Grandier & Grandier Law
I slipped the pillow off my head, my alarm clock blared 'Always by Killswitch Engage' through speakers of my sound system. My hand sleepy smacked the table next to my bed, finally hitting the alarm clock shutting it off. I yawned sleepily sitting up in bed, I heard the door of my bedroom open, in walked my best friend since grade school and roommate Giles.
“Adra wake up you can't be late on your first day”
I rubbed my eye, looking at him. Fully clothed, punctual as always.
“I'm up, I'm up”
He dug through my closet and threw clothes at me,
“Here wear this, if your late it will look bad on both of us.”
Giles left, I went to the bathroom to change. I walked out of my bedroom, grabbing my briefcase that was on the table Giles pushed me from behind out the door. We arrived at the tall office building the huge sign outside read 'Grandier and Associates' I shrunk back, I was nervous as hell. I recently graduated law school and this was my first job since, I never imagined I would be working for such a huge firm. Giles stood at the doors,
“Adra come on lets go”
I breathed out slowly and stepped inside the building Giles following closely behind me. We rode the elevator the thirteenth floor, it stopped with a jolt. The doors opened with a ding, there stood two men in suits. The one with short black hair stood with his head cocked clearly annoyed, talking viciously to the person on the other end of his cell phone. The other looked down at his cell phone scrolling through the screen, strands of his black hair falling in his face that wasn't held back in his ponytail. Giles stepped past them and waited for me, the man with long hair, looked up and our eyes locked. His sapphire eyes pierced right through me. I was stunned I couldn't move, I felt my face turning multiple shades of red. He smiled softly, making me melt. I felt a tug on my arm,
“I'm sorry Mr.Grandier, Lockhart lets go”
Giles pulled me by the arm and out of the elevator past the man. The strange man grabbed my free hand stopping me in my tracks,
“Lockhart? Adra Lockhart?”
“Um-yes”
“So your the new recruit, I'm pleased to meet you”
He took my hand and pressed it against his lips. I blushed profusely,
“I-um”
“How silly of me, I'm Sean Grandier.”
“Yo Sean lets go we have court in fifteen minutes”
The other man yelled holding the elevator doors.
“I'm coming Sid. Its great to have you with us. We will talk later okay”
I bowed slightly and smiled,
“Sure”
He waved as he disappeared behind the closing doors of the elevator. I stood in shock, watching the closed doors. I felt a smack on my back,
“Nice first impression on the boss Adra”
Giles chuckled heartily.
“Shut up Giles”
I sat at my desk in my new office, Giles had given me a new case to look over. I was to be his second chair, for his upcoming trial. I read through the case file, I briefly looked up at the clock and realized it had been hours since I moved, I rubbed my temples feeling a headache coming on.
“Ugh”
I sighed softly. Someone knocked softly on the door. I figured it was Giles coming to check up on me.
“What do you want Christophe?”
“Well I'm not Giles for one, but I did want to know if you would join me for lunch”
I looked up to see the owner of the voice, I stood up quickly.
“Oh Mr. Grandier. I'm sorry I dint realize it was you”
“Call me Sean please”
He smiled as he tucked his hair behind his ear. I could see his perfectly chiseled face, his adorable dimples graced his face as he smiled. I felt my cheeks heat up, I looked down trying to hide my embarrassment.
“I would love to but, Giles asked me to look over this. I'm going to be his second chair for this trial. And I want to do well, since this is my first case.”
“I see, what case is it?”
“People V Howard”
He stepped beside me peeking at the documents spread across the desk. He leaned in close over my shoulder our faces mere inches from each other. I breathed in the manly smell of his cologne. I tried desperately to still my racing heart, it rang in my ears so loud I was sure he could hear it himself.
“Ah the mob boss is finally on trial for all those murders. That's a big case Adra”
I melted hearing him say my name,
“Uh-yeah it is”
He patted me on the back,
“Well I will take a rain check on the lunch until your done with the case, okay? Do your best and put that bastard away”
He smiled and waved leaving my office. I fell back into my chair with a sigh, my heart slowly returned to normal. Jeez, he didn't have to be so close to me. I thought I was going to faint,
“Jesus Christ, what a day.”
