Mary had been missing for two and a half weeks. Rachel had refused to go back to Gotham. She'd gotten Janet and Susie placed in their custody for the time being, Charles had moved to the couch, and the sisters had moved in to the downstairs bedroom. More often, though, Susie ended up between Jack and Rachel. That meant his household had exploded from two and a half people to five and a half in less than a month, and he was having a little trouble adjusting.

"What's the capital of Pennsylvania?" Janet called from the dining room. Rachel had gotten them in some home study program, which meant he was stuck with them all day long.

"Harrisburg," he called back. He was on the couch, arms crossed over his chest as he concentrated on the news. Susie was playing with her Barbies behind him, Charles was making lunch in the kitchen, and Rachel was at work. He knew Rachel was at work, because he called her every half hour. She let him because she knew she was lucky to not be locked up in Wayne Manor, knew that she was lucky he was allowing her out of his sight.

"When's Mommy coming home?" Susie asked as she leaned over the back of the couch. "Will she be back in time for Halloween?"

Jack sighed and leaned forward, cracking his neck and sighing. They had eleven days until Halloween. He rubbed the stubble on his chin with a frown. "I don't know, Susie. She'll be back as soon as she can." Janet walked past to get the calculator she'd left on the mantle and Jack's eyes followed her, sliding up her bare legs until they disappeared under the skirt she was wearing. It hit her at mid-thigh and hugged her curves just enough to tease. Jack closed his eyes tightly until she'd gone back to her homework, then clenched his fists and stood up.

"Where are you going, Jack?"

"Out, kid. I'll bring you back some candy."

That settled Susie down as Charles came out with a tray of sandwiches, following him to the door. "Don't go," she murmured.

Janet's legs flashed through his mind and he shook his head quickly. "You either let me go into town," he told Charles, "or I take Janet upstairs and fuck her. Your choice." It disgusted him; not that he could even think about having sex with Janet, but that the thought was less and less disturbing, and more and more appealing.

"You're insane, Jack."

"Getting there." He glanced inside, then raised a hand to keep Charles quiet. "Mary's still alive."

That got her attention and her eyebrows went up. "How do you know?"

"Because no one's found her body yet; they're not exactly being discreet about dumping them any more. They're waiting to see what I do, want me as tense as possible. I just need to stay in control until I find them."

"And an affair with the Johnson woman will help you . . . how? This is stupid, Jack. Bruce could find them quicker ---"

"And then what?" Jack whispered, starting to tremble. "I need to get rid of him once and for all."

"Who? Bruce?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. I'm leaving."

She was following him to the car. "Would you just talk to me, Jack? You don't need to do this all by yourself. Rachel and Ava are depending on you to be there for them."

"Do not talk to me about my wife and child," he growled, yanking the car door open.

"You can't even say their names any more. I agreed to help you, Jack, but I didn't agree to do this."

"I'm going to go check on her. Get some lunch with her, maybe."

"Does it help your conscience to not say Rachel's name before you go off to fuck another woman?"

"Rachel is my conscience. I'm going to check on her." He left Charles staring after him, heart pounding as he drove to Veronica's. Better to be abusive toward her than toward Rachel. Veronica would take it, no question; she expected him to be rough, she didn't know how gently he treated Rachel. Just as long as she was screaming his name by the end of it, he could treat Veronica however he wanted to.

She answered the fourth time he pounded on the door. "Jack? What the hell are you ---"

Jack shoved his way inside and kissed her. It was the second time he'd put his lips on her and Veronica grabbed at his shoulders, melting against him.

"Where are they?" he growled when he pulled away.

"Who?" she panted. "Why are you here?" He was pulling her blouse out of her pants, biting her neck. "Oh, God, Jack . . ."

"Anita and Maureen. Where are they staying? I need a more specific area than 'around Folsom.' Tell me." He threw her shirt to the side and then stripped his own off before grabbing her breasts. "Where are they?"

"Christ, Jack, I don't know. They won't tell me, and it's not like I have them over to tea." She twisted her arm behind her to unhook her bra, letting it drop to the floor, then started tugging at his jeans as Jack pulled her skirt up.

