Liz and Silas hit the tables and as in previous days, they were winning but not as efficiently as Silas would have liked.
"We're not telling Francis about this, right?" Liz quipped having hesitated placing a large bet, instead lowering the amount considerably.
As they entered their second hour, she tilted her head, glancing curiously at her guard.
"Are you trying to steal my soul, you little Succubus?" Silas asked, tossing his cards back to the dealer, a disdainful look on his face.
"You don't have a soul." Liz stated succinctly. "No, I was just wondering where you were earlier, bodyguard o' mine."
"You're asking why I didn't rescue your skinny ass?"
"Well, in so many words, yes." she replied, a smile playing about her lips. "Let me guess, a good hair day again?"
"I saw Red coming." Silas shrugged his stocky shoulders. Liz leaned closer, clearly interested in the turn of the conversation.
"He saw you two and while not pleased, he hung back, giving you a moment." he explained. Liz smiled to herself, appreciating Red letting her have a go at the jerk.
"When Brad grasped you the second time and made a move on you..." the man paused, taking a drink from his glass, motioning for other cards to be dealt.
"It didn't matter if you were handling it or not." the man smirked. "Red was gonna kill him." he nodded at the truth in the statement. "I wasn't about to get in the middle of that."
"Have money on it, did you?" she smiled around the straw in her mouth.
"As if anyone would bet against Red." Silas scoffed at the very idea.
"Red said you were all placing bets on the outcome." she quirked her brow. "As is your way." she allowed.
"No, we were betting on when, how and why Red would finally beat the living shit out of Brad." he corrected the misconception.
"Was it worth it?"
"There's nothing like watching a man fight for his lady." Silas sighed lightly, taking a long drink from his tumbler.
Liz rolled her eyes, then peeked at her card.
"I'm serious." the guard proclaimed. "With Red having pissed a circle around you now," he baited the young woman, "I knew he was going to beat the shit out of that prick son of a bitch in spectacular fashion."
She shook her head, falling silent before tapping the table for another card. "Pissed a circle around me?" she scrunched her nose at the archaic phrasing.
Silas chuckled into his glass, "He rode you bareback... didn't he?"
Liz's mouth gaped as she sucked in a shocked breath. How the hell did he know this shit!?
"He told you!" she hissed quietly. Her temper came to the fore for a brief moment.
The man snorted his amusement. "I don't have to be clairvoyant." throwing his cards aside, he sighed heavily.
Liz looked at him pleadingly hoping her semi-pout would affect her guard as it did his employer.
"That won't work on me." he patiently waited for his hand to be dealt. "I've known Red for a long time." he didn't mind telling the story, however. "And I can honestly say, I have never seen him so... sated."
The man treaded carefully in his use of words. There were certain things that should only be said between the parties involved. In private.
But he also knew Red wouldn't mind him putting Elizabeth at ease.
"You're full of crap." she whispered leaning conspiratorially. "No one can tell things like that just by looking." she scoffed.
Silas smiled softly, knowing the woman was on a fishing expedition. "Those close to you, those who really care... know."
Would her team guess at her secret? They were good partners. They even socialized from time to time. But Liz was no where near as close to them as she was Dembe, Silas and Francis. The thought surprised her.
She could not have made that statement a month back.
And even if those at work found out, did she even care? Her first instinct was not to give a damn. Which... actually kind of shocked her. Liz was a people pleaser. Had she changed so much while in Red's company?
She had tried so hard to gain acceptance and now here she was... not giving a shit about what they thought. What anybody thought.
For the first time she could remember, her happiness outweighed everything else.
Liz leaned in closer, laying her arm on the man's chair. "Why didn't he?" she asked quietly.
"Kill Brad?" Silas glanced over to her.
"...Yes."
"Oh, he wanted to..." Silas thought back to the ending, the way Red had stroked the weapon in his hand so lovingly, "but there was a larger issue." he waved off the next few hands as he turned so they could converse more privately. "It was imperative that Brad understand the significance of the word 'No'."
Liz shook her head, not really following as yet.
"Well, I think he will listen to Red now."
Silas corrected the assumption. "Yes, Red was pissed off that someone was encroaching on his territory." it was granted. "But nothing pisses Red off more than someone who does not do as a lady demands."
