Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to iZombie, all rights to the CW – This is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note
Apologies to anyone who is still waiting for me to go back to my older stories, I promise I will get there eventually - I am a little bit out of practice when it comes to my writing so I am trying to wean myself back in as I go by dipping into things I am invested in right now - I swear it's coming!
With everything going on in the world right now - Stay Home and Stay Safe!

'… I scream, you scream, we all scream for her – don't even try 'cause you can't ignore her.'

Seattle - the city living under pure illusion - every man, woman and dog sweeping under the rug that the city wasn't teetering towards being overrun with cost-cutting drug dealers and of course, the threat of the infamous 'Chaos Killer,' who seemed dead-set on targeting the 'one-percenters.' Otherwise known to a handful as Zombies. Not your manic, flesh-eating Dawn of the Dead type, just your run of the mill Zombie, that could get by with the day-to-day as long as they had a brain, or three, kicking around the fridge. Now, there was a hot commodity on the underground market, the human brain with a dose of Lucky-U to sweeten the deal - and where you've got a high-stake market, you need some high-stakes 'business people.' The Skye Gentlemen's club held just that. The discreet downtown location echoed with the sweet screech of the old classics covering the muffled grunts of the patrons flashing their hard-earned cash for a good time. The door to the club swung open for the umpteenth time that night as the bartender took in the blonde that had stepped cautiously inside, she rolled her eyes gesturing for the closest bouncer to let the back know their favourite Team-Z player had arrived.

"What can I get you?" She questioned laying it on sweet, attempting to hide her grimace as he flashed his 'trademark' smirk, "I've got people to serve Blondie, so…" She pressed, "Beer? Vodka? Sangria?"

He smirked, "Nice dye job Red," He rubbed his hand over his mouth, "Whisky Sour… and uh - Get me that pretty boss of yours."

"Already here." Her voice carried from the other end of the bar, the click of her heels reaching him over the patrons' hollers as she passed, "Put his drinks on my tab Ruby," She smiled at the woman before turning her attention back to him "Now Blaine, not that I don't enjoy our little chats but," She popped her tongue. "What sick twist of fate brings you in on a Wednesday night?"

"And here I thought you might be missing me El," Blaine chuckled as he let his eyes flick over her, watching her closely as she leant back casually against the bar, the emerald dress she sported screaming out to him as it clung neatly to her curves. She brushed her fingers through her hair - a nervous habit that he had grown accustomed to - before hopping up onto the bar beside him as if it was nothing, slowly kicking her leg over the other knowing she had his attention transfixed as usual.

Imelda hummed bringing his attention back up to her pale face, "Hmm…No - Let's try again shall we?" She patted his arm, "What are you doing here?"

His gaze drifted around the club trying to take stock of anyone he remembered from Mr Boss' crew, before knowingly chancing his luck as he stretched up as close as he could to her watching as she arched her brow. He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before allowing his hand to slip to cup her cheek.

"I was worried." He told her, a laugh escaping her lips as she tried to ignore his breath tickling her neck. "Really El…" He pressed, "There is a killer out there after all."

"That a lot of my contacts seem to think is you," She advised as she took a hearty sip from the glass of red wine Ruby had sat beside her, "I'm also not stupid McDonough," He flinched, "You don't worry about anyone but yourself," She accused, "So I'll ask one more time, and hopefully, you can give me an honest answer before I damage your ego and throw you out." She dug her nails dangerously hard into his suit jacket, the sudden flinch and hint of fear in his eyes made her quickly retract her hand. "Blaine-"

"I need you-"

"Is there a problem here boss?" A voice questioned interrupting Blaine's attempt to beg as one of her men appeared towering over the blonde's shoulder, knuckles cracked ready to remove him from the premises.

Imelda stalled, her eyes searching Blaine's face, for a man who was normally oozing confidence and trying to get a layer - or two - off, he looked strangely nervous - and the sweat smudged makeup that was building up on his shirt collar concerned her. "No." She finally spoke from behind her glass watching as Blaine let out a grateful huff. "I don't think we do." She turned to look over her shoulder at Ruby, who seemed to have read her mind, and took the fresh bottle of wine with a smile, "We're taking this into the back," She instructed, "Hold all calls, no disruptions - and I want two bodies on the door…"

Her eyes flicked to Blaine. "Move."

