Too late

Baltimore was so four years ago

Baltimore four years prior

Jack sighed, as he looked at the mess they had left. Vampires liked to play with their food, or at least these guys did. Two months ago he had been asked to go undercover as a rouge dhampir, looking for a way to earn his fangs. It was an important mission, and being chosen was not a small deal and yet, I wished they would have chosen someone else. His career was fine without this assignment. He had a good job, a steady job, and a girlfriend. A very beautiful, very smart girlfriend who was probably swarmed by other men while he was gone. Haley Wright, the girl of any man's dream. With long dark brown hair, beautiful pitch-black eyes, and tanned skin. He just wanted to return. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. And by fate, he meant his employer. Both of them. "Donnovick!" A voice grumbled over the phone. "There is a leverance going down tonight. I want you on it."

"I told you, I don't pick which jobs I go on," he answered, annoyed that his employer was even calling him. It was risky, and he didn't like risky.

"Just do whatever you need to do to go on that job," the voice ordered then hung up, leaving him to figure it out himself. Jack took another glance at the scene. Four corpses were left behind. Four, although mauled, still beautiful corpses, formerly belonging to four beautiful girls. Four girls that had been tortured, raped, and sucked dry. It reminded him why he was doing this at all: To eventually stop this criminal ring and prevent any more casualties. He did have an idea on how to go on the job tonight, he just very much preferred not to. The vampires he worked with were experimenting with a drug to give to girls, such as these, to speed up their operation. The idea was to temporarily turn them into mindless zombies, have them recruit the rest of their friends, before eventually enslaving the entire bunch. They hadn't worked out the exact formula yet, which was why they were always looking for volunteers to test the drug. He could volunteer, guaranteeing him a spot on tonight's job, but also jeopardizing, well, himself.

He took one of the girls by her arms to drag the corps out to the ally. Her head fell back and he got a proper look on her face: It was a small round face with a pouty mouth and a Grecian nose. She reminded him a great deal of Haley. He thought a brief moment of Haley ever falling prey to these monsters and made a decision: He would do it. To stop these bastards he would do it. For Haley.

Present time

Haley's point of view

"How is it, that the last two times I have come to find you, you have been in the presence of Jack Donnovick, who I told you specifically to stay away from?" Rufus asked me calmly, as he led me downstairs. He wasn't exactly scolding me, but his tone wasn't pleasant either.

"I am sorry, he came to find me," I answered truthfully, unsure why I was even apologizing. I hadn't done anything wrong, and I certainly didn't owe Rufus an explanation.

He sighed beside me. "Just go in and enjoy the party. Everyone is here to see you." He gently nudged me towards the door. "I'll go get your cane." And just like that, he disappeared back upstairs.

Jack's point of view

I was still standing on the balcony, staring at the place she had fallen. She was so scared of me, it hurt deep in my soul. She had never feared me before, not even in Baltimore, or when I tried to kill her in L.A. But now, it was like one minute she was here, talking to me like to any other person, then the next she looked at me, like I was a monster, trying to eat her.

"Mr. Donnovick," an authoritative voice came from the door. Rufus gave me a small nod, before coming over to pick up the cane she had left.

"I think it would be best if you stayed away from her. This doesn't seem to cause any of you any good," he told me calmly, then left me stunned. I buried my face in my hands and growled frustratedly. I kept feeling like I was being pushed back and forth between two opposite poles. Stay away from her or try to regain her trust. On one side the fear that filled her expression just minutes ago, told me I should try to keep as much distance from her as possible. Yet, the fact that she had even let me hold her just moments before made me believe I could fix this. She wasn't lost to me, not yet at least.