Nightmare Lived

She stared shocked, fighting the urge to blink repeatedly in an attempt to make him disappear. He looked the same, except he wore baggy blue jeans and a tight black tank top. At least he's not wearing that damn cat suit that shoes off way too much.

His slow smile made it all too clear that this wasn't just another dream. She stepped back to put more space between them, in effect running into Lapin. Lapin clamped his hands on her upper arms to steady them both so they didn't fall.

"Bonjour chérie…'s been a lon' time." Remy's tone was full of humor and his eyes danced.

"Not nearly long enough!" she snapped irritably, trying to jerk away from Lapin's grip. He let her go.

"Yo' two know each ot'er?" Lapin asked, clearly amused.

"Unfortunately," Yalana said as Remy responded with a simple "Oui."

"I have t' hear dis story," Lapin laughed as Yalana glared at him.

"There's not much to tell. He stole my ring." She refused to look at Remy; instead she paid attention to Lapin.

"On'y after yo' stole i' from de store. B'sides…Remy tol' yo' yo' coul' have i' back. Yo' jus' nev'r came t' ge' i'."

She made a face. "Like I'd go looking for you," she said scornfully before rounding on Lapin. "And how do you know him?" she demanded.

He smiled sheepishly. "Sadly 'nough…he's sor' of my cousin, mais don' hold da' 'gains' me s'il vous plait."

"How can you be sort of cousins?" she asked still refusing to acknowledge Remy even as he moved closer to them.

"Easy." It was hard to ignore him when he stood so close. "Remy ain' related t' him by blood. Lapin's my cousin by 'doption."

"Great," was her only reply. "Right, guess it's time for me to get lost." Yalana turned to leave, bringing her right up against Remy. She stepped to the side to go around him and head for the door, but he caught her arm and spun her back around.

"Yo' can' leave s' soon," he told her smiling flirtatiously. "We still go' lo's of catchin' up t' do."

Yalana tried, uselessly, to jerk her arm out of his hand. "I have nothing to say to you," she ground out between her teeth, bringing heat to her skin, adding to it steadily determined to make him let her go even if she had to burn his arm off.

"Down femme." Remy's voice was still light, but his eyes were hard. "Da's no' goin' t' work."

Lapin, who had stood silently until now, finally spoke. "Remy, le' her go. Yo' can' jus' make her stay b'cause yo' wan' t'."

Remy didn't look away from Yalana. "Oui, Remy c'n. You don' know her Lapin. D' yo' wan' t' tell him or d' yo' wan' me t'?" The last comment was directed at Yalana.

She met his gaze steadily, refusing to look away but stubbornly keeping a stony silence. "Tell me wha'?" Lapin asked confused; still Yalana refused to rise to the bait.

"Tell him," Remy said, still ignoring the heat she was focusing under his hand even though she knew he would blister from it. "If yo' don' den Remy will." Still she was silent.

"Remy jus' tell me!" Lapin snapped, tired of the games and aggravated at the way his cousin was treating the girl he had been working for over a week at getting to open up even a little bit. And here Remy was making it sound like he knew her intimately and had for years.

"Yo' been readin' de papers," Remy said steadily, still looking at Yalana, "an' yo' hear' de way mon père goes off when he reads de articles bou' de t'ief."

Yalana's will was all that kept her from visibly paling; now she knew what he was talking about, what he had wanted her to tell Lapin. It was all she could do to keep the flames from bursting out of her to shut him up. He was going to tell, he was going to tell his cousin what she did for a living and he was gong to do it here at a party with hundreds of people around that could overhear.