I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and picked up the file once more scanning through the evidence we had on Louis Howard. Before I knew it the clock read six in the evening and it was already getting dark outside.
“Hey you ready to go home?”
Giles came in and plopped down on the sofa. He cracked his neck back and forth,
“Yeah I'm ready”
I picked up the papers and shut them in my briefcase. Stepping out into the hall, I noticed we were the last to leave. The office seemed eerily quite, expect the soft sounds of a piano playing in the distance. I cocked my head to the sounds,
“Looks like Sean is still here. He listens to symphonies when he is working”
“Oh I see”
I followed Giles into the waiting elevator, we arrived at home I fell face first onto the couch exhausted. I let out a sigh of relief to feel the soft fabric against my skin. I rolled over to see Giles standing behind the couch, staring down at me. He smiled mischievously, I instantly rolled my eyes at him.
“Stop looking at me like that”
“I didn't say anything”
He laughed softly,
“Do you want something to eat?”
“Nah I think I'm just going to make smoothie and head to bed, I'm exhausted.”
“I'll make you a nutritious one, just relax you had an eventful first day”
He snickered,
“Fuck you Giles”
“I love you too bitch”
I closed my eyes as he went into the kitchen, I heard the blender start up and my consciousness slowly faded to black. Giles came back with a smoothie in his hand,
“Adra, are you already asleep?”
He watched her chest rise and fall slowly, her eyelids twitched slightly. He sat the glass down on the coffee table and walked to the linen closet. He came back with a fluffy blanket and threw it over her, he slipped her heels off her feet and tucked the blanket under her feet. He leaned down and kissed her forehead,
“Sleep well Princess”
He grabbed the glass sipping the contents and headed to his room. I awoke the next morning to the sun shining in my eyes from the living room window. I sleepily sat up and rubbed my eyes, I yawned and realized I was sleeping on the couch. Giles was quietly reading a newspaper at the dining room table.
“What the hell why didn't you wake me up?”
Giles laid down his newspaper, turned in his chair and looked at me. He grinned sheepishly,
“You looked so peaceful, I couldn't bring myself to wake you up”
“Ugh”
He looked down at his watch,
“By the way you have twenty minutes to get ready”
“What the fuck”
I jumped off the couch tripping over the blanket as I tried to scramble to my room. I heard Giles dying of laughter behind me, I quickly got dressed and somehow had five minutes to spare. I shoved the scrambled eggs and bacon into my mouth that Giles had prepared for me before running out the door behind him. The next few days went by in a flash and the court date finally came. I stood in the elevator with Giles trying to breathe deeply to calm my nerves. He looked down at me,
“You will be fine, I promise”
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I smiled in response and breathed out slowly.
“Lets do this then”
I held my head high and walked into the court room, taking my seat at the prosecutors table next to Giles. A blonde man sat with his lawyer at the defense table, so this is Louis Howard. He was handsome, his clear blue eyes met mine and I quickly looked away. Giles leaned over and whispered into my ear,
“Looks like someone came to see your first case”
He motioned with his eyes to the seat behind us. I turned and looked over my shoulder, there sat Sean three benches behind us. He gave me a reassuring smile, I heard Giles beside me
“Looks like someone likes you”
“Shut up Giles, we aren't in high school anymore”
The bailiff entered the court room, followed by the judge, Byron Wagner. In his commanding voice he said,
“All rise!”
I stood with Giles and the others, watching the young man take his seat. I sat down and listened to Giles give his opening statement to the jury,
“Ladies and gentleman of the jury, today you will be presented with undoubted evidence and testimony that Louis Howard the notorious mob boss, tortured and killed three innocence people in cold blood. You will hear expert testimony linking him to the crimes by blood and fingerprints.”
