Author Note: Hey wonderful people. Even with my busy schedule I am trying to get one chapter out a week so you're not going weeks between them like before. Sorry this one is a little shorter than my other chapters. I will make it up in the next one. I appreciate everyone's patience with this story I try to write whenever I get a free moment but the real world can be a pain in the butt. I also want to thank everyone who has sent me messages telling me how much they like my story. You're one of the many reasons I keep going. I hope you like the direction that the story is going in. I love to hear back from the readers to see what they think. So if you have any suggestions please write me a review or send me a PM. Enjoy Chapter 24.

The words in the file began to blur as Charlie fought the urge to sleep. The constant yawning made it worse. Briggs walked over to her placing his hands on her shoulders. His tight grip as he rubbed the knots was very distracting.

"That's far enough, Paul," she said, moving his hands off her. "If you keep doing that I'll pass out here at the table."

"That wouldn't be so bad. We've all been up all night."

"Mike and Paige are less than three days from having this case taken away from them. I can sacrifice a little more to help them out."

A loud yawn from across the room caught their attention as Jakes stood up. "Yo, Briggs is right, Chuck. I can barely keep my eyes open," Jakes added. "Johnny and Christy have the right idea." The three looked upon the couple as they lay passed out on the couch.

"I say we follow their lead and take a quick nap before the love birds come back downstairs."

Briggs pulled Charlie to her feet, holding her close. Her mind was on helping Mike and Paige but the rest of her preferred the warm presence of Briggs as she nearly passed out in his arms.

"What do you say, babe. One small nap?" Charlie bit her lip, and as she looked upon the table papers all over she finally caved. "Fine, thirty minutes and then we're back here."

Briggs kissed the top of her head, "You're the boss."

"No one's going anywhere," said Mike as he and Paige got to the bottom of the stairs. Jakes groaned as they walked into the living room.

Jakes ignored them and headed towards the stairs. "You know I love you both, but I'm tired. Yeah, I know I said we can handle this but I was wrong. Sue me. So unless you two got a break in the case…."

"We have a connection," Paige said. Jakes stopped, taking a deep breath. He turned around and rejoined the team. Page then slapped Johnny on the chest causing him to sit right up.

"I'm awake," he said out loud.

"Good, we have work to do," Paige said.

"What's the connection?" Briggs asked.

"Her name is Anna Velasquez. She's Nick and Brandi's surrogate aunt," Mike said.

"Why do you think she's the connection?" Jakes asked.

"From what I found out she's a lawyer who practices not only in Mexico, but also here in the States," said Paige.

"Someone who practices law internationally could easily have those kind of connections, but if she's their aunt why would she get them involved with a woman like Vasquez?" Briggs asked.

"Getting sick is expensive. With the lengthy battle both their moms have had with cancer the bills started to pile up," said Johnny.

"Yeah, but Johnny, there are better ways to get cash," Christy said.

"Desperate times babe. Hell, I remember when my mom got sick and we had no money to take her to the doctor. If it wasn't for my great aunt I would have done something really stupid to help her."

"Like what?"

"Guys, focus," Mike said.

"So here comes Aunt Anna, and from what Brandi told me she has always been there for both families," Paige said.

"So knowing that Brandi and Nick are chemists and Vasquez's trade is drugs…," Mike says.

"It's a win-win for both parties," Paige says.

"Alright so what's the play you two?" Charlie asked.

"We find everything we can on her. Briggs, can you reach to some contacts south of the border?" Paige asked.

"You got it, P."

"Was there anything salvageable from the fire at the realtor's office?" Mike asked.

"Actually, I heard that the computer in the file room didn't get destroyed in the fire, but it did have some water damage to it," said Christy.

"Is the hard drive still intact?" Mike asked.

"I'm not sure, but it I know it's locked up back at HQ. And before you ask I'm on it. Mike, you think you can help? I could use a man with your set of skills."

"No problem."

"Jakes, I need you and Johnny to look into her background. There has to be info on her in our databases," said Paige. "Charlie, you and I are going to look into cases she has worked going back at least five years. Time is against us, so let's bust our ass."

"Hey, Christy, you should head over there without me. I'll meet you there after I take care of something first."

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit."

Paige walked over as Mike grabbed his coat and keys. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she looked at him with concern and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have a meeting with Maria. I know we are on deadline but I don't want to brush her off."

"I understand. Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to come with?"

"No, one of us needs to stay here and keep things moving. Besides it's just an eval of how I'm doing back on the job. Nothing serious." Mike then leaned in, kissing Paige's cheek, "I'll call you when I'm at the lab with Christy."

Paige looked at him with hesitation, then grabbed Mike. Her right hand pulled Mike forward and her lips smashed against his. Soon their tongues were dancing in each other's mouths. As Paige pulled away, Mike leaned back against the wall, breathless. Paige grabbed ahold of his shirt as she jabbed her index finger into Mike's chest. "No secrets, right?"

Mike took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly, "No secrets."

