Eyes black, head back.

[DELILAH IRIS VALENTIN]

Rope chafed at her wrists and ankles as she found herself bound to the chair. Her 'captors' looking quite pleased with their handiwork too by the looks of it. She smiled sweetly to them "tying me up are we? Oh my, how kinky" the sarcastic tone was evident in her voice which earned her a nice little slap across the cheek. "Jeez, did your mother not teach you that it's never okay to hit a woman?" this time a hit to her cheekbone, just below her eye. She could already feel the blood rushing to the area not a second after. It would certainly leave a bruise, that was for sure.
She'd just been walking after a few drinks in a dingy American bar that she'd found. It had been nice- people with her accent for a change. She'd played pool- actual 8-ball pool- and been drinking bottles of Bud with a few nice lads. It had been lovely when she'd walked in and within a minute of her talking they'd just known she was a New Yorker. The night had been going great and she actually hadn't thought about him once. But as she'd left the bar and began to walk home she'd been stopped. At first they'd only wanted her purse- of which she'd given over- but as soon as they saw her ID they wanted her. It seemed her parents hadn't just been scamming those that were residents of the States. They'd even managed to move across the pond.

Which is how the young woman found herself here. The guys had instantly grabbed her, putting a hand over her mouth and carrying her as she kicked and tried to scream. It hadn't worked out well. She wasn't as strong as they were and she hated herself for that. They wanted information. Not that she knew it. But the dicks didn't believe her. "I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, I don't know anything about what my parents did. And any money they had is gone. G. O. N. E. Gone. Wait- you probably can't spell can you-" smack "cheers for that. As I was saying, they took it all when my parents got  locked up" she'd managed to earn her third hit of the night. How lucky she was.
"We don't believe that. Mummy and Daddy must have let their little angel in on the plan and left her with some pretty little cash to get her by" one of them spoke. Delilah laughed. "Okay, I'm twenty, I'm not five. And they didn't. They didn't think they'd ever get caught so they never really planned for the future. Jesus Christ, how thick are you-" thwack. This time, Delilah shut up. The blow had struck her right on the jaw. Fuck, it stung. 
She tried to move her hands more which only made the rope dig in more. If only she'd paid more attention to those crappy movies her father had loved. People were always tied up in those. Or listened when her Uncle started talking about how to get out of tricky situations when she first moved to London. She hadn't listened because to her, New York was worse than London- which it was- but she hadn't ever anticipated this. Not that she even believed that her Uncle had taught her how to get out of this specific situation. Damn, why didn't they teach it at schools.. Then again, most people's parents weren't convicts. The men continued to watch her, a few exchanging glances and words. It was obvious they were trying to think of their next move. She just tried to move her jaw to find it sent shock-waves of pain through her face. Brilliant. Leaning back, she actually found herself wishing for someone to come and get her out of this. The girl that always thought herself as independent and never needing anybody- she admitted to herself that she needed a hand. 

[LIAM JAMES MADDOX]

As much as Liam didn’t like to think about it, he wasn’t the same. He didn’t feel the same…something didn’t feel right since Delilah left. He didn’t want to admit it, and would’ve hated to say it but he was starting to think he cared at the time. Now that she was gone? He had passed the denial stage. Though, what he still didn’t like to think of was the look in her forget-me-not eyes when he told her that letting her stay with him was a mistake. He had hurt her and secretly, he hated that.
In hindsight, he handled that night poorly. Illogically. Too many emotions got the better of him and his attempts to knock himself out by drinking wasn’t good enough in that situation. What he disliked the most was that Delilah had seen him that way. He had moments like that before in the past,  no one was ever there to witness them. He didn’t let people see his low moments, but Delilah had been there and she had been there to receive the brunt of his moment of mental instability.

When she had left, he tried not to feel guilt and denied that the emotion was present but guilt was definitely one of the many emotions he felt that night. Liam had then gone to his room and rested for the night.
Only to wake up and she was gone. His feelings on the matter? He felt the same as before. Before Delilah. Hollow. It was normal to him, but what had surprised him the most was the fact that he didn’t realize he had stopped feeling that way. Not until then. Needless to say, that morning he shaved again. He had his moment the night before; his emotions would be once again suppressed for the time being.
Liam went back to his life. But all the while, he couldn’t shake a feeling of something being missing. It was a peculiar thing.
As the days past and turned into weeks, the feeling still hadn’t gone and he wasn’t starting to become aware of something else…in his apartment, there was a presence missed. Like everything was out of place. He had tried to fix it, fill the emptiness with pieces he had painted but that wasn’t it. They didn’t fill the void. It felt like the solitude he had been so used to, the lack of company…wasn’t enough, but he still could hardly tolerate the company of some others. It seemed that he wanted the company of a specific individual. A woman with forget-me-not eyes. Liam couldn’t understand why he felt this way. It confused him…and even scared him a little. But he moved on and was sure that it would eventually leave…Delilah was gone now.

