Chapter Text
She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her head on them as she stared at him. He had been quiet for the last ten minutes, and although not the most talkative (unless he was cursing someone out) it was unnerving to her. They’d been riding in silence since he’d gotten them out of the hangar where she’d been kept by an opposing clan.
Her heart was still racing from what had occurred and she was sure as hell that she would never forget what had gone down between him and this other... new group who called themselves the New Ares Emperors. Dumb name if you asked her, not that creative either.
How the hell had she gone from being just a nerdy editor to being stuck between a gang war and being confused as the Tiger’s (a.k.a. Tora) new girlfriend? Well, they hadn’t mentioned girlfriend… The word used had been ‘woman'. She had been called Tora's woman.
Ha.
If they only knew that the one time they had dinner together she’d nagged him into taking his stupid cap off (more like pried it off) his head and he’d spent the next couple minutes cursing Jacob, making hamster ball jokes and groping her cheeks. Then he’d walked out on her. He was more emotional than her mother had been on the day she’d found out her only daughter had finally gotten her period.
Anyone who saw her and Tora standing next to each other wouldn’t immediately think “aww cute couple” but probably more along the lines of “that nerdy girl is about to get mugged.”
She continued staring at him, studying his profile as he drove them across town in Quincey’s flashy yellow car that she wouldn’t be able to afford even in her dreams... She wanted to talk to him, hear what he had to say, even if it was just him cursing at her. He hadn’t denied it when the Emperor’s leader, Jack (The Ripper) had commented on how curvy she was and that he saw why Tora would keep her around. “Rumors are you’re not into women, Tiger, but your woman here disproves everything that’s been said about you. She’s got curves for miles under this top of hers. I just didn’t think your kink was sexy librarians…”
She closed her eyes for a moment and shuddered as she remembered his hot breath on her neck and his clammy hand on her waist when he’d slipped his hand under her shirt.
And the look on Tora’s face when he’d seen Jack touching her body, no respect, no care, no fear of Tora because clearly he didn’t believe the stories that were told about Tora in the streets.
Until Tora shot him on the shoulder making him drop her to the ground, the squishy thud of the bullet hitting Jack on the shoulder penetrating her ears. She’d screamed and thrown her hands over her head as the sound of gunshots broke out, screams reverting off the hangar walls. Heart pounding, she managed to army crawl behind a huge metal barrel and waited for the gunshots to pass. The gunshots, the metal clanking of bodies getting thrown around, the men’s voices shouting directions to kill the Tiger...
And then...
She screamed, pushing herself against the wall when a head peered over the top of the barrel, her leg kicking out instinctively to protect herself. She yelped when it was pushed aside and a hand covered her mouth.
“Damnit Bobby! Will you shut up for a fuckin’ moment!” Her eyes snapped open and she found Tora squatting next to her. There was blood sprinkled across his red shirt and she threw her hands up to her face to push his hand off. Gun in hand, and another strapped in a holster under his shirt, he was waiting. Waiting...
“T-Tora?”
“Yeah?” He didn’t look at her.
“What are we waiting for?” she whispered as she checked him out to see if he was bleeding from anywhere, but so far it seemed the blood on his shirt was everybody else's except his.
“Jack.”
“I thought you hit him?” She’d heard him get hit. She had felt the whoosh of the bullet as it flew past her head to the man holding her.
“Yeah, but he’s Jack.”
“And...”
“He’s the Ripper.” He finally glanced over at her and saw her already pale face grow even more pallid. “Evil never dies, sweetheart. You remember that.”
“I...Oh, god, Tora. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault! I wanna tell you—Look out!”
“You little bitch!”
She closed her eyes, arms raised to her face when Jack’s face appeared over the top of the barrel, toppling it over with a roar. Tora jumped over in front of her, landing on her chest, and another shot rang out.
Then there was silence.
She gasped, trying to catch her breath. What had just happened? Why couldn’t she breathe? She panted nervously, feeling slightly lightheaded.