"Well, I have to say Mike, I'm very happy you called. I was wondering how you were doing."

"Sorry for not getting in touch with you sooner, Maria. It's just a lot has been going on in the past few days," Mike said. As he sat there across from her he realized he was more at ease now. He'd been coming to terms with the fact that Maria was truly there to help him.

"It's ok, I know you and Paige have been busy with your investigation. You guys are running out of time with your case, so I'm surprised that you would even want to meet at such a crucial time."

"How did you know about that?"

"Mike, you're my patient and this is your first case back. I'm going to keep tabs."

"Well, if you weren't, my mother would be."

The two shared a small laugh, then Maria dove right in.

"So, what's been going on?"

"I've been in denial with myself."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I've been keeping it together pretty well. Telling myself that everything is ok, but I know it's not." Mike then stood with his back turned to Maria. He pulled out his phone, scanning over pictures of him and Paige. "I'm still scared Maria. Every day."

"Mike, you have made such great progress the past few months with your group sessions and then with me. You're not in denial, Mike. You know you have a problem, and while most people run from it, you're dealing with it head-on."

Mike huffed in frustration, "I want this to end."

"Mike, you're well aware that this is not an easy fix. What's bringing this on?"

"Do you know who Melina Vasquez is?"

"Yes, she's a well-known drug lord and from what I hear, very dangerous."

"My friend Bobby told me a sorry about her and it scared the shit out of me."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"He told me of a time she skinned two bangers for stealing from her."

A shiver raced down Maria's spine as Mike retold the story. "Mike, I have to be honest. That is a terrifying story. I can see why you're spooked, especially after what you have been through. I know you're not going to like this, but after telling me this story what is going through your mind right now?"

"What do you think is going through my mind, Maria? Ninety percent of the time, I'm great. My head's on straight, I'm kicking ass with Paige and I feel like myself. But lately the ten percent of me that is a total wreck is taking over my subconscious. I'm good at hiding it, even from Paige. But that's getting harder every day. On the outside I'm cool and collected, but inside I'm freaking out." Mike turns facing Maria, and continues. "What if Vasquez finds out we're on to her and she goes after Paige? Or if… Or if.. Or, or, or…."

'MIKE!" Maria screamed as he collapsed on the ground. His body was shaking, his breaths shallow as the thoughts of Vasquez hurting Paige ran through his mind. Maria ran to Mike taking his hands in hers, "Mike look at me!" she said. Mike raised his head slightly. "Deep breaths," she said in a soothing voice. Mike shook his head as he struggled to follow her instructions. The task was proving more difficult, as the images felt more real than ever before. His breathing was getting worse as his vision became blurry.

"Mike, come on, breathe." The images, the mental pain of being stabbed over and over was too much for Mike as threw up on the ground. Then everything went black.

The soft voices caused Mike to stir from his slumber. He slowly opened his eyes scanning the room to find Paige and Maria talking in the corner.

"Paige?"

Paige spun around and raced to Mike's side, as she held onto his right hand kissing it repeatedly.

"Glad to see you're ok, Mike. You gave us quite a scare," Maria said.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You had a major panic attack. I tried to help you calm down but you passed out. Luckily you were breathing on your own so an ambulance was not called."

As Maria spoke, Mike looked at Paige. She had a look of anger mixed with fear. "Paige, I'm sorry."

"Damn it, Mike. We promised—no secrets! Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you talk to Maria or anyone else about this earlier?"

"Because I didn't feel this way until yesterday when Bobby told me of what Vasquez told us about the bangers. Before that, I was fine. Then I hear that story and you add in all the Amy bull, plus you in the line of fire last night… It was all too much to push away."

Paige looked away from Mike as he was explaining himself. Hot tears rolled down his face. She wished she take on part of this burden he was carrying. "You're stressed out over losing this case to Foster, and I didn't want to have you deal with my shit," he said with a sigh.

"Mike, you're my husband, and your well-being is way more important than this case. Shit, Foster can have this case if it means keeping you well." Paige leaned forward, kissing Mike softly on the lips. "I can't take anymore lies, Mike. If something is bothering you I want to know about it no matter how big or small, got it?"

Mike ran his fingers across Paige's face, "I promise, and I mean it this time."

"Mike, I spoke to your friend Paul and he told me what you were going to ask me," Maria said.

"What were you going to ask her?" Paige said.

"I had a theory. I thought that I might be able to get rid of my fear if I could confront the person who did this to me."

"You want to confront Amy?" Paige asked. "Mike, look at you. You're a mess, and even if you weren't, it still is a dumb idea."

"Actually, it's not that bad of an idea," said Maria.

"You can't be serious?" Paige barked.

"Paige, Mike was viciously attacked. Research has shown that in most cases people who are able to confront their attackers are able to find some type of closure."

"Some closure?" Mike asked.

"Well, it doesn't happen right away, but soon the power they had over you is gone. But Mike, I agree with Paige-you're not ready yet to confront Amy."