Hindsight (Christian)

[Derek Burke]

It had been two and half weeks since Derek left Kaden’s house. He hadn’t meant to be gone so long, but he didn’t always control his time. He couldn’t rightly keep track of all the “damsels” in distress that he was somehow roped into saving, but it always seemed as though he were helping one fair maiden after another these days – something not entirely in his character. Damn Diana, she started the whole affair. There was something about her strength, and now the strength of the other women he had helped, that made him want to be a better man. But as rewarding as it was, it was also exhausting.

On top of the women in his life, there was another whose will superseded Derek’s and whose order was not to be challenged. Fortunately or unfortunately, Voldemort was interested in Diana’s welfare as it was connected to a prominent member of his army. For the time being Derek’s recon concerning the final board member of Diana’s company was sanctioned, which opened even more avenues of information. No one wanted to cross Voldemort, and more than one person was eager to earn his favor.

Now after two weeks of intelligence gathering he had a few more answers for the deadly couple, at least he hoped they were a couple again, they were far too irritating separated.
He rapped his knuckles on Kaden’s door, “Hurry up Ward, it’s f*cking freezing out here.”


Christian Ward

[Christian Ward]

Christian had also been busy over the last few weeks, though to be fair, a lot of his time was spent drinking. He couldn’t get rid of a nagging feeling he had in the pit of his stomach but he chalked it up to worries about his place in the Dark Lord’s ranks. He tried to ignore any lingering feelings of softness towards Diana but he continued to insist to himself that they would resolve themselves in time. He just needed to get back to his old life, and he had. Christian had spent the last two weeks running the family business out of Kingston’s living room, content that Diana was not being much of a bother as his men reported back daily on her. He didn’t love the manipulative b*tch as she had tried so desperately to make him, but her life was connected to his and she carried his baby inside of her. As much as Christian never saw himself as a family man before, and still didn’t, he felt compelled to ensure that child would be safe. Well, as safe as he could be with a witch like Diana as his mum.

Christian was on the back patio, looking out over the garden. He had a cigar and his fourth – no, fifth glass of scotch for the evening. The uneasy feelings were especially strong tonight so he was self-medicating with drink and a sort of zen that could only be brought on by f*cking or staring out into the abyss until he passed out. As it was, his dick was cursed to only work for one woman and he wasn’t planning on seeing her in the immediate future so when taking care of himself didn’t settle him mind, he retreated to the isolated oasis of the patio, which he had cleverly enchanted to be no cooler than a mild summer's eve. He didn’t hear the knocking at the front door.



Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

It was fortunate that Derek knew where the spare key was, else he'd have to break in and who knew what hexes or charms the couple had added while he was away.

Stepping inside, he let the warmth return feeling to his extremities. Merlin's beard, he could have lost a hand, or something else vitally important.

He took the time to glance around the house, it was quiet - too quiet for the couple. Heaven knew they only went so long without screaming at each other or just screaming in general. It was hell to live with them and he only did it out of necessity a few times.

Unease settled in the pit of his stomach and he gripped his wand just in case. His steps were lighter, but to be safe he cast a silencing spell on his movements so he could maneuver the house without alerting anyone to his presence should there be something ill at work.

The tension had spread throughout his body and his gut coiled ready to attack, but everything deflated rather quickly once he saw Christian on the patio drinking, relaxing, and looking like a man without a care in the world.

"You know, for a man with a wife who has a noose around her neck, you're mighty casual this evening." Derek said leaning against the wall.

[Christian Ward]

The evening was relatively silent. Godric’s Hollow was a tiny village and there was rarely any real commotion outside of the local housewife making a complaint in the shop when her coupon wasn’t accepted. It wasn’t silent enough, however, that he shouldn’t have heard Derek making his way through the house and out the back patio. Of course, if the prick had used a silencing spell for some God forsaken reason, then Christian could hardly be faulted for being surprised. At the sound of the man’s voice, Christian drew his wand and spun around to face the door, rising out of his chair with lightning quick speed. “For f*ck’s sake, Burke!” Christian’s wand was trained on the wizard who was casually leaning against the wall. Slowly, he lowered his wand and instead brought his other hand up which held his glass, his cigar having falling to the ground as he reached inside his coat pocket for his wand. “What the f*ck are you sneaking up on me for? I could have blasted your sodding head off.”



Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

"To be honest?" he asked with slight surprise, "I couldn't resist." he teased the larger man.

"It's not every day you can get one over on Christian Ward..." he paused, "I may have to write about this in my journal." he said more amused at the picture in front of him.

There was a semblance of good-natured teasing that Derek gave easily once his body was warm from the cold and he could think properly again. He noticed the patio was warm, which was probably Christian's doing. Smart man, Derek should have thought to do the same but he was too preoccupied with the new intel.

"Is Diana asleep?" he asked just noticing how late it was as the clock struck eleven times.

[Christian Ward]

“Write it in your f*cking diary, you little witch,” Christian said with a slight hint of a very mild chuckle in his tone. Derek had already brought up Diana once, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before the blond man asked about her again. They were partners in crime, those two, but even Derek didn’t know what Christian did. Derek didn’t know the sorts of crimes Diana was pulling over on him, on both of them.

It wasn’t long before Christian’s “wife” was brought up and before providing an answer to Derek’s question, Christian took a swig of his drink. “Probably,” he answered nonchalantly. “Not here though. I’ve got my men keeping an eye on her at my place. Sit down, mate. We’ve got a few things to go over.”


Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

Derek's smirk was firmly in place. He was glad Christian was amused. Christian Ward was not an easy man nor easy friend. This was the second time Derek had earned his friendship, and both times it had nearly cost Derek his life.

It was dark, but Derek went white when Christian said Diana was at his place.

"Sh*t!"

At once he sprung into action. He didn't question why Diana was staying at Christian's house, Lord knew the pair could argue til the walls came down. Though it was the first time in his experience where Diana ran from the problem rather than toward Christian, if they hadn't reconciled then maybe some space was doing them good.

Judging by Christian's drinking Derek doubted it was good for either of them, but it wasn't his relationship and he had put his two cents in far too often. If the pair couldn't make it work, he wasn't a f*cking couple's counselor.

Still, with the new intel Derek was privy to, he knew that Christian's place wasn't safe.

All pretense of easygoing banter was gone and Derek was serious, "Alright we have to go." he said moving toward the front of the house so he could apparate to Christian's flat.

[Christian Ward]

Christian was all ready to pour Derek a glass, and refill his own when Derek turned and headed inside the house in a decidedly rushed manner. “What the f*ck is up your arse?” he called after Derek but the man’s figure quickly disappeared into the house and Christian was left standing alone with his wand in his hand. “For f*ck’s sake,” he groaned to himself. He finished off his scotch quicker than he would have liked, hardly tasting the fire or wood that he normally enjoyed savoring.

He caught up with Derek easily enough and demanded a basic answer. “Where?” Diana and the baby were safe at Christian’s home. Peters had brought Christian a report only a few hours ago. It was quiet there and Diana was sulking with a sandwich for tea. But Derek had been away for weeks gathering intel, so he clearly knew something Christian didn’t. Christian knew a lot of things that Derek was in the dark for. Tit for tat, apparently.



Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

Derek didn't pause in his stride, he was anxious to get to Diana.

"They know about your flat Christian, and they tripled the reward." he answered shortly, "They've been watching the construction on your house, but since you both were here I wasn't concerned. I never thought she'd go back there yet or frankly that you'd let her leave your side."

Christian hadn't left Diana's side since the start of all of this. He didn't know Diana had been staying at Christian's for the past two weeks and assumed they had a minor spat and she left rather recently. They had to get there before the assassins moved in. Maybe it was even too late, but he knew at the very least Diana could handle herself for a little while - enough until back up came or she could escape. Diana always had an exit strategy.

