A/N: Sorry for any typos or missed spellings. I haven't had that much time to proof read. Hell, I've never had time to proof read. Enjoy!

Chapter 13 – Follow My Lead

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Karina paced the length of her interview room unaware of the heavy stares from the adjoined room.

She had given up on her one phone call long ago. If they didn't want to allow her a phone call, and they hadn't come in to question her; what did they really want with her? Why had they gone to the trouble of her seeking her out and bring her down town just to have her sit in an empty room for two hours? I mean, am I under arrest or not?

Karina's march shifted and paused when the door to her interrogation room open. Finally she had company. May it be unwanted company or not.

A young cadet entered her chamber. Karina frowned. She hadn't seen this one before and it was clear he wasn't anyone of importance. That only meant more waiting. More waiting was out of the question. "I want a lawyer!"

The cadet's balance was off kilter and he froze with his hands out to correct it. "I… I was just tol-"

"-I don't care." She was fed up. "I've been here for hours now without speaking to anyone. I told them I witnessed Terrance's murder and they haven't questioned me, arrested me, or done a damn thing since they left me in this room nearly two hours ago. What the hell kind of police department is this?"

"Ma'am, please calm down."

"No! If they don't have a warrant for my arrest I want to leave, now!"

"Ma'am, please have a seat." The officer tried to guide her towards her chair.

She shrugged him away. "No!"

"Please ma'am…. We're about to bring in another potential witness, so I need you to try and calm down."

Karina blinked and her head tilted. "Who?" She managed.

The cadet fumbled with the paperwork in his hands. "Its one of the… of the Mercers."

Karina's heart sped up. "What?" This made absolutely no sense, why bring another witness in before they even questioned her. "Which one?"

"Bobby"

BKMBKMBMKBKMBKM

"Remind me again why this is a good idea."

Fowler stepped around his partner to take a seat at the head of the table. "Another good thing about you playing dead is I don't have to remind you of anything." He opened up a file and laid its content in front of him, preparing to take notes for the encounter. "You wanted Karina caged and stripped bare. That's about to happen. So sit down, relax and take fucking note."

Terrance took the seat directly across from him. "This is not what I had in mind and you know it."

Fowler chuckled. "You really think her witnessing you murdered was enough for her to flip on the Mercers'? The second she sees Bobby she'll let her guard down and we'll know for sure just how involved she is."

"So you do think she knows more than she's letting on-"

"No! To be quite honest, I don't think she knows a goddamn thing. But she does love our key player, which could mean everything.

Terrance huffed. "She'll never roll over on Bobby."

"Not without incentive."

He furrowed his brow. "Incentive?"

"If she feels like Mercer is about to get buried by Victor Sweet she'll react accordingly… Even if that means risking his freedom." Fowler's green eyes bore into him. It was time to get serious. "Look… I'm not really concerned about her. The most we can hope for is she's cleared of knowing anything about Bobby's extra curriculum activities."

Terrance didn't care about a damn thing Fowler was saying. All he knew was he didn't want Bobby Mercer anywhere near Karina at the moment or the foreseeable future. His chin rose in defiance as he shook his head. "This is a bad idea. Mercer has entirely too much influence over her."

"I want to see what he tells her. See if he really loves her as much as we need him to. She could be what helps me cut him wide open. Let it play out."

He shook his head again. "This is wrong-"

"-Let it play out! I told you from the beginning what I wanted. I mad it clear I never wanted to put Karina in the middle of this but you forced my hand. You faking your death was never going to work-

"-what"

"I said! You faking your death was dumb as fuck! Can you understand that?"

"But you told me-"

"- It doesn't matter what I told you! It only matters what I'm telling you now. It was a feeble attempt, Terrance. The Mercers 'maybe street thugs, but they aren't common street thugs."

Terrance had to be missing something. "What?"

Fowler couldn't help but laugh. His partner was being to sound like a broken record. "Your first mistake was not knowing your opponent and giving him the respected he's earned. Do you really think Mercer hasn't started putting the pieces together? He knows last night was a set up."

