Just so you know he lawyered up in the car!" Velasco called out as he escorted Marcus to an interrogation room.
"Great," Bruno muttered as Velasco pushed Marcus past.
Velasco made it into the interrogation room before Liv hung up her call. She stepped out of the office and looked around, "What did Velasco say?"
"Lawyered up en route," Bruno provided.
"F-ck," she groaned. So much for getting home before 6. She wanted to get home sooner rather than later so she could spend a little time with Elliot and Noah before she had to deliver her shitty news. And Marcus lawyering up just made her straight up pissed.
Churlish spun her chair towards them. "Doesn't Indiana have him on that murder charge? They're going to want to extradite him."
"Probably," Bruno replied, "and the abduction took place in Indiana."
"But we need to clear him of any potential crimes here in New York. He was trafficking when he picked Lucas up. Plus we need to interview Lucas again to make sure we don't have any abuse charges. I'm also not completely convinced he had nothing to do with Clem." Olivia shook her head, "I don't want to give him up to Indiana before we are sure we've covered our bases here."
"I thought we are attributing all of the violence to Abby and Lucas?" Churlish asked for clarification.
Olivia nodded. "We are, but I'm still bothered by the uh," she swallowed the rising lump in her throat. "The body dump," she finally finished. The events up to the point Clem hit her head seemed cut and dried, but the body dump... They had no idea how Clem ended up down that ravene, but delayed medical care absolutely contributed to her death. They were not stopping until they had the complete story, and she suspected that story included Marcus in some way.
"But none of the children's accounts place him anywhere near there. His criminal background has to be a coincidence right?" Bruno reasoned the other angle.
Olivia thought for a moment. He was right of course. They had absolutely NO proof of his involvement. No witnesses. No physical evidence. No physical evidence…
"Churlish," her eyes darted up. "You own a pair of hiking boots?" Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "We'll find some because you and Bruno are heading up that mountain.".
"What are we going to be doing exactly?" Bruno actually sounded excited at the prospect of stomping around the woods.
"Finding some evidence," she said simply.
There was no real reason to investigate further. But her gut wouldn't leave her alone. There was something there. There had to be.
-000-
There was something different about her apartment when she stepped inside. Everything appeared to be in its proper place, including Noah's shoes haphazardly kicked next to the door. No, there was nothing physical out of place. It was the air. Not the thermostat, but the overall feeling. It was warm, and it soothed her aching psyche.
She reasoned the feeling was due to the dark cloud continually pouring down at work, making her life feel more gloomy than normal. That had to be it. Because if that wasn't the reason, then she would have to accept the terrifying reality that Elliot's presence in her apartment made her feel complete. That couldn't be it, because if it was, it gave him power that she wasn't ready to relinquish yet.
She dropped her purse onto the entry table and self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair. She probably looked like a train wreck. Her first application of makeup melted away with the tears she couldn't contain while she cried in the precinct's bathroom. She made due with the basics in her purse, but the day was long and she hadn't thought twice about her appearance until this very moment.
Normally she wouldn't give a shit because she came home to her son and his middle aged babysitter. But now? Now there was this perfect hulk of a man standing in the kitchen with her son. A man who she had loved for far longer than she would like to admit.
Just the view of him standing in her kitchen triggered the memories of his hands on her skin, and his mouth on her body, and damn it she was already buzzing and he hadn't even looked in her direction yet.
She pressed a hand to her stomach because those goddamn butterflies were creeping into her belly, and she didn't have time for all of that nonsense because she was about to wreck the blissful feeling radiating throughout her apartment.
"Mom!" Noah finally stopped talking long enough to notice her presence. Just behind him stood Elliot with a smile that almost melted her into a puddle. She met Noah in the kitchen where he was happily stirring around something that looked edible. She pulled him in for a hug which he initially accepted, but anxiously pulled away from her. "Mom, you're going to make me burn my sauce." He sounded as serious as a professional chef so she left him to the important job of stirring sauce.
She needed a second to mentally prepare to meet those blue eyes she could feel drifting all over her near trembling frame. Once she got a grip she met his gaze with a soft smile.
She dropped a hand to his elbow and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek which ended up closer to his jaw, making his breath hitch. She moved to the other side of him, and his fingers traced the length of her spine as she moved. Goosebumps trailed behind the course of his fingers.
"You were supposed to call," he said lightly. Damn that crooked smile.
"I know. I had to hurry out of there when the opportunity presented itself." He fingers brushed his forearm discreetly and he reached out to snatch her hand.
"Well this isn't going to be ready for a little while longer." He seemed to pick up on her complete mental exhaustion because he suggested, "Go take some time for yourself. Shower or whatever you want. We'll get you when this is ready." He leaned in to brush a soft kiss across her forehead.
She nodded. A minute to herself would be nice, but… "Sure, but can I talk to you for one minute?" She motioned towards the pan in front of him, "can this wait for a minute or?"
He immediately pulled it off the burner. "It can definitely wait," he assured her. "Noah, cover that sauce, and pull it off the burner. I'll be back in a second."
"Okay," he said easily and followed instructions. "Can I watch TV for a bit while you talk?"
"That's perfect." He'd be distracted which would be great because she needed to be distracted for a minute.
He happily hopped into the living room and scooped up the remote before dropping himself lazily on the couch.
She grasped Elliot's hand and led him back to her bedroom. The door barely clicked shut before her back was pressed against the wall. "Hey," he breathed. His lips brushing hers.
"Hey," she returned. "I thought we needed a proper hello." Really she just needed him . If only for a minute. She needed to remember that she wasn't alone in this, and he was there, and he planed on staying . She needed to feel the warmth of his body pressed against hers, and the taste of his tongue in her mouth. If only for a minute. For a minute she wanted to forget about this god awful day and lose herself in him.
