Chapter Text
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Vi
Vi walked out of the store with an apple and a bottle of rye. This here was the well regarded streets of Saint Denis, a fresh city bustling with people from every corner of the world. It was a huge change compared to the smaller towns Vi was used to. Strawberry, Valentines, Rhodes… none of them had buildings as tall as these. More than two stories high.
She walked right out into the cobbled street as a trolley drove by on its tracks. It was hectic and busy. Vi hated it. She liked the wild nature of the untamed west, the silence and solitude. Whatever this was didn’t feel human nor did it feel safe.
She’d been warned not to walk these streets, even trading towns like Valentine had become dangerous for an outlaw such as herself. However, Vi didn’t care for rules or laws no matter who they came from. She’d walk into any town she so pleased.
The apple was for Blue, her horse who’d been a loyal steed much longer than any human had ever cared to stick around for. She was a beautiful Ardennes horse with a fiery tan coat, a white diamond on her nose, and a temper for the ages. Vi had saved her as a foal when she herself was only a child. That damn horse was as much a part of her as her arms and legs.
“Got you a treat, gorgeous. I’ll get you to some dirt and grass as soon as our business here is over.” Vi offered the apple up to Blue’s mouth and patted along her thick neck before taking a sip of her rye. The Spring sun beat overhead and seemed to bounce off the stone beneath but never would she dare be barer than this.
Her quickdraw boots, worn jeans nearly bursting at the seams and held up by leather suspenders. The white cotton button up hugged her muscles, its last two buttons undone near her collarbone. It was an unruly sight for a woman of her time though not many knew she was a woman at all. Not with her chest bound and her wispy hair cut short.
Vi climbed up onto her saddle and headed towards the edge of town. There wasn’t anything of interest here, nothing but the rich folk who made their riches by exploiting the good folks of town. These individuals she could someday rob blind. That was the whole reason for being there.
She hated how riding on horseback felt on the cobbled stones. Didn’t seem like Blue cared for it much either. Well, one thing did catch her interest. A woman with long dark blue hair on horseback coming the opposite way. Her legs rested on either side of the saddle unlike most women around these parts. A dress made it fairly difficult to ride comfortably, but upon closer inspection, that woman wasn’t wearing no dress. She wore pants just like Vi.
As a matter of fact, she had a pretty shiny rifle on her saddle holster. Whoever she was, Vi was quite interested.
The woman had a beautiful black and white thoroughbred that certainly looked well taken care of. Actually all her clothes were in pretty nice shape too. She must be one of them high society people. Still, what a sight she was.
Vi couldn’t help herself as they crossed paths, tipping her hat with a smile that went largely unanswered except for a scoff and a side eye. Well fine then. Vi knew how to dust herself off though it’d sure be nice if the people around here weren’t such assholes.
Never the mind. Vi rode out to the edge of town, past the factories and outskirt houses. Her and Blue rested by a tree, Vi with her head hung low with watchful eyes and Blue chewing on some nearby foliage. In her hands was a small hunting knife and a soft block of wood that had already begun being carved into a wolf. It was one of the small liberties Vi allowed herself when she wasn’t out robbing the rich and running from the law.
She was at it for hours, at least until the sun began to set. That’s when her scouting would truly begin. Any house with low security in the night was a house worth hittin’.
Though, as Vi prepared herself for a long night, Blue’s head perked up at the same time the snap of a twig sounded from a few feet away. By then Vi had stilled and listened for any more movement whilst her hand hovered over her holster.
The bark of the tree burst near the side of her head, sending pieces of wood flying at her face as the gunshot rang in the air. Vi quickly ducked and rushed to climb onto Blue’s back before hauling ass. She didn’t know who was after her, only that there were enough people with her bounty poster to know she should run.
It seemed as though the bullet came from deeper within the woods and thus she chose to ride as fast as possible in the opposite direction. Blue huffed as she pounded her hooves onto dirt. That horse was pure muscle so she weren't the fastest but Gods could she run when their lives were on the line.
“Cahill! We’ve got the prospects of winnin’ five hundred bucks for yer head!” A man shouted from behind. It didn’t sound like anybody Vi knew, but as long as they knew her name, she’d keep on riding.
Now, Vi knew she couldn’t ride straight into town like this. It was too narrow and too unfamiliar, so rather than cross the bridge into Saint Denis, she kept pushing west towards Rhodes.