[Christian Ward]

Diana didn’t have much of a choice in whether she returned to Christian’s newly reconstructed Tudor home, nor whether she would be able to remain at Christian’s side. He didn’t want her around and if there was one good sodding thing that came out of this f*cking lifebond ordeal, it was that he had the power to make Diana follow orders, and he had ordered her to be a prisoner. It wasn’t as though he was abusing her or neglecting her in any way. His men were on it; they fed her and made sure she remained healthy and compliant. Christian himself had seen to it that she had free reign of the majority of the top floor, including his master bedroom. There was no concerns that she would get her hands on any weapons or potions, as he hadn’t restocked anything after the battle that had originally demolished his charming little two-story home.

“She’s fine. I’ve got my men on her,” he said reassuringly, though he continued on at Derek’s side until they were both beyond the property line and free to disapparate. If Diana was found out, Christian would be forced to protect her, if only to protect himself. Without another word, the two men disappeared from the sidewalk outside of the inconspicuous house, a ringing ‘pop’ sound fading into the night.




Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

Derek gave a sideways glance for how much he thought of Christian’s “men”. It wasn’t that he didn’t think them capable as the next lot, but these were trained men and women coming to collect on the largest bounty this side of Christendom. If the amount had been high before, the triple rate just went to show how desperate the final board member was. It was an offer too good to pass up.

Derek would be more at ease once they got to Diana. He apparated a bit away from the house in case there was an attack he didn’t want to appear right in the middle of it. He needn’t have worried.

As he made his way closer to the house fear gripped inside of his chest. Recently remodeled homes did not have broken windows, nor did they have a front door blasted off its hinges. But the house was quiet, whatever had happened wasn’t still happening. They were too late. They were about to find out that they were almost two weeks too late.

Derek’s worry pushed him forward, his wand at the ready, but he wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted him or the smell that assailed his senses.

Derek had dealt with dead bodies before, but they were often dealt with immediately either by spell or by burial. He was not accustomed to the stench of decay that permeated the air, nor was he used to the sight of severely decomposed bodies. He had pressed into the room and regretted the decision immediately rushing back out to the fresh air.

What the hell was this?

[Christian Ward]

Unlike Derek, who had no reason to trust anyone he did not directly hire, Christian trusted his men not to flip for a pretty price tag. There was more than just a paycheck on the line for anyone employed by the Ward family business, and while he didn’t particularly enjoy threatening innocent wives, children, and elderly parents, it wasn’t something out of the realm of possibility. He had a business to be run after all. Threats of violence and personal “insurance policies” aside, Christian, like his father before him, only hired the most competent and capable of men for any position. Had anything happened since Peters’ report, Christian would have been notified immediately. There had been no notification, and nothing concerning reported at the last check in a few hours ago. Christian was certain there would be no problems…until he appeared on the street in front of his house.

The panes of the ground floor windows had been shattered in both the living room and the dining room. Glass still riddled the hedges and roses beneath. The door was barely attached to the doorframe, only the bottom hinge was still somewhat attached but it was twisted in a wonky sort of fashion and in no better shape than the top hinge which had broken clean off the frame. The door rested cockeyed in the small foyer, leaning backwards so that Derek needn’t touch it to get inside. Christian’s brow furrowed and he gave a quick glance up and down the street. There were no sounds of sirens or concerned neighbors. No one seemed to notice anything was out of the ordinary on the street at all, but his house had clearly been smashed in. A few steps backwards into the street allowed Christian to see the façade that the neighbors had been viewing. Christian’s home stood tall, newly constructed and in pristine condition. The garden was well cared for without a speck of broken glass in sight. The front door was shut. Stepping back toward the house, he crossed from the pavement to the walkway and the crime scene came back into view. Someone had broken in. Derek was right, and he also looked like he was about to get sick all over the porch.