Opening her eyes, she realized that the reason she couldn’t catch her breath was because of Tora’s weight on her...as well as a dead Jack who now laid over both of them. Blood from the wound on the middle of his forehead seeped out and landed on her cheek.
“Oh god! Oh god! T-Tora?” she was going to vomit. This was a hundred times worse than when she crashed her scooter and ended up covered in unknown 'chocolate'….
“Son of a bitch!” He grunted slightly and threw Jack’s body over to the side where it landed on the cement floor with a thud.
“You killed him.”
“He would’ve killed you first.” Tora checked Jack’s pockets for his wallet and phone. Turning to Poppy who was still huddled on the floor he ran his eyes quickly over her body. Maybe a few scratches and bruises here and there, a red mark over her neck, but she looked fine otherwise. She was visibly shaking, pale and wide eyed as she continued to stare at Jack’s dead body. With a scowl, he went over to her and dragged her to her feet. “Come on. We have to go now.”
“You killed him,” she repeated again as she stared at Tora who seemed far too calm after everything that had gone down in the last five minutes.
“If you repeat it one more time, I’m gonna leave you here. Now come on,” he growled at her as he dragged her across the hangar to the exit. She moaned when she saw the bodies lying scattered around the floor bleeding. He’d killed all these other men as well.
She wasn’t sure whether to be glad that he’d saved her or scared that he was capable of this. Whose hands was she actually safe in?
Tora’s, for sure. He’d tracked her down and saved her from Jack and his men. Oh, god.
She'd watched as he’d tipped over a barrel full of black oil and pulling a pack of matches out from his back pocket, he lit one and threw it at the spill on the floor setting it all on fire. She didn’t ask him why he did it, but she figured it was to burn the place down with all the bodies in it. If there were no bodies, there was no proof, and no fingerprints that would allow for law enforcement to trace it all back to him.
Oh gawd. She’d seen this so many times on crime shows, but living it was another thing!
He'd locked his gun and shoved it into the waistband of his jeans. “Come on, sweetheart. We gotta get out of here before the police gets notified,” he muttered as he dragged her back to the car.
And now they were here.
“If you take a picture it will last longer.”
Poppy blinked. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized that he’d been looking back at her.
“You mean like that picture you took of me?” she threw back at him and stretched her legs back out.
“Are you okay?” He asked, completely ignoring her reply.
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
The Tiger’s woman...
It had a strange, attractive ring to it. Dangerous, but attractive.
She scowled and curled herself against the door, and Tora didn’t say anything else either.
He opened the door to the apartment and stepped into it first, gun raised and ready in case someone was in there. When he was satisfied that no one was going to jump out at them, he pulled Poppy into the room and shut the door behind her, setting the many locks into place.
She stood there, frozen, her eyes wandering around the room, realizing how small it was. Was this his place? Was this where he slept in, lived in?
It was making her slightly claustrophobic. Surely, if it felt so small to her, it would make him feel the same. Or not…
She turned to look at him. He was far too quiet and it was creeping her out. They hadn’t known each other for too long, but she knew there was something there, under the surface. He was acting colder than usual.
“Tora…?”
He looked up at her from his spot by the tiny round table in the corner, probably the spot considered the dining room/kitchen.
“Yeah?”
“Is this where you live?”
“One of the places.” He shrugged as if it was something so unimportant. She watched him drop his guns and holster onto the table. He leaned down and pulled a dagger from the inside of his boot. She’d seen that move before, in movies and cartoons, and she’d thought it was fake. He had literally pulled out a dagger from his fucking combat boot.
Shit.
He’d dragged his shirt off when he finally noticed that she was still staring at him. He scowled. She resembled a deer in the headlights, wide eyed and so still he would’ve taken her for a statue if he hadn’t noticed her chest rise and fall with each ragged breath she took.
There was blood on her top, and a red smear on her cheek. She was wringing her hands nervously, her lower lip trembling as she tried to stop her teeth from chattering.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded at him, but her hands were turning slightly white from the way she clenched them so tightly.
