When The Devil You Know

"Doesn't it bother you that you never really solve anything? A week goes by... years. People keep dying."

Duke was never going to forget that doubt that Audrey looked for a moment like she might drown in before she marshaled her defenses and morality and answered him. That was the moment she was honest. That she knew that she was caught in an endless cycle. But she also hated the idea of killing. Except when it was the only option. Like when someone like Nix had made a point to literally spread his seed as far and wide as possible so that he could harvest organs as needed. Or, maybe, when someone was gleefully murdering people with pyro kinesis. Or murdering them for their skin.

And then Jordan wouldn't let them get to Paul Krebs in time and Nathan was starting to DIE before Duke stepped forward with his knife drawn and slit his throat for the quickest death Duke thought he could give to anyone that moment. Nathan recovered and no one by the name of Krebs would ever be Troubled again. And that was after he had used the Troubled blood of one of the Guard members in the clearing to fight his way through them to save Nathan. And after he had absorbed enough Troubled blood to fill another person - also to save Nathan. Audrey, thinking fast as always had sent him after Jordan and he'd received a text message from Nathan that Dwight was going to be cleaning up Krebs' blood to cover for him. He didn't even have time to conceive of a response to that before he received a frantic call from Jennifer. That Jordan was at the Rouge, threatening Wade with a gun. Telling him it was time to do what he was meant to do and Wade arguing that he wasn't ready, that he couldn't kill someone else. SOME. ONE. ELSE.

So when he had to kill Jordan because she actually had killed Wade and then went for Jennifer - Jennifer! - he found that he didn't mind one bit the rush he got when he ran her through with the sword that was as functional as it was ornamental. Jennifer had fled to his room and locked herself in, retreat to her own room being blocked off by a gun wielding Jordan, until he had called to her and told her it was safe.

"Are you hurt?"

"You saved my life."

"Are. You. HURT?"

"Oh... Um. My hand."

He took an extra step back and away from her. Leaving Jordan who was dying quietly if not very quickly, between them.

Jordan had tried to shoot through the lock on the door.

"A splinter when I opened it to... come to you."

Because he had called to her and told her it was safe. Because the monster was still alive and the enraged and desperate woman was almost dead. He could feel the rush ease away with her life.

"Is she...?"

"Yeah." He didn't want her - or anyone else - to know this new recognition. That the euphoria was influenced by the life and process of death of the Troubled person.

"Wade is...?" Her regret and guilt were obvious.

"Jordan killed him."

"To make you kill Audrey?"

"Because I won't kill Audrey."

"But... why? Why does Jordan want you to kill Audrey?"

"Because she thought that all the Troubles were actually Audrey's Trouble and that if a Crocker kills her it will end the Troubles."

"What?" Guilt and regret gave way to horror and revulsion.

"She activated his Trouble with her own blood. But he was too...."

"Scared?"

"Something like that."

Most likely, the truth of the secret that Wade had been so desperate to discover had been too terrifying for him to wrap his mind around. The succession of blood, euphoria, murder, and one less Trouble was more like a rapid heroin crash than a nagging hang over. With Jordan's death, the rush had faded. Less of a crash than Kreb's somewhat faster death. When Dwight's blood had triggered him the let down had been easier still.

"Duke... I'm.... God, are you okay?" She reached out a hand to touch him. "Is there anything I can -"

She broke off when he took a step toward her. His eyes, he knew, were still silver because he could still feel the rush ebbing off slowly. And that meant that Jordan still wasn't quite dead. Jennifer may or may not have been working that out, but she certainly was backing away from him and back into his room.

"You need to stay in here for now. I don't want you involved."

"Involved in what?"

He sighed. He felt the rush ebb off completely and knew that Jordan had expired there on the floor behind him.

"Wade is supposed to be out of town already. And when the Guard finds out that I killed Jordan...."

"But Duke, even Vince will understand. Nathan and Audrey will... Jordan killed Wade! She was going to kill me! You were just protecting me. You were protecting Audrey too."

"Vince has lost control of the Guard. And, Jordan didn't kill Wade. I did."

"What? No. I thought - "

"I traded Wade for Audrey. But why couldn't I let her go after you? Hm? Why can't I let anything happen to you?"

He was corralling her further back into the room and cast his eyes around for something he could use. Of course, there were handcuffs in the nightstand drawer. Even he had to admit that was a little harsh for her right now. But then, so was tying her up or binding her in any fashion. Handcuffed to the bed it was then.

"I don't - I don't know...  Duke. Please. Let me go."

He hadn't realized that he had already closed the distance between them and had his hand around her wrist and was pulling her towards himself. But now, come to think of it, letting her go wasn't an option. And that was why he couldn't let her just go back to Boston. He couldn't let Jordan kill her. And now, he couldn't let her off the boat. No one knew she was in town. No one knew where she was.

He wasn't letting her go. Instead, he was pulling her closer to himself, using his grip to direct her into turning around so that when he wrapped his arms around her, a hand on each wrist now so that her own arms crossed in front of herself and some of her blood smearing onto the back of his hand as he bound her to him in that position.

She felt him shudder behind her and then  a kiss on the top of her head before he captured her wrists crisscrossed together between her breasts and then felt his lips at her ear.

"I don't think I can, Jennifer. I think I'm going to need you."

She struggled against him then, trying to get away. Wanting to confirm but afraid to see that behind her his eyes had gone silver again. She knew it made him stronger, uncontrollably so, but his grasp on her stayed unyielding and gentle. She had wanted to feel safe here, in this space in his arms with his heartbeat thumping against her back. Instead, there was a fair chance that he could feel her heartbeat racing, pounding back against his in answer.

"Sshh. Shush, Jennifer. Be still." His hold on her tightened and then one hand was clasping her wrists with alarming ease and the other was applying gentle but warning pressure at her throat.

"I won't let anything happen to you."

Beneath his fingers, her pulse fluttered. In his arms, she trembled. In his hand, her wrists pulled and twisted with the effort to free herself. And the combined effect ramped up his adrenaline and the euphoria even more. She felt like prey in his arms, a bird with its wings pinned down. And all the ways in which he could devour her flooded his mind like a torrent of imagery that would no doubt terrify her well beyond any prior experience of terror she thought she'd had so far and fired his blood to hotter levels. He could feel her fear and it felt too much like a song of joy threading through his veins. He repeated to himself, over and over, creating a mantra: "This is Jennifer. And I want to protect her. Keep her."

He walked her toward the bed and when she realized where they were heading she started to struggle in earnest. He stilled.

"Jennifer. I don't want to hurt you. But you have to keep still. PLEASE."

"Well, what are you doing?"

He was silent for just a moment too long and she started struggling again until he clamped his arms harder around her. She was getting angry now, he could feel that change too. And it felt even better than the fear. It felt... More fun.

"Hey! Hey! Jennifer! Calm down. I'm sorry. I'm going to...." Yeah. Like the next sentence out of his mouth was going to make her feel calm. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I am going to tie you to the bed."

"No. Nonononono. Duke. Please. I'll stay. I won't go anywhere."

"I know."

He let go of her neck, but only so that he could open the drawer to the nightstand.

"Handcuffs?! Oh... Why am I not surprised?"

Jennifer saw her choices falling away rapidly. Duke was stronger than her even when his Trouble wasn't charged, fighting him wasn't an option. Of all the ways she had imagined herself in Duke's arms or in his bed this was certainly not the method or outcome she had envisioned. She felt the click of one of the cuffs around her wrist, cold and hard and it felt like it went around her heart instead.