Ironically enough, after the discussion with his mother, Evan hadn't made it past the couch in his attempt to catch a little sleep. When his eyes opened, the dim light coming in through the thin living room curtains told him it was early afternoon. He sat up and stretched, let out an exaggerated yawn, and got up, wondering why the apartment was so quiet.

A flicker of silver caught his eye and he hurried to the bedroom, curious as to why the door was partially shut. Taking a chance, he lightly knocked and pushed his way into the room. She didn't notice him right away, too caught up in quietly scurrying from the sink to the bed to drop what little belongings she had at her disposal into her tiny bag. "Is there a fire I don't know about?"

"No. You sleep well?"

"Fine. What are you doing?"

"Packing."

"Can I ask why?"

"It's just time that's all."

"What did my mother say to you?"

"Nothing." Lulu avoided his gaze and tried to move once again back to the bathroom.

"I don't think so." He argued, turning her to face him.

"Evan. Let me go."

"No. Not until you give me a straight answer."

"Did you kill Vermin?" she blurted out.

"What is with everyone? Why would you ask me that?"

"Did you?"

"It doesn't matter what I say, does it? You've already made up your mind that I have." Evan accused, taking a step back.

"Just tell me why you are so sure he can't hurt me."

"Fine. You want to know? The night you came to stay with me, I went to see that piece of human garbage."

"What did you do?" Lulu whispered.

"I knew I had to take out his security or I would never get in to talk to him so I lured Underwood to the end of the dock and then tied him under it. I found out the next morning that he had drowned. As far as Vermin, I don't know how I kept from killing him. First my brother and then you." He hissed.

"Evan." She reached out a trembling hand to his cheek.

"I shouldn't have gone there. As a cop, I know how stupid it was. I had been trailing him for months, months before I ever met you, and I knew his patterns. How sick is it that if he hadn't gone to that particular club on that particular night, you and I wouldn't have met? Though maybe you wish that was the way it had happened."

"If we hadn't met that night..." Lulu shook her head. She didn't really want to think about that possibility. "You took a huge risk. Both times. It's amazing Vermin hasn't killed you yet."

"Amazing, yes. Though this last time, he wasn't in any condition to do anything to me."

"Evan...What did you do?"

"I shot him in the hand when he tried to pull a gun on me, stabbed him in both kneecaps with his own knife, and told him I would take him apart piece by piece."

"Oh God." Lulu breathed as she took a step closer to him.

"As for my confidence in keeping you safe..." His voice trailed off. Why wasn't she scared of him? It was why he hadn't told her to begin with; why he had planned to never mention it again. "I have evidence to sell him out to his enemies and told him that if anything happened to you, arrangements were already in place to make it public knowledge. It seems Vermin thought it would be clever to addict his top enemy's little sister to Heroin and, surprise, surprise, it was laced with arsenic. Just like Ethan's was."

"Turn it over to Mac. Don't do this. Don't be like him."

"And leave you open to attack? No." Evan shook his head.

"But Mac will keep him in jail. And I can leave town for awhile. We both could."

"This needs to end and I'm not leaving it up to Mac and Harper to finish. Vermin will make a deal and serve no jail time. I've seen it happen a hundred times."

"If you don't, you'll be no better than him."

"Well if you really believe that, it's probably best that you're leaving."

Lulu bit her bottom lip. "I don't regret it." She whispered.

"Well you should! We both manipulated you, we both used you. I don't want you to forgive me because that doesn't change what happened."

"No it doesn't. But what about what happened afterwards? If we didn't meet that night, Mac wouldn't have assigned you as my bodyguard. And I probably would have taken that deal Vermin offered me. I'd still be using. If we hadn't met that night, you wouldn't have saved me."

"What deal?"

"He wanted me to work for him."

"Doing what?"

"Dancing. At the Paradise Lounge." She lowered her head and stared at the pattern of the carpet.

"That son of a bitch." Evan tilted Lulu's chin up. "Look at me. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You ran out on that deal. You didn't do it."

"Only at the last second. I was going to do it. I was going to do it."

"But you didn't. You were brave."

"If I were brave, I wouldn't have gotten in this mess to start with."

"It's not your fault. If anyone had been paying attention, but they just expected you to get over it."

"You paid attention."

"I wish I had been here for you sooner. Maybe I could have prevented all of this."

"You prevented plenty." She promised him as she slid her hands up to his neck.

"Don't leave. Not like this."

"Do you want me to stay?"

"I've always wanted you to stay. You're the one who keeps running. What do you have to run away from now?" He moved his hands up and down her arms.

