Unrequited

Chapter Two

The one thing I disliked the most about hunting wasn’t the demons or the monsters. Not the near constant ache in my body from fighting, nor the occasional broken bone or stab wound. It was getting dressed in my god damn fake FBI getup. Give me jeans, leggings and t shirts any day.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

After the embarrassing shoot down by Dan last night, I thought I’d put in a little extra effort, a couple of little extra touches. I wore my tightest black pencil skirt I owned which hugged my curves, with a low cut white blouse. Team it all with a black fitted jacket and some lined stockings, which I really only wore for me; they made me feel sexy, and va va boom! I looked and felt pretty good. No, I looked damn good.

Hunting had sculpted my body, leaving me toned and curvy. I wasn’t bad looking; my blue eyes and long black hair combined with my pale skin made me look quite ethereal. Well, that’s what Mark had told me. Sliding on my black heels, I took one last look at myself, running my fingers through my hair which I’d left loose and slightly curled, and added one last sweep of mascara to make my blue eyes pop.

Perfect.

I took a deep breath as I opened the door and walked into the motel room, my nerves getting the best of me for a moment and I brushed off some imaginary dust before raising my eyes to look at the boys.

Mark had froze, his mouth dripping open as his eyes lingered over my body, shifting on his feet before he finally looked up. “You look…amazing.” He said, his eyes wide.

I bit my bottom lip as I felt my cheeks turn red.

Dan turned to look at me for a second, not really paying too much attention. “Yeah, you look good Ada,” then turned back to the door. “Let’s go.”

“Thanks?” I muttered, disappointed that my efforts went unnoticed by the person I wanted more than anything. I should have known better.

Mark frowned. “Good? She looks stunning,” he looked back at me and winked, “like I said, stunning sweetheart.”

I walked over to him, my heels already pinching my toes, and playfully slapped his arm. “You have to say that ‘cos you’re my best friend.” I chuckled.

He slung his arm over my shoulder. “I don’t have to say squat. You are beautiful, Ada. Don’t let anybody make you feel different.”

I smiled up at him, my cheeks still burning red and kissed my cheek. “Thank you.”

He squeezed my shoulder as we walked through the door towards the car.

“Hi, we’re here to view the bodies brought in yesterday.”

The coroners assistant glanced up at us. “And you are?”

We pulled out our fake FBI badges. “FBI.” Mark nodded towards Dan and then myself. “I’m Agent Mercury, this is Agent May and Agent Gardner.” He said confidently, allowing the assistant to look at his badge a little longer before sliding it back into his pocket.

“Your colleague is already talking to the coroner now, just through those doors.” He pointed to the double door that lead to the morgue and the coroners office.

We looked at each other apprehensively and walked through the doors. All I could think was that we were actually walking into a real FBI investigation.

She had her back to us as she talked to the coroner, her tousled mahogany hair loose down her back. She only turned to look at us when Mark introduced us.

He flashed his badge again. “Hi, Agent…?”

She smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. “Nicks. I was just going through the autopsy report with Dr Muller here while I waited for you to arrive.”

My mouth dropped open. She was f*****g stunning. Her black FBI suit cling to her curves, which were much more curvier than mine, her hair falling in waves around her oval face, and along with her lightly tanned skin, they complimented her dark blue eyes and made them pop. I looked insignificant standing even near her.

She looked at us with a smile, and I couldn’t help but notice how she lingered when she got to Dan, her tongue flicking out to moisten her soft, pink plump lips. Glancing up at him, I could see just how intrigued he was with her as she was with him. So much for my extra effort. I paled in comparison to her.

Mark raised his brows, giving her a quick once over, not as captivated to her as his brother clearly was. “And?”

She tore her eyes away from Dan and handed Mark the report. “Nothing much I’m afraid. Neck trauma and extensive blood loss in both vic’s. Defensive wounds on both of their hands and arms so they definitely put up a fight. The Sheriff might be able to fill in some blanks.”

Mark. Odder, handing the report to Dan, who flicked through it. I just stood there, unsure of what I was meant to do, this other agent seemingly rendering me useless.

“I was about to head over there…” she said, looking back up at Dan.

He shoved the report i to my hands. “Why don’t I accompany you to the Sheriff’s department while you two,” he nodded towards me and Mark, “finish up here.”

The coroner went to walk out the door. “Just lock it all back up agents.”