The conman had arrived at the usual rendezvous place of his and his associates whenever they got together; a loft in Whitechapel. He was meeting them after receiving the following text from Monroe;
Alis grave nil.....ante meridiem......
The first part was their usual sign to tell each other of an important meeting. In translation from Latin to English it meant ‘nothing is too heavy to those who have wings’ something that wouldn’t be suspicious or incriminating if someone were to translate it to read. The last part, ‘ante meridiem’ simply meant before midday and the consecutive full stops indicated the time. Eleven o’clock. Liam wasn’t impressed at all by Monroe’s coding of the time. A six year old could work that one out.
He walked into the loft, as confidently as any man who had the world at his feet like conmen did.
 As always, Liam was early but it seemed for once he was actually the last one there. He was actually rather surprised. All of them were there. Monroe and Jamison playing a game of darts, Lawless filing her nails ontheir leather couch, Dawson as usual, doing something with the array of computers and technology they had set up...
Smack.
Hunt.
A solid punch to his face, the metal of the older conman's ring had made the hit sting a significant amount more. Liam hardly let out a sound despite this, he just raised his hand to the sensitive area and narrowed his eyes at the man.
"And that was for?"
"For hurting my niece, asshole."
"That wasn't my intention.."
"Don't make me punch you again, Liam."
Liam said no more. Instead he just went to the chess board where his and Hunt's ongoing game was taking place on. He looked at it and made the move he had planned out in his head a dozen times the past couple of months. Taking the older man's knight with his bishop.
The conman was very aware that the others had all paused a moment to witness Hunt punching him. He had caught a glimpse of the amused smirk on Jamisons face and the slightly concerned shock on Vivienne's. But no one said anything for a short stretch of time, the only sound that could be heard was Monroe and Jamison's comments on each other's throws and the constant tapping on Dawson's fingertips on his keyboard.

"What is this about, Charles?" Vivienne finally asked Hunt after an impatient sigh left her lips.
"My niece, Delilah."
That was enough to catch everyone's attention, because it was to do with the man's actual family. But it caught Liam's most of all. Yet, he still remained quiet despite his peaking interest, curiosity and concern. If Hunt had brought them all together...this meant something serious.
"What's up?" Monroe said, having paused his and Jamison's game to give Hunt his full undivided attention.
"She's missing."
Missing. Missing...
"What do y' mean 'missing?"
"She's been gone for three days."
"From what I've heard, that ain't exactly not normal for your niece."
Liam ignored all the incorrect English in Jamison's speech even that it niggled at a part of him. All he could really care about was finding out more...and finding out the same thing; what did Hunt mean about her being 'missing'. Although he looked down at the chessboard, seemingly disinterested he was listening to every word.
"This time's different. Her dad was paid a visit in prison by a displeased former mark and threatened. Shit happened. Delilah was taken before I was told and had time to get her out of here."
Silence.
Liam for once didn't know how to process the information he was given. He just...froze. Entirely. Even his mind went completely blank. Delilah was taken. Taken.
"Got it!" He heard Dawson shout over.
He looked up to see Hunt go over to the teen and heard the teen giving some spiel about how he hacked into a database and searched through the footage of London's CCTV cameras and the 'eureka' moment. The others went over to view the footage too. But Liam still, for some reason didn't know what to do. For some reason it was like he didn't know how to react...he just seemed to shut down but he could feel so many emotions festering.

The conman only just managed to gather the senses to go over to the others and see what played on the screen too. He watched as Dawson pulled up and played the footage he had found.
Liam watched as Delilah got stopped in the street by a couple of guys, taking her purse and going through it and pausing on her ID. Then them overpowering her, gagging her and then…they took her, disappearing out of the camera’s shot.
Processing.
Processing.
Processing.
A level of anger built up inside of Liam, his fists clenched at him and he couldn’t stop the flood of thoughts and emotions from breaking through the walls he had built up. He could’ve stopped this. If she was still with him, things could’ve been different…an now, the reality was; someone had taken her. People that could seriously hurt her…or worse. And that thought? He knew, that if something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. He’d lose someone that really mattered to him…again.
There was no denying it anymore. He hadn’t ever let anyone in. Not even his own family, not really, even though he loved his sister. But…Delilah managed to sneak her way past his defenses and become that first person. Now...something happening to her? Him losing her like he had lost his sister? For the first time since that night he found Elodie’s body, blood spilled onto her bed….he felt a wave of genuine panic.

