The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Compensations - Chapter 16

Everything was a little off the next morning... though the thing that bothered you the most was that Erik was no longer by your side when you woke up.

"Erik?" you called out, rubbing your eyes a little as you sat up. You pulled up your nightgown just a little as you tried to get a glimpse as to where he might have gone off to.

There were a few hints you could go off of, though the primary one was that his mask was no longer there. That probably indicated that he was already out and about.

"Is anyone there?"

It was impossible to tell if it was night or day at the moment. Of course, while you and Erik hadn't done anything too immodest while you two were in bed together (though you did end up kissing quite a bit), you still wanted to be careful about attracting too much attention to yourself.

You paused once you heard a bit of a ruckus bellowing from above you...

And it sounded like more than just a typical bar fight. Perhaps it was a full-on brawl.

It couldn't be too late - after all, the cast members were still out and about. They didn't pass out in the hallways, become overly-involved in a hookup, or throw up their guts just yet.

You found yourself weaving your way back up into your room. The first thing you did was tie a satin robe around yourself, and just in case it wasn't exactly morning yet, you grabbed a candle.

That came in handy.

It was almost completely dark out. The marble felt like ice against your bare feet, and in the distance, there were faint sounds of men drunk-talking and women heavily flirting... And of course, whatever other ruckus was being spoken (or slurred) by the men who were probably filled with more alcohol than they weighed at that point.

The stuffy air smelled like booze and sweat... at least, at the bar. The only reason you were there is because you wanted to see if Erik had gotten re-involved in some pranks that he (surprisingly) admitted to doing. The primary one that he had told you about, which you assumed was because he took some sort of great pride in it, was managing to swindle a man's booze and watching to see who he blamed about it. How lovely...

And, of course, It was on your bucketlist to check Box Five immediately afterward.

While you were walking, hugging the robe close to you (in case some creep was just dying to get someone in his bed tonight), you found yourself getting stopped by one of the detectives...

And yes. It was Peter.

However, despite having been the most grueling and interrogative detective out of the entire investigation, Peter's Aryan eyes were filled with an entirely different emotion... and that was guilt.

"[Y/N]," he said. He had come up from behind you, seeming to have sought you out from the crowd of 'drunks and whores' (a metaphor... well, the words that Erik used).

You forced a smile to part on your lips.

"Monsieur," you said. You were surprised that your cheeks hadn't ripped with how forced your smiles were at that point. "How can I help you?"

"I..." Peter started. He stopped himself almost immediately and began to rethink his words. "I don't normally apologize for interrogating a suspect, but... I also don't normally go so hard on someone."

You paused.

Was this an apology?

"Pardon?" you asked. Your eyes blinked before locking on him, holding a state of what could only be described as absolute disbelief.