"Shorter sit still." The boy winced at the sharp point of a surgical needle poking into the thin skin on his forehead. "I'm almost done." Lux took a piece of gauze and held it up to the bleeding stitches. She sat back to observe the amateur work she had done. The cut was closed up and the small glass fragments were all removed and now sitting on a paper towel. Lux had taken another square of gauze and taped it to the cut. "Does it feel okay?"

Shorter looked into the camera of his phone to inspect. "Yeah. Feels fine looks good." He smiled, "Thanks babe." He held Lux's hand and gave it a kiss. Kairi looked on from the couch and rolled her eyes.

Kairi watched Lux clean up the components of her first aid kit and take the small box back into the bathroom. She raised a brow at how Lux didn't question where Shorter's injury came from. That's when she realized that they saw had a don't tell if not asked agreement going on. "So what happened?"

Shorter looked over towards the room and back at Kairi. "Nothing." He shook his head.

"You can tell me."

"I can't." He whispered.

"You told me everything when we were together." When Lux entered back into the room ,the two looked away from each other as if they were keeping a secret. Lux squinted at them and swallowed a brewing argument.

Lux was trying her best to make this new living situation work. Regardless if she had to give up their bed and opt for the pull out couch, deal with Kairi using up her soap when she showered, wearing her clothes, and complaining about her cooking. Not to mention her having chills and anxiety almost every night and "needing" Shorter to "comfort" her.

Shorter tried ending the arguments before they got out of hand but each girl felt like he was picking sides which led to more shouting matches. "Lux, could you help wrap my hands? I have a fight tonight."

"Okay. Where are they?"

"Hanging in the closet." Lux had already grown used to wrapping Shorter's hands for his boxing fights. She remembered the first time she had seen him fight. It was the same night as her first fight. He looked so strong and proved his strength against everyone, showing exactly why he was referred to as their Boss.

"Need help wrapping up now?"

"I like how she does it." Once Lux found out that boxing with the guys was a regular thing for Shorter in order for them to release stress and stay in shape, she looked up how he could protect his hands better since they were always so beaten up afterwards. She'd pour alcohol or peroxide on him to kill any bacteria and make him use creams on his hands before bed so he wouldn't scar up. Not that he cared since he thought scarring made him look tough, but it was a sweet gesture from her.

When Lux wrapped up his wrists and hands she'd tuck in balls of cotton between each knuckle and wrap so it'd absorb sweat better and prevent the rough fabric from irritating him and doing further damage to his skin. Shorter thought it was cute that she took the time to look something like that up for him to feel as comfortable as possible.

"Still good at fighting?" Kairi asked, reminiscing about how much she used to love watching him box with the guys. Placing bets was always fun and she used to make fun of anyone for betting against Shorter.

"Watch and find out."

"Only if you tell me what went down earlier."

Shorter frowned. He leaned forward from his chair to make sure Lux wasn't within listening distance before he whispered, "New shop owners hadn't paid the protection fee. They'd been warned twice already and well, my boss wanted us to take care of it."

"Lee's still kicking?"

"Unfortunately." He sighed, thinking about the powerful family that his gang worked under. "Wasn't supposed to go down the way it did. I was there to intimidate him into paying and the old timer smashed a glass bottle over my face." Shorter could hear the blow dryer being used in the restroom. His wraps must have still been wet from when he last soaked them. "He had a gun behind the register and started shooting."

"Jesus..."

"Yeah." Shorter sighed, "Hook tried restraining him but the guy tripped up and cracked his head on the counter." He explained. "It was an accident." Kairi picked up on the guilt in his voice. Things were never supposed to go that far. "I try not to let Lux know about things like this. It's too much for her."

"She doesn't know that the mafia kills people?"

"She knows I have. It's just that- ugh it's better for us both if she doesn't know when it happens. For all she knows, all the times I've come home bloody it's just been from gang fights or something like that."

"Doesn't sound like an honest and healthy relationship to me." She judged.

Shorter couldn't help that her comment got under his skin. "Yeah well what do you know about honest and healthy relationships?" He shot back.

When Lux entered the room she immediately felt tension between the two. She awkwardly sat beside Shorter at the table and started wrapping up his hands.

Kairi shot the couple a glare and huffed as she pushed herself up from the couch. "Y'know what. I'm going out." Lux turned and watched Kairi pick up her small tote from the corner and hurl it over her shoulder. The girls then did a quick glance over at Shorter who ignored the announcement and stared down at his partially wrapped hand. Kairi scoffed and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door in the process.

