Here is the next installment to this crazy story…I know some parts may be a little unrealistic and I apologize…don't worry though, Annie will get reprimanded for her actions later on!

Thank you for all the reviews! Keep them coming and I will do my best to hurry the story along!

Chapter 6

When Annie reached the top of the stairs and got her crutches back, Jimmy and the others were already in position at the number 238 door. Jimmy glanced back at Annie and she gave him a nod. He banged on the door, "US Marshals, Open Up!" he yelled. After a second Luke knocked the door in and the marshals charged in.

Just then Annie heard a noise from the next room over. A few seconds later the door to room 237 flew open and out came Juan Vasquez, almost knocking Annie over the balcony. One of the HPD cops grabbed her arm to keep her from falling over. As quickly as she recovered she grabbed her gun from her holster and yelled, "US Marshals, stop…" but of course he didn't.

Jimmy ran out the door when he heard the commotion, "Annie," he yelled as he seen her with her weapon drawn.

"Jimmy, GO GET HIM!" she demanded as she pointed after Vasquez. Jimmy took off after him, followed by Luke and Marco. Daisy came out behind them, "The room's clear Annie," she said but Annie was already headed down the stairs trying to see where the chase had went. "Dammit," she said slamming one of her crutches into the wall in anger.

"Annie, there's something in here you may want to see," Daisy said as she carefully made her way up to Annie.

She nodded and followed her back into the room. On the desk inside there were several pictures. Most of them were of Annie, but there were a few with other blonde females. "Daisy, I want you to find out who these women are immediately. They have to be his next targets and we need to get to them before he does." Annie handed Daisy all the pictures of the other women, and then started to sift through the ones of herself. There were a few from the past years when Diablo was on the lam but the most recent ones were what disturbed Annie the most. There were some from before her injury. The ones that caught Annie's attention and sent chills up her spine were of her and Jimmy. They were taken through her living room window the night that the McGraw case ended. The night her and Jimmy got together. There was one picture where they were just talking, drinks in hand…but there was one that they were doing a lot more. Annie grabbed the picture and folded it, tucking it safely into her shirt pocket and praying that Daisy didn't already see it. There were a few more of her and Jimmy but he was just helping her in her house or vehicle after the injury. Everyone already knew Jimmy was not letting her out of his sight so she left those pictures alone. She was shocked that Diablo hadn't said anything about her and Jimmy in his letter.

After going through all of the pictures, Annie searched through the rest of the room. She found some rope, a .22 caliber pistol, and a cell phone. The rope was no doubt the same kind used to tie up the last two victims. Maybe the gun was how Diablo got the women to give in so easy. Maybe he says he won't shoot them if they do what he says. By the time he's done they probably wish that he would have shot them. It would have been far less painful.

Annie flipped open the cell. It was cheap and no doubt pre paid, therefore untraceable. She hit the redial button and put it to her ear. Angela Vasquez's voicemail started playing after the fourth ring. Annie then went to the only other number in the phonebook. It had to be Diablo's number. She decided she would wait to make that call. More than likely it would be untraceable as well, but she didn't want to take any chances.

Daisy came back in, "HPD is working on identifying the women. You find anything else in here?"

Annie showed Daisy the rope and the cell phone. "How about the pictures, you look through them?"

Annie felt herself blush a little and she turned away to try and hide it from Daisy, "Yea, he's been stalking me. There are pictures from before he resurfaced until a few days ago."

Daisy shook her head as she looked at the pictures. "Man, he's really got it in for you. Looks like he's been tailing you pretty much every day."

Just then the cell phone Annie found in the room began to ring. She looked at Daisy as she flipped it open. "Hello," she said.

"Annie Frost," Annie instantly recognized the voice. "I see you found where we were staying. My father has such a bad habit of trying to talk my mother into forgiving him. And my mother is stupid enough to let him talk her into it every time. I guess you know what that's like though, don't you Annie?"

"What do you want Willy?" Annie asked through clenched teeth. It was all she could do to keep her cool.

