Chapter Nine
The next month went well for Lizzy; she learned to be comfortable around Darcy - to the point, it was getting easy to forget he was an undercover detective and not really Will O'Mara, tough, protective, and caring boyfriend. Unfortunately, Darcy was not having an equally benefitting month. His easy beginning with Wickham stagnated, and time after time he was being left out of any job that would get him close to Wickham's inner workings.
The worst part was that he didn't know if he had done something to tip Wickham off; if Wickham was suspicious of him in particular, or if he was just suspicious of people in general, but the more times he was looked over the more frustrated he became. Lizzy felt bad for him; she really did want Wickham out of the neighborhood and behind bars where he belonged, but when she was completely honest with herself she was beginning to blur the lines between Darcy and Will and couldn't help also feeling a strange ache when she thought of their relationship, even for what it was, ending. She was ashamed of these feelings, so to compensate she was up for helping him out in any way.
For the first time ever, she took advantage of her contacts in Wickham's crew, The Family, and even the Uptown Riders to keep up with all the latest news to pass along whatever she heard to him. She hoped with this information in hand that he might be able to be a step ahead and use it to help Wickham's crew somehow, to prove his loyalty. She knew she was taking a risk, that if the riders were about to receive a big shipment of drugs or weapons and she told Will, who used the information to intercept the shipment on behalf of Wickham, she would be liable to be labeled untrustworthy at the least and open to retribution at the worst.
Unfortunately, he came to the same conclusion, and despite assuring him that she wasn't the only one who heard the rumors of deals going down, he didn't like ever putting her at risk. So far had not used any information she had gathered for him; however, the longer it went between meetings with Wickham, the more desperate he became. Lizzy knew he would have to break one of these days.
In the meantime, Rob was as open with him as ever; Lizzy believed what started out as a favor for her had turned into a real friendship on Rob's part. After Rob mentioned something about Will getting them out of a scrape, she had asked Darcy for details. He told her they ran into a group of members from The Family and he and Rob had managed to get away safely without losing the product and cash they had on them that belonged to Wickham.
Rob was more forthcoming with the details, telling her that Will had given him the backpack so he could make sure he got away with the product while he distracted the gang members. He didn't know what happened after that, but Will showed up a short time later without a scratch on him. From that moment on, Rob treated Will as a friend rather than his friend's boyfriend. As she usually did, thoughts of what would happen when the truth came out flooded her mind as they grew closer as friends. She felt bad deceiving one of her closest friends, but the knowledge that he could only benefit from Wickham going away kept the guilt from overwhelming her.
"I have to check in with my partner today. I think you should come along and meet him," Darcy said out of the blue one day. Lizzy was surprised but eager to meet someone close to Darcy, the real Darcy.
"Okay," she shrugged, feigning nonchalance. They were in the privacy of her apartment, of course. He would never give away anything to do with him being a detective unless they were completely alone, and his apartment was forever off-limits thanks to that methhead showing up a month ago. He had been on edge for a long time afterward, insisting on driving her around everywhere until she couldn't take the hovering anymore and told him to back off.
It had been their first, and so far only, fight since this whole undercover thing started, but eventually, she convinced him that he couldn't watch her every minute of every day and that he would just have to trust that she could take care of herself. He agreed if she would agree to let him know the minute she felt like she was in danger, no matter what. Reluctantly, she agreed as well. After that, he dialed it down; with no more attacks coming either of their way, he became more relaxed on the safety front, even if it was replaced with on edge frustration at the lack of progress with Wickham.
An hour later, Will was driving them to the edge of the city, well away from Wickham's territory. He drove evasively, taking side streets and backtracking. Lizzy didn't have to ask- she knew he was making sure they weren't being followed. Eventually, he pulled into an alleyway and parked his car. She got out with him and he led her, hand on her lower back, to a coffee shop. She watched him, but he casually got in line to order them some drinks, not making eye contact with any of the patrons.
She wondered if his partner was already there or not and couldn't help glancing around to see if anyone was giving them any extra attention. As it was, the place was about half full. There were a bunch of young guys working on laptops, a few groups of men and women sipping drinks, but only two loners who weren't sporting laptops. One was an older man who had the look of a professor. He was reading the newspaper, frowning over it seriously. The other loner was a woman, a tall redhead dressed in jeans and a tight white t-shirt.
