Your Favorite Crime

10. That's So Hot

Tim just watched Lucy drive but had no idea what to say to her. They arrived at a small, unassuming house in the middle of a quiet street.

She opened the car's middle console, pulled out an envelope, and started walking to the front door. Lucy fished the key out of the envelope and lead the way inside the house. Then, she walked over to a screen in a closet and clicked a few buttons. Suddenly, thick steel dropped over every window and industrial lights turned on.

"Okay, the car I drove us here in is bullet proof, and this is a state of the art safe house some Russian spies used to occupy. Noah's friend set up the insane amount of security in this place, and when those Russian spies were found and arrested, I jumped at the chance to have my own safe house just in case," she explained and handed him the car keys and the house key. "Tamara's working on getting the word out that the hit was canceled, but until then, this is the safest place in the country for you. She'll come find you when the coast is clear. Until then, try not to tell too many people where you are for your own safety. If you're under attack, there's a panic room on the other side of that wall." Lucy took one last look at Tim, leaned up to brush a soft kiss to his cheek, and then started walking towards the door.

"Are you leaving?" He asked, finally finding his voice. When she did not respond right away, he sarcastically pretended to have a conversation with her, "You're not even gonna say 'hi'? What about 'hey, Tim, how are you?' 'Oh, I'm doing fine except for the fact that my girlfriend greenlit me. How have you been?'"

"Were you even listening to me about the panic room?"

"I don't care about the damn panic room or the ridiculous safety features of this reverse TARDIS..."

She giggled, "A reverse TARDIS? Okay, nerd."

He rolled his eyes, but some part of him really appreciated the brevity of the conversation despite the situation.

"It's good to see you. Alive," Lucy said and craved to reach out and touch him, but she kept her hands firmly at her sides.

"You expect me to believe that? YOU PUT A HIT OUT ON ME!"

"AND THEN I CANCELED IT!"

"WHY?"

She sighed and scratched her temple, "I shouldn't have done it in the first place. I really am sorry." Lucy let herself reach out and grab his hand for a second. She took in the sight of him for what she assumed would be the final time, lifted the corner of her mouth in her best attempt at a smile despite the way her heart was breaking, and strode over to the front door. "I'm assuming I'm under arrest. I'll wait outside for a squad car to pick me up."

"It's called a shop," he bit out, still aggravated.

"What?"

"We don't call them squad cars. We say 'shops'."

"Not like it matters what it's called. I'll still be in handcuffs in the backseat."

"I didn't arrest you," he pointed out gruffly.

She could see the anger was still clear on his face, and she felt it was definitely earned. "But, you're a cop, and I confessed to you that I put out a hit on you. That's a murder charge that'll stick."

"I'm not a cop anymore. I quit."

She knew that one of the officers that showed up to her house unannounced had mentioned that Tim wanted to quit his job for her, but she did not believe he actually did it. "I bet if you bring me in, your boss will rehire you."

"I don't want to be rehired. I can't be. Cops have to enforce the law, no exceptions. But, I...I can't arrest you, Lucy. I can't put you behind bars no matter what you've done, and that means I can't be a cop. God, you drive me absolutely insane! I should bring you in myself right now!"