After everyone had seen the footage, everyone went into a mode where finding her was their main priority. To the others, it was because Hunt was a friend. Someone who had covered their backs many times, he had pulled them out of sticky situations. Everyone respected Hunt. For Liam? He needed to find her. He needed to find her safe and right the wrongs he had made. Because he had been wrong about how he handled that night those weeks ago.
A couple of hours passed where they all spent time over a map. Locating where that footage was, then a radius of how far they could've got. If they carried her, they wouldn't have got far without someone having noticed. If managed to get her into a car? They could've gotten anywhere.
Monroe, Jamison and Fox left to hit the streets, their contacts and dig up more information behind why she was kidnapped and who it could've been by. As her father didn't give Hunt all the information on the matter. Liam, Hunt and Dawson stayed as Dawson searched through more footage, records and secrets the internet could hold to help enlighten the situation.
Liam sat and analysed in depth the footage they were shown. Picking up heights, builds, ethnicity, hair colour, details about the characters that had stopped her by the way the moved and dressed. There was one thing he spotted that he couldn't quite see completely, as it was blurred. A tattoo...
"Dawson, can you focus in on that man's tattoo and get me a clearer image?"
"I can try..."
And try the kid did, bringing up the image zoomed in on the screen and using soft ware to try and make it clearer. It still wasn't the clearest image ever, but it was enough to make out the symbol. The symbol that represented the Verdoux gang.
Shit.
"The Verdoux."
Despite the revealation in any other circumstance being something that would be difficult to work through, Liam knew the Verdoux. His brother had even been one of their lower status thugs. He'd dealt with them before when a con went down south once...but he ended things on relatively good terms.
Without hesitation, Liam stood "I'll sort this out." He spoke before leaving, dialling the Vixen's number as he did, having a brief conversation about fencing some of his assets and how quickly he could liquidate some before making another phone call to a contact he never thought he'd call.

It took a few hours, but he found himself outside a shabby looking building, in a black sedan meeting one of the Verdoux family face to face. This woman, despite her attractiveness and seemingly well-mannered tone, he knew was not someone to anger so he played a good enough role. They discussed things and they came to an agreement that'll mean no ill-feelings. Liam could pay some of the owed money now, and the rest within a few days, a week tops. Plus the interest and they both agreed to keep this between the family and Liam.
After, one of their thugs took him inside the building and showed him to a room. The room where he saw Delilah on a screen that a camera feed from inside a room. She was tied to a chair and quite clearly had been beaten.
He grinded his teeth and clenched his fists, but said nothing until they opened the door, a couple of the men looked as if they were going to enter the room too, maybe unbind her themselves but one look from Liam, and the look on his face was enough to stop them in their tracks. Liam went over to her, carefully unbinded her himself.
"I'm sorry this happened to you Delilah..."

[DELILAH IRIS VALENTIN]

She sat there, her head back and her eyes closed. Though she would deny it, she was scared. Being here, she had no idea what was going to happen to her. She’d take the shabby old hotel she’d been staying in over this. She'd lied those weeks ago when she told Liam she had money. She didn't- she had enough for a few nights but not a long period of time. As a result, she'd been busking on the streets and just about scraping together enough money for the room she'd gotten in the small hotel in Hackney and food. The lifestyle had made her realise just how much she needed other people  around her. She missed her parents. She missed her Uncle. Heck, she even missed Liam’s cold, emotionless face.
Her brain couldn’t help but think of what would happen if she didn’t make it out of here soon. She just hoped someone noticed she was missing. But her disappearing wasn’t exactly something she did out of blue. It wasn’t exactly that uncommon for her to just run off for a week without telling anyone. She had always been a wild spirit, someone who came and went as they pleased. She regretted that now as she realised just how stupid it was.
If she made it out of this okay she’d go straight to her Uncle and forget her pride. She’d ask to move back in with him and just forget her little crush she’d gotten on Liam. Speak of the devil and he may appear. Her eyes snapped open as she heard someone enter. Great, probably someone else to try and get information- that she didn’t have- out of her. Her eyes landed on him. Her heart skipped and she mentally scolded it. She’d forgotten his features. The strong jaw, his cerulean eyes- though in the current light they looked grey- and the slightly tousled dark hair that she’d always wanted to run her hands through. She scolded herself again. He walked toward her and at his words the small sense of happiness she felt at him being here vanished. She snapped.

