-2 Weeks Later-

 

    Wolfram and Hart was a very, very old firm.  They also had a history of representing some rather horrible clients.

 

    Two straight weeks of investigating, and that's pretty much all that Chloe had managed to find out.  She was getting frustrated.  She was a good investigative reporter. Hell, she had even managed to dig up dirt on Lionel Luthor a few years before.

 

    But Wolfram and Hart was proving next to impossible.  She couldn't find anything.  Part of her believed that was because there wasn't anything to find.  But her instincts told her there was something.  The stuff she had found was too clean, to perfect.  The firm was hiding something.

 

    Which meant Lindsey might be hiding something.

 

    She hated herself for doubting Lindsey.  She finally found someone she loved, who loved her in return, and now she doubted him.  She was actually actively investigating him.  She wanted to be able to trust him, she wanted to able to forget about all this. But she couldn't.  She just couldn't.

 

    So, now she was in the library, pouring over old newspapers.  She was looking for anything, anything at all that might give her a lead to follow. She had been sitting at the same table for the last five hours, and had found nothing.  She glanced at her watch, the library would be closing soon.

 

    She'd go back to the apartment. Lindsey would ask her how her day went, and she would lie.  She would lie to him.  She sat down at the dinner table, and she'd lie to his face.  Of course there was a chance that he was lying to her too, but that wasn't the point.

 

    That's it. 

 

    She was done.

 

    She was going to go back to to the apartment and tell Lindsey everything. She just hoped that Lindsey would forgive her.

 

    She folded up the newspaper she had been reading, and added it to the stack she had already looked through.  She was just about to stand up when a man slipped into the seat across from her.

 

    "Chloe Sullivan."

   

    Chloe looked the guy up and down.  He was tall and handsome, with dark hair.  He was dressed all in black, with a long leather trench coat.  He was also more than a little intimidating.

 

    "Who are you?"

 

    "You should look at this."  He slipped a file folder across the table.

 

    Chloe just stared at him. "Who are you?"

 

    "My name's Angel.  You really should take a look at that folder."

 

    Chloe flipped it open and glanced at one of the papers inside.  A look of shock crossed over her face.

 

    "This is information on Wolfram and Hart."

 

    Angel nodded, "Some of it may be hard to believe, but it's all true."

 

    "You're the one who slipped the note under my door, aren't you."

 

    He nodded.

 

    "Why did you do that?"

 

    "I've had dealings with Wolfram and Hart before, and with Lindsey.  I thought you deserved to know the truth."

 

    "I can't take this."  Chloe closed the file and handed it back to Angel.

 

    "What?"

 

    "I'm sorry. I can't.  I can't take this.  I love Lindsey. I trust him. If I take this...I just can't."

 

    Chloe stood and began to walk away from the table.  Suddenly, Angel was by her side, grabbing her arm.  Chloe looked at him, fear in her eyes.

 

    Angel quickly let go. "I'm sorry.  But, please. You have to listen to me.  Your life could be in danger. Your soul could be in danger.”

 

    Chloe snorted and raised an eyebrow. "You're being just the teensiest bit melodramatic, don't you think?"

 

    "Wolfram and Hart has had people killed. Lindsey has had people killed."

 

    Chloe's expression darkened.  "I'm leaving."

 

    "Please," Angel urged. "Take the file.  He almost killed my friends.  I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of him.  Just read the file. If you don't believe it, fine. But at least read it."

 

    Something in his voice made Chloe pause.  Whether it was true or not, Angel obviously believed what he was saying.  She reached out and took the file.

 

    "My card's in there. If you any questions, call me."

 

    "I'll read it.  But I wouldn't count on a call.  I love Lindsey, and I trust him."

 

    "Just read it."

 

    Chloe didn't respond. She just turned and walked out of the library. She got into her car, and tossed the file on the passenger seat. She'd show it to Lindsey, tell him what happened.  She was sure he'd have an explanation. There was no reason for her to read the file.

 

    No reason at all.

 

    Except.... Except for the look in Angel's eyes. The sound of urgency in his voice.

 

    Damn it!

 

    Chloe beat the steering wheel with her fists.  She didn't want to be this person. She didn't want to read the file.  But she was that person. And there was no way the file was going unread.

 

-2 Hours Later-

 

    The moment Lindsey entered the apartment he knew something was wrong. Chloe was sitting on the couch, staring blankly into space.

 

    "Chloe?"

 

    She blinked for a moment, then turned and looked at Lindsey.  It wasn't the way she normally looked at him.

 

    "Oh god, Chloe. I'm sorry I'm so late. Things ran long at the office. I should have called."

 

    "I'm not mad about you being late." Chloe's voice was flat.

 

    Lindsey noticed that her gaze drifted to a file folder that lay on the coffee table.

 

    "What is that?"

 

    "Why don't you tell me?"

 

    Confused, Lindsey walked over to the table and picked up the file.  As he paged through it, he could feel the blood draining from his face.  It was all information on Wolfram and Hart, information of him.  He tried to fake a casual tone.

