When they both woke up, Skylar flicked his head.
Hard.
That made Riker upset, and a red spot formed in the middle of his forehead.
"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his face with his palm.
"I told you not to move me when I was sleeping!" she told him angrily, and he sighed.
"I feel bad; this is your home and you're sleeping on the couch. I should be the one to sleep there." Riker replied.
"You're too big for my couch." Skylar pointed out, and Riker rolled his eyes.
"Also, I sleep faster when I can feel you next to me." he admitted, his face going red.
"I highly doubt that." Skylar replied, getting up from the bed as she headed out of the room.
"It's the truth!" Riker replied, following after her.
"Sure, so how are you going to make it? I have to go back to work next Tuesday. Maybe if you ask Nick nicely, he'll share the bed with you." Skylar said.
"Wait, you have to go back to work? Don't jobs usually give out two-week vacations?" he asked, sounding confused.
Skylar shook her head, and headed to the restroom, washing her face, and brushing her teeth. It was weird how normal it was getting having Riker in her apartment despite no label being placed on them.
She wasn't even sure she could consider him as a friend, as he had lied to her twice already.
Which reminded her, she was going to have to put the thing in her purse in a more secure place. If things ever got clarified, she'd sell it back, but for now, she had it as a just in case item.
Once she brushed through the tangles of her hair, she headed back out to the kitchen, Riker cooking once more.
"I'm just getting cereal." Skylar said, as she reached over to the fridge and grabbed her favorite Sweet Oats and Nuts, the sound of her phone going off.
"Hang on, I'll be back." she told Riker as she walked to her bedroom. Her phone, charging on the dresser, went off again, and she glanced at it, her company's number flashing on the screen. "Hello?" She answered.
"Fair morning Miss Luna. Sorry for waking you up so early, the company is trying to organize momentarily. I was summoned by the new boss to inform you that he's gifted you an extra week with pay of vacation time. So, we'll see you the next Tuesday." Reena said, her voice sounding pleasant.
"But what about-"
"You need not concern yourself with your clients, Miss Luna. We have others covering for you until you get back." Reena answered, and Skylar relaxed then.
This was unexpected but she didn't mind it.
When she walked back in the kitchen, Riker was watching her, curious, a plate stacked with pancakes and smeared butter in his hand, extended out to her.
"I told you I was going to eat cereal." She scolded him but took the plate either way.
"Who was on the phone?" He asked instead, serving himself some.
"Work. They wanted me to do some business things." Skylar replied, sitting at the kitchen table.
"Oh...they didn't say anything...specific?" Riker egged her on, his face turning to confusion.
Skylar is quiet, staring at him. He squirms underneath her gaze, but other than that, doesn't look away. Riker is usually at ease, but his question has her guessing that maybe there's more under the facade he's keeping tightly on.
"So, what are your plans for the day?" she asks him instead, and he stares at her, before clearing his throat.
"I actually have to go to another one of my meetings with my boss, and Nick." he answered, and Skylar nodded, finishing the last of her breakfast.
"Well, you should hurry up and get going." Skylar replied, clearing off the table.
"Yeah...so, just to be clear, you will be going back to work this Tuesday?" he asked, something creeping into his tone.
"It's what work is after all."
Skylar is in the kitchen then, washing off the dishes, and taking her time. She can feel his gaze burning into her back and it takes her all to feign nonchalance.
After a moment, he exhales, and pulls out his phone, calling Nick and speaking to him briefly to come and pick him up.
"You never made up for that disastrous date." Skylar commented.
"You still want to go on one?" Riker asked, turning his whole body to her, his gaze piercing.
"Yeah, why not? It's not like you're dating anyone right?" she asked.
At this Riker's features shuttered. Maybe for just a beat but it was long enough that Skylar could see it. Then, he relaxed once more, and grinned at her.
"It might surprise you, but I'm quite the catch, and single too."
"...maybe I should take Nick on the date instead." Skylar muse, and Riker's features darkened.
"I'll kill him if that happens." Riker promised.
A knock on the door announced his arrival, and as Riker went to go get changed, Skylar went to answer the door.
To her surprise, the strawberry blonde girl stood there instead, hair perfectly curled and parted away from her face, smoky black eyeshadow making her eyes big and vibrant. A dark red lipstick on her lips made her look sexy, and she wore a tight fitted black mini dress that ended above her knee, crimson heels on her feet.
Oh shit, Skylar thought.
"Nick sent me here to pick up Riker." she said, her voice slightly accented. It sounded like she was from Russia.
"Oh, right. Would you like to come in?" Skylar asked, as she stepped aside.
The girl-what had she been called? Kira? -wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
As Skylar turned to call out for Riker, he appeared then, glaring daggers at Kira.
"Where's Nick?" he asked through gritted teeth.
