The oleander is a beautiful flower that represents love, destiny, and understanding. However, when consumed, this flower is incredibly toxic; even deadly.
Dahlia Davies is a college drop-out, struggling to run her father's flower shop. The bills ar...
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CW:Mentions of violence against sex workers, violence involving glassware, physical assault, and dealing with PTSD/the aftermath of sexual assault. This one is going to be kind of intense and somewhat based on personal experience.
No smut in this chapter. I'll make it up to you. I had it written and then it just didn't work with the ending. I wanted to write something a little more in-depth and emotional and have James and Dahlia bond a little more deeply.
Loki, Steve, and James haul Walker out to his car and shove him in the front seat. Peter and Ned picked up the rest of the shipment and Walker gave James his word that he would have the rest delivered to Barnes Towers by the end of the week. Yelena seemed fine with that compromise.
If the supplies don't show up, the Widows come hunting for the LAPD.
Rumlow is shoved into the trunk of Steve's car. Steve offers James a black dress shirt out of his back seat.
"Thanks," James mutters as he changes and tosses his bloodied clothes into his car.
"We have to deal with Hoskins," Steve announces.
"Let me take care of that," Loki replies. He eyes James. "If you want me to, of course."
James nods.
"Do whatever you have to do. I'll wire you money."
"I charge $100,000 now."
"For intimidation? Or murder."
Loki shrugs.
"Your choice. But, James, if you're good at something, never do it for free - or for less than you're worth." He grins. "Besides, cost of living went up in Los Angeles."
James nods and sets up a wire transfer on his phone.
"Done."
"Thanks."
James doesn't want to fuck around argue about payment. He has no idea how many people Loki has killed. Definitely more than him, and James has seen him in action. The man is ruthless - even more than he is. The last person in the world he wants after him is Loki Laufeyson. He's an independent contractor, but James was quick to make him a close ally.
Blood is leaking out of Walker's mouth as he continues to sleep. Walker can call his own damn precinct when he wakes up. James isn't about to make his life easier.
"What are we gonna do about the footage?" Steve asks.
"I'm on it," James tells him as he pulls out his phone and dials his sister.
Rebecca and James went on two very different paths, and yet, they're exactly alike. His twin sister had a love of computers and tech. She spent hours online, mostly doing shit that James couldn't really understand. He found out later that she was hacking into emails and stealing passwords to bank accounts by the time she was fifteen. James started breaking into cars in their neighborhood around the same time. In secret, of course - he had to maintain that golden boy image through high school. He was also stealing from boutiques and department stores, and selling drugs on the side, stashing cocaine inside of Bic pens and selling them after school or after baseball games.
