SUMMARY

"Amanda Rollins is a great detective with a tainted past. Little does she know it's about to become her present. She's being hunted and no detective will ever see this coming. She always risks her life for the job, but what happens when staying alive becomes almost impossible?

Patton is back and the only thing he wants is to bring Amanda down. She made him lose everything, his job, his reputation, his life as he knew it. Even though Amanda didn't testify he still holds her fully accountable.

Her life is crumbling around her with every breath she takes. Once word gets out, her team will do everything to save her. One detective, Nick Amaro, will do anything and everything he can to save her and get his old job back. How will the team get one of their own back? Will they get Amanda in time or will revenge be a body best served cold."


First chapter of my first fanfic. Read & review please! Enjoy! :)


Chapter 1. Old Habits Die Hard

Amanda's POV

My thoughts were fading as my blood alcohol level kept rising. Drink after drink my thoughts kept getting worse. Tears fell from my burning eyes, staining my cheeks and white blouse. My rock left, Nick's really gone. My phone rang and I did the one thing I shouldn't have. I answered it.

"This is Rollins."

"Meet me at Lover's Leap in fifteen minutes. Come alone. Your life depends on it."

"Who is this?"

The other end of the line went dead. A feeling spread through me. Shit was about to go down.

'Who was that? Why is my life depending on me meeting this person? I won't call Fin, this person asked for me specifically.'

With my stomach in a twist, I finish my drink and make my way to my destination. I walk south, knowing exactly where I'm headed. As I'm walking I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around only to see an empty sidewalk.

'I'm freaking myself out. Get it together Amanda. You can do this.'

I continue walking, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants. Nerves are high, and my judgement is cloudy. I have a bad feeling about this. My phone rings, out of the blue. I shut it off and stick it in my pocket. I walk across the leap to see a black shadow.

"Good girl. You know I don't take no for an answer."

The hair on my neck stood up. I know exactly who is standing there.

"Deputy Chief Patton?"

"Not Deputy Chief anymore. You took that from me, now I can take something from you."

"What do you want?" He got uncomfortably close to my ear.

"I want you to suffer like I had to, but that's all in due time. I'll see you around, Amanda. You know I will."

He walks away as I stand there in shock. I start to walk home and think about what he had said, what he had meant by it. Was he going to go through with whatever he was conjuring up or was this a scare tactic to get a reaction from me?

As I arrive home, I walk down the hall to my door and hear noises coming from various rooms in my apartment. I start to panic and then I hear Frannie whining and clawing at the door.

"Frannie Mae, you scared me half to death. Does somebody gotta go potty? Huh? Huh? Let's go, girl." I grab Frannie's leash and hook her. Even though I'm still a bit jumpy I take her for our nightly walk anyway. As we make our way down the street, headlights sneak up from behind. My stomach drops and I automatically thought of Patton's words.

'I want you to suffer like I had to, but that's all in due time. I'll see you around, Amanda. You know I will.'

It was like his words were playing on a loop inside my head. He was getting to me in the worst way and he knew it. My nerves settle slightly as the vehicle passes. A teenage girl and her friends, it looks like, are jamming out in the car. I laugh under my breath at how silly I was acting. I pulled my phone out, only to remember that I had shut it off before meeting up with Patton at Lover's Leap. Pushing the power button, my phone buzzed to life, revealing that I had a numerous amount of missed calls from Fin. I redial his number. He wouldn't call eight times if there wasn't a case. I turn around, taking Frannie Mae home. This was going to be a long night and I refused to bring my "business" into the mix. I can handle Patton. I just need to figure out how.

"Fin, it's Rollins. What's going on?" I was hanging up Frannie's leash while listening to Fin's rushing breath on the other end of the line.

"We got ourselves a rape victim. Name's Victoria Grace." Fin answered, clearly trying to look for something.

"Where is she? I can meet up with you and we can go talk to her?" I locked up the front door, heading down the sidewalk.

"Naw, Liv's on her way to come get you. You two will go together, I'm gonna go inform Victoria's parents and get them down there." Liv pulled up as he stopped speaking.

"Ok, we'll meet you back at the precinct." I hung up, slid the phone into my pocket, and got in with Liv.

"Hey Amanda. We have a victim at Bellevue. Her name's Victoria Grace. I don't know the full story yet, but she sounds pretty beat up."

"Yeah, Fin was filling me in on that when you pulled up. I told him that we'd meet him back at the precinct after we got done at the hospital."

"Well, let's just hope this case doesn't get any worse than it is now. I know we are all running low on sleep and energy." We pulled into the parking lot of Bellevue and went right to the nurse's desk.

