Many thanks to all the people who are taking the time to read and review. I really appreciate everyone's comments and you keep me excited about writing this. I hope you enjoy this chapter—we got some action with a fair amount of suspense in this one!

Let me know what you think!

Mistakes are all my own so look at me if you want to blame someone. Next update is out as soon as I can get it finished!

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Chapter 10

Frank let out a weary sigh as he stood up from the uncomfortable chair and walked over to the window to stare out at the view of the Chicago skyline. The sun was almost blinding as it glinted off the windows of the skyscrapers but Frank didn't mind it so much. He was exhausted as he kept vigil over his little brother, not even the numerous cups of coffee were doing anything to perk him up.

Truth was he just felt completely helpless. He knew he should be out there, trying to find who did this to Joe but it was hard when he had no idea who to go after. Frank didn't like seeing his brother like this, looking broken and fragile. It just wasn't Joe—Joe had never been one to lie still for more than two minutes.

The doctors didn't seem to be able to tell him anything besides Joe would wake up when he was ready to wake up. Well, Frank didn't like that one bit. If he could shake his brother awake like he used to when they were kids and not hurt him any further, then he would do it. Instead, he had to stay here and have patience.

Which was just something Frank didn't have a whole lot of right now.

Besides that, he was wondering how it was going between Nancy and the doctor. He hoped that Sophie Dawson would be able to give Nancy some peace of mind, assuring her that Dominic Shepard was truly dead. He wanted his wife to have some of the stress alleviated from her shoulders. She was already bothered enough about the murders, since the victims looked like her. Then add Barry Campbell to the mix and it was a wonder Nancy hadn't found the nearest building and launched herself off.

Sighing, Frank pushed away from the window and made his way back to the uncomfortable vinyl chair. Falling into it, he leaned forward and looked at his brother's prone form.

"Come on, Joe…just wake up for me already, huh?" Frank asked, softly. "If this is just some act to get me to have some emo moment with you at your bedside, it worked, okay?"

Joe remained stubbornly unresponsive.

A smile quirked at Frank's lips. "You know, I think you can really hear me. You're just enjoying this too much to make me stop. I would do the same thing if I was in your shoes, just so you know."

"Let's hope not," a female voice spoke up from behind him. "I don't think I could take another one of you Hardy's in the hospital."

Frank turned his head to see Nancy standing in the doorway, watching them with a sad smile on her face. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to see you've been watching one too many sappy movies," she answered. "Joe would never let you live it down, you know."

"You're going to tell him, aren't you?"

"Definitely. It's too good material to waste." Nancy stepped further into the room and stopped behind Frank. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she gave them a gentle squeeze. "Still no change?"

Frank let out a weary sigh as he reached back and placed one of his hands over hers. "Nothing—which I guess means it's good news. At least, that's what his doctor keeps telling me."

"His body just has to take time to heal."

Frank nodded. "So, how did it go with Sophie?"

Nancy grabbed the other chair and pulled it close to him before sitting down, placing her bag on the floor. "It went well. She said she remembered Dom from coming into the emergency room a few years ago. She said he was pretty much dead when he came in the doors."

"So, there's no way he could be alive?"

"That seems to be the general consensus. She said she did everything she could but it just wasn't enough."

"Why don't you seem more enthusiastic about it? I thought this would be great news."

"It is, don't get me wrong. I—" Nancy hesitated. "I don't know. I guess I'm just letting my head play with me."

"How do you mean?"

"Everything just seems a little too coincidental for me. You know I don't believe in that, not even for a second."

"We've been sort of engrained not to believe that."

"Right. So what do I do to finally convince myself?" Nancy asked. "Demand that his grave be dug up for me to actually believe it?"

"That's going a bit too far, don't you think?" Frank countered. "Besides, I thought he was cremated."

"Again, completely coincidental—or convenient. However you want to look at it." Sighing, Nancy stood up. "I'm tired of thinking about it. I'm gonna head back to the office, see if I can get any work done."

"I'm going to stick around here for a little while longer," Frank said. "Maybe I'll get lucky and Joe will wake up."

Nancy leaned down to give him a kiss. "Let me know if he wakes up."

"I will," Frank said before returning her kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Frank waited until the door was closed before he leaned back in his seat, sighing heavily.

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Stepping out of the elevators and into the parking garage, Nancy was seriously considering skipping the office and heading straight to the apartment she shared with Frank. She felt utterly exhausted and she was sure it had something to do with the tennis match that kept going on in her head. She just couldn't stop thinking about the murders and when she wasn't thinking about that, her mind immediately went to Joe.