"Hello," she could feel his smile more than seeing it. She fisted his shirt and pulled him closer, pressing her more firmly into the wall. She pressed her lips to his, and thank God he didn't disappoint.
His lips moved almost harshly against hers, like he could sense what she really needed right then. She gratefully returned the pressure and moaned…as quietly as possible…when his tongue wrapped around hers. Her hips instinctively pressed forward, and his hands moved from her hips to her ass, gripping it possessively. "Damn it Liv." His hips pushed into hers and she could feel exactly how much he wanted her. And that's what she needed.
His hands slid up to her lower back so that he could dip them beneath her waist band, his calloused hands began kneading her ass, "You're so damn beautiful." His tongue found its way back into her mouth.
Her hands dropped from the back of his head to the hem of her shirt. "Liv?" He questioned, against her lips.
She pulled back and tossed her shirt on the floor. "I need you." She pulled at the belt buckle of his jeans.
His lips trailed her jaw and down the tender skin of her neck. "Noah?"
He was apparently only able to communicate one word sentence at this point. His lips dropped to her collarbone.
She reached her hand for the door knob, and deftly clicked the lock. "He never gets TV time." She let out a little gasp as he ran his tongue along her bra line. "He won't come looking," she promised, nearly panting.
"You'll have to be quiet," he said with a smirk.
Oh so now he can make sentences. "I can do that," she promised. She unfastened the button on his jeans while he carelessly tossed his Henley to the floor.
"I'll believe it when I see it," he mumbled with satisfaction as his mouth made its way to her sternum.
She was already biting back a moan, and suddenly second guessed her ability to keep quiet. She would have to though because she had no desire to stop this from running its course…
-000-
Olivia stepped into the shower carefully. She wasn't sure she could keep herself upright after that satisfying quickie against her bedroom wall. Elliot had followed her into the bathroom, but only took a second to splash some cold water in his face before dressing quickly. At least one of them needed to get out there before Noah came investigating.
Great sex cleared her head, and the warm shower spray released the remaining tension in her body, but her stomach still clenched everytime she thought about the conversation she needed to have after dinner. She struggled to know what to say or how to go about it. She wasn't sure if she should tell Elliot first so she could have a little emotional back up before talking to Noah, or if she should rip the bandaid quickly. Either way, they would be hurt, and she couldn't do anything to prevent it.
She wasn't sure how long she contemplated what she should do, but eventually Elliot popped his head in, "Dinner's about ready…" he frowned when he saw her obviously tense expression. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she tried a reassuring smile that failed spectacularly. He didn't seem convinced. "It's okay, really. We can talk about it later."
He still seemed hesitant. "It's not something I can sweep under the rug, El. I promise we will talk okay."
His brow was still etched with concern, but he dropped it. "Okay."
"I'll be out in a couple minutes," she promised.
He nodded, eyes still hooded in concern.
Once he shut the door she let out an apprehensive sigh. It was time, and all she could do was be there in the best way she could. She shut the shower off and reached for a towel. She stood in front of the fogged up mirror, and mentally prepared for the next few hours.
-000-
He knew her well enough to know something was wrong. Very wrong. He watched her pick at her food, pushing it around rather than eating. She tried making conversation, but it felt forced. She focused on Noah, asking questions about his day, doing her best to smile at each anecdote.
"And then Elliot couldn't find his socks…" his mind reentered the conversation at the sound of his name.
He grinned. "Not my fault!"
Noah giggled. "His mom put them in the linen closet with the towels."
That earned a genuine laugh. "Bernie doing your laundry again?"
He groaned. "I've hidden everything that's dry clean only, but she can't seem to leave my clothes alone."
She smiled again, genuine but soft. She picked at her food some more. He was obviously staring her, but she was deliberately avoiding eye contact.
Fortunately, Noah seemed oblivious to the subtle tension between the adults in the room. They decided to clean up once Noah ran out of stories and asked if they could all watch a movie together.
"Thats a great idea Noh. Get ready for bed though so you can go right to bed after the movie."
"Alright." He happily complied after bringing his plate to the counter next to the sink.
Elliot stood and picked up her barely touched plate. She followed him into the kitchen and opened the dishwasher to begin loading the dishes.
"Go relax, Liv. I got this." He motioned towards the dishes.
She bit her lip. "I'm antsy. I need to be doing something." She reached for the first dish in the sink, but he grasped her wrist before she could grab it.
"What's going on?" She shifted uncomfortably. His stomach dropped when her eyes began to well with tears. She was standing on the other side of the open dishwasher so he couldn't pull her closer without her tripping over it. Her free hand wiped at her cheeks. He kept her other hand gripped in his.
She took in a shaky breath. "Hospital called." Damn it. She didn't even have to finish the thought. Those words and her demeanor alone told him what had happened, and the reality crushed his chest. "She's gone," her voice was so soft, so broken, it was almost not audible.
He felt his own tears stinging the corners of his eyes. "When?" He croaked. His voice felt weighted and heavy.
"This morning." Her eyes dropped to her feet. Oh God. She sat on that knowledge all damn day.
He shut the dishwasher so he could pull her close. He needed her as much as she needed him. His chest shook with each breath. He couldn't break down and cry in the kitchen, not when Noah would be bouncing happily in soon. It could wait until no one else needed him. When the world quieted he could mourn the loss for that beautiful soul.
"I don't know how to tell him." She closed her eyes and dropped her head limply against him. "I can't." She took in a shaky breath. "I can't. I don't know what to say."
He pulled away so he could see her face. He cupped her cheek and brushed away a tear with his thumb. "I know what to say." His voice quivered with emotion. "I, uh. I had to tell my five kids they lost their mother." He brushed another of her tears away. "I got you Benson." He pecked her lips quickly. "We'll do this together."