Needing his help (Closed)

((closed for Prince_Truhan))

Jessica Lewis had a knack for getting into trouble. And today was no exception. She found herself sitting in a crowded cafe, her back against a wall as she had a clear eye on the front door. Her cell phone was in her hand as she just starred at it...thinking.

She had been out of the city for about two years and now she was back. It wasn't her idea to be back but nonetheless, she was here and she was in trouble. She had considered her options and found that there were none. Well, not really, she had one. And she really didn't want to call him.

'Him' being her husband. Well, her estranged husband. The story was that he had left her but in all reality, Jessica had left Steve two years ago. She had left with no real explanation but that she had to leave and that she was not the woman for him anyway.

Steve was a cop. A damn good one. Jessica had met him during a small altercation she had when she was arrested by Steve and proceeded to slap him when he tried to arrest her. So she ended up being tossed into the city jail for striking an officer. That officer being Steve who had not pressed charges against her. Instead, he had asked her out to dinner and she had accepted. Only because she thought she had. Jess wasn't sure, but something sparked between them.

She was sure things would've been just fine between them if he didn't question her past.

Ha! Her past. Truth be told, Jessica's past was anything but clean. She was once arrested on a drug charge (possession), several parking tickets and then embezzling for gambling. Yeah she was a mess but when her past caught up with her, there was no way she was going to drag Steve into it all.

Now, here she was, about to call him and ask for his help. Jess had no one else really. She needed money to keep the mob from kicking her ass, possibly killing her.

With a deep breath, she dialed his number...

It rang three times.

"Hello?"

A single tear slipped down Jess' face as she struggled to speak, "Ss-Steve? It's me Jess..."

***

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/236/b/9/Zhang_Ziyi___Bad_hair_Day_by_KLSADAKO.jpg

Steve Hale was a good cop, he wasn't dirty, didn't receive payments under the table or helped out criminals, unless they helped him more, he understood the need for some help from the shady sides of society sometimes, and if they weren't hurting anyone he didn't mind, still the few that dealt with him had very clear that what he would allow them to get away with was little.

When he met Jess she struck him, harder than the slap she gave him. He couldn't push her out of his mind, and that is how things between them started, he knew she had a dark past, he just decided that it wasn't anything big, after all he was in love with the woman, and while they were together things seemed to work out perfectly.

Until she left that was, he wasn't sure how the story that he had left her got started, but he didn't care about what people said enough to discourage it. He just became even colder than he usually was and tried to deal with things in his own terms. During moments of weakness he had looked through her records and dug into her past, something he had forbidden himself to do while she was with him, he had seen nothing big... specially not a big thing explaining why she would leave him like that.

Two years had passed and the last thing he expected was the voice of his wife on the other side of the line after he said hello, it was so unexpected that he couldn't even decide how he felt about it.

"Jessica... 2 years is a long time...what do you want?"

It bugged her the way he answered... even though she thought there would be more excitement in his voice, there was something else....something cold.

Jess didn't really have to question it, instead she swallowed her tears and tried to smile, despite her situation, "Well, I was wondering if you could meet me...please? I-I need your help Steve..please?"

She waited on baited breath for his answer...she wanted to cry when she heard his answer. Quickly she told him where she was..now all she had to do was wait...that gave her time to get ready for his barrage of questions. If he cared still to ask them.

She wanted his help, and as much as a part of him wanted to just hang up, he knew he couldn't, deep inside maybe not even that deep, he still loved Jess and it pained him to admit it, a part of him wanted answers but he wasn't sure he would like them.

He jotted down where she was, luckily it wasn't a place where they used to go or near one, that would just have complicate things even more. He drove himself there exerting the maximum control not to rush... not because he wanted to keep her waiting, but because he knew he wasn't in the best state of mind to be cruising town in a cage of 5000 pounds of metal.

He knocked on the door, trying his best not to think.

"It's me"

Something wasn't right. Jessica could feel it in her bones. Maybe it was because she hadn't gotten a decent night's rest or maybe she was just over reacting...

Before she could think of it more, the knock startled her and she composed herself. When she heard his voice, it was like a big relief that he had come and not ignored her or brushed her off...

Now, here she was, face to face with him...how was she going to greet him? More importantly, how was he going to greet her?

"It's me" OK, so there wasn't going to be any hugging and definitely no kissing. Ah well, there was no time for that anyway.

With her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses, she waved him over to an empty table. She didn't dare take them off, she didn't want him to see her bruised eye...

"Thank you...I know I'm probably the last person you wanted to see after so long.."

He followed her, the sunglasses startled him, but not nearly as much as the fact that she looked exactly the same as she did before she left, it hadn't been that long... not for her appearance to change, but it had been a very long time for him not seeing her.

"I wish I knew the answer to that, a part of me wants to see you, otherwise I wouldn't be here. Why now?"

His question was blunt, but it was the only way in which he could ask, she had hurt him deeply, and he wasn't going to treat her like before, not yet at least, deep inside he even wondered if he was just having a cruel nightmare

Why now?

Jess wasn't sure she knew how to answer that. She knew he was going to find out one way or another. Word traveled on the street pretty fast. Better he hear it from her than from some thug.

"I'm in trouble Steven.." she said quietly, calling him by his full name, something she did often as an endearment. "I need to get $40,000 by the end of the week..."

She watched him, watched his reaction. She had a feeling that he would just laugh her off and walk away.

Please, please don't let him do that... she pleaded in her mind.

He didn't know how to answer to that, it wasn't what he had expected out of her at all, then again he hadn't expected her to call him either.

He leaned back, and studied her, wondering if she was going to burst into laughter and the money thing was an attempt to make him laugh... she didn't though and seemed genuinely worried.

"You are being serious..."he said more to himself than to her "I must ask again, why? why do you need that kind of money?" he paused "and why ask me?"

Damnit! She thought... with an exasperated sigh, she shook her head, "I have no one else to turn to... trust me Steven, I need it for a reason.."

When he continued to not say anything, Jess cursed under her breath, "You know, you're right...I'm sorry, why ask you? Damnit, I'm sorry--" she got up from her seat, "I didn't know where else to turn." She grabbed her bag and rushed to the door.

He followed her, for the first time since they met feeling slightly better, she was moving and that forced him to act, in so he had no time to think.

He reached her as she was by the door and he grabbed her by the arm.

"Stop"

He pulled slightly harder, pulling her closer to him, as he used to do... as he wouldn't have done had he been thinking.

"God help me, I will help you how I can... but only if you are honest with me Jessica, I need to know everything, I won't act blindly... otherwise... otherwise just walk out of my life again."

He then released her and waited.

"Honest?"

Did she even know the meaning of that word anymore? Her whole life was full of lies...well, except her time with Steven. That was the one time she was really herself..carefree and open...

Her heart cried when he released her and she could've collapsed right then and there. She had been aching for his touch and though it was only a brief touch, it had been a touch nonetheless.

"I'm afraid Steven...things happened while I was gone, I'm in more trouble than I've ever been in.." with that, she took her sunglasses off, revealing her bruised eye. "I'm also afraid if I tell you, you'll just walk away."

When she took her sunglasses off he nearly gasped at the sight of her beautiful eyes, that and anger at the black eye not at her but at whoever had done that to her. It also came with the realization that things were serious, and that he needed to know everything. His hand and before he could stop it reached up and caressed her face as if to comfort her right below her injury.

"If you'll tell me everything come with me to the car, I'll hear you and do what I can, if you won't tell me... I'll give you the little money I have on me and get out of your life."

He didn't wait for an answer, he couldn't. He just walked to the car and after taking a deep breath he turned around to see what she would do.