The blaring of my phone from the floor woke me up. Groaning, I sat up and squinted at the bedside clock. I had only been asleep for close to an hour. Realization dawned on me and a string of profanities fell from my mouth as I all but dove for the phone. Pulling it out of my uniform pocket with fumbling hands, I prayed he wouldn't be too angry as I answered the call. "Hello?" I tentatively asked.

"I'm going to kill you, Jules!" Dante exploded, the volume of his voice hurting my ears. "I told you to call me. I've been worried sick."

"I fell asleep," I sheepishly admitted, biting my lip as Dexter poked his head over the edge of the bed to stare at me where I sat on the floor.

He sighed, and I could practically see him running his hand down his face. "I thought they got you again," he mumbled, and I didn't have to ask to know that he was talking about Vincent.

"He said he wouldn't hurt me," I reminded him, hoisting myself up just to fall onto the bed beside Dexter.

"And you trust him?"

"Don't really have a choice in the matter, do I?" I snapped, immediately feeling bad for it.

"Just be careful, Jules," he muttered.

"I will. Can I go back to sleep now?"

His soft chuckle sounded through the phone. "Goodnight, Juliette."

"Night, Dante," I murmured, ending the call before pitching the phone back onto the floor. "Stupid, overprotective boss," I grunted, rolling over so that I was lying on my stomach with one arm wrapped around Dexter. He sniffed at my hair before licking my cheek. Shoving his face away from mine, I turned so that my back was pressed against his warm body. Before long, I was fast asleep again.

* * * * *

The next time I was woken up, it was by the pounding on my door. After glancing at the clock and deciding that nine was a decent time to get up, I groaned and heaved myself out of bed. As I trudged out into the living room, Dexter was trotting right along beside me. While I probably looked like death warmed over, he was all bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Lucky dog.

Reaching up on my tiptoes to look through the peephole, another groan slipped through my lips. "I'm going to kill you," I threatened Devyn as I swung the door open.

She just grinned at me. "It's good to see you too, Jules," she greeted, shouldering her way past me on her way to the kitchen.

The bag she placed on the counter along with the coffee she set beside it immediately lifted my spirits. "You shouldn't have," I teased, picking up the cappuccino before taking a hesitant sip. When I was satisfied I wasn't going to burn my taste buds off, I took a longer drink.

"I needed an excuse to come yell at you," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"About?" I questioned with a wince, already having an idea where this was going.

"You need to start letting Dante give you a ride home," she stated, crossing her arms over her cheetah print clad chest.

"I'm not a child," I grumbled, digging into the bag to get the jelly doughnut that was calling my name.

"It doesn't matter, Jules," she all but yelled, flinging her arms up. "You shouldn't be walking home at that time."

"You do it," I pointed out, taking a generous bite out of my food.

She glared at me. "I also only live like three blocks away from the bar. Not practically on the other side of the city."

"Why don't you and Dante just get together already?" I asked.

"Don't try to change the subject on me," she ground out as the faintest tinge of red could be seen through her dark skin.

"I'm just curious," I returned, trying to fight the smile that wanted to overcome my face.

"Drop it," she ordered, closing her eyes before sighing through her nose. "You need to take better care of yourself."

"I'm saving up my money for a gun," I informed her, shoving the rest of the doughnut into my mouth.

She gaped at me for a moment, but I think it was more to do with my eating habits than my words. "How you stay skinny I'll never understand," she grumbled, rolling her eyes before reaching her hand into the bag and pulling out her own doughnut.

"Well if that's not the pot calling the kettle black," I teased, moving to sit at my small two-seater table.

"Is that a racist joke?" she asked, feigning hurt as she fell into the chair across from me.

"We are not starting this," I told her, leaning forward to rest my head against the table.

"What time did you get home last night?"

"Like three," I grunted. "And then Dante called me an hour later and woke me up."

"Should have let him –"

"Devyn," I warned.

She muttered something under her breath and I had a feeling it was something I didn't want to hear. "I'm just trying to look out for you, Jules," she murmured, peeking up at me through her long lashes.

"Don't pull a puppy-dog face," I groaned. "I can't take the puppy-dog face."

"You mean this?" she questioned, jutting her lower lip out.

"Stop!" I exclaimed, reaching across the table to smack her arm.

She laughed as Dexter ambled his way into the room with us. Sending me one last teasing smile, she crouched down to his level and started cooing to him. Rolling my eyes, I scooted past her and made my way back to my room. Knowing Devyn, she would want to go out at some point soon. So once in the confines of my bedroom I switched out my oversized t-shirt for a pair of dark wash jeans, an off the shoulder black top, and my converse. Once again I found myself throwing my hair up into a bun before heading back to Devyn.

"You read my mind," she said as I emerged.

"Shut up."

Dexter sensed we were leaving and made his way to the couch before hopping up onto it and making himself comfortable. Without another word Devyn and I left my apartment. Stuffing my keys into my pocket since I hadn't felt like lugging my purse around, we made our way out into the sunlight. "So, plans?" she asked.

"None."

"Loser."

"Love you, too."

For a while we walked in silence, but we quickly found ourselves making our normal rounds to our favorite random shops. Before long we each had bought a couple things, but I cut it off once I had reached my limit. Rent was due the following day and even though I was sure I would make all that I had spent back that night, I didn't want to risk it. So, we hauled our bags with us as we headed towards Tuxedo to bum some free food off Dante.

