Anna rolled her eyes. "I am not a weakling horrified by these sites. The crime rate in this city is high, I keep a lighter with me at all times to help," she said matter-of-factly.
Ladislas frowned at the knowledge that she was used to this sight.
"I need you to help me with something, can you?" she asked gently like he was about to faint. Ladislas found it irritating to be underestimated by a human.
"What do you want?" he responded gruffly, shoving his hand in his pant pockets.
Her eyebrows twitched. "I need you to get a big bottle of beer. Be inconspicuous about it, got it?" He did attract a lot of attention wherever he went.
For a second he stared at her incredulously but seeing she was serious, he nodded and headed to one of the pubs near the alley.
Anna pulled out her phone and checked on the cab. It was still four minutes away. Plenty of time.
Within moments, he was back. He handed her a cheap bottle of beer.
"Give me your handkerchief," she demanded. He took it out from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Why don't you use yours?" he asked.
"I am not an old person who carries their handkerchief around." And as she spoke, she wiped the bottle with his handkerchief and opened it.
"What are you doing?" he hissed, jumping back to avoid the splash of beer as Anna emptied the bottle on the men on the ground. She didn't answer, grimly pushing Ladislas back even more before she braced the bottle against the ground and slammed it down. The shards scattered.
"Miss Dunn," he hissed.
Delicately, Anna placed the broken bottle in one of the open palms of her victim. It was then Ladislas saw the full picture.
"Oh," he said dumbly. Really did look like two drunk friends who had gotten into a brawl.
"Yes. Did you want to be questioned for assault when their unconscious bodies were found?" she asked.
"Now what?" Ladislas said, amused. He didn't need her help to evade the police. But her attempt was remarkable.
"Now we find alibis to ensure neither of us is blamed for this. These morons wouldn't dare spill the truth to the cops," she said softly.
Finally, her phone rang and she picked it up. "Sorry, I just had to grab something. I will be there in a minute," she chirped, her words slightly slurred purposely. She picked herself up from the ground and waved the phone at him. "Our alibi is here," she told him. "Follow my lead." She inched closer to him and laced her fingers through his, pulling him away from her art piece and towards the pub they had been sitting in for hours. She finally saw the cab.
"Miss Dunn," he called, exasperated, but she turned to him with a raised brow.
"We've hit people together. You can call me Anna, now," she responded. Before he could respond, she slid into his side and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Darling, our ride is here… See?" she said loudly as they came within earshot.
He froze as she bundled into him as pushed him into the cab. She was right behind him, settling comfortably in his arms. "Take us home," she said in the dreamiest voice she could muster.
Ladislas held back a snort and wondered if she had taken acting classes.
To his credit, he played along. He threaded his hand around her and made casual and suddenly half-slurred conversation with the driver.
If someone questioned Ladislas about what they were doing, he would be fired from his current job. But it was so much better than not experiencing this thrilling adventure. A potentially harmful alibi was better than none at all. Especially because Anna couldn't weasel out of a criminal charge.
The timestamp of when she had booked the cab to when they started the trip, and the conversation with the driver would corroborate what they said.
He had paid for the beer with cash and bought it at the pub without CCTV.
He looked down at her strangely. Such an insightful mind. A criminal mastermind? Or did she watch too many crime shows?
As they drove, Anna belatedly realized that she was nestled too comfortably in his neck, lips close enough to kiss his bare skin. If she opened her eyes and craned a little, she would get a stellar view of his neck and his sharp jaw.
The warmth of his large palm pressed against his waist, his arm snug around her body should have only reminded her of the horrifying nightmare about him. But the light tapping on his finger on her knee distracted her from it. It was a chaste touch that anybody who was dating wouldn't have been affected by. But every time his fingers hit the cloth covering her skin, she felt electricity shooting through her and it muddled her mind more effectively than the alcohol she had consumed.
Soon, they stopped right outside her building.
"Goodnight, you two!" the driver called out to them, chuckling. Ladislas extricated himself gently from her.
"Mitting, let's go," he said, his voice low and tender, fingers wrapping around her hands to tug at her. Half of her was confused at the word he had used and the other part knew it was an endearment. She dutifully slid out.
The driver got a call and he took it. His eyes remained on the two, making it hard for Anna to leave the act unfinished.
Anna grabbed his lapels and tugged him forward, walking backward till her back hit the side of her building. He was forced to crowd her. He came willingly, his face giving away his shock at her actions.
They settled in naturally, one of his palms sliding up to brace the wall while the other glided up to the small of her back.
"Miss Dunn," he warned, sounding rattled. "This doesn't seem appropriate," he said, stunning himself.
One of her hands spread across his chest, flat against his beating heart. It was joyously loud and fast. Her other hand slid into the back of his hair. She didn't miss how his eyes flickered dangerously at the touch.
"Always stay in character until the play ends," she whispered, leaning up.
Note: Mitting means 'darling' in 14th Century English.