He studied her for a moment before turning away and walking over to the sink to wash his hands. He was in the middle of doing that when he heard her whimper and he turned back to look at her.
If she bit her lip any harder she’d make it bleed.
“Bobby?”
“Can I b-borrow one of your shirts?” she asked and he could hear the tremble in her voice. “Mine’s got blood on it and I can smell it. I really don’t like the smell of it. The day I crashed my scooter I ended up with b-blood over me. I had to pretend it was chocolate to keep myself from freaking out. I-I don’t want to be a bother, but I have to get rid of this before it m-makes me throw up.”
He simply nodded and walked over to his closet and pulled a white dress shirt for her since that was all he had in this apartment—formal clothes to wear to the meetings Balthuman made him go to. He always wanted his men to be well-dressed, neat, tidy—contrary to the messy life they led.
For Tora, those white dress shirts and pressed pants were perhaps the only neat and controlled things in his life.
He felt like a lie in them. He hated it. The control, pretending he didn’t care, but he didn’t say anything. Any comments he made led to other questions, led to scrutiny, led to questioning his intentions and eventually, to punishment. He was smart enough to avoid punishment so he simply did what he was told, as quickly as possible, so he could resume his day to day life and get Balthuman off his back. So far, it had worked for him.
But he wasn’t so sure how far and for how long it would work…
He tossed the shirt to her probably harder than he’d intended and she yelped, scrambling to catch it before it hit the ground.
“Thanks,” she muttered with a glare at him, but he’d already turned back to the closet.
Fuckin’ asshole.
The Tiger’s Woman...
Tora growled and ran his wet hands down his face in frustration. “Fuck!”
When he’d received the first text he’d ignored it. It was the first time or the last time he’d received random messages threatening him if he didn’t meet up or help someone. He’d seen the alert and tossed his phone to side with a scoff, he hadn’t even open up the text. He’d gone back to doing his reps, trying to ignore the buzzing phone.
The second text caught his attention, but he’d ignored it as well.
Come meet me, I wanna talk business.
The last message though, got him frowning, a weird feeling setting in his stomach.
We have something of yours
And his stomach had dropped when he’d opened the message to find a photo of a pale-faced Poppy with her hands held behind her back by some thug. Although she looked pissed off and her hair was mussed up from probable struggle, he saw the fear hidden in her eyes.
If you want her, you meet us. We'll talk.
He’d flown out of that gym as if the devil was on his tail...Except, he was the devil about to be on someone else’s tail.
The Tiger’s woman...
“Tora? Oof!”
He jumped, swinging out and before he knew it, had dropped Poppy to the ground, leaning over her, a hand holding her own over her chest, a knee pressing her thighs down to the floor. She was panting, trying to catch her breath, her eyes wide—momentarily surprised—and then to his surprise, it turned into a glare.
“Get off, you big lug!” she gasped as she tried to push his arm off her chest. “I can’t breathe!”
Taking by surprise, he obliged, pulling back to sit on his ass and lean back against the side of the bed. She sat up, muttering about him being a jerk, and a thug, and how her butt was hurting from the fall.
“Are you done cursing me over there?”
“No. Not yet,” she grumbled as she fixed her shirt. She stopped with a huff and glanced over at him. He was just sitting there, staring off into space, still not wearing a shirt. She checked out his tattoos, the swirl of colors over sinewy muscles. Warm, sinewy muscles...
“Why did you do it?”
“Do... what?” She frowned in confusion. She felt a momentary spark of panic at the serious tone of his voice.
“Go find that old man when I told you not to.” He finally looked at her, bright eyes staring deep into her own, making her breath catch. There was fire in them and she wasn’t sure if it was the good kind...
“I...” Stand your ground, keep your head up. She sat up straighter, staring straight back at him. “I had to go talk to him. He was in danger as well, I just knew that—”
“If you fuckin’ knew that he was in danger, then why did you decide to go find him?” Tora cut her off with a low growl, almost like a purr...