"You already know what I want. I want you, and I will have you one way or the other. In due time Annie, in due time. Tell your boyfriend I said hello," Diablo said as he disconnected the call.

Annie reared her arm back with every intention of throwing the phone across the room, but Daisy caught her hand before she could. "I got something Annie, the call was coming from this tower here," she pointed at her computer.

"He's headed back into the city," Annie said.

"Yea, but as soon as he hung up we lost the signal. It's prepaid, so it's untraceable," Daisy said.

Just then Jimmy came back in with sweat pouring off his forehead, "We lost him Boots, he got to much of a head start and apparently they had a planned escape route."

"Just like at my apartment. Dammit," Annie said throwing her head back in frustration. "Maybe Angela can tell us something. Let's get back and get her into an interview room."

When they got back, Annie told Marco, Luke, and Daisy to go see if HPD had identified the women in the pictures yet. When those three had walked into the building Annie looked to Jimmy, "He knows about us," she said looking up at him.

"Who Diablo? How do you know that?" Jimmy asked a little confused.

Annie pulled the folded picture out of her pocket and handed it to Jimmy. He looked back up at her, not sure what to say.

"He could ruin us Jimmy. If he decides to out us…what are we gonna do," she said, throwing one hand up in frustration.

"Look Annie, I don't know about you, but I'm in this. All the way in. And sooner or later, people are going to find out. Now they may separate us as far as work goes, but then again they may not. We have to prove that we can work together and not let things get complicated here," he pointed to the building they worked in. "We can't control everything, but we have to believe that it will all work out. I'm not willing to walk away from this, from you, just because the higher ups don't think we should be together."

Annie looked away from him. Lord knows she felt the same way, but she was still afraid of diving in headfirst, not knowing what was going to happen in the future. She just wasn't that kind of person. Personal experience had taught her that it's the people you love the most, the people you depend on, that will rip you apart in the end. She finally looked back up at him. "This…this is hard for me. I need you to remember that. This job is the one constant in my life that I can be one hundred percent certain about…each day when I wake up, I know that it's gonna be here. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's the truth. I have learned not to depend on anyone but myself, so it's gonna be hard for me to completely let you in. You are gonna want to strangle me at times, but just be patient. And Jimmy…don't hurt me. If you ever want out, just promise me that you won't leave, won't just walk away with no warning. I don't think I could handle that a second time in this life. Promise me that we will never lose what we had before, even if we don't make it as a couple. I can't lose you as a friend. It's pathetic, but you're the best one I've ever had." Annie took a trembling breath. She had never been that open with him, or anyone for that matter. Emotions were something she just didn't talk about, and she felt a little embarrassed and exposed having shared that much with him at one time.

He smiled sweetly at her, "Boots, I would never walk away from you. You know that. No matter what happens in the future, you got me…always. And for the record, I am not a pathetic friend, I actually think I am a very good friend," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

She playfully hit him with a crutch, "You know what I mean," she said laughing.

He laughed too, "What do ya say we go interview this gal and see what we can find out. Let's not worry about someone outing us right now, we will cross that bridge when we have to."

She nodded, following him inside.

"So you're telling me you have no idea what your husband and son are up to. Juan just called and invited you to his motel room and you packed up everything you could fit into your car and went to meet him, just because he said he was sorry?" Annie said mockingly to a teary eyed Angela Vasquez.

"He said he wanted to make all the past years up to me. He promised me a better life, no money problems, no worries. All I had to do was be willing to leave my life here behind. I know you don't understand, but I don't have anything here. Nothing that matters enough to hang onto. I swear I don't know what they were planning, but he made this new life sound so great. It wasn't until I got to the motel that I started having doubts. He didn't even know for sure if I was coming. I never should have went there. I never should have listened to him, believed him," Angela cried.

"No…you shouldn't have. They tied you to a chair and stole your account numbers, your credit cards. That should have been a pretty good sign that you couldn't trust them," Annie said rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I should have called you guys after Juan contacted me. But I am telling you the truth now. You have to believe me," Angela pleaded.