Giles sat back down, the defense attorney and delivered his opening statement. I barely listened at all I was looking through the file, sorting out our witness list. After he was finished, he returned to his seat. Giles stood,
“The people call Robert Branche”
The man stepped through the doors and took his seat on the witness stand. Giles began to question the man about his relation to Louis and his whereabouts on the night in question. He was Louis' right hand man in the mob, sending out kill orders and making sure they went through, if not taking care of it himself. We had granted him immunity on all charges for his crimes for his testimony against Louis. Which the defense challenged on cross examination, stating that only reason he is saying these things about his client, was that his immunity was at stake if he didn't. We called the medical examiner next, she outlined the details of the murders, how each one had been killed with the same nine millimeter gun, one bullet to the head. After being beaten and tortured for hours. We broke for lunch at noon, I stepped outside the courtroom,
“You guys did great for the first day”
Sean said walking up behind me,
“Keep this up and we will definitely win this case”
He smiled brightly leaving towards the elevator. I grabbed a quick lunch before court came back in session. After two more witnesses, court adjourned for the day. The defense lawyer approached us outside along with is client.
“Ten to fifteen Christophe”
“Not a chance Timmons”
I spoke up resolve in my voice,
“If I have anything to do with it your client is going to prison for the rest of his life”
Louis looked at us visibly angered at our refusal, Giles gave me a quick slap on the back with a smile. I headed back to the office looking over documents. I went to Giles' office to ask him a question on the case, but he was now where to be found.
“Hmm...where could he be”
I pulled out my cellphone and called his number, the line trilled dully as I heard the sound of Beethoven's ninth symphony play in the background behind me. I saw a dim light shining under Sean's office door, I didn't notice Giles had already picked up the phone,
“Adra? Hello? Did you pocket dial me again?”
“Oh, I spaced out for a moment. Where are you? I had question about the case and”
“You are going to have to handle the case on your own”
“WHAT?”
My voice almost a scream into the phone, I could visualize Giles holding the phone away from his ear. His voice was hoarse,
“I got food poisoning from something I ate at lunch, I can barely crawl out of bed much less handle a court case”
“Dammit”
“What did you need to know about the case?”
“Its nothing, I'll figure it out. You rest and get better soon, Ill be home later okay”
“Yeah, goodnight”
“Goodnight”
I hung up the phone and softly beat my head against the wall beside his office. I felt a pit in my stomach, so I'm solo on Monday. Caught up in my despair I hadn't heard the door to Sean's office open.
“Adra your still here?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at his voice. I turned to see him standing in the doorway, his undone tie hung loosely around his neck, the top few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, his hair laid perfectly against his shoulders free from its elastic prison. He looked amazing, I could do nothing but stare.
“You okay?”
He asked concerned, I quickly regained my composure,
“Uh yeah. I was looking for Giles and I guess he is at home sick. So I guess I'm first chair Monday at the trial. Looks like my weekend is ruined”
I blew out a puff of air. The stress was unbearable, I only have two days to prepare for this. Sean cleared his throat,
“Grab your papers, maybe I can help you prepare. This is your first case solo, I remember how nervous I was”
“I don't want to be a nuisance, I'm sure your busy with your own case”
“Nonsense”
He went back inside the door. I grabbed the paperwork on my desk and went to his office, he sat on the sofa and motioned me to sit beside him. I sat down and laid out the papers on the table in front of us.
“Hold on one second”
He stood and moved to turn off the music,
“Oh please leave it on, Beethoven is my favorite composer.”
“Oh really?”
He smiled and made himself and I a drink. He sat the strong whiskey down in front of me. The scent burned my nose,
“I don't think I should be drinking at work”
“Don't be silly, its not like the boss is going to catch you”
He said chuckling with a wink of his eye,
“Besides it will help you relax a little”
I smiled and took a small sip as he sat back down beside me. Time passed quickly as we went over the case together,I was on my third glass of whiskey already. In truth I was drunk, but it was nice sitting with Sean talking about nothing in particular,
“Wow you play violin?”
“Yeah my mother made me learn when I was little, she thought it would make me more cultured.”
“Heh, she sounds like my mom”
“What did your mother force you to play?”
“I learned the piano, but I soon fell in love with sound. Beethoven and Mozart quickly became my favorite composers. I even wrote a small symphony once.”
“Your amazing Adra and your are full of surprises”
I laughed lightly as leaned closer to me,
“I'm not that exciting”
I felt his breath on my cheek,
“You have to let me hear you play”
“Heh, only if you let me hear you”
I smiled shyly, my face turning different shades of red. I happened to look up at the clock it was almost midnight.