Somewhere along riding for her life and trying to lose these fools, rain had started to pour heavily on them like her life hadn't already been cloudy enough. It ruined visibility and the wind threatened to blow her hat away, leaving one hand on her hat and the other on the reins.
She squinted and spotted some light on the other side of some trees. Whatever was there had to do because the longer she went on for, the closer these assholes got. A few bullets grazed by her shoulder that she was lucky enough to dodge unknowingly. She wouldn’t always be so lucky.
Vi pushed Blue harder into the small neck of woods between her and the light. Maybe she could lose them here but it proved futile. Another bullet burst out and seemed to startle Blue enough for her focus to come loose. She ran right into a tree, sending Vi flying a few feet ahead, rolling in the mud, and eating some of it too.
Nothing seemed broken though. Blue didn’t appear to come out so unscathed. When Vi crawled back toward her, the horse had been screaming and whining with its legs flailing around in the mud.
“No, baby. Come on, you ain’t going out like this…” Vi tried to roll her back onto her stomach but it was no use. The roar of approaching hooves was too great. She had to run. “I’ll come back, don’t you question it.”
It pained Vi to drag her boots through the mud, clinging tightly to her pistol with nowhere to go but that distant light. What a blessing it was to reach the clearing and find a large Victorian home. There was a shed on a distant side of the property, one that Vi booked towards as bullets flew out from the trees and toward her head.
She hoped they hadn’t seen her rush into the shed, not that it mattered much when more gunshots rang from the home’s direction. Within minutes there was silence and a distant orchestra of hooves parting toward where they’d come from. Finally, Vi felt like she could breathe and slid to sit on the floor of the shed. How her heart thrummed in her chest, the sound of which she could hear in her ringing ears.
Once they'd stopped ringing, she pressed her ear against the shed door to assure it wasn’t a trick. From the same direction as the home, three voices could be heard talking about the incident. It sounded like two women and a man– a mother, father, and seemingly a daughter. Vi wouldn’t bother them, she had no need to.
After a few minutes, it was quiet enough to assume the three had retreated back into the home. Only… a new set of footsteps, singular, approached the shed.
Vi held her pistol tight and aimed it at the door.
The door burst open, causing Vi's shoulder's to jump as the silhouette of a woman was lit in the doorway from a faraway light-- A shiny rifle pointed right between Vi’s eyes.
It was much too dark to get a good look but Vi could just about make out the hardened look of the woman soften.
“You…” She whispered, voice low and curious. Her fingers tapped along the rifle as it slacked before being gripped with greater strength once more. “Mind telling me why you’re harboring yourself in my shed? Who were you running from?”
Vi took a second to consider her options. In those seconds, she noticed the woman’s finger wasn’t even on the trigger. There was no intention to shoot.
She noticed too that this woman was wearing pants and that rifle… it had a familiar shine.
“Certainly I ain’t running from the likes of you, ma'am. I wouldn’t dream of it.” Vi just wanted to get out of this alive and if that meant flirting with the opposition, she’d give it a try.
“Flattery only works when you’re not covered in mud quivering in my shed like a stray dog.” The woman didn’t falter in her resolve and neither did that gun. Vi noted too she had a much different accent, one Vi had come to attribute to the snobs in Saint Denis. It was the accident from across the sea, of someone posh and unfamiliar with the life of dirt and grime. Admittedly, it sounded rather nice in Vi's ears.
So, Vi lowered her pistol and holstered it before raising her hands as she calmly got on her feet. The woman’s gun followed each and every movement, now pointing it at her chest rather than her head.
“Look, I’m sorry for bothering you. I ran into some bad folk but it seems like you scared them plenty. I’ll be out of your hair in no time—”
As Vi approached the door expecting space to be made for her, the woman remained unmoved, and before she knew it Vi had the tip of the rifle pressed firmly against her chest. Her gaze lowered slowly to the dent between her chest then back up at the woman.
Rather than fear it, Vi could appreciate a woman as brave as herself. She let out a sly smile, fingers flicking in the air as she reminded the woman of her surrender. “How much do you want for the trouble?”
In turn, the woman let out a pleased laugh. God’s and what a beautiful laugh it was. Perhaps if they had met under better circumstances Vi would have gladly bought her a drink and offered her hand for a dance.
“You’re adding bribery to your list of charges? You’ve got yourself into quite some trouble.”
Charges?
