"Remember, it's different from the road. We're not just passing through. We live here. We have to be extra vigilant."
"I know, I know."
"I know how impulsive you can be."
"I get it, trust me. I’ll be fine."
I pull her against me, grabbing her hair.
"Go get dressed, nothing colorful that’ll make you stand out," I say. "We'll grab breakfast and monitor the scanner. When the scene clears, we move."
She smiles before turning to get ready, her face is lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.
I hope she gets the gifts she wants today. I’m brimming with excitement to get back to where we belong. Mr. and Mrs. Fucked Up.
The Alpine Diner is exactly what we are looking for, a small, worn place off the 8 freeway where truckers and construction workers stop for cheap coffee and greasy food. Nobody pays any attention to anyone here.
We take a booth in the back corner. I position myself where I can see the door and the parking lot, old habits from a life I'm supposed to have left behind. The only difference is I’m not being paid to track people and be violent. I’m doing it because it makes us both happy.
Roxy has her sketchbook out, drawing the other customers. An old man at the counter, hunched over his coffee. A waitress with tired eyes and a forced smile. A construction worker in the corner booth, staring at his phone with the kind of emptiness that speaks to something deeper than fatigue.
"Sad people," she murmurs, her pencil moving across the paper. "This is what I need. The despair. The brokenness. The truth they're trying to hide."
I watch her work, this woman who sees real pain everywhere and calls it pure. Her hand moves with absolute certainty, capturing the workers’ expressions in a few quick strokes.
The scanner sits on the table between us with the volume low. We've been monitoring for two hours, listening to the police process the scene on Leonard Avenue.
"Scene is clear. CSI finishing up. Units can return to patrol."
I glance at Roxy. "This is our window."
She closes her sketchbook and we leave cash on the table. Time to go hunting.
I park two blocks away and we walk to the scene. Roxy has her camera, which is a small digital one that’s easy to carry and not something that would draw attention.
The scene at a corner store is exactly what I expected, the shattered windows, yellow crime scene tape fluttering in the breeze, blood stains on the sidewalk. The police and bodies are gone, just leaving that hollow feel of loss. We approach carefully, where there are a few people lingering, I’m guessing neighbors, curious onlookers, people with morbid curiosity and those who just want the gossip.
"Stay close and don’t linger after you get your shots.”
She nods and starts photographing the area, paying attention to the crime scene tape, the trail of blood on the sidewalk, shattered glass from the windows and the bullet holes left dented in the storefront. She works fast, completely in the zone, knowing what it is she is after.
I keep watch, scanning for police and potential witnesses, basically anyone who might remember us. A sheriff's deputy pulls up just as Roxy's finishing and my hand finds her waist immediately, grabbing her attention.
"Time to go," I say quietly.
We walk away casually, just like another couple out for a morning walk. Looking to my side, the deputy doesn't even look at us, but fuck, my heart is pounding, adrenaline rumbling through my veins, all because of the risk.
We make it back to the car and I drive away like any other casual driver in the area, with no haste or lingering. Always blending in with the city around us.
"That was close, but we got it. I got the shots I needed," she says, grinning.
"Good."
I drive to a turnout in the hills above the city, to a quiet spot where we can see the ocean in the distance. The adrenaline is still coursing through me, making my hands shake slightly on the wheel. Roxy notices, and her eyes glaze over in understanding. With arousal.
"Pull over," she says.
I don’t ask why, because I already know. This is a dance we have danced many times. I find parking in the shade of a eucalyptus tree, and as soon as I turn off the engine, she's on me. Her mouth latches on to mine and I groan into the kiss. My hands slide into her hair, gripping hard, pulling her closer to me so I can feel her whole body.
