Blinking at her phone, Anna swiped the alarm away before sliding out of the protective embrace of John's arm. She sent off a quick text and dragged a hand over her face as she set to gathering the remains of her clothes from the floor. Even John's found some space in her wardrobe on the vain hope hanging them straight might rid the suit of some unfortunate wrinkles.

But the overall state of John's clothing hardly mattered when she looked over and noted the telltale perk of the sheets around his hips. For a second she debated with herself before crossing the distance back to the bed. A quick glance at her phone revealed no new messages and that time was on her side. At least on her side enough for what she had in mind.

Sliding the sheet off John's body, shivering slightly between the combination of the chill in the air of the room and the thrill of her next intentions, Anna crawled nimbly over John's legs to position herself as close to him as she dared. Her muscles pulled when she forced herself to lower as slowly as she could manage onto his thighs without disturbing his sleep.

It took a moment, waiting to ensure the slow rise and fall of his breathing continued uninterrupted, before Anna set to her work. Her hands smoothed over his skin, following the natural curves and dips of his body until she stretched herself almost the length of him. The lengths she could reach while still keeping her position, anyway. And once she reached the apex of her stretch, leaving a kiss as gentle as butterfly wings on John's lips, Anna drew back.

He shifted slightly under her and Anna paused until John settled again. Once he did, she dragged her fingers and lips back over him. Pausing wherever she pleased, nipping at skin when John's brow furrowed in his sleep, and continued until she reached her original position. One that allowed her to slip forward as John blinked and frowned himself awake. It took him a moment but once John turned his head in Anna's direction, she lowered her mouth with a smile and set a delicate kiss right at the tip of him.

With a groan, John let his head go back to the pillows and Anna let the tip of her tongue trace the length of him. But when John's mouth opened again, the beginnings of a louder moan almost escaping, Anna leaned forward and put her hand over his mouth. He barely blinked at her before Anna shook her head and put a finger over her lips.

"Remember John, we've got to keep quiet now." Anna withdrew her hand and taunted John with dabbling kisses about his mouth. "We'd hate to wake the neighbors now, wouldn't we?"

He shook his head and surprised Anna when both of his hands caught hers. Pressing light kisses to her palms, John moved one of her hands between his legs and the other between her own. It almost caught her off guard but not as much as him suddenly sitting up to effectively trap her hands between them.

"Try to keep quiet." Was all he whispered near her ear as his hips shifted forward enough to slide them almost together.

Anna almost took it as a challenge. One she instigated when her hand wrapped around him to encourage his hardening, pulsing arousal to meet hers. The arousal that John's fingers joined hers in exploring as they tangled in their desire to bring one another to mutual pleasure. A method only made more tempting as John traced kisses along Anna's throat and shoulder.

It kept them close but Anna needed something to hold. An anchor to keep herself from shifting as a burn in her thighs signaled the possibility of a growing ache that, unlike the one John encouraged when his fingers crooked inside her, would leave her with no pleasure. So Anna removed her hand, slipping it free to rest on John's shoulder but he paused their motions to capture her fingers and suck them clean as his drove deeper inside her.

Seizing the back of his neck gave Anna all the anchor she required. The anchor to bring their lips together so she could take control of his mouth with the same unforgiving pace he set at her core and one to hold to as John continued to buck against the work of her other hand. Heat grew between them, sweat creating the paradox of a frictionless environment that only created more friction, until John's thumb pressed hard on her clit.

With her nails digging into the back of his neck, Anna's body tensed into a coil ready to spring. But as John's fingers continued to stroke her through the climax that almost left her biting through her lower lip, Anna practically sagged against him. Sagged enough that her hand slackened its hold on John's unchecked arousal and left Anna at the mercy of his fingers as he continued to encourage her through the tremors of her climax toward another.

But Anna surged up and took John's mouth in a kiss. It kept him off guard enough that she rose slightly, pushing up on complaining thighs to rest on her knees while they tightened to his side, and latched onto the wrist of his hand still buried between her legs. Anna broke the kiss, noting the confusion on John's face, and tried to hold back her grin of satisfaction when his eyes rolled back into his head as she plunged down onto him until their pelvises practically knocked together.

Their bodies almost vibrated in sync with one another as Anna kept a tight hold on John's wrist. Tight enough to bend it toward her mouth so she could take her turn and suck his fingers clean as well. That brought John's eyes wide again and his fingers clamped like vices on Anna's hips to keep her in position as he thrust into her. Hard enough almost to bruise but Anna responded with the same level of intensity as she undulated against him.

