AN:
To Cathy, who left the review w/o an email on All the King's Horses yesterday: I hope you read this, because I'd like to say I absolutely agree with you. I did make Riddick rather ridiculous in All the King's Horses. I felt that was what made saving him such a challenge for Jack, and I'm sorry you didn't see it the same way. I'm also sorry you read all 52 chapters only to find you really didn't like the story, or the ending. I've been extremely negligent in editing the earlier parts of that story on fanfic dot net, and I'm sure that didn't improve your reading experience. I know it's difficult for readers to find good fanficion that fits with their particular tastes, and I wish you luck in finding something you do like. There are lots of good authors in the Pitch Black fandom, and you can find many of them on the Art of Vin Diesel site, and the Rhiana Griffith fan site.
To Scary Vampiress: Welcome back! Thank you so much for the compliments, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I'd kind of forgotten I was writing this until you reviewed it. I hope some of your other favorite fics updated/finished too so you'll have plenty of reading to do. I know the Pitch Black fandom has kind of died off in popularity. Pretty much all of the big hitters have either quit writing in the fandom, or just quit writing.
Pace nearly forgot Robert sitting at her side. She remembered briefly, after the initial shock, thrill, and horror of seeing Dom in person for the first time in nearly a decade.
"Rob, could you take Ticey outside? I don't want her to hear any of this," she said softly, her eyes never falling from the man standing just meters away.
"Mom, I want to stay with you. I don't want..."
She shushed her daughter, asking her nicely to go with their family friend, to be a big girl and not make a fuss. Ticey went, and when she was gone Pace joined those in the room who preferred to stand, her fists clenching at her sides.
Dom shot a brief, cocky smirk in her general direction. "Hey, babe. Told you I'd see you again."
"You did not!" Jack and Pace both said in stereo.
Ice passed through her veins, and into her heart. Pace turned to look at Jack, and Jack to look at her. They both knew this man intimately; he'd used the same pet name on both of them in the past. She'd known her husband had philandered much of his life, she'd just never expected to meet one of his old flames in the flesh.
The mixed feelings that passed through her made her want to both kill and die in the same instant. No matter what she told herself, she still loved him. Until that moment in time, she'd still wanted him back. Now, she didn't know if she could ever want anything again.
What a fool he'd made of her.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and for the first time in days she couldn't hold them back. "You son-of-a-bitch," she said, her vision blurring, nose burning.
She meant to simply walk past him, shouldering him out of her path, but he didn't budge. He stood firm, as if to make her walk around him.
The next thing she knew she was throwing uppercuts into his gut, using all her strength to try to make him feel her pain.
"He's your son! He's your son, and you don't give a fuck that he's gone! I swear to God, I'll fucking kill you, Dominic, I swear!"
Dom restrained her, grabbing her wrists and squeezing until the pain made her cry out. He had shades on, but it didn't matter. She'd never been able to read his eyes, even when they'd loved each other.
"I'm not here to toy around with you, Pace," Dominic growled, throwing her to the floor. In attempting to break her fall, she landed on her wrist, and heard it pop on impact. She gritted her teeth against the pain that shot up her arm, curling up in a ball on the floor.
Immediately Dom had Riddick in his face, shoving him away from her. When Conte stepped forward, drawing up to his full height, Riddick stood right in front of the Con-X and stared him down, not batting an eye at the obvious threat in Dom's stance.
"It's not your problem," her husband informed her protector.
Riddick leveled a cool stare at the man in front of him. "I'm not in the habit of permitting spousal abuse in my home," he growled softly.
A long silence passed between them, the air grew heavy with intensity. Finally, Conte backed down, nodding toward the door. He left, Cody followed.
When they were gone, Pace slowly sat up, wiping at the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She shared silence with Riddick and Jack for a long time before speaking. "I really hate to say it, but we're probably going to need him before this is over. I'm not really sure there's anyone in this room capable of talking him off his high horse."
"I am," Jack said suddenly, her eyes never lifting from the floor. "I've done it before, when the lives of my children weren't on the line."
"Jack, I don't think that's a good idea," Riddick said.