“Sorry?” her teeth ground together as he unbound her. “You’re sorry are you? So, what? Now you actually care a little about me?” weeks of anger came pouring from her mouth as she spoke to him. Her voice was never raised but said with a deadly quiet “where was this side of you when you practically threw me out of your apartment? Hmm?” her voice was still cool but she could feel it beginning to rise so she stopped. Anger still ran through her and she stood as she was free from the binds. Looking into those blue eyes she’d grown to love, the anger built up until she just needed to do something about it. And that something was bringing back her fist and having it collide with his jaw.
It was strangely satisfying but the stinging she felt on her knuckles was less so. She turned on her heel then, walking straight out of the building, not even giving him a second glance. Already she was feeling a slight sense of regret toward punching him. It wasn’t because of the strange level of affection she had for him- at least she wouldn’t admit that that may be part of the reason- but because of the pain that was resonating in her knuckles. She rubbed at them softly with one hand as she practically stormed out of the building.
Okay, so she knew that she was going about this the wrong way. She should have thanked him for getting her out and saving her from probably more beating but she found she couldn’t. She glared at the men that had did this to her as she left, making mental notes of their faces so if she ever saw them again then they would pay. That was until she saw the first one to hit her. Her eyes narrowed at him and she had an urge to get back at him and with Liam behind her raising her confidence she did. She walked straight up to the guy and lifted her knee straight between his legs. Not really staying around to see him whimper and drop to the ground in pain. Somehow she knew that with Liam behind her, she'd be okay doing that. That his presence was foreboding enough for them to let it go.

When she was finally out of the building, she found it was pouring with rain. Despite the terrible weather, it actually lightened her mood slightly to be outside but she still turned to face Liam, and this time she didn’t control her voice. “Seriously, asshole, why’d you only care now? Or don’t you even care now? Do you just like to play the role of the hero? Be my knight in shining armour? Perhaps get a few brownie points off of Hunt for saving his niece? Well I don’t need help and I especially don’t need you to be the one giving it to me” she stepped out into the street then, running a hand through her almost-soaking blonde locks of hair. Realising that she couldn’t make it back to where she was staying alone, she grumbled and walked back over to him “Actually, I think you ought to give me a fucking ride” she paused as she looked at him “So, why did you come and save me then, Maddox? Which one of the previous options mentioned, hmm?”
As she looked at the man she'd grown to adore, she noticed a mark on his face and it wasn't from her. He'd been punched recently and it sparked a small amount of concern in her. Did one of those pricks that had hit her do it? Because she would actually go back in there and show them who Delilah Valentin was and what she did to people that hurt those she'd cared about. That feeling was back again. That feeling of concern and affection toward the man that she really wanted to fucking hate. She pushed those thoughts aside. She'd decide on which side she'd listen to after his answer- and that small voice in her head really hoped he'd make her feel the affection that she used to whenever she saw him. 

[LIAM JAMES MADDOX]

He said nothing in response to her questioning indoors. Her questions came across more as rhetorical ones and if they weren’t, Liam didn’t feel comfortable answering them anyway with other ears listening in.Though, when her fist connected with his jaw…that he felt a mixed response to. He was both surprised and understanding…because he wasn’t exactly the most charming man last time they spoke. Still, the punch hurt much more than it would have if it wasn’t for the fact her uncle had hit him previously.
As she stormed out, Liam followed in suit. Exiting the room just in time to see Delilah raise her knee to meet a guy’s testicles. A part of him inwardly cringed and a part of him was slightly amused, but his face remained impassive. One of the other men looked somewhat angered by the scene but after looking at Liam, he seemed to have reconsidered any move he would’ve made.

When they stepped outside, it was pouring it down though it was dry not too long before. It was ‘typical stereotypical British weather’ as he heard someone describe such a day once. Liam was waiting for it to happen, so it came to no surprise when Delilah turned on her heel to face him and let it out again.He listened to her words and wondered if he really came across that arrogant and glory-seeking? A small frown crinkled his features.
It was not only raining heavily, but it was cold too. Already, both he and Delilah were soaked through and that seemed to only encourage the biting cold. She demanded a lift from him, even though he had already planned to give her one and then she asked the question she had already asked before. Why he came to save her. Asking him which one of the options she gave was the truth. And the truth was; none of them. They were all far from it.