He followed without complaint as she led him through the rowdy club her hand clasped gently around his wrist, ignoring the disappointed cat-calls of the men as they passed. She gestured for him to pass by her as she paused at the office door, watching her men move in front of the hallway. She flashed them a small grin before locking the door. In less than a blink, she had set the wine aside with a gentle toss and had roughly hauled Blaine up against the heavy door, causing him to let out a loud yelp.

"You're human!" She hissed rubbing his cheek roughly as the pale make-up came off on her fingers, his once sun-kissed skin peaking through. "How the hell are you human?"

"I don't know if you are aware of this but, you Zombie folk are extremely strong." Blaine grunted gesturing down to the iron-tight grip she had on his arms, "Mind letting up the vice there El?" She mouthed a small apology as she loosened her grip, "I ran into an 'issue' at Meat Cute and I seem to be playing for the opposition right now," He studied her face searching for a hint of belief, "Imelda I need your help."

She laughed, "No. What you need is to explain this whole mess as I drink this lovely bottle of wine and then - and only then - will we discuss 'help'," She shook her head, "-but first," Blaine moved to catch her wrists as her fingers made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt only to have her knee jut out to meet the door between his legs. "You want my help right?" She questioned as he nodded slowly, "Then hands up Blaine…"

Blaine sighed holding his hands up by his head as he watched her hands trace down his chest. Noting that, whether she would admit to it, she was being a lot more gentle with him now. "Wire?" He pondered as she trailed her hands down his back to his waistband, "If you wanted me to take my clothes off, you could just ask…"

She shot him a look, "Of course I'm checking for a wire? If you recall - the last time I helped you, I ended up hog-tied in Boss' car." She replied, "Besides, we both know that the only one desperate to get someone's clothes off is you."

He arched his brow teasingly at her, "Is that so?"

"Oh sweetheart," She drawled, pressing flush against him with a small smirk as his hands automatically dropped to circle her waist. "I don't think you are in any position to challenge me," She warned, "Due to your little situation, I'm more likely to break you." She winked as she reached past him to grab the bottle of wine as the blonde fought to catch his breath. He cast her a quick glance as she moved to take up residence in the spacious hanging chair she had hooked up in the corner. "Now, sit."

Blaine sat down across from her on the all-too-familiar red leather couch, "Remember when I told you about the zombie from the boat-party who conveniently now works for the morgue?" She nodded. "Well, her boss may or may not have found a cure for our little problem." He watched her perk up at the sound of a cure, "Don't get too excited El," He warned as she rolled her eyes taking a long swig, "Like I was saying, transpires an associate of hers was snooping - yada yada - I caught him, locked him in the meat-locker - yada yada - He killed my guys, I shot him and-" He huffed, "She stabbed me with one of the only samples they had." He clapped his hands dramatically as he moved to gesture to his still bare chest. "Human. There, you are up to speed."

Imelda hummed kicking off her heels, "And now you get to the part where you 'need' me to do something unbelievably stupid?"

"I want to take down Boss." Blaine admitted as her eyes snapped up to meet his, "Now hear me out El…" He urged, seeing the deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. "I know how fed up you are of handing over half a night's turnaround just to keep his men from terrorizing your strip-" She arched her brow, "Dancers - and I know how much you would rather he didn't know about your little side-hustle." She gaped. "Don-E talks."

"Son of a bitch." She could feel her temper wavering, "What do you want from me Blaine?" She questioned curling her fist around the neck of the bottle, "This sounds like blackmail."

"Tit-for-tat," Blaine shrugged, "I want you to work for-" She growled, "With me." He corrected, "You help me take down Boss from the inside - We take over everything, the shipment, his clientele - I give you protection for the club and I supply your little side-hustle." He offered, "You continue to move the shipments through the club, cover a fee or two-" He smirked, "Plus, I give you a discounted rate on whatever brain tickles that devious fancy of yours - Same for Red and any other Team-Z you've got on the books."

She bit her tongue, "Where's the catch?" She asked, "The fee?"

Blaine huffed, "25%" He opted, when in truth, he didn't want anything from her. "25% of what you make from your supply drops. I don't want the money from the club." He shrugged, "You give me the information I need, I get what I want"

Imelda smirked as she swung out of the chair, allowing her tired feet to sink into the lush rug as she padded across the office to him. "Say I agree." She spoke warily, "I'm not only putting myself and the club into the firing line, but my girls…" Blaine watched her curiously as she got closer to him, a small smile on her lips as she dropped down gently into his lap. "These girls rely on me to keep them safe and I sure as hell don't plan on letting them down just so you can play with the big boys." He nodded as she continued, his hands trailing along the couch to reach her. "The second, and I mean the absolute second that anything happens to any of my girls or I'm no longer satisfied with this deal - We're done, in every sense, is that clear?"

