Sometimes We Love The People Who Hurt Us

Chapter 6: Entrée

The afternoon had gone as quickly as the morning once we had all started to join in with the investigation and ideas for possible links to the current list of suspects, which were few. Appearances had been ruled our, and gender didn't seem to be a preference either to the killer. Rogers had eventually asked about our cases back in Virginia and we had in turn asked about theirs, soon being able to cancel out one thing; the Australian deaths hadn't been done by another killer copying the Lycan Ripper. There had been a pause in the deaths in Virginia and it had been during that pause that the deaths in Sydney had occured, making it clear that the killer had travelled, perhaps for a change in scenery or to continue somewhere else where he was under less stress of getting caught.

Campbell and I hadn't had many chances to continue our separate investigation into the Copycat Killer, but so far the killer had been staying under the radar. For now. Hopefully, the person hadn't left at all and was still in Virginia where we'd have more chances to catch him, though I doubted we would have had a dead lead to here.

After a small break for coffee, we had focused on the travel aspect with Rogers assigning Campbell and a couple of agents to sort through airport records to search for people who had travelled to Baltimore or anywhere else in Virginia to Sydney in the time period from the last death in Baltimore to the first murder in Sydney. And than from the last murder in Sydney to the return of the deaths in Virginia.

Luckily, Campbell had been kept pretty busy throughout the day although he had started to seem like he was backing off, thankfully. Perhaps he finally got the idea that I wasn't interested, but I still kept my distance from him just to be on the safe side.

By the time Rogers had acknowledged the time and called it a night, the sun had already started to set and I was quick to rush outside and grab cab. Hoping not to be late, I paid the driver extra once we reached the hotel and asked for him to stay outside and wait for ten minutes. He had grumbled but soon accepted once I paid a bit more before I had gone inside and straight to my room. Setting an alert on my phone for ten minutes, I grabbed a quick shower, getting changed into something nice but comfortable for the night.

Another check of the hotel room and my suppressants were still missing. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair before making my way to the door after refilling Winston's food and water bowls, saying a farewell to him before I had left. I hadn't gone far though when I bumped into someone, quickly apologising and moving around them before a hand had grabbed my arm to stop me from getting far. Frowning, I had raised my head to look to the person before my eyes widened and I took a step back from Campbell. He followed until my back collided with the wall and the Alpha soon pressed up against me as I clenched my jaw. "Leave me alone, Campbell."

He shrugged in response, not really paying much attention to my words as his hands braced against the wall on either side of my shoulders and leaning forward until his nose pressed against my neck. Shifting my weight on my feet, I was quick to shove him away before moving for the door, only for Campbell to grab my arm again. "You're dressed up a bit more than usual. Where are you going?"

Turning to him, I watched him with a small glare before trying to tug my arm free. "None of your business, agent.." Cursing as I heard the alarm on my phone go off, I shoved Campbell again but he still refused to release his hold on my arm. "Please Campbell, my ride's about to leave. If you have something you wanna say, text me or talk with me tomorrow at the headquarters. Goodbye."

One more tug and I was thinking about punching him to get free but than Campbell let out an annoyed growl and dropped his arm to his side. Quickly turning, I rushed outside and waved the taxi down just as he had started to pull out onto the road. Getting inside, I gave him the address before sitting back with a relieved sigh. "Sorry for holding you up, but thanks for waiting as long as you did.."

The driver gave a small nod, looking over to me briefly before turning his attention back to the road, staying silent. The drive was done in this manner, which I didn't really mind as I watched the houses pass by. By the time we had reached the address, the light drizzle had strengthened and the driver parked beside the driveway. I paid him before getting out, closing the door behind me and tugging my jacket around me as I shivered, the rain truly starting to pour down now. Jogging up the small incline of the drive to the door, I knocked on it before shaking water droplets from my hair.

Still shivering in the cold, I picked up the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door after a while before it opened, Hannibal smiling at me before he noticed how drenched I was. "Come in Will, I should have been quicker sorry. Let's get your jacket off and you can go into the living room to warm up. I'll go grab you a blanket.."

Giving a shaky nod, I moved to tug my jacket off, teeth chattering slightly as I moved inside and Hannibal moved to help take the jacket off before hanging it on one of the hooks by the door. Thanking him after he lead me to the living room, I stood by the fireplace, not wanting to get any of the seats wet. Hannibal had soon returned and I watched as he draped a towel over one of the seats before moving it closer to the fire. "Here you go Will."

Smiling in thanks, I moved to sit down before he soon wrapped a blanket around me, one hand resting briefly on my shoulder before he had excused himself to finish the cooking. Gradually, the small shiverings reduced as I relaxed in the warmth of the fire, eyes half closed. I hadn't been paying much attention to my surroundings so when I felt a pair of hands fall onto my shoulder lightly, I near bolted to my feet. Looking up as I barely managed to not leave the chair, I blushed as my gaze met Hannibal's with an awkward chuckle as I unwrapped the blanket from around my shoulders and stood up. "Uh, sorry about that. You caught me by surprise.."

Hannibal gave a small nod as he watched me with a small smile before taking the blanket from me and folding it up neatly. "That's quite alright, I should have made my presence known before I did that."

As he folded the towel up as well, I shrugged and scratched at the back of my neck as I smiled reassuringly at him before following after him. "It's okay," He stopped in the laundry to put them down before smiling back at me as he led the way to another; the dining room. Looking around curiously, I soon took a seat at the table after he pulled out a chair for me. "You have a really nice place, Hannibal.."

He smiled at my words, leaving briefly before he had returned with two glasses and a bottle of wine, setting them down on the table beside the already set out plates and cutlery. "Thank you. I come down here on trips and vacations on many occasions, so I eventually bought a permanent home to avoid constantly having to make bookings for the long stays."

Nodding, I watched as he poured us each a glass, placing the bottle in a small bucket of ice before moving back to the kitchen once again. Hannibal soon returned carrying a large plate, covered by a lid, and set it down on the center of the table. He gently lifted the lid and smiled softly. "Tonight we have freshly cut deer, sliced into thin pieces, coupled with a lovely pasta that was made from scratch and topped with a red sauce infused with red wine."

Looking to him curiously as he finished, I smiled before giving a small nod as he moved to take his seat and unfold his napkin, placing it over his lap. I soon imitated his movement before humming as I raised the glass of wine to my lips and took a sip before speaking. "Looks and smells amazing Hannibal. Thank you."

He too had taken a sip from his own glass after pausing to savour the smell, chuckling as he placed the glass down and picked up his cutlery, smiling over at me gently. "You shouldn't thank me until you taste it. Bon appétit." He seemed to wait for me to start eating, so I did after a small pause. At the burst of flavour that hit my tongue, I let out a small groan, eyes closing as I slowly chewed my mouthful before swallowing, soon opening my eyes to look over to Hannibal.

He was watching me, having taken a couple bites from his own food before smiling happily as he studied my reaction. I had taken another bite, humming happily after I swallowed, smile wide as I looked over to him once again. "This is marvelous."

Hannibal's smile softened, nodding in thanks as he finished his mouthful of food before he had met my gaze, his expression seemingly happier when I didn't look away. "I'm glad you enjoy it Will. It is an old recipe that I haven't used for a while, and I thought it might be something you'd like.." Nodding, I smiled gently at him, my cheeks gradually reddening as our gazes held before Hannibal soon broke the eye contact to resume eating. Biting my lip, I soon continued to eat as well, still blushing.