Two weeks went by without incident, and the women had a meeting with the DEA to confirm the end of their surveillance. Piper seemed to be comforted now that that chapter of their lives was over, but Alex didn't share her relief. There was a big part of her that was still anxious and suspicious, but she tried not to let on as they proceeded with their lives like a normal couple.
They spent the next week looking at apartments, Piper promising Alex that she could afford the rent, and Alex feeling guilty as hell that she didn't have an income. To be fair, she still had money and could contribute to their lifestyle, but that cash was sure to run out in six months or less. The only saving grace, Alex thought, was that the house arrest would be almost over by then, and she'd be much more likely to gain employment.
By the end of the month, Alex's landlord had new tenants, and the newlyweds were eager to move in that weekend. Alex borrowed her girlfriend's car to get the final few boxes out of her former apartment. Polly's basement served as a makeshift storage unit, and Alex was grateful for the woman's cooperation. According to Alex, Polly still didn't like her, but Piper must have done some serious begging for her to allow Alex to store her things in her home.
The brunette took one more pass through the apartment, ensuring that she hadn't forgotten anything. She stepped into her former bedroom and noticed a fresh coat of gray paint over the wall where Larry had presumably spray painted the word, whore, above her dresser. She huffed as her fingertips touched the semi-glossed wall and was thankful for that part of her life being over. Alex checked the master bathroom, and then journeyed back downstairs and into the kitchen.
The packing supplies were strewn across the kitchen island, and putting those into a plastic bin was her last task before leaving the apartment for good. She placed two rolls of tape and a wad of bubble wrap into the bin when she heard the creak of a door.
"Hello?" she called.
She heard the door shut, and it sounded like someone threw the deadbolt into gear. Alex stood up straight. "Who's there? Piper, is that you?"
A scruffy, tall man stood in the kitchen entryway with an evil grin. "Finally, we're alone."
Alex's breath caught in her throat as she took a step back. She had the scissors in her hands and quickly hid them behind her back. "Who the fuck are you?"
"You don't know me." The man took two methodical steps towards her. "But you know my boss."
Fuck was all the brunette could speak before being tackled by the intruder.
The man shoved her to the ground and tried backing her into the corner, but in one swift motion, Alex punctured his arm with the scissors. The man grabbed his fresh wound, allowing Alex to scoot away. She plunged the scissors into his thigh, effectively making him writhe in pain.
"You're not getting away," he said, trying to stand with the aid of a cabinet handle.
Alex kicked him in the gut twice, forcing the intruder to double over and land back on the floor. Blood poured out of both wounds, but the dark haired woman didn't stop. She stepped on his thigh and twisted her foot, causing the man to scream. He grabbed her ankle, so she cut him again, this time on the forehead with the blade of the scissors.
"Who sent you?" She panted as she reached for the duct tape. "Who fucking sent you?"
"Ugh!" The man was hunched over in pain, and she kicked him in the side for all she was worth. "Kubra. Kubra Balik sent me."
Alex turned the man onto his stomach and quickly twisted the duct tape and wrapped it around his wrists behind his back. When she finished with his arms, she tied his legs together.
"Are you working with anyone else?" she demanded. When he didn't respond, she shoved a knee in his back and pulled his hair until he screamed as his neck was being pulled to the limit. "Tell me now, or I will break your fucking neck!"
"No, no! Please, let me go," he pleaded. "I'm not working with anyone else."
"Are you lying to me?" She tugged his hair harder.
"No, I swear!" He replied through clenched teeth. "There were two of us at first, but Jerome got picked up on drug charges. I swear, it's only me."
Alex threw his head down, causing him to hit his chin on the ground. He squealed again as blood began pouring out of his chin. She found her mobile phone on the counter and quickly dialed 9-1-1.
The dispatcher sent officers to the apartment, and Alex called Piper, all the while keeping a close eye on the intruder.
"Piper, someone broke into my apartment." She inhaled and exhaled in quick spurts as if she'd just run a marathon.
"What?"
"A man was sent to kill me!" she yelled, kicking the man in the side as it looked like he was trying to squirm into a sitting position. "He attacked me!"
"What the fuck, Alex? Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I tied him up. The police are on the way." She found her glasses on the opposite side of the kitchen and put them back on.
"I'm coming over right now. You need to get the fuck out of that house!" Piper's voice was laced with worry. "Do you hear me, Alex? Leave the apartment and go to that liquor store a block away."
