Chapter 10

Gotham; November 18th, 19:57 EST

I smooth invisible wrinkles in the skirt of my dress, a sense of nervous anticipation flittering around in my stomach. I'm not sure where it's coming from or why as I gaze out the window at the Gotham scenery that passes by. I release a subtle sigh, trying to calm my emotions, but they're proving harder to control ever since Bruce found me.

My fingers lightly graze over the small sequins of my steel gray dress, hoping that he likes the outfit that I chose to wear tonight for our date. I've never really been concerned about my looks or what people think of me, but, for some reason, it means everything to me when it comes to him.

I find myself wondering what he thinks when he looks at me, curious about what he feels beneath that detached façade of his. Does he experience the same unexpected spark inside suddenly growing hotter and stronger when our eyes finally meet? Does he wonder what it would be like to make love with me…what it would be like to touch and to explore and to finally give in to the fierce desire that has been steadily growing between us?

I feel a shiver race up my spine with the thought of his hands and mouth against my skin as we finally give in to what we both have wanted for some time now. I can't help wondering what it would be like to feel him inside of me as we share in the most intimate of dances, fully giving ourselves to one another.

The feel of a hand unexpectedly covering mine stills my nervous movement. A warm flush swiftly drifts through me as he laces his fingers with mine in a protective hold. I feel self-conscious; worried that he has somehow managed to read my lustful thoughts. Even though he isn't a Meta, Bruce has proven to surpass many of us when it comes to many notable skills and abilities.

I glance down at our joined hands for a moment before looking over to meet his gaze full of concern. It makes me internally cringe to know that I'm causing him to worry about me again. I feel that's all I do for him anymore, adding to the weight that he carries on his shoulders and in his heart.

He gives me a smile that I can't help but return. "What?" I awkwardly ask, pulling a stray curl behind my ear as I possessively pull our joined hands fully into my lap.

"Talk to me, Princess," he gently prods, squeezing my hand as he drives.

"About what?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," I lie, my thumb caressing the back of his hand in an effort to distract him.

He gives me a look that clearly states he believes otherwise before turning his attention back to the road. "You have something on your mind," he counters, refusing to let it go. "Are you concerned about being out in public again? If you are, we don't have to go out. We can go back to the manor and have Alfred make a nice dinner for us."

"No, it's not that," I claim with a shake of my head, remembering all too well the unwanted attention I had garnered at the masquerade ball. That had been quite the eye-opening experience. I knew that people could be cruel and women catty, but that was beyond startling to bear witness to let alone be at the very center of.

Tabloids have been running amuck with rumors about me. Yesterday, one claimed I was secretly pregnant with my rapist's baby. The other day they claimed that Bruce Wayne had hired them to kidnap me and rape me. It has only served to arouse my anger and intensify the desire to go down there and destroy their printing presses.

"Then what is it?" he presses, interrupting my thoughts. "Is it something with your job?"

I draw a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. My free hand begins to rub my arm as I struggle to find the words. I can't stop the rush of memories that try to steal my happiness. I refuse to let them control me or try to dictate my life.

"Diana, you know you can tell me anything," he reminds me, squeezing my hand. "There is nothing that you could every say to me that could cause met to walk away from you."

I look down at our joined hands again, wanting to believe him, but I still fear that he won't be able to handle the details of what those monsters did to me. He won't be able to look at me the same ever again. He'll end up blaming himself and pulling away from me, shutting me out and pushing me away. That's not something that I can handle.

"I can't help wondering what you think about when you look at me," I softly confess.

The car pulls to a stop in front of the restaurant, but he doesn't get out of the car. Instead, he turns to face me, his fingers beneath my jaw forcing me to look at him. "I think you're the most breathtaking woman I have ever seen," he replies. "I constantly find myself wanting to kiss you…wondering what it will be like when I can finally make love to you."

I melt into his hand against my face, his words causing my cheeks to grow warm. "You don't have to wait you know," I remind him.

