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Enver sat there listening to the various complaints by neighbors that had been made against him. Or people from Grace's school the last few nights. Both employees from the government lacked any personal skills in his opinion, but it didn't matter. They had him by the balls. "Sure. I've had a drink or two here and there. Not while she's around." He interjected as they went into his past and his abuse of certain drugs and alcohol. "Haven't touched any drugs in a long time." He followed through, before grinding his back teeth together.

"No one is saying you're a bad guy, Mr. Marshall. We're only hu-well, you know..." She trailed off, writing in her notes, before closing it and smiling. "But, we, all of us, have to think about what is best for Grace." Her eyes moved around the room, looking for things like pictures of Grace. Pictures of them. Things that shouldn't be out or near a child, while her partner in crime suddenly asked. "Have you been drinking recently?"

Enver cleared his throat and then shook his head. "Do I look drunk?" He asked flatly, before standing and moving to grab a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchen next to the dining room. "Who watches Grace when you're drinking?" He asked, another question that was damaging and Enver knew it. "Depends. She's got an aunt who loves her to pieces and then there's Rosa. She's always around an adult." Enver pointed out, noticing how his things were getting looked at.

"Look. I know what's going on here. But, as the entire world knows, I'm not like those other assholes." Enver stated, moving to claim a seat on the chair once again, as he opened the water bottle. "I been pretty clean for a while. I make money. She goes to the best preschool there is. Unless you know one better. Let me know. Food in the fridge. Clothes on her back and in her closet. She doesn't need for anything." Enver pointed out, scooting to the edge of the chair. "So, unless you have any solid evidence she's being neglected or abused, I suggest that you strongly get the **** out of my home. Now." Enver barked out, setting the bottle of water down on the table next to the chair he sat on. The woman blinked, then allowed her mouth to open into an 'o' shape before she jotted a few things down. "You're right, Mr. Marshall. Everything seems to be kosher, but the truth is...in light of recent events, vampires can't be trusted around humans. Including you." She snapped her notebook closed and then stood, as her partner moved behind her. "We'll be in touch. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Grace--and you." They left not long after that, leaving Enver to stew over things.

Was he the best dad in the world? Probably not. But there were a hell of a lot more worse ones out there than him. Weeks ago, his neighbors would have came over for a barbecue and pool party. But because of what happened at the military compound, now his neighbors felt the need to protect his human daughter. What next? Calling some place to report Rosa for some sort of work abuse? Maybe being an illegal immigrant, maybe? She wasn't an illegal immigrant and he paid her damn good, but it would only be a matter of time before his life was being picked away by those near and around him. "******* idiots." Enver growled before he threw the bottle of water across the room and watched it bounce off the wall. Something had to be done. Again. But what?

[for_peace][/for_peace]

"You know his book isn't actually that bad."

The words caused her to temporarily pause before she continued on with her stretching, bending forward at the hips, her knees slightly bent and wrapped her arms around her calves. It was a deep stretch, one that she knew that she didn't need to do, but the sensation in her body was one that she appreciated. The familiar pull of her muscle from the time she'd spent in gymnastics and running track. Her chest was pressed flat against her thighs, a few strands of her hair tickling her ears as breathed evenly. It was later on the evening, just after the sun had gone down.

"I can't hear you." It was more that she didn't want to hear Locryn's praise towards Enver. She knew the girl was a fan of his work, but Every would rather not hear about it. It was bad enough that they were related, that the two were similar and had to spend time together due to their relationship with Grace. She adored the little girl, though. It was nice to have someone innocent, someone pure to spend some time with everything going to **** as of late.

In the days that had followed with Longslade, she had kept the email portions she'd gathered and received from Ariadne. She didn't know who had gotten to the cure, she didn't know what was going to happen regarding it. Her attention had shifted to the increase of ballsy paladin and sorcerers, their attacks on those within the city and on herself. It hadn't surprised her to see his face amongst them, but as she straightened back up and lifted her arms above her head, Every ignored it for the time being.

She would deal with them, eventually. But now, now was more important for survival to be focused upon. Any wounds that she got would heal, whether on their own, or sped along by a power, and she would deal with her new little pet soon. She hadn't made up her mind on how, yet, but she doubted it would be peaceful. "It's sad how his mom died." Her thrall caused her to open one of her eyes and glare at her briefly as she recalled the conversations she'd had with Emilee in the past.

The limo ride that still caused her to bristle when she thought about the discussion of her sex life and that she'd made her go to a holiday dinner. "She was ill. **** happens." The shadow bent down once more as she heard a page turn. When Locryn fell quiet again, she straightened back up and tilted her head from the left and then again to the right. After she popped her jaw, she moved to collect her gloves and pulled them onto her hands.

"Hey Siri? Play 'Rough Night' playlist." She called out, the mechanic voice repeating what she said as she went to her punching bag. The amount of military presence in the city and their tendency to be pricks, shooting as they felt threatened. The fear of vampires had seemed to increase greatly, the woman thinking more on her faction as she went along with her days. Quite a bit of hacking had been done recently, too, so she could lower the notoriety of some in the city - she wouldn't admit that she'd released some evidence against others, however.