"Not gonna go after her?" Lux asked, surprised at his lack of concern.

"No. She'll be fine." Lux finished wrapping Shorter's hands and he smiled up at her. "Thank you." He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss onto her lips. "I love you. Y'know that."

Lux smiled back and felt her cheeks heat up. "I love you too. And be careful. Try not to get your stitches opened up."

"It'll just be a couple rounds. Don't worry."

"Saying don't worry doesn't magically make me not worry."

Shorter chuckled, "I'll be fine." He brought Lux closer by placing a hand on the back of her head and kissed her temple.

Lux leaned in closer and smiled against his smirk, "You know we do have the place to our selves."

"I like the way you think." Shorter stood up fast, almost knocking over the chair behind him. He threw a giggling Lux over his shoulder and carried her off to the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind them for much needed alone time.
____________________
Kairi breathed into her grey scarf as the winter winds blew hard towards her. Off in the distance were police cars at one of the local shops. Kairi turned around to avoid any contact with the cops but that didn't go as planned.

"Knew I've seen you around." A gruff voice announced.

Kairi looked up and pulled the scarf over her nose, "Sergeant Voight. Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" The girl looked away and refused to answer. Kairi was a dime a dozen in the underworld and Voight had seen her kind countless times. He gave a deep, disappointed sigh. "We went through all of that trouble to get you out of Chinatown and you come back?"

She shrugged, "I need Shorter more than I thought I did."

Voight rubbed his forehead, "Does he need you?"

Kairi stayed quiet for a moment. She was already replaced but that didn't mean that Lux filled the void that she left behind in Shorter's heart when she ran away. "We have a complicated relationship. You know that."

"Seems to me like that boy is infamous for complicated relationships."

"You've met his girlfriend already?"

"Few times."

"What did you think of her?"

"I thought she was a kind, smart girl. Told her the same thing I told you all those years ago. Guys like Shorter Wong, they only care about themselves at the end of the day."

"You're wrong. Shorter's different."

"All you girls think these gang members are different when they show you an ounce of kindness. They make you feel special. But the amount of bodies of young ladies I had to see get stretchered away to a coroner tells me a different story and it's not a pretty one." He explained, "I thought I helped save you from this, Kairi and here you are throwing yourself back into the deep end."

"I don't need you to stop me from drowning. I know how to swim in these waters on my own." She protested.

"Mhm." Voight hummed, "Reminds me of when you told me those same words when you were fifteen right before begging me to help get you some place safe."

"I was a stupid kid. I'm twenty years old now. I've learned a lot since then. I-I know my way around. I- I know the consequences of my actions." Kairi stammered while trying to plead her case of newfound maturity. "I feel as safe as ever with Shorter and I won't screw things up this time."

"Kairi." Voight's jaw slanted trying his best not to grimace at the ridiculousness of that statement. "Shorter's moved on. Stop trying to relive the past and fix those mistakes. It's done. It's over. Worry about you." He prodded her chest, "Go back to Chicago and steer clear from this life. Help yourself before you -"

"Wind up dead? Yeah I got it, Serg." She rolled her eyes. Voight hadn't changed one bit. Always talking down to her like he was her father, acting like he knew everything.

"Since you're here," Voight looked over his shoulder at the team of officers still scouring the crime scene. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this? Would you?" Even if Kairi did know she would never rat on the gang. Voight knew this but asked anyways.

Kairi shook her head, "Nope."

"Mhm." Voight always knew when someone was lying straight to his face. It irritated him especially when the girl was covering for a bunch of good for nothings. "That's alright. We have an eye witness that caught a glimpse of one of the guys." The detail he dropped wasn't revealed by mistake. "He's at the station now with a sketch artist."

Kairi's eyes widened in a panic.

Voight leaned his head down and asked in a low voice, "Now do you know who was there?"

"I gotta go."

Before Kairi could walk away Voight caught her by the arm and squeezed, "You stay out of it, y'here me?"

Kairi yanked out of the man's grasp and hurried back home. When she arrived she noticed that Shorter and Lux were both gone and the bedroom door was closed. Before attemtping to enter, she could hear faint moans and creaking of the mattress. Kairi's chest burned and swelled up in anger. Tears began to form and her lip quivered. She stepped away and hurried out into the hall where she decided to take Voight's advice and stay out of it. This information about an eyewitness was going to be kept to herself.
_____________________________

Hook stood under the hot stream in the shower, the droplets rolled down his back and off his fingertips where a shade of pink pooled at his feet. His skin turned red from the scolding water. He scrubbed the blood of the man off of himself and watched it wash away down the drain.