Her breath raised the tiny hairs dotting his shoulder as her nails dug into their familiar grooves at the back of his neck. It kept her grounded against the rising tide of pleasure John's movements encouraged until Anna's body threatened to tighten again. And she gave into it when John nudged her mouth to meet his again. To meet his enough that her hand snaked between them to find the sweet spot just missing the pressure of his pubic bone.

It set her off, leaving her gasping and crying out into John's kiss and then his shoulder as he broke away for air. Enough air to give a grunt of his own that echoed the spasms of Anna's finish. A finish that had them slumping sideways when they needed support their positions could no longer offer.

Sliding sideways, one of her legs remaining draped over John's hip, Anna stretched awkwardly on the bed. The muscles in her body twitched slightly and she shifted to sit up. It took a moment to get off the bed, expenditure of energy leaving her a little light-headed when she first tried to walk, but she managed a pace toward the bathroom where she took a damp cloth to herself before washing it out again to bring back to John.

He sat up, as if awaiting her return, but caught her hand before she could use it. A kiss pressed to the inside of her wrist had Anna staring at him before noting the evidence that, perhaps, he was not as finished as she thought. Then again, as Anna knelt in front of him and pushed John's legs far enough apart to allow her smaller shoulders between them, perhaps she was not finished yet either.

A perfunctory brush of the cloth of him only encouraged Anna. The shivers of his body signaled tingling in her own and she dropped the cloth to the floor to put her damp hand between her legs as her drier hand held John's thigh. It was all the support she needed to take his burgeoning arousal in her mouth and suck hard.

If not for the earlier adjuring to keep quiet, Anna could have bet money on a string of phrases to come from John's mouth. Instead he seized a fistful of sheet and stuffed it between his teeth while Anna wrapped her tongue the length of him and swallowed before drawing back as if sucking the end of a particularly enticing popsicle. One that only grew and flourished under her attentions until there was nothing to be done but trace her tongue through the slit at the head to gather more of the salty taste of him.

John's hands gripped her upper arms and his whispered pleadings enjoined her to draw back. Not before she left a kiss just on the head of him. And not before she brought herself to a shuddering- though not toe-curling- finish with her own fingers. It gave her an edge, watching John looking so incredibly wrecked, for Anna to put one of her own fingers between her lips and drag it through her lips before turning as if to dispose of the damp cloth she did not want soaking into the rug.

But John caught her wrist again, this time tugging her to him. But not to allow her to straddle him again. This time his arms wrapped like bands around her abdomen and chest to keep her back pressed firmly against his chest while his erection trapped in the curve of her ass.

For a moment they barely breathed. Anna, because she was not sure she wanted to disturb John's hold on her, and John because breathing meant movement. But his fingers quickly took to caressing over Anna's body, focusing on her breasts and between her legs as his arms crossed her body so only his forearms touched in the 'X' shape they made over her torso. It kept her close to him and allowed John to shift them back just enough to take advantage of the edge of the bed while leaving Anna's legs dangling over his own.

Between the efforts of his hand on her breasts, the kisses he ardently pressed over her shoulders and throat, and his fingers sliding silkily through her soaked folds, Anna lost her advantage. It took John almost no time at all to leave her writhing and twisting against him as if she could reposition them to swallow his hot erection still trapped against her ass. But she could only move so far and Anna eventually conceded defeat with the slightest of keening cries.

One John heard and immediately rectified by sheathing himself inside her as far as he could go. It forced Anna's neck to arch and her head hit his shoulder, leaving her neck exposed to more of his kisses. He nipped at her skin before soothing it while his hands continued their taunting pleasure over her breasts and between her legs in time with the determined thrusts. Thrusts that left her almost fluttering against him as she tried to match his speed.

But where she almost toyed with him earlier, he now toyed with her. Toyed until she tightened and trapped him. Until she fell from a great height but still registered his following finish.

John's arms tightened around her as he laid back on the bed again. When Anna slid sideways this time, she turned her head to meet his gaze and smiled. "Think we woke anyone this morning?"

"The bed does squeak but we kept ourselves quiet enough we could convince someone it was just you turning in the night." John shrugged into the mess of the sheets. "Although how you explain how I'm still here is another thing entirely."

"If you claim to've slept on that," Anna pointed to the sofa in the room. One obviously too small for John to sleep on without his legs dangling over one of the arms. "Then it'll be fine."

"Because anyone'll believe that."