“Come on, you ain’t gotta tell anybody. We can work this out amongst ourselves.”
Her charm wasn’t working in the slightest.
“You can work it out with the Sheriff at the county jail.”
“I’d much rather work it out with you than some man with a stick up his ass.” Vi had encountered enough disgusting Sheriffs to know anything else would be better. She’d also do anything in her power to steer clear of jails ever since her last incarceration.
“You’re talking to her.”
Vi blinked once, then twice, before the realization sunk in. “You’re the Sheriff?”
The woman sighed like she’d heard that question a million times before. “You think a woman can’t be a Sheriff? You boys go out living your lives as cowboys and outlaws yet the one law you respect is that of a woman’s restraints?”
You boys? That made a whole lot of sense now.
“No ma'am, you’ve got me all wrong. I ain’t no boy and I sure as hell don’t give a damn for what a woman can or can’t do. See, I wasn’t meant to be much of a cowboy. Women aren’t entirely welcomed in that position either.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed and Vi felt her gaze sweep up and down Vi’s figure.
“Lying ain’t going to help you.”
“Well I ain’t lying.” Vi positioned toward her hat as if to ask for the right to take it off. When the woman nodded, she slipped it from her head and placed her head into the light’s path. “I wouldn’t lie to a woman such as yourself.”
The woman’s eyes widened, her arms lowering the rifle that slid away from Vi’s chest. Only then did the woman step away from the door, allowing Vi to slowly step out into the open.
“Those men… were they after you…” She whispered, looking much softer and kinder than before. The woman still held her gun tight but no longer did it point anywhere near Vi. Now, Vi knew what she meant by such a question.
Men had the tendency to neglect no’s as valid responses. Men often took things that didn’t belong to them. And men, well, they had caused plenty of grievances for the women in both of their lives, of that Vi could be sure.
“No, ma'am. They must’ve mistaken me for someone else. I appreciate you getting them off my back but they hurt my horse pretty good back there so if you don’t mind–”
The woman’s eyes widened further at the mention of Blue. “Your horse? I could help.”
It hadn’t been lost to Vi that this woman there was a Sheriff. The more she stuck around, the more likely it was for the woman to recognize her from those bounty posters and as much as she appreciated the help, Vi couldn’t let herself be caught.
Then again, if it meant Blue had a chance of living…
The woman gathered a lantern before following Vi towards the woods. It was a mighty brave thing to do, which was why she insisted to holding Vi’s pistol until everything was in the clear. They had to establish trust one way or another.
While Vi retraced her steps in the mud, the woman remained quiet, yet her need to speak hung in the air thicker than molasses.
“Go on, what do you want to say?” Vi huffed, breaking their silence and causing a brow to raise on the woman’s face.
“Why do you dress like a man?” Straight to the point, this one.
If by that she meant the pants Vi wore, then it was a mighty dumb question coming from her. “Why do you dress like a man?”
The woman opened her mouth to speak only to close it again. They walked a few more steps along the mud until her response was heard. “You really don’t know who I am, do you?”
Vi looked back at her, up and down… nope. Nothing of note. “Am I supposed to?”
“I suppose not. I’m Caitlyn.”
Caitlyn. What a gorgeous name it was indeed. Fancy. It suited a woman of her stature.
The woman– Caitlyn– appeared to offer her hand for a formal greeting. Vi wasn’t used to those, rather, they were pretty damn unusual around the people she grew up. She came from a place of head nods and boot clicking. Perhaps some spitting here and there. This felt too formal and they weren't buddies.
Vi laughed to herself and kept walking, leaving Caitlyn’s hand completely unattended. If it bothered the woman, she surely didn’t make much light of it other than huffing.
In the distance, Vi could hear the whines of Blue. At least it meant the poor thing was still alive and that realization set Vi’s boots ablaze along the mud. Caitlyn struggled to keep up but she did it, reaching Blue just seconds after Vi collapsed atop her steed.
“Oh girl, I’m sorry. They ain’t touch you, did they?” Vi caressed Blue’s neck as she dodged tired clambering hooves. Behind her, Vi could feel Caitlyn staring without moving a muscle. “Well? Can you help her or did you come here just to watch her suffer?”
Caitlyn shook herself into action, walking around Blue to examine whatever wasn’t covered in mud. The rain had calmed by then but it wasn’t enough to wash everything away. “I believe she’s only casted. Nothing seems broken, not from what I can see.”
