A/N: Finally finished the story, and boy is it a long one! With the prologue and the epilogue it's in 18 parts! It's the longest thing I have ever written.

I have to say thank you to jimi18 for providing me with yet another incredibly challenging idea! This story has been incredibly frustrating to write, but I have learnt a lot in the process and it has been interesting to see the turns it has taken from the original idea.

I also have to give thanks to dcj for her incredible help all of the times I have been stuck and unable to write! I can't thank you enough!

I would also like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed or favorited my other stories as well, it really means a lot to me!

Anyway: The story is set after episode 2, season 2. (Pre Landy engagement) The prologue really gives most of the set up for the story, and I'll post chapter 1 as well today, then I'll continue with one chapter a day until it's all out there =)

I hope you enjoy it! And please feel free to let me know what you like or don't like or ask me any questions you might have.

Without further ado; Can't Let Go:

PROLOGUE

Here he was.

Far away from anyone and everyone he knew. Cooped up in a small cabin near a lake he'd never even heard of. And what was he doing there? Waiting to receive notice that Anton Hill had been brought down and was finally in custody. Then and only then could return to his life in Toronto.

Sam was sitting on a bench on the patio staring out at the lake, almost dozing off. He was tired. Who wouldn't be if they had been woken up from deep sleep by their phone ringing in the middle of the night to have someone agitatedly tell you that you needed to get out in a matter of seconds and that someone would come and pick you up to take you to a safe location?

Sam hadn't had any idea of what was going on, but he had done as told, packing a few essentials, and sure enough, someone had been outside his door in no time at all to escort him to a van. Once he saw Boyd waiting in the back of the van, he got an inkling of what was going on.

Boyd had informed him that they had received a flash drive from an anonymous source that contained a lot of evidence with regards to the Hill case. Sam had smiled as the memories of working the case and of Emily flashed through his mind. He remembered how well they had worked together. How close they had gotten during his months undercover. He hoped she was doing okay at her new place.

The smile on Sam's face faded when Boyd told him that Hill had found out about the police getting a hold of the drive.

He remembered the last time he had seen Hill. He had been scared for his life as he stood in Hill's bar, face to face with him, bargaining for Emily's life. And he remembered the promise he had given:That as long as Emily walked, so would Hill, or else Hill would come after her and, as Sam knew all too well; him.

"He's on the warpath." Boyd had said. "We still have a lot of work to do to be able to nail him on everything. He's gunning for you Swarek. We need to remove you."

Sam had still been sleepy and his mind had not let him think anything through. It had just accepted what had been said without second thought.

Boyd had told him that the only way to make sure both Sam and the people he cared for were safe would be if they all thought, no, knew, that Sam was gone.

Sam had known that by gone Boyd had meant dead.

Boyd's words had filled Sam with dread. But he had not been able to protest. He knew it was necessary and he knew that Boyd had looked into all other options before ending up with this one. After all; Sam knew he was a good guy underneath the asshole act.

Boyd proceeded telling him that they had already set it up. They had a guy undercover who had managed to work his way into Hill's goon gang. He told him that they were going to stage it to make it seem like Sam had been jumped by him and his guys and gotten killed in the process, and that they were doing it now.

Sam couldn't believe he was about to experience his own death.