"So while Red was... staking his claim," Liz felt her heart flutter at the thought, "he wanted to make sure Brad didn't pull what he did with me in the future... with any other women?"
"Pretty much." Silas nodded. "If Brad wasn't listening to you, with Red Reddington by your side, who's to say what he would do with a woman on her own."
"Is there something you aren't telling me?" Liz was slightly concerned.
Silas looked at the woman beside him, leaning comfortably into his seat back. "Brad's daddy is a lawyer..." the man began, "and his son's record was a little too clean for our tastes."
Liz frowned at the insinuation, a sickening feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.
"Has he–"
"Unsure." the man admitted, deepening the frown on her face. "Let it go." she was advised, as he read her train of thought well enough. "You know damn well Red will have his movements watched... after the bastard is recovered, of course." he returned to the game.
Liz nodded and relaxed after a moment, trusting in Red.
Francis came straggling in, taking a seat beside them. Heaving a heavy sigh of release, the young man looked around for a server.
Liz heaved a sigh of her own of a different sort as the young man conspicuously adjusted his package to better fit the seat. The woman ignored Silas' deep chuckle of amusement, changing the subject hastily.
"Where's Lia?" she asked, looking around for the woman in question, searching the busy gaming room absently.
"She'll be along shortly." Francis stretched, throwing in a couple hundreds, entering the game. "She was seeing the bride and groom off at the airport. She'll call when she's ready to play." he groaned, having lost that hand.
"It comes and goes so quickly here in Oz, doesn't it?" Silas chuckled again at the man's bad luck.
"They aren't staying here for their honeymoon?" Liz questioned.
"No, they're going to Cancun, I think?" Francis shrugged. "And why, it's not like they're going to take in the sights." he was genuinely confused. "Or at least, I wouldn't."
"Well, we know what you would do." she pushed from her seat.
"And we know what you and Red would do." Silas threw it out casually.
"I have to pee." she snapped waspishly, throwing the guard an annoyed look.
Silas pushed back his own seat, waving off the next card as he arose.
"I don't need you to wipe my ass you know." she frowned at the man towering over her.
"That's Red's department." he drained his glass, setting it on the table. "After this afternoon, I'd rather be close... if it's all the same to you."
"You just said–" she iterated.
"Yes well, a normal man would have gotten the message." Silas justified his actions. "I want to be positive Brad isn't a psychotic fucker."
"That's your job." Francis cheerfully pointed out.
She shrugged, pointing to her seat. "Keep it warm for me." she asked Francis, and received a nod in return. Liz had learned the ins and outs of Vegas casino jargon.
She walked alongside her guard, pleased when the man stopped at the end of the hall, instead of trailing her all the way to the toilet.
Silas had an open view of the bathroom and the only exit, so that was fine.
"I'll be just a minute." she patted his arm, rushing for the door. She really had to go!
She quickly did her business before looking herself over in the mirror.
"Why don't you just do us a favor and give it up."
Sighing, Elizabeth sang, I told you so, in her head as she wondered at the unlucky circumstances surrounding her bathroom trips this day.
Reluctantly turning away from the mirror, she came face to face with... Natalia.
"Excuse me?" she asked pleasantly.
"Red shouldn't be tied down, it isn't good for him." the thick accent made it hard to understand the words, but Liz got the jest well enough.
"He likes to be tied down." Liz replied innocently, before flicking a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Red is a virile man. Way too much for a naïve woman like yourself to handle on her own."
"I must be doing something right, he asked me to marry him." Which, actually wasn't a lie, come to think of it.
"You just aren't good enough for him, obviously. He needs someone more," the blonde looked Liz over condescendingly from head to toe, "...sophisticated."
Liz repeated the action, with the same scrutiny, "I take that to mean you're asking I let him free on behalf of someone else then, and not yourself?"
Natalia came at her, missing Liz by mere inches as she side stepped the enraged woman.
Giving Natalia a good shove, Liz sent her careening across the room.
And so the battle began...
Silas glanced between the bathroom door and the main gaming area, keeping a close watch on comings and goings. He nodded an acknowledgment to Mark as the man came from a side door, Red following close behind, with Christopher by his side.
