Trouble's Familiar Face

"'Night Rayne." she said as she watched him leave her room, closing the door behind him.

Chapter 2

The next morning Alexis awoke to her cell phone ringing, playing the song of the week that she liked. Groggily, she fumbled her way around the room, trying to follow the rings. She finally found it in the purse that she was using the night before and sleepily answered it.

"Hello?"

"Alexis? Is that you?" Asked a familiar voice on the other end.

Alex struggled to focus her brain and place the voice. "Yes, speaking. Who is this?"

"It's Danielle, Your roommate." she answered, and the voice clicked with the name, waking Alex up.

"Danny, what's up? Is everything okay? It's funny that you called because I wanted to talk to you anyways." Alex quickly closed her mouth to stop her rambling and prevent anything else from escaping.

"Alex, Rick came over last night." There was a pause and then a heavy sigh. "He banged on the doors and windows for over an hour." Her roommate explained.

"Oh Danny I'm so sorry. I've broken up with him, so he's a little angry with me right now."

"Alex, I'm sorry, but this isn't the first time. I cannot do this again. You're going to have to move out, honey. I'm sorry." Danielle said quietly.

Alex laughed lightly, and then cleared her throat. "It's alright Danny, I understand. I would kick me out too. I'll try and be over today to collect me belongings."

"You're taking this pretty well." Danielle said, laughter in her voice. "I actually thought that this would be a little harder on you."

"Well I was actually going to call you today to let you know that I had found another place." Alex explained, relieved that she wasn't leaving her roommate stranded. "I was worried about how you would take it."

Alex and her roommate said their goodbyes' and Alex hung up the phone.

"So how did she take it?" A voice said behind her, scaring her half to death. Alex spun around to see Rayne standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in each hand. She took the one offered to her and smiled at her best friend.

"She was kicking me out." Alex said smiling. "Rick came over sometime in the middle of the night and harassed Danny for over an hour banging on the windows and doors. So she's kicking me out."

"Well as unfortunate as that is, it did work in our favor." Rayne said thoughtfully. "I have the day off today, so I can help you go get some of your things if you would like to."

Alex rolled her eyes. "You own the company, you can have everyday off if you would like."

"Yes, but it doesn't feel like I earned the money if I don't show up at least sometimes." Rayne said, though a sly smile creeped into his features.

Alex took a sip of her coffee and made a face. "So, feel like helping me move?"

"I wouldn't want to do anything else." He said, cocking his head at the face that she made. Alex smiled at him for noticing. "Fifteen years we've known each other and you still can't make my coffee right?"

