A/N: Again, all mistakes are mine. And I hope the characters aren't too out-of-character...

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for a couple characters.

Chapter 3

She had only been 13 when it happened. But she could remember it like it was yesterday. He had been their friend, someone her family trusted. How could they have been so wrong about him?

She and Natalie had been upstairs in their rooms. There was suddenly a loud noise from the kitchen, followed by yelling. Lindsay had left her room, and ran into her sister in the hall. She placed her finger to her lips, and Natalie silently nodded.

She could hear her parents arguing, but was it with each other? No, there was a third voice. She couldn't make out what it was about, but she knew not to go downstairs. Her parents rarely raised their voices, so she was scared, to say the least.

But it was what she heard next that would forever stay in her mind.

"Don't move any closer, Tom, I'm warning you!" Shouted Jake to Lindsay's father.

"Just put it down, we'll do what you want, we promise." Tom was desperately trying to reason with him.

Hannah, her mother, was crying, babbling phrases like "Don't hurt us …please …why …why are you doing this?"

"You don't get it do you? Of course not, why would you? You, and your perfect lives. I've watched you for years. Everything comes so easy for you. You and your precious little girls."

"Don't bring them into this Jake." Tom said forcefully.

"It's too late Tom, it's too damn late."

A loud bang filled the air. Lindsay and Natalie both jumped. Natalie began screaming, but Lindsay quickly covered her mouth with her hand. They could hear their mother screaming. Another shot filled the air shortly after, followed by a few more after that.

The house was now silent. The only sound to be heard was Natalie's whimpers beside Lindsay.

"I told you." Jake said calmly.

Lindsay heard the screen door to their kitchen slam shut. She made no move. She was too scared. She was scared he was still there, scared what she might see. So she sat there, holding her sister, for what seemed like an eternity.

Lindsay quickly filled her co-workers in on why Jake was in prison. She left out some of the details, knowing that as soon as his case file was read, it would all be out anyway. But she didn't care. She just couldn't bear to say it out loud. Not yet.

They all stood in silence. Danny couldn't believe what he had just heard. He had no idea that she had gone through anything like that. He was full of anger and sadness. Knowing that this son of a bitch was out there now, watching Lindsay, was the worst part.

Lindsay watched the reactions of her co-workers. This was the reason she hadn't mentioned anything before. She didn't want this awkwardness, the weird silence that hung in the air.

Mac cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Lindsay, I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"No one did. I wish this wasn't the way it had to come out."

"Alright," Mac said, "Well now we know who we are dealing with. Flack, I want you to find any information you can on Natalie's whereabouts. Danny, I want you to help Hawkes and find information on Jake Hilpton. I'll call Stella and we'll go back to the hotel. Lindsay," Mac's voice changed to a more sympathetic tone. "go to the break room and get some coffee. I don't want you leaving the lab right now."

Lindsay absently nodded. The weight of the situation was sitting full on her shoulders. She could feel tears of anger welling up in her eyes. She refused to cry.

"Natalie was going to school in Bloomington, Indiana. She was taking the semester off. I'll give you her address," she said to Flack. She quickly scribbled down the address and handed it to him, barely meeting his eyes. Flack silently nodded, and headed out with Mac. Danny hung back as they left.

There were many things he wanted to say to her, but how? She had just dropped this bomb on them and he wanted to comfort her, to be there for her. But he just didn't know how.

"Is there anything I can get ya?" Danny asked as he ran his hand through his hair.

Lindsay looked up and their eyes met. She smiled weakly, and shook her head in silence.

Knowing that she wanted to be alone, he nodded and turned to leave.

"Just call, if you think of anything," He smiled, and left the room.

He felt like he was spying on her past. He felt as if he was an intruder reading over what had happened. Looking at her, you would have never known. She was tough, but had a sweet side to her. That was what Danny liked about her. When she had first come to New York, he teased her, but she held her own. He flirted here and there, but she knew how to handle him. After working together for a few months, they had become pretty good friends. They would go out for drinks sometimes, and even to dinner. They had never really talked about the past. He himself had some skeletons in his closet, but he never imagined she would. He had asked once why she came to New York. He noticed the tone of her voice changed, and she merely answered that she was in need of new scenery. He had never asked her again.

Had she come to New York to escape him? He had never really seen Lindsay afraid. But today, in the lab, he did for the first time. She had tried to hide it, but he could tell.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his cell. Mac was back at the lab and wanted to hear Danny's findings.

Danny was the last to arrive in the room. Everyone was there- except Lindsay.

"Alright," Mac said. "Flack, any information on Natalie?"