To Lizzy's dismay, she was looking at Darcy with interest. Was this his partner? Did he ever mention that his partner was male, or did she just assume he would be? The only time Darcy had ever mentioned his partner was that night when her family had thought she and her younger sister had gone missing and his partner had picked up the police report. Did Darcy say he called to let him know what was going on? Yes, she was sure he did. Right? She would have noticed if he said she. Maybe he didn't say either, maybe he just referred to them as my partner. She couldn't remember.
"Are you okay?" Darcy asked, looking down at her with a frown. He looked over to where Lizzy had been unintentionally glaring. "Do you know her, or something?"
"Uh, no," Lizzy replied, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt.
"Ok," he replied slowly. "Iced chai with soy?" he asked, citing her favorite drink. She nodded. When it was their turn to order, he rattled off her order, and ordered himself a tall black coffee, as usual. While he was momentarily distracted, she took another sweep of the patrons. Okay, so maybe the redhead was checking him out for other reasons. Maybe the partner was one of the loners with a laptop, or the professor looking guy.
"So, what's your guess?" Darcy asked. He wasn't looking at her or smiling, but she had come to know his silently amused looks. His eyes crinkled and his face looked… lighter, somehow. She took another sweep of the coffee shop while they waited for their drinks.
"Professor?" she finally guessed. Darcy didn't even glance over to see who she meant before shaking his head. She frowned.
"Redhead?" she hedged, feeling inexplicably relieved where he gave another quick shake without even looking. She studied the rest of the customers, knowing she only had moments before her drink was made; he already had his. Towards the back, next to the out-of-order men's room there was a loner with a laptop, though the laptop was closed at the moment. The shades next to him were pulled down; it might have been a coincidence, but it might also have been intentional, so he was invisible to anyone looking in or walking by on the street.
The man sitting at the table was a bit older than Darcy but had the same basic build. His wavy hair was blonde instead of almost black and he was alert and clean-shaven whereas Darcy tended to always look like he skipped a night of sleeping and shaving. He wasn't looking at them, but something about the way he held himself reminded her of Darcy. She turned back to him just as the barista handed her her drink. He rose an eyebrow in question.
"Blonde guy in the back?" she guessed. He didn't say anything, but the side of his mouth curled up slightly. He put his hand on her lower back and led her towards the back of the coffee shop, setting his drink down at the same table the blonde was occupying and taking a seat. She did the same.
"Took you long enough." The man said, grinning at Darcy. "Should I even ask if you were followed?"
"Richard, this is Elizabeth," Darcy introduced them, ignoring his partner. "Elizabeth, Richard, my partner."
"A pleasure." The man smiled. "Darcy's told me a bit about you and how essential you've been to the operation."
"Thanks," Lizzy mumbled, uncomfortable with the praise. She felt like she had done nothing but give him an introduction.
"Anything new?" Richard asked after a pause.
"No. I don't know why, but he's keeping me at arm's length," Darcy shook his head, his frustration was evident. Lizzy wanted to remind him that Wickham was a paranoid drug-dealing methhead and not to take it personally, but was tired of making that argument.
"Well, I have some news on my end." Richard opened the laptop, he flicked his eyes momentarily to Lizzy. "If you want to hear it."
"She's trustworthy," Darcy said without hesitation. "Go for it," Lizzy felt a swell of pride at his faith in her.
"Well, The Temple Family gang is moving a shipment of drugs this weekend. It's supposed to be coming in by truck to one of the abandoned warehouses downtown at seven." Richard said, looking over something on the screen neither of them could see. "We could easily overtake it and you could bring the shipment to Wickham instead."
"Nope," Lizzy shook her head.
"I'm sorry-nope?" Richard looked at her with a slightly incredulous look on his face.
"First of all," Lizzy started, cocking her head to the side and giving him a slightly pitying look. "No one calls it the Temple Family gang," she saw Will roll his eyes and she knew why - she had said the same thing to him almost the first day they met. She ignored him. "Second of all, and no offense to your intelligence gathering or whatever, but that story is bullshit."