His lips are against mine before I can draw my next breath, so soft and yet filled with a sense of urgency. I can feel his desire right there beneath the surface being tightly restrained. I can hardly wait until he finally unleashes that pent-up hunger on me, giving me every part of himself and physically showing me what he feels for me.

He pulls back to catch his breath. "Yes, I do," he firmly maintains. "We're taking this slow. I'm not going to push you into a physical relationship so soon after what you went through. It's not fair to you."

"You're not pushing me, Bruce," I claim, pausing to kiss him again in hopes of changing his mind. "I want this with you more than anything."

"Diana, you're still trying to deal with what happened to you," he argues. "I'm not going to rush into this until I know for certain that you're ready."

I pull away in frustration, wishing that he would just believe that I'm ready for us to move forward. "Bruce…" I begin, more than prepared to argue.

"I refuse to do anything to jeopardize this relationship with you, Diana," he adamantly states. "As badly as I want to make love to you, I won't take advantage of you when you're still trying to come to terms with everything."

"I'm fine," I swear. "Why won't anyone believe me?"

His hand moves to cover mine, not realizing that I'm rubbing my arms again. I don't know why I do it…only that I can't seem to stop myself sometimes, going so far as to scratch and claw my skin raw in my sleep. Thankfully, the matching shawl I chose to wear with my dress tonight hides the scratch marks on my arms. I know it will only make Bruce worry even more if he sees them.

"Because I can see that you're not…even though you refuse to see it or admit it," he tells me.

I glance out my passenger door window, wrapping my arms tightly around myself. I draw a shuddering breath as Bruce exits the car, coming around to open my car door for me. He opens it, offering his hand to me. I reluctantly take it, not wanting to ruin this date with him.

Bruce takes me into his arms, his lips so gentle against mine. "You need to be patient with yourself," he murmurs. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait for you for as long as it takes."

I force a small smile as I nod my head in response. He hands his keys to the parking attendant before leading me into the restaurant. The maître d' greets us with a smile, Bruce holding my hand as we follow him to our table. I ignore all the eyes that I feel on us as we walk through the restaurant. I'm not about to let anything ruin my evening.

Bruce sits down next to me at the intimate table for two, his masculine scent assaulting me all over again. It's difficult to take my eyes off him. He looks positively dashing in his black suit and charcoal gray dress shirt with matching tie.

He seems to know what I'm thinking as he flashes me a devilish smirk. "Penny for your thoughts," he teases.

"You don't want to know if you don't want our relationship to progress past kissing right now," I challenge him as I reach for my glass of ice water.

He leans in close to me, his breath warm against my ear. "What I want and what I know I have to do are two very different things," he tells me with a husky tone that causes gooseflesh to ripple up my arms. "It's not as easy as you think it is for me to tell you no right now."

I swallow hard, knowing that we need to change the subject for both our sakes. If I was honest with myself, I'm not sure that I'm truly ready for that next step with him yet. As much as it pains me to acknowledge it, Bruce is right once again, though I'm not about to admit it to him. At the same time, I can't help but want to feel something wonderful and passionate and exciting instead of all this anger and pain that I carry deep inside of me. Besides, it's not fair to Bruce to make him wait.

"How was your meeting today?" I ask as I peruse the menu.

Our waitress arrives to take our order before he can respond, waiting until she leaves to answer me. "I think it went well," he reveals. "I believe it'll turn out to be quite profitable for the company if we can strike a deal."

"I'm sure you'll be able to make the deal," I reassure him. "If anyone can make it happen, it's you, Bruce. You're brilliant at what you do."

His eyes seem to shine with my assurance, a crooked smile forming on his handsome face. It stuns me to think that someone so confident and strong…always in control and in charge of every situation…would actually take comfort in my support. It's an unexpected facet of his personality that I find endearing, arousing my curiosity about the other things that Bruce keeps so well-hidden inside of him.

"Have you been able to uncover any more missing money?"

"I'm afraid so," I reluctantly inform him, knowing how it'll only upset him. "I found another one point four million."

He slowly shakes his head as he releases a frustrated breath. I can see the anger simmering just beneath the surface, evident in the way that his muscles grow tense with the information. "I have a very bad feeling you're going to find even more money missing in the coming weeks."