"You're fucking useless." He bit down on her lower lip and she slapped him, so he slapped her back. "Don't hit me. Now shut the fuck up."

It wasn't rape. It was just very rough, domineering sex that Veronica wasn't quite ready for. Her whines of pain and her fists hitting his back stopped after a few thrusts, then she was wrapping both legs around his waist and kissing him. Jack hated the way she tasted, hated the way she felt around him, hated that he was too far gone to run back to his wife and baby girl. Veronica was louder and more high-pitched than Rachel was; the sound made his head hurt even worse. He had to get Mary back. His girls . . . no, not his. They weren't his. They needed their mother, he needed his wife, his wife who was about to be a mother . . .

"Rachel," he whispered.

Veronica pulled his head back by his hair and almost spit in his face. "Don't you dare say her name when you're with me!"

He groaned at the pain and moved one hand to the small of her back, the other still digging into her thigh. "Rachel . . ."

"I hate you," Veronica snapped, pushing at his chest. "Let me go!"

"What did you think was going to happen?" Jack grunted in her ear as he caught her hands and held them above her head, not slowing down one bit. "Did you think I was going to run off with you? Look at me. Look at me," he snapped, grabbing her chin with his other hand and forcing her to make eye contact. There were tears in her blue eyes and she wasn't enjoying this any more, and Jack didn't give a damn. "Did you think I cared about you? That I could, mm, ride off into the sunset with you and abandon the only people I love?"

"Let me go," she whispered harshly, still trying to struggle. "You're hurting me."

Jack pressed his lips to her neck and panted. "Just . . . one . . . moment . . ." He shuddered and bit back a groan. He took a moment to catch his breath, then stepped away from Veronica and let her drop to the floor, pulling his pants up. She stared up at him with loathing in her eyes, but there was still desire lurking on her face and he snorted. "I need a shower."

"You're just going to barge in to my home," Veronica hissed as she scrambled up, "fuck me, then use my shower and leave?"

"Uh . . . yeah, that's about what I'd planned on." Jack pushed her away from him. "Do you know what the murderer wants?"

She followed him upstairs and into the bathroom, pulling her blouse back on. "No, tell me." Her voice was oozing sarcasm.

"He wants the Joker back. Wants me to lose control, go back to Gotham, and . . . well, I'm not too sure what then, but they sure as hell don't want Jack." He turned the shower on, stripped, and got in. "I'm uh, not stopping you from getting in with me. So what does he do? He starts killing people. Hey, no problem. I don't care about those women. They're just objects to me. Things. So he puts smiles on their faces," and Jack pulled the shower curtain to the side to flash her a grin, "to make sure he has my attention. Only goes after women who resemble my wife. See, he's trying to use my weaknesses against me, what few I have. You getting in or not?"

Veronica sighed and got undressed, and Jack waited until she'd joined him before continuing. "Now, he's not completely dense, so he's figured out I've got a soft spot for Mary's girls. So now, Mary's missing. He'll probably try for Rachel next."

"And why aren't you telling this to the police?"

Jack had worked shampoo into his hair and rinsed it out, then shook his head like a dog. "Because I don't trust the police. Tom, sure, because he knows that if he double-crosses me, I'll take Helna and Mitzi and he won't want to know what I do to that baby, then I'll kill Helna, then him."

Veronica was pale. "What would you do to Mitzi?"

Jack looked at her with earnest brown eyes. "Not a damned thing. I'd kill most anyone who tried to hurt her, too. But he wouldn't know that, and that's the point. But I will kill you, darling, if you utter one word of any of this to any one. What I'm telling you now, our little affair . . . if one word of it gets out, I'm coming after you. Is that clear?" He took her chin again and raised Jeff's straight razor to her lips, tugging a little at her cheek with it. "Is it? Sweety?"

Her situation was just sinking in and Veronica's eyes widened again. His tone had been so casual, his movements so natural, that until she nicked her tongue on the razor, she hadn't quite realised what he was doing. He was smiling beatifically the whole time, just having a pleasant conversation. She nodded, small, quick jerks of her head as a whimper forced its way out of her throat.