My badge was resting on my waistband, shining brightly, letting everyone know who I was without words.

"Excuse me? We are looking for Victoria Grace. We got called about a rape victim. Which room is she in?" I asked as Liv looked at the sign in sheet.

"Yes, Victoria Grace, room three eighteen." The blonde nurse replied with a smile.

'Who smiles about a rape victim? You have no idea what it's like. Unless you're smiling to be polite, but that nurse didn't look polite at all. ' I thought. Liv and I walked down the hall to the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. The doors closed and Liv let out a tired sigh, rubbing her eyes.

"Liv, if you wanna go grab a coffee from the cafeteria, I can go talk to Victoria. You look like you need some caffeine."

She gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, sleep deprivation making itself known.

"Thanks Rollins. Do you want one? I can grab it for you if you want it. I'll be there any way. Then I will meet you up in Victoria's room?"

"Sure, mocha with a shot of espresso. I'll pay you back."

The doors opened and Liv stayed in the elevator, waiting to go down. I got out and turned to the left. Liv was right, it had been a long day, well week for everyone. It seemed that we got case after case after case. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job, but when you get tired, you feel it. Pushing my grogginess out of my mind, I walked into Victoria's room.

"Hi, Victoria? I'm Detective Rollins with the Special Victims Unit. Can I ask you a couple of questions?" I stood by the bed, awaiting an answer.

"Yeah, I mean if it will help catch him then I'll tell you anything you need to know." Bruises covered her face, her knuckles torn. She tried to fight him off, she wasn't strong enough.

"Did you get a good look at the man who did this to you?" I pulled out a little notepad to write down any information she may have for us.

"It was dark, his voice was a deep and raspy one, like he smokes. He had dark blonde hair and couldn't have been over his early thirties."

"That's good, Victoria. What else did you notice about him? Did he have any tattoos or piercings? A birthmark? Any scars or something that you remember on his skin?"

"He had a dragon tattoo on his left forearm. I'd remember it if I ever saw it again." Her eyes began to tear up.

"Victoria, I know it's hard, but I'm gonna need you to tell me what he did to you." I could feel my heart racing. I know what she's been through. The trauma, the suicidal thoughts, the feeling that you're no longer worth anything. I've felt it too.

"I was walking home from work. I work at the Broken Chain Diner on Fifth and Maine. I took the shortcut through the Community park when I felt someone follow me. I turned around to see if it was my friend Anthony, but it was him. It was the rapist. I tried to run, I really did, but he caught me, covered my mouth, and threw me down. I tried to scream, but he had some kind of cloth in my mouth. I hit him a couple of times and then tried to crawl away, but each time he'd hit me and then tell me that if I tried to get away again, he'd leave me bleeding to death for people to find tomorrow. He undid my jeans and ripped them off of me. He held my throat to keep me pinned down and then he raped me." Her tears flowed effortlessly and I knew that feeling too. She had just relived that traumatic scene over again in her head.

"Victoria, I'm so sorry. I just need to know a few more things and then I can leave you be. Did he wear any cologne? Was there any scent that you might remember?"

"He wore either cologne or aftershave, but it smelled expensive, like he was a CEO or a high end business man. And his eyes, his eyes were piercing like he could kill with looks."

"If I bring in a sketch artist, can you describe that tattoo to him?" I closed my note pad and tucked it away. She nodded as she wiped her tears away.

"What tattoo?" Liv walked in looking more alive than she did an hour ago.

"Victoria remembered that the suspect had a dragon tattoo on his left forearm and wore either expensive cologne or aftershave." I said, looking at Liv.

"Do we wanna bring in an artist?" Liv took a drink of her coffee.

"She said that she could describe it to one, so we'll get him or her in here as soon as possible.

Victoria took my hand as I was walking away.

"There are more girls. He was talking about them while he, um…"

"Raped you?" Liv added, sympathy coating her voice.

"Yeah, two others that he mentioned. Natalie Rodgers and Stephanie Portman, I think." Victoria yawned, but I knew she wasn't going to get any sleep for a few nights.

Liv and I walked out and got in the elevator, preparing to leave when my phone buzzed again. I looked down to see a number I didn't know and one name came to mind. Patton.

'Meet me by the docks. Come alone, Amanda. I don't take no for an answer.'

My thoughts ran wild and my body seemed to freeze.

"Amanda?" Liv stood outside the elevator, looking worried.

"Sorry, I must have spaced out." I got off the elevator and went back to the precinct. I wasn't a pawn in Patton's game. I didn't meet with him just to show him that I wasn't his puppet anymore. I'm Detective Amanda Rollins and I'm not afraid of him.

At the precinct, Fin was writing on the whiteboard and Carisi was on the phone.