With the beat that began to play, Every threw her first punch and then a second. Her knee connected with the bag as it swung back in her direction before she increased her pace. Locryn listened to the noise as she continued to read, the noise never seeming to bother her. The time that had passed wasn't noticed until she heard Zachary in her head. "Eve, you might want to go visit Enver. Some chick left earlier from CPS. You were a bit busy with work." Her wraith's words caused her to pause as she caught the punching bag, a frown playing across her lips.

The weight of it caused her to step back briefly, her dark hair falling in front of her face as she blew some of the strands away from her face. "What are you talking about, Si?" She asked. Her eyes became glazed over as she focused, entering his mind through the connection before she was able to see the property leading up to Enver's home. She'd asked for him to watch over Grace as the world turned to ****. It wasn't that she lacked faith in her cousin - she didn't have any in him, really - but she trusted him with the girl more than she trusted hunters.

"I don't know. You told me to keep a low profile, I imagine suddenly floating around your cousin's place wouldn't be a low profile considering I don't know if he can see wraiths. Just overheard a woman, your cousin and a man talking." The voice in her head had her scowling as she made a mental note to dispell him - the thought not a private one as she heard her wraith going, "Don't you dare." A moment later. Muttering unpleasantries under her breath, she shouted, "Siri, stop the music." before removing the gloves from her hands and tossing them into a corner.

"Fantastic." Disconnecting her mind from her wraiths, Every moved to collect her phone and then a loose zip up tee, pulling it on over the sports bra she wore. Her car keys were on the opposite side of the cabin and she didn't head towards them - instead, she slipped into shadows and focused on the location. In a split second, she teleported directly to Enver's residence - it wasn't something she did often, it wasn't something she liked to do, really, as she allowed the shadows to retreat before she wandered up to the door.

She knew she could easily get inside - she was a shadow, she knew how to pick locks. But, there was a tiny fear inside her gut that Grace was gone. That Enver had done something to frighten someone into calling child protective services on him. She'd never seen any bruises on the girl. Were there any hidden? Instead of raising hell, yet, she tried to keep her temper in check as she lifted her hand and knocked four times quickly. "Enver!" She said, trying to keep her volume even, "Rosa!" It took her a moment to remember the woman's name.

Every didn't understand why CPS would go to her cousin's house - not without serious allegations and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. She wanted her wraith to be a little bit more useful as he hovered in the corner of the yard, watching. Could they donate to officials? Could an event be done? Was it because Enver was a vampire - she knew him coming out was a stupid move, always had. As she tried to wait patiently, she focused on pushing the shadows away from the door and brightening the area to distract herself.

Hours had passed and Enver was no further into thinking about what could, or should be done now that vampires had a bad rap. It was hard to believe just a day or two ago, his neighbors had thought him to be one of the best dad's in the neighborhood, but now, out of fear, they turned their opinions against him and turned on him. Grace had been in bed about an hour before there was pounding on his front door and it wasn't hard to make out just who it was at his door. Only one person had a voice that grating, making Enver hunch his shoulders at the sound of her calling Grace's nanny's name. He wondered how long she would stay out there before she left, or just let herself in. Probably the latter, and that made him grind his teeth together in minor irritation.

"Hold on." Enver bellowed out as he got up from the chair in the semi darkened room to open the front door and...Enver slammed the door shut and made a face that wore disgust well. "What the ****, Every?" He wanted to burn the sockets of his eyes from seeing as much flesh as he saw when opening the door. His eyes narrowed, before he flung the door back open and then grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her in. "I got neighbors watching. Tomorrow will be CPS at my door talking about complaints of a hooker in my house while my kid is at home." Enver closed the door as quickly as he could, before he gave Every a pointed look. "Rosa is sleeping. Grace is sleeping for about two hours now." He moved deeper inside the large estate, expecting her to follow. "I would have kept Grace up had I known you were stopping by." Well, maybe not. Could they dob someone in for letting kids stay up too late?

"I've not really slept much the past few days." It was evident in what he was wearing and the fact what he was wearing was stained with booze, and wrinkled to high hell. "And not in the mood for some stupid cousin stuff. Got a lot going on right now." Enver partially admitted, before he snapped his fingers together, a light bulb going off in his head. Just before he shook his head and sighed. "Stupid idea." He turned back to look at Every, without really looking at her. "Come back in a couple days, maybe. Yeah. Two days." Enver said with a droopy nod of his head, before he rubbed at his eyes and then had a Eureka moment. "Got it. Casino night, or something at the Casino." he then looked at Every. "Grace is in trouble. We're in trouble." He said with a heavy sigh, before slumping down in the leather chair he had been sitting in while watching a fire roar in the fireplace.

[for_peace][/for_peace]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

She was going to give him five minutes before letting herself in. Either by using a power or picking the lock, she hadn’t decided yet as she waited. The woman felt her wraiths mind linking to her, listening and waiting with her in case she became more frustrated. On some level, she supposed it was the sense that she was more concerned about the girl than anything - she’d been in a broken home. She’d dealt with CPS before as a teenager and due to Dylan’s connections, they always left them be. From within, she heard the bellow and she folded her arms in front of her chest as she began to count. ”I was -.” She hit the door with an open palm as he slammed it shut.