The incident replayed on loop in Hook's head, making him wonder what he could have done to prevent things from going so wrong. Any one of the guys could have been killed if he hadn't had tried to fight off the man. So why did he feel so guilty?

A knocking at the door pulled the boy out of his traumatizing thoughts. He grabbed a white towel that was draped over the shower rod and wrapped it tightly around his waist before answering the door. "Yeah?"

Viper entered the room without waiting for an invite. "Took all that was in the register. Was more than we needed." He held a couple of folded up twenties between the fingers that usually had a cigarette attached to them, and handed it for Hook to take. The boy just stared down at the money. "Cash is no good to a dead man." Viper said, motioning again for Hook to take it. "Here."

"You keep it. Or give it to your ex. I don't know." He shook his head, walking off to his room. "I don't want it."

Viper squinted, putting the money in the back pocket of his jeans. "Fine." He shrugged uncaringly and didn't think to bother asking why Hook had trouble accepting the money.

Hook stepped back out of the room with his usual black hoodie and baggy pants on. Viper was already beginning to leave and stopped when Hook had opened his mouth only to fall silent.

"What?" Viper asked annoyed.

"You're not gonna ask why-"

"Hook." He cut him off, "I know you want someone to relate to you about what happened today, but I'm not the one. I don't care. Shit happens. Get over it."

"I screwed up! Again! You took me under and I keep letting you down. It was supposed to be a simple tax collection but I-I..." Hook couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't want to acknowledge it.

"You killed a guy. Not the first and won't be the last. We got what we went there for, so what's the problem?" Viper stood against the door. His mind wandered elsewhere and gave zero thought towards why this was so obviously bothersome to Hook. Viper always saw through the act Hook would put on about being cold at heart, but now it was like he wasn't even trying to fake it anymore.

"He was innocent."

"If he was innocent then we wouldn't have had to show up three times for our money."

"You know what I mean."

"You're acting like a chick." Viper insulted, "I suggest you knock it off. I don't care enough to ask about your feelings. I'm not your fucking therapist or dad. Get your shit together and quit your moping."

Hook stiffened his lips and blinked the stinging out of his eyes. "You're mean."

The childish rebuttal caught Viper off guard, causing his eyes to grow in shock and confusion. The words then made him chuckle. "Not what I thought you were gonna say, Hook."

"Would it kill you to care once in a while?"

Viper put on a wide, cheery smile like switching out of a mask. "It's not in my nature." The smile and perked up eyebrows flattened back to their neutral state, using as little facial muscles as possible. "Keep your head up. Nobody blames you for what went down so stop sulking." He opened the door to leave and looked back, "And don't forget to wrap up. You got a fight tonight."

"You bet on me?" The corner of Hook's lips almost turned up into a smile.

"I bet that you'd beat Sunshine and that Shorter would kick your ass in under 3 minutes." He said, "Don't let me down." Viper waved off before shutting the door behind him.

"Gee thanks!"
________________________

Viper and Smiley made their rounds collecting bets from everyone who was putting in on the fights. It was quick cash for some people and big losses for others. Occasionally, Viper would intimidate some of the guys to where he convinced them to throw the fight in order to secure his betting victories. It wasn't uncommon between guys to do that but once Shorter stepped in, all rigging was off the table.

Lux sat on one of the wooden benches that was occupied by some of the guys that she had seen around the apartment. They never really spoke to her accept a simple "hey" here and there or a nod of acknowledgment, she figured that was better than them making it obvious that they hated her.

Lux blinked out of her thoughts when an opened beer bottle was held up to her face, "Drink?" One of the guys offered.

"No thank you." The boy shrugged and drank it for himself.

"Bet on your mans?" Another asked. She stared between the two boys noticing their matching faces and almost identical outfits. They both wore dark, baggy jeans with black Timbs on their feet and one had on a DMX t shirt while the other had on a Slayer one. Although their facial features were practically the same, Lux could tell them apart by how one had a shaved slit through his right eyebrow while the other had the left one done, plus one had diamond studs in his ears and the other had in gauges.

"No. I just watch to cheer him on. Betting isn't really my thing." She explained, adding to the small talk.