Annie got up and went out of the room. "I think she's telling the truth. All she knew was where they were. She has no idea where they're headed," she told Jimmy and Daisy who were waiting on the other side.

"You think she's trustworthy enough to let her try and set up a meet with him again?" Jimmy asked.

Annie shook her head, "I think once Juan starts talking, he can talk her into whatever he wants her to believe. He seems to have that kind of power over her. I mean, why else would she listen to him after what he did to her. Plus I think Diablo is gonna be watchin' his father closer from now on. That's the closest he has ever came to getting caught, he won't let Juan make that mistake again."

"Good point," Jimmy said. "I guess we need to just hold her on obstruction until we catch them. Or catch Juan anyways. If not she could end up getting herself killed."

"Ugh, this sucks. She could have made this so easy…if only she'd have called us." Annie leaned back against the door.

"Maybe we should try it anyways. Just let her try and set it up, but don't turn her lose. It's not like we have anything else to go on," Daisy suggested.

"We have the pictures of the women. And we know he's stalking Annie," Jimmy said.

"He also knows all of that. He's gonna have to regroup on his future victims. He knows if he goes after the women in the photos that we'll be ready for him, and he's to smart for that. He's probably also to smart to know that we will just set Angela free. If we do this, we gotta be smart about it. She cant try to contact them for a few days at least. And even then, we have her husband's phone. She may not even have her son's number to try and contact him. Daisy, check on all of this…if everything works out, we will try and pull it off in a few days. Probably not gonna work but there's no harm in tryin," Annie said turning to head towards her desk.

As soon as she sat down her desk phone rang. She took a breath before picking it up, "This is Annie."

"Frost, my office…now," the Chief said sounding angry.

Annie took another deep breath. She knew he was going to bench her. She got up, testing out her leg. If she could just walk into his office with no crutches it would at least look a little better. After a couple steps she knew that wasn't going to happen. She grabbed the crutches irritated and made her way to the chief's office.

"Come in," he said gruffly as she knocked softly on his door. He shook his head when he seen her limp into his office on the crutches. "What the hell were you thinking going to a takedown like that. I knew you were crazy because you have jumped from buildings, copters, bridges and so on, but you must have completely lost your damn mind. Do you know the kind of danger you put yourself into…not to mention the rest of your team and all the HPD officers at the scene. They may all be to scared of you to say anything, but I'm your boss, and I am anything but scared of you. I should suspend you without pay until your completely over this thing, maybe then you would think about things a little harder before you go bailing off the side of your next building."

He paused until she looked up at him, "Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry. It was stupid of me and I should have known better. It wont happen again…" Annie said, feeling anger rise up inside her.

"You damn right it wont. Look Annie, I know this case is personal for you. And I know you want this guy worse than anyone else. But this time you are going to have to let your team do your leg work for you. Now, I'm not going to pull you off the case…yet. But one more stunt like that, and you're done until you have fully recovered…no matter how long that takes. Next time your team goes to a takedown…wait with an officer until everything is cleared before you go to the scene. Got it?" the Chief asked, easing up a little but still stern enough to let her know he was serious.

"Yes sir," was all she could say.

The Chief took a deep breath, "You guys have anything new. This maniac's mother give you anything?"

"No, claims she has no idea what they are planning…and I am pretty sure she's telling the truth," Annie told him as she turned to go… "Is that all Chief?"

"Annie, take it easy…give yourself some time to heal. I know how tough it is not to be able to do everything you are use to, but if you take your time and listen to your doctor, you will be back out there chasing fugitives before you know it," he said smiling.

She smiled back, "Thanks Chief."

When Annie got back to her desk Jimmy looked up, "Where you been?"

"Just got my ass chewed by the Chief. I guess I deserved it though. I was stupid to go on that takedown…I should have waited at the car. I put you and everyone else in danger…I'm sorry," she said shaking her head.

