Hey there!

Sorry for the wait but here comes the new chapter!

On we go:)

Disclaimer: See prologue

Chapter 2

The sun was starting to slowly sat, molding with the glittering sea when Liz entered the living room, finding Tom lounging on the white sofa. Why someone would chose a white sofa was a mystery to Liz. But maybe she was just thinking like a simple Nebraskan country girl, she scoffed at herself and her attention wavered back to Tom.

They looked at each other and nothing seemed to be right. Not the sofa, not the room and certainly not them alone in a foreign country.

"We should talk, Tom." She finally said, not moving an inch from her position. The man in question smiled at her and got to his feet.

"I know it is kind of strange to be here and you will need some time to get used to, but we will finally be a family." He paused, grinning sweetly at her. "Having a child. At last."

A chill went through Liz' body when she heard Tom say that, but she did her best to keep the tears from appearing in her eyes.

"You told me Red was trying to detach from me. I want to talk about that."

Tom's brows shot up and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Lizzie, this is your past now. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

Liz frowned, more at herself than Tom before she answered.

"But I do."

"What do you mean?"

The question irritated her. He should know what she meant. But suddenly she remembered that no, he couldn't know what she meant. She felt the blood drain out of her face and she inhaled deeply, holding her breath for a bit longer than was comfortable and then, slowly and calmly, let it out again. "You said he couldn't protect me anymore." She said quietly. "But he obviously got us out of the church. Unharmed. He did protect me."

"I didn't say he wasn't able to protect you at all." Tom argued. "I said he would face problems now that you weren't alone anymore." He paused and laughed sarcastically. "And I wouldn't say our escape was a walk in the park either, hon."

Liz hung her head for a second, contemplating her next question but finally decided to get it out into the open.

"You said he wished that problem would…disintegrate somehow." She wallowed hard. "The problem…"

Tom suddenly was at her side and cupping her cheek in his hand.

"You or Agnes." He finished her sentence. "Or maybe both."

Liz nodded slightly, looking through the window at the ocean, tears finally gathering in her eyes. She felt Tom's thumb come up and brush away the first tear rolling down her cheek and she shivered.

"I know you cared for him." Tom murmured softly. "And I am so sorry you had to find out that he…got tired of this game he was playing with you. But Lizzie, he is a criminal."

"So are you." Liz told him, not feeling bad about it although she saw the hurt in his eyes. Slowly he pulled away from her, mustering her with pity clearly written on his face.

"You need to get used to the idea that Red is a manipulator, Liz. He is good in what he does and is a notorious liar. I am sorry he got you believing he was someone else."

Liz felt anger growing in her. She tried to suppress it, understand it and finally she concluded that she was angry because her pride was hurt. She didn't let herself be played. Or did she?

One hour later….

"What do you mean?"

"It's obvious what he meant, Liz. We need to get out of here. He will do anything to get rid of problems, you know that Liz! You've seen him murder people for the strangest reasons and for once he wasn't making a secret about it. He's dangerous. He wont hesitate getting rid of problems and now that you and our child have become one…."

"He wouldn't…never…" Liz started but stopped, questioningly consulting her memories of Red being…Red. The Concierge of crime.
"How sure can you be that he wont…hurt you, Liz?"

She opened her mouth to answer him, sure of her answer, but suddenly…suddenly she felt her baby kick in her belly and she wasn't sure at all anymore.

The loud crash in the house made her jump out of bed and reach for her weapon, which wasn't under her pillow like it had been for the past two years. Cursing she tried to listen into the darkness and when she started hearing noises of struggle, she crapped to the door and opened it a few inches.

"Where is Masha?" a deep voice demanded and Liz' first thought was Red but then she heard the man yell at someone to search the house and she knew it wasn't Red. The instant the realization hit her that it wasn't him, she silently closed the door and swiftly moved into the room next to the bedroom. Closing and locking the door behind her, she spotted the cradle in the dark and moved to it to gently lift the baby out of it, praying to god Agnes wouldn't start crying. Pulling the soft blanket out of the crib, she wrapped the soft material around the baby and secured it around her waist.

Silently Liz opened the window and was grateful she had insisted on a ladder hidden beneath vines, invisible from the outside.

"Hold on baby." She muttered to Agnes and with one handholding on to her precious bundle, started to climb out of the window and down the ladder. Her muscles were cramping and burning when she reached the bottom. Her feet, bare because she didn't have time to search for her shoes, were scraped raw by the time she reached the dark park, only a few meter away from the house. When her legs started to wobble after a few more meters, Liz leaned against a tree to catch her breath and check on Agnes.

"You know what? In this kind of situation I have become used to Red riding in like a knight in shining armor." She whispered to her daughter, which had opened her eyes and was gazing at her mother. "Pathetic, really. " Liz snorted, straightening and starting to move again. "I should have learned to fend for myself by now."

Airport….

Red marched to the car waiting for him at the airport, not even sparing a glance back at Kaplan or Dembe. Knowing that the doors would be open and the key already in the ignition, Red opened the backdoor without hesitation, slipping inside and closing the door with a loud thud. Feeling betrayed hurt. It always did. But feeling betrayed by someone you trust unconditionally is devastating. He was aware of the fact that under normal circumstances, he would have gotten rid of an associate betraying him, but Kate was special. She was family.

Feeling the car dip slightly under the weight of Dembe and Kaplan and he couldn't do anything else than look out of the window and avoid eye contact of any kind. Closing his eyes, he envisioned Lizzie and Agnes, together and hopefully still safe in their new home.

tbc...

Thank you so much for all your comments! They made my day:)