“Casted?”
“Yes, casted. When a horse is stuck on its back. The mud must be too thick for her, all you’ve got to do is roll her back.”
Yeah right. This horse must weigh a few hundred pounds and Vi was strong but not that strong. Surely Caitlyn would help, so she scrambled to Blue’s back and dug her hands between the mud and her hide. Caitlyn, however, didn’t move. Did she expect Vi to do it alone?
“Ma'am, I know I look strong but this horse ain’t flipping without you. You’ve got soft hands or what?”
“Stop calling me ma'am, we don't appear to be of dissimilar age.” Caitlyn grumbled as she set down her lantern nearby and squatted beside Vi. The woman’s dainty hands were dirtied with mud but with some grunting and a whole lot of cursing, they managed to flip Blue until she could get back on her feet.
Though as Blue began to move, Caitlyn’s hands must have slipped and Vi noticed just as the woman was about to fall straight into the mud. Vi was already dirty, the least she could do was sacrifice whatever was left of her cleanliness.
She caught Caitlyn, rolling onto her back to allow the woman to fall atop her rather than the mud. It worked as well as it could have. Sure, she couldn’t have saved the woman’s pants, but she sure as shit saved her shirt.
Lit by the lantern and moonlight, Vi could get a much better look as their faces stood just inches apart. Caitlyn’s eyes, wide with shock, were a beautiful blue– much more saturated than Vi’s own. She had thinner lips with a captivating curve and her nose, gods it was sharp and chiseled. She looked like the ladies on one of the paintings Vi had once smuggled from a boat.
Art by @simplytomh on Twitter
“Sorry, uhm, my hands… they completely gave up on me…” Caitlyn’s eyes fluttered as she began to lift herself. Those same muddied hands had held onto Vi’s shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze as if Vi wouldn’t notice.
“Happens to the best of us.” She motioned to herself and fixed the hat on her head. If anyone was to win the dirtiest of the bunch competition, it’d be Vi.
And Caitlyn? She giggled as if what Vi had said was actually funny which she knew weren’t true. Well, she could overlook that fact when Caitlyn offered her hands to help Vi onto her feet. A hand that, this time, Vi wanted to take. She understood compassion much more than she understood the stupid and rigid rules of higher society.
Compassion was not what she would have expected from a woman like Caitlyn. Perhaps the supposed Sheriff would act differently if she knew what kind of life Vi had led-- A life that rejected people like her.
Caitlyn seemed nice enough, surely the only woman of her kind, how different could she be if Caitlyn had the brains to be Sheriff? It didn’t matter. Vi shouldn't be around long enough to find out. Best she could do was take the woman home as a thank you.
“Come, I’ll give you a ride back home.” Upon dusting herself off, Vi climbed back onto Blue’s saddle and offered Caitlyn a hand.
The woman hesitated, her hand tightening around the lantern she carried. She’d been considering somewhat, the contents of her thoughts however, remained unclear.
“If you’re thinking of walking back alone, forget it. It’s far too late for someone such as yourself to be out here without someone to watch your back.”
“I can handle myself fairly well, thank you.” Caitlyn proceeded to pull Vi’s pistol from her own hip and handed it back to her. The woman didn’t peel her eyes away for a moment, still questioning their trust, until Vi holstered it at her hip.
“There’s no doubt in my mind about it. I still ain’t letting you walk home alone. Either you ride with me on this horse or I’ll trot beside you the whole way back.”
“And if I decline both options?”
“Then I guess we’ve got ourselves a duel.”
Caitlyn scoffed with a playful laugh. “You stand by your honor so firmly that you’d duel a lady for the right to protect her?”
Blue stomped her foot against the ground. She hates standing still. “Look, my horse is just about ready to leave you in her dust. Let’s avoid ourselves the trouble and just take you home.”
“Only because you insist.”
With that, Caitlyn allowed herself to be helped onto Blue’s back, sitting nearly behind Vi. The woman refused to wrap her arms around Vi’s torso but opted to hold firmly along her hips. Vi didn’t know what would have been worse. Caitlyn’s hands were so tender…
With every step Blue took, their hips ground along one another. It was impossible not to. Vi just tried to focus on other things such as the abundant amount of stars present in the night sky that poked in between the passing clouds.
She’d always loved the stars. Somewhere amongst them were her parents watching over her and waiting for the day they’d reunite.
