SEVENTEEN

❛ My lovely husband ❜

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flashback.
YEARS EARLIER.

A gruff looking man slid down the white wall of an abandoned flat block, his blood staining the wall behind him while his hand was clasped over the wound punctured in the side of his neck. He opened his mouth to call for help, but nothing other than blood flowed passed him lips.

Vanessa kicked his shaky legs out from under him so that quickly he dropped onto his side on the colourful carpet. His temple slammed against the ground, knocking him out immediately and his hands dropped from his tatted neck to reveal the large hole as more blood flooded from it.

Taking a step away from his body, Vanessa ran the back of her hand over her brows to remove the sweat, but instead it was replaced with the man's blood that stained her hands. He'd taken quite a beating from her a few minutes before his death, which was something he deserved and something Vanessa very much enjoyed dishing out.

He was one of the many men on her list up to a large crime boss in London. Nessa's plan was only for her to get to the abandoned flats where he and a few mates were staying so that she could talk with him. She didn't expect to throw open a flat door and see a group of young girls, probably year 6s or 7s, shuffled back into a corner, wearing nothing but their underwear. Imaging her younger sisters in their position, the thought alone sent Vanessa over the edge, and it didn't take long for her to find the man responsible.

The man responsible then laid dead by her feet while the knife soaked in his blood was curled in her fist by her side.

Keeping her eyes on the vile man below her, Vanessa was quick to sense a presence staring at her along the corridor. After one fluid flick of her wrist, her knife was soaring through the air and landed directly in the person's leg, causing a crippling yell to reverberate back towards her as the man collapsed to the floor.

Turning smoothly on her heel, Vanessa begun to stride towards him while he attempted to scurry further along the hallway away from her. As she passed the door he just walked out of, she peered inside, noticing yet another woman stood by the doorframe with both of her arms folded over her chest and her legs crossed in an attempt to hide her revealed body. Nessa's jaw clenched and her gaze quickly snapped back to the man writhing on the floor.

Now only being able to see red, Vanessa lifted up her dress to reveal the thigh holster. She quickly pulled out her pistol before aiming it directly between the man's brows, causing him to beg loudly. Then she pulls the trigger, silencing his wails of agony and his full body drops to the ground with a thud.

Honestly, she didn't know who he was. But she had already ended up killed one man today, another vile cunt didn't matter to anyone.

Vanessa bent down, roughly pulling her knife from his thigh and wiping the blood coating the blade on the fabric of her dress on her leg. With a gun in one hand, and a knife in another, Nessa turned back around, eyes looking at the open door she had previously glanced through.

"You can come out now," She called, "I ain't gonna hurt you."

Reluctantly, the woman slowly stepped out, a bloody bedsheet wrapped around her body. As her head whipped up and down the hallway, her eyes flicked frantically between the two deceased men before she finally looked over at Vanessa.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Nessa moved to hold her hands up in a surrender, but as she watched the woman flinch back, she realised her mistake, "Fuck sake," She quietly cursed, quickly lifting her dress to slide her pistol into the holster and slip the knife beside it. Now having removed the threat, she finally raised her hands, "I'm not gonna hurt you, alright? Can you walk okay?"

Slowly the woman opposite her nods.

"Good. There's some younger girls in a room further down here," Vanessa tried to speak slowly and soften her accent so that the unknown girl can understand her.

The woman's back straightened.

Nessa's brows furrowed, "You know them?"

"My sisters," The woman croaked out.

Vanessa swallowed thickly, fighting the urge to turn around and fire more bullets into the man's corpse just for the sake of it, "They're okay. Alive, I mean. Do you think you'll be able to get them out of here? I'll call the police for you as soon as I've made sure there's no more cunts in here."

"Who are you?" The woman eyes flicked over Nessa's blood soaked form.

Clicking her tongue, Vanessa shook her head, "Not important. Just get your sister's out of this building and I'll meet you outside."

Vanessa's phone begun to vibrate against her other bare thigh and she cursed quietly before grabbing her phone from its strap on her left thigh. Not bothering to read the contact, and just presuming it's her brother, she accepted the call and lifted the device to her ear. In front of her, the woman stood with a tilted head.

"Go!" Vanessa urged, motioning gently for her to hurry back down the hallway to her sister's, "You're okay now. Go!"

"Vanessa?"

Watching as the woman scurried down the hallway, Vanessa's body stilled at the sound of her husband's voice from the other side of the phone. She whirled around on her heel, her fingers pinching at the bridge of her nose.

"My lovely husband," She grounded out, trying to act as if she isn't stood over a dead man she shot between the eyes only minutes before, "What you calling me for?"

"Are you at our place?" He questioned, and from the noises in the background, she guessed he's in the car.

Nessa sighed, "Not right now. I still have a few hours left of my shift at the pub." She had no clue what time it was, or if the pub was even still open, but she was too stressed to think of a different excuse.