Jimmy looked at her stunned, "You're what? I think I must be hearing things because the infamous Annie Frost just apologized for something that I told her she shouldn't have done in the first place," he said sarcastic but still smiling.

She went past him and threw her crutches down before taking a seat, "You're not funny Jimmy. You have no idea how bad this sucks."

Jimmy smiled again when he turned to face her, "What? Apologizing or getting your ass chewed out by the Chief?"

She picked up an apple from her desk and threw it at him. He ducked and laughed, and the apple flew past him and was caught by Daisy who was walking towards them. Daisy smiled at the still laughing Jimmy. Annie couldn't help but join him in the laughter, "You're such an ass," she said.

"What's goin on over here?" Daisy asked as she handed Annie the apple, who chunked it back at Jimmy who wasn't expecting it. This time it caught him right in the side of the head.

"Not so funny now is it?" Annie said sarcastically as Jimmy rubbed his head. Daisy laughed, still not knowing why the two were fighting.

Annie looked to Daisy, a more serious look coming to her face, "We get an ID on any of the women yet?"

Daisy nodded, "Two of them, HPD's still working on the third. Here is the name's of the ones we have. They have already been contacted and are being brought in as we speak."

Annie opened the first file, "First one's Casey Johns, 33. Single detective, works in narcotics. Lives alone in West Houston. Second is a Mika Stevens, 31. Also a detective with the sex crimes unit. Lives alone a few blocks from where she works. He is staying true to his pattern. All cops, blond with blue eyes, single and independent. I want to talk to these women. Keep working on the third. As soon as you figure out who she is, have HPD get her in here as well."

An hour later Annie sat in front of the two women detectives. "I'm Annie Frost. As you know, both of you have been targeted by a man we have been pursuing for quite some time. His name is Willy Vasquez, but goes by Diablo. These pictures were found in the rat hole motel where he and his father were staying up until a few hours ago." Annie laid the photos down in front of the two women. "Now I know both of you are cops, and you feel like you can take care of yourself. But trust me, I thought the same thing and look at me now. This guy is smart. He may or may not come after you. What I would like to do is put a couple details on each of you. Diablo has been stalking you for who knows how long, and if he does continue to do so, we might get lucky and catch him in the act," Annie paused to see if either woman was going to object.

"I'm up for that. I have heard the horror stories about this psycho and I am willing to do anything I can to help catch him," Detective Johns said.

"Yea, I'm in," Detective Stevens added.

"Okay, I still want you two watching your backs at all times. If either of you have a boyfriend it may not be a bad idea for him to stay over for a few nights. Not saying you need his protection, but Diablo is less likely to come after you if you're not alone." Annie suggested.

"I thought you said you would have two details on us all the time," Johns said.

Annie nodded, "This guy is smart, he has evaded us more times than I can count. I just want to take every precaution there is to make sure you two stay safe."

Stevens spoke up after a few minutes, "How about a third detail outside, or inside our apartment. I would love to say this maniac doesn't scare me, but I work in sex crimes and have seen photos of his crime scenes. I knew Rachel Meeks well enough to know that she was a tough, hard nosed cop and if he could get to her like that, he can get to just about anyone."

Annie nodded, "That's a good idea. We can have a plain clothes cop enter your building an hour or so before you, that way he can go on up to your places and clear them before you get there. Plus, it will look less suspicious than if you walked in together."

Detective Johns looked to Annie, "He's stalking you to…right?"

Annie nodded, smiling softly. "Yea, he is."

"Do you have protection? I know you're a marshal and all, but if he gets to you…like that…there's not much you could do to protect yourself" Johns said staring at Annie's braced knee.

Annie smiled and nodded, "Yea, don't worry. I am gonna set up my own details as well. Here is my cell number. Call anytime if either of you need anything," she said handing the two detectives a card with her cell number written on the back.