"We'll get it back…I promise," I attempt to assure him, my hand coming to rest on his knee beneath the table. "I won't give up until I've found every bit of it."

His hand finds mine, clutching it firmly and keeping it on his thigh. "I should've known something was going on…should've paid more attention to the charities department."

"There was no way you could have known, Bruce," I insist. "You had checks and balances in place to make sure something like this didn't happen, but Ariel managed to find a way around every single one of them."

"I still can't help feeling as though it's my fault," he tells me. "It's my company, Diana. I should have known what was going on right under my nose."

"She was very intelligent," I reply. "She covered and recovered her tracks. It's only because I now know what I'm looking for that I've been able to figure out her system."

"I don't know what I would do without you working on this for me," he says, his gratitude unmistakable. "You're one of the few people that I truly trust. I know that you'll do everything you can to straighten this nightmare out."

I feel my heart swell with his words of confidence. I know how very hard it is for him to fully trust someone and I'm extremely touched that I'm counted among those very few. "I won't give up," I promise him. "Aside being furious with Ariel, I really enjoy my new job. I love knowing that I'm helping others."

"I'm happy to hear that," he confesses. "I love having you there working with me. I can only imagine how the gossip mill is exploding now that we've finally come out as a couple."

I can't hide the warmth that I feel on my cheeks as our waitress brings us our dinner. I wait until she leaves before I reply. "You have no idea," I reply with a grin. "I'm afraid you've broken quite a few hearts around the office knowing that you're no longer on the market."

Bruce frowns with the news as he takes a bite of his pasta. "I was never really on the market," he grumbles. "I'm so happy that I don't have to date any more of those brainless models and actresses. I can actually date the woman that I want to be with."

"I'm relieved too," I admit. "It was horrible seeing you with all of those women."

"Jealous?" he asks with a grin.

"A little," I say with a small shrug of my shoulder, not wanting to admit to anything as petty as jealousy.

"Diana, they didn't mean anything to me," he insists. "Many of them were just for show. Besides, I'm sure you've broken more than your fair share of hearts at the office. I've seen the way many of the men at work look at you."

"There's only one man there that truly matters to me."

Before he gets the chance to respond, a well-dressed, middle-aged man approaches our table. "Hello, Bruce," he greets him, glancing at me with sudden interest as his gaze lingers longer than is considered necessary.

"Hello, Martin," he replies with his infamous smile. "I didn't know you were here tonight."

"Just finishing up a business dinner," he informs us. "Who is this lovely lady?"

"This is Diana Prince," he introduces me as I extend my hand to the man.

Martin takes my hand, kissing the back of it. "It's a pleasure to meet you," I respond.

"I've got to hand it to you, Bruce," he says, staring at me with a lecherous smile. "You sure know how to pick them."

"Well, just don't get any ideas," Bruce tells him. "I'm not planning on letting this one get away."

The way Martin is grinning at me makes my skin crawl. I find myself wanting to punch him in the face, but I feel Bruce tighten his hold on my hand beneath the table. It's a silent plea to trust him and to ignore this so-called friend of his.

Martin's smile unexpectedly fades away as he suddenly remembers something. "Hey, do you remember Ted Peters from LexCorp?" he asks.

"Yes, what about him?" Bruce responds, his brow furrowing with curiosity.

"I heard a couple of the waiters talking when I went to use the washroom just now," he replies. "His daughter Lydia is missing. She's a student at Gotham University."

I can feel Bruce's entire body grow rigid. I know how he's feeling because I feel it too. "When did this happen?" Bruce asks.

"Just tonight," Martin confirms, a grim expression gracing his face. "Terrible to hear…all these girls being taken. She makes the fourth girl kidnapped so far. Don't know what's going on, but, if I had a daughter at GU, I'd go there right now and physically drag her home if I had to."

"Poor Ted," Bruce absentmindedly says with a shake of his head. "I can't begin to imagine what he's going through right now."

"Yah, well, I need to get back to my dinner meeting, but it was good to see you, Bruce, and it was a definite pleasure meeting you, Diana," he tells us before leaving us alone.