"Ah, looking to get in on the action yourself?" The one in the DMX shirt asked.

"Me?" Lux chuckled, "No way I'm not much of a fighter."

"No?" The other brother raised a brow, "Kairi's face says different."

"Oh shit and remember Tori's face from a few months ago?" The twin brothers laughed referring to when Lux tackled the girl after she had flirted with Shorter. "Oh by the way," The brother with the rapper on his shirt held out his hand for Lux to shake, "I'm Khing. This is my brother Khan." Khan held up a hand then chugged the rest of the beer he had offered Lux.

"Lux." She formally introduced herself, shaking their hands. "You guys get in on the fights too?"

"Ehhhh sometimes. But we're not crazy enough to take on Shorter." Khing said, "Did that once and never again." He scooted close to Lux having no regard for her personal space and pointed to an old wound under his right eye, "See, I still have the scar from where he busted my face open."

"One punch was all it took to knock his ass out." Khan laughed.

"Yeah, well let's see you face him."

"Nah I'm good." He held his hands up in surrender, "Hook's the only one who's been able to walk off on his own after losing to Shorter. Guys made out of something different."

Lux nodded in agreement, unsure of what else to add to the conversation. Luckily she didn't have to since Shorter and Hook took their spots in the middle of the crowd that circled around them.

Viper and Smiley made one last round and held up two rusted buckets full of 10s and 20s at the twins and Lux. He held a cigarette in the opposite hand and blew the smoke out of the side of his mouth, "Mandatory lady and gentlemen. Money in if you think Hook lasts less than three minutes."

"Or money in mine if you think he lasts more."

The twins both pulled out $50 each and placed it in opposite buckets. Viper and Smiley then held the buckets for Lux to place her bet in but she just looked at them through squinted eyes and shook her head. "Alright then, no bet for the lady." Smiley rocked on his heels.

"That's fine." Viper waved off, "She's gonna have her hands full with having to patch up some of these idiots later." Whenever these fights happened the guys would either patch themselves up or have their girl-friends do it for them. If the cut was deep they'd ask Shorter if it was okay for Lux to stitch them up instead. She'd always agree. She felt like in a way it was her contribution to the gang.

Kairi stood in the middle of Hook and Shorter, introducing them both in classic fashion by announcing their hight and weight. Lux rolled her eyes. That part must have been her thing back then, she thought. Kairi was feeling right at home again. "Kick his ass." She whispered to Hook who looked at her confused. If anything he thought she would have been rooting for Shorter instead.

The two shirtless boys locked up, trying to over power the other to see who would get thrown to the ground first. Hook was going down and felt his legs getting weak underneath him. He grabbed a fist full of dirt and swung it into Shorter's eyes, blinding him for long enough to tackle the Boss to the dirt.

Lux stood up from the bench to get a better look. Khing and Khan both left her side to join the crowd who had all placed their bets. Smiley and Viper stood off to the side of the circle pit and watched the time go up as it hit the two minute mark.

"Shit." Viper cursed.

"Hook's gotta last one more minute and I'm walking away a rich man." Smiley gloated and rubbed his hands together in excitement.

Shorter then managed to trip Hook up and throw a punch that landed right under his eye. The boy wobbled on his feet as the ringing in his ears got louder and his vision went double.

Viper was hoping that Hook would fall, being only 15 seconds away from the three minute mark. "Hit him again!" He shouted.

"Get your hands up!" Smiley screamed back.

The boys looked down at the phone watching the timer.

2:50

2:51

2:52

2:53

"Break it up! Parties over!" Police then began to fill up the lot and pointed their guns at everyone as a warning to stay back. "Hands up!"

Lux then felt a gloved hand wrap around her wrist and pull her away from the crowd and hide her back inside. "Shh." Sing held a finger to his lips.

"Whats happening?" She asked in a panic, "Why are the cops here?"

"I don't know but go hide in your room in case anything goes down."

"But Shorter-" Lux tried going past him to grab Shorter to go with her.

"He'll be fine!" Sing shouted in a whisper, "Just keep yourself safe and lock the door."

Lux felt her body begin to tremble and want to disobey Sing's commands but ultimately gave in. "Aren't you coming?" She asked after turning to see Sing about to go back outside.

"Go." He said before leaving her in the empty building.

All attention was on Sergeant Voight, Detective Wydell and Sheriff Sheng who made their way over to Shortet and Hook. "Well well well." Sheng began. "We meet again." He stood toe to toe with Shorter, trying to intimidate him by holding the handle of the gun that was strapped at his waist side.

