Chapter Sixteen
"No!" Charlotte came into Lizzy's room and disconnected her iPod from the speakers. "Not again."
Lizzy sighed, not even bothering to try and feign ignorance of what her best friend meant by her actions.
"I cannot hear that whining white girl sing her whining white girl song one more time," Charlotte went on anyway.
Somehow, Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U had become Lizzy's official breakup song and while it wasn't on repeat, she had, perhaps, been listening to it a bit too much since returning home from Jane's engagement party, where she had fled from the unexpected sight of Darcy.
"Don't you have finals to study for?" Charlotte looked down at Lizzy, who was currently lounging in bed in the middle of the afternoon, already changed into sweat pants and an old t-shirt.
"Let me mourn the loss of the best man I've ever dated," Lizzy said dramatically, ignoring the question.
"Girl, what is wrong with you?" Charlotte asked, looking down at Lizzy as if she didn't recognize her. "You never get this broken up over a guy."
"He was perfect," Lizzy sighed again. "And for a brief moment, he liked me. And I ruined it."
"He was not perfect," Charlotte scoffed. "And you didn't ruin it," she sat on the edge of the bed. "Look, I know I was hard on him, and probably hard on you for dating him, and maybe I didn't get to know him like I should have, but I do know that he was not perfect."
"Maybe not perfect," Lizzy agreed reluctantly, "but for me, I think he might have been."
"Look, if he really only broke up with you to keep you safe, then why don't you apply to State like I've been pushing you to do, get the hell out of this neighborhood and go date him?" Charlotte asked, slightly exasperated.
Lizzy couldn't blame her. In the almost lifetime they had known each other, even as teenagers, neither of them had ever done the whole depressed, 'listening to sad music' charade over a guy. She wouldn't know how to handle Charlotte if their roles were reversed.
"Because, what if he only said that and I go through all that just to find out he doesn't want to be with me?" Lizzy asked, clearly having thought this through already.
"Go through all that? You mean continuing your education like you planned on doing anyway?" Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You knew you weren't going to live here forever. It's time to jump out of the nest, baby bird, and fly off into the sunset."
"You think Wickham will give up that easily?" Lizzy wondered, less dramatically. "He's back on the street and who knows if they will ever get him for these murders? He's been trying to get me alone since Darcy was outed as a cop and so far I've managed to evade him without too much suspicion. But how long will that last?"
"As long as it takes one of us to tell JJ what's going on," Charlotte said with a dark look.
"No," Lizzy replied instantly and firmly.
"Why the hell not?" Charlotte wanted to know.
"Your brother will kill Wickham. I'm not going to be responsible for making him a killer," Lizzy shuddered.
"Lizzy," Charlotte said gently, "you really think JJ hasn't killed someone before?"
"Yes or no, I don't care," Lizzy shook her head. "I don't want any more blood on my hands, even for a dirtbag like Wickham."
"You know those guys who shot up my diner would have been found and taken out eventually," Charlotte rolled her eyes; they had had this conversation before and she had used up all her gentle understanding on the matter. "All you did was hurry the process along."
"Even so," Lizzy shrugged, refusing to get into her guilt over the deaths she felt responsible for.
"What if it comes down to your life or Wickham's?" Charlotte wanted to know.
"I don't know. I guess we'll see," Lizzy sighed, having lost her enthusiasm for wallowing in her post-breakup misery. She got up and pulled some books out of her bag to study for her upcoming final. Satisfied she had stirred her friend to something more productive than staring at the ceiling and listening to sad songs, Charlotte left her to do her homework.
The next few weeks were kind of stressful for Lizzy. She needed to avoid Wickham, without being obvious about it, and navigating the streets safely had become a chore since the gang war had officially started once The Family had retaliated for the shootout at Charlotte's place. She also had finals to study. Since this was her last semester before graduate school, she had to make an effort to finish as strongly as she had started. This meant maintaining her 4.0 GPA and squeezing in a few more meetings with the Honor Society, as well as offering her tutoring services in an attempt to boost her Curriculum Vitae. Having so much to focus on, she had little time to alternate between anger at Darcy's callous break up and sadness that she may never be with him again. Luckily, her workload also helped excuse her for being absent around Wickham's place. With all that she had to do, she often left the apartment early in the morning and spent all day at school, until she took the last bus home.
That morning, Lizzy was heading towards the bus stop. She remembered with fondness, not for the first time, how great it was to be driven to school in the morning; she wondered if she should look into getting a car herself. Her mother, no doubt, would be delighted in picking one out for her in exchange for Lizzy moving back home and going to university. What had seemed so unlikely just a year ago now suddenly seemed worth thinking over.
No doubt Charlotte would want to move in with Collins soon, and as much as she loved living with Charlotte, Lizzy knew they were getting to an age where living with a boyfriend was more appealing than sleeping with your roommate. Charlotte would never throw her out or make her feel unwanted, but that didn't mean Lizzy had to push her kindness by staying. Lizzy wondered where her life was going in the next couple of months and, as accustomed to motorcycles and traffic in general, it wasn't until four of them were pulling over to her side that she took any notice of them.
"Lizzy!" a biker she knew, Ramon, called her over.