Jack let her go and kissed her, keeping the razor flush against her neck as he put his other hand between her legs. She whined again and tried to shy away, but he shushed her and kissed her again. "It's okay, Veronica . . . it's all right . . . I'm not going to hurt you just for the hell of it." Well, not yet. "You just need to do what I tell you. You've got a lot of free time on your hands, sweet cheeks, more than I do these days. I need you to find out exactly where those two bitches are staying. Can you do that for me?"

"Please, let me go," Veronica whispered. She was crying, now, too terrified to move.

"Tell me you'll find them," Jack pressed. Her body wasn't too terrified to react to his touch, though, and he purred. "Tell me."

"Okay," she sobbed. "I'll find them. Please don't hurt me."

That made him giggle. "Wasn't planning on hurting you," he said as he sank to his knees, grinning up at her. "I mean, unless I've got the tongue of a cat." He leaned forward and practically skipped over yet another line he'd sworn he wouldn't cross, licking and sucking at Veronica and hoping he died. He couldn't begin to excuse his behaviour and so he didn't, but that didn't mean he liked it . . . except that he did like it. He loved having this woman in the palm of his hand, willing to do almost anything he wanted her to do just so long as he gave her some semblance of affection. She was pulling at his hair again, holding his head in place, gasping some name that he only vaguely recognised. Then she was hollering and thrashing in his grasp and as soon as she calmed down he stood up, turning to grab the mouthwash she kept in the shower and taking a gulp of it. He needed her taste out of his mouth. Five minutes later he was leaving the house; Veronica had disappeared and he hoped he didn't see her again for a long time.

He drove straight to the law offices and barged in; her secretary looked up in surprise as he stalked toward her office door.

"Ah, Mr. Dawes, Mrs. Dawes isn't in right now . . ."

He stopped as he was reaching for the handle, a shudder running through him. "Where is she?"

"She's at the courthouse. Ah, the Jenkins case?"

He cursed under his breath and turned to the woman. "When will she be back?"

"About an hour, I think." Another curse and he turned around to leave. "Should I tell her you stopped by, Mr. Dawes?"

Who was she talking to? Oh, him. Right. "I don't care," he said as he walked out the door. He needed Rachel, or else he'd go right back to Veronica and bang her again. Maybe kill her. No, she'd be too boring to kill. Maybe he'd hijack the Mitzi-thing instead, take it and the girls to the park for a while. His girls had been cooped up in the house since they'd moved in. Surely they needed the air, right? He was home before he knew it and pushing the front door open.

"Janet! Susie!" They weren't downstairs and he leaned into the stairwell doorway, banging on the wall. "Hey!"

"They're outside, Jack," Charlie said from the laundry room.

"Why the hell aren't you out there with them?"

"Because I've got them wired with tracking devices that will let me know if they leave the immediate area. I'm not an idiot. Unlike you."

"You could have just let that last bit be implied, you know."

"Oh, but I wanted to make sure you didn't miss it."

"Kinda hard not to," Jack said in a sing-song voice as he walked out the kitchen door and raised his cupped hands to his mouth. "Janet! Susie! Get over here!"

They came running up a moment later, hair flying in the breeze, panting.

"Is Mommy back?!" Susie asked, throwing herself at him.

Jack picked her up and spun her around before settling her on his hip. "Nope. We're going to the park. Come on!"

"Why are we going to the park?" Janet asked.

He looked back at her with a frown. "Because . . . why not? You've been stuck inside the past two weeks, I thought you might want some fresh air."

He got a teenaged sigh. "We go outside a lot, Jack. We're there right now?"

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Come on, we're going to the park anyway. Don't argue with me, Janet. Don't your friends hang out at the park?"

"They won't talk to me," she muttered as she climbed in the car. "They think . . . they think their parents will go missing if they do."

Jack buckled Susie in and scratched the back of his head. "Well, they're idiots. Hungry? I'll buy us lunch."