In his world, honesty didn’t come easy- especially not with matters of feelings and meaningful, expressive thoughts of emotions. It wasn’t something he always felt obliged to do, but when he does have his honest moments, it comes out naturally without filtering anything. And this was one of those moments.
“I came because I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.”
Because he couldn’t. He couldn’t use the word ‘lose’ because that word implied that she was his to lose to begin with, and that wasn’t the case. Liam had been okay with them not being in each others lives anymore because she was fine. But the thought of something negative happening to her? It made him feel this bizarre sick feeling.  

[DELILAH IRIS VALENTIN]

The rain seemed to somehow wash away the anger that Delilah felt. It also made present how tired she was as she wrapped her arms around her thin frame in attempt to keep herself warm. Despite the fact that she was cold and soaked through, Delilah loved this weather. It was part of the reason she’d grown to love England. It was dreary and miserable, and it suited the young woman perfectly. Her heart was flooded with a warm affection when she heard his words. He cared. Delilah tried to bite back the soft smile that was threatening to break through onto her features- there was no way she was going to let him off of the hook yet. She failed in her task as she found herself smiling at the man.
She decided to ignore his comment for a moment as she glanced at the mark on his face. Walking over, she raised a hand and softly brushed at the skin with her finger. “Seems I’m not the only one that has thrown a hit at you… Who’d you get this one from?” she asked him, genuine concern- and a little bit of threat toward the puncher- leaking into her voice. Letting her hand drop, she noticed his eyes were blue again in this light as she found herself looking into them. In an ideal world, she would have done something. This wasn’t an ideal world. Her eyes had glanced to his lips but cowardice stopped her. The woman who lived by Carpe Diem actually found herself stepping back from the man that she wanted in her life.

Taking in a breath, she finally decided to address his words. Doubt had managed to twist her thoughts in a matter of moments, like it always does, and now she wasn’t so sure that he really did care. She’d forgotten who she was talking to. This wasn’t an ordinary man- this was Liam Maddox: a conman; a person who lied to get the things that they wanted. He didn’t seem like he was lying but a mark never knows. The relationship is always based on trust and that is something that Delilah had entirely on Liam. He’d just saved her from potentially being hurt more than she already had and couldn’t not trust him after that- the fact of her having fallen for him also added to the level of trust that she felt.
“I really wanna believe you. I wanna see you as the good guy again, but I find myself doubtin’ you now, Maddox. I can’t help but see myself as a possible mark- someone that you’re just using to get where you want. You threw me outta the apartment and I had to fend for myself. Somethin’ I’ve never done in my life. After that night, I learnt to build up walls of my own- walls against you- because never again do I wanna feel that sense of hurt again. And now you save me from this place and I can’t help but see you as the hero, and I know it’ll kill me if I find out that you’re lyin’ to me” she stopped, the actual God-honest truth that spilled from her lips surprised her. This wasn’t something that she’d ever thought that she would confess.
She sighed, finding herself once more absent-mindedly stepping across the pavement and trying not to step on the cracks in the cement. It was harder out here- the slabs themselves often had cracks running through them. About to step onto the next slab she noticed it was occupied and she looked up to find she’d gotten close to Liam. She couldn’t help but think it ironic, but now she knew she had to talk or she feared she’d look a fool. “I guess what I’m tryin’ to say to you is show me you care. Prove to me I’m not just another person you’re usin’ to get what you want. Somethin’ inside me knows that you’re bein’ truthful, but I have that nigglin’ thought that’s tellin’ me I’m just bein’ hopeful. My.. affections for you cloudin’ my judgement” she looked into those blue eyes and seriously hoped that she could trust him again.

[LIAM JAMES MADDOX]

It was peculiar.
How he felt an urge to wrap his arms around her as he stood there, watching her wrap her own arms around herself in an attempt to retain her body heat. The way her body shivered slightly from the cold, made him feel a level of concern.
Liam looked at her carefully, seeing the small flicker of hope in her eyes after she heard his response; it was something that made him feel some kind of internal warmth he had never experienced before. Then, a bright smile lit her features. A beautiful smile. It was a smile that he believed could lift anyone’s spirits, one that made you feel believed in, or at least give you hope that you could be believed it.

