ALEX'S POV

Of course the asshole is an hour late.

"Where the hell is Blaz-?" I growl into the intercom, but i'm cut off when my office door opens and he just struts in.

"You ready?" He asks, like i'm the one holding us up.

I push past him without a word, not in the fucking mood today.

He chuckles.

"She really seems to have crawled up your ass. You're even pissier than usual" he observes, following me out of my office.

"She seems to have crawled up your ass too, but it makes you calmer. It's.. weird" I note thoughtfully, hoping for some insight, but he just chuckles again. I swear he's laughed more in the last two minutes than in the last two years, and I have a feeling it's because of her. I'm in the dark here, and I don't know if I want a flashlight.

"Always has" is all he says, his voice soft with emotions and memories I really hate that he has with her.

"Where are we going?" I ask once we're on the road, drumming my fingertips on my knee with restless energy and impatience. I've had this pit in my stomach since I left her, and it gets worse the longer I go without her secretive grey gaze. Her laugh. Her touch. Her. And being cooped up with a non talkative Blaze who seems to know my girl in ways I don't isn't helping.

"One of my contacts found out about her last case. I got the clients name and info, figured we'd go talk to her."

My eyebrows furrow.

"Case? Client?" What in the hell does she do? With her skills the list of possibilities is long, and none of them are good.

He goes to say something, but thinks better of it. Probably going to ask what we did during our time together. He looks like he really doesn't want to know the answer to that question.

"She's a PI" he finally mutters.

I knew it. I knew she was in the same field as him. I could fucking feel it, and i'm less than thrilled to be right. Blaze puts himself in harms way constantly, and I highly doubt she's any different. The thought of her in danger fills me with fear and a sense of protectiveness that's stronger than anything else i've ever felt. For example...

A sick feeling pumps through my veins as Blaze comes to a stop, taking the last empty spot on the street.

The rotting foundation of the building is almost hidden by spray painted gang signs and extremely graphic tags. Almost. Cars are dented and scratched, broken windows are patched up with garbage bags and duct tape. Used needles, broken beer bottles and other things I don't want to think about litter the potholed streets and cracked sidewalks, giving the whole neighborhood an abandoned feel.

I cut him a dark look.

"This is the kind of cases she takes?" I grate, not liking this. One. Fucking. Bit.

He shoots me his own look, full of disapproval.

"Nat hasn't had things easy. It's taught her to look past the surface. Inside of this shit apartment is a good woman who needed help. You should know that better than anyone" he points out lowly, getting out of the car, slamming the door shut, not letting me stew in the feeling of shame as I rush after him.

"You're right" I admit quietly.

He tries to glare at me, but he sighs when he sees the state i'm in.

"She's good at twisting a man inside out. You know how she does it?" He drawls as we walk up five flights of stairs that look like they'll crumble at any moment.

"Her eyes. Her laugh. Her voice. Her touch. Her taste. Her smell. Her hair. Her lips. Her-" I begin to list, just getting started.

"Yeah" he concedes, barking out a laugh that holds everything but amusement. "But it's not just that. It's that she has no idea. She doesn't know that she's beautiful or that in just one of her smiles she holds more kindness than most people are capable of. She's seen terrible things Alex. Things that would change anyone. But they didn't change her. She has no idea how incredible she is, and that's how she twists a man inside out. She makes a man ache to spend the rest of his life trying to get her to see her halo" he rumbles as we come to a stop in front of apartment 3C, his voice a puzzling mixture of rough and soft, speaking of an endless well of words unsaid.

My throat work with a thick swallow, because I know the feeling he's talking about. I felt it the second I met her and haven't stopped feeling it. I don't think I ever will.

I'm realizing that the feelings he has for her are deeper than I knew he was capable of. What the hell have I come into the middle of? Am I enough? Do I stand a chance? Did I ever?

I blink to clear my jumbled thoughts when Blaze knocks on the door, making a chunk of plaster fall to the ground in front of his feet.