"You're lying out of your arse," He muttered, "I just went over to the pub to pick you up, 'cause you know, I'm such a fucking amazing husband, but you weren't there. So, Vanessa, tell me, where are you? I've had a shitty past week, and I really miss my wife, so don't fuck around."

Nessa bit her lip, and began pacing up and down the grimy hallway, her mind spinning for another excuse that didn't make her appear like some cheater, "I'm at big Tesco, alright?" She snarled, cursing silently to herself at the weak diversion, "Just go home and I'll be back in half an hour. James is at our apartment, though."

She heard her husband groan loudly on the other side while his palm smacked angrily against his steering wheel, "You doing this on purpose so I have to spend time with the cunt, aren't you?"

She smirked, "You need to get along with him at some point."

"Nessa," He huffed, "You know I fucking hate him. The stupid bastard thinks he's the dog's bollocks."

"Tangerine, the poor twat was brought to believe he was the dog bollocks. So just cope with him for a few minutes," She rolled her eyes, "Look, I have to finish this shop, so goodbye. I'll see you in a bit. I love you."

"I love you too," He bit out, trying to soften his tone, before she lowered the phone from her ear and ended the call.

Then she scrolled down her contacts to land on her brother's number. She quickly called him, blowing air into her cheeks as she waited impatiently for him to pick up, "James?" She called once she heard the answer sound.

"What's happened?" He questioned, "It was only suppose to be a simple mission."

"Yeah, well it wasn't. Did you know these cunts are keeping young girls hostage here?" She hissed, "But I'll tell you more when I get back, because right now you have to be distracting my husband."

James groaned, just like her husband had done minutes before, "Why?"

"Cause he's coming home early and knows I'm not at the pub right now. He's just as pissed as you, okay? But I told him I was at the shop, and that I'll be back in thirty minutes. So, you need to distract him until I'm home," She quickly explained, walking down the hallway and nudging open the closed doors to search for anymore poor children, or men to kill.

James' forehead hit his desk, "I'm not gonna be able to distract that man for one minute, let alone thirty. Vanessa, he will literally bully me."

"Fucking hell," She scoffed, "You're a grown fucking man, and you're talking about being bullied by another bloke your age. Grow up, please. It's only half an hour, James."

"Okay, fine, fine. Just hurry up, and if he threatens to kill me more than three times, I'm leaving," He mumbled.

"Thank you," She hummed, being to descend the stairs, "I'll also need to have a shower as soon as I get back because I'm covered in blood, so keep him in the kitchen."

"Lord. Anything else you want from me?"

"No, you little twat," She pulled the phone from her ear, "Bye!" Then she quickly ended it and shoved the device back into it's position on her other leg below the fabric of her dress.

ఌ

      AFTER convincing the traumatised sister's to forget about her existence, Vanessa anonymously called police and ambulance to their location before she finally headed home on a motorbike she had stolen from the back of the abandoned buildings. Dumping the cranky vehicle, Vanessa made sure to take the back entrance into the flats, avoiding any other people as she made her way up to the flat.

Inside, Tangerine was staring at James, his eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest while he was leant back against the kitchen counter. His brother in law was stood opposite him, trying not to quiver under the man's eyes.

"You gonna tell me where my wife is?" Tangerine finally cracked the silence, his head tilting as his voice comes out hard.

James shrugged, "I don't have a clue. I'm just in the dark as much as you."

"That's a bunch of toss," Tangerine scoffed, "And I know she ain't at the big Tescos 'cause I was in our car, and she sure as hell ain't walking across London at this time."

Sighing to hide the nose of the door being opened by his sister, James says, "She might've gone on a run, and ended up there."

Tangerine chuckled, knowing damn well that his wife hated every form of running because it hurt her ankles. He'd only seen her run a few times; when she was drunk, when she was chasing her younger siblings and when Lemon had got managed to himself stuck in a bathroom on holiday in Spain and she was running around the resort trying to find her husband.

As Vanessa quickly dried her hair, and grabbed a spare tracksuit she'd hidden in one of the bathroom cupboards, she was able to practically hear the awkward silence between her husband and brother. She sneaked out of the bathroom, shoving her bloodied clothes into the wash basket before she finally ventured towards the kitchen.

She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair while she smiled to the two men glaring each other up and down, "You both having fun?"

Tangerine's head snapped her way, and he pushed away from the counter to stand in front of her as she moved towards the fridge, "Where the fuck have you been?"

Her brows furrowed, "The shop. I did tell you this on the phone half an hour ago."

His eyes narrowed while they ran up and down her body before he said, "Then where's the shit you bought?"

Her body fell still and she pulled her lips between her teeth in realisation while she begged her mind for another excuse, "I got mugged. . . on the way back. Took it all."

"You can fuck right off with that bullshit," Tangerine waved her off, scoffing, "How dense do you think I am? I would believe you if you had been shopping somewhere expensive, but Tesco? Who in their right mind would nab someone who had just shopped at Tesco?"

