A/N Sorry I had to skip the last two updates, real life is killing me right now. However, NaNoWriMo is over, we're back to weekly updates.


Peter woke up early the next morning. He didn't feel rested but he was too wired to go back to sleep. Braeden was still sleeping and it didn't look as if she'd moved at all over the night. Peter checked her temperature with the back of his hand. Her forehead was slightly warm and sweaty but not alarmingly so. She didn't look as if she would wake up anytime soon so Peter dared to slip out of the room to get them some coffee and something more sustainable for breakfast than snacks from the vending machine.

Only when he was back in the room and had confirmed that Braeden was still breathing, he dared to have a look at his phone. He had a missed call and a voice message from Kali and even Deucalion had sent him a voice message. He left those for now and listened to the message of one of the workers from the warehouse.

He was worried that he couldn't reach Braeden and he confirmed that the police had found a dead body in the warehouse and were now all over the place.

It was still way too early but Peter called him and the man picked up after the second ring.

"Boss?" The man didn't sound as if Peter had woken him up. "Sorry that I bothered you but I don't know what happened to Braeden."

"She's with me, she's fine." Peter glanced over to the other bed where Braeden still hadn't moved. "The warehouse is burned don't go back there."

"I'm not stupid," the man said. "Already told the others to take a few days off until things have calmed down. I was just worried about the lady boss."

"She got shot but it's taken care of now." Peter owed him at least that bit of information. "Keep your head down, she'll contact you in a few days."

"Hope she gets better soon," he said with clear relief in his voice. "I might get some hours of shuteye now." He did sound tired.

"That was the easy one," Peter said when the line went dead and squinted at the list of unopened messages. People were asking about what had happened at the warehouse, word got around quickly, or they were trying to warn Peter to not go back there. Some were warnings to not piss off Deucalion which were well meant but a tad too late.

Among all those messages was one from Derek who most likely wanted to know why he'd missed dinner with them yesterday.

Peter knew he shouldn't do this. He should block his number and cut all ties to Derek. Otherwise, he would drag him into this, hell, he'd already dragged Stiles into this mess.

But feeling selfish he read the message.

Stiles said that you had to leave for the weekend. If you're back by Monday how about dinner then?

It was just a text message and Derek hadn't used any emojis but Peter felt the anxiety behind those words. Derek was worried that he'd left for good.

Against better judgment, Peter answered that he would be there for dinner. He might find a moment to talk to Stiles, Peter still wanted some answers. He just tried to justify his stupid decision, he knew that but he couldn't back out now, could he?

Eventually, he had only Kali's and Deucalion's voice messages left.

In the end, both came down to that they could talk this out, no harm done, and Kali seemed willing to move on but Deucalion demanded that Peter handed over Braeden.

"Wouldn't blame you if you did," Braeden suddenly spoke up from the bed behind him. Of course, she'd chosen this moment to wake up.

"How do you feel?" Peter put the phone aside and stepped over to her. "I have something here for the pain. And you should take your antibiotics."

She nodded to the pills but it was the water she gulped down greedily. Some went into the wrong pipe and she curled up in pain when she had to cough it back up but eventually she stretched out with a sigh.

"You might have to help me over to the bathroom," she said after long seconds of silence.

Peter helped her the short distance to the bathroom but she was steady enough on her feet to manage alone from there. He still breathed easier once he had her stretched out on the bed again.

"What are we going to do now?" Braeden asked once she'd caught her breath.

"I'm not going to hand you over to Deucalion," Peter said firmly. He liked to joke that Braeden would shoot him in the face for the right price but he knew that that price was more of a theoretical concept than anything else. Same with him. He would not just hand her over for an easy way out.

"Good to know." She managed a smile. "What are you going to do, then?"

"I'll call him, see where he stands." Peter shrugged. He wasn't looking forward to it but Deucalion was not unreasonable. First of all, he was a businessman. Peter could do business with him, right?

"But first I want to go shopping, you need a few things." Peter changed the topic. "How do some nice and clean clothes sound?"

"Are you going to buy me underwear?" She cracked an eye open.

"That or you have to wear some of mine, your choice."

"Thanks, I pass." She let her eyes fall back close again. "Besides, you just want a reason to leave so that you can call Deucalion without me listening in."

"That too," Peter admitted easily. "But you also need some clean underwear."

"You would give me a heads-up if they're coming for me, right?" She didn't bother to open her eyes, she just shifted into a more comfortable position, ready to go back to sleep.

"You're safe here," Peter assured her. "But yes, I would warn you."

"Good." With that, she snuggled deeper into the pillow and her breathing evened out. Peter waited a few more minutes but when she didn't open her eyes again, he grabbed the key and left the room.