The minute he left, we all turned to face this ‘agent’, confusion as to who she actually was. She smiled meekly. She sure did like to f*****g smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t think any other hunters were on this job. I’m Stacey.”

Mark crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “How did you know we were hunters?”

“You’re Dan and Mark Singer, right? It’s not like I don’t know who you are, you’re pretty well known in the hunter community. The two brothers who’ve saved the world on more than one occasion. Thanks for that by the way.” She glanced over at me. “Although I don’t know who you are.”

I feigned a smile. “Ada. It’s nice to meet a fellow female hunter.”

She smiled again, before her gaze landed back on Dan, their lingering looks at each other starting to grate on me. Mark coughed to get everybody’s attention.

“Ok. We don’t really work well with fellow hunters sweetheart.” He nodded his head towards the bodies. “But I’d like to hear what you think were dealing with?”

“Vamps.” She replied, very matter of factly, looking at Mark. “Been tracking a nest through a couple of towns, leaving more than a few bodies behind, and they’ve set up shop here. I have a pretty good idea on where they’ve shacked up but I wanted to check with the Sheriff first to see what he has on the case and what his course of action will be. Can’t be too careful, right? But seen as I have already been on their trail…I’m not adverse to working this case with you. It would probably be better the more of us there is. I’m not entirely sure how many vamps we’re talking about. I think maybe five…” she shrugged her shoulders.

Dans eyes hadn’t left her. He likes her, I thought sadly. And she likes him by the looks of it. I felt Mark’s gaze and I looked over at him. He could see it too, the way Dan was mesmerised by her and she him.

“Right,” he sighed loudly. “Everyone ok with us all working together?” He looked at me again with his brows raised.

I nodded my head. It wasn’t like I could say no, even if I didn’t want to work with Tracey? Lacey? Whatever her name was. Dan looked like one of those bobble head toys, his head nodding.

“We’ll go to the Sheriff, you two finish up here.” Dan said quickly, already walking towards the door with her. “Meet back at the diner near the motel when we’re finished.”

Mark nodded, scowling at his brother’s retreating back. “Sure, whatever.”

I let out a sigh. I knew I needed to suck it up, stow my crap and get on with the job. Mark touched my arm and I plastered on a smile before he pulled me into a tight hug.

“Just this case, Ada,” he kissed the top of my head, “did I tell you that you look beautiful? ‘Cos you do.”

I pushed him away. “Yeah, right,” I laughed softly, starting to feel very self conscious. “Did you see her Mark? Even I wanted to kiss her! I look plain compared to her.”

He shrugged. “Nah, not my type,” he grinned, “although I wouldn’t have said no to watching the two of you getting it on.”

I gasped dramatically, my hands flying up to my chest. “Why Mark Singer! You pervert!” I joked as he laughed.

“My eyes would have only been on you though sweetheart.” He winked at me.

“Come on Casanova. We need to concentrate on the case.” I said, feeling more than a little flustered. We always flirted with each other jokingly but this felt…different. Pushing my thoughts aside, I tried to concentrate on what we were here for. Walking over to the bodies laid out on the cold metal tables, I grabbed a tongue depressor and used it to tile the first victims head to the side to get a closer look at their neck. “Yep, definitely vamps,” I said, turning to the other victim and doing the same thing.

Mark was flicking through the file again. “Seems like,” he threw the file onto the coroners desk and watched as I threw the wooden depressor in the trash.

“Food?” I asked, already knowing the answer. “The diner next to the motel claims to have the best pie in the state…”

“You had me at pie. Come on.” He pushed open the door for me and bowed.

Giggling, I curtsied. “Why thank you, kind sir.”

He held out his arm for me. “M’lady,”

I loved it when he was like this, playful and funny. Like all the s**t that weighed heavy on his mind, forgotten in that moment. And I loved that it was me that he could drop his guard with and just be Mark. The Mark that loved pie, that loved his car, that loved to play silly pranks and joke around and flirt outrageously. I linked my arm in his and we walked out of the building to his car. He opened my door and I climbed in, my skirt riding up and flashing him the tops of my stockings. Blushing, I pulled down my skirt. “Sorry.”

His mouth dropped as he stared before blinking, looking uncomfortable and adjusting his stance. “You trying to give me a heart attack?” He joked as he s**t the door and slid behind the steering wheel.

I glanced over at him as he drove towards the diner, humming along to Metallica and using the steering wheel as a drum. I smiled to myself. “Love you Mark,” I whispered.

He glanced over at me and smiled. “I know.”