What she really wanted was to get away from it all. Maybe she and Frank could go on a vacation somewhere when this was all over. It's not like they didn't deserve it—all they did was work and they needed a break. Then again, every time they tried to go on a vacation, it turned into a case so maybe that wasn't the best idea, after all.

Reaching into her bag, she was just pulling out her keys when she thought she heard the scrape of a shoe behind her. Stopping, she allowed her trained eyes to roam around the garage, keeping herself attuned to any unwanted visitors. The young reporter let out a relieved sigh when she spied a couple walking towards the bank of elevators.

You are letting your head play with you, Nancy.

Chuckling shakily, she continued on towards her car. Using her remote, she unlocked the car doors but before she could open the door, a sudden weight slammed into her, shoving her against the compact.

Letting out a grunt of pain, adrenaline took over as she struggled against the person holding her there. Her assailant's grip didn't lessen; instead, it seemed to get tighter. Refusing to stand there and become a victim, Nancy took a deep breath, intent on getting someone's attention. There had to someone in the parking garage that could help her.

Just as she was about to let out an ear-piercing scream, a gloved hand covered her mouth, smothering any sound she could make.

"You really should learn to leave well enough, Nancy," a voice whispered fiercely into her ear. She wasn't even sure if it was a man or a woman.

Kicking up one of her legs, Nancy somehow managed to get it up to her car. Kicking back, she used her body's momentum to push her attacker back into the car beside hers, causing the alarm to go off. Good! Maybe I got someone's attention! Glancing quickly into her window, Nancy wasn't surprised to see a mask covered the person's face.

Unfortunately, that was all she had a chance to see before her assailant pushed her forward into her car once more. Letting go of her waist, he grabbed a handful of her hair and shoved her head against the frame of the car. Nancy instantly saw stars and fought to stay conscious as her keys were jerked out of her hand and she was dragged towards the back of her car.

Her murky brain screamed at her to fight but it was no use as she watched through sluggish eyes as her trunk opened up. She barely even put up a fight as she was hastily tossed inside. Before it slammed shut, she could have sworn she heard her cell phone ringing.

Sorry, I can't come to the phone right now, Nancy thought as her eyes drifted shut. Please leave a message and I'll return your call.

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Joe Hardy realized an interesting fact as he lay in the hospital bed.

Pain medicine was a wonderful thing—an absolutely wonderful thing. He was blissfully unaware of anything around him though he could have sworn he heard his brother's voice talking to someone else. And even though Joe wanted to let Frank know he was okay for the most part, he was perfectly content in his drug-induced sleep.

The youngest Hardy knew as soon as he woke up, reality would hit him. He would have to face the fact that he was nearly killed by a psycho killer who wanted nothing more than to play a game with them. He knew he would have to let Nancy know that her biggest nightmare was now in fact, a reality.

Dominic Shepard was back and he was deadlier than ever.

Joe had no doubt in his mind that Shepard wouldn't stop at nothing to get to Nancy. And he had to admit that the killer had been smart to dispatch him as soon as he could. It took one wall away from Nancy and left her that much more vulnerable. Not that she couldn't take care of herself; quite the opposite. Joe didn't know too many women who could literally kick some real ass but his sister-in-law was definitely one of them.

Joe didn't know if he could ever forget the cold, gleeful glint in Shepard's eyes as he looked Joe before stabbing him. There was no remorse in those eyes and Joe knew the man was doing it just to show him who was superior. Shepard simply had nothing to lose at this point and he pretty much had free reign since he was dead, for all intents and purposes.

Well, Joe wasn't going to let him slide by that easily. He was going to tell Frank and Nancy and they were going to come up with a plan to not only keep themselves safe, but the rest of Chicago as well. Knowing Shepard's temperament, if he couldn't have Nancy, then he would go after other innocent victims as well.

Joe wasn't going to have that blood on his hands.

Slowly lifting his lids, he immediately shut them against the sudden brightness in the room.

Friggin' sunlight…

Turning his head slightly away from the window, he tried opening them again, this time to a much more desirable result. Very little light greeted him as he blinked back the blurriness and took in his surroundings around him.

Obviously, he was in the hospital if the sterile white walls and constant beeping of the heart monitor was any indication. An IV drip was connected to his left hand and the pulse oximeter covered his index finger. He spied his brother lounging in a chair next to his bed, snoring softly.

Joe let out a groan, knowing his sibling would respond immediately to the sound. Joe wasn't disappointed when Frank shot out of the chair, nearly stumbling to the floor in the process. If it wouldn't hurt so much, Joe would have let out a laugh.

"Joe! You're awake!" Frank said, his voice a mixture of shock and happiness. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got into a wreck and then some psycho took a knife to my gut," Joe groaned, cracking a small smile.

Frank fixed his brother with a stern look. "That's not funny."