"You can't be se-"

"-100 percent serious, oh but I am. I knew this wouldn't work but I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to study my opponent up close."

"You used me."

"You used yourself. I just aided you. And if it helps me with my case, all the more better. The plan was never to arrest him or Karina. I need to know everything about him in order to bring him down for murdering my father. We already know he's feeling the pressure from Victor Sweet. Now he's got it coming from all sides. Let's see where he falls."

"Listen to me!" Terrance stood over him. "You want Bobby to answer for what he did to your father, I get that. But this isn't the way to achieve that. Get in there right now while they're divided! Get in there right now while she feels like she's not protected by him!"

Fowler mimicked his stance. "It's not your call!"

"I know this girl! You let him in and she'll shutdown!"

"I don't care. The decision's been made!"

Both detectives faced the glass and watched with heavy intent.

MMMMMMMMMMMM

albums/nn79/shiree022000/Mercy/Four_

Bobby shuffled behind the cadet. During his processing he'd gotten into it with one of the officers and as a result his hands had been cuffed behind his back. "Eh! You gonna remove this?"

The cadet didn't bother to turn around. "I told you, only when you're inside." Dealing with this guy was exhausting.

The boxer's scowl depend. He didn't want to lose his cool again. "And I told you, I'm not walking in there cuffed." He halted. Karina had never seen him cuffed and it would always remain that way. He turned around so that his back was to the officer and his shackled wristed were exposed. "Tick! Tock!"

The officer grimaced. What would it matter anyway? With a frustrated huff he released the keys from his hip to unlock the cuffs. "Fine"

Bobby arched his back to aid the officer. After the medal was gone he turned towards the officer while rubbing his aching wrists. "Now see how easy that was." He side stepped him. He didn't need an escort. He had taken this walk countless times. "I know my way."

The Cadet scurried behind. But he had already reached Karina's door. "Wait!" This was the cadet's first day but this was clearly not protocol.

"I told you I know my way." He waited for the officer to unlock the door, and then walked in first as soon as it was opened. He couldn't wait.

Karina was directly on the other side; as if she had known he would be the first person in her line of sight. As he grabbed her and his body embraced her smaller form, his hands tangled in her brown locks to pull her in close. When he kissed her he demanded her to open up to him and she yelled willingly. His anger was apparent and she felt it as his tongue took a hold of her own. When they finally separated their eyes locked and Bobby still cradled her face in his large hands. His eyes blazed as they studied her face. The bruise that remained on her cheek only caused his anger to peek further.

Bobby kept her close to him and his body turned towards the officer that he had nearly forgotten was in the room. "Do you mind?"

Without a word or an upward glance the officer fled.

Karina pounced first. Her body wrapped around his. Her hands played at the nape of his neck as she kissed him hard. She wasn't sure what was happening to her. Every part of her was in tuned to this man and her core ached with unbridle need. Her body called for him to just fuck her already.

Bobby carried her over to the tabled in the middle of the room. Only after he had lowered her down did his lips part from hers. With a deep sigh he glanced around the room and then back to her. His hands still caressed her face.

Karina smiled faintly. "You're angry with me." She whispered.

It was true. He was. "Why did you tell them you were with Greene…? Why did you tell them that, after I told you I would take care of you? Fuck!"

Karina didn't get angry. "I just told them the truth."

"Bullshit!"

She watched him closely. He really was pissed. "I reacted, I didn't know what to do-"

"Bullshit!" he repeated. "I know you, Baby!"

Karina's eyes quivered and a single tear escaped them. "And I know you. You couldn't wait to get me-"

"Shut up!" Bobby snapped. He hadn't meant to yell at her but couldn't let his guess know he had plans of getting Karina out of Detroit. Plans he still planed to see through. "You should've stuck to the fucking plan, Karina!"

Karina pushed away from him and jumped down from the table. "Don't you speak to me like that… Not after what you've done! You have no right telling me what to do! You left me, remember! How can I trust you to make the right choices for us!"