“Wow its getting late. I'd better get home before Giles calls for a search party”
I started to stand but fell right back into the couch. Sean tilted his head back against the couch and laughed,
“I don't think your going to make it home tonight. Your drunk”
“And whose fault is that?”
I puffed my cheeks out irritated at him. I rubbed my temples in annoyance.
“Look I'll call my driver to take you home, okay? Just stay here while I call him”
“Fine”
I laid my head back against the couch as he got up to call his driver, I quickly drifted off to sleep. Sean turned around to ask Adra her address,
“Adra? Damn she is asleep, never mind I'll just take her home with me. Yeah I'm sure, I'll meet you downstairs in five”
Sean walked over to her sleeping body and picked her up in his arms and carried her to his waiting limousine. I moved around in bed feeling the cool touch silk sheets against my skin. The bed beneath me so soft that it felt like it was sucking me in. My eyes snapped open, wait my bed is hard as a rock and my sheets are cotton not silk, where the hell am I? I cautiously pulled the blankets from my head, I laid in a four poster bed canopy bed, black lace hung down touching the floor. The lace blurred my vision of the rest of the room, the sky was a deep blue outside the sun hadn't even risen yet. I parted the lace and stepped out of the bed. Air chilled my naked legs, I quickly realized I was wearing an over sized shirt that hung all the way to my knees, I panicked. Holy shit where are my clothes? What the hell happened last night? I quickly rummaged through the huge room looking any article of my clothing. I didn't notice Sean was sleeping on the couch that sat underneath the window. I tripped over an ottoman sending me crashing to the floor,
“Ow dammit”
I sat on the floor holding my knee, Sean sat up and saw Adra on the ground. He watched as she resumed her search crawling around on the floor,
“Adra?”
I stopped dead in my tracks, oh shit who is that. Sean turned on a lamp that sat on a table beside the couch. I slowly looked in the direction of the light. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw his face. I fell back on my butt,
“You scared the life out of me Sean”
“I'm sorry, you fell asleep in my office. I didn't know where you lived so I brought you home with me.”
I quickly panicked,
“Did we, uh?”
I motioned my finger back and forth between him and I. He smiled broadly,
“No, no. I was a perfect gentleman. I slept on this couch all night”
I let out a breath, relieved that nothing happened. Sean rubbed his neck roughly,
“So it would have been terrible if it had?”
“No that's not it, I mean I would want to remember it if we did, uh-I ugh never mind”
My face flushed red, I heard him laugh as I hid my face in my knees,
“I'm just teasing you, I would want you to remember too”
I thought my heart was going to explode in my chest, he knelt down in front of me lifting my head from my lap. His gaze intense, my breathing quickened he was so close I thought our lips would touch any moment. Then he whispered his breath hot against my lips,
“Lets get you dressed”
He stood and walked out of the room, I sat there stupid look on my face. What the hell was that? I quickly got up and followed after him to the living room, Sid sat on the couch in nothing but pajama pants eating a cold slice of pizza watching the morning news. Our eyes locked,
“Your the new girl.”
“I-uh yeah”
He yelled over the back of the couch,
“Damn Sean you work quick don't you?”
“Nothing happened Sid”
“Mind if I move in then?”
He smiled mischievously starting to get up off the couch,
“Back off Sid”
“Dammit”
He fell back onto the couch and started to channel surfing paying me no mind. I held my face in my hands and quickly shuffled past him. I found Sean in the dining room, looking through women's clothing. I cocked my head to the side,
“Whats this?”
“Oh, I told my driver your size and had him pick out some clothes for you. I hope you don't mind.”
I ran my fingers across the fabric, I picked up a cute black v neck tee. The price tag fell from the neck, a hundred and fifty dollars?
“Sean I can't accept these, they are too expensive”
“Nonsense, a princess should be spoiled like one”
“Sean I'm no princess”
“Of course you are, every woman is.”
His words made me smile, he handed me a pair of ripped up blue jeans.
