- Chapter Sixty-Eight -

Can I Help You With Something?

[Warning: explicit content]

Destiny? Perhaps it was the recent run of bad cards or maybe it could be attributed to age, however Daniella wasn't entirely sold on that one just yet. Besides, even if she could give some credit to the notion that fate was preordained for every last man, woman, and child, who in the world would think to set her on this path? Which cruel god or twisted mind? Not even sure she believed in some single entity let alone fate, there wasn't nearly enough evidence to subscribe to such a silly thing.

Comparing it all to her private library, it was almost like a romance novel (you know, those things she didn't have). Easy to get swept away in the heat of the moment, but long-term, not something to just throw around carelessly. To say that one believed in fate was a rather big commitment, wasn't it?

Wasn't believing in anything?

Closing her eyes against the lukewarm pins, she gave a little more thought to what Chloe was trying to get at. It was never very cute to begin with, the way the older woman would push them together in the safe house. Where Sam had spent almost all his time at her bedside while she had recovered...

He did that a lot it seemed, even though there were so many times he could have stretched his legs or left it to someone else if he thought her health was so critical. Maybe it was a little more than just making sure that the moving guys didn't break the box clearly marked as 'fragile', but that hardly meant that he truly cared.

The Sword of Damocles was always hanging over her head.

Scrubbing so vigorously that the blonde was in danger of washing out, the heiress watched the dirt collect at her feet before swirling down the drain in lieu of any platinum. Hiding in every last nook and cranny, if there was ever a time to have someone else there to wash her back, this would have been it.

"Stupid..." Muttering under her breath at the shampoo bottle, the heiress wasn't entirely sure if she was calling anyone in particular out, or was merely bemoaning the situation. Really, she probably should have been aiming the accusation inwards, as if anyone was an idiot, it was her. What was I thinking, agreeing to something like that?!

What where you thinking, stopping something like that?!

Incredulous to say the least, the wicked half of the young woman that was so quick to do the bad things was less than pleased that she had cut things short. Entire mouth opened for thorough exploration, the frenzy in which they had kissed had added something to her blood, darker than spite or curiosity, and so much sweeter than any liquor could be. Body knowing precisely what she needed, if she had been able to hold out just a little bit longer...

Maybe he couldn't make her forget forever, but the way they were going, Sam could have made her forget long enough. Could have made her feel better than just alright... Mind running rampant with what might have been, the young woman hadn't immediately realized where her hands had traveled...

Ghosting across the flat surface of her belly, in the back of her mind it wasn't her hand that was skimming over the skin. Eager to just get to the good stuff, there was very little searching the land before the treasure was located. Raw, a single digit slid over the peak of the pink mound, gliding back and forth until the friction became too much. Then that damn sexy smirk loomed out of nowhere, widening as he pushed her further than her body could take.

No... What the fuck am I doing?! Eyes snapping open, the heiress could scarcely believe how low she had fallen; never in her wildest dreams would she have thought herself the type to do this in some else's bathroom. Chloe and Nadine are right outside! I need to... to...

Relax, baby girl, Dells felt a shiver run down her spine when she heard that voice, I got this.

Hallucinating his lips on the back of her neck and his free hand holding her firm against him, she could practically feel the shape of his cock grinding against her ass. Teasing, taunting, tormenting, the pretend sensation escalating with each semi-circle her finger danced. Slapping the fleshy curve as if giving him a show, if the proper lady inside hadn't been tied up by frustration, she would have been quite aghast.

Leaning forward with her palm curled against the tile, as she sped up her ministrations, Daniella whimpered out louder than she'd meant to... Whimpered out a certain name to be more precise.

Dammit, Sam. Fairly sure that someone else could have prevented that little slip up, she wondered if muffling all that noise really was possible. Bringing her hands up to her throat for all of three seconds, the heiress was more interested in the reality where he had been there to smother the moan with his lips, wrapping the cry with a deep kiss before swallowing the honey from her swollen lips.

If she hadn't been alone... If someone had been there with her, Dells wouldn't have needed to just imagine them down on their knees. Imagine him, her fingers threading through those grizzled auburn locks...