"What's up?" Lizzy asked. They were friendly, but the fact that he looked so business-like had the alarm bells in her head going off.
"Boss wants to have a word," he said in a bored manner, gesturing for her to hop on the back of his bike. Her mouth went dry and she thought about refusing, but knew it was probably useless. She tried to control her fear as she slipped in behind him and grabbed his waist. He shot off, heading downtown to the warehouse district.
A lot of things went through her head during that ride, not the least being if she should call for help. She remembered clearly her distress code with Darcy and knew that, even with everything that had been said and done, if he got a text from her, he'd come running. Unfortunately, that came with its own set of problems. It was hard to maintain that she knew nothing of him being a cop and that they had not spoken since she had found out if, at the first hint of danger, he was the first one she called for help. Similarly, she could call Jay, but she did still have friends in the Riders and it was possible she was only on edge and that Marco simply wanted to talk.
She had to be prepared for him knowing, or suspecting, that she was the source of information being leaked to The Family. No doubt he would want to know who told her. As much as she liked to think she would never betray a friend, Marco was well known for his violent ways of persuasion. He could also be inviting her in the hopes that she would betray some information herself, but, luckily, she knew nothing of importance on the Family and she was sure she could convince him of that easily enough.
She felt a little better from having a game plan, but not much. Soon enough, they pulled into the main Riders warehouse. When she saw what looked like the whole gang standing around inside, she felt cold panic take over her body. There was no way this would turn out well. As soon as she got off the bike, she was searched and relieved of her cell phone and backpack.
"No weapons," the man who had searched her and took her phone told Marco. He took the phone and looked through it for a few tense minutes.
"Have a seat," inviting her in a perfectly polite manner. She was led to a metal chair that was in the middle of the room, and the rest of the gang crowded around her to get a good view of what was about to happen. She swallowed hard, trying to stave off panic.
"What's going on, Marco?" she asked in as casual manner as she could, hoping no one noticed how her voice shook.
"What's going on is four of my new friends are dead," he answered, coming close to her, "and your best buddy JJ is the one responsible."
"He's my friend," she agreed, "but you know I'm not part of The Family. I don't know anything about their business."
He silently looked at her, and, although she knew that it would be better to keep her mouth shut, she couldn't help but try to talk her way out of this.
"A lot of you guys are my friends too," she looked around to spot familiar faces and came across Tomas, the Riders accountant for lack of a better term, who was also the man who had leaked the information to Lizzy. She tried not to wince as their eyes met and moved onto scanning the rest of the crowd before looking back at Marco. "But that doesn't mean I know anything about your business."
"It's funny you should mention that," Marco said, moving behind her to a workbench. She did not turn around, but sat very still. "Cuz only a few people knew the location of that safe house, and even fewer people knew we were hiding out our friends there."
"So why do you think I would know?" she asked, gripping the sides of the chair, her body betraying her fear.
"Did I say you did?" he asked right behind her. She flinched, seeing the glint of a knife out of the corner of her eye. Yeah. She should have definitely resisted more before walking into this.
"It's obvious you suspect me of something," she replied, keeping her eye on the knife he had in his hand. "This effort to scare me isn't for nothing."
"You were always sharp," he laughed, bringing the knife up to her face. "So you will probably do the right thing and tell me who told you about that safe house."
"Marco," she laughed weakly, "I didn't know about the safe house. And no one here would have been stupid enough to tell me, even if I asked."
"I'd like to think that's true," he turned his attention to the rest of the gang and she relaxed slightly. "I'd like to think none of you pendejos," he emphasized his word by pointing at them with the knife "would let something like that slip in front of JJ's little puta."
Lizzy took offense to being called someone's whore, but as long as Marco was talking and not getting creative with that knife, she felt he could call her whatever he liked.
"Of course, I can't just take your word for it," he turned back to her with a twisted grin on his face, "You understand. I have to be sure."
Lizzy didn't say anything. She did understand he would not just take her word for it and let her go peacefully on her way. But she didn't exactly want to voice her agreement in this situation. She was always aware that one of the main reasons she was safe in this neighborhood, besides not ever giving anyone an excuse to want to hurt her, was that no one wanted to deal with the retribution that would come from the biggest gang in the area.
Of course, that had less weight as the person who currently held her, arguably against her will, was in a war with the said gang. Women were personal, however; if Marco did anything to her, JJ would be in his right to go after a woman in Marco's life. She hoped that meant Marco just wanted to scare her and not actually do anything with the giant knife he held in his hands.
"Ramon, Joe, Gabriel", Marco called three names, his eyes never leaving Lizzy's face.
She recognized them as probably her three closest friends in the gang. They looked nervously at each other but stepped forward. She had to hand it to Marco. If she went seeking information from the Riders, she could see why he thought she would go to these three. Tomas looked on edge, but she couldn't help feeling a bit relieved. She hoped she was the only one who noticed.
"Step up, amigos."
They stepped closer to where Marco was indicating.
"You see, I have found that, for most women, it is not so much what you do to them, but what you do to those they can protect."
Lizzy and the three boys were visibly on edge and that seemed to make Marco happy.