“He was in—wait what? I...” She frowned slightly, heart pounding as she tried to keep her head up. Tora turned to leaned closer to her, his eyes almost glowing in the dim lights of the room. The lights from the signs outside illuminating the room and casting an eerie glow over them. She knew she should back down, but her father’s voice rang in the back of her mind. Look ‘em dead in the eye...and tell them what you need from them.
“I know you're not stupid, and I know shit’s happened to you, but do you have a death wish?”
“I’m not stupid!” She argued, her hands were starting to shake, and she kept them on her thighs to keep them from seeing their shaking. “And I’m not suicidal. I just wanted to help!”
“You help better if you stay out of the way...”
She swallowed hard, her stomach was starting to turn, her body was starting to tremble. She glared right back at him, holding his gaze as strongly as he was holding hers.
“Why didn’t you deny it when they called me your woman?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“But it’s a lie.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He shook his head, giving her a wave of his hand.
“There is nothing between us.”
“Then why does it bother ya?” Snapped back Tora. “Why does it matter? It’s a fuckin’ lie. If it doesn’t both me, why the fuck aren’t ya lettin’ it go?” He cursed, smacking the side of the mattress as he looked away from her. There was a tick on his jaw, he was breathing hard, she could tell that he was holding back. “They would've tried to kill ya either way if I’d said no.”
Poppy tried not to flinch at his outburst, her survival instinct said RUN FORREST RUN! Except… her instinct might be broken since she just sat there and watched him curse. All that pulling and yanking must’ve loosened up her last remaining screws… Jeez. She noticed he had that same look he’d had when she told him not to answer Lane's call. Mistrust, pain, realization…
“You were worried about me, weren’t you?” she whispered as she settled onto her knees. She was playing with fire and she knew it. The little angel on her shoulder whispered at her to stop, turn around, do not pass go; the devil on her shoulder poked and prodded her, whispering it was boring being good all the time. She took a look at her once beautiful top that Erdene had gifted her, now ruined under dirt, oil, and blood. Her skirt had a split on the side and she’d lost her shoes when she’d tried to fight the men off when they’d caught her.
“You told me to sleep with you once,” she reminded him and watched his jaw tense up, but he was still not looking at her. She said it and then stopped for a moment because she wasn’t sure where her brain was going with this. “And you also told me that you wanted to know if I was this feisty with everyone or if it was just you…” she nearly whispered the last part hoping that he’d heard her.
He did.
…
Tora wasn’t sure if he could continue doing this. Fighting, killing and then shoving it all down, pretending it didn’t bother him that his soul was on a first-class ticket straight to hell.
He was trying so hard to keep his cool, trying so hard to ignore Poppy sitting next him beside the bed, but even through the lingering smell of smoke and metallic smell of blood, he could still smell her. Her perfume or soap or lotion, or whatever the hell she had used that day.
Her words, why did she keep talking? Was she trying to piss him off? Was she trying to see how long it was before he snapped? He could already feel his body itching, itching for a fight, itching to hit something, tensed and he wondered if she could hear the thundering pace of his heart that hadn’t calmed down yet.
“…that you wanted to know if I was this feisty with everyone or if it was just you…”
Oh yeah.
He remembered that quite well. He had leaned over and whispered that into her ear watching for her reaction, but she hadn’t backed down. He’d been proud of her then. Now, he was wondering if Jack had knocked something off in her head because she was just plain out taunting him.
He turned to her slowly as he tried to read her. She was trembling again, and he wondered if it all the adrenaline from earlier. Her head was held high, but he knew it was just trying to save face.
He took one of her hands into his own and gave her a little jerk, enough that she lost her balance and fell over him, landing across his chest. She scrambled to push herself away, but he held her in place. Her lips were slightly opened, her breathing ragged as she tried to keep her composure.
“I’m beginning to think you’re feisty with everyone.”