"What?" Richard asked, looking at her like a four-year-old who found out Santa wasn't real. "The source is extremely reliable. How do you know it's not true?"
"Let me guess," Lizzy gave a cocky grin. "Your source is Alexios." Richard's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he shook his head with a placating smile.
"Sorry darling, there's no way I'm telling you a confidential informant's name, I don't care how much Darcy trusts you," he said, face friendly but jaw set.
"That's okay, I know it's him," Lizzy replied confidently, leaning back in her chair and taking a drink of her tea.
"Elizabeth, stop showing off and tell him why it's not true," Darcy instructed her. She took a moment to pout at him but at his unwavering frown, she sighed.
"The Family never receives shipments on weekends. You ever been to the warehouse district on the weekend? It's completely abandoned," Lizzy explained.
"So? Who wants to receive an illegal shipment of drugs in front of a bunch of onlookers?" Richard countered.
"You cops. It's kind of comforting how much you don't know," Lizzy smiled. Richard and Darcy wore identical frowns. "Okay, okay. Look, a warehouse receiving a shipment in the middle of about twenty other warehouses receiving shipments is totally more inconspicuous than one warehouse being open on the weekend, receiving a shipment at seven o'clock at night." Richard continued to frown, thinking it over and obviously wanting to find fault in her story. Darcy looked more accepting.
"Fine. So maybe my informant got the day wrong." Richard proposed.
"The day and time," Lizzy shook her head. "JJ knows Al is narcing on him, so he gave him false information to trap him. If Darcy shows up to hijack the shipment, not only is he not going to get anything out of it, but JJ will probably put it together that Al is talking to the cops and the cops are talking to Darcy." Once more, Lizzy wore a smug grin, leaning back in her chair and sipping her tea.
"Damn," Richard said under his breath.
"I could tell you of a shipment the Riders are expecting. It's not going to be as big as what The Family is expecting, but it's a lot easier to get and, you know, will actually be there," she suggested. Richard looked interested but Darcy, as usual, was already shaking his head.
"No," Darcy immediately said, and she rolled her eyes at his stubbornness.
"Why not?" Richard questioned. "This is exactly the kind of thing that will get you in his inner circle."
"I keep telling him that, but he's so stubborn," she said, addressing Richard but looking at Darcy.
"The part she left out," Darcy said, also addressing Richard but looking back at her with his trademark frown. "Is what the Riders will do to her when they find out I'm the one who stole their shipment."
"Don't you mean what they'll do to you?" Richard asked brow creasing in confusion.
"Also," Darcy shrugged like that part was unimportant. "She got the information from her friends in the Riders. If I steal the shipment, they will put two and two together."
"Maybe," Lizzy shrugged. "I'm not an idiot. It's not like I walk up to them and ask their shipping schedule. I'm way more subtle than that, they probably won't even realize they told me."
"It doesn't matter," Darcy said with finality. "We aren't having this discussion again. We will think of something else to gain his trust," Lizzy frowned with frustration.
"Well, I'll keep plugging away on my end." Richard sighed. He pulled an unmarked envelope out of his bag and passed it over without comment. Fitzwilliam was written in elegant cursive on it, obviously in a woman's handwriting. Lizzy was curious but knew there was no point in asking about it.
"Give me one of your cards, Richard," Darcy instructed, pocketing the letter without opening it and writing something down on a napkin. His partner complied without comment. He traded Darcy his card for the napkin.
"If you are ever in trouble and if you can't get ahold of me for whatever reason, call Richard," Darcy told her, handing her the card. "That's her cell," he nodded to the napkin he had just handed his partner. "Her distress word is Apricot."
"Apricot?" Richard repeated, smiling.
"Hey," Lizzy defended. "How many times do you use Apricot in a conversation?" While Richard mulled that over, she looked down at his card. Besides the name and number, it was identical to the one Darcy had given her that first night they met. "Wait, Fitzwilliam? Your last name is Fitzwilliam?" Once more she addressed Richard but looked at Darcy's confusion clear on her face.
Darcy kind of shrugged. "I told you it was a family name. Richard is my cousin."