"They won't believe that you made me sleep on it." Anna pushed herself to sit up again. "Third time's the charm."

"What?"

"The third time being the charm in getting out of bed." Anna slipped over the side and grabbed the cloth from the floor. "I've not had much success staying out of bed this morning."

"Is that a complaint?"

"Absolutely not." Anna winked at John before moving into the bathroom. "But we do have work to do today."

"Do we? It's Sunday and, last I checked, we're not scheduled for today."

"I got a text from Henry that said-"

"Talbot? As in the man who scaled the side of this house last night and met us, in our skivvies, to try and convince us to drop this case so he can leave a corpse instead of a body?" Anna turned, leaning back against the counter as John stood in the doorway. "That Henry?"

"You might be surprised to learn, but I don't actually know anyone else named Henry so yes, that would be the one." Anna pivoted back to the sink to pull her hair up and out of the way. "And he's got a potential lead."

"Does he now?" John scoffed, "Why not get him to chase it down?"

"Because he's not technically supposed to be here."

"Didn't stop him invading that flat and then knocking me unconscious."

"You act like you're the only one he knocked unconscious."

"I'm the only one he knocked out who isn't talking about working with him." Anna faced John again. "I don't trust him."

"I know."

"Then why are you going to help him, Anna? He's not out to help us."

"Because…" Anna sucked the insides of her cheeks a moment, not dropping John's gaze, and continued. "Do you remember those stories, in India, about the man who killed himself after he was accused of beating his wife and daughters?"

"It was all over the news for a minute."

"Then you also remember the way he pleaded for people to listen to him?"

"Yes." John crossed his arms over his chest, "What's this got to do with Talbot and whatever batshit idea he's asking you help him accomplish?"

"I saw that same look in Henry's eyes last night. He didn't say anything, never would, but I saw it. I saw when he'll never say because no one'll listen to him."

"No one but you?"

"I've got a knack of picking up when people are crying out for help and no one's paying them any mind." Anna shrugged up a shoulder, "Takes one to know one, as it were."

"And he wants you to hear him?"

"He's begging for help."

"You're talking about him like he's innocent. Like he's not counting days and bullets until he gets one right between Green's eyes."

"And maybe he should." Anna chewed the inside of her cheek. "But he won't. If I help him he'll owe me. That's how this works. I can use that leverage to find Green first or, if it comes to it, get Henry to deliver him alive instead of dead."

"And we all win?"

"That's the hope."

John's arms dropped to his sides as he sighed. "I know a bit of what it's like to be crying out for people to hear you when the world's gone deaf. And… And while I didn't understand it last night, I saw it too."

"You did?"

"Doesn't mean I want to help the bugger. I've still got a bit of a knot at the back of my head and, if the chance presents itself, I'll be returning the favor."

"Oh," Anna faked a pout and sauntered over to John, her fingers moving to caress the back of his head. "Does it still hurt too?"

"You'll take the mickey out of me but yes, it does sometimes."

"Maybe I can give you something else to think about instead." Anna's hands fell from John's neck to his shoulders, skating down his arms to take his hands as she led him backward into the glass-walled shower. "Something better to think about."

The water proved almost as difficult an obstacle as sweat when they came together. But between the soap suds from washing one another or the shampoo they massaged into hair, it slickened them enough to come together. The slippery aspect of the floor had Anna lowering her leg from John's hip and quieting the confusion in his expression with a kiss before she turned to put her hands on the tile.

John's kisses interspersed with the water sluicing over her back and Anna arched when John's fingers entered her again. Her huffing breaths were almost drown by the water as John sucked hard at her neck and shoulders before taking her in a kiss. A kiss he used as a distraction before he entered her again.

It took little time, between desperate and sloppy kisses, for them to finish. And the water helped them wash away the evidence of the night before and that morning. At least the physical evidence.

The tricky part was sneaking John out of the house. Given the late hours of the party the night before, the only people they really dealt with were the cleaners. But an alcove or two proved useful when lethargic and hungover individuals stumbled around the corridors before John and Anna snuck back to his car.

"Where to?"

"Hopefully yours, for a change, and then to this address." Anna squinted at her phone. "I don't know where this is so you'll have to be cartographer."

John checked it quickly. "I know that neighborhood. It's where Ethel Parks was killed. It's in Albert Mason's territory."

"Do you think Henry found something there?"

"Let's hope he did. I don't want to be caught in that neighborhood without a good excuse to be there."

"I'll follow your lead then."

