8 Chapter 8

"Hmph..."

Genevieve's arm stretched out towards her nightstand in search of the blaring object. The very second that clock touched her palm, it went flying halfway across the room before landing with a loud shatter. That managed to turn it off. For good. It might have been the fifth clock that she broke so far.

A lazy groan rumbled in her chest and she flipped to lie on her other side. Her face snuggled itself further into the fluffy blankets, and she closed her eyes to fall back to sleep. It wasn't rocket science to figure out that Genevieve wasn't a morning person. Every single day would start like this, and the fact that she has an actual job is what pushed her out of bed every time.

Another hoarse groan, one of displeasure this time, dragged out from her and she sat up almost begrudgingly. Her eyes were scrunched up, both because of the inadequate slumber and the streams of sunlight that poured into the room. It took her some time, but she managed to gather enough strength to trudge towards the bathroom and get ready. She emerged from her room moments later in a white button up and black slacks, which was a welcomed change from the usual police uniform.

Genevieve never checked her phone first thing in the morning, because she knew it'd be full of work-related messages and calls. It was a routine that she'd bother to inspect her emails after flipping through the television with a cup of coffee.

And that's exactly what she was doing.

A bored expression rested on her features as she continued to flip through the various channels. She'd take occasional sips from her steaming mug, but Genevieve's main focus was to look for the local news channel. Usually it held nothing exciting. The most extreme headline ever to be reported was a catfight between two shop owners. So, it was safe to say that this city was pretty much peaceful.

Her hand had just lifted the mug for another sip, but it paused midway due to the shock that overtook her emotions. She did manage to find the desired channel, but the news it held was far from pleasant.

"-The entire city is rattled with this shocking tragedy, and no one knows who could be capable of robbing our biggest financial institute. In addition, there are eight casualties, and three are fatally wounded.

Stay tuned to hear what our D.A has to say about these horrifying crimes."

___________________

A rather blank look covered Alec's features, whereas the commissioner and several other officers looked like they'd faint any second now. His eyes followed the movement of paramedics as they carried bodies out of the bank. Murders were a recurring theme in Shadow's stunts, so Alec was pretty much used to it. On the other hand, he couldn't understand why the others were almost freaking out. Surely they've seen dead bodies from up close, have they not?

"You!"

Alec had turned around and was about to make his way somewhere, but the commissioner's unprovoked bellow made him pause. He spun on his heel just in time to see Genevieve rush towards the chief with a face drained of colour.

"You were in on it, weren't you? You made me assign officers here just to get them killed, DIDN'T YOU?!"

The chief was fuming at this point. He took a few sudden and threatening steps in Genevieve's direction, but Alec held an arm out against his chest to stop him just in time.

"Easy there, chief. Direct your anger elsewhere." Alec said in a tone of warning. He eyed the commissioner's hostile body language for a little bit to make sure he won't approach Genevieve again, before he slowly withdrew his arm.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Genevieve did find Alec's small gesture to be very sweet, but she refused to acknowledge it. Her nearly panicked state, and the fact that he was still a self entitled jerk stopped her from swooning over it too much. His gesture aside, she refused to acknowledge his presence altogether. Alec noticed the silent treatment, but chose not to comment.

"Sir." She breathed out, and her eyes darted around the place in haste to visually scan her surroundings. Genevieve watched as a few men inspected the broken windows of the bank for any fingerprints.

Overall, the entire place was packed with the bustling of a forensic team as well as police officers, who took samples of anything that could be linked to the crime and labeled as potential evidence.

The commissioner's anger proved that he was not the traitor involved with Shadow, which led Genevieve to wonder who it actually was. Despite the fact that security was tightened, and she had Amber take up the responsibility of watching the vaults, how could a robbery take place?

Genevieve's eyes widened in realization just a second later.

'Well shit'.

"Where's Amber?" The question left her mouth when it dawned upon her, and the chief was clearly annoyed by the seemingly irrelevant question.

"Is this the time-"

"Sir, please tell me."

She nearly pleaded, which confused both Alec and the commissioner further.