Of course, it seemed like I couldn't go anywhere since getting kidnapped without seeing Vincent or his gang. And true to form when we were a couple blocks away from the bar, a black SUV rolled past us, came to an abrupt stop, and then backed up until it was level with us. The tinted window rolled down to reveal a grinning Brandon with Lucas riding shotgun. "Hey, sugar," Lucas called, waving at us.

"Friends of yours?" Devyn asked.

"Stalkers," I muttered, grabbing her hand and picking up our pace.

"Juliette!" I heard them chorus as we hastened towards the bar.

"Should I be worried about you?" Devyn asked as we burst through the back doors of Tuxedo.

"They're harmless unless you witness something you shouldn't," I told her, bending at the waist to brace my hands against my knees.

Unfortunately, even our haven of a workplace couldn't save us from Lucas and Brandon. The back door burst open behind me, sending me flying face first into the floor. "Oh, Jules!" Devyn exclaimed. The only response I could manage was a pain-filled groan.

"Shit," one of the boys said before I felt strong hands lift me. Spinning me around, I found that it was Brandon who had helped me up. He cupped my face, thumbs running along my cheekbones and over the bridge of my nose. "Well, on the bright side nothing's broken. Nothing's bleeding."

Thank god, I thought.

"Bright side my ass, white-boy," Devyn growled, slapping him without a second of hesitation. "You threw her into the floor!"

Brandon looked only mildly shocked at the abuse, but he barely even glanced at her before returning his attention to me. He started to apply light pressure against my cheeks, but when he pressed the spot directly below my left eye I flinched. "Tender?" he asked, voice soft. I nodded. "It'll probably bruise a little, but nothing major."

"You sound like you know what you're talking about," I said, ignoring Devyn as she lit into Lucas about the proper way to treat a woman.

"I take care of most minor injuries with the guys," he told me, letting his hands hover around my face before they dropped to his sides. "Consider that payback for the punch."

Devyn whipped around to face us at that. "Punch?"

"I punched him in the nose for trying to steal my money the other night," I told her, mock punching Brandon in the arm for good measure. Devyn opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "Now is there something you two wanted?"

"No, this time I'm actually just stalking you," Lucas piped up, grinning at me.

"Hey girls, I didn't know you were –" Dante's voice cut off as he came into the room. Turning towards him, I saw him scrutinizing the two strange men in his kitchen. "Jules?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Why do you automatically assume this was my fault?" I fired back, slightly outraged by his assumption. Even though it was right.

"I recognize that one from last night," he said, pointing at Brandon.

"They were just leaving," I said, huffing as I pointed to the door. "Bye boys."

Lucas was going to protest, I could see it in his eyes, but Brandon grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. "Make sure to put some ice on that eye, Juliette," he told me with a wink before dragging the blonde out the door with him.

Cursing Brandon to the fieriest pits of Hell, I faced Dante. His nostrils were flared in anger and I winced at the sight. "Why do you need to put ice on your eye, Jules?" His tone was much too measured for my liking. It made me uneasy instead of calm.

"Asstard hit her with the door and she fell on her face," Devyn explained.

"An accident?"

"An accident," I verified. "They wouldn't hurt me."

"And what on God's green Earth makes you say that?" he questioned, stepping toe to toe with me so that I could feel the worry-fueled anger rolling off him.

"Gut feeling."

Dante sighed and threw his hands up into the air. "I give up, you never listen. No matter how much I try to warn you, you just have to go off and get yourself into trouble. You're like a fucking magnet for trouble!" he ranted, the volume of his voice raising the more he talked.

At that point, I was trying to keep a level head. Dante was only worried about me, but that didn't give him any reason to talk to me like I was a child. "Dante, I'm a grown woman –"

"And that means you can take on a gang?" he spat, cutting me off.

Instead of blowing up on him like I wanted to, I took a deep breath. Now was not the best time to piss Dante off. "Are you done yet?"

His chocolate eyes blazed, but he sighed before nodding. "For now."

"Can we have food now, you hormonal mother hen?" Devyn asked, breaking the tension that had built in the room.

"Help yourselves, and be on time tonight. Jules you're working with Anthony again." And with he went back out into the club.

"You were absolutely no help," I told her.

However, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Devyn narrowed her eyes at me and crossed her arms. "If you're such a grown woman you shouldn't need my help."

Groaning, I let my head fall into my hands. "Not you too."

"The blonde one admitted to stalking you!"

"He was kidding!" I yelled, flailing my arms out. I probably looked like I was trying to fly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Devyn."

"We just want you to look after yourself."

"You saw how worried Brandon was when he hit me with the door, they don't want to hurt me. Just let me deal with my own damn problem, okay?" I asked her, hoping the pleading in my voice would get through to her.

She pursed her lips at me. "Fine, but don't think I won't mace those dumbasses into next week if they ever hurt you."

"You could probably maul them with those claws of yours," I grumbled.

"You're just jealous," she said, beaming as she waved her canary yellow talons in my face.

"Totally," I replied, sarcasm lacing the word.

She rolled her eyes at me and then we searched for food. It didn't take us long to start a batch of wings to share. In the back of my mind I wondered how often I was going to run into the boys. Also, whether or not Lucas was kidding about the stalking thing. I was almost positive that he was, but then again I didn't know him all that well. Hopefully it would stay that way.

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