"Charles fed us after you left. Why are you so social all of a sudden?"

Jack shot her a stern look, but Janet was staring out the window. "Don't talk to me like that, Janet. If you've noticed, I'm sort of hit-and-miss when it comes to being sociable. Plus, you two are really my only company during the day, and Rachel's generally too tired to do anything but sleep when she gets home."

"I want to go to the park," Susie said nervously. "Are we still going?"

"Do you see me driving?" he asked in return, flashing her a grin in the rear-view mirror. "Of course we're still going."

"Will Rachel be there, too?"

"She's busy right now, sweety."

Susie thought for a moment, then brightened. "Is she having Ava? Is that where she is?"

"Shit, I hope not. No, Ava's still too tiny to come out yet. Rachel's just working. If Ava's ready to come out when Rachel's at work, she'd call me."

"And then you'd call me, right?"

Jack laughed and nodded. "Right, sweet tea, I'd call you first."

Susie was delighted. "And I'll be able to hold Ava, right? Can I hold her first?"

"No, Rachel gets to hold her first, then I get to hold her. But you can hold her when the doctors say it's okay for other people to hold her, all right?"

"Before anyone, right? Before Janet?"

"Oh, please," her older sister muttered.

"Of course you can hold her before Janet," Jack promised. "You'll be the best little big sister in the world." It made Susie laugh with delight.

***

They'd been at the park for half an hour when Jack looked up and saw the two women on the swings, smirking at him. He gave the tire swing an extra-hard shove, which made both girls shriek.

"Stay here, girls. I'll be right back." They didn't move when he walked toward them, and Jack was no longer having fun. "Hanging out in broad daylight's more balls than you usually have, Maury."

The man snorted, still grinning at him. "You're quite the family man these days, Jaaaack."

"Why don't you tell me what you want?"

Maury twirled some hair around his finger coyly. "You, darling. We've always only wanted you." He waved his hand at Jack dismissively. "Not this, this façade you've got going on right now, no. We want the real you, honey. Mob's got big plans for Gotham, see. The Justice League is getting way out of hand, and they figure the only one with enough cajones to bring them down is the Joker." He smoothed his skirt as Jack shifted so he could keep an eye on the girls, as well. "And oh, how many women have you let die?"

"Don't know, don't care. You don't want the Joker to come back, Maury. You think what happened last time was bad? He'd be out for vengeance this time, and you're number one on the shit list right now. No one in Gotham would survive." Jack crouched down and peered up at Anita. "What's in it for you, Bentley?"

"Just doing my job," she replied.

"Where's Mary Mills?"

She blinked at him. "Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about. She's been missing for two and half weeks."

"Oh, her. She's alive, for now. You're going to need to come back to Gotham with us if you want her to stay that way."

He snorted and watched Susie climb off the tire swing and stagger for a moment, dizzy. "Mob couldn't handle him last time. They're making a huge mistake."

"They're taking their chances." She was kicking her legs like a little girl, tilting back in the swing. "You've made this easy, Jack. You've got a wife, who's about to pop. You've got these two brats, who adore you. Who else do you care about? The police chief's wife? You spend a lot of time fucking her."

"Blow-jobs aren't sex."

"Rachel'd see it differently."

That made him laugh. "Are you threatening to tell Rachel that I've been screwing around with Veronica? Is that supposed to scare me into coming back to Gotham?" Actually . . . if Rachel found out, she might leave. She'd go to her mother's place, or maybe hole up with Wayne. Wasn't a bad idea. "Making that woman suck me off doesn't count as a relationship, I hope you realise. Well, maybe Maury doesn't, but you ought to."

"With a pregnant wife at home, too." Anita shook her head and sighed sadly. "What a shame."

"Isn't it just." He stood up. "So what's this little chat about?"

"We thought, since you weren't paying attention to our little messages," Maury cooed, "that we'd ask you nicely to come with us."

"Right. Let me just pack up, huh?" Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm going to kill both of you, and I'm going to enjoy it."

"We'll see you later," Anita called as he turned and walked back to his girls.