chapter word count: 545

noir heart: ninety-six

Elsa shrieks in shock. "No!"

The hand that once gripped his arm lashes out like a blur, twisting her entire body in a desperate attempt to grab the falling chain, but her fingertips don't even make contact. Helpless, the chain glimmers in the daylight as it drops to the sidewalk far below.

She's slow - and also wide open.

As soon as the blade's pressure releases with her involuntary and futile attempt to catch the chain, Jack's right hand grasps at her hooded sweater while his left fingers lace themselves around her knife-wrist, holding it well away, and with his thigh between her legs he pushes her against the safety rail to the point she's almost horizontal, braid dangling helplessly.

She's not even scared. Sure, her eyes are wide as she gazes into his, her lips are parted and her lungs rise and fall with such rapidity that it seems she's in the grip of fear, but she's not afraid in the least. No, it's all adrenaline, a rush. Judging by the strange sensation of something on his thigh, something else too. She's freaking fearless.

"Well, what'll it be, Jack? Are you going to throw me off, or throw me to the ground and tear my clothes off? I must confess - I'm more aroused by the latter…" she pants.

And yet, with the physical control firmly in his hands, she still finds a way to get under his skin - because now there's a mental image of her legs wrapped around his waist as he pounds into her, plum lips moaning hotly into his ear. Damn it. "You lose, Elsa," he growls, and tries to ignore the heat in his heart.

Exhaling loudly, he pulls her back up whilst wrestling the knife from her grip, and tosses it away. The steel blade clinks against the concrete, and clatters well out of her reach.

Eyes remaining firmly fixed upon her, he re-adjusts the position of his trench coat as she rests her right hand on the safety bar, and her left one over her heart. "This is how it's gonna go - if I even smell your involvement in anything, if I hear you're even remotely connected to someone's murder...you even go near Rapunzel again, I'll arrest someone else for your late husband's murder," he warns.

She gives him wounded, petulant. Like he's about to take away her favourite toy. "You can't do that," she protests, "you're a man of the law..."

Jack folds his arms. "Oh, I can. Nice bit of DNA, maybe a fingerprint or two - hey presto, drug dealer takes the fall. No more water-cooler talk about how clever the great Elsa Black was, to murder her husband and get away with it," he pauses, to step forward...hopefully intimidatingly, "no puzzle with you at its heart. You'll just fade into obscurity, remembered by no-one."

She gives him incredulous, like she's completely taken aback. Which is hilarious. "You'd do that? Diminish and break the law to punish me, and protect the woman who broke your heart?"

His eyes narrow. "To stop you from killing again? Watch me."

*pulls at collar* have to admit, I'm loving the reactions. Good news: the 100th NH update should be a nice treat. Bad news: my right wrist is giving me serious crap, so it's in a brace. Updating may be a little slow. Ow.

special thanks to: evil cookie, doomstone, vrupd.1992, oninoko, stefalove, hornedgoddess, ghost angel14, jpbake, deadbreath and invisible me for the reviews!