with a man old enough to be her father.
"Is it the money or the political prestige?" he asked trying to find a way to hurt her. "You can't possibly find him attractive, can you?" he added when she didn't reply. "Really Liz how can you go from me to… him?" he said obviously disgusted.
"Enough!" said a voice behind them.
Red had came back when voices had risen, wanting to make sure Lizzie wasn't in any danger. He had heard Tom's words and had seen Lizzie's shoulders tense with each word the scumbag had said. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Lizzie. Go take your things, I'm going to deal with the garbage," he said between clenched teeth.
She nodded and squeezed his hand on her way to the stairs, leaving the men alone in the lounge, wondering if they would be in one piece when she'd come back.
Red watched her leave the room before turning a cold stare on Tom. The man didn't seem afraid of him. He took his time to gauge him, taking in the cast on his arm and the splint on his nose. He wasn't a youngster anymore and in the fair fight he could have lost against Tom, but in his state, he knew he had the upper hand. Taking a step toward Tom, he saw him recoil. Smirking, he inched slowly toward him.
"You're going to leave her alone. Don't even try to contact her again. Don't even think about her. If I know you've just thought about laying your eyes on her, I'll kill you," he said in deadly cold voice.
"You can't…" Tom said, fear in his voice.
"Don't look at me like that. You know who I am, you know how much power I can muster in a flick of my hand. Do you really think you're safe?" he cut him off, his eyes burning holes in Tom's. "You hurt her. You cheated on her. My bodyguard already beat you and I could do way worse if I had the mind to. Leave. Her. Alone," he added his finger jabbing Tom's chest with each word.
Tom took a step back, making some distance between and Red, finally understanding how deadly this man could be. He had the power and the means to make him disappear if he wanted to. Without another word, Tom walked back slowly, never turning his back to Red and reached the door, feeling the hardwood against his back, he found blindly the handle and left the house in a hurry.
"Where is Tom?" said Liz, finally getting down the stairs, a large bag in one hand, her spare gun strapped at hip.
She hadn't mind leaving her clothes and possession behind, but the gun locked in the safe in the back of her dressing had been the one thing she had to retrieve. Tom knew the code to open it and she couldn't take such a risk. She was surprised he hadn't tried to get his hands on it already. It would have been an entirely different scenario if he had burst into the room with a gun.
"I talked to him and he decided to leave," he relied smugly. "You found everything you were looking for?" he asked when she didn't call him out on his smugness.
"Yes," she replied, looking around her to see if she hadn't forgot to take something. "Let's go."
He nodded and took her bag, kissing her lightly on the lips, his free hand closing on hers and leading her outside. They didn't even take the time to properly lock the door. They didn't care. They walked hand in hand to the car, and Red opened the door, letting Liz slid in before rounding the black Mercedes to put the bag in the trunk and a few second later settled behind the steering wheel. He smiled to Lizzie, squeezing her hand one last time before driving back to his home.
They both knew they had to talk about the future. About what they would say to Jennifer. About where Liz would live. They had much to discuss and neither of them knew where to begin. They finally made it to Red's house in a tense silence. Liz left the car rapidly, leaving Red take care of her bag and went to the door, realizing at the last moment she didn't have the key and had to wait for the Raymond. She gave him a small smile when he joined her on the doorsteps and unlocked the door. She walked by him and disappeared before he could close the door.
Red followed her slowly, he found her in the kitchen, her hands on the marble counter, head low, her gun laying in front of her. She was crying. He walked silently to her, stopping just behind her, not daring to touch her.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed, and it took that for an invite to take her in his arms.
He closed his arms tenderly around her and pulled her against his chest, his nose buried in her hair. He could feel her shivering in his embrace, trying to muffle the sobs trying to escape her throat. He finally turned her around, and let her cry on his shoulder, tracing soothing circles on her back. With each sob she let out, he felt his heart broke a little and anger rise in his chest. He should have taken care of Tom when he had had the opportunity, no matter the risks, he should have done something.