She shook her head defiantly. "No, I'll do it. If we can't get the money, and we can't call the police, then we need a criminal worse than the people we're dealing with. We need him."
Pace forced herself to get to her feet, clutching her injured hand to her chest. She carefully avoided looking at the woman sitting across the room from her. A woman she hardly knew, who proclaimed she could talk Dom into reasonability.
Immeasurable jealousy welled up inside her, boiling over into hate that threatened to consume her. Pace had a big enough heart to forgive Jack, no matter what kind of relationship she'd had with Dom. It just hurt to know other women could have even a simple friendship with him, when she'd just literally been cast aside.
Even after all these years, her broken heart had never mended.
It took some time to settle Dallas' mother and little sister into the guest room for the night. Mr. Brodell opted to find an inn to stay at. Jack could tell Robert saw Pace as much more than a friend. If Pace felt anything for him in return, Jack saw no evidence of it.
Dallas had two parents, a mother and a father, who on the outside appeared polar opposites. His mother appeared to love his father. His father probably didn't love anybody.
She's bound to hate me, Jack thought. I'll have to tell her. In the morning, I'll tell her it wasn't serious. We were seventeen. All we did was kiss a few times. Conte used me, just like he uses everyone. He used me and Riddick to get at a man, to kill him. We were nothing but bait... God, I hope she understands...
She settled Kyle into bed; her and Riddick's bed, covering him with almost enough blankets to smother him.
"You're not seein' him."
Jack turned, her green eyes narrowing fractionally as she took up a defensive stance, preparing to war verbally with Rick. He stood just inside the doorway, shutting it so their guests wouldn't overhear the heated conversation about to take place.
"You really think that's an option at this point?" she asked. "I said we should call the police, and I didn't exactly hear you jumping to agree with me. So what's the plan? Huh? How're you going to get the kids back?"
His mouth thinned to a line, his jaw working as he glared holes through her with brown eyes. "Do we remember the same fucking guy, Jack? Dominic Conte? Being an assassin isn't much better than being a merc. Half the time you don't even get paid better. Is that who you want to send after our son and daughter? A fucking merc, Jack!" he yelled, having stalked over so his face hovered right above hers.
Her eyes flashed, and she could feel the heat of her anger rising into her cheeks and the tips of her ears. It broke her heart, but she couldn't back down. She had to beat him in this argument, humiliate him if that's what it took. "He was never a merc, Riddick. Not even I'm dumb enough to almost give my virginity to a merc. He was an assassin—the best fucking assassin in the fucking galaxy. You were an old pro at mind games, and he sure made you look stupid, didn't he? He's a criminal prodigy. We know what he could do at seventeen; just imagine what he can do now."
"I know exactly what a man like that is capable of. I was just like him, remember?" he hissed, turning away.
"Bullshit," she shot back. "That's bullshit, and you know it! You were never like him. Dom used us..."
"Like I used Johns?" he asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye over his shoulder. "Like I used Imam's charges? They were nothing to me but bait to keep those fucking hammerheads off my back!"
She shook her head as if to deny his claim. "No, you didn't! You're not like him, Riddick. You've changed. You changed for me, so we could be together and live a normal life! You have to trust me now," she said, approaching him, attempting to reach out and touch his arm.
He pulled away from her, shooting a glare through her, freezing her in her tracks. "I wouldn't have changed for anyone. We both know that. So, you're going to go find him and offer him what? Sex? I knew dangerous men turned you on, Jackie. Didn't figure you needed to trade me in for a new model," he growled coldly.
Her eyes went wide with shock. "Is that what you think? I'll track him down so I can fuck him? Our kids are missing, Rick, do you really think I've got sex on my mind right now!"
He shrugged. "Don't know. His wife sure shot you a mean look. Almost like you scare her. Makes me wonder if there's more to what happened between you and Conte than I know."
Her hands flexed into fists. In such a desperate situation all Rick could worry about was whether or not she'd actually been a virgin their first time?
Instead of screaming at him, she picked up her sweater and opened the door of their bedroom, slamming it behind her. Jack was done asking for permission from a man who couldn't trust her, even after everything they'd been through together.