"Older, funnier, more handsome cousin," Richard added with a brash grin. Lizzy couldn't help but study his features for similarities. Now that she knew they were related, she realized what first drew her to Richard was his resemblance to Darcy. The wavy hair, if a different color, the same basic bone structure of their face, his height. There were differences too, of course, but they were more alike in features then she was with Jane. Though she had spent less than an hour in his presence, as far as she'd seen, they were as different in personalities as they were alike in looks. There were a lot of little things, but overall Richard seemed to smile where Darcy would frown.
"We should head back," Darcy finished his coffee. "Thanks for the update, Richard."
"Some update. If it weren't for Elizabeth I'd have sent you walking into a situation that got you either killed or exposed." Richard smiled at Lizzy. "You lucked out with this one," he leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. "So, what's a sweet girl like you doing hanging out with these dangerous thugs?"
"Seriously?" she smiled. "That's your line?"
"Line?" he asked, overstating his shock, his hand on his heart. "No, no, no darling that wasn't a line," he paused, a mischievous smile on his face. "You want to hear a line?"
"Sure," she grinned. "Let's hear one."
"Are you a fruit? Because Honeydew you know how fine you look right now?" Richard asked, his confidence and personality making a cheesy line sound charmingly funny. "Do you have a sunburn, or are you always this hot? You must be a parking ticket because you've got fine written all over you."
"Okay, okay," she held her hands up in surrender, laughing.
"See Darcy, I told you pick-up lines work." Richard gave his cousin a knowing grin and a wink. Lizzy looked over to see his reaction, expecting to see a rueful smile at his cousin's antics, but Darcy was frowning at his partner. Lizzy wondered if Richard's comment was some kind of jab at Darcy and felt guilty for laughing. Why else would he be glaring at his jovial cousin over a few cheesy pickup lines?
"You said we have to go?" she prompted when they continued to smile and frown at each other, respectively.
"Yeah," Darcy broke his gaze and stood, shaking Richard's hand. "Good to see you."
"You too." Richard lost the teasing smile for a more sincere one. "Keep yourself safe, okay?" Darcy just nodded, stepping away from the table and tossing his empty coffee cup in a nearby recycling bin. "Elizabeth." Richard held his hand out and Lizzy shook it. "That goes for you too."
"Will do," Lizzy replied, refraining from adding 'as if I had a choice' and giving Darcy a significant look. "Good to meet you, Richard."
"Likewise." His flirtatious smile was back. "Good to put a beautiful face with a beautiful name."
"Smooth," she smiled back, collecting her empty cup and adding it to the recycling bin. She was more tampered than she felt, aware that there was something unspoken happening between Richard and Darcy that she wasn't getting. Richard was teasing Darcy and Darcy was unhappy with it, that much she could tell; her loyalty to him prevented her from joining Richard in his teasing. "I'm just going to use the restroom before we head back," she told Darcy, putting a hand on his back as she stepped behind him and into the empty woman's room.
After using the restroom and washing her hands, Lizzy stepped to the door, completing intending to rejoin them. That was until she realized, her hand on the door, that she could hear Richard and Darcy talking in low, muffled tones. As she hesitated, debating the morals of eavesdropping, she realized Richard seemed to still be teasing Darcy, who was answering his partner in an unamused short tone. She bit her lip, morality thrust aside, and strained to hear every word.
"It was obvious way before today." Richard was saying. "No one mentions how expressive some girl's eyes are unless he has feelings for her. Not that I blame you. I can see why you like her."
"Richard," Darcy replied simply. She was well familiar with his no-nonsense frown to know he was wearing it now.
"Come on Darcy, don't be so stiff all the time. If you like her, have a little fun." Richard sounded a bit exasperated - like maybe they had had this conversation before.
Was it egotistical to think they were talking about her? What about that mysterious letter Richard had handed Darcy? Suddenly, Lizzy's heart pounded and her face turned red with shame. Oh, God. What if he had a girlfriend? Or a wife? Here she was practically throwing herself at him and he was just trying to get this job done so he could see the love of his life again. Richard was probably telling him to take a few days off his undercover assignment to hang out with her. She put her hand to her warm cheek, praying he would have said something.