Red, seeing Silas manning a hallway, lifted his chin questioningly. Silas thumbed in the direction of the corridor which he guarded so zealously.
Red sauntered to the table, taking a stance behind Francis. He shook his head woefully when the young man lost yet another hand, sharing a small laugh with the dealer and the men beside him.
Francis cradled the phone against his shoulder, speaking into the gadget as he tapped his knuckles on the felt table, having glanced at the new card thrown his way.
"We're still in Las Vegas, you tool." the young man grumbled. "Now why the hell aren't you here? You said you were coming in on... " he rolled his eyes, sighing his disgust. "I told you not to mess with her. Now don't you wish you had listened?"
Red caught his attention and Francis craned his head back to fully meet the man's eyes. "Alina tried to take Ben out." he answered the rhetorical question.
Red nodded his understanding. Alina was a little more than unstable at times. But it made her no different than most people they dealt with on a daily basis.
"Ben wants to know if we're still on for–"
"Yes." Red confirmed. "Now get off the phone." he shook his head as Francis said his goodbyes and busted... once again.
"Why do you always do that." Red asked of the boy, stopping the young man from yet again, wrapping his knuckles to signify to the dealer... 'hit me'. He showed nineteen of the allotted twenty-one. The dealer flipped his card, showing eighteen, leaving Francis the winner.
"Out of curiosity sake," Red gestured to the cards, "if he 'hit', what would he have got next?"
The dealer looked at Christopher, waiting for permission. The owner smiled, gesturing to see the card.
Francis' shoulders slumped as the dealer showed them the Queen of Hearts.
Ignoring Red's low chuckling, Francis tossed the card back dejectedly.
Both men instinctively reached for their weapons as they heard a commotion. Silas took off at a full run, bolting down the corridor. A shrill voice followed.
"You little bitch!"
All the men glanced at one another before rushing to the sound. As they neared, they heard the sound of shattering glass.
Red sought out Dembe, relieved to see the man making his way rapidly across the crowded casino.
"Slut..."
Red's steps pulled up short at the recognized voice. Dembe, offered a double take as well.
That was Lizzy's voice.
Lengthening his steps, he came around the corner pulling up short, finding Lizzy and Natalia struggling against one another in the corridor. An expensive vase laying near their feet, shattered beyond recognition.
Silas stepped between them, breaking the two women apart. The man laughed quietly as Liz ducked his interference, yanking the blonde from the guard's loose hold.
"You little shit..." the man chuckled, jerking back, narrowly avoiding the swiping arc of Liz's arm as it flew past him.
Back handing Natalia across the face, which knocked the blonde into a nearby wall... Liz threw another well aimed blow, catching the woman with her ring, drawing a welling line of blood across Natalia's cheek.
Natalia pushed back, grabbing Liz's shoulders. Liz went with the momentum, catching her leg behind Natalia's calf, causing both women to topple to the floor.
Sitting up quickly Liz drew back her arm, aiming and connecting with Natalia's eye.
"Damn!" Francis laughed his joy, admiring the technique exhibited.
"Lizzy..." Red scolded quietly, nearing the melee. Reaching down to break the ladies apart, he stepped out of the way quickly as they rolled in his direction. A swift shift, had Lizzy gaining ground again.
"He's better off with me!" Natalia screeched, desperately trying to elude an expert sidekick.
"He's mine," Liz snarled, connecting on a downward blow to Natalia's cheek line, "you stupid bitch."
Red's brows rose exponentially, his lips twitching slightly. A better label... And to think, she had scolded him for using the same vernacular.
Chancing a glance up, Red found Mark laughing silently at the fiasco taking place, but the man managed to give a thumbs up sign, all the same.
Francis was completely charmed by Lizzy's antics, smiling and cheering her on as if this were a bout of mud wrestling gone awry.
Dembe stoically watched the women, though, a small smile did play at his lips.
And Silas... even as he tried to "break them apart" was throwing out pointers to Liz, that the woman really didn't need, seeing she was doing a bang up job all on her own.
Raising her fist again, Liz meant to shut Natalia's mouth forcibly if necessary or to Red's experienced gaze, that appeared to be the intended target.
Red caught the action, gently dragging Liz out of harm's reach. His arm tightened slightly about the tiny waist as he lifted the negligible weight easily.