Blaine smirked as he pressed his hands flat on her back pulling her in closer to him, their faces inches apart. "Very - but come on sweetheart," He whispered, "When have I ever left you unsatisfied?"

The soft raps on her office door brought Imelda out of her head as she peaked up at the door from her spot on the couch, Blaine had left through the back-exit knowing that by now someone would have called Mr Boss and there would be someone waiting to grab him in the crowd. She was still trying to wrap her head around their chat, Blaine being human was one thing - one thing that neither of them had ever imagined to be possible - but he wanted to go against Mr Boss, with her at his side. She would be lying if she hadn't considered it time and time before, and it made sense for it to be her.

"Hey Boss?" Ruby questioned unlocking the door to the office, casting a quick glance around the room for the slightest of hints that she should make a quick exit. She smirked as she caught sight of the blonde lying content on the couch. "He's gone then?" She nodded, "You've had a couple of calls -Boss asking questions, I gave him the run around for you… So spill - What did he want?"

"Lock the door," Imelda insisted as the red-head did just that, "Go on - take a seat nosey," She waited patiently until her second-in-command took up residence on the edge of her mahogany desk. "He wants to take down Boss, anything he has, he wants" She explained, "We still get our cut of the supply, protection for the club an' the girls. He asked for 25% of the U profits. Nothing else, just informants."

"And you right?" Ruby commented with a knowing look as she grabbed hold of the 'emergency' bottle of red that was hidden in the top drawer, "C'mon El, you said it - Anything Boss has, he wants - that includes you." She explained yanking the cork out, "He's the Joker to your Harley Boss. Face it, the weird cat and mouse thing has been going on for years."

Imelda snorted, "The Joker to my Harley?"

Ruby laughed as she handed her the glass, "Yeah! Just like I'm your Ivy." She explained, "I'm just saying it's getting sad now - even the girls can see how desperate he is."

"First of all - I bought that red dye for me." Imelda corrected, "Secondly, if any of the girls are really that concerned with his 'desperation,' then they can have him. I'm sure Blaine would be more than happy to welcome the attention." She took a small sip. "I don't have any interest in Blaine"

"Sure…" Ruby vouched, "Come on! Who are you trying to kid here? Me?" She pushed, "If any of those girls so much as looked at Blaine the 'wrong' way - You'd be on them like…" She trailed off seeing the warning look in the blonde's eyes. "Okay - Down blondie." She smiled taking a sip, "Did you take the offer?"

She nodded slowly, "Just need to wait and see if he can live up to his side,"

Ruby pursed her lips, "You don't think he can?"

"He's human." Imelda admitted watching the red-head lower her glass confused. "He's a living, breathing, vulnerable human." She shrugged, "Someone out there is engineering a cure for Zombies and it works - Completely human - I could feel his heart racing like a new car."

Ruby sighed, "That'll explain why he was so cautious coming in," She deduced, "If he's so vulnerable why is he going up against Boss now?" She pondered, "Although - at least if he's human, you don't need to worry about him trying to get in your pants!" She duked quickly as a glass came soaring at her head, the wine dripping down the wall behind her upon impact. "Oi!" She shrieked, "That was expensive!"

"Oh I'm sure!" Imelda barked as she took her phone back from her. "Go home Ruby." She ordered as she watched the small smirk that had appeared on her friend's face, "Night!"

"Goodnight Boss!" Ruby called, a small giggle escaping her a she locked the door behind her.

3 Missed Calls from Boss

2 Missed Calls from Drake

Imelda sighed as she listened to the voicemails, knowing from the tone in Mr Boss' voice that she had made the right decision in sending Blaine out through the backdoor.

"Imelda. It's Stacey - We got a shipment due to come through you tomorrow morning 6am, sharp - Have your boys ready to collect and distribute. This is big and I won't have any 'screw-ups,' not now."

"Don't push your luck with me Imelda. Why are my boys saying that DeBeers is in your club tonight? You know the rules - Don't go screwing this up just because you can't keep 'em closed."

"I think we should have a chat dear. 5:30am. Don't be late Miss Isley."

She rolled her eyes, dropping her phone onto her stomach as she rubbed her head, a soft grumble coming from her as she listened to her men clearing out the club for the night. She lay there for a second, weighing up her options once again. Blaine's deal meant that all her dancers would have some sort of protection - which was already pretty slim - and her Team-Z would have 'full-stomachs,' no more grave robbing. Her phone startled her out of her thoughts as it began to buzz.