“Those we go perfectly together, go take a shower, the guest bathroom is in there”
He pointed down the hall,
“After your ready we will go have breakfast,”
“Sean I have to go home”
“I promise I will take you home after breakfast”
He flashed me a bright smile, I couldn't resist him. I went and took a hot shower, truthfully I needed it. The hot water cascaded down my back relieving any stress still built up in my shoulders. I stepped out and dried off, I put the clothes on that Sean had bought for me. My hair still damp I stepped out of the bathroom and made my way to the kitchen where I heard the sound of cups clinking together. Sean stood behind the island pouring coffee into two mugs, he was freshly showered, his black hair still damp the fresh scent of his cologne tickled my nose. I exhaled opening my eyes, he was staring at me not saying a word. I felt increasingly uncomfortable,
“What is it?”
“Nothing you look beautiful is all”
I looked down at my feet,
“Coffee?”
He held the cup out to me,
“Yes please”
I took the mug and sipped the delicious contents. After finishing our coffee we went to a little cafe, the smell of fresh baked pastries made my stomach growl in an unladylike like manner. I grabbed it hoping Sean didn't hear, a young lady showed us to our seat and took our orders.
“This place has the best breakfast food I have ever eaten”
“It smells delicious in here”
I smiled softly taking in the scenery of the cafe, the smells, the artwork, and the chatter of happy people. Sean watched Adra as she looked at the paintings on the walls, running her fingers across the wall next to her painted with a mural. His chest suddenly felt warm watching her,
“Hey Adra”
“Hmm?”
I continued to trace my fingers across the lines of the mural on the wall.
“Do you want to go to the art museum after this?”
Sean hoped she would say yes, he didn't want to let her go.
“I would love to, but I need to check up on Giles”
“Oh I see”
He looked down clearly disappointed, a pit formed deep in his stomach. He looked up at Adra, her face conflicted.
“Hey how about this, I'll go with you to check on Giles and if everything is okay, then we can go to the museum.”
Her face lit up,
“Deal”
We finished our breakfast and headed to my apartment, it was substantially smaller than his. I started to feel anxious about him coming up. We rode the elevator silently to the fifth floor, I walked to my door sliding the key into the lock. I opened the door and stepped in, thank god the place is actually clean for once.
“Giles, you here?”
I called out loudly throwing my keys on the table by the door,
“Yeah I'm in here”
His voice coming from his bedroom. I went to his bedroom and saw him lying in bed a pale sweaty mess,
“God you look terrible”
“I would tell you the same but your looking hot mama, who are you looking all sexy for?”
Sean stepped in the door behind me,
“Oh I see”
Giles said under his breath, I rolled my eyes instinctively.
“What do I owe the pleasure of your visit Sean?”
“Adra needed to check up on you, before I took her to the museum”
I looked over at Sean,
“Only if your well enough to leave to leave you alone that is”
“I'm fine, I called Alyn. So he should be here soon.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes you kids have fun”
I kissed his forehead and left, Sean stayed behind,
“Get better soon Giles”
“I will and you take care of Adra”
“I will”
I ran into Alyn while leaving,
“Hey Alyn”
“Adra, hows he doing?”
“Being a drama queen as always”
We both stood there laughing as Sean entered the room,
“Ah Alyn this Sean, our boss and Sean this Alyn, Giles' partner.”
They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Giles called for Alyn from his bedroom, I giggled,
“Good luck”
Alyn rolled his eyes and waved us goodbye,
“Thanks”
We left the apartment, walking through the streets of downtown. I felt like I was in my own world with Sean, even through the hustle and bustle of people roared around us. I felt a drop of rain hit the tip of my nose causing me to look up, then the rain began to pour down, I squeaked,
“Oh god that's cold”
“Come on this way”
Sean grabbed my hand and lead us into the park taking shelter under a gazebo. I t was raining so hard I could barely see the figures of people walking. I looked over to Sean, his hair was dripping wet clinging to his face, his white shirt was completely transparent. I could clearly see the outline of his muscles, my body was growing hot in contrast to the goosebumps the littered my bare skin.
“Damn where did this rain come from?”