"I have every fucking right, Baby! Every fuckin' right!" She had turned away from him and he grabbed her arm to have her face him again. "Listen to me, Baby. I'm about to make this real fuckin' clear. I'm back!" He pounded his chest with his fist. "And you are mine! FUCKING PERIOD!" He barked. "You gotta let me protect that shit how every the fuckin' way I seen fit!"

Silence.

Karina couldn't argue with that. Bobby Mercer was afraid. He needed to protect what was his and she needed to let him. Pure and simple, "I'm sorry."

Bobby's stance shifted a bit. He hadn't meant to veer off to this subject. Yeah, they definitely needed to hash it out, but not here, not now. "What all did you tell them 'bout last night?"

Karina was put off a second by the subject change and how calm he appeared now, but recovered nicely. She walked over to him. "I haven't seen anyone."

Bobby Blinked at that.

She continued. "Yeah I know. Odd… I'm not sure why I'm really here. Do they think I killed Terrance?

"I'm not sure they think anyone killed him."

He got her full attention. "I was there. Someone definitely killed him."

Bobby stood as still as a statue. "This is war, Baby… and there's nothing fair or honest about it. You can't be sure what you saw. My instincts' are telling me you and Greene both were used as pawns to draw me out."

All of a sudden Karina felt sick. A lot had happened to her and she couldn't process what he'd said. "I don't understand." She watched him die, she was sure. It had to be real. She still blamed herself. Terrance had died protecting her. There was no way around it.

Bobby saw her break and he held her up using his body to support. "Listen to me." He told her as he led her to an empty chair and placed her in it. "Fowler and that fucking coward Greene have been watching you the entire time. Like the PUSSIES THEY ARE!" He yelled directing his last statement at the peeping toms as he gestured about the room. He came back over to her and knelt down, and his body relaxed on instinct when she brought him closer to her. "They're looking for something. " He whispered to her.

"For?" She replied in the same fashion.

"I don't know. But what I am sure of is, this is about me and…" He swallowed hard but never broke their stare. "… and what I did after Detroit."

Karina had been running her hands through the hair at the nape of his neck. She froze. Bobby always exuded strength from every angle and there was never anyone she knew to be more confident than he. But in that moment he had confessed something to her without saying much and that armored strength had dented slightly. He had never cared about how anyone saw him, but she knew he genuinely cared about what she thought of him. She placed a single finger over his still mouth to quiet those wayward thoughts of his. "Shhhh…" She dropped her finger and kissed his lips in the tenderest way. "I don't care where you've been. I love you just as much, if not more than the day you left me."

Bobby kissed her back. He knew one day he'd have to answer for every single transgression and hoped she would still believe those words she spoke to him. Bobby pulled back and wiped away her tears. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for my family… for you."

"I know." He brushed a few stands of hair from her face and her body reacted to every gentle touch. "What now?" She breathed.

Bobby couldn't help but smirk at the affect he had on her. "We get up… me and that sweet ass of yours walk the fuck up outta her."

She returned his smirk. "You really think they will let us walk out the front door… just like that?"

"Just like that." He untangled himself from her and stood. "I can't think of any reason to stay, can you?" He reached out his hand.

Karina stared at it like a foreign object. He couldn't be serious.

Bobby looked down at his hand and made a promise to himself. He would move heaven and Earth to build back the trust between them that they used to share. Three years ago she would've followed him anywhere. Bobby reached down and grabbed her hand and gentle tugged her out of the chair she was in. "Just go with it, Baby."

Karina hesitated, but quickly relented after she saw she had no choice in the matter. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Bobby chuckled. "Just follow my lead."

And she did.

AN: I'm a bit nervous about this chapter. It has been awhile since I've written a scene involving just Karina and Bobby. I hope I did them justice. I think I fell in love with them all over again.

Anyway, this chapter was the calm before the storm and I'm so excited for the next chapter!