"Sure it was. So, have you been keeping vigil the entire time?"

"No."

"Liar," Joe muttered. "You look like crap."

"You look any better?"

"At least I have a valid excuse."

Frank sighed. "So, you remember what happened to you?"

Joe snorted and then winced as a wave of pain washed over him. "I don't have amnesia, Frank. I have a stab wound and a broken arm."

"Did you see who did it?" Frank asked, anxiously.

Joe swallowed hard as he looked past Frank. "Where's Nancy? I thought I heard her voice earlier."

"She went back to the office," Frank answered. "You heard us talking?"

"Not exactly—I heard your voices but I couldn't make out anything that was being said."

"She talked to a doctor that worked on Shepard back in River Heights after he was shot. She told Nancy that he was dead."

Joe shook his head as he tried to push himself up only to fall back to the bed in exhaustion. "You have to get to Nancy, Frank."

"What? Why?"

"Because the doctor wasn't exactly telling the truth."

"What are you talking about, Joe?"

Joe looked up at his older brother. "You want to know who ran me off the road and stabbed me? Look no further than Dominic Shepard."

Frank looked down at Joe in utter disbelief. "I think you may have hit your head, bro. Shepard is dead."

"Frank, I'm not stupid, okay? You can sit here and keep arguing with me about him being dead or not or you can call your wife and make sure she's okay."

Frank studied Joe for a moment longer and Joe really hoped he was getting through to his stubborn sibling. Finally, the older Hardy pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was calling Nancy.

"She's not answering," Frank said, frowning at Joe. He dialed another number and held the phone to his ear. "Hey, Leslie…did Nancy make it in yet? She's not there? No…no message…Thanks."

"She hasn't made it to the office?"

"No," Frank answered. "Maybe she went back to the apartment." Frank dialed their number at the apartment but still received no answer. "Something's wrong."

"Maybe she has her phone on silent or something," Joe offered helpfully.

"Do you really believe that?"

Joe shook his head.

Frank shoved his phone back in his pocket. "I'm going to see if she's still around the hospital. Maybe she's talking to that doctor again."

Joe watched as his brother practically sprinted out of the room, leaving him alone. Joe truly hoped their fears weren't about to be realized.

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This cannot be happening! Tell me this is all just a nightmare! Frank silently begged as he hurried to the elevators. He had to believe that Nancy was safe, that it was all just an overreaction on his and Joe's part. But the little voice in the back of his head wasn't willing to let him off the hook so easily.

It's your fault…you shouldn't have let her go off alone. You knew the risk…

"She's a grown woman—she can take care of herself," Frank muttered to himself, earning a few passing glances in return. "Besides, I would never hear the end of it if I constantly insisted on tagging along with her."

It's different now.

"Yeah, you don't have to keep reminding me of that."

Pressing the button to the elevator, Frank didn't have to wait long before the doors opened. Rushing inside, he barely glanced at the woman in the car with him. He pressed the button for the parking garage and tapped his foot impatiently as it seemed to take forever for the elevator to reach its destination.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked.

"I just have something on my mind," Frank answered brusquely. He turned to look at his companion and his eyes alighted on the badge she was wearing. "My wife just spoke with you."

Sophie Dawson lifted her brows in confusion. "You're going to have to be a little more specific for me there, buddy."

"Nancy Drew—you haven't seen her again since you talked to her, have you?"

"No…I've been working."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Frank muttered as the elevators finally opened.

"Is everything alright?"

Frank didn't answer her as he rushed into the parking garage, yanking out his cell phone at the same time. He dialed Nancy's number, hoping for an answer this time and that all his panicking was for nothing. For once in his life, he wanted to be overreacting.

But the faint sound of a phone ringing in the distance only ratcheted up his fears even more. Sprinting to the sound, he skidded to a stop when he came to Nancy's car, spying her purse, along with its contents scattered across the concrete. And there lying a couple of feet away from her purse was her ringing phone.

"Oh, God, no," he whispered breathlessly. That son of a bitch has her and I did nothing to protect her!

Frank was just about to dial the police when a faint pounding caught his attention. Straining his ears for the sound, he could have sworn it was coming from the trunk of Nancy's car. Picking up the keys from the ground, Frank cautiously made his way to the back of the compact, his senses in high alert.

"Somebody, help me!" Nancy's muffled voice reached his ears. "Let me out of here!"

The young man wasted no time in opening the lid of the trunk, his heart threatening to leap from his throat when he saw his wife looking back at him with wide blue eyes. Reaching in, he gingerly helped her out of the small compartment, not missing the large purplish-blue lump on her forehead and the way she groaned in pain from the sudden brightness.