"I definitely do not like him," I grouse under my breath.

"Not many do," he admits with a frown, his mind already shifting to the details of this case.

I place my hand on his forearm, pulling him back to me and this restaurant. I can already see the Bat lingering behind his eyes, more than desperate to make an appearance. "Bruce, we can leave if you want to," I offer. "We don't have to stay here."

"I'm sorry, Diana," he replies with a sigh, guilt filling his face. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"It's all right," I softly assure him. "I want to help you find these girls before anymore are taken."

"Let's have them box up our dinners," he suggests. "We can eat it at home. I'm sorry it's not very romantic."

He signals for our waitress, putting on a playboy grin for her. It's obvious to me that he's trying to cover for the real reason we need to leave by insinuating that we want to be alone right now. For some reason, it doesn't bother me, seeing him display the façade that he's so well known for. I know his heart and how good it is…his true intentions and how noble there are. It makes me love him even more.

Besides, I'm too consumed with fear for Lydia and these other girls that have been taken. I can't allow myself to think about what they're going through at this moment. If I do, I fear I'll plunge headlong down the dark abyss that I feel has erupted inside of me and that I'll never find my way back out.

PRESENT DAY

Gotham; April 9th, 03:51 EST

Sirens are flashing red and blue, but make no sound as I arrive on the scene, Nightwing arriving a few seconds after me. I swallow back my emotions, locking them away in order to focus on what is happening here and now. I try my best not to think about Bruce, but the worry is always right there beneath my skin, much stronger now knowing that he has yet to check in.

A car pulls up next to one of the GCPD cars, Commissioner Gordon exiting. He doesn't appear to be the least bit surprised to find that we arrived here before him. He quickly begins giving instructions as officers tape off the area, directing them to allow Nightwing and me to check it out first.

The police officers don't seem to mind that we're invading their territory and basically taking over the crime scene. They're probably used to it after all these years of working with Batman and Robin. It warms my heart to see the utmost respect that Gordon shows Batman and his clan, his faith in them unmistakable and without question.

I follow Nightwing to the car that Kelly was taken from, glancing at the Starbucks employees who stand just outside of the coffee shop speaking to police officers who are taking statements. I notice the security camera located at the corner of the building, hoping that we'll be able to pull something off of it. Knowing Oracle, she's probably already tapping into the camera to retrieve anything that might help us track down these vile people.

Every time I think that I've seen the worst that man can possibly conceive in their hearts, I find myself constantly proven wrong.

I watch as Nightwing crouches down at the driver's side of the car. The door is already open, leading me to believe that she was taken as she was getting in. On the ground is her drink lying on its side, coffee pooled all around it.

Her car looks like what you would expect from a college student. There is a backpack lying on the backseat, a notebook on the floor in the rear of the car. A couple of fast food wrappers and empty Starbucks cups are in the passenger seat, her cell phone lying in the middle console along with a pack of gum and a nail file.

My anger is growing hotter by the second, wondering who could be so evil to do this to these women. I feel my fingers instinctively curling into my palms, my desperation to get my hands on these men building. These young women have so much of their lives ahead of them, their futures so bright only to be cut short by someone who feels that they are expendable.

Nightwing pulls out a couple of bags, collecting evidence that I fear will do absolutely nothing to help us. It's the way that it's been from the very beginning. There's nothing left behind that's given us anything to go on, nothing that could provide a possible clue as to who is behind all of this.

There has to be a mastermind running the show, Michael Kozak a minor player in their twisted game. I can't help but wonder if Bruce has run into Michael during his time undercover. Has he been in contact with the one behind whatever sick scheme they're running?

I don't let myself dwell on Bruce for long, knowing that I can't help him if I allow my thoughts to be consumed with him. I slowly make my way around the car, carefully searching for anything that might have been left behind by the kidnappers.

