Lani's first instinct was to go for her weapon, but she no longer carried a gun now that she was not with the Salem PD, Plus, it was probably nothing. She and her team checked the entire house and the grounds before she came upstairs. She listened again, but could hear nothing but the storm. Walking softly so as not to be heard, Lani walked to the doorway leading to the other room. Then quickly stepped inside to find Eli sitting in a chair quite comfortably as if he belonged there.

"This is private property and I have every right to blow you away for being here uninvited," Lani warned. " You're lucky I don't carry a weapon anymore."

"And you're lucky that I decided to talk to you first before I handed this in," Eli said holding up a thumb drive.

"What is that?"

"Footage of you accessing and stealing private medical records two weeks ago," Eli replied smoothly.

Lani gave a throaty laugh. "You're bluffing. There is no way you have such footage."

In one swift motion Eli was on his feet and directly in front of Lani. "Since you're no longer on the force, you're not aware that additional cameras were installed in the hospital. So imagine my surprise yesterday when I was reviewing footage of staff who entered and left a certain supply cabinet thinking I was going to catch an oxycotin thief the hospital has been trying to pin down. Instead I see you looking pretty damn shady going into Kayla's office."

"Oh that's your evidence? Lani scoffed. "Supposing you have this footage, which I don't believe you do, It proves what exactly Eli?" she asked still smiling. Lani was enjoying his closeness. Her heart might have turned to stone, but her body's reaction to Eli would never change. "Maybe," she touched his chest, feeling the firmness of his muscles, "I went to see Kayla because I had a cold. You know it's been a long, long time since I had somebody keeping me warm at night."

Eli caught her hand in his firm grip. "Yeah and whose fault is that?"

"Eli, let go of my hand. You're hurting me," Lani pleaded trying to pull away. Eli immediately let her go.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Eli started to apologize.

Lani threw her head back laughing. "You are the most gullible man I have ever met...Eli please let go of me," she mocked and snorted. "You should know that you weren't really hurting me. Our sex back in the day was rougher than that. But I guess you've forgotten. If you're here for a reminder then..."

"Go put some clothes on," Eli said walking back to the chair.

"Wait a minute you broke into my rooms while I was in the shower and you're telling me to get dressed. Do you think maybe your little girlfriend Gabi is going to find out and realize what you really came up here for? And it's got nothing to do with hospitals or medical records. You still want me. Just admit it."

"I'm here to stop you from further destroying yourself. I know you stole Victor Kiriakis' medical records for Kristen Dimera and she used them to get Victor voted off the board of his own company. Lani. You really want to be a part of that? You used to be a cop working with me every day side by side."

"I guess the old me found you to be very sweet," Lani replied cooly. "Right now I find you rather tedious. So unless you're here for nostalgia sex, I could care less what you have to say."

Just then a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and the lamps in the room flickered then went out completely. Lani gasped. For all of her bravado, and all that she'd survived this past year she was still nervous during thunderstorms and right now she hated that Eli knew this.

"It's okay," he said and turned on his phone's flashlight.

"I have some candles in the other room."

"Good, lead the way."

Lani turned then jumped when thunder shook the great mansion. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Eli noticed but she couldn't make out his features in the darkened room.

She went to a bureau taking out several tea candles and placed them on the surface. Matches were harder to find. "Eli can you shine the light in here, I can't find the matches," she said.

"Sure," Eli moved so he stood close, angling the beam of light from his cell into the drawer. This seemed so normal and so right. The two of them working together to solve an everyday problem. "Is that it there?" Eli said and reached for the lighter at the same moment she reached for it too and for a split second their fingers touched. Lani was grateful for the darkness. There was no way Eli could ever know how that tiny brush of their fingers made her feel.

"I can take it from here now," she said lighting the candles. "You can kindly show yourself out the way you came in."

"If I leave here now, it's to go straight back to the station. And I don't think you want me to do that. So get dressed and let's talk."

"I'll tell you what. If you want me to get dressed so badly, give me the drive first, then I'll get dressed."

"Now I find that very interesting. A minute ago you were saying that there couldn't possibly be anything incriminating on the drive, but now you want it?"

"Fine, I'm getting dressed but only because all of this rain made the temperature drop and I'm freezing." Lani found a nightgown and robe. She changed in the bathroom. When she came back out, Eli had lit a few more candles and was standing at the window watching the storm. Suddenly Lani remembered other storms at other times when he'd hold her, saying all sorts of comforting things. He would never let anything happen to her ever, he said.

Well, now she was taking care of herself. She did not need him anymore. In fact there were times she wondered what she saw in the man, other than his gorgeous outer physique and prowess in bed. Other than that he was a boring assed, one dimensional cop. Now Xander on the other hand had a master criminal mind that she so admired. He tried to sleep with her once after they did a job together for Kristen in Las Vegas. She was tempted, but in the end turned him down. She regretted her decision when he left town the next day. Who knows when an offer like that would fall into her lap again.

And here was Eli in her bedroom. Not sneaking out on his girlfriend. Not there for one last nostalgic roll in the hay. This do gooder was there to try to bring her back to "the good side" whatever that meant. As she told Kristen, "good" was a subjective term.