"Nancy! Are you okay?" he demanded, scooping her up into a huge hug as soon as he had her out.

Nancy nodded shakily as she pushed away from him, her eyes scanning the vast parking area. "Did you see him?"

"See who?" Frank asked gently. "Nancy, what happened?"

Nancy focused her eyes on him as she held a hand up to her head. "I was coming out to my car when someone jumped me from behind."

"You didn't see who it was?"

Nancy shook her head. "No, they were wearing a ski mask. I couldn't even tell you if it was a man or a woman."

"Did they say anything to you?"

Nancy thought for a second before nodding. "They said I should have stayed out of it. I'm not exactly sure what they planned. I knocked whoever it was into the next car and I think the alarm scared them away."

"I didn't see anyone when I came out here."

"How did you find me?"

"I called everywhere, searching for you but I either couldn't get an answer or no one knew where you were," Frank explained. "I even talked to that doctor you spoke with earlier but she said she hadn't seen you since your meeting."

Nancy frowned in confusion. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Joe woke up—"

"He did?"

"Yeah, and he told me who attacked him, Nan." Frank's lips were set into a grim line. "It's not good."

"Who was it?"

"He swears up and down that it was Dominic Shepard."

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Sophie Dawson was pleased with herself as she opened the door to her apartment later that night. Overall, it had been a really good day. She'd lied to that nosy Nancy Drew about Dom and on top of that, she'd gotten to give her a piece of her mind when she'd shoved the woman into the trunk of her own car.

She was disappointed that she hadn't gotten to do more to her. More than anything, Sophie wanted to take her knife and gut the little bitch. She didn't like anyone coming after Dom, even if he could be a bastard at times. Nancy needed to realize that Sophie had set up her life around Dom and she would do anything to protect the man that she loved.

She wasn't about to let some past obsession put a wedge between the two of them. Not over her dead body.

Putting down her purse, she reached over to turn on the lights, surprised to find them off. "Babe, are you home?"

Receiving no answer, she walked into the living room and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the figure sitting quietly in the recliner. "Jeez, you scared the crap out of me, Dominic!"

Dom smiled apologetically. "Sorry—I was just sitting in here thinking."

Sophie walked over to him and planted a kiss on his lips. "What were you thinking about?"

"It's nothing important. How was your day?"

"Busy," Sophie replied before frowning. "Are you okay? You never ask how my day was."

"How did it go with Nancy?" Dom queried, ignoring her.

"It went fine. I practically had her eating out of the palm of my hand with the story I was feeding her."

"And all you did was talk to her?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Sophie felt a chill go through her as Dom looked up at her with his cold, icy blue eyes. There was something brewing there; she was as sure as she could be. His eyes no longer held the love or amusement they usually had for her. A change had come over him and she was suddenly really, truly scared.

"I have it on good authority that something else happened today."

Sophie turned her head away and walked towards the bedroom. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She wasn't surprised to hear his footsteps behind her. "Don't play me, Soph. I don't like being played the fool."

"I honestly have no idea what you're wanting me to say, Dom." Sophie shoved off her shoes and tossed them into the closet. When she turned around, she saw that he was caressing his favorite knife and the knot once again formed in her chest.

"You know, I was really hoping you would just tell me the truth," Dom replied softly. "I actually loved you and cared for you, which is going to make this so much harder."

"What are you talking about?" Sophie swallowed hard as she took a step away from him.

"I want to give you another chance." Dom looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze unwavering. "Did something else happen? In particular, did something happen in the parking garage with Nancy?"

Sophie stumbled on a pile of clothes on the floor but quickly regained her balance as she kept her eyes on the man in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the innocent pink rose lying on the night stand.

Oh, God!

"Dom, you can't do this," she pleaded. "Not after everything we've been through."

"I gave you specific instructions that she was not to be touched. You were only to speak to her and that was it." Dom took another step towards her. "What exactly were you planning on doing to her?"

"N-nothing," she stammered. "I just wanted to scare her. She was coming between us."

Dom shook his head, smiling. "There never was an "us" she could come between, quite the contrary. If anything, I've allowed you to come between Nancy and I and I think it's time that I rectify that little problem."

"Dom, please," Sophie whispered fearfully as she was stopped by the wall. "You don't mean that."

"But I do," Dom said. "I warned you about what would happen if you tried to go against me."

"But I wasn't! I was doing it for us! I was trying to protect you!"

Dom tilted his head to look at her. "Who said I needed you to protect me?"

Sophie never had time to fully comprehend what was happening as she felt the blade thrust into her skin and into her heart. She barely felt the sensation of his lips against hers as he silenced any scream she may have made.

What she did comprehend was the taste of her own blood in her mouth before she fell to the ground, dead.