"I will not put her life in danger, or mine, to have a little fun," Darcy's low voice made it hard to hear him, especially when he seemed to be trying to keep from being overheard. "I am…" Here he seemed to be whispering, Lizzy couldn't make it out. "and that is no situation to throw caution to the wind and have a little fun just because I…Well…"
"You do like her." Richard sounded triumphant.
"It doesn't matter. Nothing can happen. Eventually, I'll wrap up this case and go home. What kind of future is that?" Darcy wanted to know.
"Be a little irresponsible for once in your life." Richard pleaded. "It'll do you good. Don't think of the future, think of something that will actually make you happy."
"Thinking of the consequences of my actions does make me happy," Darcy replied with decisiveness. There was a long pause and Lizzy started to push the door open, her features schooled in nonchalance when she heard Darcy say one more thing.
"And damnit, stop flirting with her."
It was too late to turn back now; both men looked over at her as she exited the restroom. She just hoped her face looked as innocent as she tried to make it and concealed how fast her heart was beating.
They exchanged their goodbyes once more before Darcy led her back to the car. He took a different route home but was just as evasive as he had been on the way there. Lizzy was uncharacteristically quiet and prayed he wouldn't comment on it. Her thoughts were flying wild as she repeated, again and again, his conversation with Richard. Was it possible he actually liked her? She had never considered the prospect before. He had made it clear that first day at the diner that he was not interested at all, to the point where he was kind of mocking her for her interest in him. After that, she knew he needed her, but it wasn't like he had ever shown interest when it was just the two of them.
Overall, he was silent and brooding, but she could tell that was just part of his personality. When he was Will, he was a bit more open, a bit more engaging, but she knew others still gave him a wide birth, partly because of his build and reputation for being able to handle himself in a fight, but there was also a dangerous silence about him that showed up in a few other people in the neighborhood, all of whom had proven to be people you wanted to avoid. She had called it an alpha male aura when she first saw him and it was one of the things that attracted her to him. She would never be afraid of him; he was a protector rather than an instigator, she had plenty of proof of that.
She gave herself a mental shake. At this point, she would end up driving herself crazy analyzing his every mood and thought, and for what? Even if she was who they were talking about, even if he did like her, he made it perfectly clear he didn't plan on acting on his feelings. For her safety as well as his, and for the fact that sooner or later he would be leaving, never to see her again. What was she going to do with this information other than revert back to how she was in the beginning – wary of his touch and pet names. She had learned to relax in his presence and she couldn't undo all that work, so she told herself to forget the conversation and look forward to the day Wickham would be taken off the street.
"I hope Richard didn't bother you. He's… well, he's just like that," Darcy finally broke the silence. She glanced at him; despite her good intentions of putting his potential feelings out of her head, she couldn't help thinking that he seemed a whole new person, somehow, with the possibility of having feelings for her.
"No," she replied, a second too late. "He seems nice. I can see the family resemblance."
"Are you implying that I'm nice too? Because I have to say, that's not a word people use to describe me," he smiled to let her know that he was teasing.
"I can't imagine why," she grinned back. "You're so open and cheerful all the time," she paused, then added, "I meant more your looks than your personality anyway."
"Really?" Darcy sounded surprised.
"Sure. You've never been told you look alike?" Lizzy asked.
"Not really," he shrugged.
"Huh," she said, not expecting that. "Not like twins or anything, but there's a definite family resemblance," she studied his face while he drove, picturing Richard's face and the similarities she saw. "Hey, how'd you get that scar?" she suddenly had to know.
"Which one?" Darcy asked.
"How many do you have?" she asked, distracted by his question.
"A few," he replied simply.
"Ok, Mr. Mysterious. I meant this one," she touched it. She could have just said the one by his right eye, but suddenly she had the need to touch him. She wanted to see her effect on him. He jumped a little at the unexpected touch, but that didn't really tell her anything - they never touched casually in private and she was unsure if it was from her touch alone or the fact that someone was touching him at all.
"It's not an exciting story," he let her know after a pause. "I told Rob I was in a knife fight, but it was much tamer than that."