She answered back in Russian, and Skylar watched as Riker gritted his teeth, and dragged Kira by the elbow, neither of them looking back at Skylar as they walked down the hall and disappeared.
And though it was very stupid of Skylar, she decided that she was going to follow them after all.
It'd been hard tracking them down. Nick, Skylar assumed was the driver, drove like a madman, making turns left and right. After a bit, when Skylar thought she had lost them, the shiny black SUV would make an appearance, and back at it she would go.
The SUV took her to a part of Houston where the buildings were starting to get more and more sparse. The sun rays beat down, and Skylar switched on her A/C, her sunglasses covering most of her face, the baseball cap covering her hair.
She started to slow, though, when they turned on a dirt road, trees covering the area. Skylar bit her thumbnail, and headed that way too, careful when she saw a red gate that was just about to swing close.
She'd gotten in time, her hand snatching her purse from the passenger's seat, the weight of her purchase making it heavy.
Skylar took a deep breath and thought about what she was doing. This was maddening. But she wanted answers and was tired of Riker just being a warm body in her bed.
She parked her car on the side of where most of the trees were at, the branches and leaves covering it perfectly. She stepped out, her purse slung across her chest, and then felt an arm wrap around her throat, covering her mouth with a big beefy hand.
Skylar panicked, feeling her head go dizzy since her intake of air had been taken away. She felt muscle memory take over then and slammed her elbow into the ribs of her attacker.
She heard him cry out in surprise, letting her go as he staggered down a knee. Skylar didn't even think, reaching into her purse as she grabbed the gun she had bought, and slammed the end on the guy's temple.
His eyes rolled up then, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
Skylar calmed her breathing, as she gathered her bearings and headed back down the trail the last, she saw the black SUV go to.
With the tall, dead grass crunching under her sneakers, Skylar looked ahead. It looked to be an old jailhouse, the name of the building crumpling, and she took a steadying breath. It was rare that escaped inmates hid out here, but it was possible.
Skylar gripped her gun in a tight hold and continued to make her way. She was going to have to risk it.
As the building drew nearer, Skylar could hear music playing. She took advantage of that, and bolted, no longer caring if her steps made noise. She grabbed the door handle of the double doors, and turned it, expecting it to be locked.
To her surprise, it gave way, and she ducked inside, wrinkling her nose at the faint smell of mold. The music got louder, and Skylar pondered if she should go towards it or away from it.
Her feet were moving before she could think any more about it, going through the halls. The walls and floor were cement based, water dripping down somewhere nearby. Weak lightbulbs illuminated her way, and Skylar stopped as a wooden door appeared, the door just cracked opened.
The sound of flesh being hit against something perked her ears, and as she peeked through the crack of the door, her stomach twisted.
Kira was sitting on the wooden desk pushed the farthest away from the room, her legs crossed. She looked bored as she watched what was going on, and as Skylar looked on, she saw a man being thrown into the corner of the room, within Skylar's vision.
A random man, balding, with bruises and cuts all over his face and neck slumped to the ground. If it wasn't for his wheezing, Skylar would have guessed he was dead. She wondered why he wasn't screaming, when her eyes drifted to his lips.
They were sewn shut, neat stitching making his lips unable to move or make a proper sound as a fist hit him front and center of his face.
The man's head slammed back into the cement wall, and he stopped moving, Kira making a face as she wiped a speck of blood off her shoes.
"Be more careful next time." she admonished the beater.
"Sorry about that. Got carried away since it was you who came for me instead of Nick, and I used that moment to fuel my anger." Riker replied cheerily, as he pulled out a rag from his back pocket and wiped off his knuckles.
Skylar felt her stomach drop, and she backed away slowly, the music still playing so loudly that there was no way they could have heard her sneaker scuff against the cement floor.
And then Riker's eyes landed on hers.
She couldn't help it; she bolted.
She heard the door swing open, and Riker followed after, his footsteps heavier and louder as he ran after her. Skylar continued on, the adrenaline coursing through her body as she made her way out the front door.
She stopped as random men stood before her, guns trained on her. Her body shook, but she held up her arms, and dropped her gun when the man motioned for her to put it down.
Then she was being lifted, and she couldn't help it; she thrashed and fought, her fists landing every blow, men staggering back as her hits marked true.
At some point, someone swore, and hit the back of her head with a gun, everything fading to darkness as she blacked out.
Water splashed on her face, and Skylar sputtered awake. She was sitting on a wooden chair, hands tied behind her, and ankles tied to the legs of the chair.
She groaned at the pain that radiated from the back of her head and looked around. Her eyes stopped as she saw Kira, standing in front of her with a now empty metal bucket.
"Very foolish coming here." she said in her accented tone. "Foolish but brave."
"What...the hell..." Skylar said, trying not to throw up.
"Congratulations; you've been captured by the yakuza."