Chapter One:

Eli stared at the police report – searching for any detail, no matter how small, in order to reveal some clue to Lani's whereabouts. All they knew at this point was, the partner that was assigned to this case had been shot.

She had no real back-up.

More than likely, no way to send a signal.

If this guy went off the rails, she was on her own.

It had been over three hours since Hope and Rafe stormed into the interrogation room, interrupting a private moment between them, and tossed a report on the table before sliding it down toward to the other end, right before closing the door from behind. "We need Lani on a case," Rafe blurted rather quickly.

Hope then proceeded to fill them in, stating that they needed her on it immediately.

They warned her – the case didn't come without risk.

The look of sheer horror written all over Lani's face stayed in his mind hours later, as did the looks between the two of them once they learned of each gruesome detail of the case, and he had known instantly that there was no way in hell she wouldn't want in on this one.

This was about a newborn – ripped from the mother's arms in the hospital.

It was about a drug-dealing father who shot a nurse on his way out.

And now here they were, trying not to let their growing feelings for the other get in the way of the job that they knew they had to do, and his job in that moment was to trust her, trust the skills she possessed as a detective, which meant knowing that she was tough as nails.

It also meant knowing, it would tug at her emotionally.

How could it not?

Even he was affected by what he heard.

Sighing, Eli slowly sat back in the chair, thoughts drifting in and out of the quick conversation they had, just before they shared a parting kiss and she walked out of the interrogation room, leaving him feeling uneasy about what was about to go down.

"You need me – you send a signal, someway, somehow, and I'm there."

A smirk spread across Lani's face as she crossed the room, stepping closer and closer to where he stood. "If I need you?"

Eli shrugged. "Well yeah, you'll need me at some point, right?"

She felt his hands rest on her hips, noticed the way his eyes trailed down her body and then back up to her eyes. Not that this was remotely the time to pick up on the moment they were on their way to having before being interrupted. "Right?" he whispered, his lips stopping directly in front of hers.

This was not the time, she told herself.

"Right? He asked again.

Lani's lips found his for what felt like a long second, giving him a little taste but also wanting him to hold it together until she returned. If her and this unknown partner were able to be the voice of reason to this father, drug dealer or not, they may have a repeat of the previous night and this morning. "Maybe—at some point," she whispered in return, just before slipping from the feel of his touch and disappearing from the interrogation room.

Eli could barely snap out of those thoughts – the way she felt pressed up against him, the way she smelt, and most importantly, the way it felt in his gut as she separated from him and disappeared.

A feeling he would rather ignore.

For the time being, anyway.

Before long, though, Hope had breezed past him and signaled toward the interrogation room, which by the look on her face, this wasn't going to be a no news is good news sort of night, and it was clear that his fears were about to be confirmed, he could feel it.

"Where is she?"

Hope pressed the palm of her hands against the table and replied, "Eli, I need you to calm down—"

Calm down?

Like Hell.

He was not about to calm down knowing that Lani was out there, risking herself for some drug-dealing baby snatcher to do who knows what, and instead of having her back, he had been instructed to sit tight at the damn Salem PD to do what exactly, wait for someone else to swoop in and get her out of there?

Not likely.

"I am calm," Eli answered, although inside he was anything but calm. This working together was going to try his patience now that they were involved, as it was clear that the mere mention of her being in danger caused him not to think rationally.

The door opened, and Rafe walked in.

"I need you to be calm—" Hope tried again, this time more slowly, and waited a brief second for the door to close before uttering another word. "We lost signal with Lani."

"You did what?!"

After waiting rather impatiently, Hope set her cell phone down and played a recording, one that she knew was a risk given the way Eli felt about Lani, and how she'd also known that he hadn't been on board with going into this unprepared.

"You may have shot my partner, but you've used your last bullet."

The moment Lani's voice was heard across the recording, Eli glanced up at Hope and Rafe, and not only did he feel as if someone sucker punched him in the gut, he almost felt a slight sense of relief to hear her voice. Only problem was, how long ago was this recording?

"Maybe, but I have another weapon of choice."

"And what's that?"

"Pull the trigger and find out."

This was all Eli needed to hear before shoving the chair against the edge of the table, letting it be known that whatever was going on needed to be stopped. "Damn it!" he cursed, and then looked across the table at the both of them. "Let me on this – we need to find her."

Neither Hope nor Rafe spoke.

They were trying to get a gauge on whether or not he could stay calm enough to go in there and do his job, without letting his personal feelings persuade him from doing what was right, and unfortunately, not only did it mean getting their detective and the newborn out of the line of fire, it also meant getting to this father, the one who seemed more interested in saving himself than anyone else.

"This is Lani we're talking about – Abe's daughter," Eli reminded them, clearly frustrated that they were going to sit back and let him sweat this out. "Come on! I can't stand around talking about this when Lani could be – "

"All right, but keep your head on straight."

That was all he needed before he flew out of the interrogation room, trying to remind himself that this wasn't necessary, and that Lani could handle this guy.

...