“Diana!” Christian hollered out to her as he rushed past Derek, inhaling the scent of death as he cried out for her, coughing and gagging as he pressed on into the foyer. Christian held his wand steady as he moved cautiously into his house. There was a lifeless body slumped over the dining table, a pool of dried blood on the floor below him. In the living room was another body, the man’s head was at a strange angle and it took Christian a moment to realize that his neck had been snapped and was turned much farther than would have been possible of a living person. “f*ck!” he muttered to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs only to find the body of Walter Nash contorted and grey on the steps. There was no need to check for a pulse or to get his longtime employee to hospital, rigor mortis had set in and the body was bloated. Nash was dead.

Christian took the stairs two at a time and the sight that he was met with startled him. He aimed his wand on Peters who was standing outside of Christian’s bedroom, the door shut. His hands were folded in front of him and his chin was raised. He was on guard. “What happened?” Christian roared, the scent of decaying bodies once again coating his throat and making his cough. “What the bloody hell happened, Peters?!” He approached the man, holding his wand to the guard’s throat and using his free hand to grip the man’s shirt tightly.

Peters looked straight ahead for a moment, then slowly his eyes traveled over to meet Christian’s fiery gaze. “Evenin’, sir. Ms Crawford’s doing just fine. Seems to have given up trying to argue her way out of the house. I gave her a sandwich and some crisps for tea. Didn’t complain much about it.”

“Where is she?” Christian roared, but Peters didn’t seem to register that there was anything wrong with the scene around him. He just started repeating his little report on Diana’s wellbeing, though the details were different this time, as if he was making them up. Peters was of no use. Christian pushed the man aside and wrenched open the door to the master bedroom. It was empty. He growled in frustration as he turned and made to open the guestroom door, only to see the little room had been thrown upside down. The mattress was hanging off the bed, and the dresser had been pulled away from the wall, as if someone had been attempting to barricade the door shut and failed. Shattered dishes and scraps of rotting food littered the floor, dinner had been interrupted. “Where is she?!” he roared again, rushing from the bedroom and pulling his arm back as he came at Peters who didn’t move to block the punch that slammed full force into the side of his head. “Where the f*ck is she?!”



Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

It wasn’t that Derek didn’t trust Christian’s men to be loyal, far from it. In the short time – and it really had only been a few months or so – that Derek had gotten to know more about the dangerous death eater, one of the things he had quickly realized was that Christian didn’t suffer fools. All of Christian’s men were well trained and loyal to a fault. As a matter of fact Derek had bonded with Christian’s crew as an outsider on the ever unfolding drama that was Christian and Diana. Loyalty prevented them from speaking out of hand about the boss, but more than one mouth quirked in agreement when Derek mentioned how ridiculous the pair could be.

Nash had been one of those men who smiled. To see him now twisted darkly in Derek’s stomach. The man was capable, moreso than most, and by the other bodies he could tell it was merely a numbers game.

But there was something else. Something odd. Once Derek could breathe again he cast a charm to clear the air and started another charm that would start clearing the bodies. Long dead bodies. Too long. This wasn’t a recent attack.
He tried to piece together what happened when he heard Christian yelling. Someone was alive. Someone had answers.

He took the stairs three at a time just to see Christian shove his fist into the other man’s face. Derek was well acquainted with Christian’s mack truck powerblows and if Peters wasn’t dead, he was probably going to be unconscious.

He heard the man groan and Derek called out before Christian could hit him again, “Christ! Wait he’s the only one who knows what went down, and we won’t get any answers out of his corpse. He’s clearly under the imperious.” Which meant there was only one way to wake Peters up, and the man wasn’t going to enjoy it any more than Christian’s fists, but they were running out of time and they needed answers.