I find myself sending up another prayer to my deities. It's more out of habit now than actual faith that they will hear me. They have all but turned their backs on me for the last six months, my prayers and petitions going unanswered. I've actually considered going to Mount Olympus, breaking down their gates and demanding answers, but even I can't bring myself to do that…at least not yet.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

I look up to find a police officer standing there, a kind smile on his young face. "No, thank you," I reply with a small smile.

"I'm Officer Charlie Sullivan," he replies. "Let me know if you need anything, ma'am."

"Thank you," I say with a nod. "I will."

Making my way around to the front of the car, I turn my attention to the surrounding vicinity, noticing the small wooded area to the immediate left of the parking lot near where Kelly parked her car. My brow furrows as I walk towards it, noticing the way a couple of the branches are broken as if someone has recently been through there.

I come to a stop at the edge of the trees, crouching down to inspect the area closer. I meticulously examine the broken tree branches, noticing the small scrap of material caught on one of the thorny branches. I carefully remove the piece of light pink fabric, knowing it had to have come from Kelly's shirt. It's a clue, but it doesn't point us to who is behind this.

"What did you find?"

"A piece of material," I reply, looking to Nightwing crouching to my right. I hand the piece of fabric to him to examine in detail later. "I have a feeling it came from Kelly's shirt."

"Good find," he praises me as he puts it into an evidence bag.

"There are a couple of foot prints here in the dirt as well," I point out. "Hopefully, one of them belongs to our perpetrator."

Nightwing begins to take pictures of the tread marks left behind before motioning for one of the police officers to make a cast impression of the shoe print. As they work on that, I begin to inch my way through the thick clump of trees and brush. With any luck, I'll find something more we can use to bring these monsters down.

I brush branches out of my way, ducking to avoid a low-lying tree limb. From some of the trampled brush I find, it's clear that Kelly put up quite a fight, probably more so than the kidnappers had originally thought she would. From what I remember of Bruce's meticulously kept files, there was no sign of a struggle at any of the other crime scenes.

That means we either have a copycat kidnapper or something went awry with this abduction. I hope that Kelly was able to fight long enough and hard enough to get us the evidence that we so desperately need right now to save her before it's too late.

I feel the thorns from the bushes tugging at my clothes and scraping at my skin beneath. I try to ignore the way it brings up memories that are months old and yet still feels so fresh in my mind as if it had all happened just yesterday. My hands curl into fists as I try to fight them back down into the farthest reaches of my brain. This is not the time or the place for a panic-inducing flashback.

I pause to draw a couple of deep breaths, my eyes scanning over the ground. It's so dark and dense among the trees that it's next to impossible to see anything. There's a very faint glow at the edge of the tree line created by the numerous police cars in the parking lot, but it's not nearly enough.

A light seems to come out of nowhere, flooding my path and illuminating the area. I find Nightwing pushing his way through the bramble and bushes as well, attempting to follow me. "Shine your flashlight this way," I instruct him.

He quickly complies, his light shining on the indicated area. "What did you see?"

"I'm not sure," I murmur as I make my way to a large rock, kneeling in the leaves and dirt.

Nightwing kneels beside me, curious as to what I might have discovered. "What is that?" he asks as he pulls out his tweezers.

"A brass button," I murmur, moving aside to allow him to pick it up with his tweezers.

"With any luck, this just might belong to our perp," he says, hope lacing his voice.

"With our luck, it probably belongs to Kelly," I grumble, feeling disheartened despite the fact that we'd actually found a clue this time. Sometimes it felt like such an uphill battle when it came to fighting crime in Gotham.

"Don't give up yet," he encourages me. "Just when you think that you're never going to get anywhere with a case, the unexpected happens."

"I just wish I knew where Batman was," I softly reply.

"Don't worry," he reassures me. "He's really good at taking care of himself."

I turn and give him an incredulous look. "He's also really good at getting himself into trouble."

"When we get back to the cave, I'll see what we can do about finding out where he's at."

We continue to search the wooded area in silence for what feels like an eternity, but we aren't able to find anything more. They were as efficient this time as they had been every other time. We finally exit the woods, my gaze falling on the employees who are still talking to the police.