Vanessa groaned, leaning forward onto the counter top and burying her face in her hands. James snorted from his position opposite her, grabbing the married couples attention as they both glanced over at him.

"You can go now," Vanessa muttered.

"You can fuck off now," Tangerine snarled at the same time.

James' hand rose up into the air in a surrender, "Sorry, sorry. I was just laughing."

"Well don't," The couple replied in unison before their arms lift to point towards the hallway leading towards the door, "Go."

James rolled his eyes, making his way towards the hallway, but as he was passing, he reached over to pat his sister back. But before he made contact, Tangerine catches his wrist and throws James' hand back into his chest. He sent his brother in law a glare before jerking his head towards the door, silently demanding him to continue walking.

James looked at his sister, ignoring her husband hovering behind her, "I'll speak to you later, Ness."

She hummed, straightening up and pressing her back against her husband's chest, "Yeah, okay."

"Goodbye now, James," Tangerine waved over to the other man before he finally headed down the hallway and left the flat without another word.

Vanessa turned around to her husband, noticing the blood spotting his white colour and she glanced up at him with raised brows, "You didn't even change after the mission? You and Lemon usually have a day after of just doing nothing."

Tangerine face slowly relaxed, his annoyance from earlier slowly disappearing the longer he looked down at his wife, "I just wanted to come home as soon as possible and see my wife. 'Cause I've fucking missed you, Ness," He dipped his head, taking her face in his hands and catching her lips in a kiss.

She pulled away slightly with a small smile, while her hands travelled up to run through his messy curls, "You were gone a week."

"A week is a long fucking time," He mumbled, pulling her closer and kissing her again, this time one of his hands travelled down to her ass, causing her to chuckle against his mouth. Then his other hand moved down, "Jump," He commanded.

And she did as told, jumping and wrapping her legs around his waist with his hands cupping her ass, keeping her supported in the air while his lips attacked hers. Slowly, he begun to walk them to their bedroom and he kicked open the door, never allowing their mouths to part until he lowered her down onto the large bed.

He shrugged off his jacket, leaving it in a heap on the floor behind him before kicking off his shoes. Vanessa watched as he did so, his eyes never leaving hers before he lowered down over her again, his hands quickly moving to the zip of her hoodie jacket. He pulled it down, revealing that the only thing covering her underneath was a black lace bra.

His eyes snapped to hers, his jaw slightly clenched, "You fucking went out with just this on?"

She rolled her eyes, sitting up slightly and resting back on her elbows so that their faces are closer before she pecked another kiss to his lips.

His brows raised, "Did you?"

"Yes, I did," She nodded, and he rolled his jaw before getting her to sit up straight so he can pull the hoodie completely from her and throw it randomly on the floor.

"You're a fucking eejit," He muttered, hand massaging her waist before he met her in a kiss and pushed her back down flat on the mattress.

Vanessa's hand undid the buttons of his waistcoat and he shrugged it off before she moved to his white shirt buttons, all while their lips never left one another. As he slipped his arms free from the dress shirt, Nessa's eyes glided over his toned abs. She had seen him like this a million times before, but the sight of him with no clothes was something that shocked her every time.

Tangerine chuckled, recognising the familiar look behind her eyes as she admired him, "You done ogling, love?"

She shuffled up in a sitting position and her fingers went to the zip of his trousers. She looked up at him as she pulled it down, "I don't know. There's a lot to ogle at."

Smirking, Tangerine pulled his trousers down the rest of the way before once again kicking them carelessly somewhere on their bedroom floor. Vanessa moved further back onto the bed, allowing him to crawl over the top of her and to capture her in another longing kiss. Beneath him, she wriggled free from her tracksuit bottoms and they fell off the side of the bed with a small thump.

Hovering over her, Tangerine's hand wrapped around one of her thighs, pulling her leg up so it hooked around his waist before his eyes glided up and down her body, admiring the delicate black lace underwear.

"Fuck," He breathed, "I love you."

She smiled, hand slipping between their bodies so she can gently nudge his erection through the thin material of his boxers, "I can tell."

Pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek with a smirk playing on his lips, Tangerine's finger gently runs along her faint abs before slipping over her underwear and stopping at her core, feeling the wetness through the thinness of the lace. His eyebrows raise, "Obviously the feelings mutual."

"Obviously," She smirked, lifting another leg to wrap around his waist before she flipped them both over, so she was comfortably straddling his hips, "Can we get fucking started now?"

He nodded, hands massaging her waist gently before he sat up slightly and one of his palms ran along her back to unclip her bra, "We fucking can."

. . .

damn you lot got robbed again 🤣🤣🤣
i feel weird as fuck writing the actual shit idk why

their reunion next chap🤞🤞

word count,
3101

not proof read
but it literally never ever is