John fiddled with his phone to make sure it could catch the conversations Lena would have once she got to wherever it was she was going; simultaneously backing off a bit from car in front of him, not wanting to raise the suspicion of the mobsters within. They soon turned into the parking lot of an all too familiar building: the one where Taylor Carter had been held not two weeks ago. Elias had chosen this place as the headquarters of his operations after the threat to his life had been eliminated; and apparently the mob was still using it in his stead.
John continued driving beyond the building, parking in a lot two doors down and walking back on foot; grabbing his binoculars from the backseat before he began heading back towards where Lena and the others were. He turned his ear-bud on as he walked, biting back the urge to knock Scarface into a brick wall as he stopped just behind the corner of the building next to Elias’ home base and noticed the mobster’s arm slung casually over Lena’s shoulder while the trio entered the building. It wouldn’t do him any good to act on jealous impulse; and he would get nowhere with discovering what Lena was up to if he couldn’t even control his emotions long enough to let them get into the building.
Not too long after they disappeared from his line of vision, he was jolted out of his thoughts as Lena’s voice sounded in his ear.
“So how did you find out they wanted a war?”
John nearly jumped out of his skin; his mind automatically shifting into overdrive as he attempted to stave off the panic that threatened to consume him. Was this the threat that the Machine had detected against Lena? A crime war would certainly put her life in danger; especially if anyone outside Elias’ inner circle learned who she really was, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the headstrong young woman would be all for involving herself in any threat to her father’s empire, no matter how dangerous it would be. Reeling in his thoughts to stow away for later consideration; he once again redirected his focus as Scarface’s voice came over the connection he had with Lena’s phone.
“They sent us a little gift this morning with a note attached; containing all of their signatures. It’s over there.”
John didn’t have too long to wait to find out what this “gift” was; hearing Lena’s sharp intake of breath as she said:
“Dear God. They really cut off his…”
“His head, yes. And the note makes their intentions quite clear” Scarface finished for her.
“Be ready...We will get what is ours.” Lena said, clearly reading this note that was sent along with the gift; and John could hear her deep breathing as a brief pause ensued before Scarface spoke again.
“I think we should extend the offer of a meeting; try and see what is causing all this, and go from there. Maybe there’s some way we can put a stop to this; especially since we haven’t even provoked anything. But it’s your call, Lena. You’re in charge.”
John closed his eyes then, the truth finally hitting him; hard. Elias must have named Lena his successor in overseeing the mob while he was locked up; and it was now her responsibility to either head off, or direct a war between the crime families. It made sense, now, why she had been so secretive with him earlier; but that didn’t stop him from being angry that she had kept something so important from him. How could he protect her if she didn’t share anything with him? During the many times that he had come to visit her, he thought he had gained her trust; so he couldn’t deny that in addition to feeling angry, he also felt hurt that she hadn’t seen fit to tell him about the newest development in her life.
A buzzing from his pocket brought him reluctantly back to reality; and he answered the call in a tone that was perhaps a bit testier than he would have liked as he said:
“What, Finch?”
“Did you forget your coffee this morning, Mr. Reese?” Harold questioned, clearly taken aback at his employee’s terseness. At John’s sullen silence, however, the billionaire continued:
“I have some new information regarding Miss Burton’s predicament. Just this morning, a woman met with the heads of the other mob families. I ran facial recognition software on her; and we have a match between her and the woman from the bar, but so far I’ve come up with nothing regarding who she is. It’s as if she never existed before yesterday.”
“So she’s the one behind this war.” John said, more to himself than to Harold as he attempted, without success, to tamp down his fear for Lena and follow the conversation going on in the building before him. “Do we have any idea whether she’s a new member of one the other mobs; Finch?”
“Not a clue as of right now, but I’m working on running a more detailed analysis that will hopefully give us some more insight into who she is and why she wants Lena to come to harm.”
“Let me know when you have something, Finch” John replied before disconnecting the call and returning to the task at hand. He had just heard Lena begin speaking again; and he was desperate to see what her response would be to the entire situation. The ex-agent bit back a groan of resignation as he heard her voice saying:
“No, I have to do this. My father wanted me to be in charge; and heading off a full out war is, unfortunately, a huge part of that position. Schedule the meet with the other families. I’ll be there.”
