CAIN: LADY IN BLACK

He played by no rules. as ruthless the shadows he hid in.

They called her the Lady in Black. She saw what no one else could see. No one could hide from her. Not even a killer.

Following a predator before he strikes once more, their alliance is made out of necessity a match forged in hell.

Abraham Cain was going to be a problem.

The man wore Armani suits to crime scenes! What kind of cop wore designer suits? or had his nails manicured?

Type A pain ass kind of trouble she didn’t need!

He was a wild card, his unpredictability made Moon Black uneasy.

Sure Cain had a ninety percent solve rate, she even had heard rumors that Cain had a reputation for being reckless, and that his methods often strayed from protocol. He had the gall to chafe her ass about interfering in his case when he constantly broke rules and put his team in danger?

Moon sat quietly in Cain’s office, waiting for the detective to finish his diatribe.

trying to ignore the way Cain’s dark hair curled up his collar. Or the way his physique filled out his suit.

Instead her eyes fixated on designer furniture and artwork that adorned the walls. Pretentious asshat, Moon thought absentmindedly, How could a cop afford such expensive stuff?

“Listen to me, Black. You need to back off I don’t need some self proclaimed psychic coo coo puff torpedoing my case!” Cain snapped.

Moon blinked. He was still talking?! Lawd have Mercy!

Moon chuckled. “That’s a new one” she murmured, “you’re imaginative with the insults”

Moon shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I feel like you have a misconception about me. I don’t care. You’re trying to catch the killer, and I’m trying to prevent more murders from happening.”

Cain’s expression hardened. “don’t try to tell me how to do my job.”

Moon gritted her teeth. “I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, Cain. But I’m here! I’m here trying to help you! Can’t we work together to catch this psycho before he kills again!”

Cain leaned forward, his eyes glittering dangerously. “I don’t want or need your help” he told her coldly.

Moon felt a surge of anger. “The killer is targeting high-profile individuals, and has been eluding you for months! But hey! Don’t let your pride get in the way!”

Cain’s lips curled in a sneer. “Is that what you think? That I’m the problem here?”

Moon stared at him.

The icy grey depths were unreadable. His whole stance was impossible to get read off of. Just static. A blank slate.

That was impossible. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Emotions leaked out everyone like a faulty faucet. Sometimes she could have flashes of a memory, a thought, and it was overwhelming. Her senses often left raw from other peoples horrific thoughts and memories.

this man before her, was nothingness. A black void of emptiness.

“If we have nothing more to discuss you can go” Cain’s voice broke her out of reverie. He stood, stepping away from his desk waved dismissively towards the door to his office.

He was shooing her?!

Her eyes narrowed. She ignored his wiggling fingers.

she crossed her arms across her chest. “I dont think so!” She huffed. “I’m not going anywhere!”

Something shifted in his demeanour. Amusement. He was laughing at her? It was startling to see the hard edges of his crumble.

“Make yourself at home,” he drawled sarcastically. He returned to his seat.

To Moon’s disbelief and chagrin, Cain began opening up his laptop. “What are you doing?” She demanded.

Not looking up, Cain answered “I have to finish my paperwork, Ms Black”

Moon blinked. “but what about the case?”

“I think we’ve said enough for today, Ms Black. Let me get back to work.”

A few minutes passed and Moon huffed again. “stop being an asshole!” She snapped.

Cain’s fingers stilled on the keyboard . He slowly turned his head and glanced at her. Taken aback he chuckled. “You don’t like being ignored, Ms. Black”

“I dont like repeating myself and no,” she huffed. “I don’t like being ignored.”

He regarded her a moment longer and sighed. “Ms. Black” he began “you need to remember You are civilian. I don’t have to entertain you any longer. I can and will have you arrested for interfering in an active investigation!”

She yawned “don’t bore me with red tape, or policy mumbo jumbo. I don’t understand it and I don’t care.”

Cain leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on her. “Ms Black, I am warning you!” He began, his voice low and dangerous.

Moon refused to back down. “I don’t need to convince you,” she said coolly. “I know I am good at what I do. I know you need me!”

They stared at each other for a long moment, neither willing to back down. Finally, Cain sighed heavily. “Fine,” he said. “You can stay. But if you get in my way, I won’t hesitate to throw you out.”

Her lips kicked up at the corner “you sure get worked up. This is the most emotion I seen out of you” and yet there was nothing. Still an empty darkness. It was blessed relief.

They glared at each other and she smiled. “I’m not a cop. I am psychic. I see things a profiler would in a different context, I do it for a living. I don’t care if you think I am a con artist or if you don’t believe in prescience.” Her eyes dropped to her lap. Her voice softened as she spoke, “I help people. It’s what I do. It’s who I am. My visions, aren’t pretty and they sure as hell would drive a normal person insane,” she took a deep breath and raised her head.

“That’s why I believe you need me. This killer isn’t normal.” She whispered “I can take the edge off”

Cain was staring at her with those piercing eyes, She felt exposed, like he could see right through her.

But this man, he was unreadable. It was unnerving. She broke the uneasy silence. “I’m not leaving until we have an agreement.” She said firmly, meeting his gaze. His expression didn’t change but something flickered in his eyes. “And what agreement would that be?” he asked slowly. She leaned forward, “That I will have access to all the evidence in this case and that I will be allowed to do my job without interference.” She watched for any sign of hesitation or objection but he simply nodded. “You have my permission.” He said flatly. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I need more than permission, I need cooperation.” She said, her voice firm. Finally, there was a small shift in his posture. “You’ll have it.” He said, meeting her eyes. She sat back, satisfied. It was a small victory but one that could make a difference. As she gathered her things to leave, she couldn’t help but wonder about the man in front of her. Who was he? And why was he so hard to read?