[Christian Ward]

But he could sodding well try. Christian pulled his arm back again but Derek’s voice interrupted his rage momentarily. Was it rage, or concern? A bit of both, no doubt, but just who he was concerned about was a whole other question. If Diana was hurt, it put the baby at risk. If Diana died, all three of them could die. Whether Christian was concerned for selfish reasons or reasons beyond his understanding of himself, the fact remained that they needed answers and killing Peters wasn’t going to accomplish that goal. “Well f*cking get on with it, then,” he growled at Derek as he shoved Peters into the wall and took a few decently sized steps back. At this point, if Christian tried to remove the curse over his guard, he might overdo it a bit and end up with two dead men and a missing wife. It was safer to let Derek get things started, at the very least.


Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

Derek was suddenly calm in the face of things. He usually gave off a casual air, and he did it to hide the cunning beneath the well-tailored clothing. Between Christian and Diana he often found himself in the supportive role, as well as much needed comic relief, but with Christian on the verge of ripping the house down Derek needed to take the reins – he was flexible like that.

He took a step back from the vacant shell of a man and brought his wand up shoulder level before hurling the curse moderately – he didn’t want to cause more pain than necessary.

“Crucio!”

The curse hit Peters square and the dark hold that had been on his mind gradually receded as pain rippled through his body, but he welcomed it. He welcomed the lucidity that would come as he had been trapped for too long. He had been taught various ways to resist the unforgivable curse, but this time he hadn’t resisted, it was the only way to get Diana’s message to Christian and if nothing else Peters was loyal. But the man had lived in filth and horror for two weeks, with mental scars too deep to recover from. That was saying something in his line of work.

He had been locked in his own mind repeating the events over and over again, while a carefree expression dominated his face. A part of him screamed and beat against his chest with each false report that everything was fine, but he couldn’t escape the haze. Now as his sanity and will power returned the images flashed through his mind again.
Derek pulled the curse back once he saw Peter’s eyes shift and gave the man a moment to collect himself.

“Peters?” Derek asked.

He grunted. His nose was broken, he tasted the metallic bitterness of blood and recalled Christian hitting him. That was fair, it was more than fair. He had failed. He turned then to find the man he admired as a boss and as an assassin. A man who had given him a chance as a young boy to prove his worth, and the regret and remorse was heavy in his face.

“They took her boss…I’m…” he couldn’t even say he was sorry. Despite Christian’s harsh orders Peters knew how his boss felt about the woman in question. All the men did. And they liked Diana to boot. They would of course obey whatever demands Christian made, but making meals and seeing to Diana’s comfort wasn’t a hardship. Far from it. They assumed, like most of the couple’s spats, that time would make Christian see reason. They had been spectators in most of this mess since the beginning, not all of them, but some – like Peters – had seen the affair since the first mission. At first the difference in their leader was shocking. Christian Ward was unflappable, dedicated, and ruthless when need be, but a few months into his reunion and the man was someone else, not worse – not by any means, but different. He smiled more. Then he lost it, whatever it was, and was only just starting to get it back before this whole mess. While there were a few on Christian’s team that cared less about the emotional well being of their boss, most had been with him or the senior Ward before him and cared very much. And his failure was crushing.

Derek could see it in Peters’ eyes, the horror and the anguish. They didn’t have time for softness, but Derek’s tone wasn’t hard when he instructed, “Tell us what happened.”

Peters closed his eyes and swallowed. That was it. That was all the emotional reprieve he gave himself before beginning his story.

“It was three days after you left…” he began.

Soon the words began to pour out of him. Diana had been sullen for the first night. She refused to eat or be cajoled. Refused wasn’t the right word, it wasn’t stubbornness that kept her from eating, she was just…lost. By the second day she had composed herself well enough to accept the meals, but she was still moving about as though she were a ghost. She also had trouble sleeping. It was the latter that notified her about the attack. Some of Christian’s men had already been killed, but it wasn’t for lack on their part.

The strike was surgical, as though they had already established the upper hand and knew exactly how Christian’s men were operating. They did, because they had been monitoring the house for weeks and Christian’s men for the past few days.

Diana fought. Lord did she fight. She fought for her life, her son’s life, and touchingly she fought for Christian’s men too.

“They just kept coming.” He said hanging his head in defeat.