John leaned his head back against the wall of the building, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm the panic and anger he felt at how Lena was handling the situation. She should have been running for the hills; using the opportunity of her father being in prison to step away from his lifestyle permanently. But what did she do instead? She dove into his former job headfirst, agreeing to meet with members of the city’s other crime families; and effectively removing herself from the safe zone her father had worked so hard to build up for her. It didn’t matter to him that Elias likely only threw Lena into this mess because he trusted her; the man should have known better than to force his own flesh and blood into something that could very well be the death of her.
The sound of the building door opening for Lena, Scarface, and the other man to exit was the only warning John had to duck back behind the structure next door until they drove out of sight. He resolved then and there that he was going to head back to Lena’s apartment and try to talk her out of this colossal mistake; no matter how long he had to wait for her to return.
Getting into the car, John ended his connection with Lena’s phone; deciding that he needed some space to think over how he was going to approach her without being further incited by any conversations she may have on the way back to her home. He didn’t want to scare her outright; but he needed to convince her that what she was doing…there was no way she could come out unharmed. He spent the rest of the car ride back to her place mulling over what he was going to say; silently cursing himself over how this woman had such a tight hold on him that he would move heaven and earth to ensure her safety.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Lena shut the door to her apartment; taking a shuddering breath and releasing it as the gravity of what she had gotten herself into sank in. Tomorrow, she would meet with the heads of the other crime families; effectively making it known who she was, and who her allegiance belonged to. She was meeting with them to alleviate any sort of conflict from happening; but she really had no idea what she was supposed to do to stop it. Running a hand through her hair as she kicked her shoes off in the foyer, she stepped into the living room; stopping short as she took in the dark figure ensconced on her couch.
“Hello Lena. Miss me?” John asked, his voice dangerously low as he rose from his seated position and flicked on the light by the couch as he moved towards her.
Lena stood her ground as he stalked towards her; even though all she wanted to do was back into a corner and curl into a ball. The look in his eyes held an unimaginable amount of…what was it exactly? Pain? Anger? Whatever it was, she was scared; if she were to be honest with herself. But she’d be damned if she let him see that.
“What in hell is that supposed to mean, John?” She asked him, tilting up her chin a bit so she could see him properly as he towered above her.
“Nothing, really. It just seemed like you were settling into your father’s life pretty comfortably; that’s all. And I can’t really see where I would fit in all of that.”
“Listen, what I do in my…wait. You followed me?” she said, her voice unintentionally going up an octave as the realization hit her that the occurrence at HQ had not been a private affair. She gave him a look filled with venom as she continued:
“What I have to do for my family is purely my own business; John. I’d have thought that you, of all people would understand that.”
“It stops being exclusively your business when you put your life in danger, Lena. Though it doesn’t seem to matter to you how others feel about you offering yourself up to the mob on a silver platter” He replied, his expression turning darker as he took a hold of her arm; effectively rooting her in place so she couldn’t slip away. He pulled her closer to him; never relinquishing his hold on her arm as he continued to speak.
“What makes you think that you can step in; virtually out of nowhere, and command the respect of crime lords?”
Lena tried, and failed, to shake her arm out of his grasp before saying:
“I don’t have a choice, John. I don’t really like it either, if you haven’t noticed; but my father gave me essentially all of his authority. I can’t just walk away and leave his life’s work to ruin.”
“So you’re just going to throw your own life away to prevent that from happening? You can’t stop this war; Lena. Things have been set in motion that not even your relationship to Elias can stop.”
“What would you have me do then; John?” She asked, a bit of the panic she was feeling seeping into her voice against her will. She wanted John to think she was capable; in control. And here she was, about to fall apart and show him just how weak she really was…all because of her ridiculous sense of duty to her father.
“Let me protect you; Lena. That’s what you can do” John said, almost pleading with her as he brought both hands up to hold her face and he stooped to rest his forehead against her own. They both remained that way for a minute, taking in the closeness and comfort provided by that simple action; until John pulled his face away from her, to whisper:
“God, Lena; do you have any idea what would happen to me if you were hurt…or worse?”
The look on his face was heartbreaking; and Lena found herself fighting back tears as she brought her hand up to rest against his cheek. She was just about to speak; reassuring him that she would be fine, when he closed the distance between them and kissed her.