Instinctively, she invited herself in just before he opened it again. The woman hissed as her wrist was grabbed and she was hauled inside. Every stumbled inside, catching her footing and pulling her arm free fast enough to deliver a punch to his shoulder. ”Okay, first of all - **** you, I don’t look like a hooker. I came from my dance studio and if they come, send them to Apparition. Secondly, if I were a hooker, slamming the door in my face, opening it and then dragging me inside? A little more suspicious than just letting me in to begin with especially seeing I have picked her up wearing this before.” She straightened up and zipped up her tee. ”I’m not here to harass you. What’s this about Child Protective Services?”

The shadow ignored his comment about being fucked. She could smell the alcohol on him and felt her eyebrow twitch in frustration as he mentioned a casino night. Her hand went up to pinch the bridge of her nose. ”Please tell me you weren’t wearing that when they were here.” Every frowned, thinking about the fact he’d admitted there was a lot going on. She reluctantly said, ”Enver, let me help where I can. Go take a shower. Throw out the booze.” Her eyes narrowed at the stains on his shirt, following him near the chair and choosing to take a seat facing him, her back towards the wall. ”If they come back, talk with them and call a Child Protection lawyer and don’t treat them like you would a cop. Offer them something to drink, ask one of your employees here in the house to make sandwiches or something.”

At the mention of being in trouble, the woman gave a shake of her head. ”We’re treading water, but we aren’t drowning, yet. It’ll be a challenge, but she’ll be okay. We will be okay. Even if we hate each other, we’re family, Enver. And we’re both stubborn as hell.” Her shoulder lifted and fell as she shrugged. ”What do you mean, Casino night? Something fun? Or do you want to get more spotlight? You can always do something nice for a local school. Replace the computers in the high school and university.”

The hardening of a gaze had her glaring at him more. She didn't have the patience for fighting with him, and... there it was. Every felt her hackles rise. It wasn't often when she was annoyed that she showed her fangs, but when it came to him, well, she couldn't help but it. Then again, she was smaller. Perhaps it was an attempt to look more threatening. "The ******** going down in this city had me concerned so I had my wraith nearby to let me know if something happened to Grace. Ever deal with paladin, Enver, or even some of the cops in this city? Not so friendly. Doubt some of them will take care not to harm a little girl. Sure as **** don't care about cleaning up the mess in this place." There was more to it, really. But she wasn't about to tell Enver about her issues with her uncle. Not at the moment, anyhow.

"That doesn't answer my question." After a moment, she retracted her fangs. She tried to calm herself down. There was the temptation to teleport him into the nearest source of water - his pool would work. "I'm sure she is taken care of, because I would murder you outside of the city limits if I even thought you were mistreating her otherwise or die trying." Every blinked. The tone of his voice hadn't been missed, but she brushed it aside and let it roll down her back. There wasn't any need to set off any more alarms. The man was more paranoid than she was on a good day.

Every didn't point out that she had already judged him - there was already a term of sentencing waiting once he was sober, actually. "That'll come to a matter of opinion later." But could she truly talk? Hadn't she buried herself into the bottom of a whiskey bottle from time to time in the past? There was the brief distinctive memory of it around college. And before the murders... She shoved the thought out of her mind. If there was anything becoming a vampire had done, it was sober her entirely. Even if she did want a drink from time to time. "Look. Even if I want to put you through the wall often, Grace is my family and you are, too. I'll be damned again before I do absolutely nothing to help you try not to get that little girl taken away." The words had her uncomfortable. It was written across her features, but it was the truth. And it made her want to wash her

She didn't particularly care when he lashed out. Her eyebrow simply lifted at the threat, her expression portraying very clearly of a silent, "Really?" before she gave a shake of her head. "It's their job. As someone who actually had to deal with the fucks before, I can tell you that they're doing it to test you. Lashing out is exactly what they want, especially given the fact you are a special case. I doubt there are many vampire parents around." The woman gave a roll of her eyes as she picked at her fingernails briefly. A sigh escaped past her lips. Truthfully, she couldn't imagine being in his place at the moment. An animal backed into a corner was likely the best example, and that was a sensation she was familiar with. Almost too much. "And it would look particularly bad if the two social workers who came to your home suddenly ended up dead, or roughed up some. Personally, I'd turn the investigation around on the neighbor who reported you, or scare them into revoking their claim, but I'll behave for now." The shadow shifted her weight.

"You seriously do. I'm pretty sure my thrall is able to smell you through my senses." The woman deadpanned. Every lifted her hand and ran her fingertips through her hair. She tried to think of different things to do, or at least what she could do. Did Enver drink coffee? She didn't particularly care. As the man said to give him twenty, Every waved him off. It wasn't like she hadn't been inside the large home before or wasn't capable of entertaining herself for a short spell as she dropped herself into a seat and crossed her leg over the other. A short conversation was held between herself and Zachary - she wanted names and began to mentally begin a search of the internet to find out what she could about the CPS workers who had come along.