"So how did it happen?" she promted, curious.
"I was moving a piano," he sighed.
"What, like an actual piano?" She asked, amused.
"Richard and I, actually, and a few others," he nodded. "He was goofing off, as usual, and as a result, I tripped and hit my eye on the side of the piano. It was a sharp enough edge that it cut my face. I didn't need stitches, but it left the mark," he rubbed it now. She winced, thinking of how close to his eye it was.
"Hmm, no good," she finally said.
"No good?" he questioned, raising the same eyebrow that housed the scar below it.
"No. Stick with the knife fight story; Makes a much more badass story than moving a piano," she smiled at him.
"Good to know," he turned slightly to smile back. Her heart pounded again. Once more, her thoughts went flying. This whole time she had never considered he might actually like her. She had come to terms a long time ago that she had a crush on him, but had never entertained the idea that he might actually like her as well. Suddenly, it was like the pep talk she had given herself of carrying on as if nothing had changed had never happened; she wanted to be in public with him, where she was free to touch him whenever she liked.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked hoping she was coming off as indifferent. "Meeting up with Rob and Sherry, seeing if we can get some face time with Wickham?"
"Sure. I guess so," Darcy replied with a slight frown. "Since when are you so eager to try and meet up with Wickham?"
She frowned as well, not realizing she was giving herself away. "I'm not, but, you know," she shrugged, letting him fill in the blanks. "I'll text Rob and ask him what's going on." After exchanging a few texts, she told Darcy the good news. "He's at Wickham's house. He says to come by."
"Good," Will looked a little brighter at the prospect of meeting up with Wickham. Lizzy was well aware of how screwed up it was that she wanted to meet up with Wickham so she had the chance to spend some time as Will's girlfriend while he was just looking forward to spending some time with Wickham, but she'd take what she could get.
They made it to Wickham's pretty quickly. He wasn't having a party, Lizzy was happy to see when they entered. It was just Rob, Sherry, and another girl who Lizzy didn't know the name of, but had seen hanging around the last few months.
"O'Mara, Lizzy. Good to see you," Wickham smiled as they walked in. "Have a seat." The only spot left was the same recliner Will had been sitting on the first night this whole thing had started, when Lizzy came over to him and dared him to kiss her. Will sat down first and Lizzy gingerly sat on his knee. Well, she wanted to be in public with him so he would turn from Darcy into Will, and she had gotten her wish. No use being wishy-washy and backing down now. She put her arm around his neck, and scooted higher up on his knee, getting comfortable. He put an arm around her waist to keep her steady, his other coming to rest on her closest knee.
Rob and Sherry greeted them both, and Wickham introduced his newest girlfriend, Jade, to them.
"Rob was telling me about this cabin out of town," Wickham said. Lizzy felt a stab of betrayal. The cabin held fond memories for them and she couldn't believe he would want to share it with Wickham, or at the very least he should know how much she disliked Wickham and keep it from him for her sake. Reason broke through her initial reaction, however. For all Rob knew, she was over her hatred of Wickham. Her actions certainly made it seem that way- she was in his presence whenever she could be, for Darcy's sake of course, but all Rob saw was her asking after Wickham whenever he wasn't around. "He says you all are thinking of going out there soon."
"Yeah, we've been throwing the idea around. Rob's all gung ho about it, but Lizzy and I are kind of attached to the comforts and conveniences of modern living," Will replied with an easy smile.
"Aw, where's your sense of adventure?" Wickham teased. "We'll bring some beers, drugs, and junk food and make a weekend out of it."
Lizzy tensed in apprehension. She knew, as soon as Wickham invited them like it was his place to do so, that they were going to end up going. There was no way Will would pass this opportunity to bond with Wickham out of town. As much as she didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a drugged up and bored psychopath - because it was impossible not to be bored sooner or later in the middle of a cabin with no cable, only a VRC like anyone had tapes anymore- as much as she didn't want to go, she knew they would be going.
"What do you think, sweetheart?" Will addressed her like she had a choice in the matter. "You feel like roughing it this weekend?"
She glanced at Wickham. "Why not?" she replied causing Wickham and Rob to exclaim their excitement. "Sounds like fun."