She raised her round eyes up to his because even if she was on her knees and he was sitting down, he was still taller than her. The feel of his naked chest against her felt like a hot brand making unexpected tingles rush through her to settle in the pit of her stomach. She realized too late that her body was reacting to all his movement, and soon she felt the tingle in her breast from where she was pressed against his naked chest. But who was she trying to lie to? Those tingles had been there before on various occasions when she’d been stuck with him, like that night at Alice’s.
She took in a ragged breath before responding.
“I’m beginning to think it’s just with you...” she whispered, not breaking their gaze. If her heart kept beating any harder than what it was now, it would more than likely beat out of her chest.
He huffed. She watched his golden eyes drop to her lips, lingering for a second before rising to her eyes again.
“I know your stupid ex-boyfriend cheated on you, and you’re some nerdy book editor. Your life has probably been vanilla cream and rainbows—”
“That’s a big assumption! And you know what they say about assuming things—" she started with a scowl.
“I saw that potato cat plush in your apartment.”
“Potato cat?” she asked with a frown…
“POTATO. POTOTO...” he tried to explain and she frowned until she realized he meant her Totoro plush.
“You mean TOTORO!”
“How the fuck should I know? But it doesn’t fuckin' matter. I’ve seen how you live, you probably grew up being a daddy’s girl. You don’t belong in this world, getting shot at by gang members. You should be home, in bed, reading your bible or something, like a good girl.” He growled the last part out and watched for her expression. She was frowning again, eyes confused, hurt, and angry all at once.
She tried to push him away, but he held on.
“You’re so rude!” she groused, starting to struggle against him. “You think just because you’re 6”3” you can boss me around. You don’t know me,” she stated with a hard push. She didn’t miss the low growl but she didn’t care. She was tired, she’d been kidnapped, she’d been groped at, and shot at. Then he goes and knocks her on her ass.
She was done.
“You don’t know me. You think you’re so smart and assume things about me, but you’re wrong. I’m not stupid, I’m not a daddy’s girl. I’ve had my share of problems growing up as well.”
“Oh, pardon me sweetheart. I’m sure Starbucks running out of your favorite drink was a tragic event.” Tora laughed shortly and didn’t see her arm coming his way. His head snapped back slightly when her fist made contact with his jaw. “Fuck!”
He loosened his arms around her momentarily in surprise and she saw her chance, pushing away from him as she scrambled to stand up and run.
She didn’t even manage to stand up before she felt his hand close around her ankle, dragging her back down to the floor and towards him.
“Let me go!” she panted as she kicked her legs back trying to reach any part of him.
He flipped her over and dropped his body over hers, holding her hands by her head with his own. She was panting hard, face flushed and eyes blazing in anger as she stared back up at his. Defiant.
“What are you playing at?” he snarled out the question. "And don't you try to punch me again, ya hear? I'm letting it slide this time..."
“I am not playing.”
“Oh, really. Then explain to me why you choose to put yourself in danger. Is it some type of fantasy, a kink? Being stuck between a dark world of crime and death? Because, let me tell you, it’s not as fun as you might imagine.” He looked at her trembling lips, her chest still rising and falling quickly. “Stop playing around. I’m not your toy. I’m not one of those men you can twist and turn with you finger. This is real life, not some princess fantasy for you, and I’ve got better things to do than come save your ass.”
“Why did you come looking for me?” She snapped and he squinted his eyes at her. “I didn’t ask to be thrown into a gang war. That was all your fault when you decided to take a pervy picture of me. Are you satisfied with it? Did you finally delete it or is it still floating around in your phone? Do you still use it when you need to get off?” Stupid, stupid, stupid, shut up Poppy!
“I told you that was a mistake! I realize that now.” He looked away from her… Was he blushing?