Derek listened intently, then hit the wall, “Damn it!” he cursed, “Why didn’t she leave? She always has an exit strategy, why the f*ck wouldn’t she just run?!” he yelled to no one in particular.

Peters didn’t know that himself.

“We tried!” he said just as baffled and angry, “She…she wouldn’t leave us behind.” He said thinking that had been the reason she had stayed and not Christian’s order. “She wanted us to run, but we had a job…and…” his failure in the mission broke him and he had gone silent once more.

“Wait…After you left?” Derek asked something suddenly clicking into place. He turned his eyes to Christian then back to Peters, his earlier thought was confirmed this attack wasn’t recent. Things were beginning to take shape, but the idea was too dreadful to have merit.

Instead he asked, “Just how long ago was that? How long has she been gone?!” this time his eyes had moved to Christian’s looking for answers, looking and hoping the man hadn’t actually done the unthinkable. This wasn't because of Christian. He wouldn’t have compelled Diana to stay, knowing that there were men after her. He wouldn’t have left her unable to run, cornered like a f*cking deer with the wolves on the prowl. He wouldn't be that f*cking stupid. Would he?

[Christian Ward]

He was. Christian’s rage over Diana’s sinister plot to take away his freedom had spurred a rage to do the same thing in return. He had been focused on figuring out how to rid each other of this Merlin forsaken lifebond that was even now threatening to destroy everything Christian had worked his whole life for. Any ordered hits on Diana’s life had been secondary to the plan to break their mutual curse, but even then Christian had thought to keep her protected. He had tried, at least.

He only half listened as Peters spoke, explaining what had happened. Whoever had taken Diana was smart enough to leave one of Christian’s men alive, to use that trust against him. “f*ck, that was two weeks ago!” Christian’s voice was raised but he was raging at no one in particular. He could blame Peters and Nash for failing to protect Diana. He could blame Derek for waiting so long to relay any intel he had gathered. He could blame himself for compelling her to stay in a house that would become a prison.



Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

“Two weeks.” Derek repeated in stunned disbelief. Christian hadn’t admitted anything, but he didn’t have to.

“You haven’t seen your wife in two f*cking weeks and you didn’t think anything of it?” he asked his tone more accusatory as he stepped toward the larger man. It wasn’t that Christian hadn’t seen his wife in two weeks, it was the suspicion that Christian had been the cause behind Diana’s entrapment in the first place.

“No…there’s more. It’s my fault, but…it’s what she wanted.” Peters said directing Derek’s attention back to him.

“When it was over…” Peters began, picking up the story once more.

There was so much carnage. For every one of Christian’s men down at least five were taken out, the odds got worse as time went on, and when Walter fell Peters moved Diana back up the stairs. It was just the two of them left holding on to an endless battle. There was something fierce in Diana’s eyes, though more than half of the bodies down stairs were her handiwork and Peters had been more than awed, he was amazed further by the woman’s determination. He had never seen someone fight so hard to live before. There was no sign of defeat in her.

But defeat had come. They held on a little longer, but backed into a corner, they could only do so much. Diana had been restrained by two men and he was bound and gagged.
When the room was secured a small woman appeared, someone that Diana seemed to recognize as her eyes went wide.

Peters was only mildly conscious after his injuries and seemed to fade in and out at inopportune times. He tried to stay conscious to understand what was happening but he couldn’t hear the full conversation. Finally the woman came to him to kill him when Diana called out.

“You’ll need him! If you don’t want my husband finding out, and hunting you down you’ll need him Alessa!”

“She saved my life.” Peters said though he wasn’t entirely happy that he couldn’t be more use, he swallowed.

Finally, he turned his attention to Christian, “I would have fought it Boss, I would have.” he declared. Not all of Christian’s men were adept at fighting the imperius, it took an incredible amount of will power. He could have resisted, but they would have known and killed him, and still he would have fought being their puppet were it not for Diana’s words.

