Authors Note*

Thanks for your patience everyone. Work has been nuts for me lately so I'm not able to update as quickly as I would like to. I'm looking to wrap this story up in 12 chapters. Hope you enjoy!

The blood began to run down Carter's neck onto her white cotton sheets. She knew she was in real trouble when her attacker mentioned Elias. Elias had tried to take her out several times before and she knew that if she couldn't get this man off of her there was a real chance she would end up in a body bag. Her hand to hand combat training came back to her and in a rush of adrenaline she quickly forced her head into his nose. The attacker cried out in pain and was instantly blinded. Carter seized his momentary blindness and rolled out from under him and onto the floor. She looked around the room rapidly trying to find her gun. The man was beginning to get up from her bed. Carter found the gun in the corner of her bedroom and turned to face her attacker. "I've got a message for Elias too," Carter said before emptying her entire clip into the man's chest. He slumped to the floor and the blood began to pool around him.

Carter's entire body was shaking. Her neck was still bleeding from where the man had cut her. She headed to the bathroom and grabbed a towel to try to stop the flow of blood. Carter caught site of herself in the mirror. The cream colored bathrobe she was wearing was now stained with bright red blood. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes looked wild, as if she were not a human but an animal in that moment. It was a side of herself she hadn't seen since she was in active duty several years earlier. Carter walked back into her bedroom and over to the man on her floor. She used her foot to nudge him before bending down and removing his mask. The man that lay dead on her bedroom floor was none other than Elias's front man Scarface.

Reese's phone awoke him from sleep. He looked at the caller ID and saw the name Carter written across the screen. He smiled to himself and answered the phone. "You miss me already?" Reese asked. "John, I need you to come over" Carter replied. John could tell immediately that something wasn't right. "Are you okay?"John asked with more than an ounce of concern in his voice. "No, I'm not. I need you to come over now. Elias's right hand man showed up at my apartment and now I have a mess on my hands," Carter said. "I'll be right there," John said before hanging up the phone. He quickly threw on the jeans and t-shit he had been wearing the night before and headed out to his motorcycle.

John arrived at Carter's apartment about 20 minutes later. He ran up to her floor and knocked on the door. Carter answered it still in the blood stained bathrobe. John's eyes grew wide and he quickly motioned Carter back inside her apartment. "Jos, what happened? Are you alright?" he asked while frantically searching the exposed parts of her body for injuries. His eyes immediately centered on a large laceration on her neck. "I'll be alright John but that's more than I can say for the guy lying on my bedroom floor," Carter answered. "Tell me what happened," John said. "Elias, that's what happened," Carter replied. John's face filled with anger at the mention of Elias' name. The two of them walked into Carter's bedroom and John saw Scarface lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Carter sat down on her bed stared off into space.

"I told them if they came after you I would put them all in the ground. Elias is going to pay," John said. Carter wasn't listening to him. She kept replaying the events over in her head. Next thing she knew John was sitting next to her on the bed. "Hey…Jos, look at me," he said. Carter gazed at him and tried to pull herself back to reality. John brushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He inched closer to her and wrapped her in his arms. Her rigid body softened in his embrace. John didn't want to let Carter go, but he knew he had to dispose of Scarface's body. "Jos, I have to take care of this," he said glancing toward Scarface. "I'm going to clean this up and in the meantime you should clean yourself up." John removed the towel from her neck and was relieved to see that her wound had stopped bleeding on its own. Carter rose from the bed and headed to her bathroom without a word. Once John heard the water turn on, he began looking through Carter's kitchen cabinets for cleaning supplies. Luckily he found a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves, a bucket, a rag, and some bleach. He gathered up all the supplies and began to wipe up Scarface's blood.

John searched Scarface's pockets and found a cell phone and wallet. He set aside the wallet and turned his attention to the cell phone. Reese searched the phone for text messages but the history had been cleared. He looked up the last know call and hit redial. "Is it done?" a familiar voice asked. John could feel his rage begin to burn from deep within him as he realized he was speaking to Elias. He remained silent. "Hello John," Elias said. Elias had known it was a possibility that John would interfere with his plans for Detective Carter. "Elias you must have a death wish, sending your man after Carter," John replied. "Am I safe to assume my man is dead?" Elias asked. "You are, but unfortunately I didn't have the pleasure of delivering the death sentence. You underestimated Carter and you sure as hell underestimated me if you thought I'd let you get away with this. There will never be a place secluded enough, safe enough, or remote enough for you to hide. I will find you Elias," John said. "Words wound John but I'm willing to forgive them because I know you're speaking from a place of anger. Anyway, I knew Carter would call on you for help and the whole point of this little operation was to get your attention. I want you and Detective Carter to get Moretti released from prison and handed over to me. I think it's time for a little family reunion and I know you'll do whatever it takes to get the job done," Elias said. "Why would I help you?" John asked. "Let's just say I want to make sure Detective Carter has her own family reunion. Check your text messages," Elias said before disconnecting the line. John pulled the phone away from his ear and saw an incoming picture message. He opened it and saw Carter's son Taylor blindfolded and gagged tied to a chair. The text under the message said "You have 36 hours."

Carter exited the bathroom wearing a pair of old yoga pants and a t-shirt. Her hair was still wet from the shower. John had finished disposing of Scarface's body and looking at her floor now Carter couldn't even tell there had been a body lying there as little as 30 minutes ago. She walked over to John and sat next to him on her bed. "I take it you've done this kind of thing before," she said not really wanting to know the answer. John looked at her a shrugged. "We have another problem," John said. "Elias wants his father Gianni Moretti released from prison in 36 hours and turned over to him." Carter's face had a look of shock on it. "Are you kidding me? John what the hell were you doing talking to Elias?" John could tell Carter didn't want him to get mixed up with Elias but John knew it was already too late. "I found a cell phone on Scarface and I hit redial. Elias answered. I told him I was going to find him and make him pay for what he tried to do to you. He told me that if you didn't get his father released and handed over to him within 36 hours he…" John stopped. He knew when he told Carter that her son Taylor was in danger it could be a deal breaker for them. They had barely just begun to admit their feelings for one another to each other and now Elias was threatening all of that. Elias knew Carter was a weakness of John's and he planned on using it to get what he wanted. John had to tell Carter the truth and let the chips fall where they may. He pulled up the picture message and showed Carter. "Oh my God Taylor! He's got my baby!" Carter practically screamed. She fell to her knees and John rushed to embrace her. "We're going to get him back Jos. I promise you I will do anything I have to do to get him back."