John's quick change gave them enough time to find the neighborhood and park the car before braving the chill air. The only benefit of it, as Anna folded herself into her coat, was no wind. A thought that sustained her as they reached the texted meeting point and wait for Talbot.

"How'd he even get this lead?"

"My guess?" Anna shrugged, "Probably Blake."

"They know one another?"

"I would guess Blake would want Henry to solve this his way instead of needing to help us solve it ours." Anna made air quotes with her gloved fingers. "Keeps it 'cleaner' or something."

"Then it's a good thing Blake got me in on this." Both of them turned as Talbot dropped next to them. "Cut out the middleman… Or men, Charles would've had to work around to get the information I can give you freely."

John craned his neck back, "Where exactly were you hiding Spiderman?"

"Not important." Talbot pointed, "The information you want is up there with some young ladies who, under different circumstances, would cost a lot more than the cups of coffee and breakfast I bought them."

"Speaking of breakfast." Anna muttered to herself as they crossed the street into the little dive café.

"I'm curious," John kept his voice low as they entered the tepid room and shook off their coats by the door. "How'd you know anything about what time with these ladies would cost?"

"We run on the same markets."

Anna noted how John just blinked at Talbot. "Are you always so casual talking about things like this?"

"Should I be awkward and timid like you?"

"I'm just wondering if killing people for a living is part of the reason you're basically an emotionless automaton."

"No." Talbot pointed, "This way."

They trailed him through the café to a table where two women picked over trays covered in an assortment of food as varied as a pregnant woman's night cravings. Anna raised an eyebrow but took a seat next to the women. They both acknowledged her for a second before taking the measure of John and Talbot. The smaller of the two spoke first.

"If you want a three-way… That'll be extra."

"We're not paying for pleasure, just information." Talbot pulled out a few bills and handed them over to both women.

"What if we don't have anything to tell you?"

"Then take it with my compliments and get yourself a warmer coat."

The two women looked over their clothes before the smaller one spoke again. "If we cover up then we can't show anything. That's not how it works."

"If you freeze then how'll you earn money?" Talbot pressed but the larger of the two women interrupted.

"What do you want to know?"

"If you knew Ethel Parks?"

Both women stiffened, looking over the trio before scooting their chairs almost imperceptibly backwards. Again, the smaller one spoke first. "What do you want to know about her? She's dead. She's nothing to no one."

"She's something to us."

The larger of the two women eyed John as he said it. "Why? You some kind of sicko or something? A nympho with a necro thing going?"

"That's disgusting." He grimaced but Anna interrupted them.

"We're trying to find the man who did it to her."

"You're sure it's a man then?" The smaller one pulled her drink towards her, sucking loudly through the straw before winking at Talbot. "I could do that to you if you'd like. Make it worth your time."

"You're not my type."

"What, a prostitute?"

"Female." Talbot clarified and gestured toward Anna. "Now, about her question, what do you know about Ethel Parks?"

"She was murdered. End of story for us."

"Was it suspicious?"

The women eyed one another again before the larger spoke. "Ethel was… She was smacked. High as a kite most nights. We knew she was working over Charlie, trying to get him to bring her up in the business so she wasn't blowing in street corners and the like, but he didn't seem interested. Was always around but not… Up, you know what I mean?" She nodded at Talbot, "Maybe your type then."

"I doubt it." Talbot tapped the table. "The night Ethel died, was anyone working close to where she was?"

"We all switch our spots around. We used to take her street but…" The smaller one paused, "We lost a few girls there. She was the only one dumb enough to go back there. Thought it'd have more people now that we weren't all hogging the street if you know what I mean."

"And that's where they found her body?"

The women nodded as the larger of the two spoke again. "Big Al won't put no one there no more. Says that he's lost enough girls to it."

The smaller of the two snorted into her chips, "He'll lose us to disease and smack but not killers. Oh no, not deficient like that one."

"Deficient?" John drew their attention. "What do you mean by deficient?"

"Look," The smaller one held up a finger, "I've been with more men than you've probably ever worked with, right? I know a thing or two about men and their cocks but this one… We'd all seen him and none of us would take him."

"Big Al doesn't have a lot of rules but he'll be the only one to rough us up if there's roughing to be had so we've got last rights to say 'yes' or 'no'." The large one picked over a half-eaten burger before turning to a cup of custard. "We still have to give him the same cut no matter how many we have in a night so it's really our decision in the end and no one would take him."