Their ride was silent, nothing but Blue’s hooves and the sound of clinking steel. With time Caitlyn’s home came in view and the woman squeezed Vi’s hips making her stop. “I’ll get off here.”
They were right at the edge of the woods, perhaps a few hundred feet still left to go before they were at the woman’s doorsteps. Vi would’ve insisted on taking her the rest of the way, it was truly no harm, but the questions that may arise from bringing such a lovely woman home so late at night were not the kind Vi wanted to answer. Caitlyn appeared to be on the same page.
Vi had no need to help the woman down, she knew just how to dismount a horse, and instead of heading on home, Caitlyn stalled. There was more she wanted to say, based on her timid looks it might even be something nice, but Vi couldn’t afford that. She couldn’t ruin a woman like this with her troubles.
“I guess this is where you and I part ways, miss. Your hospitality has been appreciated. Now, I’ll wait for you to head inside before making my way out, if you don’t mind.” Vi tipped her hat with her head again before pointing her open hand towards the home.
“Yes, I– I guess so. Will you be leaving town after tonight?”
“I fear that’s not in my control nowadays.”
Caitlyn hummed and looked at her home before turning her gaze towards Vi with a well meaning smile. “Well, I hope to see you again under better circumstances. Perhaps you and I could get a drink in town.”
Brave and bold. Vi respected her gall but worried about her naivete. This woman had no idea who Vi was, the people she’d killed, the towns she’d buried in her wake. She was no honorable woman. She was a plague.
And Caitlyn? She was a flower sitting in a nice ol’ glass vase in society’s parlor room. No amount of bravery or boldness could save a woman from an outlaw like Vi.
It’s not like a romance such as their own, if it were to blossom, would be much accepted in these parts. Or anywhere else for that matter.
“Your folk know you’re… you know?” Vi rested her forearms on the horn of her mount, leaning into it with a smirk.
“It doesn’t concern them.”
Vi laughed. It always did, one way or another, and it would surely be her ass on the line the next morning. “Respectfully you’re a beautiful woman, miss Caitlyn. You don’t know me and it’d be in your best interest to keep your distance. I go my way, you go yours.”
Caitlyn was unmoved by the compliment or her attempt to create distance, no, the woman narrowed her eyes and examined Vi with a hardened ambition. “I’ll buy you a drink.”
“I’ve got money of my own, thank you.”
“I’ll buy you a drink and give you a good night.”
Vi’s eyebrows went high in disbelief. “Is the Sheriff selling herself out now?”
Caitlyn swatted at Vi’s boot with a pinched face before sighing as if channeling all the patience she had left. “You’re flattering to look at but don’t kid yourself. A drink and a good night watching the stars around a campfire is all I meant.”
This woman wasn’t going to give up. Brave, bold, and tenacious. There was only one way Vi was getting out of this.
“You know what, you’ve sold me, miss. Pick a time and place.”
Caitlyn’s eyes lit up at Vi’s surrender, tapping her finger on her rifle. “Meet me at Rhode’s parlor house around eight tomorrow. Wear something less… muddy.”
“I can’t make any promises.” Vi smiled, she hoped Caitlyn would accept it for what it was. As was customary, Caitlyn smiled in return and finally accepted the resolution they had come to.
The woman gave her one last nod and started toward the house, then right as Vi thought she’d gotten off the hook, Caitlyn stopped a few feet ahead. “One last thing. I never got your name.”
The odds of them crossing paths again was unlikely. Vi never hung around Lemoyne anyway, always keeping herself around New Hanover or the mountains. It was too damn hot down here, too busy, and surely too developed to her liking. What was the harm?
“My name’s Vi.”
Caitlyn’s smile persisted, rather, it grew with something playful and mischievous– her hand now at her hip. “What, haven't you got a last name?”
“You ain’t gave me yours.”
There was silence for a moment, the sway of the trees and the swish of the wind, before Caitlyn eased her teasing. “Fair enough. I’ll see you tomorrow night then, Vi.”
“And you stay safe, miss.” Vi tipped her hat one last time, her forearms still leaning comfortably on the horn of her saddle as she watched Caitlyn walk the rest of the way. Even at the door, Caitlyn gave one last look in her direction before heading inside and Vi couldn’t find it in herself to leave just yet.
She never knew there was a woman out there like Caitlyn. Sure, Vi had her share of women in the past but none of them got Vi as whipped as this. It would never work between them, of course, but it was a nice thought.