“Tell him I’m sorry Peters. Tell him I forgive him. Tell him I love him.”

“I would have fought it, but she said she knew you’d come back, and she wanted me to tell you…”

Peters also wanted to be alive to give as much detail as possible to Christian about the woman who had captured Diana when and if the man did return.

Derek took a menacing step forward as the images began to paint in his mind. What did Christian need to be forgiven for?

"You did it, didn't you, you bastard..." Derek said leveling an accusatory stare at Christian.

"Diana always has an exit strategy. Always. It's the only way she's survived this f*cking long." he spared a glance for Peters, "She told you to run because she couldn't. Because your f*cking boss cut off her f*cking legs didn't you Christian?" he said bringing his eyes back on the man, "You ordered her to stay, and then you didn't have the f*cking decency to tell your men, so they stayed because of her. Their deaths, her capture, it's your f*cking fault."

[Christian Ward]

Who the f*ck is Alessa? Christian’s lip was curled into a formidable snarl as he listened to the tale of how his plan had been so horribly flawed. Christian wasn’t a man who suffered failure often and when the occasion had arose in the past, it hadn’t been a pretty sight. He struck back harder than before and in the end there were generally very few survivors. He had a temper and penchant for being in control. This two components of his personality rarely meshed well with failure.

"You did it, didn't you, you bastard..." Derek was still laboring under the foolish notion that Diana had somehow been the innocent one in all of this. Any bounty on her head had been fully deserved for all the murderous and deceitful sh*t she had pulled in her attempt to claim Christian as her lover. Not even Christian had stooped so low in his service to the Dark Lord to murder children and yet Diana had taken to the task like it was nothing more than tucking those poor girls into bed. Diana deserved to die but her life force was tethered to Christian’s and this was the only reason he would go after her.

“Go home,” Christian said to Peters as Derek began berating Christian. Peters had been through enough these last few weeks. He would get extra pay though that couldn’t make up for being under someone else’s control, forced to endure the wretched scene that covered the ground floor of the Ward house for a fortnight. The least Christian could do now was save him from having to watch Derek get his arse kicked if he thought he could speak to Christian like that. Besides, Derek still didn’t know the truth about Diana – and Peters didn’t know the truth about the connection the Wards had with each other, so all in all it was best to dismiss the henchmen before laying out all of Diana’s dirty little secrets. Peters nodded at the order, giving one last look to Derek who looked about ready to knock Christian’s block off, then headed down the stairs and disappeared from view. Derek was still raging.

“Her capture is her own f*cking fault!” Enraged at the accusation that his mens’ deaths were on his shoulders – despite knowing it was the truth – Christian slammed his fist into Derek’s gut. “If you weren’t so blind by your f*cking love for her, you’d see she brought this sh*t on herself. And brought it down on me and my men, to boot.” He pulled back his arm again and drove it forward, this time into Derek’s head. “She played you, Derek. She played all of us, and this bounty on her head is the result of her sh*t finally catching up to her!”



Tag: Derek Burke

[Derek Burke]

It wasn’t the first time the two men had come to blows. Just two weeks ago they had thrown a few punches around out of Christian’s misplaced jealousy. Derek had been able to hold his own throughout that fight thanks to Christian being three sheets to the wind. Despite the ample drinking Christian had done tonight, the scene they had come upon was only too sobering.

But in all their physical altercations Derek had solidly been on the defensive. He never wanted to hurt the man. Tonight was different.

Derek’s eyes never left Christian’s frame as Peters was dismissed. He took Christian’s first blow and the second, until he was positioned to use the larger man’s momentum against him and bucked him into the wall before returning two blows of his own. They weren’t as powerful, but they were strategically placed where Christian would feel the pain.

