#but the thief turned out to be a robin hood type and sweet talked them into letting him go

[one-bunny-a-day]

15/01/2023

Justice bunny

[randomwordprompts]

Intimate Friends | Part 8

A/N: Whew chile, this is some way to start a new year! So this is the last part of Intimate Friends because I wanna start a new series (details on that later). All that aside, enjoy this piece of angst and suspense!! Taglist: @bartierbakarimobisson @dramaqueenamby @yaachtynoboat711 @wakandas-vibranium @wakandan-flowerz @babygirlofwakanda @great-neckpectations @storibambino @lesqui

Beep...beep...beep…

The constant beeping was the only sign he was still breathing, albeit weakly. His chest rose and fell with a soft wheeze as he laid in the bed barely clinging to life. They had filled the private hospital suite with family but once Hannibal came out of surgery; the doctors pulled his wives to tell them his status. Once outside they wasted no time asking the doctor what the damage was.

“Ladies, your husband is a very lucky man. Another day and he’d probably be dead. He suffered a dislocated jaw, mild concussion, multiple contusions, and some internal bleeding along with second-degree burns. We’ve put him in an induced coma for now so he can heal as peacefully as possible, but he should make a full recovery.”

The three women exchanged looks between each other before thanking the doctor for the update. Once he turned to leave they sat down outside of the suite for a moment to collect their thoughts before having to face their children.

Meanwhile, in the room, the three young Lectors sat around their father quietly. Francois was in a chair by his left side with a sketchpad out as they quietly worked on some designs were on hold, Jonathan was sitting in a far corner of the room typing away on his laptop, and Amira was sitting on Hannibal’s right side with her head in his lap while she idly texted Xavier for updates on the business deal he was working on. Once their mothers came back into the room three sets of eyes collectively looked at the door expectantly.

“Well, we talked to the doctor and your father will make a full recovery,” Elisha spoke up first, making the three relax.

“Bad news is he’ll be in a coma for up to two weeks of the recovery time,” Pauline said with a sigh, her eyes falling on her husband as he breathed with the help of a ventilator.

That prompted everyone to look at Hannibal, a mixture of emotions in the room as Amira looked back to her phone for a moment. Her eyes widened at the text she’d gotten, prompting her to stand suddenly.

“I need to go handle something, I’ll be back later. Let me know if you go back to the house?”

“I’ll text you, honey,” Diana said before sending her off with a hug.

Kenneth didn’t think he’d end up here.

He thought was careful. He thought he was safe.

It wasn’t the first time he’d stolen money by any means; he was a well-established thief.

It was, however, the first time he’d stolen from them.

Amira and Xavier had few rules for their illegal employees, their “Robin Hood training group” if you will.

The main one though, the cardinal rule? Don’t steal from the ones that are paying you.

Kenneth tested his luck and broke that rule because he had questions, like how is it they do all the stealing but only get portions of what’s collected? The truth is Amira and Xavier didn’t even keep the money themselves. Not all of it, at least. They paid their workers handsomely and took a cut the same size to put into a bank account they shared. The rest went to charities, non-profits, and various investments. So when the couple’s accountant called and said the number they gave him was lower than what he received there were questions. Wanting to give the benefit of the doubt, Xavier first checked to see if someone had the numbers wrong before looking for a thief within the ranks. What he found was that Kenneth had skimmed their money multiple times, but he’d gotten sloppy this time around. He normally changed the amounts before they got to the accountant (because he usually was the last one to handle the money) so it all made sense, but this time he was in a rush and forgot to change said numbers.

That was obviously a mistake.

So now he sat in what looked like a finished but unfurnished basement, tied to a chair awaiting his fate. He assumed there would be a beating and some kind of repayment because he was one of their more skilled workers but for now; he was just a sitting duck. The man had nearly fallen asleep when the sound of heels clicking against the concrete floor jolted him into alertness.

He lifted his head when the heels came to a stop in front of him, looking up to find Amira looking as flawless as ever. Her hair was up in a slicked down topknot, her face bare of makeup but glowing even still, and she wore all black: a ribbed v-neck bodysuit tucked into high waisted jeans with a small red rose detailing that led to a pair of heeled ankle boots. She regarded him silently for a moment before a smile crept across her face, one that made Kenneth nervous. Her silence didn’t last long but when she spoke it made him wish for the quiet again.

“So. You’ve been lying to our faces and taking our money because you assumed we were taking all of it for ourselves, yes?” Her tone was sweet, almost as if he was a child.