"My father used to beat my mother daily," he informed the room casually. "One day, my brother turned the channel when papa was still watching his show, and mi papa went after him." Marco shook his head fondly at the memory and Lizzy thought maybe what she had labeled as an act to appear as crazy as his father had not really been an act. The realization that he was actually crazy and not putting on a show caused her heart to pound in her chest. "Mama shoved a knife into papa's leg," he added.
He stepped closer to the workbench behind Lizzy, tinkering with something before coming out with a container of gasoline in one hand and the knife still in his other. "You see," he explained, uncapping the bottle and walking around the three men, spilling the liquid as he walked until they were surrounded in a circle of gasoline, "mi mama would not raise a hand to defend herself. But we were under her protection, and she would not let anyone, not even nuestro papa, hurt us. You remind me of mi mama," he told her proudly, smiling as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket.
Lizzy swallowed painfully as she remembered Tomas's terrified face and words from the night she had gotten the information out of him. "I can't," he had said, "Marco will set me on fire," she had believed him, but seeing it first hand, being a part of it, really cemented the knowledge that this man was crazy, violent, and he suspected her of betraying him.
"I think you will do the right thing," he said, casually tossing the lighter into the gasoline. It ignited instantly and surrounded her three friends. They called out in fear, huddled close together in an attempt to stay as far away from the flames as they could.
"Marco!" she called out, standing in her panic, "I swear to God, they didn't tell me anything!"
"I don't know…" he frowned at her, studying her face, "It's hard to be sure."
"I swear!" she cried, taking a step forward as Marco put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Her eyes never left the men, who were calling out their own words of innocence. "I swear on anything you ask me to. They are innocent."
"Then who did tell you?" he countered with, digging his hand into her shoulder painfully.
"No one!" She turned to look him in the eye. "No one told me anything," she tried to really believe her words, praying he would as well. He stared at her while her eyes flicked between him and the three men who were coughing and beginning to panic in the fumes. The smoke had filled the warehouse and her eyes were beginning to sting from it. "Please, Marco, I wouldn't lie to you."
"I guess you aren't," he sighed as if he was disappointed. He then gestured to some members of the gang. They parted, and three or four men came forwards with buckets that Lizzy saw were filled with water.
"Stop!" she cried, dangerously pushing Marco away to stand in front of the men who were about to toss the water onto the fire.
"You have a change of heart? You want to see them burn?" Marco asked calmly as he walked to her. Lizzy covered her mouth, starting to choke from the smoke and fumes.
"You can't put out a gasoline fire with water!" she croaked. "It'll just spread the fire."
The men looked nervously at one another and the three men caught in the fire circle screamed for someone to do something to get them out of danger.
"What do we use?" one of them finally asked with a nervous glance at Marco.
"A CO2 fire extinguisher, ideally. But blankets might work; you have to do it now before it gets any bigger," Lizzy instructed, trying to stay calm.
The gang split, running to look for blankets, some coming back right away, tossing the blankets on the fire to make an opening for the men trapped inside. It didn't seem to help much, and Lizzy feared for the worst. She knew the fumes could kill the men before the fire touched them and they only had a few minutes before the damage was done.
"Liz!" A huge man she didn't recognize ran up to her holding not one but two fire extinguishers. "Will these work?"
"Not this one," she coughed, pushing the one in his left hand away and taking the one in his right, reading the label, "but this will!" she cried excitedly.
That was all he needed to hear. He pulled the pin and started spraying, starting where the fire was already low due to the blanket thrown on it. In no time, the gang was cheering and pulling Joe, Gabriel, and Ramon out of the warehouse to get fresh air.
"Looks like you're quite the hero!" Marco was by her side again as she sucked in clean air with the rest of them. "I guess I was right about you protecting your friends."
"We used to be friends," she reminded him. Adrenaline was blocking her fear at the moment and she felt anger at his careless actions filter through. "So here's some friendly advice: next time you want to interrogate me and put your blood brothers' lives in danger, do enough research to know how to put a gas fire out."
"Careful," he warned, his voice low and dangerous. "Just because I believe you had nothing to do with leaking the information about the safe house, and just because you saved my warehouse and brothers from burning, doesn't mean I won't carve that superior smirk off your puta face."
She wanted to tell him to stop calling her a whore. She wanted to tell him she wasn't smirking; that she, unlike him, saw no laughing matter in burning people alive. Of course, she wanted to keep her face free of scars. So, she simply asked him if this meant she was free to go. He called Ramon over and told him to take her back where he found her. Once Marco walked away, she told Ramon he probably needed to go to the hospital. She could find her way home. But he waved her off and told her it was the least he could do.
Except for the occasional coughing fit, they were silent on the way home, both apparently thinking of the life-threatening situation they were just in. She wondered if she should add this to her book 'Am I addicted to danger?' Technically, she didn't put herself in this situation. Or maybe she did, by asking Tomas where the safe house was for JJ. She did not foresee this happening, but she did know it was a possibility. To her surprise, he dropped her off at school. She had missed her first class, but she was appreciative nonetheless.