Meanwhile, as Nadine tracked down the outfit she had expressly laid out the previous night, Chloe was dicking around on her phone. Scrolling through a backlog of old messages that had built up, the woman had only thought to take the final plunge after sacrificing her own shower so that the scuzzy pauper could get cleaned up and become the princess they all knew her to be.

During the downtime, there was a message from a certain career criminal. Old school in a lot of ways, the elder Drake brother would usually only text if there was reason to do so, so the sudden and unexpected call really was neither that sudden nor that unexpected. It worked out though - they didn't need him wondering where his little lady had disappeared to, and besides, there was a decent chance that he didn't know Elena's itinerary for the day.

Gone out to the professional pickpocket before anyone else, the thief knew whom the heiress was most likely to turn to. Well, second most likely. Point was, it was just a smart move to cover all his bases. "Chloe, she there with yous guys?"

Nadine rolled her eyes as she dipped one toe into the stripped marine opening of her suit. Using her partner's shoulder for support as she climbed into the other, she made absolutely certain to speak loudly and stand just behind Chloe for maximum effect. Sure, it was redundant as the call as already flipped over to speaker, but she wanted to make her point, "See Drake's as polite as usual."

"Hello Nadine." Humoring the woman easier than picking a fight (although he was always down to have that fight after school), Sam figured from their laid-back reception that they were with the girl. Although seeing as Chloe had lost her once already, he would like to verify that she was still over there. "One of you care to put Dells on the phone?"

"Can't." Can't, won't, same birds of a different color, really.

Wrong words to hear when the heiress had already pulled more than one vanishing act today, the man immediately dropped what he was doing. Left to the devices of the imagination, it sounded like something heavy with a glass bottom had been slammed down on a hard surface. "Whattya mean you can't?! She's still there, isn't she?"

Devil incarnate sometimes, the responding shrug was damn-near audible on the other end of the line, "Last I checked she was." True, Chloe could have just told Sam that Daniella was fine, safe and taking a shower to cool off, but where in the world was the fun that?

And there was more to it than her getting her jollies (really that bit was just a bonus). Muck covering the worst of it, both women had been in the business long enough to recognize the various marks of impact. From the light dings of falling pebbles to the gashes of adventure and similar tears of a bad landing, the bright singular glow on the girl's cheek was something far more insidious, the remains of violence with malicious intent. Obviously the duo weren't idiots, so they knew better than to think for even a moment that Sam had done anything to her, but something did happen.

Someone out there had hurt the heiress, and they had been given that opportunity. Whatever had happened between the spring-autumn couple was their business, however, considering how clingy the girl had been, there had to have been a reason why she suddenly didn't want Sam's shoulder to be the one she cried on. Not to say that a couple was automatically limited to just one another in trying times, it was just out of the ordinary.

Frustration evident in his tone, Sam growled into the receiver, "Chloe, dear, are you seriously not going to let me talk to her? Need I remind you what happened the last time I trusted you with her?"

Onyx eyes downcast at the memory, Chloe knew that she had fucked up with the young woman before, so if keeping her from her bodyguard was going to help her in any way, she was prepared to bite that bullet. "You say that like you assume she wants to speak to you." Flippant, she looked down at her nails, blowing imaginary dust off the cuticle.

Half a swear, the majority of the noise out his mouth was a groan.

Lines smoothed out and everything in presentable order, the former mercenary had had enough of their juvenile exchange. Grumbling under her breath about them both being idiots, she would have cracked their heads together if that had been possible. "Enough, stop stalling Chloe. Just put the bastard out of his misery already." Seriously, she was getting sick of the squabbling. Even if it was Drake.

"..." From Nadine's prospective, this was yet another instance of her stubbornly refusing to make nice with the other kids. Sure, Chloe had it in her to play the role of the responsible adult when the situation called for it, and in her own way that was precisely what she was doing now.

Exasperation causing the mercenary to throw her hands up in the air in surrender, Nadine filled in the blanks for Sam, however it was only because the friendlier of the two wasn't willing to budge. "The girl's just finishing up in the shower."

"Shower?" Sounding rather astounded by the miracle of modern technology, Sam had known that Dells was leaving a trail like some toxic creature from the black lagoon, but he didn't think... Mind running away with him for just a moment, there was a very different Sam noise.

