Whispers of Hannibal

Part 5: Can't Stay

Hannibal had been found out.

Will had figured out who he was. It had been by accident, purely by accident like it had the first time Will had caught Hannibal. Now Will knew and he'd left. He'd gone to call Crawford. He'd gone to find Hannibal.

Gods, I don't know what he went to do but I couldn't just stay in my house. I was the only one who knew where Hannibal actually lived since he'd been taking me there for a few weeks now, ever since I'd found out who he was.

I desperately had to save the man that I loved... or one of the men that I loved.

Will... I didn't know what he was going to do with this knowledge, but the hurt that I had seen in his eyes told me it wouldn't be good for anyone. Not for me, and especially not for Hannibal.

Grabbing my jacket and keys I ran out of my house, not even bothering to lock it. I had to get to Hannibal before anyone else did.

I pushed the garage button and slammed my car door closed, turning it on and pulling out with a squeal of tires. I drove as fast as I could without breaking any laws. Thankfully traffic wasn't a problem so I made it to the outskirts of town fast enough. Now I had to find Hannibal's driveway and wind my way through the gravel road leading to his estate.

I picked up my phone and dialed Hannibal's speed dial. He didn't answer so I cursed and stepped on the gas. I felt confident enough on this road to drive this fast. I had to get to him. I didn't know if he was home or not, but I was hoping he was.

When his house came into view I let out a sob of desperation and slammed the car to a stop outside of the front door. I turned my car off and jumped out, running up the stairs so that I could practically rip the door open.

I stepped inside and closed it behind me, locking it and turning. "Hannibal!" There was no reply and I felt tears burning down my cheeks. "Hannibal!"

I ran through the foyer, down the hallway beside the grand staircase, and back into the kitchen. He wasn't there. I went through the kitchen and out into the greenhouse where Hannibal loved to grow all of his own vegetables and herbs.

I saw him standing at the back of his greenhouse, his back turned to me. I stopped in the doorway and tried to catch my breath, my heart pounding a million miles a minute. "Hannibal."

Hannibal froze in what he was doing and slowly turned to me. When he saw me his eyes grew wide with concern and he dropped the potted plant he'd been holding. He strode over to me and his large, strong, weathered hands gripped my arms tightly. "Midnight. What's wrong? Are you alright?" His eyes focused on the light bruising beginning to show where Will had started to choke me. Hannibal brought a hand up and gently touched it with the tips of his fingers. "Where is Will?"

I let out another sob and clutched at his shirt, fisting the fabric tightly as if I could anchor myself to him. "He..." I couldn't suck in enough air. "He... Will... I..."

Hannibal scooped me up into his arms and strode back into the kitchen. He sat me down on the island in the middle of his kitchen and moved around, grabbing a cup from the cabinet and filling it with water. He came back and pressed it into my hands before reaching up and wiping away my tears with his thumb. "Tell me what happened, Midnight. Why are you crying?"

More tears came as I gulped the water down. When the glass was empty I sat it down beside me on the marble and stared into Hannibal's worried eyes. "Will put everything together, Hannibal. He knows who you are. He knows that I know. He... I don't know what he's going to do but he left. He stormed out and said he was getting Crawford."

Hannibal soaked all of it in and when I stopped talking he slowly reached up and cupped my cheek. I could see the fear in his eyes. "How did he find out?"