Perhaps it’d be easier if she weren’t the Sheriff. It was one thing to date another woman, secrecy was not something Vi was unfamiliar with, but it was a whole 'nother beast to see the Sheriff as her lover. Especially if she were the Sheriff of Rhodes; they weren’t a town well known for their open-mindedness.
With a heavy heart, Vi directed Blue back towards the trees and began her journey north back to New Hanover though it was without a doubt that miss Caitlyn and her shiny silver rifle would remain forever in Vi’s mind.
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Caitlyn
Vi never showed up. At first she had hoped the woman had lost track of time and Caitlyn decided she’d give it an hour. Though an hour became two and Caitlyn was above sitting at the saloon by herself waiting on someone who would never show up.
She must really be a fool to believe a woman like that would’ve gone through the trouble of showing up. Something about her had been off the previous night. Not just anybody gets chased by a gang and they certainly didn’t have a volcanic rifle as shiny as Vi did. No, there was more to her than met the eye.
Angry, chewing on her lips even, Caitlyn headed outside of her parlor house and mounted Matilda, her reliable horse who had helped her catch up to plenty of bounties. She was trained to remain unmoved by the sound of a bullet, a necessary trait given her rider’s occupation.
She rode slowly back to her parent’s home, stuck in thought of where Vi could be that was more appealing than with a free drink in hand beside Caitlyn. Even with the money to spare, a free drink was a free drink. Though as Caitlyn left the town of Rhodes and ventured into the farmlands, she remembered how unwilling Vi was to give her last name.
Of course, Caitlyn had her resignations as well but that was because her last name was well known and not too well regarded in these parts. Her family were immigrants, British ones at that, and they had more money than most people could dream of. She couldn’t blame the locals for their hatred. That was her reason for secrecy. Protection.
Caitlyn wanted to live a normal life. Though nothing about her life was normal. No, she was a half-Asian wealthy immigrant woman working a man’s job. To withhold her last name was to delay the eventual shock most people developed. With all her excuses aside, Caitlyn realized Vi must have secrets too.
What could be big enough for Vi to hide her surname? She didn’t recognize the name for any other wealthy family around, nor did she notice anything relatively expensive on the woman’s person. The only other type of person who would hide their identity would be an outlaw. If that was the case, was Vi even her real name? It’d make sense of the woman’s unwillingness to speak to the Sheriff and her shock once Caitlyn announced her position. Well, it’d also explained the armed men after her.
Caitlyn left her parent’s house bright and early the next morning. She had quite the ride back to Strawberry, one that she spent mewling over her encounter with Vi over and over again. There must have been more details she missed out on, then again, as she went over their interactions, Caitlyn would lose herself to last night.
Her, sitting there alone waiting on someone who likely never had any intentions of showing up in the first place. Caitlyn had to admit that it hurt, she'd never been hung to dry like that, let alone by someone who seemed so interested the night prior.
As soon as Caitlyn arrived in Strawberry, she headed straight into the Sheriff’s department. Thankfully there was no one in the upstairs cells, only Steb, one of her deputies. He greeted her as usual but kicked his feet up against the wall and read the latest newspaper.
Caitlyn sat at her desk with a huff, her mind still a tangled mess of odd feelings and disappointment. What was worse than being stood up and lied to then having to go into work the next day?
Well, she looked over the papers on her desk. Most of it was about recent drunkards causing trouble, a livestock dispute gone awry, and a new batch of bounty posters to hang up outside. Each one she looked through were much like the rest– angry men with hateful eyes. Then…
Vi’s face stared back at her on a wanted poster. Wanted dead or alive. Bounty 500 dollars.
Caitlyn could feel her heart sink to her feet. No Vi wasn’t just some rebellious outlaw, she was for real. Suddenly thoughts of that night relapsed. How badly could things have gone? She was alone in the woods with the woman, sure her weapon had been seized but who else could’ve been out there waiting to catch her off guard?
No, Vi hadn't given her the impression of someone dangerous, she'd even warned Caitlyn to stay away, but a wolf in sheep's clothing always did look so innocent at first.
Worst yet, Vi knew where her parents lived now. If she were to rob someone, they were now an easy target.
No matter the cost, no matter the time, and no matter the effort. Caitlyn would find her. Vi was in her crosshairs now and Caitlyn never missed.