"You can't just barge in here. It's private property." Shorter said, Viper then walked up standing by his side.

"Actually we can." Wydell held up a folded blue form and pushed it into Shorter's chest and walked behind him as he pulled out his hand cuffs. "Tyler Okumura." He announced, and forcefully turned Hook around to where his back was facing him. "You're under arrest for robbery and murder in the second degree."

"Wait what?" Hook looked up in worry at Shorter.

"Don't say anything." Shorter ordered. He turned to Viper and spoke in a hushed voice. "Call Mr.Lee now."

Viper nodded, "I'm on it." he said rushing into the house to call the man who foresaw over Chinatown and the Chinese mafia.

Wydell shoved Hook to walk forward and stopped in front of Shorter. Hook gave him a worried, frightened stare. His eyes glazed over and skin had gone pale. "Shorter..." Hook's voice trembled.

"Don't worry. We're going to fix this." He pulled Hook in by the back of the neck for a tight hug and whispered in his ear, "Be strong."

Hook looked up and gave a slow nod before being shoved towards one of the many police cars out in the street. Sheng looked around at all of the boys and gave a proud smirk. He had been waiting for them to finally screw up, the pawns had been moved in his favor and now he had his eyes set on the King. "You boys have a good night." Sheng tipped his brown hat and bumped past Shorter as the rest of the police squad followed behind.

Shorter scowled when he caught sight of Voight who had also been wearing that exact same look the moment they arrived on the property. "Bridge." Voight said angrily, "One hour."
___________________________

"What the hell were you boys thinking?" Voight scolded loudly, "I thought your crew would have gone into hiding until I gathered more intel."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. You could have given us a warning that we were going to get raided. Now one of my guys is in cuffs thanks to you!" Shorter yelled. "I thought we had a partnership."

"Earlier today I saw Kairi. She had walked up on the crime scene and I mentioned an eyewitness being at the station." He explained, "She was supposed to pass on that info and let you and your guys handle it."

Shorter squinted. That didn't make sense. There was no way Kairi would withhold something like that, especially if it meant one of the guys going to jail.

"Either way, Sheng has been anticipating a screw up. He's going to make an example out of your friend. Max years." The phone in Voight's pocket began to vibrate. He looked down at the text and cursed. "They're booking him."

"What?" Voight held out the phone for Shorter to read. "He got Id'd in a line up?"

"Seems like the eye witness got a clear view of his face. Didn't even take a minute to point him out." Voight pinched the bridge of his nose but it didn't relieve his headache. "I suggest a good lawyer. He's gonna need it."

"Mr.Lee funds our lawyers whenever we might need one. He'll be fine."

"Lux's parents." Voight said.

"Yeah. They're pricey and it'll cost us labor but, Hook can't do time. Sheng wants me to rot behind bars for putting those bullets in his chest, so now he's gonna go after my guys to hurt me, but it's not gonna work." Shorter assured, "What do you know about the eyewitness?"

"Nothing. Sheng's keeping this case wrapped air tight." Voight looked down at his phone again feeling the buzz of another text. "This eyewitness is going into protective custody until they're able to testify."

"Well then we need to find them before that happens."

"Y'mean you need to find them before it happens. I can't help you with this." As much as he wanted to, Voight couldn't lose himself. At the end of the day he was still a cop and the deal was that he'd look the other way unless an innocent got hurt. Shorter broke that deal, and now he had to do his job as a result.

"Fine." Shorter answered in frustration. "Anything else I gotta know?"

"Kairi." Voight said, "She kept this from you, Shorter. You need to be mindful of what she sees and hears about this whole thing."

"I trust her. She's never lied to me. Not once. She probably got mixed up with what you said."

"Kairi was acting paranoid because she owed a lot of money to bad people. Then, she disappeared in the middle of the night while you slept." Voight reminded.

Nobody knew that besides himself and some of the guys, so how did Voight have this information, Shorter questioned to himself. Still, he looked on confused. "Who told you that?"

"Nobody." Voight answered, "Her addiction was getting out of hand. I found her passed out in an alleyway one night and she cried about how she wanted to get better." He explained apologetically, "I told her I'd help. That whole thing about owing money was bullshit. She needed a story that you'd accept so you didn't go out looking for her." Voight watched as Shorter's tan skin turned pale and his mouth slightly parted as he tried to find the words to describe his betrayal. "I'm sorry, son."