"Shhh, calm down Lizzie. It's over, you're safe," he whispered peppering her temple with small soothing kisses. His Lizzie was strong and independent; he hated seeing her in such a state. He hated not being able to reassure her, to calm her, to help her. He hated being powerless.
She finally calmed down a few minutes later and Red led her to the couch in the lounge and seated her, covering her shivering body with a blanket before heading back to the kitchen. He came back shortly a glass of Scotch in hand. Lizzie was lying in the couch, eyes closed, but he could see she wasn't sleeping.
He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly until she turned her head to him. He smiled tenderly and opened his arms. She immediately went to him, burying her nose in his neck and smelling him in. As always, his scent started to calm her instantly and she let out a sigh, kissing lightly the thin skin of his neck.
"Oh for God's sake! Get a room!" the voice behind them made them start.
Liz closed her eyes and breathed a last time her lover's scent before leaving his arms. She had hoped to have more time to prepare for the confrontation with Jen about their relationship and when she crossed Red's stare, she knew he had hoped the same. But they didn't have any other choice now; she was here and had seen them.
"So that's it? You're back together?" Jen asked walking in the room to sit in the leather armchair next to the couch.
Liz's mouth gaped at that. She looked at Red who seemed surprised, but not as much as he should be. And then she understood. Her eyes went from Red to Jen and back.
"What does all of this mean?" she asked, needing to hear the truth.
Jen and Raymond exchanged a look, wincing. Finally, at her father nod, Jen started to speak.
"I'm sorry Liz, we shouldn't have done things that way, but when I saw the two of you at Sam's funeral, I realized I had made a mistake all those years ago."
"And you decides out of the blue to bring your father and me together, knowing I was engaged?"
"No, I didn't. I overheard Tom on the phone when we were at your dad's; he was calling her 'babe'. I never hidden that I didn't like him but that was too much. As long as you were happy, I could bear his existence, but after that… So I took you as my plus one at that party and talked to dad about what I heard," she explained.
"I used my connections to have a PI follow him on his trip to Orlando and those pictures were what I was talking about with Finch that night," Red added, squeezing Liz's hand resting between them.
"So you knew from the beginning I would be at the party?"
"No! I swear to God I didn't know. I was awestruck when I saw you there."
Liz sighed and shook her head. She understood now why he had been so tactile at the party and why Jen had insisted so much for her to come. All of this had been planed. She should have been angry at them, but couldn't find it in her. She hadn't been that happy in a long time, even her 'perfect' life with Tom hadn't made her feel like she did every time she met Red's eyes or felt his hand brushing against hers.
"So… It means… You're ok with us? I mean with our relationship?" Liz asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Of course I am, I orchestrated it, you dumbass!" Jen laughed.
"Language!" Raymond warned more as a habit than by real necessity.
"I'm ok with it as long as you keep it in the bedroom," Jen began, steel eyes on them. "I don't want to walk on you doing it like bunnies in the middle of the room, understood?"
They nodded and Liz looked at Red laughing lightly and kissed him on the lips before settling back in his arms. Red smiled smugly when he saw Jen's reaction at their kiss.
"Look, darling. You're bound to see us kiss. We promised not to traumatize you any further, plus please make an effort on your side."
Jennifer sighed and finally nodded when she saw the light shining in her dad and best friend's eyes. It'd been a long time since she had saw them that happy, it was worth some awkward moments.
"What happened to the scumbag, anyway?" she asked suddenly remembering Tom's existence at least.
"We dealt with him," Raymond replied, not calling her on the word she used.
"I hope you made him suffer," she said in a satisfied tone.
"You should have seen his face when… we'll talk about it later," he finished lamely when he felt Lizzie tense in his arms. "You stay with us for dinner?"
"I'm not sure I could stomach so much mushiness, but I'll make an effort."
Jen and Liz burst into laugher as Raymond sulked in his corner. Being in a relation with his daughter's best friend would be a challenge, but he was up to it. They hadn't talked about the future, but for now, Liz would stay with him and they would try to figure out how to live with each other and his fame in time. They had time now.
We're almost done, the next chapter will be the epilogue.