Between Christian’s rage and Derek’s righteous anger there was no holding back.
Christian’s words barely penetrated Derek’s mind as his ears were ringing from Christian’s last hit, but he grasped the general concept. Christian was blaming Diana for something, for everything, just as the man typically did. He was too f*cking stubborn and blind, not to mention willfully ignorant of his feelings for the woman. But in all Derek’s observation of the couple, he never thought Christian would take it as far as he did. Besides it wasn’t his call, it was Diana’s, and the woman loved Christian. That was her mistake. That was her downfall.

“Are you that f*cking delusional Christian?!” Derek roared returning blow for blow. Christian was larger and more powerful, but Derek was fast and knew how to use his lean strength to his favor. He was also wiry and had a brick jaw.

He had taken down men Christian’s size, but it wasn’t the size that put the fight in Christian’s favor, it was the experience the man himself had.

Emotion made him retaliate emotionally, “If you weren’t so terrified of your f*cking love for her, you’d take your head out of you’re arse and realize that she’s the best damn thing to ever happen to you, and you f*cking ruined it. Again!”

Derek was fighting an impossible battle, but he was fighting all the same too furious to check his emotion.

A few more blows and Derek stumbled back, one eye was quickly swelling shut and there was blood in his mouth, he spat at Christian’s feet.

“You played yourself. You played each other. And you both lost.” Because as much as it was Christian’s fault for what was happening it was also Diana’s. The pair was too f*cked up to be functional, and Derek was delusional for thinking they could make things work or that they were meant for each other. Derek was done with it. He was done with Christian, and if he could get to Diana in time he was done with her way of things too.

Breathing heavily and broken in several places Derek leaned against the wall. He managed to find his balance and stand but he was done fighting physically, Christian was too powerful. Tearing a page out of Diana’s book he fought dirty and while it looked as though Derek was down for the count he shot back with a well-aimed “Crucio!” toward Christian.

[Christian Ward]

Derek, for all his thin frame, had enough heat behind his fists to retaliate properly. Christian took a fist to the head, tearing the flesh near his eye which was quickly red and angry. Another punch landed on his stomach and Christian doubled over automatically, pulling Derek down with him and bringing his knee up hard in the man’s gut as he gave himself some time to catch the breath that had been forcefully knocked from his body. “My love was manufactured!” Another swing came full force as Christian lumbered skillfully towards the smaller man. “She dru-” His words were cut short by another blow of Derek’s powerful fists. His vision grew blurry and he realized the blood from the cut near his eye had obscured his vision. Derek spit blood on the floor near Christian’s feet. Christian wiped blood from his face with the back of his hand. The action was a moment too late. By the time Christian could see properly, a brilliantly red streak of electricity was shooting at him. He only had a second to react, but it wasn’t enough.

The curse hit Christian on the shoulder, throwing him backwards from the force and into instant chaos. The pain was excruciating. Every nerve in his body felt as though it were being ripped apart. His muscles spasmed and Christian writhed in pain on the floor. A blinding light overtook the blurred, red sight he had been seeing moments ago. A ringing in his ears was deafening. Then he heard a laugh. It wasn’t maniacal, and it wasn’t coming from Derek who’s wand was held on him delivering an unbearable amount of shock. It was a woman’s laughter. Diana’s laughter. The white light gave through to a blue sky and the deck of a ship. Christian was drinking, Diana was laid out on a deck chair. She was laughing at him, or more precisely she was laughing at Christian’s charmed dick, enchanted to work only for her. The memory faltered as Christian’s body writhed on the floor of his home.

Diana was dragging Christian to a closet. It was slow moving as she was pushing her feet to move backwards and pressing her body forwards into him as they kissed. It was a desperate kiss. They only just made it to the safety of a supply closet before clothes were torn frantically from each other’s bodies and Diana proved she was worth the sacrifice Christian had made for her. Electricity ripped through Christian’s chest and he screamed out in pain but the sound didn’t disrupt the memory that had resurfaced. The days following his wedding to Diana had been lost to him. The previous night when the pair had made their vows had been stolen from him, and the morning after when he demanded his barrister correct the issue were gone. Well, they had been, until now.




Tag: Derek Burke