It wasn't quite the same as the call for sisterhood or whatever, but Chloe was disappointed in her partner for just serving the girl up like that. "Traitor."

Traitor? Taking that as little more than the natural evolution of her partner's laugh, Nadine completely ignored the accompanying glare, steamrolling ahead as planned. "Actually, your timing works out for once. You can bring the girl something clean to wear. If she wants to talk to you, you can do it on the way."

"The way to where?" Sam was no stranger to the spectacle that came with the weekends surrounding his niece's birthday, however that didn't mean he had a crystal ball to know where that celebration was going to take them.

Muted as she lapsed into a dangerously pensive silence, when Chloe realized that her game was getting her nowhere fast, she left it up to her better half to chime in. On that count, Nadine did not disappoint. "We're going to the beach. Cassie and a few of her mates are going snorkeling later this afternoon, but she wants to spend some time with us miserable sods before bailing to hang out with the cool kids."

Offended by the absurd idea that he wasn't one of the cool kids, Sam was wounded to hear that his niece could find anyone cooler than him. Cooler than her dad, sure, but never him. "What are you talking about? I'm the one that set the standard for cool."

Humble. "Hate to break it to you," utterly cut to pieces, it was so obvious in her tone that Nadine meant it that he could cry, "but you're too old be considered cool anymore."

"By the standards of an eleven year-old, maybe." Lumped into the same camp as Sam on this one, Chloe said that as much for his sake as for her own. Not about to leave sleeping dogs lie, the woman perked up considerably when she caught the water turning off in the next room. "Seems to me we might still have a market in the teen crowd, isn't that right Sam?"

"I don't..."

Trilling out the instant that the bathroom door swung open, the wise and marvelous Chloe changed her aim to a target that she could actually see. As it seemed inevitable at this point that they would come back around to each other one way or another, the locksmith figured that the least she could do was try to lighten the mood. "Hello there, girlie. Have a nice one?"

While there might not have been enough hot water left over to steam up the bathroom mirror, the heiress had a rather contented look on her face as she stumbled her way into the main room. Grin almost dopey and doe-like eyes relaxed, it seemed that she had a very nice shower indeed.

"Uhhh..."

A highly unpolished response from one that should have been dripping in class, Nadine recognized the signs just as well as Chloe had. Like her partner, the ex-mercenary had ignored the out-of-place bang; it had only been the one, and the girl was notoriously accident prone, so it was probably just her dropping the conditioner. Or not. "Eww."

Glossing over Nadine's reaction, Chloe could work with this. Evil grin stretching to maniacal proportions, the group photographer zipped over to the young woman's side, raking her fingers through the wet ends of her hair. "Let me? We should have time to sort you out before we head out..."

Weary of what Chloe was plotting this time, the remaining zen drained from the heiress to be replaced with misgiving to spare, "Head out where?"

Nadine wasn't entirely sure what her partner was up to either, however she didn't like it. Regardless of who the girl was related to, she was barely a notch above deer caught in the headlights. Going up to Daniella as well, the former mercenary put one hand on her shoulder and ushered her along to get comfortable on the bed. "The beach. Drake should be bringing your swim suit now."

"Yeah," scratching his jaw as if he were avoiding speaking to the heiress, the man had been waiting for some punchline from Frazer, but nothing came, "maybe one of you wanna just come get her stuff? God-forbid I screw up and bring the wrong thing."

Equally as awkward when Chloe brought her right next to the phone gleaming mischievously on the nightstand, Dells crossed her arm over her own torso as if she were attempting to remove herself from the situation. "You won't." Mouth dry, that sounded too close to a vote of confidence. "I mean, there's a difference in fabric, and the sides are sheer. If you get confused, just send a pic-"

"Just remember to keep it clean you two." Reminding them that anything he sent would be on her phone, the blush on the young woman's face was more than enough.

"Got it." The last thing he ever expected to be hunting for, there was the sound of the drawer scraping open against the middle shelf, followed by rummaging. Sam adjusted his cellular device to get a better grip on what was what inside the rented space, his fingers moving deftly through a sea of pastel lace, catching more than once in a tangle of unnecessary straps that were purely cosmetic in nature.