"I'm not sure we can be friendly anymore, Liz," Roman said as she slid off his bike. To his shock she laughed out loud, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I understand," she said with a wide smile. He laughed, seeing the humor in it, or perhaps just from the sheer relief of being alive. "Screw it, you saved my life tonight. If you ever need anything, I owe you," he told her, sobering up.
"Hey, don't mention it," she waved him off. "Take care of yourself."
He took her hand and kissed it. "You too, querido."
She walked towards school, wondering what she should do with her hour of free time before the next class. She was still a bit on edge and visibly started when the car pulled up beside her.
"Get in," Richard told her. She sighed but followed his command.
"We have to stop meeting like this," she told him once securely in the car. "What's up?"
"Just checking in," he said as he drove around the school slowly. "Couldn't help but notice you missed your first class and then showed up to school on the back of a motorcycle."
She didn't know whether to be happy or not with the fact that he was paying such close attention. It couldn't be too much attention, though, if he didn't mention where she had been in between those two events. She debated whether she should tell him about it.
"There was an incident, but I'm fine," she finally replied.
"You reek!" he told her bluntly. She took offense until he continued, "You smell like a gas station. What did you do? Roll around in a pool of gasoline?" he said as he quirked an eyebrow at her.
She laughed, realizing she was probably still in shock about the whole thing. All she could think of was how lucky she was to be alive; how lucky she was to hear Darcy's cousin tell her she reeked of gas. She could tell Richard what happened, of course. But, as much as she wanted Darcy to worry over the danger he left her in, just to punish him for leaving her, she was concerned that he would blame himself for it, now that she dealt with a real situation. She knew him well enough to predict that he would either risk blowing their cover to come to see that she was okay or have someone watch over her 24/7 from now on. As much as she longed to see Darcy, she knew either option would mean trouble, so she simply smiled and refused to explain further.
"Well, I wanted to let you know we may have caught a break," he said, choosing to drop the matter for the moment. "A piece of evidence taken from Younge's house had a print that didn't belong to her or the victim. We're pulling it now and, with luck, it'll match Wickham's."
"And if it does?" she asked, hopeful.
"The DA said we just need something to tie him to these murders. So far, Younge has resisted all attempts to turn against Wickham, so we're hoping science will be enough," Richard replied, sounding optimistic. "How is Operation Avoidance?"
"With my finals, I've had plenty of excuses to stay away from Wickham," Lizzy shrugged. "Next week I'll be at my mother's house, but after that, there will be three months before I start graduate school. I won't have anything to say when he asks why I'm not at a party he's throwing, or whatever."
"Well, hang tight," he told her. "We'll take it one day at a time for now. Let's just be optimistic that we can nail Wickham for the murders."
"Optimistic? Sure. I can do that," she said, her sarcasm slipping out just a bit.
"Hey, I know it's been hard for you," Richard started gently. "But without your help, we would have never gotten this close to Wickham."
"It's not totally altruistic," she reminded him. "I'd like to see him behind bars before he has the chance to add my jewelry to his collection."
"Jesus, Lizzy!" Richard frowned.
"Hey, do you want me to be realistic about my situation, or do you want me to live in a cloud of hopeful what-ifs?" she countered.
He shook his head but didn't argue further. They had just returned to the spot where he had picked her up, so he pulled to the side to let her back out. "Look, I'll keep my end of the deal and you keep yours. If we both do the best we can, I have to believe we can outsmart Wickham. I've never seen Darcy so determined, and that's the word people use to describe him. So believe me, that's saying something," Richard told her earnestly as she climbed out of the car. "No matter what, we're going to keep you safe."
She looked at him with sympathy, thinking over the very dangerous situation she had just found herself in. They couldn't keep her safe - not in this neighborhood, not with so many players who wanted her to be harmed, or worse. She was finally seeing what Darcy had been trying to show her almost their whole time together - she needed to get out of this neighborhood sooner rather than later. Impulsively, she wished she could tell him she finally understood his point of view.
"Hey, tell Darcy…" she trailed off as Richard perked up, obviously eager to return to his cousin with a message from her. Now that she had uttered the words, she realized the futility of summarizing all that had happened so she could come around to his way of thinking. "Tell him he was right", she settled on. At Richards's clearly confused look at her vague words, she smiled, slammed the door, and walked to her next class.
"Finals are over!" Lydia cheered, clinking her glass first with Catherine's and then with Elizabeth's. Her sisters laughed at her excited cheer and Lizzy reminded her youngest sister that she, unlike them, had not suffered through finals yet.
"Psh! Who cares? I can still be glad they're over and I have my sisters back with me." Lydia rolled her eyes.
They were all out to eat together, as Henry and their mother had gone out to some social event. It was Lizzy's first night back home and she was finally beginning to relax. The last few times she had visited her mother, she had noticed how much less stressed she was not being in constant fear; between Wickham, the gang war, and the normal dangers of the neighborhood she lived in, Lizzy was beginning to see the benefit of not having fear, or at least constant vigilance, rule her life. One day… She was already considering talking to her mother about moving in while she attended graduate school.
"So? How did you do?" Lizzy asked Cathy.
"Straight A's," she answered with a sly grin.
"Yes! That's my sister!" Lizzy cheered proudly, toasting her cup once more.