After the two women left Annie went out and made sure the details were in place. She updated the team and Daisy said they still had not identified the third woman in the photos. She wasn't a cop like the other two, and as far as they knew she didn't work with any kind of law enforcement. HPD had sent out flyers with her picture to every precinct in Houston and still had not received any hits, but they would keep trying. With any luck, they would have an ID in the next twenty four hours.

Annie sat back down at her desk exhausted. It was nearing six o'clock and she was more than ready to head home. Jimmy was talking to Marco and Luke across the room and noticed how tired she looked sitting at her desk. "You ready to call it a day? We could head out and grab a beer, Daisy said she's in. It would also give your details a chance to see if they could get a glimpse of Diablo, seeing that he is obviously following your every move," Jimmy suggested.

Annie nodded, "Sounds great. I could use a drink after today. Let's just not stay out to late though, I'm ready for a hot shower and a soft pillow."

Annie, Jimmy, and Daisy sat at a small corner table at the bar they often frequented around the corner from their office. "So, how you holdin up?" Daisy asked, looking to Annie.

"I'm fine. Just sick of these crutches and this brace," Annie said.

"I wasn't talking about your knee…" Daisy said.

Jimmy got up, "I'm gonna get us another round," he said as he headed for the bar.

Annie looked back to Daisy, "I know. I just wish I could get a better read on this asshole. I can't seem to get into his head, you know. Usually I can read them, figure out what their next move is. But this one is different."

Daisy nodded understandingly. "So…what's up with you and Jimmy?" she asked, catching Annie completely by surprise and causing her to slightly choke on her drink.

Annie looked at Daisy, hiding her nervousness that the question had caused, "What do you mean?"

Daisy smiled, "You know what I mean. Come on Annie, I'm not stupid. I can see a change in you two."

Annie stared her down, contemplating her next statement carefully, "Is this about the pictures?" she asked, careful to word the question so she wouldn't give anything away if Daisy hadn't seen the one she was referring to.

Daisy grinned, "Maybe. I didn't want to bring it up at the scene. It wasn't the right place. But Annie, are you sure you two know what you're getting yourself into?"

Annie looked down and played with the label on her beer, "No," she said simply. She shook her head and closed her eyes. "It…was never suppose to happen. But it did, and now…I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Daisy smirked, "I understand. You're not the only one that crossed that line, but the difference is I came back to the other side."

Annie's eyes widened, "With who?" she asked in disbelief.

Daisy shook her head, "You know, you are my boss, and I don't wanna get in trouble."

Annie rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Daisy, I think it's pretty clear that I don't have the right to scold you."

Daisy smiled again, "It was with Luke. After the Puckett case."

"Wow. What happened?" Annie asked, glancing to make sure Jimmy was still in line at the bar.

"We went out to grab a drink, and ended up drunk and naked in my bed. We just, both had a hard day. It was purely physical, nothing more…but you and Jimmy? What is that?" Daisy asked, taking a sip of her beer.

Annie shook her head and glanced over at him at the bar, "It's…complicated. Jimmy and I, we were already close. He knows…pretty much all there is to know about me, and not many people do. He understands me better than anyone, sometimes better than I understand myself. Listen to me…what am I saying…" she trailed off and took a long drink.

"No, I get it. I'm just amazed that it took you two this long to get together. I think it's great…the Chief on the other hand…" Daisy grinned again.

Jimmy finally walked back over with three fresh beers. "Ladies…sorry I took so long. It's a busy night up there."

Annie smiled at him and looked down, leaning into him a little when he slid back into the booth beside her. "Did I miss something?" Jimmy asked looking back and forth between the two women.

Annie looked at him and then at Daisy, "She knows about us…" she said, looking back to Jimmy.

Jimmy looked a little shocked, "How? You told her?"

"She seen the picture," Annie said, a little embarrassed.

Jimmy smiled and looked to Daisy, "Well, I'm glad you don't like to talk as much as Marco. Otherwise, the whole Marshals service would know already." He took a long drink from his beer.