"Alright princess, I'll get dressed and we'll go get your belongings." he said rolling his eyes at her complaint.

~~~~

Several trips in Rayne's pickup truck and four hours later, Rayne and Alex managed to get all of her things to Rayne's house. They were working on bringing in the last thing which was a large, wooden, very heavy dresser into her room.

"So where did you get all this crap?" Rayne said jokingly, backing into the room slowly holding one side of the dresser. "And how did all this shit fit in that tiny room that you had?"

Alex laughed, trying to keep a hold on the other side of the dresser without dropping it. "Don't make me laugh or I'll drop this damn thing." They set it down against the wall and Rayne leaned on it exhausted.

"So what's for dinner?" he said standing up again and walking out of the room. He got half way across the living room before plopping on the couch.

Alex followed him into the living room. "I can whip up a pro style phone call to Pizza Palace."

"That never sounded better." Rayne said, smiling.

The pizza Alex ordered was going to take forty-five minutes to get there, so they had a few beers while they waited for their dinner.

"Do you think that you'll regret leaving him?" Rayne asked suddenly.

"Rick? No I won't. Sammy, yes but I know that I would be no use to him while I was with Rick." She said sadly, taking a sip of her beer.

Rayne nodded thoughtfully. "You know, Rick was good for you." Seeing the look on Alex's face, he hurried up to finish the thought. "I mean he made you grow up a lot and pretty quickly too."

"Was I really that immature?" She said laughing.

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, well, actually yes." He said thoughtfully. "You were too caught up in trying to please everyone around you, finding 'the one', and making sure you never rubbed anyone the wrong way. You never thought about you."

"Wow, I guess I have, because just thinking that I was that way is heard to hear." Alex laughed, "I know better now, I come first."

Rayne smiled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "You come first, huh? How many times?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at his pun. "I don't think you can handle me that long, cowboy."

"I could surprise you." Rayne leaned close, hovering inches from Alex's' lips. "I could amaze you with my self control." He whispered his breath hot against her face. He started to pull away when Alex grabbed behind his neck, capturing his lips with her own.

A knock on the door startled them apart and the pizza boy identified himself.

The next day Alex spent most of the day organizing her room and unpacking boxes. Well into the afternoon she realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day, so she picked herself up from the tower of boxes she was working on and wandered into the kitchen to find something to eat.

After several hours, a large mess and a few burns, dinner was ready as soon as Rayne had walked through the door.

"So she does cook?" Rayne said, casually leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

"You haven't tasted it yet. It doesn't count as cooking if it kills you." Alex said laughing.

"Unless you're Hannibal Lector." Rayne joked.

"True." She walked over to him giving him a quick kiss before shooing him off. "Go get your shower and I'll set the table." She ordered.

Rayne gave her mock salute and headed off to do as he was told. Twenty minutes later they were sitting down at the table talking about their days.

"So I tell this guy that the work doesn't get done until we have an advanced payment to get material with." Rayne was saying between bites of food.

"Well he can't expect you to build a house on your own money on sure faith that he'll pay you." Alex said, agreeing with Rayne's point.

"Exactly, so the guy looks at me all stupid and says-" A knock at the door interrupted Rayne's thought.

Alex started to rise, but Rayne put out a hand to stop her. He got up from his seat and made his way to the door.

"Hello, I'm here to speak with an Alexis Martin." A man in a suit said when Rayne answered the door. "My name is Ashton Phillips, I am a lawyer and I worked for Mr. Valintino."

Rayne opened the door wider so that the man could enter. Alex introduced her self, offering the living room for everyone to sit. After everyone sat down, the lawyer went on with his business. "Ms. Martin, I have come here today because the family had requested a privet funeral, so my firm believed that it would be best that I visit you now."

Alex cocked her head, not understanding. "Funeral? Who died? Oh my god, is Sammy alright?!" Alex panicked, jumping from her seat.

The lawyer waved a hand to sit her back down. "Young Samuel is fine. Now Ms. Martin, you were unaware of Mr. Valintino's passing?"

"Rick's dead?" Alex's face went pale and she started shaking her head. "No, this is a mistake. I just spoke with him two days ago. He was very much alive."

"How did this happen?" Rayne asked ignoring Alex's growing hysteria.

"It didn't happen because this is a mistake, it didn't happen." Alex said, now sobbing. "Take it back! You're mistaken-" A sound slap across Alex's face stopped her hysterics immediately. The room seemed to hang on the sound of the slap and no one said a word.

Rayne turned back to the lawyer and took a deep breath. "Now, how did this happen?"

The lawyer, who seemed unfazed by the scene, shook his head slightly. "I am not privileged to that information. I am only here to speak with Ms. Martin about the conditions of Mr. Valintino's will."