“Heh, figures it would rain with my luck”
I tore my eyes from the erotic sight which was Sean. I shivered as the wind blew past us, chilling my skin even further. I felt Sean's arms wrap around me, my face pressed against his chest. My heart began beating rapidly,
“You must be freezing”
“I'm okay”
“Just let me warm you up”
I looked up at Sean his eyes meeting mine, our faces drew closer to each other like magnets that couldn't be pulled away from each other. Our lips touched as a rumble of thunder boomed across the sky. I felt electricity course through my lips to my toes. He pulled away leaving me breathless, his forehead touching my own. His breath hot and ragged on my nose as I looked up into his eyes, our lips met again and again in hot feverish attempt to overpower the other. Before I knew it I was in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. His kisses trailing down my neck to my collarbone, soft moans escaped my lips, gripping the wet tresses of hair.
“Sean we...can't...not here”
I panted heavily. He looked up at me, a disheveled mess he had made me.
“Ill call us a ride”
He held onto me tight pulling his phone out of his pocket calling his driver. Five minutes later a car pulled up to our location, he let me down softly and we ran to the car getting soaked all over again. We arrived back his apartment, it was dimly lit from the storm raging outside.
“Sid?”
Sean yelled inside the apartment,
“Looks like he isn't here”
He looked at me with devilish eyes over his shoulder. Those eyes made me heat up from inside again, he pushed me against the wall he towered over me. He whispered in my ear, his voice husky
“Are you ready to finish what we started?”
I nodded my head in agreement, his lips crashed into mine leaving me breathless. I soaked in the heat radiating from his body. I wanted him, craved him to my very core, from the moment I first laid eyes on him. I pushed my body hard against him, as I clawed at his wet shirt. He pulled away very breathing heavy,
“Lets go somewhere more comfortable”
He picked me up in his arms carrying me to his bedroom, he sat me gently on the edge of the bed. He pulled his shirt from over his head the droplets of water from his hair landed on his chest rolling down each set of abs to the top of his jeans. I couldn't resist it any longer, I placed my hands on his chest feeling his racing heart beneath. I scraped my nails lightly over his stomach, a soft groan escaped his lips.
“Adra”
His voice lit a fire deep inside my stomach, I wanted him now. Eyes full of lust he climbed onto the bed hovering over me showering my exposed body parts with hot breathy kisses, his eyes lighting up with each article of clothing he shed from my body. Meanwhile Sid had come home and noticed the wet footprints on the carpet leading to Sean's room. He ,quietly walked to the door and leaned his ear against it, soft moans escaped Adra's lips, while Sean made rhythmic groans.
“Ah Sean”
Sid listened to her muffled screams, he grin sheepishly and went to his room for the night. I awoke to the singing of birds outside the window, the day was bright and beautiful. I tried to get up and I felt a heavy weight around my waist. It was Sean's arm wrapped around me holding me close to his chest. I grinned slightly remembering the night before events. I felt him stir next to me, he breathed in the smell of my hair and smiled,
“Good morning princess”
“Good morning Sean”
“Sleep well?”
“Mm-hmm”
He kissed the tip of my ear lobe,
“Did you have fun last night?”
I giggled as his breath tickled my ear,
“Yes”
He kissed my neck down to my shoulder, he whispered against my skin
“Its such a beautiful Sunday morning”
My eyes widened,
“Oh my god its Sunday and I haven't prepared for the case at all!”
I held my hands in my hands, dammit, I'm going to screw this case up! In a panic I jumped out of bed, and started putting on my still damp clothes. Sean wrapped a sheet around his waist and stopped me,
“Calm down, I'm going to be your second chair. We can prepare together”
“You are going to be my wing man?”
“Heh, yeah I guess I am”
He placed a soft kiss on my forehead, he went to the bathroom where he got dressed. I sat down on the sofa and started to go over documents, who I was going to call, what I was going ask, I huffed out a puff of air pulling my hair back in a messy ponytail. The sound of Mozart's Requiem in d minor flooded my ears with beautiful music, Sean came and plopped down beside me cracking his knuckles.
“Okay lets get started”
We worked nonstop well into the afternoon, I yawned softly looking at my cellphone one o'clock. I felt better after Sean helped me and reassured me he would be there for me until Giles came back.
“Its about time I headed home”
“If you insist, although you could stay here another night, Ill make sure you get up for court tomorrow”
He grinned at me,
“Heh, thank you but I need some clean clothes and a shower. I'm sure Giles is dying ask me a million questions too.”