“Then, why did you come looking for me?” she asked again a little louder now. She didn’t know where she was getting her courage from, but she blamed it on the darkness of the room and the illumination from the signs through the window. “If you have better things to do? You should’ve let them kill me.” She gasped when he grabbed her chin with his hand, turning her face to his. She wouldn’t cry, she wouldn’t cry, she wouldn’t cry.
The sweet and awkward man she’d discovered during their dinner at Alice’s was gone replaced by something… dark and cold. And then she realized it was the same look he’d had when he’d confronted Jack.
And her heart broke.
For the man underneath that hid behind death and hate.
“What are you playin' at? Do you think you can play me? I’m not someone to mess with and you don’t know what you’re playing with right now.” He slid his hand down to her neck, “I’m a deadly weapon. I could easily snap your neck.”
Poppy winced, feeling the slight press of his fingers at her throat. He was only trying to scare her, she was sure…
“You’re not a killer, Tora.”
He snorted. “I just killed ten men and I’m not a killer? I’ve lost count of the number of kills I’ve completed since I was sixteen…”
“You have a choice.”
“To do what? Be a writer? Be a family man?” He sneered at her, and she shook his head at him.
“Everyone has a choice.”
“Not everyone.”
“You chose to go save me.”
“I had to go see what they wanted.”
“You could’ve left me behind.”
The hand at her throat stopped. He snapped his eyes back to study her, before he removed it.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Uh, you brought me here?”
“I meant in this situation. And you’re right, it’s all my fault.” He rolled off her to sit up. He ran a hand over his face before he dropped his head back onto the mattress. “I should’ve known better than to assume that a little bookworm girl could be a killer. Jesus! You sleep surrounded by plush dolls, Bobby! You’re not a killer!” He exclaimed with a shake of his head. “And if they killed you, it would’ve been innocent blood on my hands again…”
“Tora?” Again? She frowned as she sat up again. You don’t think he’s fragile? Old Alice’s words rang in her brain as she stared at Tora who had his arm throw over his face.
“You should leave now, Poppy.”
What? The jerk. “Tora, I said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t think you’re the bad person you make yourself out to be.”
He lifted his arm off his face slowly before setting his eyes on her as she continued her speech.
“I don’t know why you try to be this, this…tough guy all the time. You rescued me. Not once, but twice already. You could’ve just let them kill me, good riddance. But you came to find me. There should be no reason why you should care about the life of a weird nerdy girl you’ve barely met, but you cared enough to worry about me.”
His said nothing, his eyes burning into hers. His jaw was clenching slightly and his lips set into a grim line.
“I know you’re selfless, Tora. And kind. You care more about others than you like to admit.” She held her hands against her chest, praying to whoever might listen, that it got through his thick head.
“Are ya done?”
“I…wait what?” she gaped, completely thrown off by his response.
“Your little speech, are ya done?” He repeated sitting up straighter. A shudder went through her when she saw that dangerous glow in his eyes. He hadn’t smiled, or scowled, frowned, nothing. But she knew that she was now the prey and he was definitely the predator…
“I…”
“So ya think I’m selfless?”
“Yes.”
“And kind?” Poppy leaned back against the bed as she stared at him. He reached for her wrist again, pulling her him, and she bit her lip to keep herself from whimpering. Oh god, she was in trouble. She ended up pressed up against him, half on half off his lap. “Ya think I’m kind?” he repeated with a sneer.
She swallowed hard, trying to get herself together. “Yes, Tora, I think you’re kind. It doesn’t matter what you do, I know it’s an act.”
She yelped when he yanked her upwards by her arms and moaned softly when she felt his warm breath along her neck, before he spoke into her ear.
“Even after you’ve seen me kill today?”
“Yes,” she gasped. She closed her eyes when she felt his hand reaching for her throat.
“Do ya want to know what they would’ve done to ya if I hadn’t saved ya?” he asked through gritted teeth as his hand caressed her neck, moving down to her shoulder.
“N-no.”
“Well, since I’m not nice, I’ll tell ya anyways.” Before she could tell what he was doing, he pushed her down to the floor, coming over her.