The conman watched as Delilah walked up to him, raising a hand to his face and softly brushed a finger over the area of skin he was sure was going to bruise, if it hadn’t started to already. Again, the feelings he felt when she touched him were not something he could explain. He was glad she was safe. Yes, he was. Liam was now sure more than ever before that he probably would’ve given all he had to ensure she was safe. He didn’t know why. He valued all the things he had thieved and taken for his own in the past, but every piece he kept for himself had it’s own beauty he couldn’t part with. But he could’ve for Delilah. He would’ve even parted with his Van Gough. And he really, honestly couldn’t explain why he felt such strong feelings towards her.
Somehow, before his brain could intervene, his hand raised to meet hers. At first, his own simply covered hers before his thumb softly stroked the side of her hand and then he took her hand in his own. That was before, sense kicked in and he found himself letting go, and moving slightly away.
“You’ve got you’re uncle to thank for that mark.” He answered. Her concern for him only made the emotions that were foreign to him even more haywire. Delilah stepped away from him also, which made him consider her actions to be one of a kind heart. He also considered the idea that perhaps she wouldn’t really ever forgive him for hurting her the way he had…and he understood that. If he were to be honest, and by honest, genuinely honest for once in his life…she deserved far better people in her life than him anyway. Better than the man ‘without a heart’.

Liam saw the change in her with his very own eyes, he saw a flicker of something. Doubt. From hope, to doubt and that was something that made him feel almost…anxious. For some had a dreaded feeling that disappointment would follow, perhaps because he’d seen it in people’s eyes before. Not that he’d care about others showing disappointment with him, but with Delilah he was sure it’d be enough to bring him down. Though, as always none of his emotions would ever show.
He listened to her words and he understood her. He actually understood someone. He actually empathized. Because he could see it from her point of view…Liam wasn’t an honest man. Like his brother had said, he was a cold, selfish bastard that had been icy and thoughtless towards her on more than one occasion. He understood that she had built up her defenses against him, it was a wise thing to do….
Her last few words were what threw his thoughts on the matter completely off kilter. A hero? He was hardly a man that deserved such a title. He wouldn’t have saved anyone else, not for the cost it cost him to save Delilah. So he wasn’t a hero, he was just a selfish man who saved a woman he cared about because he knew he could never live with himself if something had happened to her.

As she danced across the pavement, avoiding the cracks in the ground as she usually did, coming closer to him without realizing it, he found himself struggling to find any words to comfort her thoughts.
Liam looked down at her, into those forget-me-not blue eyes as she spoke to him. Asking him to do something he didn’t know how to do. Liam Maddox knew how to do many things, but this was one of the few things he knew nothing about. And a response that his conman side could give, laced with false charm wasn’t good enough.
“I don’t know how to show you that I care…it’s neither something I know about nor is it something that comes natural to me.” Delilah needed honesty from him, but his honest answer was that he couldn’t give…he couldn’t show her what she wanted.

[DELILAH IRIS VALENTIN]

Her heart leapt in her chest as she felt his hand come into contact with her own. It was something so peculiar, not the action itself but the fact it came from the man in front of her; every single fibre of her being focused on the touch of his hand on hers. As his thumb ran across her hand she could almost feel the friction created between their skin. As he took his hand in hers she wanted nothing more than to reach up and kiss him. To bring her other hand around to run through his hair. To show him what it was like for someone to truly care for you.
But as his hand dropped so did her thoughts. The wind suddenly felt colder on her skin when she no longer felt his touch. Her heart once more sank to its original place. His words managed to create a distraction from her thoughts that were focused purely on his touch that still lingered on her skin. Her Uncle? A small frown became present on her features. “I don’t think I will be thanking him when I see him next” she spoke, not impressed by her Uncle’s actions for a moment. She knew in her heart why he had done it. She knew that he would have known she had been hurt- but it did not give him the right to get involved in a situation she was perfectly capable of handling. Part of her mind was already beginning to work at its speech that she would give him when she saw him again.

The cold had managed to work its way deeper into her body. She found herself missing her leather jacket that hung over the chair in the hotel room where she had been staying. Brought back when her parents had money, the Italian leather jacket had cost over a-thousand dollars. It had then become her second skin- a skin that today, she was without; and how she regretted it.