Shorter flicked his eyes up at Voight as a tear slipped down his face. "You took her from me..."

"No. She needed to leave. She wanted the pain to stop."

"I was there for her..." Shorter's voice cracked, "She needed me through out all of the withdrawals and everything. I took care of her. She always wanted me by her side and you took her." He couldn't help but blame the cop. He had to be lying. Kairi was the love of his life and he was the love of hers. She'd never deceive him like that. He wouldn't believe it.

"You were just a kid. Kairi needed professional help that you weren't capable of providing. I helped her get into a rehabilitation center in Chicago. I kept tabs and she's been clean since moving up there."

"You're lying." Shorter's shook his head, blinking away his tears. "She came back cuz she needed me. She said so herself."

"Needed you for what?"

"She showed up one day and needed me to help her like old times. I've been doing all I could to make sure she wouldn't use again." He recalled the past few days when Kairi would wake him up out of bed, more so the pullout couch that he shared with Lux, asking if he could talk her down from the overwhelming anxiety and to hold her to warm the chills. Was it all an act?

"That doesn't make sense. I checked in every now and then with her doctors to make sure she was on the right track. Last I heard she had been clean for about four years already." Voight was rough around the edges himself and felt like he understood the troubled girls that got wrapped up in this life. He had a responsibility to help in whatever way he could to ensure that they didn't wind up on a cold, metal slab with a coroner. Kairi was no different. There was a sense of pride in his chest knowing that he was able to help in some way. Now it all seemed to be going to shit.

A knot formed in Shorter's chest and his head fell dizzy. All these years, so many of which he spent mourning her existence and love, it was all built on top of a lie. A lie that caused him so much pain. He questioned why she couldn't have been honest. He did everything he could to keep her safe and clean and if she needed more he would have done more. Maybe just like with Lux, he wasn't what they needed. All this time he had been useless. "I need to go." The words fell soft out of the boys mouth. His feet carried him over to his motorcycle but he had no memory of getting on or even making it back home. His mind was clouded with mistakes of the past and questioning why he was put in these girls lives when all he ever did was fuck them up and do nothing to make it right.

"Shorter!" Lux clung onto him and noticed that he was trembling. "Are you okay? What's going on? Why did they arrest Hook?"

"Where's Kairi?" he asked, disregarding his girlfriends questions.

Lux loosened her arms around him and let them fall heavy at her sides. "I don't know." Shorter's jaw stiffened. He turned to the wall and started punching until the sheet rock cracked and caved into a hole, leaving his knuckles a bloody mess. "Stop it!" Lux shouted, attempting to pull his arm back. He pulled away harshly. "Tell me what happened!"

"She knew!" Shorter said back, "Kairi knew."

"What did she know?" Lux asked full of concern.

Shorter shook his head. He stomped into the bedroom and found Kairi's backpack that she had shown up with. He opened it and inside was a beaten up journal with posted notes sticking out from all sides, where Kairi wrote about her sobriety journey. She dated days where she felt the urge to use and jotted down affirmations to motivate herself to stay strong and clean. The last passage was dated just a week earlier and she wrote about having to go back to that place in her head where she felt helpless in order to trigger that stomach churning anxiety that always made her shake with cold sweats. Shorter threw the notebook on the bed, sticky notes flew out everywhere. He pulled at the purple strands of his Mohawk and tried his best to swallow a scream. "I'm such an idiot." He cursed and muttered insults to himself under his breath.

Lux slowly walked over and read the journal for herself. "I don't understand. Why'd she lie?" Once she asked the question out loud the answer then hit her. It was so obvious. Kairi is still in love with Shorter and did what she knew would get him back. Similar to how at the beginning of their friendship, Lux began to act out in order to get Shorter to notice and like her more. They both did what they thought would get Shorter's attention when all they had to do was be themselves.

"Doesn't matter anymore." Shorter took a dish rag from the counter and wrapped it around his hand to stop the bleeding. "She knew the cops were coming. Thought they'd arrest me." He guessed.

"That's crazy. Kairi lo-" Lux stopped herself. No. She refused to let herself defend this other girl that wanted to take away her Shorter. "What's going to happen now?"

Kairi and Shorter both knew what would happen to traitors. She withheld intel in order to intentionally hurt the Chinese mafia. The anger Shorter felt in his chest began to melt into hurt once again. "We need to find her."

"How?"