"No, we are not commenting on this story at this time." Carisi hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes, making the bags under them worse.

"Fin, we've got three victims now. Amanda told me that there are two other girls that the Victoria mentioned. They're Natalie Rodgers and Stephanie Portman. Let's track them down and get them down here, ASAP." Liv went into her office and hung her jacket up, rolling her sleeves up, and making her way out to the rest of us.

Carisi's desk phone rang and his expression was shocked.

"Okay, okay, thank you."

"Got anything Carisi?" Fin asked.

"That was one of our victims, Miss Stephanie Rodgers. She's coming in to talk and give us all the information she has about this perp." Carisi and Fin looked right at me.

"Are you alright, Amanda? You look pale." Fin walked over to me.

"I'm fine. I promise."

"Naw, something's up. Come here." He walked me to the interrogation room. "Now spill it. Something's up. You've been spacing ever since you got here. That ain't you. Talk to me."

"I can handle it, Fin. It's nothing." I tried to walk away, but he knew me better than this.

"If it's nothing then you wouldn't be shaking like a leaf. Now talk to me or I can get Liv in here to notice the alcohol on your breath. We both know you don't want that." His chocolate eyes bored into mine.

"This stays between you and I, got it?" I asked.

"Yeah, now spill it." Fin laid his hands on the table, looking at me in that big brother way. Fin would always be there for me and I knew that. I just felt selfish because he's always there to help me. I was used to going solo and now there is someone that actually gives a damn about me, a whole squadron of them.

"Patton is back. He contacted me twice so far." I kept my eyes down.

"Amanda! How could you hide something like this?! He could have killed you!" Fin was irate right now, but I didn't know if it was at the situation or at me. He had every right to be furious with me.

"I know, but he didn't he just wants to psych me out."

"When did you first see him?"

"Fin, it's.."

"When Amanda!?" Fin was beyond irate, he was full on pissed and protective.

"Three nights ago at Lover's Leap."

"Did he threaten you? Touch you? What exactly did he say?"

"He told me that he wants me to suffer like he did, but that it was all in due time. He said that I know he doesn't take no for an answer."

"That son of a bitch! Amanda, do not go anywhere near him and tell me when he contacts you again."

"He contacted me in the hospital elevator. He wanted me to meet him the docks, alone. I didn't go."

"He's gonna get pissed." Fin's knuckles were white.

"He'll live. I'm not his pawn anymore."

"Hey, is everything okay in here?" Carisi poked his head in.

"Yeah, sonny boy."

"Good, because Stephanie Rodgers is here and she's ready to talk. Hey, Fin, don't call me sonny boy. You know I hate that." Carisi scowled at Fin.

"Oh sorry, Sonny boy." Fin smiled at him.

I walked out of the room and found Stephanie in the next interrogation room.

"Hey, Liv. You want me to take her?" Liv nodded at me while she was on the phone and quickly writing stuff down. I walked into the room with Stephanie, preparing myself for another sad story.

"Hi Stephanie. I'm Detective Amanda Rollins. I understand you have some information for us?" I took a seat across from her, grabbing my notepad once again.

"I feel like a victim all over again. I heard that there is a new victim. That waitress at the Broken Chain diner?"

"Yes, can I ask you a couple of questions?" My eyes took in her busted, but healing knuckles and lip. She must have put one hell of a fight up.

"What do you want to know?" She set her purse in her lap and her hands on top of that.

"I need to know what you remember about him. His scent, face, any piercing, tattoos, birthmarks? Anything that you can remember at all."

"He had a tattoo. A dragon on his forearm. He had a scar on his face like he was attacked by a wild animal. It went down the side of his neck. He smelled as if he had just walked out of a modeling venue. He smelled very high powered or expensive. He threatened to kill me if I screamed or kept struggling." Stephanie was getting emotional and you can't blame her. Her life was abruptly changed and ruined. She was rebuilding herself from the floor up.

"Did he happen to say that he was going to let you bleed out and let people find you the next day?" Curiosity was pulling at my attention.

"Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"He said that to one of his other victims. Did he do anything else to you?" I looked at her with a sympathetic look in my eyes.

"He cut me." She held up her right arm, revealing a nasty cut stitched up on her bicep."

"Is there anything else that we need to know?"

"I know who did it."

"Who did it, Stephanie? How do you know them?"

"He's my brother."

"Is he your biological brother?"

"No, he's my adopted brother. I don't know his past and I don't care, all I want is for him to be behind bars. I hadn't seen him in years and the only reason I knew he was my brother was because of what he called me when he told me to lie still."

"What did he call you?"

"He called me Stephie bug."