Vice

Thirty Five

A/N:

Thirty five?! Jeeeeezzz I can't believe I'm already this far. Don't worry though, there's so much more to Thea left to uncover.

~h

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The house was just as they had left it; a dark lonely mansion on an empty street. A chilly breeze blew loose strands of hair in front of Thea's face as she got out of the car and stretched her stiff joints. She took notice of the unfamiliar car parked in the drive way.

They had driven nine hours straight to get back and the afternoon sun had already melted the frost from the lawns of the city.

The familiar smell of smoke and metal serenaded her nose as she breathed in the polluted air. For her, this was home. And while she loved the beautiful scenery Redbrooke had to offer, nothing was the same as the outline of New York's skyline. But today there was a bitterness to it all. Her stomach couldn't stand to look at the buildings, not with the memories attached to them. Memories that should have been hidden away forever. Memories that should have died with Shane.

Neither of them talked as they retrieved their bags from the trunk and walked up to the door, although James fixed his eyes on her the whole time.

Her face was carefully neutral, her movements slow and calculated. Everything about her was poised and ready, as if she was expecting an attack from an invisible enemy.

James had tried to ask about her father several times on the way back, only to be met with blank looks and silence. She wasn't releasing any information, although James figured he would not have to wait long for the answers. The man with them stood on the other side of the front door.

Thea didn't hesitate when she swiftly opened the door and stepped into the house.

Four faces turned towards her.

"Thea!" Trevor rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug, ignoring the way she stiffened at his touch. Lottie trotted forward and stood beside him.

She reached out and took Thea's hands in her own, "How was your trip?"

Thea glanced at the wide smile on the redhead's face then down at their intertwined hands. For a moment the facade of indifference slipped and a small smile made its way onto her face. She had missed them.

She looked past Lottie and her smile fell into a straight line. Ryder stood wearing a grim expression.

But it wasn't Ryder Thea was looking at. It was the man who stood beside him.

Power and arrogance radiated off the fifty-something year old man. He smirked as Thea ran her eyes up and down his form. Starting with his dark hair, shadowed with grey and gelled back neatly. Then to the lavish suit he sported with a white turn-down collar shirt. All paired with an expensive pair of dress shoes. But it wasn't the suit that made the man so intimidating. It was the way he held himself, his lips tugged upwards as if he knew the punchline to an unsaid joke.

"Hello Ms. Knight."

The sound of his voice carried a tidal waves of unwanted memories. Lottie and Trevor stepped away from her, neither recognizing the girl in front of them. Fear flooded through Thea's veins, leaving ice in its wake. Black spots swirled her vision. The detached fighter they had come to care for had vanished, leaving her trembling shadow behind.

James edged closer to her, the only one who had seen her look like this before. He remembered her clouded eyes when she caught sight of the tattoo on the man in the factory. Her breathing slowed when the warmth of his shoulder touched her. A silent reminder she was not facing him alone.