"Dammit Red!" Liz kicked, fighting victoriously to get to her opponent who was splayed out on the floor. "Let me go!" Straining in his arms, she lashed out with her other fist, catching the enemy across the mouth, busting the pink stained lip open.
"Let her go, Red!" Francis yelled out sympathetically.
"Shut up, Francis." Red pulled at Liz, tightening his hold. "...Lizzy, stop it!"
Liz fought against Red's superior strength, scratching and clawing for her arch enemy.
Grasping Natalia's ankle, Silas pulled her away from the fisticuffs.
Liz lunged unexpectedly, momentarily breaking Red's hold, grabbing a fist full of the tousled blonde hair, dragging Natalia back towards her.
"You damn brat..." Silas grumbled his own annoyance.
"Baby, stop..." Red tsked as he tried to break Lizzy's tight grasp, unsuccessfully, "you're going to hurt your arm."
"I'm gonna hurt her!" Red lost his grip on the squirming woman, his amusement not aiding him in this instance.
"I think you already did, sweetheart." he noted the bruised and bleeding woman on the floor beneath them.
Grabbing hold of Lizzy's belt loop, Red tugged her back, chuckling when she swatted at him.
Natalia blindly struck out, catching Liz in the shoulder.
"Bitch," Liz wiggled from under his grasp, punching out, landing a solid blow to Natalia's jaw, "I'm gonna beat your ass!" she was pretty sure of her proclamation.
Laughing harder, Red finally hooked his hand in the back of her jeans, controlling his little spitfire. "Come here, you slippery little thing."
Mark and Dembe, finally taking pity on those involved, helped Silas pull Natalia out of Liz's reach which allowed him to stand erect, regaining his footing.
Squeezing Liz tight around the waist, Red grinned as she kicked out comically for her feet were off the ground mid-air.
Tightening his grasp around her waist, he pulled her flush against his large frame. Her simmering little body heaved with her exertion, still struggling to break free.
"Cool off!" he whispered decisively in her ear.
"You want me to cool off!" she demanded heatedly. "Then let me go so I can finish kicking that fucking skanky cunt's ass!"
Red chuckled warmly. "Oh, those dirty words coming out of that sweet little mouth."
He'd never heard her be so vulgar, but then, she had been in the company of Silas, so it shouldn't come too much of as a surprise. "You're turning me on."
But as humorous, and dare he say, arousing as this all was, it had to stop. She was going to hurt herself if she continued.
Liz struggled against him, trying to get loose from his firm hold. The man grunted low in his throat as her round ass brushed against his crotch in her fight for freedom.
"Lizzy...baby," he purred against her ear, "calm down."
She inhaled sharply, turning her head into his voice. The low soothing baritone calmed her, in spite of herself.
"You want to tell me what happened?" he hoped to divert her attention.
"Just what I said would happen!" Liz snapped, fighting to release her arms again. "She got catty in the ladies room."
"Baby..." He drawled soothingly, nuzzling her neck.
"Stop it." She grumbled, all the while unconsciously baring her neck to the man. She stopped struggling when his breath tickled her hair line, drawing a course of shivers down her spine.
"It's over now." He slid his hand under her shirt, gently rubbing his thumb along her rib cage, calming her further until she relaxed fully in his hold.
"That's a good girl." He let go of her arms, stroking her in a soft caress.
He looked over his shoulder, to check on the proceedings. Dembe had Natalia contained, nodding agreeable at what ever Christopher was saying.
Silas stood between the combatants, narrowing his eyes at Elizabeth, though a smile twitched at his lips. "Don't you even think about it." he pointed a warning finger.
Dembe led Natalia towards the elevator bank. The woman zeroed in on Red, a malicious gleam in the lovely, if swollen, green eyes.
"Liz..." Silas warned sternly at the heat he saw returning in the little brunette's eyes, even though he had to admit, he was enjoying this immensely.
He had never really seen Liz in action before. He was more than pleasantly surprised to find she packed quiet a wallop.
"Did you tell her you were with me earlier, Red?" Natalia's tone was pure venom. "That we... fucked."
"Dammit, Natalia." Red snapped his pique. "Shut the fuck up!"