"Called her apartment, no answer, which I was expecting, since she lives alone. According to the airline, she never made it to her flight. I talked with Bloomington P.D., they sent officers to her place. No signs of forced entry, but some kind of struggle happened in there. A towel bar was busted, and there were traces of chloroform on the floor. Her purse and cell were missing. The police chief down there is going to give us full co-operation with this one, Mac. They're sending crime scene photos and interviews. They're on their way as we speak."

"Ok, Stella and I went back to the hotel, and found nothing of use. We interviewed neighbouring rooms. They never saw or heard anything from the room. Front desk says that Mr. Silverton checked in at 1:30 pm three days ago. He had the "Do Not Disturb" sign up the entire time. We have surveillance videos to go through. Hopefully we'll be able to get something. Did you find anything useful from the alley Hawkes?"

"Vic was killed by a knife wound to the abdomen. He bled out, but not there. There was minimal blood found at the scene."

"And with no blood in the hotel room, we have yet to find where the murder took place." Stella added.

"I did, however, find some skid marks in the alley. They could have been left by someone else, but it's worth looking into. Since it was a dump job, he must own a vehicle of some kind." Hawkes added.

"Danny, tell us about Jake."

"This guy is one sick bastard, Mac. He was charged with the murders of Tom and Hannah Monroe. And this is where it gets worse…" Danny could barely bring himself to say it because it made him so angry. It wasn't just some stranger he was talking about. It was his friend. Danny sighed.

"He was also charged with the attempted murder of Lindsay and her sister. Turns out he came back to the house to find them still upstairs. According to his testimony, he thought they belonged to him, that he should be with them, not her parents. A neighbour was in their yard when her heard them screaming, called the cops. He was sentenced to life, no chance of parole. He escaped 8 months ago, and they've been looking for him ever since."

"So, we have very little to work with. But I want this case to be first priority, no exceptions." Mac said. Everyone nodded. They hadn't even thought about looking at another case, not when one of their own was in trouble.

Lindsay had gone to the break room, as Mac had said. She still had to wrap her head around the situation. She couldn't believe he had found them.

It wasn't as if they had tried hard to stay hidden, she admitted to herself. A simple change of address won't do. But she didn't want to live her life in fear.

He wasn't the whole reason she had some to New York. She had put in for a transfer long before that. She had offers from other places, but none felt right. When she was offered the position in New York and it just seemed right. And then she got the news, which provided that extra push for her to go.

Natalie was a lot like Lindsay. She wasn't as book smart or hard working, but she was just as tough. She had always been a more independent type person. She moved around so much, Lindsay had hoped he would never catch up with her. She had been heading off to Europe anyway, and Lindsay knew she would be safe there.

She couldn't help but worry; she was a big sister after all. Natalie had always teased her about it. Even though they would fight all the time, they were great friends.

Lindsay had only told Danny about Natalie. He was the only one that had asked. She never mentioned her parents though. In fact, Natalie was about the only thing from her past that she had ever talked about. She had been asked a few times by co-workers why she moved to New York. 'A change of scenery' would be all she would say. When Danny had asked her, she appreciated it when he dropped the subject. They had been out to dinner, and were having a great time. She had contemplated telling him everything, all her secrets, right then and there. But she didn't. Sure, Danny was her friend, but was she ready to share such a huge thing with him? Talk to him about something she hadn't mentioned in so long?

She had stayed in the break room, drinking her now cold coffee for what seemed like ages. She was completely lost in her head. She eventually snapped out of it, and suddenly felt claustrophobic. Knowing that she couldn't leave stressed her out. She decided to head to the locker room.

On her way, she stopped just short of one of the labs. The team was there, discussing the case. Lindsay was more then peeved that they hadn't come to find her. It was her sister that was out there. It was her that some creep was following. She didn't want to be kept in the dark. She new that she wouldn't be able to officially work the case, but there was no way in hell she was being shut out.

She opened the door to the lab with more force then she had meant. This caused everyone to turn and look at her. The look on her face told how she was feeling.

"Lindsay," Mac said. "I was just about to come find you."

"After the meeting, right? The one where you are discussing my sister, my life?"

"Lindsay, I didn't mean to make you feel-"

Lindsay cut him off. She rarely interrupted Mac, but this time she didn't care.

"No disrespect Mac, but I'm not some random family member of the latest victim. I'm a member of the team, and I know that I can't officially work this case, but I want to be involved every step of the way. I don't want any detail to be left out. This is my sister we are looking for." Her voice went from an angry tone, to a bit softer. "If I don't do something…"

Mac simply nodded. He understood where she was coming from. He had no intention of shutting her out.

"Ok."

And with that, an agreement had been made. No more discussion was needed. Lindsay smiled.

"Thank-you."

Mac went on to brief her on what they had all discussed minutes earlier. She looked over everyone's notes, jotting down ones of her own.

And with that, the search was on.

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