"Yeah, yeah, you guys are a bunch of nerds, we get it," said Lydia, rolling her eyes. "Let's talk fun. What about heading to the city this Friday?"
"No," Lizzy said firmly, in no mood to head back to her neighborhood anytime soon.
"What!" Lydia asked, clearly shocked. "But we had so much fun last time!"
"Which time? When everyone thought we were dead? Or the time after, when you drank so much I thought you had alcohol poisoning and that I would have to take you to emerge to get your stomach pumped?" Lizzy asked. When Lydia finally got off from being grounded for two months, as promised, Lizzy took her back to the clubs in the city. They let their parents know ahead of time that Lydia and Lizzy would be crashing at Lizzy's place and even managed to get home in time the next day for dinner. So, despite Lydia's unfortunate reaction with too much alcohol, the night was a success; at least in Lydia's point of view.
"Oh, you worry too much. You're getting so soft in your old age," Lydia teased.
"I plan on vegging out this week. No parties, no hangovers, no drama," Lizzy informed her sisters.
"Don't forget dinner with the new in-laws," Cathy said, reminding her, as Lydia was too busy looking at Lizzy in shock.
"Oh yeah. Are his sisters going to be there?" Lizzy wondered just as their food was coming out. There was the usual chatter as plates of food were claimed and reminders for extra sauce or a refill on a drink were asked before the table settled down once more.
"Just Caroline. Louisa won't be back until the wedding," Cathy reminded her.
"His sister is a total bitch!" Lydia chimed in. "I have no idea how they can be so opposite and share the same genes."
"Lyd," Cathy admonished but couldn't disguise a giggle.
"Come on, we were all thinking it," she pointed at them with her fork.
"True. Charles is all ease and smiles, and she…" Lizzy trailed off, not wanting to encourage her sisters in bashing Jane's future sister-in-law, but the woman had rubbed her the wrong way.
"…is a total bitch," Lydia repeated with a nod. "Plus, the way she was going on and on about the best man was a bit stalkerish."
"The best man?" Lizzy asked, hoping the shock and panic didn't show on her face.
"Yeah, Will Darcy. No one really got a good look at him. He's some kind of detective or something and could only stop in for a minute before he was gone again," Cathy explained.
"Caro was devastated!" Lydia told her dramatically. "Oh, where did William go?" she asked in a pretty terrible imitation of Charles' sister.
"Why would Caroline care?" Lizzy couldn't help but ask with a sour look, even though she knew it would probably better to avoid this conversation. They would no doubt find out her ex-boyfriend and Will Darcy was one and the same sooner rather than later, and while she was not ready to have that conversation yet, she knew she would have to come up with something to explain the situation to her family.
To Jane, of course, she had told part of the truth. He had been undercover while they dated, so she had introduced him as his undercover persona in case anyone came around to ask. She didn't think Jane was buying it, to be honest, but her sister knew when not to pry and that was one of the many reasons Lizzy loved her.
"Oh man, she is so in love with him," Lydia replied, eyes excited at the gossip.
"It was pretty obvious she's really into him," Cathy couldn't help but agree.
"Why?" Lizzy all but demanded, then controlled her reaction and tried for casual curiosity. "I mean she seems like such a society wife wannabe. Why would she be interested in some detective?"
"I guess that, even though he's just some detective, he's also like, lord and heir to the family business and fortune," Lydia told her.
Lizzy sat in shocked silence. While there was about ninety percent of his life she knew nothing about, this information was surprising. He was wealthy? Suddenly, all those times he insisted on paying for everything made sense. He probably thought… or, let's be honest; he probably realized she was barely scraping by as a poor student in that cheap apartment and felt sorry for her. Jesus!
All these times he gazed around while sitting on that old couch that had a few broken springs in it, she had assumed he was just being himself, a detective who couldn't help categorizing his environment. Now she saw his actions in a different light; now she realized he was looking around comparing it to his mansion, or whatever.
She felt ashamed and angry, but still, her heart broke once more over him. She truly didn't know this man and now she realized that, even if she got out of the neighborhood and it was safe for her to see him again, it was not him she had loved; it was the man he pretended to be. It was Will O'Mara that she knew, that she had spent so many months going to school with, hanging out, watching TV, talking about their pasts… And okay, he had opened up a little about his past when he told her of his mother's murder and how it had influenced his decision to become a detective, but he knew so much more about her than she knew about him. She had told him everything, things she hadn't even shared with Jane or Charlotte.
"What's wrong? You look sick," Lydia said bluntly, but with a look of concern on her face. "Bad chicken?"
"No," Lizzy said as she looked down at her meal. "I think I'm fighting a bug though."
She had lost her appetite and spent the rest of the meal pushing food around on her plate, not being about to stomach one more bite. To distract her sisters, she kept up the flow of conversation focused on them and what was happening in their lives. Although they glanced at each other when she didn't eat anymore that night, they didn't comment on it and let her have her way.
On the drive back to their mother's and Henry's house, Lydia tried again to insist that Lizzy join them in the city to go clubbing. Cathy was enthused about it as well; now that school was over, she was excited about going to her first club. Lizzy debated whether to go or not. She knew that they would go without her and she wanted to be there to make sure they were safe. But she really, really wasn't ready to go back so soon. In the end, however, her sisters' safety won, and she agreed to accompany them.