"Bitch!" Liz sidestepped Red, rushing for the woman.
"...Shit." Silas grumbled disconcertingly.
Red reached for Liz's arm, just grazing her elbow, missing the target. "Son of a bitch..." he sighed.
Silas made a swipe for, huffing his amusement when the little twirp ducked his effort like a pro-footballer heading for a touch down.
"Lizzy..." Red chortled quietly as he watched Lizzy evade capture. He tried to ignore the look of pride in Silas's face, other things on his mind at the moment.
Both men grinned as they neared the warring pair.
Francis barked with laughter, shouting at his friend gleefully, "Kick her ass, Lizzy!"
Liz pushed the woman back, slamming Natalia into the wall. She punched her foe square in the nose, producing a resounding cracking sound that echoed sickeningly down the corridor.
Dodging another blow, Red crowded Liz, grabbing her about the front. Spinning, he blocked the blow that had been intended for her with his back. The slight thump he felt more an annoyance than painful.
Silas stepped between Red and Natalia, catching the blonde's arms easily before turning her face first into the wall, pinning her arms behind her.
"Settle down, Blondie." Silas murmured, pushing his weight against the squirming she-cat.
"Let me go you stupid fuck!" Natalia snapped her derision.
"You settle down." Silas tightened his grip slightly, driving her harder into the wall.
She kicked her feet back, struggling against the man's unrelenting hold.
Silas sighed, taking the offered zip tie Dembe handed him, looping it around her wrists effortlessly.
"You've been a very bad girl," he grinned as he secured her, "but you're not getting the cuffs."
"I'm going to blow a hole in your fucking skull!" Natalia screeched angrily.
"You're not gonna do shit," the man replied, "you bottle blonde little bitch."
"Watch it!" Mark barked as a fist came swinging the guard's way.
Silas jerked his head back seconds before Elizabeth's hand reached out, grabbing a fist full of Natalia's hair.
"Shit..." Francis laughed gleefully as Liz damn near ripped the woman from Silas' grasp yet again.
"Lizzy, dammit." Red chuckled at how fierce the woman was... and how determined.
"You wanna control the hellcat." Silas asked snippily, pulling at the shrill woman in Liz's grasp.
Liz tightened her hold, yanking the squalling woman closer.
Sighing heavily, Silas pulled his switch blade, cutting quickly through the long blonde locks, chivalrously breaking Natalia free.
"Oh, damn!" Francis choked on his own laughter. "He fucking scalped her!"
"You aren't fucking helping." Red pointed out, knocking Francis' phone away as the young man recorded the proceedings.
Francis righted the phone hastily, falling into Mark, as both men cackled at the sheer look of disbelief on Natalia's face.
Instantly reaching back to her head, Natalia patted the shorn locks in shock. "You son of a bitch!" she wailed her astonishment, "I'm going to make you a enu–"
Silas clamped a hand over the woman's mouth, dragging her towards a smiling Christopher and a large Security guard.
As Liz laughed evilly over the guard's actions, she threw the hair gripped in her hand in her foe's face.
She continued her berating long after Silas had deposited Natalia in the capable hands of the hotel Security guard.
Red physically lifted the struggling and bitching woman, effortlessly walking her down the hallway and around the corner, out of sight of the still shrieking Natalia.
Coming to a secluded alcove, the quiet was a most welcome respite. Red blocked Liz's view with his body, ever so glad when Liz seemed to calm a tad.
"Were you!" Liz snapped out of nowhere, the blue eyes flashing angrily.
"Was I what?" Red looked down at her face, completely lost for a moment.
"Where you with her?"
Red snorted. "...No."
"Then why did she say you had been?" it was angrily demanded.
"I suppose she thought it would piss you off."
"Likely story..." Liz scoffed.
"I was with Mark, you know that." he reasoned, if only to placate her.
"And I'm sure he'll corroborate your whereabouts." She bitched, folding her arms defiantly over her chest.
"Yes, him and the other ten people in the room."
"Yeah, I'm sure they'll all tell me you were there them whole time, when they all know you were fucking that bitch."
Red grinned, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. She batted his hand away, making him grin wider.
"What the hell are you smiling for?"
"I like when you're jealous." he tried again to tame her wild hair, only to have Lizzy shoo him away irritably. "It's very sexy..."