Shorter went down the corridor and knocked hard on Viper's door. The young gangster squeezed through the ajar door and shut it behind him. "I talked to Mr.Lee. He wants a meeting with us both tomorrow morning."

"Yeah okay." Shorter nodded, not caring as much about that yet. "We need to find Kairi." He said. Viper raised a thin brow. "She knew the police were coming and didn't warn us."

"Shorter-"

"Have your serpents on the lookout. And if they see anything I-"

"Boss." Viper said loudly to shut him up. "Won't be necessary." Shorter stayed quit. Lux peaked her head out the door and eavesdropped on what was being discussed down the hall. She saw Shorter take a step back.

He shook his head and breathed out a sarcastic chuckle, "She's with you, isn't she?" Viper didn't answer. Shorter reached past him for the knob but Viper stepped in the way. "Move." Shorter ordered.

"I can't do that, Boss."

"Can't or won't?"

"When you left to see Voight, she was going to run. I convinced her to stay and explain herself. Just hear her out."

"She wanted me arrested. Now move before I have to make you myself." Lux felt a chill run down her spine. She's never really had to see Shorter's mafia boss side. He didn't want her to see it. Viper stood stiff for a moment. Shorter was only about two inches taller but it might as well have been two more feet with the way his Boss was looking down at him.

Viper sighed and stepped to the side. "Take it easy on her." He said.

When the door shut Lux had tip toed over and pressed her ear against it to make sense of the muffled words.

Kairi stood up quick from the couch and began to apologize, holding her hands together. "Please Shorter you have to forgive me."

"What the hell was going through your head!?"

"I don't know! I was going to tell you but then-" Kairi stammered and she started to cry.

"Spit it out." Shorter demanded. "Hook is in jail because of you!"

"I know." She cried into her hands, "I didn't mean for that to happen." Kairi looked up with puffy eyes and swallowed down the bile that formed in her throat. She dried her face with the sleeve of her hoodie and pulled herself together. "When I got back I was going to warn you. But then... I heard you with Lux." She explained softly, "I got angry and I wasn't thinking. I came here to be with you again. I did what I could to try and get you back but it didn't work. If I couldn't have you then-" As Kairi confessed she realized how ridiculous she had sounded. She screwed up her chances again and became angry with herself. "Fuck." She cursed. All that talk about maturing on her time away had been proven to be false. Kairi cried again at the realization that nothing had changed except for the needle being removed from her veins. She fell to her knees and clasped her hands together, letting her head hang low. "Please forgive me."

Shorter watched his ex love melt into a mess. She was on her knees begging for him to spare her. The love she had for him was so strong that she tried to keep him away from someone else if she couldn't hold his heart. Shorter couldn't help but to feel responsible for her actions. Having her stay in the same room with him and his girlfriend was a dumb idea. He felt like a fool thinking that it would work out, but it made things worse. He infected her like a parasite that burrowed into her heart and mind, driving her mad.

Shorter released his anger in the form of an exhale. "We need to figure out who that eyewitness is." He spoke over his shoulder to Viper who kept his distance from the ex couple. "If we get to them before this goes to trial then the case goes up in flames."

Viper nodded in agreement. "Right. I'll tell the guys to get on it."

Lux heard footsteps approaching the door and hurried back to Shorter's apartment. Viper squinted in the direction of the shutting door and shook his head, taking a moment to light a new cigarette. "Stupid girl." He said to himself.

Shorter watched as Kairi rubbed her face dry and straightened herself up. He slowly began to turn away without saying another word. "Shorter." Kairi called him back with a scared voice. "Can we talk?"

There was plenty that Shorter wanted to say. Apologies. Scoldings. Confessions. "No."

"But-"

He turned around sharp. "If you want to hide with Viper then you can stay with him."

"That's not-"

"You know you are so lucky." Shorter pointed, his throat squeezed as he spoke to her, feeling himself about to shed tears. "You're lucky that I give a shit about you still regardless of all the lies. If you were anybody else I'd have you killed."

"Might as well do it yourself. You hate me now anyways." Kairi argued. "I'm dead to you. Just admit it."

"You're not! That's the problem." He spoke loudly. "I could never bring myself to hate you. When you left me I didn't hate you for it. Lying on why you left-" Kairi felt the nerves spike through out her body like a burst of unforgiving lightning. Her heart pounded sounding like roaring thunders in her ears to where she could have sworn Shorter's voice had gone mute for a moment as his lips moved. "I was angry but I still don't hate you."