It's so silent between us as we wait for someone to answer that we hear the shuffling of steps heading towards us.

The door opens to a petite woman with blonde hair and bruises on her face.

I instantly feel like an ass for my assumptions, but I fall deeper for Nat in this moment. She really does look beyond the surface.

What in the hell does she see in me?

The womans entire body tenses at the sight of us, the unguarded, purely instinctual reaction making my chest tighten.

I keep my tone light, my posture relaxed and my smile friendly, unable to do anything about the huge man next to me who's intimidating when he's laughing, and right now he's not laughing.

"Hi, i'm Alex, and this is Blaze" I introduce, motioning to him.

He dips his chin in greeting, coming off as non threatening as he can. Needless to say she keeps her eyes on him.

"Stephanie" she counters, wrapping her sweater tighter around herself. "What can I help you with?" She directs the question at me, but her gaze flickers to Blaze every few seconds.

"We're looking for Nat. We heard you hired her" he answers before I can.

"Why are you looking for her and how do you know I hired her?" She stammers suspiciously, taking a discrete step back into her apartment.

"Hiring a PI Is public knowledge" I lie out of my ass, but it makes her relax. "And we're looking to hire her, but can't seem to find a number for her." She doesn't seem to believe the last part. I don't blame her. "Can I ask why you hired her?"

She hesitates a moment before leaning against the doorjamb, making it perfectly obvious that she won't be inviting us in.

"I was attacked" she starts, waving towards the bruises covering her face, and judging by the way she moves she probably has more covering her body. "After the attack someone started stalking me, broke into my apartment just to move things around, then he'd leave threatening notes with vases of my favorite flowers. The cops got nowhere, so I hired Nat. It was two days in and I was walking home from work. I heard something, turned around and watched her tackle him to the ground. After she cuffed him and took him to the police station he confessed to the attack and the stalking. He had a backpack with duct tape, rope, a knife, and tranquilizers in it. He was going to attack me again, and she saved me. I didn't even know she was following me." She's choked up and shaking by the end, but her gratefulness is obvious.

I bite back a flinch as thoughts of just how wrong it all could have gone flash through my mind.

"Do you still have her number?" I ask softly, though I already know the answer. Nat made her feel safe for the first time in a long time, of course she kept it.

She reluctantly nods, going back into her apartment to get it, leaving us in the hall.

"She took on a guy with a knife? Seriously!?" I hiss to Blaze as soon as she's out of site.

A muscle along his jaw ticks.

"That's nothing" he assures darkly, making my stomach drop. Blaze is an intense guy. Always has been, but i've only ever seen him like this a few times, and every single time was bad.

Stephanie reappears before I can demand to know what he meant. It's probably better that way. I probably don't want to know. I probably couldn't handle it.

I take the card and copy the number into my phone before handing it back to her with a genuine thank you.

She's stops just short of closing the door, hesitating for only a moment.

"He's going to prison for three years. I slept through the night for the first time in a month. She literally saved my life. Just.. do right by her" she requests gently, closing the door before I can say anything.

Only Nat. Only Nat could inspire defensiveness from a woman who knew her for two days. Then again I fell in love with her after ten minutes.

The walk back to the car is silent and my hand visibly shakes as I type her number into the carphone and hit send, holding my breath.

Three loud, piercing beeps just about blow out my damn eardrums.

"I'm sorry, this number is no longer in service" an animated voice monotones, then the line goes dead.

Hopelessness floods my chest as I look to Blaze in confusion, not liking the grim, resigned set to his features.

"The number on her card is probably a burner and more than likely only a contact number. Once someone calls it, if she agrees to take the case she either buys another burner and gives them the number or she gives them her personal number. It looks like she dumped the contact burner" he explains tightly, not looking entirely happy.

"Why would she go through all that?" I ask thickly, hating her job more and more.