The words that came from the man’s mouth somehow managed to rid the doubt in her brain. It was an answer that would not come from a conman. In a way, Delilah knew that if he had acted on her words in whatever way then she would only doubt him more. She had seen him every day, acting the normal emotionless man and somehow fallen for that. To see him as anyone different would be to see someone who was a lie. Despite how convincing a role he might have played, Delilah knew that those were characters he could play and would had he been trying to con her.
In short- Delilah was impressed with his answer. It had been spoken with the truth as hers were to him. Now the truth was a rarity from a conman, that she knew, and as a result she respected him for giving her it. A respect that had been lost managed to be found.
As a shiver ran down her spine she found her memories to be back on her leather jacket. Memories that soon shifted to the friend that had given her the item back when all of her friends had pooled together their money to buy her the items she treasured the most. A promise had been made on her final night in New York City- although that promise was more of a bet seeing as there was a forfeit. “What are the odds of you actually stopping ruining every relationship you have and falling in love with a guy that you really fucking love?” The words echoed in her brain. She had tried to give the maximum odds and yet fate had still made them choose the same number. Love was not a word she used, but she knew she cared for Liam. She trusted him- and that was pretty close to love in their world. Trust was worth everything.
It took a minute for her to process what she wanted to say. Most of the time, the young woman found words to just pour out of her mouth and she let them go- but this time needed to be different. She didn’t want her words to be a mess but careful and clear because for once her mind had clarity and so she wanted to reflect that when she told him exactly how she felt.

Taking a breath to calm her nerves, she opened her mouth and began to speak. “You showed me how by giving me the truth, Liam. I should have understood who you were and not expected something as high from you as I realise now that I would have doubted that more” somehow, she had even lost some of her more common traits that came from her New York accent as she tried to explain her feelings. “A couple of years ago I made a promise to a friend that I would actually take a leap of faith when it came to someone that I cared about. I would stop sabotaging anything that would make me too vulnerable to them. Growing up with parents as con artists doesn’t really teach you trust...” she trailed as she realised her thoughts were becoming once more jumbled in her head. She attempted to organize them once more. “I guess what I’m doing a terrible job in saying is that I care about you and that I want to take a leap of faith. You’re an extraordinary man and I’m happier when I’m around you. When I see you smile it warms my heart and that one time I heard you laugh… it was the most beautiful sound I had heard come from your lips. I trust you in every way, Liam, and I have no idea how it happened, and frankly I don’t care, because I have found that I want to be with you”.

So many thoughts raced through her mind as soon as she had said those final words. Emotions flooded every inch of her body, however she found that regret was not present anywhere. Even if the man in front of her walked away, she would stay happy knowing that he knew that someone out there cared about him. That someone would do the same for him as he had done for her because she would. She would do anything to find him had he gone missing- even if it had meant selling her soul.

[LIAM JAMES MADDOX]

Her acceptance of his answer came almost as a surprise. He was expecting her to want more from him and the fact that she seemed to know him so well certainly came as a surprise.
As she continued to speak, more clear and concise, explaining a promise she had made to a friend of hers. He did wonder where she was going with what she was saying and it’s relevance. Though, the part she spoke about her parents he completely understood. When you were in the world they were in, you were a fool to wholly trust anyone. When push comes to shove, everyone knew that it was every man for themselves in this world. It was possibly one of the reasons why he flourished, because he didn’t trust and he had no hesitation to leave someone lying in the dust, or to turn on them and save his own back. There was no honor among thieves.
Liam continued to listen as she tried to better explain what she was trying to say. If her answer before had taken him off guard, her words now were like a mental slap to the cheek. But in a good way. They took him off guard, but woke him up to what she had been trying to say. How she saw him was not how he saw himself, and he doubted anyone else saw him that way but it was something that was enough to make ice melt. Enough to break through all the walls he built over the years, enough to reach that usually absent heart of his. She wanted to be with him, and although a part of him felt repelled and insisted he should reject such feelings that he felt and that he was being shown.
He hadn’t minded solitude. All these years he had grown accustomed to it, familiar with it. He used to welcome it. But since Delilah waltzed into his life, and changed it. Since she left, some small part of him hated the crippling loneliness…no longer having a light in the dark to hold onto. He couldn’t reject her words because that part of him needed her in his life, needed her to ground him, keep him sane…

Liam felt an urge again, one that was harder to resist, one that he found himself not wanting to resist. For once in his life, he dropped everything. Logic, sense, self-control. For once, he acted as a normal man might. On an impulse. A need to do something, over anything else.
As the rain continued to relentlessly pelt down, they both stood there dripping wet from the rainfall, Delilah shivering from the cold. He raised his hand to cup her chin, his thumb stroking the side of her cheek as he raised her face to his, leaned down and kissed her lips.

