Chapter 18: Nobody's Perfect

Elizabeth had been hoping for a reaction; what she had gotten was an explosion.

The anger that had filled Will Darcy's frame when she had attempted to introduce him to Greg Wickham was terrifying. She was almost prepared to see the bodies of the two men hit the ground in an all-out brawl.

Lizzy knew that a response of the magnitude she had witnessed could never be due to petty jealousy. They knew each other; a thought that was further proved by Wickham making a hasty retreat and pulling Lizzy onto the dance floor. She soon completely lost sight of her party as Greg weaved their way deeper and deeper into the crowd before beginning to slowly sway her to a reggae song.

Greg pulled her closer by pressing his hand to the small of her back. "I'm sorry I pulled you away like that. I would never get into a fight while in the company of a lady."

Lizzy nodded, then draped her arms around his neck and positioned her lips close to his ear. "I take it you already knew each other."

Wickham, in turn, tilted his lips to her ear. "You have no idea."

"I would like to have one."

Wickham eyed her cautiously. "How do you know him?"

"Believe it or not, he's sort of my boss. Just when I thought I was done seeing him at work, we keep getting thrown together because my sister is dating his best friend."

"You're close to him then?"

"Close? Try close to perfect strangers. We haven't gotten along for most of our acquaintance."

"You need to be careful with him Lizzy. He has a bad habit of screwing people over. Ever since I met him he has always had it out for me, and we've known each other since we were little."

Oh great. More bad things to find out about Will Darcy. Maybe I retired the PNC nickname too quickly.

Greg continued, looking slightly frustrated, "It's too loud for me to tell you the full story in here. Come on another date with me Thursday and I'll tell you."

Lizzy bit her lip. Something felt off and she couldn't place it, but her curiosity always had a way of winning out in situations like these. "Alright. I think we can make that happen."

"Good. Listen, I need to get out of here. Seeing that guy always ruins my mood. I really wouldn't be good company to you if I stayed. I'll call you."

"Oh…okay. Sure. I understand." That was sudden.

With that, Wickham turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Greg Wickham needed to get out of Ella Lounge as quickly as possible. Immediately dragging Lizzy away from her friends, he then made some lame excuse and went about taking his leave from her as well. Avoiding the front entrance all together, he ran down to the basement and found a much more secluded fire exit.

When she had mentioned that Darcy Motors had hired her during their dinner at Jekyll and Hyde, he had immediately taken a second to evaluate the information. There was little chance that she knew Darcy personally; he never mingled with people that he felt were beneath him, either in work or in his private life. No; it had been much more likely that she was only dealing with people within his organization, and therefore, he wasn't in any immediate danger. For all he knew, she might even turn into an asset later.

Then, he shows up to this promising date with a pretty girl only to stand face to face with his enemy. As she had led him over to make the introduction, what Wickham had noticed immediately was the way Will looked at her. He had known Darcy most of his life, and was a master at interpreting that carefully guarded visage. The trick was to know how to read the eyes; he smirked as he thought, I have never seen him look at a woman that way before. Admittedly, the moment had been brief; a second later, Darcy had shifted his attention to himself and that was when recognition struck.

Here was his opportunity; a way to retaliate on the man who had waged war on him. Sure, he had done a lot of things to deserve it; but hey, nobody's perfect.

For a brief moment, Wickham was a little grieved to turn Elizabeth into a pawn for his own amusement; he had genuinely been attracted to her. But tonight had shown him the one thing he needed to know that would make dating Elizabeth become a secondary priority: William Darcy loved her.

And Greg Wickham was not someone who could pass up an opportunity for revenge.

Returning to their party, Lizzy immediately noticed that they were down a King of Hearts and a Mad Hatter.

Suddenly, Charlie came jogging over to her from the direction of the basement level of the lounge.

"Where's Will, Charlie?" she asked.

"He said he had to leave. He told me to get you away from that guy. It's too bloody crowded in here. Where did you go?"

"We were dancing somewhere over there. Why did he leave?"

"I have no idea. It was really quick. All he said was that that guy was dangerous and that I needed to get you away from him immediately. I'm glad you're back with us."

Greg Wickham? Dangerous? He screams like a girl, has perfect manners and is one of the friendliest people I have ever met.

Just then, Lizzy looked down at the bar to find two completely untouched and abandoned Tequila Sunrises.

Will Darcy didn't feel the chilly night air stinging his bare arms as he walked briskly down the street. His call was answered on the third ring.

"Detective Forster."

"Detective. It's Will Darcy. I've just seen Wickham. He's in Manhattan at the Ella Lounge on 9th Ave."

"Got it. Hold on." The line briefly went silent. Thirty seconds later it was picked back up. "How is it that you keep managing to run into that scum bag?"

"I wish I knew."

"Thanks for the tip."

"It's my pleasure. Literally. Goodbye Detective."

"Bye Will."

Will shoved his phone back into his pocket and suddenly realized that he was walking fast enough to be jogging. His nerves were still raw from seeing Greg with Elizabeth. How do they know each other? There is no way that Elizabeth can know what he is, right? If she doesn't, what exactly can I say to her to adequately warn her?

For the first time since making the decision, he deeply regretted the severely restrictive gag order he had insisted the judge impose on his sister's case. At the time, he hadn't planned on needing to share the details of the impending trial with anyone, and therefore, had no problem with the fact that he himself would be included in the court order that would ban discussion of the case with the media and any unauthorized third party. Even Bingley didn't know that Gianna had been wrapped up in a scandalous criminal investigation because of the gag restriction.

He had done it all for Gianna's and his family's protection; a way to guard his family's good name and his sister's honor as Gianna prepared her defense for a trial that would be incredibly difficult to win. He needed to make sure that she received as unbiased a trial as possible. Now, Will was horrified to realize that the very thing designed to shield his sister could possibly wind up hurting Elizabeth.

He deeply hoped that the police were able to apprehend him now that providence had allowed him to discover Wickham's current whereabouts. The man had been able to evade the authorities for almost three months. If Wickham could be captured and made to confess, Gianna would almost certainly be fully acquitted.

Really, what I should have done was beat the man to within an inch of his life when I had the chance.

William Darcy could have no way of knowing how right he was.

A/N

For anyone now panicking after reading this chapter worrying about angst, please message me. Don't give up on the story! I promise you can handle it. However, I don't want to spoil anything for those happy with where we are at, so messaging is the best option for me to give you some reassurance.

Thank you everyone for all of your kind reviews, favorites and follows. I believe that by doing so you are letting others know that this story is worth reading and that is the highest compliment I can ever receive!

I am also happy that you are enjoying my little nods to the original novel. I think it's amazing how well the original translates to a modern setting. It just goes to show how ahead of her time Miss Austen was. :)