Sheriff Marcus x Reader

Seventeen

At an intersection, Marcus stopped abruptly and glanced over his shoulder. He had already expected that you would follow him. Your curiosity had already made it difficult to keep secrets from you.

But he hadn't expected you to be so persistent.

"Damn it...", he cursed, and glanced at Silco's henchmen, who were sitting in his neck like a plague.

Nervously, he tapped his foot on the floor. Mud and dirty water splashed up with every movement and covered his shoes.

No matter what happened, you couldn't go after him. Worse, find him. Silco already had enough leverage on him. Besides, it would only create more chaos.

He had to get rid of you.

But how?

How could he trick you?

You were smart, he didn't doubt that. You were also almost as stubborn as he had been in his early days as an enforcer. The two things combined could quickly become dangerous.

For a long moment he thought.

But Silco's dogs didn't have that much concern. Expectantly, the men looked down on him.

Marcus was not a small man, but these two were nothing but giants, taller than him and a good deal broader. Physically, he stood no chance against them.

Fortunately for him, neither of them were the smartest.

"Go.", one of them growled and tried to nudge him.

But Marcus slapped his hand away with a grim look.

"Don't touch me!", he growled, casting a quick glance up at the rooftops. "Quick, switch shoes with me."

Confused, the men exchanged a glance and then looked back at him.

"Why would we do that?", the tattooed one asked.

Annoyed, Marcus rolled his eyes.

"We're being followed.", he hissed, having to keep looking up at the rooftops for fear you might be hiding in the shadows.

The henchmen shrugged their shoulders.

"Not our problem.", the smaller of the two grabbed his arm.

But Marcus freed himself.

"The enforcer is no ordinary threat.", he insisted. "We'll have to split up. Give me your shoes. This will cause confusion."

Rolling his eyes, he shrugged, bent down, and moments later held out his shoes to Marcus.

"Now what?", he asked.

While Marcus was switching his shoes against the too-small ones, he pointed to the right.

"You two go that way.", he explained as if he were talking to idiots. "I'm going another way. We'll meet at the Last Drop."

But the men were not easily convinced. Dissatisfied, they glared at him.

"Silco said we have to deliver you personally.", said the smaller one.

But Marcus silenced him with a raised hand. With the last bit of patience he had left, he looked up, straight into his eyes.

"I'll find my own way.", he growled. "You'll have to play the distraction."

"But Silco said-..."

"I don't care what your orders are! I have always gone to him when he asked. Why should I do it differently now?"

The two of them could not answer. The tattooed one of the two twisted his mouth, visibly dissatisfied, but did not object. With a wave of his hand, he called his companion to his side and gave Marcus a warning look.

"Thirty minutes, sheriff.", he said in a warning tone. "If we don't find you in the Last Drop by then, we're coming for your daughter."

A chill ran down his spine at the threat. But he put on a hateful expression and pretended not to be impressed.

"I will be there in time.", he assured, and turned to leave with quick steps. "I always was."

The men took the other direction, away from the center of town and toward the harbor.

You arrived at the crossroad mere minutes after Marcus was gone.

You were about to take the left road, when you noticed the tracks leading to the right. Caught off guard, you stopped and dropped down into the alley.

Your eyes wandered over the tracks, first those that led to the left and then those that ran along the right. The prints of Marcus' heavy boots led to the right. One of the men was with him.

But it made no sense that the second had separated from them.

"Why?", you asked yourself, kneeling down to look at the tracks more closely. "Ah, they want to confuse me. Rookie trick."

But there was no doubt that he had gone to the right.
And yet there was this feeling that something was wrong. Your legs wanted to go to the left, but your head led you to the right. When you stood up again, you glanced down the alley to the left, just to check that you weren't making a mistake.

But when you checked the footprints one last time, you realized that the prints were too small. Marcus had bigger feet. Sighing, you closed your eyes and turned right.

"Fuck...", you whispered and climbed back on the roofs. "Don't let this be a mistake..."

With quick jumps you tried to make up for the lost time. Your eyes rose to the dark sky. Stars were sparkling in the distance.

For some reason a dark feeling spread inside your chest. It crawled up your back and tied your throat.

Why did this feel like a mistake?

Biting your lips, you swallowed a curse and focused on the footprints again. The warm feeling inside your spine intensified. The sensation of power chased through your limbs, strengthening your arms and quickening the speed of your steps.

It scared you how easy your own body took over. And yet it felt like a welcomed change. If anything would go wrong, this could be the one thing to safe your life. This thing, something that was so unknown to you, you didn't even know the name of it.

Was it magic?

Technology?

Or something entirely different?

One thing was for sure, it had not always been a part of you.

In the distance, two figures appeared. At first they seemed rather shapeless and plump. But as soon as you came closer, they took on a more clear silhouette.

Squinting your eyes, you tried to figure out if one of them was Marcus.

But as they turned into your direction, you almost immediately noticed you had made a terrible mistake.

But it was already too late to turn back.

One of them pulled out a gun.

The barrel pointed at you, the man let a shot loose.