[DELILAH IRIS VALENTIN]

Her eyes found his in an instant as she felt her touch once more on her skin. She leant into his hand slightly; her heart began to race as his thumb brushed across her cheek. As he raised her face to his, she realised what was coming. Nothing could have prepared her for the bombardment of thoughts that had followed in those brief moments: shock, surprise- a small sense of vanity- all soon gave way to happiness and joy. Though even then, slight fear... No, a part of her felt anxious; her feelings were not strong enough to be classed as fear.
This was something that she had found she had wanted for a while. Ever since she first met Liam when her Uncle had asked him to take her in, she had found him handsome. The young woman was now almost ashamed of her thoughts that when Hunt had first told the girl she would be staying with a friend of his she had seen a common, fourty-year-old, slightly balding man in her mind. On the day she set eyes on Liam an attraction was formed. It had been a feeling that had morphed into various states over the course of her staying at the apartment. Although she had found him attractive, when she had first seen his cold nature she had lost it. As time went on, however, she grew to care for the man whose heart was ice. It all led her here, to an event she never thought would happen but oh how she had wished it would many times.
It may have not been the circumstances she had thought of but this was perhaps better. Though, Delilah would have taken the sun over the pouring rain any day. Although she adored the miserable weather, being caught out it in with no jacket wasn’t her idea of fun.

Everything stopped when his lips touched her own. All of her thoughts left her head as she began to softly return the kiss. Emotion came back as she found herself smiling. Her heart flooded with what seemed to be something almost-euphoric.
In a moment she had brought up an arm to wrap around his neck, drawing her body closer to his. She could feel the warmth radiating from him as the rain pelted down. Her hand went through his dark locks of hair, just as she had always wanted it to. This was a feeling so perfect to her that she never wanted it to end. Today had been a roller-coaster of emotions for the young woman, but as she stood in the pouring rain and kissing the man that had rescued her from being hurt more her life almost seemed to fit that of a fairy tale.
Although she found herself wanting to deepen the kiss- wanting so much to wrap her arms around him as she showed him what it was like to have someone really care about you, she broke it off. The smile was still on her features as she looked once more into his eyes that all-of-a-sudden she adored even more than she had. The kiss had made her see a side to him that she hadn’t known existed; a side that she knew she had managed to bring out of him. Already this side was her favourite. Even her perception of him had shifted slightly after the kiss. As before, she had hated him for his actions those weeks ago but finally something clicked in Delilah’s mind. It was obvious he had felt for her, the man with a stone-cold heart had felt something toward his friend’s niece.
The feelings must have been alien to him. That she realised. Although she did not truly forgive his actions she understood them. It was something she promised herself she would never tell him. Delilah was still Delilah after all: a con-woman since birth. She would make sure to abuse anything like that in order to get what she wanted.

She then placed her hand on Liam’s cheek, running her thumb along his cheekbone. She was still close to him and liked that- her body had even stopped shaking due to his warmth against her. Opening her mouth to speak, no words left her lips. She found that for once she had nothing to say. Laughter began to bubble up from somewhere inside of her. This brilliant man had kissed her and she found that she was so overcome with emotions that she was speechless.
The laughter broke through. She kissed him once more, a soft touch of her lips against his in order to quell the giggles that had managed to escape. She hoped he understood that she was not laughing at him but the absurdity of the situation they were in. Just in case, she decided to speak and tell him. “I feel as if I’m in some clichéd film. I was captured by a band of ruffians and then rescued by my handsome knight- and it is pouring with rain whilst we kiss might I add. When I first came to London I never in a moment thought my life would turn into a Disney movie. Though the fact that the knight is a ruffian too makes it much more fun” she laughed. Resting her forehead against his, she still couldn’t dispel the grin from her features- not until a shiver once more ran through her the wind decided to embrace her also.
“Okay… as much as I adore being like this with you can we please get in your car before my teeth start chattering or I much more likely freeze to death?” she pulled back then and went to step away though not before she’d let her hands fall to his shoulders and let her lips touch the mark that her Uncle had left on his skin in the briefest of kisses. Her thoughts were now not only on him but the apartment. She really wanted to be there- watching the rain from the warmth of the place outside a window. To her, that apartment was home.

Though, she soon realised that any place with Liam would be a place that she considered home. She felt safe around him and trusted that as long as he was around that she would be okay and never be in trouble again.