He did get the shopping done first but then he didn't have any excuses left to not call Deucalion. By now it was late enough in the morning for a social call so Peter took a breath and hit the call button. While he waited for the man to pick up, he leaned back in his car seat, he wanted to at least start the conversation relaxed.

"Peter," the man greeted him when he finally picked up. Peter had been about to hang up by then. "Nice of you to call."

"I got your message."

"Things got out of hand, I get that," Deucalion said in a tone that made Peter want to punch him in the face. "One of my men is dead, I can't just let that go. I think you understand that."

"That man of yours stole from me and then he had the gall to go back to Braeden, demanding money," Peter summed up the situation. "He attacked her, she defended herself. It's not my fault that he ended up dead. That's on him."

Peter fell silent for a moment to give Deucalion the chance to say something to that but when he remained silent as well, he continued: "Braeden almost died, I have a dead body in my warehouse, and the cops are all over it. The whole warehouse is gone."

Peter hadn't even started to calculate what kind of damage that would cause in the long run. Nothing he couldn't deal with but this was a clear loss on his end.

"I won't give you Braeden and I won't make amends," Peter stated. "From my point of view, you owe me."

"I'm sorry for what happened but …," Deucalion started but Peter cut him off.

"No buts. Your guy fucked up and he got what he deserved. Call me when you can make me an offer." With that Peter ended the call. The last bit might have been bold but it felt right. Now he could only wait and see what Deucalion would do.

To get his mind off Deucalion Peter did a quick search for Isaac Lahey online. He didn't expect to find much. The usual social media all the young people were addicted to and he did find those, pictures with his friends, stuff about parties and classes. The usual life of a college student. However, there was more. His name popped up in some articles. His brother had been killed in combat and his father had died in an accident. For a while, it hadn't been clear if it had been an accident, though.

The police are looking in every direction …

Every direction meant Isaac. The mother wasn't mentioned so Peter didn't know why she wasn't in the picture but the fact that she wasn't helped to paint a picture of Isaac. A single father with two boys, life for sure hadn't been easy. The photo of the father didn't show a sympathetic guy either. Maybe Isaac did have a hand in that "accident".

Even if not, Isaac was on his own and money was most likely tight even with possible insurance money. That made him easy to impress and manipulate.

When he came back into the motel room, Peter found Braeden sitting with her back propped up against the headboard of the bed, munching on one of the bagels Peter had bought for breakfast.

"You look better." Peter sat down the shopping bags and made sure to lock the door.

"I feel better," Braeden said around a mouthful of bagel. "What did Deucalion say?"

"He wants your head on a platter." Peter reached for the bag with the other bagel. Earlier he hadn't felt like eating but now he was starving.

"What did you say?"

"That his guy fucked up on his own and that he owes me for the damage he caused." Peter unwrapped the bagel. "Told him to give me a call once he can make me an offer."

"You're making friends around here." Done eating she balled up the wrapper and aimed for the bin near the door. It landed on the floor a foot from the bin.

"Your aim used to be better," Peter commented.

"Let me see your aim after you got shot."

Peter nodded touche, unlike her he had manners and did not speak with his mouth full.

"Now we wait?" Exhausted she let her head fall back against the headboard.

"You should get some rest." Peter had a closer look at her but aside from being exhausted, she did look better. Her cheeks had a more healthy color and she didn't look feverish. She still needed rest. And a shower but that could wait a few more hours.

"Are you going to watch me sleep like a creeper?"

"I have some things to do," Peter said vaguely but when she made a noise, asking for more information, he added: "There's this guy, he's stalking me. Not sure what his deal is but he might be on Deucalion's payroll."

"Is he dangerous?"

"He almost peed his pants when I confronted him at the clinic yesterday." Peter shook his head. He didn't think that Isaac was dangerous but whoever he was working for might be.

"You have that effect on people."

Peter glared at her but she didn't even look at him.

"Are you going to be okay here for a while?" Peter asked, reluctant to leave her alone this soon again.

"I'm a big girl."

"Don't do something stupid like taking a shower while I'm gone, big girl," Peter said sternly. "I don't want to find you lying in the shower."

"Yes, Boss."

Peter made sure that she had everything she needed and by the time he was ready to leave, she was fast asleep.

"Okay, who are you, Mister Lahey?" Peter wondered aloud when he got in the car. At least he knew where to find him. Peter drove over to the campus and after a moment of orientation, he headed for the administration building.

"Good morning, sir. How can I help you?" A young man, most likely a student himself, greeted him when he entered the building.

"Oh, I hope that you can help me." Peter gave him his most winning smile.