"Don't forget cover." Nadine might not have needed to remind him, but she erred on the side of caution anyways. "After everything Daniella's been through, I doubt she's going to want to be seen in a bathing suit."

Combing through the girl's hair for real while they waited, Chloe affectionately pinched the young lady's cheek, just below Jian's love tap; in everything that had happened, neither woman had realized there was more to the story than they'd been told. At least so far as Daniella could tell. "Shame. I bet our girl's a real knock-out out of her clothes."

Confidence boosted a tiny little bit, the heiress sat a little bit straighter on the edge of the bed. "I don't know about that... You could probably rock a burlap sack, and Miss Ross has that kind of understated beauty. I..."

About to say something disparaging to knock herself back down a peg, Chloe tugged on the faux blonde strings she'd been braiding. "Oi, I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you."

Winching, the heiress pouted to the more sensible of the pair, "You gonna stop her?"

"Nope." Cheery, it was Chloe herself that answered; Nadine had suddenly gotten rather busy hunting through her brown bag of supplies for sunscreen and everything else they might need for a full day in the sun. "Nadders knows better than to get in my way once I put my mind to something. Sam knows better too, isn't that right sweetheart?"

Sweetheart. Bubbling up like bile in the pit of her stomach, Daniella was briefly reminded of a time back at the safe house, when she had thought that there might have been a little something going on between the thief and the pickpocket. She knew deep down that it was just a joke, but she didn't much like it.

"Oops," raising her arms to gander at all the new scratches that she had gathered that morning, Dells kicked her heel into the foot of the bed, "my foot slipped. At least I didn't lose my towel."

Dutifully going about his latest task, as he half-listened to what was going on on their end, the historian pulled out a stringy piece that had been shoved all the way to the back of the drawer. Shaking it out, he recognized the crochet block that the young woman had picked up for their stay on the island. Dells hadn't worn it just yet, although she had been quite convincing about having something appropriate to wear - who knew the occasion would actually arise?

"What about a towel?" Placing the... was it a one piece or a bikini? There were dangley bits just below the water cups, confusing if it was actually attached to the bottom or just tied that way for purchase. Whichever the case was, Sam put the bathing suit on top of the dresser.

Closing the top drawer with a notable meeting of metal-on-wood, he moved his search down a level to the middle drawer, where the young woman had kept an assortment of sweaters and other covers. Ever since she'd come back from her first visit with the Orange tiger, Daniella had sworn by anything that would hide the brunt of her injuries. Fair enough, she might have just favored any type of coverage she could get before this whole ordeal, there was no way of knowing.

"It almost came clean off." Chloe embellished the event just a tad, just to get under everyone's skin.

"You'll both want to bring one." Nadine cleared her throat a little too loudly to drown out what the other woman was selling, attempting to cover a mishap that in truth wasn't nearly as bad as it must have sounded.

Beet red an anemic blush compared to how pink her cheeks were flushing, Dells looked like she would give just about anything to evaporate into the floorboards. Funnily enough, that was not the last time she would want to die in that room, but that was another story.

Author's Note:

So I kinda sorta married myself to this idea I have for the next chapter, which actually fucks with the flow of the story. Not too badly I hope - I mean, there are odd little blips here and there already - but this one matters for two reasons. One, its the seventy-fifth chapter, and as I've never reached that high before, it's rather special to me. I want to deliver something that's... I dunno, more? Bigger? Special? I just want to deliver. The rub is actually reason two: there was an established flow, where the crew should obviously be hitting up the beach. I have a whole exoskeleton written and everything! But, that has the potential to go over two chapters (as to that, I won't know for sure until I flesh it out), so that would push back my "special". I know I'm totally overthinking this and should probably just write the story normal so that there's not some weird kink in the timeline, but this is a big deal for me. I know that it's probably not all that big to whomever is taking the time to read this story this far (if indeed anyone is), but...

*sigh*

I'm legitimately torn here, between the integrity of my story and... Wow, before I can even finish that train of thought, it hits me what matters more. I'm adult enough to put the immaturity of having a notable milestone coincide with a pervy giggle behind me. I take my writing seriously. So even if this goes unread, thank you for hearing me out! This gave me the opportunity to grow. To stand for what matters to me. Dumb as that might sound.

Cheers!