“Alright I'll walk you out”
I followed Sean to front door, passing Sid relaxing on the couch again watching sports center this time. He nodded as we passed, a smile on his face. Sean opened the door, I stood in the threshold looking up at him,
“Are you sure you will okay walking home?”
“I'll be fine Sean”
He leaned down pressed his lips softly to mine, I pulled away
“If you keep kissing me like that, I won't want to leave”
He smiled and leaned in for another kiss, I pressed my index finger against his lips stopping him. He frowned, I kissed his cheek and left a huge smile on my face. I stood outside the building looking up at the windows kicking myself because I left. I didn't want to leave but I also didn't want things to move to fast either. I turned down main street, it should take me about fifteen minutes to get home from here. I walked slowly pulling the collar of my jacket close to my face, the cool wind chilled my exposed neck. I kept my head down while I walked, my phone starting ringing in my pocket. I stopped and pulled out my phone to see who it was, I laughed answering the phone.
“Sean I just left”
“ I just wanted to make sure your okay, where are you?”
“I;m outside the old cbgb's store, I'm about five minutes from the apartment”
“Do you want me to come get you?”
“I'm fine really”
A black van pulled up behind me while I talked to Sean, I felt a pair of strong arms grab me from behind causing me drop my phone with a scream. I heard Sean yelling from the phone,
“Adra! Whats wrong? Oh god”
“Sean!”
A man placed a white rag doused in chloroform, over my mouth I blacked out in seconds as they pulled me into the van. Sean yelled on the other end of the phone,
“Adra, I'm coming just hold on!”
Sean ran as fast as he could, finally coming to the cbgb building. He stopped huffing and puffing, he saw Adra's phone laying on the ground. He picked it up and held it to his chest, he quickly called the cops. I awoke in a to find myself in a dimly lit room of something that looked like an old warehouse, my head pounded. I soon found out I bound to a wooden chair, I began to kick and scream. The door to the room opened and in strolled Louis Howard, he clicked his tongue dissatisfied.
“A lady should not conduct herself in this manor”
“What do you want?”
He grinned widely as he stepped beside me and punched me square in the jaw the brass knuckles that he wore breaking it instantly. Blood poured from my mouth, another blow landed in my chest taking my breath away, the next landed in my stomach. He leaned in and whispered closely to my ear,
“You should have took my plea deal”
I blacked out from the immense pain slumping over in the chair. Louis looked down at Adra's limp body, he spoke to one of his men,
“Call me when she is wake”
Sean sat in the police precinct clenching his fists, a sweaty and nervous mess. Giles sat next to him his hands on his head, shaking his leg uncontrollably. Two detective came to speak to him and Giles,
“I'm detective Burkhardt and this detective Meier. We are the leads on your missing friends case”
“We are going to do our very best to find her”
Sean hung his head low and blamed himself for letting her leave, letting her walk home alone. Giles shed tear after tear, praying nothing had happened to her. I raised my head I was still in the same room, I could only open one eye, the other had been swollen shut. My breathing was ragged, I had no idea what day is was or what time it is for that matter, all I could see in the dim light that hung over head. Louis walked in the room again shortly after I had awoken. My body wavered and my head moved from side to side as I tried to look at him in his cold eyes. I struggled to speak my jaw throbbed,
“Why..are...doing...this?”
Its all I managed to say, I hung my head relishing the pain in my mouth. Louis cleared his throat,
“I told you that you should have taken my plea, now you going to pay with your life”
He pulled my head back by my hair, spitting in my face. He punched me in the side, I felt my ribs cracking beneath his hand, I blacked out once more. Sean stormed in the precinct looking for Burkhardt and Meier, he found them and slammed Meier against the wall.
“Its been two days and you guys are sitting here eating donuts and drinking coffee, what the fuck are you guys doing?”