"Yes!" Lydia cheered. "I knew you wouldn't let us down," she grinned triumphantly.
"Well, you guys are funding the night; I'm broke," Lizzy said, feeling a twinge of embarrassment where before, there had none. Another Darcy effect. Would she ever escape all the impacts his short time in her life had created?
"Duh!" said Lydia, waving her off. She began talking about outfits.
They had reached home to find their mother and Henry had not yet returned. Of course, there was an emergency fund their mother kept for them for just such occasions. After about an hour of getting ready, Lydia cleaned it out, made sure Cathy had her fake ID and ushered her sisters out the door. With trepidation, Lizzy directed her to a club closer to home than she would have liked. She was taking no extra risks tonight however; the club was Family owned, and while The Riders could, in theory, attack the place, it was very unlikely.
"What about that club we went to the last couple of times we were here?" Lydia asked when Lizzy directed her to a new destination.
"Well," Lizzy hedged. Should she tell her sisters it was too close to the Riders' territory? That, while they didn't actually claim it, it was too much of a risk to be seen in that neighborhood? "This club is bigger. Plus, the DJ is supposed to be awesome."
"Sweet!" Lydia commented, placated. Lizzy smiled at how easy it was to please her youngest sister.
"We might have to wait in line, though. I'm not sure I know the bouncer," Lizzy warned. Lydia bemoaned this news. The best part of clubbing, according to her, was bypassing the line like big shots.
"Well, we'll see," Lizzy smiled.
After they parked, however, Lizzy had to tell her sister they would have to wait in line. She knew the bouncer, but he had never been friendly with her. They took their places in line, but Lydia barely had time to grumble before a black Escalade pulled up to the side of the road and JJ got out with a group of friends.
"Liz!" he called her forward, having already have spotted her from the car. She walked up to him, her sisters following her warily.
"Jay!" They embraced briefly. "Do you remember my little sisters, Lydia and Catherine?"
"What's up ladies?" he nodded to them briefly, leading them to the front door. "Go on in and enjoy yourselves for a while, I need a word with your sister," he gestured briefly to the bouncer, who opened the door and admitted the girls. Lydia grinned, thanking him and walking in. Cathy glanced at Lizzy with a questioning look, but she nodded to let her know it was okay. Jay ushered his friends in as well and led her around the corner to an alley until they were alone.
"I heard something about you and the Riders," he said, cutting right to the chase. "What happened?"
"What did you hear?" she wondered. He gave her a look; she realized he was used to people giving him straight answers.
"Something about you being questioned, a fire, and the warehouse almost burning down. Somehow you turned from victim to hero," he told her with a bit of pride in his voice.
"No," she said shaking her head, "I don't think I was ever in real danger."
"Girl, stop dancing around and tell me what happened," he told her sternly. She frowned at his tone and he rolled his eyes. "Please."
"Marco sent Ramon and some guys to pick me up. He knows, or he thinks," she corrected herself with a wary glance around the empty alley, "that I'm the one who got the information from the Riders and passed it on to you."
Jay cursed.
"He tried to scare me into confessing who told me by surrounding my friends in his crew with gas and lighting it on fire, but I convinced him it wasn't me", she told him, hoping he didn't notice how a shudder went through her at the memory of the fire and the men screaming for help. "They tried to put the fire out with water."
"Fucking retards!" Jay burst out. "That asshole is too stupid to run a crew."
"Well, luckily, I stopped them in time and someone found the right kind of extinguisher. That was it," she said, shrugging.
"So now you're safe as long as you don't make any waves," he guessed, shaking his head. "I will have him to answer for this."
"Don't!" she said, putting a hand on his arm for emphasis. "I handled it. He won't bother me if I stay away from his crew and his territory. With the war, I was always more loyal to the Family and had planned on that anyway."
"He can't just kidnap you and threaten to set you on fire with no consequences," Jay told her. "How is that going to stop the next person who tries it?"
"In a way, it was a good thing," said Lizzy, trying to reason with him. At his incredulous look, she explained, "I was able to convince him it wasn't me who leaked the info that got his new friends killed," she swallowed, still not having come to terms with her part in their murders. "I knew the risk when I asked for the info, and now I don't have to wonder and worry if he finds out it was me."
"If we don't respond, what if he figures out it's because we're just happy he thinks you weren't involved and then really comes after you?" Jay pointed out.
"You said it yourself, he's not that smart," she waved off his concern.
"You are too stubborn for your own good," he told her with more frustration than affection.
"You're not the first person to point that out," she said smiling at him.
"Next time any Rider comes within ten feet of you, you call me. I don't care what you think will or won't happen. Do not go anywhere with them anymore."
"I won't," she assured him. "I've learned my lesson."
"Alright, come on," he led her back to the club entrance.
When she split with Jay at the entrance, she went in search of her sisters. There was a booth to the back where she spotted Cathy waving her over.
"Where's Lydia?" Lizzy shouted over the loud music. Cathy rolled her eyes with an indulgent smile.
"Where else?" She gestured to the bar, where Lydia was clearly flirting with a man. Lizzy rolled her eyes as well. "She was supposed to get us drinks."
