Thank you for your reviews and favorites, and to Sandra and Jess for betaing and reviewing this!
Chapter 8 – The Proposal
You're dangerous 'cause you're honest
You're dangerous, you don't know what you want
Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot
For any spirit to haunt
Who's gonna ride your wild horses, U2
Early the next morning, Emma found herself at his apartment door. He wasn't hard to find, now that she knew what to look for; and it made sense, in a way. Of course he'd live near the ocean, in a place that at least had a decent view to the sea he loved so much.
Once again, his flat was probably not something that could be afforded in a cop's salary; and he owned it. She made a mental note to talk to Regina about this. Something was not adding up: she could understand Regina helping him set up a new identity, but she pretty much handed Hook a very comfortable life, money wise. There was something missing in this story and she intended to find out about it eventually.
But for now, she had another issue to tackle. She knocked on the door and waited.
A moment later, Killian answered the door wearing only some denims, his hair wet. Emma's jaw dropped as her eyes roamed through his bare chest, adorned only by his charm necklace. His wet hair was dripping over his chest hair and she could feel the heat running through her body.
Killian cleared his throat and brought her back to reality. She lifted her eyes to look at him, her cheeks flushed. He was smirking at her, the bastard. He knew exactly the effect he was having on her and he was enjoying it.
"Are you stalking me, Swan?" He asked.
"We need to talk." She said and before he could reply with any of his famous innuendos, she lifted the two cups of coffee she was carrying. "Can I come in?"
He sighed but let her in. "Come in; let me get my shirt on. Otherwise, I don't think you'd be able to do much talking, love."
She rolled her eyes while he headed to the bedroom. She took the time to look at the place. It was definitely not what she'd pictured in her mind. It was very minimalistic, with sparse wooden furniture but it had a comfortable look all around. It felt like home, like a place she could spend hours in. She shook her head to chase those thoughts away and she entertained herself browsing his music collection.
"So tell me," She called out, "Did Regina infuse a taste for 80's music along with your police knowledge?"
"Clever, Swan." He replied entering the room. "Because a pirate like meself can't actually find that music to be of his taste…"
She turned around to look at him. He had a blue button shirt with a couple of buttons open, showing a white shirt underneath. The sleeves were rolled up, showing his forearms. He was resting on the kitchen counter, sipping the coffee she brought for him and looking at her.
"What do you want, Swan?" He asked waggling his eyebrows at her.
"What makes you think I want something?" She deflected.
"You wouldn't be here if you didn't." He said and she could sense the sad undertone in his voice. Guilt crept on her. Did he really think that little of her?
"Don't say that…" She said softly.
"Stop avoiding the question, Emma." He pressed. "What do you want?"
"I want in. I want to be part of the investigation."
Of course she'd want to be part of this. Leave it to her to stubbornly want to be part of something dangerous and life threatening.
"Have I not made myself clear yesterday, love?" Killian sighed. "I know it was never easy for you to wrap your head around this, but I need you to trust me. This is extremely dangerous. This guy already got away and he knows someone is after him. We have to be very careful."
"I know." She said. "But you are also a police officer. You have to play by the rules. I don't. That can be an advantage."
"I might be a cop, Swan, but I know how to bend the rules as well…" He smirked at her. "Once a pirate, always a pirate, love."
She smirked back, "You still have to play by the book, Killian, especially if you are after a promotion. I don't. I can cut a lot of corners that you can't and get information a lot faster than you might."
He thought about it. She had a good point, but it was still too dangerous.
"Swan, this lowlife won't hesitate to retaliate if he feels something is up."
"I know… I can be careful. I've done my job for several years, Killian. I know where to look and where not to look in cases like this. Trust me."
He looked at her, standing expectantly in his living room, all smiles and determination.
When had he been able to say no to her?
He sighed again and went to put on his shoulder holster, securing his gun.
"I need to talk to Mac about this. Come by the station this evening."
She smiled at him and the fear of something happening to her crept on him. He had to set up some ground rules.
"You listen to me, Swan. If we agree to do this, I call the shots. I make the decisions. That is not open to discussion. This will not be like Storybrooke where you made the decisions and I followed you around. You will listen to me and if I tell you to back off or that it is too dangerous, you will follow suit. I captain this ship, Swan."
She nodded, "You won't regret this, I promise."
"I already do, love." He said as he grabbed his jacket and opened the door for her to leave his apartment.