Alex, who had sobered up dramatically, was the first to speak. "Conditions?"

"Yes, even though you two were apparently estranged, he had you on his will as the second of only two inheritors."

"Inheritors? Does that mean that she's to take on that asshole's debts?" Rayne said, rising from his seat.

"No debts. In fact Ms. Martin is a very wealthy woman now." The suit replied with a slight smirk hanging on his lips.

"That man didn't work a day in his life," Alex argued. "How can I be wealthy?"

"Well you and young Samuel both inherited just over $300,000."

"I worked my ass off for six years to support his alcoholism and he was rich this entire time?"

"I suppose if that's the situation, then yes ma'am. Now if you could sign here saying you received this check and here saying I had explained everything to you." Mr. Phillips said, handing her a check and a pen. Alex signed where she was suppose to and watched the lawyer pack everything up in his briefcase.

She walked him to the door and they shook hands and thanked him before he left. Alex made her way to the couch and sat back down. Neither one of them spoke, nor did they go back to the now forgotten dinner. They sat, absorbing what had just happened.

Rayne stood up and walked into the kitchen. Alex heard the refrigerator door opening and closing again. Rayne reappeared in the living room with two beers in his hand, giving one to her as he sat back down.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, another knock on the door interrupted him. Mumbling a profanity under his breath, he stood up and went to the door.

"Hello sir, I am Officer Rose and this here is deputy Dermon. Is there an Alexis Martin here tonight?" the police man asked.

Alex walked up behind Rayne, putting her hand on his shoulder to let him know that it was okay.

"I am Alexis, how can we help you officers?" Alex said as politely as possible.

"May we come in and ask you a few questions regarding your whereabouts on May 26th."

"Of course, come in." Alex moved out of the way to let the officers pass and then guided them all into the living room.

After offering them each a drink, they got down to business. "Ms. Martin, could you please tell us where you were the night of the 26th?" Asked deputy Dermon.

"Yes, I was here. Me and Rayne went out to dinner together and then came here." Alex answered without hesitation.

The officer called Rose nodded and wrote a few things down in a small note pad that seemed to just appear into his hands. "Okay, so please tell me, what is your relationship with a Mr. Valintino?"

"Mr. Valintino was my boyfriend. We broke up the night of May 26th." Alex explained.

"So when was the last time that you two actually spoke?" The deputy asked, leaning forward.

"Over the phone." She said again, without hesitation. "He was angry with me for not answering my phone earlier in the day."

"Tell us about that conversation."

"He called me a few names and then threatened to never let me see Sammy again." Alex's voice cracked with emotion. "I told him that I wasn't going to see him anymore and to never call here again."

"Look, you've asked her quite a few questions," Rayne said, taking Alex's hand. "Could you let her gather herself a second and tell us what's going on here?"

The deputy nodded to his partner and Officer Rose started explaining. "Mr. Valintino's body was found in an ally behind a residential area in upstate."

"Upstate? He lives two hours from upstate." Alex said, looking at Rayne.

"I'm sorry Ms. Martin, but we're going to need you to come with us to the station so that we may question you further." Deputy Derman said, standing his eye slanted to Rayne briefly then back to Alex. "If you would like to bring a lawyer, you may have them meet you there."

"Wait, what? Why not just finish questioning me here?" Alex said, standing in panic.

"This is just procedure for any suspect that needs to be questioned further." Officer Rose explained, raising his hand for her to calm down.

Alex looked to Rayne and she could see that he was looking for something to say. "Look, our neighbors like to gossip." He said finally. "Do you think that I could just drive Alex to the station?"

"Ms. Martin needs to be in by midnight tonight." The deputy said sternly. "If not she will be arrested."

"We'll be along shortly, thank you officers." Rayne said, closing the door behind them.

Alex just stood in the living room, staring at nothing.

"Alex." Rayne said softly and then repeated it louder when she didn't respond. "Alex!" He walked over to where she stood and took a hold of her shoulders, shaking her hard enough to rattle her teeth.

"Stop goddamnit." She shouted finally.

"What are you going to do?" He asked, dropping his hands to his sides.

"Tell them the truth, I didn't kill him, so I have nothing to hide. I'm not really worried about it." She said honestly. She picked up her untouched beer and walked into the kitchen to return it to the refrigerator. She then walked into the dinning room and started to clean up the dinner dishes.

"I'm glad that you have so much faith in the system because I sure as hell don't." Rayne reached out and grabbed Alex's wrist. "Would you stop please?"

"Let go Rayne." Alex said her voice in a warning tone.

"No, you don't ignore me and you sure as hell don't talk back." Rayne said through clenched teeth.

Alex was shocked. "Excuse me?" she said unbelievingly. She had never seen him like this before. Alex yanked her arm free of his grip and held her ground.

Rayne's face immediately softened and he dropped to his knees. "Oh God Alex, I'm so sorry." He said with tears coming to his eyes. "I'm just so scared for you, I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