"I'll move her along," Lizzy offered, making her way over. "Lydia!" she called out just as she caught sight of the man her baby sister had been chatting with. Her stomach dropped and her heart pounded almost painfully in her chest.
"Liz," said Wickham as he smiled at her. "I thought you were spending the weekend with your family," he glanced back at Lydia. Lizzy did not like the interested gleam in his eye. "Don't tell me this is the baby sister you always go on about?"
"Baby sister?" Lydia scoffed. Lizzy didn't bother telling her that she never, ever talked about her family in front of Wickham. She had apparently been struck mute. "Geez Liz, I'm eighteen," she giggled, looking for the bartender. "Ooops! I mean, twenty-one," Lizzy groaned, wanting nothing more than for Lydia to shut her mouth.
"Sorry!" Lizzy finally got out. "I didn't know you were here." It wasn't much of a reply, but it was all that should think to say. Well, to be honest, what she really wanted to say was to ask what the hell he was doing here, in the Family's territory. Still, she wasn't shaken enough to believe he would welcome the question. "Lydia, Cathy's been waiting forever."
"Ok already," Lydia huffed. "See you around, George," she smiled openly at him. It took effort not to shove her sister away and out of the view of Wickham.
"You seemed surprised to see me here," Wickham smiled at her reaction, clearly amused.
"Well, it is Family territory," she glanced at the VIP section where JJ and his closest friends were enjoying themselves. It wouldn't take much effort for her to convey her distress to him, but as usual, she decided to bide her time and see what happened. "I would be surprised to see anyone in your crew here."
"You're here," he pointed out.
"I'm not a part of your crew," she reminded him automatically, not likely the way his eyes narrowed.
"You used to be when Will was in the picture," he replied, watching her face closely.
"Well, Will turned out to be a cop, so we're not exactly dating anymore," she spit out, fueling her recent anger towards him to make her reaction more realistic.
"Too bad, too!" Wickham said.
Lizzy was on edge, trying to interpret his mood. What was he doing here? Did he somehow know she would bring her sisters into town and he wanted to be here for… what? To meet them in case he ever needed to use them as leverage? It was hard not to think that was the case. "Besides the whole cop thing, he was a pretty good guy to have around. I'm sure some part of you must miss him," he commented, sounding almost sympathetic. She weighed her answers for a moment before replying.
"I miss the man he was pretending to be; I didn't really know the man he was." That was so spot on to what she had been feeling that it was almost painful to admit out loud, to Wickham of all people. She shook her head and turned away as if she was getting emotional, then tried to disengage herself from him.
"Sorry. I have to get back to my sisters. I'll see you around," she told him.
"One second," he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "I need a favor first," she looked at him warily. "Don't look so upset," he grinned his most charming grin and, not for the first time, she was struck with the realization that he was handsome. She had seen the ugliness inside him for too long and that was all she saw now. But, what about Lydia? All her younger sister would see was a handsome bad boy with money and connections. "Get me a meeting with JJ."
"JJ?" Lizzy glanced back at her friend. He was distracted at the moment, drinking and talking on the phone, despite the noise in the crowded club. "Why?" His eyes narrowed once more at her questioning him. "I mean, right now?"
"As good a time as ever," Wickham grinned again. "Tell him I have information he would want to hear."
Lizzy hesitated, but she needed him to owe her one; she needed to be on his good side. She nodded and made her way up to the VIP section. Of course, she was stopped before she got within twenty feet on JJ, but as soon as their eyes met, he waved her in.
She sat next to him, waiting until he hung up before speaking. "Wickham is here," she started.
"I noticed. You invite him?" he asked.
"No!" She looked so horrified at the idea that JJ actually laughed.
"Girl, that was obvious by the way you looked when he was hitting on, baby sister," JJ replied.
She glared at him but was also aware of how respectful she needed to talk to him around his inner circle.
"He wants to meet with you. He says he has info," she told him. Jay looked vaguely interested. "What kind of info?" he questioned. She shrugged. He tsked, looking down at his phone in a show of disinterest. "You need this meeting to happen?" he asked, his tone low. With the music, she barely heard him. She knew he was asking if Wickham would take it out on her if Jay refused, but that he didn't want the rest of the gang to know he was doing her a favor.
"I don't need it," she said. "But aren't you interested in what he has to tell you?"
"And what if he tells me something with a gun to my chest?" he smiled, taking a sip of his drink. "We are at war, baby. I can't just meet with anyone, even if they are a low-level crew boss."
"I understand," she said, meaning it. "I'll just tell him you said no."
"Tell him if he really wants to talk, come by tomorrow, alone, at Ralph's," Jay stopped her before she stood. "Any weapons, and we kill him on the spot."
She nodded, thanked him, and headed back down.
"Ralph's?" Wickham questioned when she relayed the message, clearly unhappy about being refused.
"It's that abandoned bowling alley down off-" she began, but he cut her off.
"I know where it is," he said, his voice full of anger. "You couldn't get me a meeting tonight?"
"I tried," she said apologetically. It wasn't strictly true, but at this point, she had probably told him more lies than truths anyway. "He said they are at war, and he can't take risks right now."