"She took a sick leave today." He muttered, making a resigned sigh escape from Genevieve's lips. Her only thought was; 'Out of all people, why did it have to be you, Amber?'

Alec's intense gaze burned holes onto Genevieve, but she continued to disregard him. Currently, she was torn between voicing her doubt and staying quiet. Her gaze lingered on the commissioner for a moment in contemplation, but she decided against telling him anything. She knew she had to be sure of her accusation, because there was a chance that Amber's day off today was a mere coincidence.

Genevieve excused herself from the conversation and walked past the two to make her way towards the vault. She bent down to pass through the crime scene tapes that covered the entrance, and her unease only increased when she entered the bank. Occasional smears of blood decorated the floor inside, and she assumed that it was from the dead bodies.

"You're welcome."

That damned voice made Genevieve's strides falter for a heartbeat, but she carried them on. She could tell Alec was walking closely behind, and it took everything in her to not turn around and knock him out.

"I'm not in the mood for your crap." She murmured in exasperation. Truth be told, Genevieve was never in the mood for his jabs. The current scenario didn't exactly call for his pestering either.

"Be honest. When are you ever in the mood, Perez?" He responded in a mocking tone, which made Genevieve stop abruptly. Alec nearly walked into her, and her back just grazed his chest in the near collision. A confused look conquered her features at his jest and she twirled around to face him properly. The close proximity between them was the first thing she noticed, and Genevieve took a step backwards to place a gap between them.

"How do you know my last name?"

Alec simply placed a half step forward and tipped his head downwards so his face was hovering over hers. That is of course, in a distance which could be considered safe. He locked his eyes onto hers directly, as if daring her to move away.

"Don't flatter yourself. I heard someone call you that." He retorted, and a faint but smug smile formed on his lips. Genevieve tried her best to fight off a smile of her own when she realized he was repeating her words back to her.

For a second, the two completely forgot that they were standing in the middle of a crime scene.

"Who?"

"Daron."

Genevieve couldn't stop the full grin that erupted onto her face at that. A sigh of defeat slipped from her and she closed her eyes momentarily. She made a mental note of bombarding Daron with an earful for giving away her last name so freely. Although she did wonder, why would he call Genevieve using her full name in front of Alec?

'That idiot is trying to set me up', she mused internally.

"You're annoying."

"Really now?" He murmured lowly, and his brow raised at the end since her expression contradicted her statement. As much as Alec didn't want to admit, it was a very nice change to see a grin on her otherwise angry or irritated countenance. If anything, he liked seeing a smile directed his way from her.

Genevieve opened her eyes to maintain the eye contact between them once more. But before she could remark, an officer accidentally bumped into her and knocked her out of the daze she was in. While she did brush away the apology for his hurriedness, she also became aware of how close Alec was to her.

She blinked a few times afterwards, and a light pink dusted her cheeks at the current situation between them. With a clear of her throat, Genevieve stepped away and continued her journey towards the vault. Not to mention how her insides were a mess. A part of her condemned the idea of starting to get comfortable with the man in front of her, and another part encouraged her.

Alec's jaw clenched when she switched from her playful demeanor to the stoic one, and he internally cursed out the clumsy passerby who was responsible. For a second he was confused as to why he was feeling this way. However, he had to shake the thoughts away when he saw Genevieve resume her steps, and he took long strides in her direction to fall in step beside her.

A long and awkward silence took over for a few moments, and it wasn't until after climbing a staircase that Alec decided to cut the tension.

"This wasn't a robbery, per se." He said casually, just as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. They could spot the vault at the very end of the hallway, and it's door was wide open. It was still far away though so Genevieve couldn't see the interior.

"What in hell?" She glanced at him in perplexity.

"You're telling me he went through all the trouble to break in, only to leave without stealing anything?"

"Yes."

When Genevieve finally tore her gaze away from Alec, it rested upon the vault they were approaching. After just a few more steps its internal surface was clearly visible, and she directed her attention towards it instead of his confusing statement. Her line of sight dodged the officers rushing around the place, and when Genevieve got to visually scan the vault's interior, she realized what Alec meant.

"Yeah, he didn't rob the place. He burned it down."