Chapter 3

"I still don't know how you managed to catch that stuff with the glass, Luce," Natsu said as they approached her apartment door.

Lucy shrugged. "Being raised by a business tycoon meant learning to spot a scam. As much as I hate to say it, you can thank Jude for that quick case."

Natsu frowned. "Hmm."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the door. Lucy was about to put her key in the lock when she noticed the paper taped over her peep hole. Humming in curiosity, she grabbed it and unlocked her door, heading inside while unfolding it.

"What's that, Luce?" Natsu asked as he locked the door behind him.

Lucy shrugged, finally getting the paper open. Her shoulders went tense as she read the contents, a strangled noise escaping her throat.

Natsu looked up from where he was standing, removing his shoes. He took in Lucy's posture and immediately headed over to her.

"Lucy? What is it?"

"N-Natsu...what..." Lucy was shaking her hand, holding the paper out to him.

Natsu grabbed it. One glance told him all he needed to know. It looked exactly the same as the note Makarov had shown him, only the contents were slightly different.

HELLFIRE WILL RAIN DOWN UPON ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MURDER.

NOTHING SHALL SAVE THEM.

"Shit. Another one?" Natsu mumbled under his breath, turning the paper over in his hands.

Unfortunately, Lucy had heard him just fine.

"Another one? There are others like this? Natsu, what is this about?"

Natsu shook his head, his brow furrowing. He didn't want to worry her.

"It's nothing, Luce. Just a case Gramps told me about."

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, you better fill me in."

"It's nothing. I'll just tell Gramps. You don't need to worry about it."

Lucy scowled. "Natsu Dragneel, you tell me what is going on right now. That note was on MY door. I think I have a right to know what's happening."

Lucy watched as a pained expression filtered across Natsu's face, his teeth chewing on his bottom lip anxiously. She saw begrudging acceptance show itself as his shoulders sagged and he released a sigh.

"Lapointe escaped from prison a couple days ago."

Lucy frowned, trying to remember the name.

Natsu sighed again. "The guy from Zentopia."

Lucy nodded as she remembered. "Okay. So?"

"He's got a grudge."

Lucy tilted her head, her brows coming together as she tried to put the pieces together.

"But you and I weren't even there for his arrest."

Natsu shook his head. "Not about that."

Lucy threw her hands in the air and huffed. "Then what? Just tell me!"

"Dan Straight!" Natsu yelled.

Lucy only looked more confused. "Who?"

That pained look came across Natsu's face again.

"Your stalker," he finally revealed after a minute of silence.

Lucy's whole body froze. She had been trying to put that whole incident behind her.

"But...why is...?"

Natsu sighed for what felt like the millionth time. "He was a member of Zentopia. The Archbishop accepted that he was troubled and sick and didn't blame me for shooting him. But Lapointe...well, he was pissed. He blamed me. And he blamed you too. He escaped from prison a few days ago and sent a letter like this to the station. Gramps showed it to me earlier. That's the real reason we were put on the robbery case."

Lucy's face twisted in anger. "And you didn't think to tell me about this? Your life is in danger because you protected me and you didn't think I might want to know?!"

Natsu tossed the letter on the counter and grabbed Lucy by the shoulders.

"That's why I didn't tell you! I knew that you would feel responsible, even though it is not your fault at all, and I wanted you to be able to keep moving on! For Christ's sake, Luce, you still have nightmares about this guy. I didn't want to make it any worse."

Lucy pulled herself out of his grip and took a step back.

"I appreciate the concern, Natsu, but this is not how relationships work! You can't just keep stuff like this from me!"

Natsu groaned in frustration and tried to reach for her again but she backed up further.

"Lucy, please. You have to understand."

Lucy shook her head. "You should go."

Natsu's jaw fell open. "W-what?"

Lucy only nodded. "Yeah. You should definitely go."

"Lucy, pl-"

"Get out!"

Natsu drew back, staring at Lucy in shock. He had never seen her so upset. Not even after her father tried to kill her was she this mad. Natsu sighed, realizing that it was best for him to leave before either of them said something they would regret. His shoulders dropping, Natsu made his way out of the apartment, shutting the door quietly behind him. As he walked down the hallway to the elevator, he ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of ways to fix this. Nothing came to mind except going to the station to let the chief know about the new note.

Levy brought her steaming mug to her lips, watching Lucy pace across her living room floor, muttering to herself. The last thing Levy had expected when she got a call from her best friend was for her to start yelling about idiot boyfriends. Levy had driven over as soon as she could. She had never seen Lucy so mad.

"I mean honestly, did he think that he could just keep this from me forever? He was just going to lie to me for the foreseeable future because he's so overprotective that he thinks I can't handle hearing about it. UGH!"

Levy sighed. "Lu, I really doubt that's what he was thinking."

Lucy whirled around and stared at the blunette. "Don't defend him, Levy! You're supposed to be on my side!"

Levy frowned. "Lu, I'm not on anyone's side. As a matter of fact, I think you're both in the wrong here. He should have told you as soon as he found out and you should have let him explain himself before kicking him out!"

Lucy pouted and flopped onto the couch next to Levy, crossing her arms over her chest. After a minute of silence, she sighed and looked over at her manager.

"Do you think I should call him?"

Levy smiled softly and nodded. "He probably thought he was doing the right thing. You just need to hear him out and then you two need to talk about this."

Lucy pulled her phone out of her back pocket and pulled up Natsu's contact. She hesitated before pressing the call button, glancing at Levy.

"Will you stay with me?"

Levy put her hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Of course I will."

Lucy took a deep breath in and pressed call, putting the phone to her ear. It only rang twice before he picked up.

"Luce?"

"Hey Natsu...Can we talk?"

Natsu was silent for a moment. "Of course we can."

Lucy took another breath in, ready to start explaining her feelings to the man. Before she could get a sound out, the front door to her apartment burst open, slamming into the wall behind it. Lucy and Levy both let out startled screams.

"Lucy?! Are you okay?! What happened?!"

A man strolled into Lucy's apartment, his face covered by a bandana and a gun in his hand. He lifted the weapon and pointed it at the girls.

"Miss Heartfilia. I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

Lucy was frozen in shock. Before she could gather her thoughts, Levy jumped in front of her and spread her arms out.

"She's not going anywhere with you!"

"Lucy, tell me what's going on! I'm on my way!"

The man stepped forward. "On the contrary, miss. She'll be leaving with me."

The man lunged forward, grabbing Levy's shoulder and wrenching her around, putting his arm around her neck and the gun to her head. Lucy screamed again and dropped her phone, putting her hands up.

"No! Please, stop!"

Levy had gone still with fear.

The man turned his attention to Lucy. "I won't say this again. You will be coming with me. Or your friend here will pay."

Lucy nodded frantically. "Okay. Okay. Please, just let her go."

Levy snapped out of her shock at that. "No! Lucy, don't!"

The man didn't give Lucy a chance to respond. He brought the gun up and slammed the butt into the back of Levy's head, letting her slump to the ground unconscious. When Lucy rushed forward to check on her, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the apartment.

"Lucy! Don't go anywhere with anyone! Lucy! LUCY!"