Burkhardt pulled Sean from Meier,
“Watch yourself Mr. Grandier or I will lock you up”
“Its fine Al”
He smoothed out his jacket slowly,
“Sean, you need to go home. We are doing all we can, I promise you will be the first to know if we find anything”
Sean slammed his fist against the wall his face red with anger storming out of the station. I felt ice cold water douse my body shocking me awake, the pain had become numb by this time. I looked up to see Louis before me once again, I felt the cold steel barrel of a gun touch my forehead, I prayed for death at that moment. I closed my eyes and remembered Sean's smile, I smiled slightly as Louis pulled the trigger, everything went black. They loaded Adra's lifeless body back into the van and dumped her under the East River bridge. Someone in a passing taxi saw her lifeless form and called police. Her pulse was shallow when they arrived, she was beaten beyond recognition. Taken to the hospital she was put into a medical induced coma. Sean was sitting at the apartment with Giles and Alyn, he didn't want to be alone. His cellphone started ringing in his pocket and after seeing Burkhardt's name on the screen he quickly answered it,
“Yes what it is? Did you find her?”
“Yes Mr. Grandier she is at the hospital in critical condition”
“Ill be right there”
He hung up the phone, Giles and Alyn quickly followed him to Mercy Hospital. They found her room, the sight of her made Sean's heart sink. A machine had to breathe for her, so many hoses and tubes coming out of her tiny body. He knelt next to her bed, grabbing her hand, squeezing it gently he started to cry. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. She still laid silent in the hospital bed, motionless. Sean hardly left her side at all, Giles came by to visit everyday. Today was special in particular, sentencing for Louis Howard started to today, they matched the dried saliva on Adra's face to his DNA. He was found guilty on three counts of murder and one count attempted murder, sentenced to life in prison without the possibly of parole. Sean looked over at Adra holding her hand,
“Did you hear that? You put him away for life”
Sean kissed her on the forehead. Tears started streaming down his cheeks, dropping on her face.
“We won Adra. We won my love”
Her body had completely healed but her brain activity still hadn't returned to normal. Sean played music for her every night, her favorites Mozart and Beethoven. He laid beside her holding her limp body close singing into her ear, the same song every night before he fell asleep,
“I am with you always, from the darkness of night, until the morning, I am with you always, from life until death takes me”
He kissed her forehead, whispering in her ear,
“I love you Adra, I fell for you the first day I met you. I can't bare going through life without such an amazing person by my side. Please if you hear me, wake up”
Her face twitched slowly, her hand squeezed his, Sean screamed for someone
“Doctor! Nurse! Come quickly”
Her brain scan began to beep showing signs of activity, her eyelids fluttered struggling to open. Sean stood at her side holding her hand tightly. I opened my eyes to harsh white lights, I held my hand in front of my eyes adjusting to the light my eyes psychically hurt but I could open them both. I was confused, the pain that racked my body before was gone. I heard a sniffle from beside me, I looked over to see Sea crying next to me a smile on his face.
“Your finally awake”
I struggled to speak but my voice was gone, the nurse held a cup of water. I sipped the cold liquid through the straw wetting my throat. I breathed in and tried again looking at Sean the entire time,
“I-I”
I cleared my throat once again,
“I heard everything you've said and I have to tell you something”
I felt hot tears stinging my eyes threatening to spill out.
“Thank you for the music, singing to me while holding me close to you, I thought I was never going to feel your touch again. You are the only reason I clung to live, but more importantly. I love you too”
Sean kissed my cheek softly. Another few months passed by before being released from the hospital, I had to learn how to walk again, my muscles had deteriorated to almost nothing. I stepped outside with Sean holding my hand, the dark blue ring on my finger shined in the sunlight. I let the light shine on my face, it had been almost year since I felt the rays of the sun on my skin. The warm breeze blew my hair into my eyes as I took a deep breath in, taking all the scents I have missed. Sean stood watching me
smiling, he pulled me close wrapping an arm around my waist,
“Miss Lockhart, shall we go see Giles? I'm sure he is dying to see you”
“Not right now, I want to do something else”
“What might that be?”
I smiled up him wrapping my arms around his neck,
“I've been dying to feel your touch again. Could we head to your place first?”
“Of course princess”
He smiled that smile that I envisioned the moment I thought I was going to die. Now I get to live with it for the rest of my life. I held his hand tightly never wanting to let go, he was my prince and I his princess. I knew the moment I laid eyes on him a year ago in that elevator, he had stolen my heart for eternity.