"But Ethel did?" Anna insisted and both women nodded, the smaller one rolling her eyes. "Why?"

"She wanted to impress I think. The bloke obviously had money but there was something… Not right about him."

"Not right how?" John continued and the two women before shrugged.

"You work this long enough you know the types. The lonely, the depressed, the desperate, the ones wanting to be daring, the losers… We've seen them all. And you learn to cater to them. Give them what they want and you get paid."

"But this one," The larger one continued, "He had this vibe… Like something that just makes your skin crawl. And it's more than being oily or sleezy. It was… Dark. And for people in our line of business that means you're probably going to end up dead or worse."

"What about the other girls? The ones not high, like Ethel. Did they get the bad vibe from him?"

The smaller one sighed, "They were young. It's a sense you train for your safety. You have to so you survive in this business. They didn't have it yet and Ethel… she could barely read a sign for the bus so she wasn't exactly operating at maximum efficiency, if we're being honest."

"If we put you with a sketch artist, could you give us a description of the man?" Anna eyed the two women as they tensed again. "We need to find him before something else happens."

"Like he kills again or something?" The larger one gave a non-committal shrug. "You pay us for the time and get Big Al to sign off on it and we're all for it."

"But we'll not be having any of your entrapment or nothing. We're not cooperating just to end up in a cell." The smaller one finished her drink and pushed back from the table before handing Talbot a card. "Here's our number. Ask for Sybil and Selina… And we might even find a gentleman for you."

"That's very kind of you." Talbot tucked the card away before handing both of them another fold of bills. "For your time and the information."

"We'll see what we can do."

They left and John shifted to Talbot as Anna picked over the trays. "Blake helped you find them?"

"We're friends." John held out his hand but Talbot only stared at it. "Can I help you with something?"

"Their contact information would be helpful."

"They gave it to me and, like them, I'm worried you'll only drag them in to get them with a smaller net."

"Thanks for the trust." John turned to Anna, who pushed the trays to the edge of the table and waved them off with a server. "What now?"

"We know he's targeted prostitutes."

"That's old news."

"But it told us what they noticed." Anna held up a finger. "Deficiency."

"Because they refused him?"

"They noted something off about him and said no. Then he targeted the young, the ignorant, and high…" Anna slumped in her chair. "He thinks himself an avenging angel taking revenge for slights against him."

"In my experience people like this one tend to be petty assholes." John clicked his teeth a second before getting Talbot's attention. "Anything you want to contribute to the discussion?"

"Just this." Talbot held up the card and flipped it to the back. "There's an address here. Something I think they slipped to us when they couldn't tell us."

"Why?" Anna took the card and studied it before handing it over to John.

"You didn't notice the two by the door that followed them out when they left the café?" Talbot flagged down a server.

"Pimps." John shook his head. "Watching them like hawks to make sure they're not moles or CIs or something."

"Didn't Blake say that Ethel was his CI?" Anna tapped her teeth together. "Who'd she inform on? Who was Blake using her against?"

"You'd have to ask Blake." Talbot smiled at the server. "Yes, I'd like-"

"I've got to make a call." Anna pushed from the table and shot off a text before dialing a number. It only rang a second. "I know you said I shouldn't use this line but I need you to tell me who Blake was using his CI to target."

"I can't-"

"We just need a point of contact. We're not blowing an operation or anything. We just need someone to-"

"Vera Bates. She's going by Jocasta Cameron now but that's who Blake wanted to take down next."

"Makes sense as to why he wanted the file on her." Anna nodded to herself. "Thank you. Sorry to bother you."

"Don't contact us again."

Anna blinked at the swift end of the call but tucked the phone away before rejoining the table. "I know why Blake wanted Vera's file."

"Why?" John looked up at her as he passed over a tray.

"He was using Ethel to worm into her organization."

"But it's all tied up and…" John let out a huff. "That's how she got out of it and why he wants the file. He thinks someone closed it to avoid suspicion."

"Whoever it is," Anna tapped the card back in Talbot's hand. "They might be at that address. They could be the link between these dead women and our killer."

"I still don't see how Vera has anything to do with a murdering psycho."

"Hopefully whoever's at that address will be kind enough to tell us." Anna sipped at the drink. "I need to remember this place."

"It's a good dive." Talbot turned to John, "If this requires… Less legal ways to get into the building, what is your take on that?"

John shrugged, "That I hope the right people got paid this month."

"Perfect, then we're agreed." Talbot raised his glass and Ana half-heartedly clinked it to his. "This'll be fun."