"You don't have to worry, you're secrets safe with me. All I'm gonna say is congratulations, it's about damn time." Daisy held her beer up as if to toast them before she drank from it.

After they finished their third beer Jimmy put his arm around Annie, "Boots, what do you say we get you home? I know you've gotta be tired."

Annie nodded, "Yea, I'm more than ready for bed," she said scooting herself out of the booth carefully.

Daisy smirked, "I'll bet you are," she muttered as she to stood up.

Annie wadded her napkin up and flung it at Daisy, "Shut up," she laughed.

"Just sayin, at least one of us can look forward to getting…"

"Daisy," Annie said quickly, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence.

Daisy just grinned, "Be careful guys. See ya tomorrow."

Annie and Jimmy had went home and both took showers. "Well, Daisy took the news pretty well. Did you know about her and Luke?" Annie asked. She had told Jimmy the story on the way home from the bar.

"I had my suspicions about them. Luke follows her with his eyes too much. I knew either something happened or he wanted it to. Daisy doesn't act like anything happened though," Jimmy said.

"Yea, she said it was purely physical. I have a hunch Luke may want it to be more," Annie said with raised eyebrows.

"Yea, I hope he gets over that soon. Luke and Daisy…not a good idea," Jimmy said shaking his head.

"Yea, but it's not like we can say anything…I mean, look at us," Annie said rolling her eyes a little.

"We're different. We have known each other forever, and worked together for years. They have known each other and worked together for about two months. It would probably never work out and when it didn't things would get awkward between them and it may be hard for them to work together," Jimmy explained.

Annie looked away from him and down to the floor. Jimmy noticed her change in demeanor. He walked over to her and pulled her close, "What is it Boots?"

She shook her head as she leaned into him, "What if it…doesn't work…between us? What then Jimmy?"

"Don't think like that. Besides, we have a lot of experience with fighting and making up already. We will be fine, no matter what. If someday we decide we are not good together as a couple, we will make that decision together and we will be fine after that. Don't worry yourself so much," he said pulling her chin up and kissing her softly on the lips.

She smiled sweetly. It was a side of her that he still wasn't use to seeing. He loved it though. That small sweet smile was what made his whole day. He sat down on the bed and pulled her to him. He laid down, pulling her gently on top of him, being careful with her knee. He pushed her hair back from her face and stared into her eyes before pulling her into a deeper kiss.

When things started intensifying, Jimmy gently flipped them over so that he was now above her. He ran his hand up and down her side under her pajama top, and then she started tugging at his clothes as well. That's when Annie's cell started to ring. "You gotta be kiddin," she said as she grabbed at her phone. "Annie Frost," she said trying to catch her breath.

No one said anything, but Annie could tell someone was there. "Hello?" she tried again. Still no one talked, there was just the sound of breathing. She looked at Jimmy and shook her head.

He took the phone and put it to his ear. "Who is this?" he asked. As quick as he got his question out he heard a click. Whoever it was had hung up. Jimmy hit end on the phone and handed it back to Annie, "Must have been a wrong number."

"Or it was him," Annie said quietly.

Jimmy pulled her close, "Let's not think about it. Let's just get some sleep. Lord knows we both need it."

She let herself relax into him and soon she was dozing off. Somewhere across town Diablo stared at the phone he had just hung up. "He's with her. It's going to be hard to find them apart. But I have an idea. We keep on calling, write more notes, and it will push them closer and closer until they explode. I know her, and she will not take his over protectiveness for too long before she starts pushing him away. We just have to be patient, and sooner or later, we will have our chance," he told his father who nodded in approval.

"In the meantime, we have a cute little blonde here to play with," Juan said as he turned back to the blonde they had tied to the motel bed. She was still unconscious at the moment, but she would be awake soon and the fun would begin.

Hope you enjoyed chapter six…I hope to keep the updates coming every few days, so please review and let me know what you think! Do you all like the length of the chapters or had you all rather me shorten them and update more frequently? Let me know…I aim to please!

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