Their Bloody Rose

Listen to Your Instincts

Two weeks had passed since Joanie had come to stay with them after leaving Curtis, or whoever he actually was. They had been looking for him and also trying to figure out Alonso's game with making him date Joanie and then stealing him back by causing that accident, but so far they hadn't come up with much more than they'd found on the first night.

It did, however, seem like he wasn't coming after Joanie and she was in the clear. That was a big relief to Joanie who, while she felt welcomed in their home, also felt like she was keeping her hosts from some of their more unique relational activities.

The fact that she'd nearly gone barreling down to the basement ready to kill someone when she'd heard Logan's screams the first morning she'd been here, only to have Fiona stop her and explain what that scream was actually from, still burned with embarrassment inside her. She could tell that since then they'd kept those things to an absolute minimum with her around, which Joanie still wasn't sure if them doing so made her feel better or worse.

So Joanie was thrilled when Logan said they'd found a couple places for her to look at today. They'd made sure each one had great security and was a decent distance from the club and the other places she liked to go. The five of them were getting ready to head out to look at the apartments together when Logan's phone pinged with a text from Phillip.

Warehouse. ASAP. Alonso's up to something.

"Shit," Logan cursed as he looked at the message and then up at the four people in front of him. "Somethings going on and Phillip needs us at the warehouse asap. I guess we'll have to reschedule the apartment tours, I'm so sorry Joanie."

"Don't be," Joanie said with a kind smile, "you go do what you have to do. I'm fine to just chill here."

Marissa could see the slightest defeated slump fall in Joanie's shoulders. She knew she'd been looking forward to this, to finding a great new place, to getting her life back.

"What if you three go deal with the stuff with Phillip," Marissa said looking at her three partners, "and Joanie and I go check out the apartments the two of us?"

Logan hesitated. He didn't like the idea of Marissa and Joanie being away from the rest of them when it seemed like Alonso was making moves, but he didn't want to spook Joanie by bringing that up and he also knew better than to try to tell Marissa what to do.

"Ok, just be careful," Logan said before pulling Marissa into a tight hug. "And bring your knives with you just in case, please," he whispered in her ear so only she could hear.

"I will," Marissa replied before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Fiona, Eddie, and Logan all said their goodbyes and headed out to go deal with whatever had Phillip so worried.

Joanie went to follow them into the garage to also head out but Marissa stopped her.

"Hang on Joanie," Marissa called, "I just need to grab something I forgot from my room real quick." She made her way back upstairs, with Joanie following behind her, curious.

"What did you forget?" Joanie asked as they entered Marissa's room.

Marissa made her way over to the bookcases Logan had built for her as she replied, "Since it's just gonna be the two of us out there I wanted to bring a little protection just in case anyone tries to get handsy on the sidewalks or something. Have I shown you this yet?" Marissa motioned Joanie over, hoping to distract her by showing her the secret door before her mind could focus too much on what she'd just said. It seemed to work.

Joanie joined her by the bookshelf looking confused. "What is it?"

"This," Marissa replied, "was a gift from Logan, and don't tell Eddie or Fi this but it might be my favorite thing they added to my room when they redid it. Mainly just because it's so seemlessly done. Watch this." Marissa pulled out a book and then showed Joanie the tiny switch behind it before pressing it and letting the hidden door swing open.

"Oh what?" Joanie said in surprise. "You have a hidden safe? That's awesome!"

"Not only that," Marissa said as she punched in the code to open the big safe door, "but it also doubles as a panic room. Just get in and press this button right here and the door seals shut, nothing can open it from the outside, even with the code. While I hope I'll never need to use it, it does definitely feel good to have it here just in case."

While Joanie kept looking over the door to the safe and the safety mechanisms, Marissa strapped a few of her favorite knives under her clothes just in case they ran into any trouble. With that, they made their way down to the garage. Marissa grabbed the keys to Fiona's small SUV that she'd often drive anytime she needed to get somewhere, and then she and Joanie made their way to the first apartment they were scheduled to tour.

The first apartment was a big no because it reminded Joanie too much of the one she'd lived in with Curtis, but the second showed some promise. The third one was near perfect, with just a handful of little preferences missing that Joanie said she could live without. The fourth one was absolutely perfect though. As soon as they walked in Joanie said this was the place she wanted to live. It was minutes away from the club, in a great area, had all the amenities she wanted, and also had impeccable security.

They talked with the building manager there and immediately signed all the paperwork. Plus, the guy was nice enough to give Joanie the keys early so she could start moving in right away even though her lease didn't officially start for another 2 weeks. Marissa had a feeling it was because he was crushing on Joanie hard, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. But unlike her ex who looked at her like she was a piece of meat, this guy looked at Joanie like she was the most beautiful goddess he'd ever laid eyes on. He was incredibly sweet and respectful and Marissa couldn't help but smile at the thought of him fawning over Joanie the way she deserved.

It was early afternoon when Marissa and Joanie got back to the house. Logan's car was still gone when they pulled into the garage so Marissa assumed they were still at the warehouse dealing with whatever was happening there. She hoped they were ok. Once she put the car in park she texted Eddie letting him know they were back and how things had gone and wishing them all well as they dealt with things there.

As Marissa got out of the car though, she noticed that the door to the garage was open. She knew she closed it when they left, but maybe one of her partners had come back quickly to grab something while they were out. Surely that was it. Her instincts, however, were still telling her something wasn't right.

As she and Joanie walked through the door into the house Marissa was certain someone was there who shouldn't be. Her years of getting kidnapped had taught her how to spot the tiniest changes and to, most importantly, always listen to her instincts.

Stopping at the bottom of the stairs that led to her room Marissa pulled Joanie into a tight hug so she could whisper in her ear. "I need you to stay as calm and quiet as possible Joanie. Someone is here who shouldn't be. Right now I want you to run up to my room and open the safe, the code is 8410, and hit the panic button. Do not come out no matter what until one of us tell you it's safe. Can you do that?"

Joanie gulped and nodded. She was terrified beyond belief but she'd do as Marissa told her. "What about you?" Joanie whispered back.

"I'll be fine," Marissa replied, "just go."

Joanie gave Marissa one tight squeeze before as quickly and quietly as possible getting to Marissa's room and locking herself in the panic room. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. But then she heard what sounded like gunshots and her panic rose even further. Not sure what else to do she called Logan. He picked up on the first ring.

"Joanie?" Logan's voice called through the phone, rife with confusion and worry. "What's going on? I just got a notification that someone's activated Marissa's panic room, is everything ok?"

Joanie was nearly hyperventilating at this point as another gunshot rang through the house. "Oh god, Logan," Joanie finally squeaked out, "you need to get here now. When we got home Marissa said someone was here and sent me up to hide in here but now I'm hearing gunshots. Marissa is out there alone! What do I do?"

"It'll be ok Joanie," Logan said trying to calm her despite the terror that was still pretty evident in his own voice. "We're one our way right now. You just stay put in there alright. No one can get to you there so you're safe. Just stay put and stay quiet. We're coming."