Alex stepped forward and hugged his head to her belly. "Shhh. It's okay, honey. I'm scared too."

Rayne wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her belly softly. Alex ran her fingers through his hair and he stood up taking a hold of each side of her face.

Alex let Rayne's lips capture her own, without telling him a word that she forgave him. Ending the kiss almost as quickly as it began, Rayne let her face go and gave her a large hug.

"Alright, stop cleaning." He said, smiling down at her. "I'll get this and let's get you to the station before you become a wanted woman."

Alex nodded and headed to the front door, knowing that it was going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~~

Rayne dropped Alex off at the station and heading home again, telling her to call him when she needed a ride home. He protested the idea at first, but knew that he might as well wait at home because this was going to take a while.

The questioning went on for hours and the cops, who weren't the same cops from earlier, asked the same questions over and over again, obviously trying to catch her in a lie.

"Why did you brake up with Mr. Valintino that night?" asked a woman cop with the name Sharp on her name tag.

"He was very abusive and I was getting away from that." Alex explained for the third time.

"But you were in a six year relationship with him, were you not?" She asked, digging deeper. Alex knew the next question before she had a chance to ask it.

"Yes, but you see he has a son, a beautiful boy that after six years, has become like my own." Alex explained. "The longer I stayed, the harder it was to leave Sam behind."

"So I ask again, why you chose now to leave him." Officer sharp's partner asked. He didn't have a name tag so Alex referred to him as Big Nose in her own mind.

"It took a friend of mine to spell it out for me that Sam would get no help from me if I was dead." The officers looked at each other and Alex could tell that there was a whole new set of questions about to be fired at her when a soft knock came at the door.

The officers excused themselves and left the room quickly. Alex grabbed for her cigarettes and realized that she didn't have a lighter. Tired and exasperated, she leaned back in the chair and covered her face with her hands, her cigarette still between her fingers unlit.

The door suddenly opened again and a tall man walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Alex dropped her hands from her face, glaring at the new comer. "You're another cop I suppose. Are you going to ask me the same questions that they did?"

The man said nothing, but walked across the room toward her, fishing something out of his pocket. When he stopped next to her, he bent down and something flashed in his hand. It took Alex a full three seconds before realizing that he was lighting her cigarette for her.

After Alex got her cigarette lit the man walked to the other end of the table, taking a seat in the chair opposite of her own, not saying a word.

Alex looked at him with interest. He had jet black hair and what looked like green eyes, though the room was poorly lit. He stared at her for a while before saying anything.

"Mind if I have one of those? I'm all out." He asked politely.

"Be my guest, I've only been here for five hours and every hour a new set of cops come in to ask me the same questions." Alex said tossing him a cigarette and lighting another one for her self with his offered lighter.

"That's because they have nothing on you." He said after taking a drag from his smoke.

"What do you mean? They told me that I was a suspect." Alex said, confused. "Not to mention the fact that my being treated like a criminal the whole time that I've been here when I came her on my own. I can't even get a cup of coffee because it could be a potential weapon."

"My name is Angelo Edwards and I'm going to escort you out of this room. You're not going to stop for anyone, no matter what their speech is." Angelo said his voice low and calm.

"Aren't they listening to you on the other side of that mirror?" Alex asked, nodding to the large mirror on the far wall.

"No, it's not a real two-way-glass. It's just a mirror," Angelo smiled slightly. "But they'd never tell you that."

Alex put out her cigarette and stood up to go. Angelo was no far behind her as they walked out the door of the interrogation room.

"Hay! You can't leave! Hay!" Someone shouted as they walked towards the front door of the prescient.

Edwards spun around to face the voice that challenged his actions. "How long has this woman been here?"

"A little over five hours." The now nervous man responded.

"And in a little over five hours you haven't finished asking her all the questions you've wanted to? I think that there are still too many possibilities for her to be a solid suspect at this point." Edwards said. Then without listening to the stuttering man, he turned around and continued for the door.

"Keep yourself available for questioning later, Ms. Martin." The man shouted just as they exited the building.

Alex turned to the man called Angelo Edwards when they were out side and took his hand, meaning to shake it. "Thank you so much, Angelo."

"No problem, state cops get a little overly excited with a case like this sometimes." He said shrugging.

"May I ask you a question?" She said, not letting go of his hand as if he were some guardian angel and was going to disappear if she were to let go. "Why did you help me? Are you another cop or something?"