"Do you love me still, Shorter?"

"Don't do that. Not now."

"I need to know." She stepped up close to him, lifting her head up to look him in the eyes. "You know how I feel. So tell me."

"I can't." He said frustrated.

Kairi didn't want to hear that. If Shorter didn't want to use his mouth to tell her the truth then he'd use it for something else. She pulled him down by the collar of his shirt, planting a long, hard kiss onto him. His mouth was stiff but once she parted her lips, he followed hers. She could taste the lingering hint of bubblegum still on his tongue and moaned sweetly into his mouth, as he did hers.

Shorter's hands traveled up to her face and held her in place, kissing her back. Images of Lux then began to fill his head. Her smile, the rosy cheeks that he loved when she blushed, how her eyes dilated when she'd be worried, the quivering pout of her mouth right before she'd cry. He hated when she would cry. He never wanted her to cry again. Shorter pulled away, with his hands now holding Kairi's small waist. They both felt that familiar spark that was once a flame all those years ago. That reignited dwindling energy terrified Shorter. "Why'd you do that?" He finally asked, breathless.

"Why'd you kiss back?" Kairi answered with a question of her own.

He didn't know why. His brain wanted to blame it on the fact that he was a guy and that's what they do. His heart, however, blamed it on the fact that he wanted to kiss her the moment she came back because his love never faded into nothingness.

"I shouldn't have."

"You wanted to. The way you kissed me proved it."

Shorter squeezed his eyes shut, turning away. He hated how that sounded. Kissing someone else that wasn't Lux made his heart feel tainted by venom. It was rotting from the inside out and it didn't feel good at all. "Stop it." He said, "I'm bringing your stuff. Stay here or find an empty unit. I just- I can't have you staying with me."

"You're doing this because you know we'll take it further if I'm still there."

Shorter knew that was a possibility and if it happened he'd never forgive himself. He came back with her bags and set them on the floor. He approached with a notebook in hand and gave it back to Kairi. "That's yours. It was stupid to pretend that you were sick."

Kairi looked down feeling guilty, "I know. I'm sorry."

"I hope you're happy."

"About what?"

"I promised Lux that she was the only one I loved and now... you might have turned me into a liar. And that's not okay." When Shorter finally left it felt like the air had become more fresh in the halls. Well, it very much could have been since Viper was a heavy smoker. Kairi had a threatening chokehold on him and knew every counter to bring him down when he tried to fight out. He leaned his head against the door and sighed before going back to Lux who was pacing back and forth. "Hey." He said nervously, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Shorter answered fast. "We got it under control. Don't worry." Lux gave a nod. "You okay?" He gently ran his hands down Lux's arms, carefully moving the loose strand of hair away from her face and tilted her head up with a hooked finger under her chin. "I didn't really get the chance to check in on you after all that went down."

"I'm fine. Sing got me away from everything."

"Oh? That's good. I gotta um-" He adjusted the sliding sunglasses back up his nose, "I gotta thank him for that."

"You're acting strange."

"Am I? Nah, nah I'm just- frustrated." It wasn't a lie. Everything with Hook and the eyewitness bore down on his shoulders, as well as the sexual frustration with his ex. Shorter wished that the day would just rewind back to when he woke up with Lux still sleeping in his arms.

"If there's anything I can do to help." Lux offered.

"Thank you." Shorter brought her in for a hug. "I love you." He said, kissing the top of her head.

Lux looked up and Shorter became lost in those big brown eyes of hers. "I love you too."

Those words rang in his ears like a sirens call. He bent down and kissed her soft and slow. The movements of their lips began to speed up and press hard against one another, their tongues swirled around together as they held each other tightly. Lux sucked in quick gasps where she could whenever the kiss was broken for a second. Shorter stayed locked onto Lux as if to claim her as his one and only. To convince himself that what he felt with Kairi was his heart playing tricks. Yet after all of that, he was still unsure of what he felt with his ex. His body betrayed him, reacting like how it did with Lux. How his heart felt warm, his protective hands becoming firm to caress her small frame, the excitement in his pants and the urge to pull off their clothes and make love.

Shorter pulled away. "I'm gonna go to bed." He walked past Lux as he headed towards their room, leaving her confused.

Tomorrow was a big day. Meeting up with Mr.Lee never came without a price. He was a "banker" after all. Shorter closed his eyes, dreading the morning to come. "This... is the worst."