Her breathing was still heavy. "I can't leave; I'm waiting for the cops."
"Stay on the phone with me. I just got into a cab," Piper stated. "Alex, are you hurt?"
"No, I don't think so." Truth be told, she didn't even know if she was hurt. The adrenaline was still rushing through her system. The brunette looked at her arms and legs and didn't see any blood or broken bones, so she assumed that she was unscathed.
She heard a hard knock on the door. "NYPD, open up!"
"The cops are here, Piper. I have to go." She hung up the phone and ran to the front door.
Alex quickly explained things to the two officers as they walked back into the kitchen. One of the officers handcuffed the intruder and removed the tape from his wrists and ankles as the other questioned Alex.
"He said he was sent here by my former boss, Kubra Balik, who ran an international drug ring. They locked Kubra up about a month ago."
The female officer, Lieutenant Musgrave, radioed for an ambulance.
"Sir, is that true?" The male officer asked.
The scruffy intruder nodded with shut eyes.
"What's your name?"
"Rohan Barr," the man whispered.
Lieutenant Musgrave wrote something on a small notepad. "Where do you live, Mr. Barr?"
"Next door." He winced in pain.
Alex's eyebrows shot up. She recalled hearing that Larry had moved and now wondered if he'd sold the brownstone to Kubra.
Just then, two more police officers arrived. One took Alex into the empty living room to question her, while the other joined the crew in the kitchen. The ambulance arrived ten minutes later, and one of the EMTs checked on Alex, while the other surveyed the injuries to Rohan Barr.
By the time the intruder was on a stretcher, Piper arrived, barreling into the apartment with wide, frightened eyes. "Alex!" The blonde threw her arms around her girlfriend and cradled her head against her shoulder. "Are you ok?"
"I'm ok." It wasn't until that moment when Alex's emotions got the best of her, and she felt tears stream down her face. "I'm ok," she whispered again, tugging her lover into another long hug.
The police took Alex to the station for more questioning, and Piper followed in her car.
Hours later, Alex was released and the women waited to hear more about the intruder and what the officers had found in the apartment next door.
Lieutenant Musgrave explained the preliminary findings—a computer with a string of e-mails from Kubra, Fahri and others in the cartel dating from the day Alex and Piper left Prague until July 3, the day before Kubra and Fahri were arrested.
"Seems like a pretty cut and dry case," the officer explained. "But we're going to have an agent assigned to you and Ms. Chapman again."
Piper looked up at Alex with worry, and then turned her attention to the officer. "Should we be concerned that Rohan wasn't the only guy that Kubra hired to hurt Alex?"
Lieutenant Musgrave shook her head. "I don't think that's a concern—Mr. Barr appears to be the only person that Mr. Balik hired, other than a Jerome King, who we picked up a couple of months ago for drug trafficking. We've got a couple of officers questioning Mr. King as we speak."
Alex sighed. "I hope it's really fucking over this time."
Piper took her hand.
"You're free to go now," Lieutenant Musgrave said. "Just sign out with the guys at the desk."
Both women were silent on the drive home, but Alex finally spoke as her girlfriend tried to find a parking space. "I'm sorry."
Piper looked at her. "It's not your fault."
"This whole thing is my fault," the brunette sighed. "We wouldn't be in this fucked up situation if I hadn't been in the cartel."
"We can't change that, Alex." She parked the car and turned off the engine. "But maybe, just maybe, that whole part of our lives is finally over."
Alex grabbed her girlfriend's hand before taking a deep breath. "I want to work for the DEA."
Piper's eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"I want to work for the DEA," she repeated, turning to face the blonde. "Not undercover, but as a regular employee."
"That wasn't the offer," Piper stated. "Besides, I'm sure their original offer is off the table since you opted for house arrest."
"I think they'll still take me. I know shit that they don't, and I could be an asset." She lowered her head. "I want to make sure no one has to go through what we've been through over the past year."
The blonde looked out of the windshield and exhaled loudly. "If that's what you want, and they'll accept you, I guess I don't have a say in the matter."
"You do have a say, Piper," Alex tried, squeezing her lover's hand. "But this wouldn't be covert stuff—it would probably be a fucking desk job."
She regarded Alex. "Let's see what they tell you, and we'll go from there."
The brunette leaned across the armrest and kissed her girlfriend. "Ok."
Author's Note: A short Epilogue is coming later today.
