Risk It All - Raph X OC

Ninja meets PI

Raphael approached Brooke's SUV from an angle with as much stealth as possible, considering he was still wearing work boots. All these clothes get on my fuckin' nerves, grumbled Raph. The last thing he wanted was for her to notice him and take off out of the plaza parking lot. He'd already returned the Green Thumb truck to the junkyard where Donny has faked a title transfer and picked up his motorcycle.

When he drew level with the open driver window, he glimpsed Brooke slumped against the car door. His heart rate kicked up a notch, and his training took over; thankfully with the sun gone, no one was around, Raph reached inside the SUV and laid his finger's across the base of her throat to check for a pulse. Her skin was soft and warm from the sun, her heartbeat a steady rhythm.

She jolted upright and shoved his arm away. "Don't touch me." The alarm in her voice turned to confusion as recognition dawned in her eyes and slight fear, Raph saw. "You! What are you doing here? How did you find me?" She looked around to see if anyone was around, as if she was scared for him.

He opened his mouth to answer, but she didn't give him a chance. "You couldn't have followed me... I'd have noticed that truck on the road anywhere behind me." Interesting, no fear in her voice.

"I took the truck back to the company and picked up my bike." Raph said narrowing his eyes at her. He pointed to his bike parked in an alleyway near the plaza.

Her eyes narrowed in shared suspicion. "How have you turned up here? That can't be a coincidence."

Raphael sighed, "I put a GPS tracker on your SUV."

Brooke's skin flushed with anger. "Okay, now that's creepy. Makes sense why you made a point of checking my tires. It was just an excuse to get close enough to my SUV to attach something. I knew something was off."

"Sorry 'bout the deception, but I knew I had to talk to ya again," Raph shrugged his large shoulders, face set in a grim expression. Brooke turned to face him head on, no longer concerned if they gained any attention from onlookers. Fortunately for him, there wasn't anyone around.

"As I recall, our last conversation ended because you weren't being honest with me. If that hasn't changed, then we're done talking."

Her blunt words didn't surprise him. She seemed to be the type of woman who wouldn't take crap from anyone. Normally, her straightforward manner would strike him as annoyingly brusque, but instead he couldn't help admiring her guts. She was talking to a turtle like it was a normal every day thing. Raph hid a smile, his attraction to her was rising and it was rooted in the fact that she wasn't afraid of him. That fact alone stirred something from within him.

"Okay, let's start over. You were right. I'm not just some hired hand." Raph considered how he was going to go about his identity. Her accepting him being a turtle was one thing, spilling the beans on his past and current situation was going to take some time.

Brooke look pointedly at his Green Thumb shirt and grass-stained jeans... along with the layers and silly hat he wore. "Nice disguise. I'm completely shocked no one else has spotted you..being a green -"

"Turtle." Raph finished for her.

"-turtle. Yes. How? WHO are you? Is Joe even your real name?"

"The names Raphael...or Raph, and I ain't got a job, but I've trained under the Japanese martial arts... ninjutsu," Raph said with his Brooklyn accent that Brooke enjoyed. He eyed her reaction carefully, usually by this point people go running away or are already too freaked out by his appearance. But her response, once again, surprised him.