"Since when do you start making house calls at this hour?" She questioned answering the call with a slight smirk.

"Considering Boss seemed pretty pissed about your little meeting tonight and your car ain't out front-" Drake chuckled, "Figured you could use a ride before he sends someone your way."

No one really had kicked up a fuss when Boss had started sending his new muscle round the place to try keep the peace on the odd drop, the 'hunk' as her girls had tagged him, turned out to be quite the sweetheart, something that wasn't too familiar in Boss' crew. She couldn't ignore the fact that he had grown on her.

"Look at you taking care of me." She laughed pushing herself up from the couch, "You know I can take care of a handful of Boss' men." She pulled on her chunky black boots that she had kept tucked under her desk, not feeling the need to shove her feet back into her heels. "What's the worst they could do? Slap me on the wrists?" She continued, "We both know that Boss likes my face too much as it is."

"You want me to leave and you can find out?" He offered, a subtle smirk on his face as he listened to her huff knowing fine well she had rolled her eyes at him. He looked around the parking lot, before sighing. "Just grab your purse and come out to the car El, we don't really have time for a debate."

"Yes sir," She saluted, throwing her leather jacket around her shoulders. "I'll be there in a second." She disconnected the line tucking her phone away into her purse. She stopped to make sure all of the alarms were set before slipping out into the alley. Her breath was trapped in her throat as she snuck through the alleyway, a habitual sigh escaping her as she took in Drake leaning against his car. "Thank you for this."

"You know it's never a bother," He told her as they made quick work getting back into his car. He frowned watching as she glanced cautiously over her shoulder to the back seat before she yanked the seatbelt across her chest. "You think I'd sell you out?" He asked, "El?"

"Of course I don't - It's a habit." She protested, "You keep me being an informant under the table and I keep the fact you're a cop off Boss' radar. That's how this deal of ours works," She patted his thigh. "Unfortunately, you're stuck with me on this one."

He chucked, casting a glance in her direction. "Could be worse." She just smiled, "You gonna tell me what was so important about this meeting?"

"Some players are planning on making some big moves against Boss and they want me in on them." She admitted as Drake nodded along, turning down the radio as she spoke. "They offered protection for the club, the girls - and to get Boss out of my hair for good but…" She trailed.

Drake arched his brow, "But what?"

"Said player wants the entire ring," She continued trying to stay as vague as she could to keep Blaine's name out of it, "It's going to get really messy, really fast." She tapped her nails against the door, "People are going to get hurt."

Drake took his hand off the wheel to rub her shoulder, "I won't let that happen."

"I know," Imelda sighed, patting his hand as the car fell into a comfortable silence.

The car finally rolled to a stop outside of her apartment building as the pair continued to sit in their silence, Imelda rustled around in her purse for the keys whilst Drake watched the street around them for any of Boss' men - considering it was no real secret to those on his payroll to where the blonde live.

"Do you want me to come up and sweep the apartment?" Drake offered as he cut the engine.

"Careful Drake, your cop is showing." She teased, "I think I'll be okay." She smiled, a part of her selfishly thankful that Drake didn't quite know everything she was capable of - She enjoyed his company, and in return the attention. "Well, thank you for driving me home and saving me. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to assist a simple business woman such as myself." He chuckled, "I'll see you bright and early?"

"For sure." He replied, "Can't miss out on an opportunity for a simple business woman like yourself to bring me breakfast now can I?" He winked at her as she rolled her eyes. "Just let me know if you need anything, El."

"I think you need to be careful using the term 'anything,'" She laughed leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, "Goodnight."

She hopped out of the car, the keys to her apartment in her hands as she hustled quickly across the street to the key-code protected door. She knew he was going to wait for her to get inside before he drove off so she quickly threw her hand up to wave as she let herself inside. She smiled taking in the empty lobby as the elevator doors opened, grateful as she hit the button for the top floor that she could avoid the questioning glances from her neighbours. A soft ding alerted her that she had reached her floor, she headed down the corridor to the dark green door only to freeze a few feet away. She turned to look at the only other apartment on the floor, before turning back to the bright yellow freezer bag that lay waiting on the doormat.

"Please don't be a hand, or a foot." She muttered as she unzipped the bag, "Or an ear…" She let out a sigh as she flipped open the lid. "Just a brain."

Consider this a sample of what's to come, Partner.

Blaine.