 

    "Where'd you get this?"

 

    "It was given to me."  Chloe watched him carefully.

 

    Lindsey forced a laugh, "It seems more than a little crazy.  Evil demons?"

 

    Chloe nodded. "Yeah, the demon stuff seemed a little crazy to me too. But the other stuff..."

 

    "Oh, come on. You can't actually believe any of this."

 

    "Then why are you so freaked out about it?"

 

    Lindsey stared at her, hurt.  "Angel gave this to you, didn't he?"

 

    Chloe nodded.

 

    "Damn. He's doing it again."

 

    A worried look crossed Chloe's face, "What do you mean?"

 

    "He's crazy, Chloe. He's a private investigator. He's crossed paths with Wolfram and Hart in the past.  For some reason, he's decided to hate me." Lindsey hated lying to her. But he couldn't lose her. He just couldn't. It was time to pull out the one thing that might stop this cold. "Chloe, Angel is the person who cut off my hand."

 

    Chloe gasped.

 

    "He's been after me for a few years now," Lindsey continued. He just wants to destroy me life.  I guess that he decided to come after me through you. I'm sorry that you got involved in this."

 

    "So, it's a lie?  All these paper's are fake?" Chloe sighed. "I'm so sorry, Lindsey.  I never should have doubted you.  I mean, I don't even know why I believed they might be real.  I have a history of this. I always do this. Me and my stupid with investigative reporting. I never know when to stop.  This is how I managed to destroy my friendship with Clark."  Tears filled Chloe's eyes. "You know, I finally find a good guy. I finally get in a real relationship, and I pretty much go out of my way to ruin it.  I love you.  I trust you.  That should be enough."

 

    Lindsey took Chloe's hand and pulled her up to him. "Hey, don’t cry. There's no reason to cry."

 

    "Sure there is.  God, you should be pissed at me.  How could I think for even one second that you were a bad guy. That you would work for bad guys. You're one of the greatest men I've ever known.  You'd never lie to me about something like that."

 

    Chloe leaned toward Lindsey and kissed him gently.  She moved to make the kiss deeper, but Lindsey pulled back.

 

    "Chloe..."

 

    She studied his face, and then she knew.  She closed her eyes, not wanting to see.

 

    "No."

 

    "Chloe, I...I'm sorry." He reached a hand up to touch her face, but she flinched away.

 

    "My god.  It's true.  Everything in the files Angel gave to me. It's all true, isn't it."

 

    "You're right.  I can't lie to you.  You have to know the truth. But it isn't as bad as Angel told you.  Yes, Wolfram and Hart has done some bad things, but...'

 

    "They've had people killed.   You've had people killed." Chloe backed away from him, a look of horror on her face.

 

    "I've done what I've had to do to protect my clients."  Lindsey found himself getting defensive.  "It's not like you haven't enjoyed the benefits."

 

    "Excuse me?"

 

    "The apartment, the gifts. Come on, Chloe. I have the money because I'm good at my job."

 

    "How dare you?"

 

    Lindsey knew he had gone too far.  He had actually made things worse. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean...I'm just doing my job. Yes, I've done things that I'm not proud of, but so have you."

 

    "I never killed anyone!"  She turned and headed toward the bedroom.

 

    "Where are you going?"

 

    "I'm packing."

 

    "No! Chlo' you can't leave. I love you.  You can't just walk out on us."

 

    "Watch me." 

 

    As Chloe packed her suitcase, her hand traveled to her pocket, where she had earlier stuck Angel's business card.

 

    "Chloe, please."

 

    Chloe turned and looked at Lindsey, tears running down her face.

 

    "Leave.  If you love me, then leave Wolfram and Hart.  We can forget about your past. We can start over. But you have to quit. You have to quit now."

 

    Lindsey stared back at her, sadness etched on his face.  A long moment passed before he could speak. "I'm sorry."

 

    Chloe picked up her suitcase and headed toward the door, "So am I," she said softly. "So am I."

 

----------------------

 

    Cordelia was filing paper work when a blonde figure entered the lobby of the Hyperion.  It took Cordelia a moment to recognize her.  It was Lindsey's girlfriend.

 

    Cordelia hurried over to her. "Can I help you with something."

 

    "Is there an Angel here?"

 

    "I'll go get him."  Cordelia ducked into Angel's office, not bothering to knock on the door.

 

    "Angel?"

 

    "Yeah?"

 

    "You need to get out here," Cordelia explained.

 

    Angel got to his feet, and went into the lobby.  He paused when he saw Chloe, surprised.

 

    "Are you okay?"

 

    Chloe shot him a dark look. "Hardly." She held up her suitcase. "The way I figure it, you're responsible for me not having a place to stay."

 

    "You left Lindsey?"  Angel asked.

 

    "Looks that way."

 

    "I'm sorry."

 

    "Sure you are," Chloe said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

    "You can stay here if you want, it's a converted hotel.  If there's anything you need, just tell me."

 

    "I have questions. For now, I just want sleep. But tomorrow, I'll be looking for answers."