"He's not at war with me," Wickham pointed out. Lizzy shrugged, apologizing again. Wickham scoffed but finally dismissed her.
"What the hell took you so long?" Lydia demanded.
"You don't want to know," she said, looking back at where Wickham was chatting up a new girl. It seemed Jade was on her way out of his life, which would make Sherry very happy. "Listen to me, both of you," she leaned in close, her face completely serious. "Do not ever go anywhere with that man."
"Who?" Cathy breathed, her eyes slightly wide at Lizzy's tone.
"George Wickham. He's dangerous. Very, very dangerous. If you ever see him around the house, or at school, or work, or anywhere…" Lizzy trailed off. Cathy looked a bit freaked out, and Lydia was looking on with interest. "…Tell me, but keep yourself safe. Never, ever go anywhere with him, okay?"
"Okay!" Cathy replied easily.
"Why?" Lydia questioned her, of course.
"Lydia, I'm serious. He's not some exciting bad boy to have a fling with. He. Is. Dangerous," Lizzy emphasized. "Promise me."
"Okay, okay. Freak out about it why don't you?" Lydia laughed. "Can we finally go dance?"
Lizzy was in no way convinced that Lydia would turn the other way at the sight of George Wickham showing up to see her, but she hoped some of her warning would sink in, at least, and she would keep herself safe. She was also hoping that, despite her immediate thought that Wickham was there for a nefarious reason to threaten her sisters, that it was only her paranoia that made her think that and he was only trying to meet up with JJ for whatever reason he had.
Thankfully, for Lizzy's sake, Wickham didn't stick around for very long after he was denied his meeting with Jay.
The girls managed to have a decent time together and crashed once more at Lizzy's tiny apartment. They made it home at a decent hour and since they had informed their parents where they would be and no one had been injured or lost, their mother and Henry didn't comment on their slept-in clothes or on how hungover they all looked when they finally shuffled home.
Lizzy spent the next few days, as promised, just lounging around the house spending time with her mother and sisters. She enjoyed the feeling of pressure easing off her shoulders and although it was hard to get Darcy out of her mind, especially with her mother's not so subtle questions on the matter of what had happened to drive away such a well-mannered boy, for the first time in a long time, she was content, if not happy.
Then, Jane had invited her over. She and Charles were going to the Country Fair and wanted her to come.
"Country fair?" Lizzy asked, her interest peaking. She could go for some fried food and a few rounds on some rickety rides. "Sounds cool. But, don't you think I'll be a third wheel?"
"No, I think Charles is inviting a friend too. Plus, he wants to get to know you; you know I talk about you all the time," Jane told her. There was muffled speaking going on in the background. "Yeah. You'll be his sister soon, too.
"Okay, okay," she laughed. "As long as this isn't some blind date you're trying to set me up on."
"No, of course not," Jane assured her. "Just Charles wanting to get to know you."
Because of where Charles was coming from, it was arranged that Jane and she would drive together, meeting Charles and his friend there so he didn't have to double back. Lizzy enjoyed the hour drive out with her sister. They talked about wedding plans and where they would live after the honeymoon and even how long down the line before kids were in the picture.
"Jesus! Kids!" Lizzy shuddered a bit. She was nowhere near ready for kids, but Jane? She could already picture it: two little well behaved blonde haired blue eyes perfections. Or maybe with Charles red hair and freckles. Cute kids. They would definitely have some cute kids. Unbidden, she imagined another child, one with a mop of dark, curly hair and a serious expression. Her heart fluttered but she shoved the swell of sensation down, concentrating on reality.
"It's exciting to think about, isn't it?" Jane asked her face practically glowing.
"You are so in love," Lizzy laughed.
"I know," Jane replied a bit sheepishly. "I just have to think of him and I get this feeling," she grinned widely, backing up her words.
"Okay, okay," Lizzy laughed, blocking her eyes from her sister. "That grin is blinding." Despite her own love life, she was truly happy for her sister. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her.
As they pulled up and made their way to the entrance where they planned on meeting Charles and his friend, Lizzy later reflected that she should have seen it coming before it came to this point. It was a little hard to be upset at being blindsided when it was so obvious, so freaking obvious. But she hadn't seen it coming. Hadn't even entertained the idea. That of course it would be him.
"Wanted to get to know his new sister my ass," was all she could think to say, staring up at Will Darcy for the first time since their breakup.
"I do want to get to know you," Charles said with a bit of a pout. He put his hand behind his neck, rubbing it in an agitated manner. "But, Will…"
"I needed to see you," he said.
His voice was like a knife, cutting through her. All the carefully reconstructed walls she had built up in defense of the heartbreak he had caused were no match to seeing him there, standing a few feet from her in his crisp jeans and a white button-up shirt with the top three buttons undone. Her heart throbbed at the sight of him and she turned to Jane.
"I'm sorry Lizzy. I told them you don't like surprises," Jane sounded guilty. "We can leave if you want."
"No, it's okay," she swallowed. Everyone was looking at her with various degrees of wariness. "Will everyone stop staring at me?" She tried to laugh to cover the harshness of her tone. "Let's go to the fair."