"This."

"No." He placed a kiss below her ear. "I wouldn't dream of hurting you."

"That's what scares me."

"Tell me why."

"Because that means this is real. It's not a game anymore. Not a job. It's real."

"Whatever else, this has always been real." He assured her, intertwining their fingers.

"Evan?" Lulu looked up meeting his eyes, stepping closer to him.

"What?"

"Kiss me."

He dipped his head and caught her lips with his. Still holding one of her hands, he used the other to drape around her waist and gradually draw her closer. Curling her arms around his neck, she sighed when she felt his tongue trace the outline of her lips, softly opening them for him to enter.

At the collar of her ruffled white top were a thin white bow and a series of buttons. His finger caught a loop of the ribbon and unraveled it, using his other hand to push the puffy sleeves down her arms. He bent forward and left a trail of kisses down her throat, his hands working the edge of the shirt out of her brown corduroys. She stepped back until the mattress hit the back of her knees and broke the kiss only long enough to unfasten the buttons at the front of her shirt. Reaching for the collar of his grey shirt, she pulled him into another kiss and off his feet.

Falling into a tumble, they laughed at their impromptu decision to wrestle the shirt off of her as if the garment had suddenly caught fire. He followed the slant of her cheek with his lips until he reached the pulse point at her neck and slipped one strap of the bra off her shoulder. When his lips brushed against the top of her left shoulder, he let them backtrack slowly to her neck. Her arms slipped under his and she pressed her hands into his neck, her thumb and index finger settling on either side of his face so that he had to lift his head and kiss her lips.

In one hand, he cradled her face while he used the other to pull her more securely beneath him. He unwound her fingers from around his shirt and worked it up over his head, clutching her hand before her deadly fingernails could draw blood. She wouldn't be thwarted though, he realized, because the second he relinquished her hand, she brought it right back to his chest. His breath caught in his throat as her fingernails grazed across his nipples and he shifted above her, scooting her farther back so that they didn't slide right off the mattress.

Smiling to herself, Lulu pushed against his chest, rolling them over so she lay on top of him. Leaning down to capture his lips once again, she whispered to him, "Right where I want you."

"Like I could ever leave you." Evan didn't let himself think about how much truth rested in his words. How many rules had he already broken? He told himself it had been worth it because, no matter what, she wasn't using drugs anymore and her family would be there to support her. "My perfect Leslie." He whispered, peeling her pants down her legs and admiring just how incredibly beautiful she was.

His hand traced up her back, causing her to shiver. "Why do you call me that?"

"I honestly don't know. At first, to bug you and make me stick out in your mind. It fits your personality better."

"You're the only one who calls me that." She leaned down and nipped at his ear, her fingers edging closer to the top of his jeans. "I only like it when you call me that."

"Well that makes two of us." Instead of redirecting her purposeful fingers, he disengaged the latch at the front of her bra and scooped his palm under each breast to lift them out. "See? Perfect." He sat up and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to one puckered nipple. She managed to stay completely still above him for all of about five seconds and he opened his mouth a little wider so that his tongue could come up under the nipple and trace its full length. He thumbed her other breast until it too stood to attention and then sucked it into his mouth.

Suddenly undoing the button at the top of his jeans went from mild interest in her mind to an overwhelming necessity. To move at all was agony. He reached between them once she had taken care of the zipper, but she still wasn't satisfied, so he lifted his hips, disengaging his mouth from her nipple to keep from hurting her when his teeth gritted together, and yanked down the next obstacle.

He skidded backwards to retrieve a condom from the top drawer of the nightstand and then rejoined her on the bed. His heart galloped against his chest and he closed his eyes to catch a breath, but she sat up and fastened her lips to his and he panted into her mouth. Her panties were little more than a scrap of lace. Without any difficulty, he skimmed them down her legs and tossed them next to his discarded boxers. She took the condom from him, but her hands started to shake when she tried to sheath him herself, so he carried them to his lips and kissed them before taking over the task himself.

Braced up on his elbows, he brushed his shaft across her opening, letting his body entice hers. Her fingers climbed up his back as her legs wrapped around his waist, propelling him inside of her. He pressed a little harder and she relaxed, a sigh catching in her throat. It was one of those wonderful moments when moving was difficult and staying still was just as impossible. Sinking deeper, he held her face in his hands, following the outline of her swollen lips with his tongue. All logical thought was erased from his mind as she shuddered and shook beneath him. He bent his head and rested it against her forehead.