It did nothing to soothe his quickening heart though because he expected rage.

Amira turned away from him to walk over to a table as Xavier lifted him in his chair with ease and moved him to the middle of a tarp that rested behind him.

“That wasn’t smart Kenny and do you know why? Because you didn’t steal from us.”

Kenneth couldn’t help the muttered “what?” that escaped his lips.

“You heard correctly, you didn’t steal from us. You did, however, steal from some people that are much less fortunate than us because that’s where most of the money goes. We take only as much as we give to our people. And yet... you decided to steal half a million dollars.”

When Amira turned back to face Kenneth, she had a pair of pliers in her hand and a sickly sweet expression. Once she’d gotten within a foot of him, she leaned down slightly so she was directly in his face.

“I’m only going to ask once. Where’s the money, Kenneth?”

The man looked at Amira with an almost amused expression, recognizing the pliers as an intimidation tool.

“I’m not telling you where my money is, beautiful. Sorry.”

Amira chuckled and got closer to him, prompting him to join in on the laughter. Until she took the pliers and ripped off one of his fingernails. Then she was laughing, and he was screaming. His nail bed was a dark red from the bleeding that immediately took place, but before he could focus on it completely she was ripping off another. It tore another cry from his throat, tears falling from his eyes by force. Xavier, who’d been a silent observer until now, looked at his girlfriend with a smirk.

“I think he might tell us where the money is now, no?”

“You think so? I think he might need more prompting, seems to be stubborn.”

Kenneth found his voice amid their conversation, speaking to prevent further injury.

“No! No, please… I’ll tell you where it is.”

(Two Weeks Later)

Amira nearly jumped out her skin when she went into her room and saw the figure sitting at her desk with a small smile, holding back a chuckle at her startled reaction. She shook her head before walking over to her dresser to find the item she came in for when he finally spoke.

“The letters came. Do you want me to open them?”

She stopped in her tracks and turned to her father with a raised brow, now realizing why he was in her room. Taking the three envelopes from Hannibal’s hand, Amira sat on her bed and stared at them in her lap for a moment. These were her college applications and she was nervous. She’d only applied to three, the first two being filled out to placate her father somewhat. Just when she was prepared to open the first one Francois came in looking for her, confusion etched across their face when they initially came in until their gaze went to what she was holding. With little ceremony, she opened them to read. She read quickly the first one

“Harvard...accepted.”

She opened the second letter with the same flourish, reading over it silently.

“Princeton...accepted.”

When it came to the third letter Amira hesitated, noticing her hands beginning to tremble slightly. This was the school she wanted to get into, the only one that mattered in her eyes. She was so afraid of what it would say that she held it out for Francois to take from her and read. They opened the last envelope and read it to themselves, both Amira and Hannibal watching with breaths they didn’t realize were being held.

“NY Institute of Interior Design… you’re in!”

Amira fell back onto her bed and squealed loud enough to bring some of the family towards her room. Hannibal smiled at Diana, Jonathan, and Pauline as they entered the room, looking between the other three to find out what was going on. Before Hannibal or Francois could speak Amira sat up with a huge grin.

“I got accepted to my college!!”

Everyone congratulated her at once, quickly deciding to go out for an impromptu celebration dinner.

It surprised the modest but locally known Mexican restaurant El Rey del Taco, but they were more than happy to accommodate the dinner party of eight, including Xavier. They sat down to eat and engaged in idle conversation while their food was prepared, everything relaxed except Xavier who looked visibly nervous. Amira was the first to notice but definitely not the only one.

She placed a hand over his to bring his attention to her face as she spoke, “You alright, X? You’re pale and that’s not your usual look.”

“I’m okay love, I promise. I have something I’d like to say though.”

At this point he had the attention of everyone at the table, Amira especially. Xavier glanced at Hannibal who gave a minute nod for him to go ahead before standing.

“Amira, there aren’t enough words in any language to express how much I love you. You’re the first on my mind when I wake up and my last thought at night before I go to sleep. You make me want to be more than what the general public says an incubus is, and you make me want to be the best man I can be. So tonight, at this celebration, I have to ask you...will you marry me?”

As Xavier sat on one knee in front of her and her family, it struck Amira speechless. She stared at him for nearly an entire minute before Francois slapped her thigh under the table.

“Say something, dammit!”

Amira looked back at them for a moment before returning her gaze to Xavier’s, sighing as she placed her hands over his.

“Xavier, I love you so much. But I can’t marry you…”