"Burners are untraceable. In our line of work sometimes that's essential. Whether you're working against the police, you've pissed off powerful people or your client is being hunted by people with reach, you need to be off the grid. Plus when that phone rings you know exactly who you gave the number to, and when a case is over you dump it." He shrugs, but the bleakness to the words says he's not nearly as indifferent as he'd like me to believe.

I don't know how to respond to that, so I don't.

"What now?" I ask instead, leaning back into my seat with a tired sigh.

"I'm going to call a friend, see if I can find out where she buys her phones."

Twenty minutes later we're pulling up in front of a dive electronics shop, falling apart and painted a horrible lime green in a neighborhood of broken down mom and pop business, most with boards over kicked in windows.

I try to hold in my grimace, but can't help it as we push the door open.

Display cases are trashed, devices are everywhere except where they should be, accessories are draped haphazardly on the wall, some littering the floor, and the room is slightly smoky, smelling of cigarettes. The guy behind the counter is no older than twenty, and if he has that many brain cells i'd be surprised. His hair is sticking up in every direction, covering his head in crazy curls. His beard and mustache are just as thick and unruly, hiding most of his face. His eyes are currently drifting closed and he's drooling on his shirt as he starts to slump over in his chair. The name tag crookedly pinned to his shirt reads 'Kevin.'

"I really hate the places she goes" I mutter to Blaze, eyeing Kevin in disgust. Except the gallery. I'm more grateful than I could ever hope to express that she went there.

He grunts in agreement.

I slam the door shut, scaring the shit out of Kevin and making my day just a little better.

He lurches to his feet, slamming his shin into the desk.

"Shit" he curses, managing to slur the one word, his pupils taking up ninety percent of his bloodshot eyes. Probably not all this smoke came from cigarettes. This guy doesn't remember how many times he had lunch, he's not going to be any help, but we ask anyway.

"A woman buys burners from you a few times a month. Her name is Na-"

"Nat? What about her?" he mumbles, rubbing his shin.

"How often does she come in?" Blaze demands without missing a beat, suddenly looking like a dog with a bone as he takes an intimidating step closer.

"Every ten days or so."

That's oddly specific.

"How many does she buy at a time?"

"One. Every once in a while two."

Buying in advance?

"When did she last come in?"

Kevin thinks real hard, and the smell of smoke gets stronger.

"About ten days ago."

She's due.

"How many did she buy?"

"One."

"Do you have a contact number for her?" I interject, not caring that hope and.. naked desperation are audible in my voice.

"No. Why would I?"

I hiss out a breath through my teeth, managing a flat thank you before following Blaze to the door.

"Why would the number of phones she buys change?" I ask Blaze once we're outside, squinting as the sunlight burns my exhausted eyes.

"If she's working a really bad case she might have to buy a burner for both her and the client so they can be completely off grid" he explains as we get back into the car and he pulls away from the curb, circling the block, parking across the street and one lot down from the electronics shop. "He was oddly specific about how often she comes here, and she's due. I figured we'd watch the place while my people look for other leads" he adds when I raise my eyebrows in question.

I just nod, unable to help the way my stomach churns at the thought of her in there. But apparently I had no idea what she was capable of when I held her. Did she know what I was capable of?

It's dark out by the time the place closes and I guess working in a place like this makes you a little jumpy, because Kevin looks around, spotting us almost immediately, closing the distance.

"You guys waiting for Nat?" He guesses, bringing the smell of smoke with him. "You missed her. She came in not too long after you left."

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

She was right here. Thirty feet away and I missed her. She was within reach and fell through my fingers. Again.

"Excuse me?" Blaze bites out.

"She always comes and goes through the back. Scared the shit out of me the first time, but i'm used to it now" he volunteers belatedly, seeming undeterred by the force of both of our glares.

"How many did she buy?" Blaze clips, looking like he's trying not to snap Kevins neck. Join the club.

"See that's where it's weird. She bought three. She's never bought three."

Blaze and I share a look.

Not good.