I recognize one of the employees standing outside of the coffee shop. He's one of the suspects that Bruce had put into his file to investigate. My hand immediately reaches out to latch onto Nightwing's arm, forcing him to a stop before he can move away from me.

He looks down at my hand clutching his arm before looking up at me. "What's wrong?" he asks with a frown. "Are you okay?"

"That man over there," I respond with a nod towards the guy standing off to our left.

"What about him?"

"That's Trevor Mills," I reveal. "He's one of the names that Batman had listed as a possible suspect."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," I maintain. "I've been studying that list of names and pictures every night for weeks now. I'd know him anywhere."

"That's a little bit of a coincidence that can't be ignored," he agrees. "Let's go talk to him and see what we can find out."

I stalk towards Trevor Mills, forcing Nightwing to catch up to me. "Trevor Mills," I call his name as I approach him.

Trevor looks up in shock, clearly surprised that I know his name. His gaze travels over me as if trying to process what he is seeing, his eyes narrowing. The police officer knowingly steps aside, allowing Nightwing and me a chance to talk to the employee.

"What do you want?" Trevor gruffly asks with obvious indifference as he pulls out a cigarette and lights it.

"Do you know who took Kelly?" I question him. I feel Nightwing's hand coming to rest against the small of my back, but I ignore his attempt to quell my fury. I wish I had my lasso in order to get the information that we so desperately need to find these girls.

His expression morphs from one of cocky arrogance to outright resentment. "How would I know?" he snaps at us. "I don't even know her."

I close the distance between us, hoping to intimidate him into answering me. "So you're trying to tell me that tonight was the first night that Kelly has come into this Starbucks?" I press, refusing to back down. I know that he knows more than he's telling us. I can feel it in my bones.

"No," he scoffs. "She comes in here all the time, but that doesn't mean I know her."

"You never really noticed her…didn't think that she was pretty or thought about asking her out on a date?" I continue, my anger growing hotter.

A smug grin breaks across his face as he stares me down. "I have a girlfriend, lady," he replies. "Why would I look at another girl?"

A derisive snort of laughter escapes my throat, my hands balling into fists. "You're in your twenties, Trevor," I remind him. "Your eyes have never wandered…never lingered a little longer than they should have on another girl?"

"Never," he states, glaring directly at me.

I can feel the fury within bubbling up to the surface, wanting to find release. Nightwing seems to realize this as he steps in, moving to stand right beside me. "Look, Trevor," Nightwing interjects. "We don't care if you were cheating on your girlfriend or not. We only want to know if you knew Kelly outside of the coffee shop."

He pauses to smoke his cigarette for a long moment, likely trying to decide just how much he wants to reveal to us. I can feel my impatience building with every passing second. "Maybe I asked for her number once," he reluctantly reveals. "She said she had a boyfriend and that was that. I never asked again and we never spoke more than 'what can I get for you' and 'you're welcome'."

Nightwing appraises him as if trying to decide if he believes him or not. "Thank you for your time," he finally tells him, his hand finding my forearm before turning and pulling me away with him.

"Why are we letting him go?" I demand to know. "He knows far more than what he is telling us."

"I know, but we have absolutely nothing to hold him on," he replies. "We'll get Oracle to dig further into his background to see what she can find. In the meantime, we'll have to follow him to see if he leads us to whoever is behind all of this."

I release a frustrated breath, my jaw clenching. "I don't like this," I bite out.

"I know…me either, but we have no choice right now," he agrees. "Let's get this evidence back to the cave and see if we can't figure out where Batman is."

"Fine," I grudgingly relent, reaching for my grappling gun.

Deep down, I know that he is right, but it does nothing to lessen the violent storm of emotions that are still swirling inside of me. The memories from my own abduction roar to the surface of my mind. I had been unable to fully fight for myself when I'd been taken, but I know I can fight for these girls now and I will no matter what it takes or what lengths I have to go to.

A/N: Whoa. Things are getting really interesting. I have to say that things will only get more intriguing from here on out.

UP NEXT: Diana spends Thanksgiving with Bruce and his family. In the present, Diana finally breaks down from the weight of everything, but who will be there for her when she needs Bruce the most?