Freezing in place, Lena attempted to take in this new turn of events. She couldn’t help but revisit her dream; and her gasp at how similar the two scenarios were gave John free reign to slip his tongue into her mouth. She sighed as their mouths melded together in earnest; giving herself over fully to emotion as she settled in to enjoy the ride.
John could sense Lena’s initial resistance to the kiss; so he began preparing to release her, albeit reluctantly, when she surprised him by relaxing into him and returning the kiss with all she had. He felt a strange sensation of something jumping within his chest; but he shoved all speculation over what it was aside as he began backing her into the nearest wall, simultaneously dropping his hands down to begin unbuttoning her shirt. He knew, on some level, that they shouldn’t be doing this; but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had wanted this for a damned long time; and there was no way of stopping what had begun…not if he had anything to say about it.
Caging her body between his own and the wall as he continued removing the shirt; he let out a low growl as she arched into him, nearly snapping his control then and there. If they were doing this…and it seemed that they were; he didn’t want it to be something she’d regret. Repeating this thought to himself a half a dozen times, he tossed the shirt aside; forcing himself to return his attention to kissing her as his arms looped around her back and pulled her tightly to him.
Lena shoved aside all the apprehension she had about getting involved in this way with John Reese; instead giving everything she had into the kiss as she wound her arms around his neck and looped a leg around one of his to bring them even closer together. He dropped his arms to her sides, kneading her hips as she unconsciously rolled into him; eliciting yet another groan from the tall ex-op.
Lena broke the kiss, then; smirking up at him before saying:
“Did I do something you liked, John?”
John looked down at her for a moment before swinging her up in his arms and carrying her over to her bed to gently place her on top of it; crawling over the top of her and taking care not to squash her with his larger frame as he began feathering kisses down her neck. He reveled in the way each kiss elicited a gasp or a moan from her; and caused her to arch her body towards him, bringing the bare skin of her torso torturously close to him. He was just about to get rid of the unnecessary barrier her jeans presented when she caused him to come screeching to a halt with just one word…
“John…” She breathed, placing a hand on his face and drawing it up away from her skin to look at her.
He looked at her then, trying to read her expression as he asked “Do you want me to stop?”
She laughed at him, the sound sending a shiver down his spine even as he looked at her quizzically. Finally, after what seemed like ages; her giggling faded away as she spoke.
“No, not at all. I’m just wondering why I’m the only one being undressed here.”
John smirked at her, before responding “Well, if you wanted me to take my clothes off, all you had to do was ask.”
Reveling in her renewed laughter at his comment; he straightened up a bit from his position lying over her, bringing a hand up to start unbuttoning his own shirt. He was stopped cold, however, when Lena grabbed his hand as she sat up and shifted so she was on her knees; swatting the appendage away as she busied herself with removing the shirt herself. As she succeeded in undoing each of the tiny buttons; she peppered warm kisses on his chest, enjoying the moans he was making as she gradually moved down until she reached the waistband of his pants.
Breaking away from her careful attention to his skin, and causing him to let out what sounded like a whimper at the loss; she straightened up and shoved the shirt down his arms until it fell off completely and landed on top of the bed. Scooting back to admire what was before her; she was caught off guard when John seized the opportunity to loop an arm around her back and knock her flat on her back, regaining contact with her lips as he hovered over top of her.
John kissed her with all he had, absorbing the feel of her skin underneath his own; like so much silk surrounding nothing but lean muscle. He broke contact with her mouth once again, to begin trailing kisses down her body; and looped his fingers through the belt loops of her jeans when he finally made it down to the waistband of the offending garment. Giving her a mischievous grin, he hooked his mouth around the button of her pants, popping it loose with an easy movement; and fighting to remain in control as the act caused her to roll her hips up into his face.
He froze there for a moment, breathing in and out as he attempted to slow his raging emotions down to a more reasonable speed; biting back a few tears as Lena ran a hand through his hair and whispered:
“Don’t worry, John…it’s okay.”
That was all the permission he needed to let the fragile hold over what he felt for her break; and he gave her a genuine smile before returning to the task of removing her pants. She really did seem to want this as much as he did; and he was more than happy to oblige her. Despite all that had happened today, for right now, it was just the two of them. Just John...just Lena...
…and a ringing cell phone?
John broke away from Lena’s body; reaching over to his shirt that was just to the right of where they had been entangled to grab his phone.
The caller I.D. said “Finch.”
“Damn it.”
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