Dirty Break (18+)

In Which Regrets Are Faced

Lydia liked a drink as much as the next person, but she probably hated the hangovers a little bit more. Unused to downing copious amounts of straight whiskey on a basically empty stomach, and then drowning resulting sorrows with gin, she woke the next morning with the dreadful possibility that she was going to be sick, and the outright knowledge that if she moved, her head would explode. As if that wasn't enough to be dealing with, the memories of her little, failed plan from last night came flooding back to her. She didn't know what she'd been thinking, or if she even had been. Leon Valentine was never going to be her saviour - he'd roped her into this so why would he exert himself trying to get her out of it? She didn't regret the sex, because - let's face it - although he was a coward and a bastard, he was hot and he knew what he was doing. She didn't think she'd had bad sex before, but this had shed an entirely new light on what she could expect from a partner, if she ever got out of this mess, which was looking more and more unlikely. It crossed her mind that the situation and Leon's role in it was what had made it so fucking hot, but she filed that away for later because she couldn't deal with it along with everything else she had going on. She had to find her own way out of this one, and that was fine - she believed in herself more than she believed in anyone else anyway. That being decided, she stood to get ready to go about her day, pausing for a moment to let the nausea die down before she made her way to the bathroom. 

Once there her body decided that it actually really didn't like the idea of all that alcohol swilling around in her stomach and she just made it to the toilet before she was violently sick, which obviously made her feel a fuck tonne better about her life choices. Looking in the mirror afterwards didn't help the situation; her hair stuck up in all directions, there were dark circles under both eyes and her cheekbones were hollowed as thought she'd lost weight. Misery compounded she decided that the only thing to do under the circumstances was run a hot bath, but even that had limited appeal and when she lowered herself into it minutes later even the expensive lotions and potions crowding the shelf couldn't catch her interest, despite the fact that they must have cost someone a small fortune. 

Half way through washing her hair she thought she heard a noise so made quick work of the rest of the bath. She'd had quite enough of being in a vulnerable position recently and someone walking in on her whilst she was in the bath might just be the tipping point. Wrapped in multiple towels moments later she walked into the bedroom to find nobody there but a garment bag and makeup bag laid neatly next to each other on the covers. Had Leon left them? Her heart raced at the thought - whether out of excitement or anger she wasn't entirely sure - but was the alternative any better? There were limited amounts of people who even knew she was here, and she was damn sure that Conor hadn't given her a thought since she'd been in the same room as him. That left Malcolm and she wasn't sure she wanted him paying her any attention at all, never mind arranging for her to have clothes and makeup. Still, she was as materialistic as they came so she crossed to the bed and picked up the garment bag, opening it to find a cocktail dress in jade silk, with a low sweetheart neckline and a knee length skirt. On the floor at her feet was a pair of gold, low-heeled sandals and the makeup bad spilled out a treasure trove of expensive, sealed makeup products. She might not know who had arranged for these things to be brought to her but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it meant she wasn't going to be sat in her room twiddling her thumbs all day - suddenly monotony didn't seem so bad, when faced with the unknown. It almost made her want to slip into her filthy blouse and trousers and leave the room devoid of makeup but that was cutting off her nose to spite her face. She'd always found getting dressed up and putting makeup on cathartic and if there was ever a time that she needed her armour, it was now. That decided she took her time making herself look as delectable as possible whilst telling herself that her diligence to the task had nothing to do with the fact that she was likely to come face to face with a certain Leon Valentine whilst looking like an absolute meal.

************

"You know how glad I am to have you both back here, under the safety of my roof. I just wish you'd come to me with this immediately."

Leon went to speak, more in Conor's defence than his own, but Malcolm held up a ringed hand.

"I know you have your reasons, and there was no true harm done. I'm proud to see you taking responsibility for yourself and your actions."

He picked up the ever-present tumbler of whiskey and relaxed back into his seat, which allowed Leon to relax as well. Malcolm was a hard man to live with and had been strict to the point of harshness with his son as long as Leon had known him, even now that his son had grown and proven himself time and again.

"That being said, you haven't been able to find anything of use yet, as far as I understand?"

Leon shook his head no, ignoring the smug look that Malcolm cast him.

"That's what I thought. Why else would you be here now with your tail between your legs and that little girl in tow?"

He didn't particularly like the way Malcolm referred to Lydia, but he kept his mouth shut all the same. He needed to draw attention away from her, not to her.

"I know you've spoken to the other families, and obviously they should have told you anything you needed to know as my right hand men. But that's not to say that they did. I've invited them all here for a meeting, and believe me - by the time they leave you can be sure that they'll tell me if the fucking wind changes, never mind if they know anything about how this happened."

"What the fuck, Da? You're undermining us! Not to mention how volatile it'll be with them all under one roof!" Conor had stood with his outburst, towering over his father, but Malcolm stayed seated and tipped the last of his whiskey back.

"I'm undermining you? I'm not the one who spent days traipsing round the country with a kidnapped woman with nothing to show for it, rather than seeking out my help. I've been lenient with you, boy - do not make me fucking regret it."

Conor didn't look like he was going to take that as the end of the matter, but Leon put a hand on his arm and nodded back towards his seat. He'd known that Malcolm wouldn't like it that he hadn't been their first port of call, and he'd told Conor as much - they'd gone in with their eyes open and they had to face the consequences of their actions. Conor sat down with a sidelong look at him.

"I know that all the families together is a risk, but they need to understand that they could be next if we don't find out who did this - and we need to find out who did it, boys. They'll regret being fucking caught, I can promise you that. We're all meeting at five, and I want the girl there as well."

Now it was Leon's turn to stand, Malcolm's eyes already on him as though he has predicted the motion.

"Why does she need to be there? She shouldn't be where she might hear anything incriminating. She's dangerous."

Malcolm's mouth curved; it couldn't be rightly called a smile.

"She's only dangerous if she gets away and passes those incriminating bits of information on - and you know that can't happen, don't you, Leon? I've told you that you can take care of this lust with her but sooner or later, she'll become more hassle than she's worth."

What could he say in response to that? They were all things that he'd already thought of, but that didn't mean he wanted to accept it. Images of her on her knees at his feet bombarded him, her big eyes seeking his approval as his seed ran in rivulets towards that beautiful pussy as though trying to find its way home. He shook them away.

"The best she can hope for is that one of the others takes a liking to her - do you think she'd make a good, little wife, Leon? If we can find someone to wife her, we might be able to let her live after all."

He felt physically sick at the thought, the rage rising in him quickly enough that it took his words and his breath. Conor noticed and put a hand on his arm to steady him.

"At any rate, she's going to be there. A beautiful woman is always handy to have at any gathering - they might all be too distracted drooling over her to bother starting anything," he stood as he spoke, turning his back on them as he strolled to the door, hands in his pockets. It was a slight - you never turned your back on a threat, which meant he didn't consider them one - which he compounded by turning back round after he'd opened the door, "Maybe if someone gives us some good information we can start the ball rolling and give her to them."

He left before Leon could react, although Conor had stood and moved in front of him just in case.