"I am not jealous." She sneered her contempt.
"Then why don't you believe me?" he tried another tactic. "I've never lied to you."
Well, besides that little tidbit about her father and the fire, but he had explained that.
"Don't pull that, I've never lied to you, shit on me, Red Reddington." she gritted, poking him hard in the chest with her finger. "It's one thing to not lie about the work, it's another when it's personal."
He inched forward, speaking roughly in her ear. "I will never lie to you... regardless of the circumstances."
She leaned into the wall, trying to contain the arousal creeping around the edges of her anger.
"You know that you are all that I want." he purred.
"You've fucked her before!" she hissed.
"Maybe, I did fuck her..." the man shrugged, not denying his past. Not lying to her.
She released a shaky breath, the profanity passing his lips a definite turn on to her great chagrin.
"But I never made love to her, like I do you." He turned his head, tracing the sensitive shell of her ear with his nose. "You know I only share that with you."
A flush covered her cheeks and neck, as his voice resonated deeply in her ear, painting a picture of what they continuously shared.
"Why is that?" his raspy voice demanded softly. "Why is it that I only share that with you?"
Liz stood straighter, the blush receding. "Because you're mine." she stated without hesitation and with absolute conviction. "You're my confidant. My protector. My lover..."
Red captured her lips, pushing her into the wall. The man heated when a tiny mewl worked its way into her throat as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Cupping her head, his fingers traced the small of her back, his mouth kissing hers ravenously.
While he knew he would be able to make the woman blush until the end of time, he also knew the things he would teach her from here on out, would make it impossible for anyone, even Silas, to do the same.
And while he would only admit it to himself, he would kind of miss that. He also couldn't help but feel extremely elated not only for them... but for her.
While they had been having trouble finding a label that fit just who they were... who they had become, one Lizzy would not balk at using.
Lizzy had been having trouble finding her footing in the relationship. For a host of reasons.
But now, she had found a path in a small way.
She had finally voiced what had been bottled up inside. She voiced it loudly, confidently, what he was to her. To Natalia, to those that were standing about... even to himself.
You're mine. You're my confidant. My protector. My lover...
It was an emotional release she had needed.
Those words, said out loud, was her equivalent of shouting it from the rooftops that they were... together.
He released her gently, setting his forehead against hers. "I will always be yours, Lizzy." he whispered coarsely.
Liz nuzzled into the affection, her breathing evening out.
"How's your hand, arm?" he lifted both, examining the red and slightly swollen appendages, kissing the bruised knuckles.
"Better now." She grinned.
Francis appeared at their side, breaking the moment. "To the victor." He beamed, holding a glass of wine out.
Liz laughed quietly, taking the pre-offered refreshment.
Francis cleared his throat, subtly gesturing to four men who were suddenly striding down the hall.
The oldest, in the center, swaggered as the other three flanked him protectively.
Liz was instantly intent on the older man. Even from this distance, she could tell he had an aura of power about him. As he grew closer, he gave off an air that subsequently made her think of Frank Sinatra in his later years.
He had style, class and charm. He even resembled the crooner to a certain extent not only in looks, but his classic style of dress and apparent charisma.
"Reddington..." The man held out his hand in greeting, his rumbling timbre washed over her like warmed honey. Something about it made her wish she could request him sing to see if he could belt a tune like Sinatra.
She flushed slightly at such an absurd thought.
"Antonio." Red nodded his hello.
Liz groaned internally, hoping like hell Red's business associate had not just seen the display she had caused with Natalia.
"This your lady." the man smiled at Elizabeth. And she felt the need to seek out Red's hand.
"Yes," Red beamed, "this is Elizabeth."
Antonio took Liz's hand, raising it to his mouth. Liz grimaced, quickly scanning her hand for any sign of blood just as the man lay his lips tenderly against her reddened fingers.
"You're quite a little scrapper." the man chuckled, before winking playfully. "You must be very proud of her." the man smiled at Red, his eyes crinkling at the corner.
"I am." Red smiled warmly... proudly, at the woman beside him. "For so many reasons."
Author Notes: Of all the people who could have said, 'Cunt', first... it just had to be Liz. I'm so proud of her!