Emerald Chains

06. Danger

"Fuck" Ethan mumbled under his breath. As he noticed Richard lean in closer to Raelyn and place a strand of hair behind her ear making her uncomfortable at the close contact.

Ethan walked up to Richard trying to maintain his cool so he didn't blow his cover. He placed a hand on Richard's shoulder. "Richard, good to see you."

Richard turned around and faced Ethan, slapping him on the back in greeting. "Ah Ethan, what a surprise, I was just talking to your lovely date here." Richard leaned in closer and whispered in Ethan's ear. "Nice choice, she's got a good rack on her".

Ethan had an urge to punch Richard in the face right then and there but he maintained his cool and simply replied with a laugh.

"Raelyn, this is my friend Richard, he works in the same department". It killed him to call Richard his friend after he saw him inappropriately touching Raelyn but he had no other choice, he had to maintain his cover.

"Lovely to meet you Richard" Raelyn replied.

"What happened to your shirt Ethan," Richard said when he noticed the red wine stains.

"Just a little accident" he replied with a playful wink in Raelyns direction.

Ethan noticed Richard smirk at the exchange causing Ethan to put a hard emotionless expression on his face.

"Anyway, don't want to keep you two lovebirds from your date. I'm just here with a friend if you catch my drift" Richard pointed to the direction of a young blonde, not much older than Raelyn who gave a wave. Ethan was disgusted at the thought of a 50-year-old sleazy man throwing himself on another young innocent woman but he gave Richard a handshake goodbye and sat down across from Raelyn.

Their food came shortly after and Ethan maintained his cold and distant expression. He noticed Richard taking glances over in their direction every so often and was determined to get this lunch over with as fast as possible to put distance between Raelyn and Richard.

All he could think of was that he put Raelyn in danger. It was selfish to think he could bring someone so close to his line of work especially since the case hadn't even wrapped up yet. He didn't want her to become a target because of him. He knew a simple case of fraud wasn't the most dangerous undercover role he had been in but it still posed its risks. He had more enemies than most with the number of people he put behind bars and any one of them could harm those he cared for.

He looked over at Raelyn who was quietly eating her ravioli with her head down. He couldn't deny that he liked her. She made him laugh and she was so pure and innocent. He decided then and there that he would break off contact with her. She deserved someone better he thought. Someone who would keep her safe. He couldn't bring her into his world.

He finished his meal and sighed which caused Raelyn to lift her head. "How is it?" he asked.

"Um... it's good, thank you. I'm sorry again for the shirt." Raelyn said quietly.

"Don't worry about it" replied Ethan in a cold tone. This was it, he thought to himself. Act cold, act distant. It will be easier to break off contact. From Ethan's experience, most women tend to over analyse even the smallest things. He was hoping the incident with the wine would provide the catalyst to distant himself.

"Let's get going," he said as soon as Raelyn finished the last bite of her food.

It was silent as they were driving back to her apartment but Ethan was just happy that Richard was no longer in sight. Raelyn dragged him out of his thoughts when she spoke "Is everything ok Ethan? You seem a bit distant."

"It's fine, I've just got a lot on my plate at work" he lied in a clipped tone.

"Of course" replied Raelyn, turning to gaze at her hands in her lap.

They parked out the front of Raelyn's apartment and Ethan walked her up to her front door.

"Thanks for today, I had fun," she said, awkwardly playing with her hair.

"As did I. Take care of yourself Raelyn," he leaned in and gave her a small peck on the corner of her mouth before quickly turning around and disappearing down the stairs.

***

Raelyn was left there at the front door confused, wondering why it felt like he just said his final goodbye. She turned around and headed into the apartment.

Aunt Claire was at work until later that evening. She spent the next hour lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. She was still confused from the date. She knew it was going well, they were laughing and chatting and having a good time all up until lunch.

Raelyn thought back on the events and a blush rose to her cheeks when she remembered their first kiss. She thought back to what followed.

Could he be angry at me for ruining his shirt? She didn't think so, he didn't seem the type to get angry over a stain on a shirt. Besides, it would come out when he washed it anyway. He didn't start to get distant until after Richard arrived. It was like he shut down and put a wall between us since then. And he did seem quite eager to leave the restaurant after he arrived. She was determined to get to the bottom of it and promised herself she would call him later to uncover the truth.

Raelyn thought it would be best to talk to someone to get their opinion before she jumped to any conclusions so she picked up her phone and called Amber. She knew Amber would be dying to hear how it went anyway.

"Tell me everything!" Amber screamed excitedly down the phone.

"Calm down Amber, can I come over? We can chat about it then." Raelyn asked.

It was still early in the afternoon and it was only 3 pm when Raelyn arrived at Ambers house.

"Yay!" Amber yelled as she pulled Raelyn into a big hug. "How did it go? Did you kiss? Wait, why are back so early. I thought you guys would be going at it all evening," she finished with a wink.

Raelyn sat down with Amber in the living room and explained the days' events. She described the fun time they had at the exhibition to the kiss Ethan surprised her with at the restaurant, to when Richard showed up and the events that followed.

"I still can't believe you projected your wine over to the other side of the table. Sounds like a classic Raelyn move though," said Amber.

"I just don't know what went wrong, I thought everything was going well then he just built up this wall around him and that was it," exclaimed Raelyn.

"But you're right. I don't think he would get angry over some spilt wine. I say you call him." replied Amber.

"What now?" asked Raelyn.

"I've never seen you this distracted about a man before Rae. You seem to really like him," said Amber.

Raelyn pondered for a moment about it. "I think I do."

"So if you're worried then call him," said Amber.

"It might seem too eager if I call him so soon," replied Raelyn while she fiddled with her phone.

"Mmmm... you could be right. But just don't leave it too long ok. You'll just end up worrying more." replied Amber.

"Ok," Raelyn responded. "Look I have to head home, I need to pick up dinner on the way"

"Sure thing" replied Amber, giving Raelyn a big hug on the way out. "Call me if you need anything".

***

"I picked up Chinese" called out Raelyn as she pushed open the front door with her shoulder. She proceeded to the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter. It was already 7 pm when Raelyn walked through the door. She messaged Claire on her way home letting her know she would pick something up for dinner.

She grabbed some plates from the cupboard and set them down and proceeded to the draw to grab some forks.

"Claire?" Raelyn called out. She continued to dish up the food onto the plates. "It's going to go cold" she shouted. With a sigh, she placed down the fork and heading into the living room finding the TV switched on but no-one in the room. She continued down the hall to Claire's bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Claire are you home?". She waited a few seconds before pushing open the door. She froze for only a moment as she saw her aunt collapsed on the floor, glass shattered around her from a drink she had held in her hand.